My Macrobiotic Thanksgiving Menu

Seitan & mushroom gravy

Seitan Broth:

10 cups water

2 cups soy sauce

8 cloves whole garlic, peeled

4 bay leaves

3 two-inch slices fresh ginger

Place all ingredients in stockpot and bring to simmer.

Seitan:

4 cups unbleached flour

1 cup whole wheat flour

1 cup gluten flour

2-2 ½ cups water

In a mixing bowl, combine flours well.  Begin adding water slowly and consistently while stirring to form a well in the center.  (Water absorption will slightly vary depending on the flours and the climate.)  Incorporate dry flour from the outer circumference of the bowl toward the center of the well.  Continue mixing until a firm dough is formed.

Dust a flat, firm work surface with unbleached flour and knead about 70 times, more is better (don’t worry… it just sounds like a lot).  You’ll probably need to dust the dough with more flour if it gets slightly sticky to work with.

Let the dough ball rest for 20 minutes.

With the dough ball in the bowl, place the bowl in the sink and add water to cover the dough.  Begin kneading the dough until the water turns really milky.  Drain the water, add more fresh water, and repeat kneading process 10-12 times.

Form the gluten into shapes of your liking.  If making a single loaf, pierce and weave a 12-inch bamboo skewer through it to hold it together, or you can wrap and tie with cheesecloth to hold the shape.

Gently place the loaf in the simmering Seitan Broth, bring to a boil, then reduce to simmer again and cook for 1 ½ hours.  Remove from pot and place on a plate to cool.

Gravy:


Onions
Mushrooms (optional)


Water


Shoyu
Mirin (optional)


Brown rice vinegar (optional)


Kuzu

Saute diced onions with a pinch of salt, until translucent, then add mushrooms, another pinch of salt, and saute until softened and wilty.

Pour some water in a large measuring cup (know how much liquid you’re using–you will need to know this for when you add the kuzu) equalling the amount of gravy you want and add water to this saute, 

Then add shoyu, to taste (1 teaspoon per cup of liquid).  You can also add mirin (about 1/3 the amount of shoyu you put in) and a dash of brown rice vinegar, if you like.

Let it all come to a boil and then simmer for at least ten minutes.

Measure out the equivalent of 1 level tablespoon of kuzu per cup of gravy liquid.  Add diluted kuzu slowly to the gravy as you stir it vigorously. The gravy will become glossy and thicken. Let it come to a boil, then reduce flame to a simmer. If the gravy is not thick enough for you, add more kuzu. If it’s too thick, add more liquid.

Let it simmer for about ten minutes before serving.

Cornbread

2 c Corn flour or cornmeal - (yellow or blue)

1 c Whole wheat pastry flour

6 oz Soft tofu

3 c Water

1/2 ts Sea Salt

Mix flours. Crumble tofu into blender. Add boiled water and salt to tofu in blender (carefully) and blend until not quite smooth. (Just a few pulses please). Dont do this in too small blender or without lid like I did once. The goal is muffins, not 2nd degree burns. Add immediately to flour and mix well. Spoon into muffin tins or cast iron stick trays and bake at 400°F for about 1/2 hour until golden brown. She suggests you heat oven first and place oiled muffin tins in to heat up beforehand to get a wonderful crust.

Scarlet Roasted Vegetables

4-6 Shallots, peeled & halved lengthwise

3 large beets, cut into 1 inch chunks

2 parsnips, quartered lengthwise

1 large fennel bulb, halved, cored, and thickly sliced

1-2 cups kabocha squash, cut into big chunks

3-4 celery stalks, cut into 1 inch pieces

3-4 dried bay leaves

½ cup pecan halves

6-8 dried apricots, coarsely chopped

1-2 tsps shoyu

Grated zest of 2 lemons

2-3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

Juice of 1 lemon

2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley

Preheat oven to 350F.  Lightly oil large shallow baking dish.

Combine all veggies, bay leaves, pecans, apricots, shoyu, lemon zest, and oil in mixing bowl.  Mix veggies to coat well.

Transfer veggies to prepared baking dish, spread out evenly.  Cover with aluminum foil, roast for 40mins., until veggies soft when pierced.

Remoe foil, and roast 15 mins longer to let veggies brown a little.  Remove from oven, toss with lemon juice and garnish with parsley.

Brussel Sprouts w/shallots & hijiki

½ cup halved and sliced Onion

½ cup Hijiki

1 tbsp Shoyu

1 tbsp chopped Garlic

Ginger juice

Sea salt

Combine soaked hijiki with shoyu and water to almost cover saucepan.  Cook uncovered until water evaporated (30-40mins).

Heat oil in skillet, add onion, garlic and salt and sauté 4 minutes until transcluscent.  Add sprouts to onions.  Cover and cook 3-5 mins. Add hijiki and ginger juice, cook 1-2 minutes.

Blueberry  Cous Cous Cake

2.5 cups apple juice or water

Pinch sea salt

½ cup raisins

2 cups couscous

Topping:

1 cup water

¼ cup barley malt

Pinch sea salt

3 cups fresh blueberries

2-3 tbsp kuzu, diluted in few tbsp Water

Place apple juice or water in a pot.  Add sea salt and raisins.  Bring to a boil.  Cover, reduce flame to medium-low and simmer 10mins.  Add couscous, cover, simmer 3-5 mins.   Turn off flame and let couscous sit covered for 10 mins.  Remove couscous place in glass or ceramic cake pan.

For topping, place water, barley malt, sea salt, and blueberries in saucepan and bring to a boil.  Reduce flame to low and add diluted kuzu.  Stir constantly to prevent lumping.  Simmer 2-3 mins and remove from flame.

Press couscous down firmly with rice paddle before adding topping.  Pour over cake, spread evenly.  Set aside to cool.