What are you eating?

[Rafflesia]

I finally recieved a package of macrobiotic materials that I ordered from discount natural foods. I was surprised at how small the package was, considering the price. Like those umeboshi plums..such a little jar and the taste will take me a while to get use to.

I have two more tea-related questions. I thought that kukicha tea had calcium, was I wrong? There is none listed on the nutrients label.

How do I make the roasted barley tea? Do I boil the water and then soak a tea strainer of roasted barley in the water for a few mintues after it has bolied? or do i boil the water witht he tea in it and then strain it after it stops?

This is not related to tea, but I will throw it in hee any way...when mixing grains, do you boil them together or boil them separately and then combine them afterwards? I have some rye, which I have never seen in grain form unil a few days ago, normal barley, and hato mugi barley.

Many thanks. Kristin

[garymill]

I just made my own version of Indian Corn Pudding using the recipe originally published by Alex and Gale Jack in their Amber Waves of Grain Cookbook. The Recipe is here.

[Dorf]

Hello,

What am I eating? Well for the last year or so, almost a year, I have been eating parboiled rice, taking a multivitamine, eating vegetables (mainly gralic, tomatoes, sometimes onions, mushrooms, and certain herbs) and sometimes millet. That's about it. I have gained lean muscle mass, and I have lost inches. Althoug my weight is still relativly stable. All in all, I started this diet before I knew what macrobiotics was. That makes me special......right?

-Dorf

[Dorf]

Oh BTW, I found a really good idea for cooking rice. Take some tea, whicever suits you best, steep it for a good while, and use it as the water in your rice. I haven't tried it with other things, but this is well.

Thank you.

[Manymoons]

Re:What are you eating?

This time or the year affords me one of my all time favorite treats---breaded Burdock stalk! My wife of Cicilean heritage introduced me to this dish. I think the flavor might best be discribed as Artichoke like. It grows all over my property here in Wisconsin and I often think that I might be the Burdock Barron, as it is abundent.
My diet generally is simple: rice, or other grain, and vegitable. I have been at this for a long time and find little need to get too elaborate. I fully understand that beginners need food flavors and textures that are familiar in order to make a more comfortable less shocking transition. This food does lend itself to creativity and I am impressed with what I have seen done with it.
Buono Appetito
Manymoons

[Klara]

Dear Burdock Barron,

Will you share what the secret of successfully growing burdock is, please? I had a nice corner full of huge leaves - and over time they disappeared. Now I see there is one again and I would love to nurture them back. Advice??

Thanks.

Klara

[Manymoons]

Dear Klara

Here in Wisconsin Burdock just happens. It is everywhere and anywhere. If you have the seeds it will grow. Its nature is of great tenacity (must have great yang at it's core).
Burdock has a 2-year life cycle. The seeds are formed only during the second year. Stalks can be harvested each year but on second year plants they are best before flowering. The root is good only on first year plants. The second year roots are disipated as all the energy in them is used to form the seed.
enjoy,
Manymoons

[Bruce Paine]

Burdock Baron of Many Moons,

Did you ever meet Ohsawa?


Please ask your Sicilian mate for her breaded burdock recipe to post here.

Does she go back to the old country, is she macrobiotic, and what are the macrobiotic foods most abundant there?

Do either of you know of any macro community there or anyone Sicilian following a yin/yang approach to eating?

Thank you, very much.

_||_

Bruce Paine

[Manymoons]

Mr. Paine;

I never met Osawa or Michio. My wife knew both. She was Macro for 5 to 7 years before I began the journey. We met(1969) 3 years after I began. She has never been to the old country. She was born in Chicago. No one in her family (or my own) is yin/yang oriented. I understand that many of her relatives are members in good standing of The Corleane Society. I have been reluctant to investigate further since she suggested I not ask!!!!
I am having her prepare her recipe for print. When it is ready, maybe it would best be posted in the food section.

Your welcome, very much.
Manymoons

[Manymoons]

Mr. Paine and all

The breaded Burdock stalk is reciped according to a traditional Italian dish called Cardone. The original version uses the stalk of Cardon artichoke which was readily found in grocery stores when we lived in California. Arriving home from work one evening the house was infussed with the smell of cooked Cardone. I ask "Mama Linguini" (mother-in-law) were she found Cardone in wisconsin and she informed me that if grew all over my property. What a discovery!!

