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JANE TOUWEN who
has studied at the Kushi Institute in the Berkshires in Western Massachusetts
explains to Showcook about
COOKING THE MACROBIOTIC WAY
 
"Macrobiotics is not
brown rice. Macrobiotics is to dream or envision
yourself as whatever you want to be, and then to realise that dream." (Michio Kushi)
Dr Samuel Hahnemann, an 18
Century German physician, was the founder of
homeopathy.
Hahnemann discovered that the more diluted a particular medicine
was, the greater its potency. He called this phenomenon the law of
infinitesimals. The most powerful homeopathic remedies are those which are
so highly diluted that no molecules of the original substance are left; only the
vibrational essence remains.
Macrobiotic healing is based on a similar
concept. Our daily food is the most powerful medicine. We activate the
vibrational essence of food through cooking. Then, we dilute the food through chewing. When we chew, we apply Hahnemann's law of infinitesimals: the
more we chew, the more diluted and more powerful the food becomes. Diluting food with saliva
emphasizes the healing properties of this
highly energized liquid. Thorough chewing is
"In order to have a happy dream you have to eat according to a certain
way" (Michio Kushi)
The macrobiotic  happiness are
What you need are natural,
balanced and seasonal foods, basically whole grains and fresh
vegetables.
 In theory, if you
are ill, you need to return
to a simple, natural way of eating. The best foods to use for long-term balance of
body, mind and spirit are not extreme. They are mild and centering forming an axis around
which other more extreme ingredients can revolve.
MILLET
& TOFU CROQUETTES
250 ml millet, cooked
in 750 ml water with a pinch of salt for 20 minutes (cooled)
450 g tofu, pressed to extract excess water
1 onion, finely chopped
2 carrots, finely chopped
2 sticks celery, finely chopped
15 ml oil
125 ml sunflower seeds, pan roasted
1 bunch parsley, chopped
125 ml arrowroot or kuzu (or potato flour not Macro)
oil for frying
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'Mild tasting and soothing'
Mix all ingredients together in a big bowl. Make into patties. Heat oil and
pan fry.
VARIATIONS:
Add 125 ml falafel mix
or 250 ml sweetcorn kernels or chopped mushrooms
or you can use left-over bulghur salad instead of the millet.
Serve with a mushroom gravy - very good
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SPINACH & RICE SOUP 30-60 ml extra-virgin olive oil
1 onion, chopped
2 garlic cloves (optional), crushed
15 ml fresh thyme
15 ml fresh rosemary, chopped
grated rind of 1/2 lemon
10 ml ground coriander
2 ml cayenne pepper (optional)
150 g short grained brown rice or Arborio rice
1,250 litres vegetable stock (See Dashi recipe below)
250 g fresh spinach or kale or Bok choy or watercress or a mixture of any of
these
60 ml pesto sauce
sea salt, milled black pepper
dash of extra virgin olive oil to serve |
Heat half the oil in a saucepan. Add
onion, garlic and spices. Sauté for 5 minutes. Add remaining oil and rice. Cook,
stirring for 1 minute. Stir in stock, bring to the boil and simmer gently
for 20 minutes or so until the rice is tender. Shred
spinach leaves and stir into the soup with pesto sauce. Cook for 2
minutes and season to taste. Drizzle each serving with a little olive oil, for
fragrance
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VEGETABLE & RICE SPRING ROLLS 1 cup jasmine or short grained rice
2 cups water
2 tbsp sesame oil
1 tbsp grated fresh ginger
1 cup julienned carrots
2 cups mung bean sprouts
1 cup sunflower sprouts
1 cup mixed alfalfa, lentil or radish sprouts
1/2 cup chives or spring onions (2 cm slices)
2 tsp maizena, dissolved in 2 tsp soy sauce
1 ml salt
12x20 cm square spring roll wrappers
1 large egg beaten with 1 tbsp water
vegetable oil for frying Garlic
Hoisin Sauce
Heat 1/4 cup water and 2 finely chopped cloves garlic until boiling.
Remove from heat and stir in 2/3 cup hoisin sauce and 1-2 tbsp soy
sauce. |
Cook rice in water and leave to cool.
