1. Saturday first presentation
Miso Soup
Millet with Cauliflower
Arame, dried Daikon with Carrots and Onions
Dried Daikon Tea
Miso Soup
2 Servings
Utensils: 1 saucepan, 1 bowl for soaking shiitake mushrooms, cutting board, knife, 1 bowl or cup to dilute miso, measuring cup, wooden spoon, tasting spoon
Please use good quality miso – for healing use miso that is fermented for at least 2 years. For everyday use, barley miso, brown rice, chickpea, azuki bean miso.
Ingredients:
• 1 teaspoon of wakame flakes
• 2 dried shiitake mushrooms, soaked in 1/2 cup of water, finely sliced, saving the soaking water
• 1 teaspoon brown rice miso, fermented for 2 years or longer
• 1 teaspoon chickpea miso
• 1/4 cup kabocha squash, sliced into small cubes
• 1/4 cup white part of scallions, minced
• 2 cups water (including shiitake mushroom soaking water)
Add the wakame to the water and bring to a boil. Meanwhile, cut the vegetables into small slices/pieces. Add the vegetables and mushrooms into the boiling broth and boil all together for 3 to 5 minutes until the vegetables are soft and edible. Reduce flame to low. Dilute miso ( ½ - 1 teaspoon of miso per cup of broth) in a little water, add to soup, and simmer for 2 – 3 minutes on a low flame. Please note to avoid boiling the soup once the miso has been added.
Millet with Cauliflower
4 - 5 Servings
Utensils: 1 heavier saucepan like and enamel LeCreuset pot, cutting board, knife, 1 bowl or cup to dilute miso, measuring cup, wooden spoon, tasting spoon
Ingredients:
• 1 cup millet, sorted and washed
• 3 – 3 ½ cups of water
• ¼ teaspoon sea salt
• ¼ - ½ cauliflower
Place millet, water, salt, and cauliflower into a pot and bring to a boil. Cover and simmer for approximately 30 minutes. With a potato masher, mash cauliflower and millet mixture until smooth.
Dried daikon with Arame, Carrots and Onions
2 - 3 Servings
Utensils: 1 skillet, 2 bowl for soaking dried daikon and rinsing arame, cutting board, knife, measuring cup, wooden spoon, tasting spoon
Ingredients:
• ½ cup dried daikon, Mitoku brand, soaked and sliced
• ½ cup dried arame, Mitoku brand
• 1 large onion, sliced into thin half moons
• 1 large carrot, sliced into matchsticks
• Sesame Oil (Hirade - mitoku brand)
• Soysauce
• water
Rinse ½ cup dried arame and let it sit. Soak ½ cup dried daikon for approximately 15 - 30 minutes. Remove the dried daikon from the soaking water and slice it finely, and save the soaking water (unless it is dark like stout ale).
Slice 1 large onion into thin half moons and 1 large carrot into matchsticks.
Saute the onion slices in a small amount of sesame oil, then layer the dried daikon, rinsed arame and carrots on top of the onions. Add enough water (include soaking water from dried daikon) to half cover all the ingredients. Cover the pot, bring to a boil, and lower the flame. Simmer for 20 – 30 minutes, until all the ingredients are tender. Add a small amount of soysauce, then simmer a little longer without the lid, to cook away any excess liquid.
Dried Daikon Tea
1 serving
½ cup soaked dried daikon
2 cups water
Bring the soaked daikon and water to a boil. Cover and simmer over low heat for about 20 minutes. Strain and drink hot. Save the dried daikon for another dish.
Variation: Add a soaked and finely sliced shiitake mushroom with the dried daikon. Add finely minced leafy greens in the last 5 minutes of cooking.
2. Saturday second presentation
Noodles in Broth
Blanched Carrots, Daikon and Watercress Greens
Tofu Shira AE Dressing
Light Lemon Pudding
2. Noodles in Broth
2 Servings
Utensils: 2 saucepans, 1 bowl for soaking shiitake mushrooms and kombu, cutting board, knife, measuring cup, wooden spoon, tasting spoon, strainer
Ingredients:
• 4 cups spring water for boiling noodles
• 1 8 oz. package soba or brown rice udon noodles (mitoku brand)
• 1 2-inch piece of kombu, sliced into thin strips
• 2 cups spring water for both
• 1 - 2 dried shiitake mushrooms, soaked and sliced finely
• 1 tablespoon shoyu (nama shoyu brand)
• Finely sliced scallions, chives or toasted nori for garnish
Cooking the noodles:
Bring cooking water to boil. Add noodles and return to the boil. Check to see if they are cooked by breaking the end of one noodle. Once cooked, drain and rinse with cold water to stop cooking and prevent clumping.
Cooking the broth:
Place the kombu, shiitake and water into a pot. Bring to boil, lower heat and simmer 5 – 10 minutes. Season with shoyu and simmer for another 3 – 5 minutes. Place the cooked noodles into individual serving bowls and ladle the broth over the noodles. Garnish with scallions, chives and/or toasted nori.
Blanched Carrots, Daikon and Watercress with Tofu Shira-AE
Serves 4 People
Utensils: 2 saucepans, 1 skillet, several bowls for vegetables/mixing tofu and miso, etc. cutting board, knife, 1 bowl or cup to dilute miso, measuring cup, wooden spoon, tasting spoon
Ingredients:
• 1 package extra firm tofu (boiled or steamed for 5 – 7 minutes, until cooked all the way through)
• 2 tablespoons chickpea miso
• ¼ teaspoon sea salt
• ½ - 1 carrot, cut into matchsticks
• 3 inch piece of daikon, cut into matchsticks
• 1 bunch watercress, cut into 1-inch pieces (or 2 cups of snap peas)
• 2-inch piece of takuan, sliced into matchsticks
• 4 tablespoons of lightly roasted pine nuts
Bring approximately 2 inches of water to a boil in a saucepan. Add a pinch of salt. Blanche the carrots and watercress. Drain well.
