Japanese New Year 2012: Ozoni

Happy New Year!  Time for ozoni!!! Zoom in on the brown rice mochi :D

In light of macrobiotics, I decided to pay tribute to Japanese New Year!!!  Known as shogatsu or oshogatsu, this is the most important holiday in Japan. Most businesses shut down from January 1 to January 3, and families typically gather to spend the days together.


On New Year's day osechi ceremonial foods are served, which are an assortment of small dishes in stacked bento boxes. Instead of preparing a full on osechi-ryu, I decided to prepare a Japanese soup called ozoni.   This is usually served alongside the osechi and contains mochi rice cakes.  Meaning is tied to the shape of the mochi being either square or round: a round shape portrays a precious mirror from ancient times that has no sharp corners where everything goes smooth like the rounded lines, and a square shape symbolizes its sharp corners beating enemies or bad luck. This dish gives strength, increases energy, and strengthens the blood generally or for conditions such as anemia, mental conditions, nervous conditions, and spinal cord disorders.


Ozoni


1 block brown rice mochi
1/2 cup peeled and chopped kabocha squash
1/4 tsp miso diluted in some water
Broccoli
Lotus Root sliced
Gobo/Burdock sliced
Carrots cut into chunks
Daikon cut into chunks
Chopped Bok Choy
Napa/Chinese Cabbage/kale

1. Cut the block of mochi in half and pan fry without oil until it puffs up.  Brown on both sides.  You may add a few drops of shoyu on each side if desired.
2. Boil kabocha squash until soft then puree in blender with some water until smooth and slightly watery.
3. Boil the carrots, daikon, burdock, lotus root and broccoli in 2 -3 cups of water until cooked and soft.  Turn down heat to a simmer and add bok choy and other leafy greens.  Simmer for 3-5 mins.
4. Add pureed kabocha slowly and just enough until you get your desired consistency.  Add diluted miso and simmer for 3 mins.  Do not boil.
5. To serve place pan fried mochi in bowl and pour veggie soup over the mochi.  Eat immediately.

This is the mochi brand that I love to use.  There are several brands to choose from, just make sure it is brown rice with no added ingredients.  When eating mochi be sure to take small bites and chew thoroughly.  

Macrobiotic Christmas Dinner 2011

I am so grateful to be spending Christmas back home on Guam with my family.  Guam is a day ahead so we celebrated Christmas tonight!  Here's some pictures of my macro Christmas dinner that I planned a menu for a few days ago.  Unfortunately I was unable to find corn on the cob anywhere on island :(  So I substituted with some hijiki made with carrots and onions, and some stewed kabocha squash.  My dad was a trooper and ate the same macro plate as me, he loved it and totally cleaned his plate :D  Merry Christmas everyone!!!

Yummy lentil loaf baking in the oven.  It was so delicious with so much flavor!

Couscous cake with kuzu stewed pear topping.  Sprinkled a bit of cinnamon on top ;)

Hope you all had a wonderful Christmas!  I can't wait to try more recipes next year ;)  Oh and I came across this very clever alternative to a Christmas tree.  I so need to give this a go one year:

The Holiday Game Plan

If this is your first holiday season as a vegan you're probably feeling some anxiety about what you're going to eat, what your family and friends are going to say, and just basically what a vegan Christmas is going to be.  Lets formulate a game plan to relieve that anxiety and just better prepare you for what to expect and how to react ;)

Round 1 

"What am I going to eat?"

If you're like me, this is the first thing that pops into your head when invited to a holiday dinner at a family/friends house.  There is no guarantee that there will be at least one vegan dish for you so you better plan on bringing something for yourself.  Best way to approach this, and to let the host know that you are vegan, is to respond in the following way: "Thank you so much for inviting me, I am looking forward to it.  I'm vegan and was planning on bringing a dish or two so I am of no inconvenience.  I can let you know in advance what i plan on bringing and would love to make enough for everyone at the party."  More than likely the host hearing that you're vegan will make THEM more anxious.  Try to relieve their anxiety and tell them that it's easier for both of you and a guarantee that you'll have something to eat that night.  Now, I'm not saying bring a whole tofu turkey, but maybe some small stuffed squash (great because it can be a meal all in itself with whole grains) and a vegetable side dish like roasted brussel sprouts, yams, or root veggies.  Just let the host know that it will be side dishes and a compliment to the already prepared food.  If you're going to restaurant or party at a hotel ballroom call ahead and politely tell them your situation and if they could prepare either a vegan dish or some steamed veggies (bring some brown rice with you to complete the meal).  

