Sample Recipes
Kiss me quick risotto:
Ingredients:
3 cups water or vegetable stock
2 Tbs. olive oil
4 shallots - small diced
1/4 tsp. 
sea salt or Herbamare
1 med. beetroot v small diced
1 ear corn - small diced
1 1/2 cups arborio rice
1 tsp. lemon zest
1 glass med. dry white wine
1 Tbs. umeboshi plum vinegar
Handful fresh basil
Bunch asparagus
1 Tbs. olive oil
Fresh ground black pepper
Grated parmesan Reggiano cheese (optional)
Pine nuts (optional)
Preparation:
Place water or vegetable stock in a saucepan and bring to a simmer. Leave simmering on a very low heat. Meanwhile, heat olive oil in a heavy-based saucepan and sautT shallots with a pinch of sea salt for about 1 minute. Add beetroot and corn and continue to sautT for several minutes. Add arborio rice and lemon zest and sautT until rice grains are completely coated with oil and juices from vegetables.
Slowly start to add stock to the rice, one ladleful at a time, stirring with each addition. After about the third ladleful, add the wine and continue to stir until liquid is absorbed.
Continue to add liquid, stirring until it is absorbed. Add umeboshi plum vinegar and mix thoroughly. Trim asparagus and cut into 1˜ pieces. Heat about 1 cup water in a saucepan and add a pinch sea salt. Add basil leaves and simmer for about 15 seconds. Remove with a slotted spoon and plunge into iced water. Add asparagus to water and simmer for about 3 minutes. Remove and plunge into iced water to retain bright green colour. Toss asparagus in 1 Tbs. olive oil.
Pile risotto onto serving platter and sprinkle basil leaves and asparagus on top. Toss lightly. Sprinkle with fresh ground black pepper. Serve with grated parmesan on the side. NOTE: If serving with Bundles of Love on the side, you can omit the asparagus from the risotto.
Variations:
+ Try different vegetable combinations such as beet, carrot and red pepper or red, yellow and green peppers.
+ Instead of using umeboshi plum vinegar, add 1 Tbs. lemon juice. In this case, use a little more salt as the vinegar has a salty taste v you can add salt to water or veg. stock.
+ Add some sauteed mushrooms such as oyster, shitake or portobello at the end.
Savoury lentil roast:
I decided to feature this recipe in the transition chapter when I served it to a group of young surfers and they were convinced they were eating meat!
Lentils are an excellent vegetarian source of protein, particularly when combined with a grain such as rice or millet
Ingredients:
2 cups brown lentils
4 cups water
2 fresh or dried bay leaves
1 Tbs. Olive oil
1 large leek or 2 if small
2 stalks celery - small diced
Pinch sea salt
2 cloves garlic - minced
1 Tbs. fresh sage
1 tsp. fresh thyme
1 tsp. fresh rosemary
1 tsp. lemon zest
1 cup breadcrumbs
Tamari to taste
1 Tbs Olive oil
1 tsp. mustard
8 fresh basil leaves
1 Tbs. lemon juice
Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Sort through lentils for stones and grit and rinse thoroughly. Place in large (size?) pot with bay leaves and water. Bring to a boil and boil rapidly for several minutes while skimming off any foam that rises to the surface. Reduce heat, cover and simmer for approximately 45 minutes. Check occasionally and add a little more hot water if drying out. You want the lentils to absorb all the liquid, so if there is any left at the end of cooking, remove lid and continue to boil liquid off. Remove bay leaves once lentils are cooked.
Trim leeks and cut in half lengthwise, then cut diagonally and rinse thoroughly.
Heat oil in pan and add leek, celery and pinch of salt. SautT for about 1 minute, then add garlic, herbs and lemon zest. Stir sautT for about 5 minutes, until leeks are tender Combine the vegetables and lentils and add breadcrumbs, tamari,olive oil, mustard, fresh basil and lemon juice. Mix well and put into oiled loaf pan and bake for 35 to 40 minutes. Serve warm with Shitake mushroom gravy or can also be served cold on crackers or as a filling for sandwiches.
This makes enough to serve 4 to 6 people for dinner, making sure that thereªs leftover, as it tastes better the next day!
Variations:
+ For a lighter loaf, you could use red lentils v they take less time to cook, approx. 30 minutes.
+ Instead of using breadcrumbs, you can use 1/2 cups ground almonds or cashews and 1/2 cup oatflakes.
+ If you cannot find leeks, you could use 1 large or 2 small onions, diced. You can also use other veggies for more color and texture e.g. Diced or grated carrot, corn kernels, zucchini, bell peppers.
+ The seasonings can be varied v you can omit the herbs and instead try 1 tsp. ground cumin and 1 tsp. ground coriander and add a handful of fresh cilantro. The spices can be sautTed with the garlic at the beginning and add the fresh cilantro to the mix before baking.
+ You can use a 2˜ strip of kombu seaweed instead of the bay leaves to make the protein in the beans more digestible.
+ Another oil can be used to sautT the vegetables such as safflower or sesame, or you can use toasted sesame oil for a stronger sesame flavor.
Aine's Bio
Aine McAteer grew up in rural Ireland and currently divides her time between Hawaii, Australia, Spain and the U.S.
Since the age of 19, Aine has traveled extensively, seeking out the best teachers and inspiration to fuel her passion for creating health and vitality with natural whole foods. Aine's unique creative flair takes the world of natural, low fat cuisine to new dimensions of taste and elegance and dispels the myth that to eat healthy, macrobiotic food implies being deprived of life's great pleasures.
Aine has shared her gift of wholesome and delicious natural foods with people from all walks of life. She has been personal chef to some of Hollywood's top actors, including Tom Cruise, Nicole Kidman, Pierce Brosnan and Robert Redford.
Now you have an opportunity to taste Aine's creations for yourself. She shares her secrets with us in her cookbook, "Recipes to Nurture" -
Aine's book comes at a time when the quality of the foods we consume is being questioned. The incidence of cancer, heart disease, obesity and degenerative illness is greatly on the rise, even amongst our children.
It is now becoming widely acknowledged that the fuel we put into our bodies has a very direct link to it's performance, so to eat healthy is not only a wise choice, it is a necessary one.
What Others Have to Say abou Anie
"Aine has distilled the creativity and love that goes into preparing her food into the recipes that she shares with us in this wonderful book.
As a world travelled Irishwoman, she takes us beyond the boundaries of the familiar to new levels of creativity and exploration.
I hope you gain as much inspiration from her recipes as I have derived pleasure from eating her food."
Robert Redford
Creating a magical life means discovering how to create extraordinary food. I've explored the relationship between food and health for more than 30 years, always hoping to find someone who could take the art of cooking beyond the mechanics of a recipe or the presentation of a beautiful meal. Magic showed up in my kitchen the instant Aine started to cook. When I needed energy, her food was like rocket fuel. When I needed to relax, each dish was like a cool summer breeze at the beach.
At last, Aine McAteer, alchemist, healer and chef extraordinaire, shares her secrets in Recipes to Nurture. Like the author herself, this book will change your life, open your heart and soothe yoursoul. Enjoy!
William Spear
(Macrobiotics educator, best-selling author and feng shui consultant)
Paperback: 208 pages ; Dimensions (in inches): 0.59 x 10.20 x 8.28
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