Heat oil in a pan (or wok) sauté ginger and carrots for 1 minute. Add sprouts,
chives maizena and salt. Stir-fry until thick and bubbling. Remove
from heat and leave to cool. For each spring roll,
fill and roll up to make a firm 10 cm
long cylinder. Brush and seal with egg mixture. Keep covered until all are made (or
can wait several hours refrigerated) Deep fry in some oil for 2-3 minutes, a few at a time,
until golden. Drain on a paper towel. Halve diagonally or straight across and
serve with garlic hoisin sauce |
| TOFU SEARED IN THAI SPICES WITH NOODLES
1/2 cup chopped fresh basil
1/2 cup chopped fresh coriander
125 ml Kikkoman soy sauce
125 ml fresh lemon juice
4 tbsp chopped fresh mint
1 tbsp grated fresh gingerroot
30 ml molasses
15 ml vegetable oil
2 tsp curry powder
1/4 tsp crushed red pepper
4 garlic cloves, crushed
500 g Tofu
400 g noodles, Vermicelli or Asian noodles, cooked
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Combine all the ingredients in a bowl (except tofu and noodles) and stir with a wire whisk until well
blended. Halve the tofu blocks and place in the marinade. Refrigerate for 2 hours.
Remove tofu from the marinade. Heat a little oil in a
non-stick frying pan until hot and cook the tofu slices for about 2 minutes on
each side or until nicely browned. Remove from pan, set aside and keep warm. Add
marinade to the pan and simmer. Spoon noodles onto individual
plates, top with the tofu slices and drizzle warm marinade over tofu and
noodles.
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WAKAME
CABBAGE
SALAD, WITH VEGETABLES, FRUITS, NUTS & SEEDS 15-25 g
Wakame
sea-vegetable
2 cups shredded cabbage
2 spring onions, chopped
2
carrots, grated
1 apple, peeled, cored and grated
4 tbsp chopped, roasted peanuts
4 tbsp chopped, dried (or fresh apricots)
4 tbsp pan roasted sunflower seeds
4 tbsp seedless raisins
60 ml olive oil
30 ml fresh lemon juice
30-45 ml shoyu or good Soya sauce
2 cloves garlic, crushed (optional)
4 tbsp cubed feta cheese (optional) Note:
Jane uses pressed cabbage, which is made by lightly salting the cabbage
and weighting with a plate to compress cabbage and drain any liquid,
making the cabbage far easier to digest. |
In a medium bowl, cover the wakame with warm water. Allow it to stand for 10
minutes. Drain and set aside. In a large bowl, toss the drained wakame with the
cabbage, spring onions, carrots, apple, peanuts, apricots, sunflower seeds and
raisins. In a small jar with a tight-fitting lid or in a bowl, combine the olive
oil, lemon juice, Soya sauce and garlic. Shake or whisk well to mix thoroughly.
Drizzle the dressing over the salad. Toss well. Sprinkle with feta cheese if
desired. |
CARROTS
WITH GINGER, GARLIC AND CUMIN 20 ml olive oil
10 ml cumin seed
15 ml grated ginger root
15 ml crushed garlic
30 ml water
500 g julienned carrots
125 ml water
30 ml lemon juice
sea salt and milled black pepper |
Heat oil in a pan. Add cumin seed and stir-fry for a few seconds until it is fragrant. Add
ginger, garlic and water, cool for 1 minute. Add carrots and
stir-fry for 3 minutes.
Add water and lemon juice, cover
pan and cook
for a few minutes until the carrots are tender. Remove the lid, season to taste and cook over high heat, stirring gently, until all the
liquid has evaporated.
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DASHI (A SIMPLE HEALTHY AND DELICIOUS VEGETABLE STOCK FROM JAPAN) This
stock is great for soups, stews, sauces and gravies, noodle broths (summer food
) etc. 15 cm piece of
Kombu (locally called Kelp)
3 large dried Shiitake mushrooms
2 litres good water (mountain, rain, spring or filtered) Note:
Keeps for one week
in the fridge, indefinitely frozen. Reserve the Kombu and shiitake for
another use.
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In
a pot soak Kombu and shiitake in water for 15 minutes (the shiitake can
be soaked overnight.) Remove shiitake and slice thinly. Return to water.
Heat over medium heat. Remove Kombu just before the water boils (this is
important) Do not throw away. Reduce
heat and simmer for 5 minutes before removing shiitake from the broth
with a slotted spoon. Do not throw away. |
Contact JANE TOUWEN for
further details and a wide choice of cookery demonstrations on Macrobiotics,
Mediterranean, Moroccan, Tuscan and Fusion style food as well as Jane's specialty
superb baking from her STONE KITCHEN in Elgin. Telephone: (021) 859-2282
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