Prepare as follws:
Cut, rinse and devain stalk into 1" to 4" lengths.
Soak in salted water (1T. salt to 2 quarts water) for several hours or overnight in refrigerator,
Drain and simmer in water or broth until just tender, about 15 minutes, drain well.
--Dip cooked slices in cornmeal, tempura or any light batter and suate or deep fry until browned.
--Use cooked slices in casserole, stuffing, quiches or pizza etc.
--Chill cooked slices in dressing and add to tossed salads.

Explore,discover, enjoy
Mannymoons

I'm Mike from Hemlock, NY. My brothers and I harvest the Burdock that grows here-and-there around our homes in upstate New York. We are carrying on a tradition that my grandma instilled in us. We've talked about retrieving the dried out Burdock sticker heads and then crushing them up and sowing their seeds in our garden. But we've never had to do that since our needs are being met with the wild stuff. They grow in the edges of the woods, on the roadsides, and in corners of planted fields. We learned about Burdock from my Grandma Bessie Guiffreda. She called it Cardooni (pronounced "Gar-doon-ee"). Most people around upstate NY just call it Cardoon (pronounced "Gar-doon"). She was a master at getting us kids to drive her all over creation to find it.

From my Grandma Bessie Guiffreda from Tortorici, Sicily:

Cardoons are actually Burdocks in America. In Sicily, Cardoons are not Burdocks, but their stalks are about the same as Burdock stalks. They resemble celery stalks. Burdocks cook up and taste about the same as Cardoons, hence Italians in America started calling it Cardoon even though it was really burdock. Research this and you’ll see what I mean.

Her recipe:

Gather about 2 lbs. Of Burdock stalks. Good time to harvest Burdock is in mid to late spring.

Fill up a sink with cold water. Soak all of the stalks in the water while gently scrubbing with a brush to get off the thin “onion skin” that covers most of the stalk. You don’t want to eat this skin.

Rinse off the stalks again in new fresh water. Cut stalks into 1.5 inch lengths. Put them into boiling water. Sample the thickest stalks after about 4 minutes of cooking. They should be tender by now. If not, continue cooking until tender, but not mushy. Remove from water with a slotted spoon and put into a mixing bowl.

In a separate mixing bowl, beat 7 whole eggs, ¾ cup of grated Parmesan cheese, and ¾ cup of grated Romano cheese, and about 2 Tablespoons of flour to thicken. Add salt and pepper to suit your taste. Mix all of this with the bowl of cooked Burdock. It should be a thick mixture by now.

Heat olive oil to a medium-high heat in a pan. Spoon out the burdock mixture into the hot oil and flatten gently into patties. Brown on both sides, about 3 minutes. Drain on paper towels. Eat plain, or with tomato sauce.

[Klara]

Hi Mike,

I just came back from the States for a visit, spent a few days in NY. I wished I had known this and could have put you burdock country into my itinerary.

I've been playing in my garden - very happy to come back to find my squash seeds have all come up. Somewhere inside my head I have the message that I probably planted them too close, but my lack of experience said, well, what if they don't all sprout. They did!!! Anyone with experience, they're about 6 - 8 inches apart - should I take out every other one and replant somewhere else???

I would love also to play with the burdock, especially since you say it just grows so easily. Anyway you can gather some seeds and send them to me (Klara LeVine, 126 Har Adar, Israel, 90836)? And also any details I should know about planting them (like when)?

I take it Grandma Bessie is not mb - got any mb recipes, ditching all those eggs and cheeses?? Maybe tofu and mochi???

Manymoons, your recipes sound alluring. Can you give me more details about deveining burdock??

A few years back there was no kale or collards here in Israel - now several people are growing them. It would be wondrous to have same journey for burdock.

Klara

[Manymoons]

Klara

De-vaining the Burdock stalk is as follows:

I use a paring knife to "catch" the end of a vain at cut end and then capture the vain between the side of the blade and my thumb and steadily pull back in line with the stalk. A piece of celery can be used for practice---as of coarse that will make perfect. The warm wet spring this year has afforded an exceptional crop---yum!

Manymoons

[kaycilyn]

thanks for sharing the indian corn pudding recipe

[soysycophant]

what have i been eating? well, lately ive been a bit crackers for crackers. ive been piled with school work and havent had time to make a proper mb meal, so somtimes i jsut grab some organic whole wheat crackers and a bit of apple butter and munch while i study. or some raw veggie sticks are nice too. but tonight i'm definetly treating myself to some adzukis with onion and udon noodles, looking forward to that. =D