Round 2

"How will my friends/family respond to me being vegan this holiday season?"

You are going to hear a wide range of comments and questions, including some common excuses for why they themselves are not vegan.  Common questions will be:  where do you get your protein? What is vegan?  Why can't you eat eggs and dairy?  Aren't free-range eggs okay?  Why would honey not be considered vegan?  You may also encounter even more aggressive individuals who probably feel that you are trying to be "better than them."  So their first impulse is to attack.  Some of these more passive aggressive comments may be you are doing more harm than good or you should be grateful for the food you have.  Now that you know some of the common reactions that you will receive lets move on to how to respond.

Round 3
"How do I respond to these reactions?"

You are prepared.  You know what to expect, what they're going to say, and how they're going to react.  That in itself will help you.  I created an easy flow chart of how to respond based on whether it's a common question or passive aggressive comment.  Just be sure to SMILE and remember that these questions may be repetitive for you but the first for them, and that in order to practice compassion you have to be compassionate.  Don't be aggressive, be informative.  Don't be annoyed or put down, be happy that you have a chance to talk about veganism.

Final Round

ENJOY YOURSELF!!!!!!!! AND SMILE!!!!!!!!!  It's the holiday season.  You may think that being vegan will totally change this joyous event for you but it does not.  Just remember the meaning of this time of year and the reason why you chose to venture on this new journey...compassion ;)

My Macro Christmas Menu 2011

Corn on the Cob with Ume paste
Fill sauce pan with 1/2 inch water and Boil corn for 10 mins.  Spread mashed umeboshi plum or pre-made ume paste.


Kabocha Stewed Vegetables
Daikon, chunks and quartered
Carrots, chopped in diagonal chunks
Broccoli
Kabocha Squash

1. Peel and cut into squash into 1-inch chunks and put in a pot. Add water to partially cover the squash. Bring to a boil, reduce heat, and simmer until tender. Remove from burner and pureed in a hand food mill. Add additional water to stew thickness. 
2. Fill saucepan with 1/4-1/2 inch water.  Layer daikon, carrots, broccoli in the that order.  Boil water and simmer until very tender and all water is gone (aprox 50 mins).
3. Add pureed squash to veggies in saucepan, add a few drops of shoy, bring to a boil and simmer for a few mins longer.

Baked Lentil Loaf
4 ounces shiitake mushrooms sliced
1 tbsp brown rice vinegar
1 clove minced garlic
1 medium onion finely chopped
1 tsp grated ginger
Tamari to taste
1 cup green lentils
2 cups water
1 stamp-sized kombu piece

1. Preheat oven at 350 F.  In small saucepan, add lentils and water.   Bring to boil and skim off foam.  Add bay leaf and kombu.  Lower heat, and simmer, covered, for 45 mins, adding more water as it evaporates. 
2. Stir in remaining ingredients into cooked lentils.  Press lentil mixture into lightly oiled loaf pan and bake for 20-30mins.

Tahini Kale

1. Steam chopped kale (aprox 1/4 inch strips) and set aside
2. Mix 1 tbsp tahini with water to a dressing consistency.  Add diluted 1/4 tsp miso.
3. Marinate kale in mixture and refrigerate.

Couscous Cake with Pear Sauce


2.5 cups water or apple juice
Pinch sea salt
2 cups couscous

Topping:
5-6 pears, peeled and sliced
Pinch sea salt
1 cup water
2-3 tbsp kuzu, diluted in water

1. Place apple juice or water and a pinch of sea salt in a pot and bring to aboil.  Reduce flame to law and add couscous.  Cover and simmer 2-3mins.  Turn off flame and let couscous sit, covered, for several mins.
2. Place couscous in glass pan and press down firmly and evenly.
3. To make pear sauce for topping, place pears, salt, and water in a pot and bring to a boil.  Reduce flame, cover, and simmer for 4-5 mins, until pears are soft.  Add diluted kuzu.  Stir constantly to prevent lumping.  Simmer for 2-3 mins and remove from flame.
4. Spread topping on couscous cake and let sit in fridge to set.  Add chopped nuts on top for garnish.