Place the tofu into a suribachi and grind well with a pestle. Add miso and salt and blend together. Place the vegetables, takuan and pine nuts and tofu mixture into a bowl and gently mix.
Light Lemon Pudding
2 servings
Utensils: 1 saucepan, 1 bowl for diluting kuzu, microplane zester, cutting board, knife, measuring cup, wooden spoon, tasting spoon
Ingredients:
· 1 cup apple juice
· pinch of sea salt
· 1 – 2 teaspoons agar flakes
· 1 – 2 teaspoons kuzu, diluted in 1 – 2 tablespoons cold water
· 1 teaspoon lemon juice
· ½ teaspoons lemon zest (only use organic lemons)
· mint leaves or lightly roasted pumpkinseeds or almond slivers for garnish or fresh berries
Instructions:
Place apple juice, salt and agar flakes into a saucepan. Bring to a boil and simmer until the agar flakes are completely dissolved. While constantly stirring, slowly add diluted kuzu into the apple juice mixture and heat until the liquid becomes translucent, again and slightly thickens. Add lemon juice and zest; stir gently and remove from heat.
Pour into individual dessert bowls to let it set. When cooled and set garnish with mint leaves, fresh berries or fruit slices or lightly roasted pumpkinseeds or almond slivers.
3. Sunday presentation
Brown Rice with Sunflower Seeds, Nori and Umeboshi
Sauteed Leeks with Ginger
Fresh Daikon Pressed Salad with Lemon and sea salt
Azuki Beans with Kabocha Squash
Boiled Brown Rice served with toasted sunflower seeds, Umeboshi and toasted Nori
2 - 3 Servings
Utensils: 1 heavier saucepan like and enamel LeCreuset pot, 1 bowl for soaking sunflowerseeds, 1 skillet for stove top roasting, cutting board, knife, wooden spoon, tasting spoon, wooden spatula
Ingredients:
• 1 cup of brown rice, sorted, washed and soaked for 8 hour or overnight in 2 cups of water
• pinch of sea salt or a stamp size piece of kombu
• 2 - 3 Umeboshi Plums, pitts removed and finely diced
• 1/2 cup of sunflowerseeds, soaked overnight, then lightly roasted
• 2 - 3 sheets of Nori, cut into 1 x 4 inch strips
Soak 1 cup of washed and sorted brown rice in 2 cups of water for 8 – 12 hours. Place the rice and with its soaking water into a heavy pot with a pinch of sea salt or a stamp size piece of kombu. Bring to a boil on a medium-high flame. When the water is boiling place a flame deflector underneath the pot and reduce the flame to low. Cook for approximately 45 to 50 minutes. Turn off the flame and let sit for a few minutes. Gently transfer to a wooden or ceramic bowl and serve topped with nori, umeboshi and sunflower seeds.
Sautéed Leeks with Ginger
3 - 4 servings
Utensils: 1 skillet, 2 plates for holding vegetables, cutting board, knife, 1 bowl or cup to dilute miso, measuring cup, wooden spoon, tasting spoon
Ingredients:
· 4 cups leeks, finely sliced
· sesame oil (Hirade - mitoku brand)
· sea salt
· 1 - 2 teaspoons ginger, minced finely
· water as needed
Instructions:
Heat a small amount of oil in a skillet and begin by sautéing the white part of the leeks. Add a few pinches of salt. Continue sautéing the vegetables - if a little water is needed during the cooking process to prevent burning, add a few tablespoons of water to the skillet, as needed. Finally add the green part of the leeks and sauté all the ingredients for another minute or two, until the green part of the leek has become tender, but is not overcooked.
Transfer to a serving platter and serve immediately.
Daikon Pressed Salad with Lemon Zest
3 - 4 Servings
Utensils: 2 stackable glass or ceramic bowls, a heavy weight like a large glass jar filled with water that fits inside bowls or a small salad press (also called pickle press), microplane zester, cutting board, knife, 1 bowl or cup to dilute miso, measuring cup, wooden spoon, tasting spoon
Ingredients:
• 6 inch piece of fat, juicy daikon
• ½ - 1 lemon, zested
• sea salt
Cut daikon into thin half rounds, mix with sea salt. Press in a pickle press for ½ hour – 1 hour. After pressing pour off excess liquid. Mix the pressed daikon with lemon zest and serve.
Azuki Beans with Sweet Winter Squash and Kombu
3 - 4 Servings
Utensils: 1 heavier pot, 1 bowl for soaking Azuki beans, 1 large plate for cut squash, cutting board, knife, measuring cup, wooden spoon, tasting spoon
Ingredients:
1 cup azuki beans, sorted, washed and soaked in 3 cups of water
• 4 cups squash, cut into large chunks (best is kabocha squash, or ripe buttercup, or red kuri squash)
• 2 – 3 inch piece of kombu
• water
• sea salt
Wash and soak the azuki beans with kombu overnight. Place the kombu in the bottom of a heavy pot and add azuki beans with their soaking water. Cut hard, sweet winter squash into large chunks.
Cook the beans on a low flame until the beans are 70-80% done, about an 40 minutes or more. The water will be absorbed and some evaporated as the beans expand, so gently add water along the sides of the pot to keep the water level constant and to make the beans soft.
When the beans are 70-80% done, add squash and a few pinches of salt. Cover and cook for another 30 minutes or until the squash is soft and most of the liquid has evaporated. Turn off the flame and let the pot sit for several minutes. Transfer to a serving bowl and serve.