Vegan Infographic

Physical therapy group Advanced Physical Medicine has just released an infographic entitled “Anatomy of a Vegan.” The image uses data from the Vegetarian Resource Group and an October survey conducted on Facebook. Key statistics gathered from 144 respondents included are demographics of vegans, how much they spend on groceries, and what types of stores they frequent. The infographic also shows that 93 percent of respondents considered the rights and welfare of animals as either an “important” or a “very important” reason they decided to ditch meat and dairy.  Wow should we be concerned that majority of us are single and have no children?  :S  Neeeeeehhhhh!!!!!!

The Alternative to Dairy Milk

Homemade brown rice milk is the most macro way to go.

As a vegan I can go into a whole bunch of reasons why dairy milk is bad for you and how it exploits the reproductive system of cows and goats.  But I decided to post this as a tool so you can immediately just jump into it and discover milk alternatives yourself.  

The most common alternative is soymilk, which is a good transition milk for new vegans.  I would suggest starting here, experimenting with yummy soymilks like chocolate and vanilla from Silk, then transitioning into more nutritious unsweetened soymilks.  Once you get use to that, a transition to other milk alternatives should take place because macrobiotics says to limit your consumption of alternative milks, particularly soymilk which can be hard to digest.  Soybeans are yin to begin with, and after additional ingredients and refining, these products become extremely yin.  As discussed previously, extreme levels of constant yin intake makes them acid forming and over time very weakening.  Does this mean that you should cut out soymilk all together?  No, it's so much better than dairy milk and is an every now and then treat.  Once again, transition is key.  I would suggest trying a more macro friendly milk like almond then towards the most macro milk which is brown rice milk.  Like other milk alternatives, it is best when homemade because you eliminate all added salt, sugar, and preservatives. 

Homemade Brown Rice Milk - It was last about 2weeks in the fridge and makes 4 liters.  I find this to be way too much for me so what I do is either half or quarter the recipe.   I use very little of this 2-3 times per week for puffed whole grain cereal as a snack.  

• 1 cup short grain brown rice
• 1-2 Tbsp maple syrup (optional)
• 2 tsps vanilla extract (optional)

1. Put the rice in a large pot with 8 cups of water. Bring to a boil, then turn down to simmer for 3 hours. You can also use a rice cooker like I do and set it to porridge setting.
2.  Fill a blender halfway with the very well-cooked rice, and add another part water (i.e. another 8 cups of water for the whole batch). Blend for a minute or two until the rice is fairly smooth.
3. The most efficient way to strain your rice milk is to use a mesh bag or cheesecloth.  Put the cheesecloth into the container you want to store your rice milk in. I like to use glass jars. Pour the rice mixture into the bag.  Pull the mesh up through squeezing the water out of the rice.

Although it is cheaper to make your own, I recommend these if you'd rather purchase your alternative milk ;) 

Easy Holiday Treat

My good friend Karly asked me if I had any recommendations for some yummy homemade vegan holiday treats.  This is quick, easy, delicious, and practically macro if you find the right chocolate ;) 

Chocolate-Apricot Coins

Wrap them each individually them in a gift bag, or to make them extra fancy put them in those mini cupcake/muffin liners and then arrange them nicely in a tin box.  

2 cups grain-sweetened, nondairy chocolate or carob chips

 1/4 cup maple syrup (optional) 20 dried Turkish apricots, pounded into 1/4 inch flat rounds 

20 raw almonds, or other nut

Place chips and syrup (if you are using, i found that it does not need it so try it without first) in the top of a double boiler and place over pot of simmering water.  If you don't have double boiler place stainless steel bowl or glass bowl over boiling water and melt ingredients.  Turn off heat, cover, and let sit until chocolate melts, 5-10 mins.  While chocolate melts, use rolling pin or bottle to pound apricots to an even 1/4 inch thickness.  Dip the apricots in the melted chocolate, place a raw almond in the center, and let chill on parchment or wax paper in refrigerator until hardened.