Páginas

quinta-feira, 30 de agosto de 2018

ARROZ 5 ELEMENTOS





Receita cozinhada por um grupo de alunos no Retiro REGENERAR de Chi Kung e Macrobiótica, realizado em Ponte de Lima entre 8 e 15 de Julho de 2018.
Gostei tanto que já a experimentei várias vezes, com algumas adaptações, como se vê pela fotografia, e que vão assinaladas a itálico.

Ingredientes
Arroz integral

Alho e cebola picada, sal, azeite, açafrão ou curcuma
Para a cobertura: Alga aramé ou hiziki, nabo ralado, cebolinho picado (usei salsa), beterraba ou cenoura (no caso, usei tomate biológico, directamente da horta do pai duma amiga) 

Preparação
Lavar o arroz integral e deixá-lo de molho durante 5/8 horas.

Coar, passar por água e cozer durante + 30 (45) minutos.

Numa frigideira aquecer azeite e adicionar alhos picados e açafrão (ou curcuma). Mexer, alourar e adicionar o arroz. Envolver tudo durante 3/4 minutos. Como não tinha açafrão, usei cenoura e maçã raladas, ligeiramente escaldadas

O arroz fica com a cor do elemento METAL e apontamentos do elemento TERRA.


Topping para o arroz:

  • Alga aramé ou hiziki demolhada e passada numa frigideira com azeite e alho durante + 15minutos (marinada em água morna e um pouco de shouy, sem saltear) – dá a cor preta do elemento ÁGUA;
  • Nabo ralado – dá o branco do elemento METAL (que eu ñão coloquei)
  • Cebolinho (salsa) picado – dá o verde do elemento ÁRVORE:
  • Beterraba ou cenoura (tomate refogado) – dá o vermelho/laranja do elemento FOGO.


TEMPEH

Mais uma receita do Retiro REGENERAR, esta da Marta e da Cecília.
O tempeh estava tão bom que me pareceu desperdício transformá-lo em pastel, fica para a próxima vez!...
A receita apresentada é a original, em itálico estão as adaptações efectuadas por mim.

Ingredientes
Tempeh cortado em cubos, 1 cebola, 2 dentes de alho, fio de azeite, 1 c/café de pimentão vermelho, de curcuma, de cominhos e 1 c/de sopa bem cheia de caril, sal q.b. e 2 folhas de massa filo(facultativo), levedura de cerveja
1 cebola roxa laminada e piclada em sal

Preparação
Numa panela aquecer o azeite adicionar a cebola e o alho e refogar até ficarem translúcidos, após o que se junta o tempeh e restantes ingredientes (excepto massa filo e cebola piclada). Acrescentar um pouco de água e deixar cozinhar cerca de 20m. Retificar tempero e triturar com a varinha, deixar arrefecer um pouco e juntar a cebola piclada e a massa filo aos bocados, envolver bem, colocar pequenos montinhos na panela untada com fio de azeite e deixar cozinhar cerca de 3m. Servir com toping de azeite, levedura de cerveja, pimentão vermelho.
Servi com arroz, cebola e couve picladas, alga aramé marinada em shoyu.
E ficou muito bom!


segunda-feira, 13 de novembro de 2017

MACROBIÓTICA



Descobri a Macrobiótica no Instituto Macrobiótico, fundado em 1985 pelo Francisco e pela Geninha Varatojo, verdadeiros empreendedores e pioneiros num tempo em que não havia “unicórnios” nem “startups” e em que Portugal passava por muitas dificuldades.
Estarei sempre grata por tudo o que o Francisco me ensinou e comigo partilhou, pela sua genuína generosidade, pela sua energia positiva, inspiradora e contagiante.
Com a macrobiótica encontrei-me e encontrei o meu lugar no mundo, aprendi a distinguir o essencial do acessório, a fazer escolhas intuitivamente racionais. Ganhei lucidez e foco e assumi plena responsabilidade pelas minhas opções. Descobri que há outros caminhos menos percorridos que estão à espera que os descubramos para abraçar a grande aventura que é a nossa GRANDE VIDA, vivida em consciência, comunhão com a natureza e de forma ecologicamente sustentável.
Obrigada Francisco. Obrigada Geninha.
We’ll meet again…


sexta-feira, 16 de junho de 2017

CREME DE ABÓBORA E PERA



Receita da querida Geninha Varatojo – amor à primeira colherada, deve ter sido a sobremesa mais confeccionada cá por caso desde que a provei em Outubro passado, acabadinha de fazer pelo Iggie. É divina, superdoce e sem um grão de açúcar…
Os ingredientes e a confecção são mais ou menos “a olho”…


Ingredientes
Abóbora hokaido e pera rocha muito madura em quantidades (peso) iguais
Casca e raspa de limão
Pau de canela
Canela para polvilhar


Preparação
Colocar a abóbora e a pera descascadas e partidas em cubos num tacho, cobrindo bem o fundo. Polvilhar com sal grosso. Juntar a casca de limão e o pau de canela. Tapar o tacho.
Levar ao lume, o sal deverá fazer extrair a água da fruta e da abóbora, mas se for necessário pode acrescentar-se um pouco de água (o mínimo possível).
Quando a abóbora e a pera estiverem cozidas, tirar o limão e a canela, triturar muito bem com a varinha mágica, incorporar a raspa de limão e envolver no puré.
Servir em taças individuais polvilhado com canela.

ALMÔNDEGAS DE TOFU COM MOLHO TERIAKI




Ingredientes

Almôndegas

Tofu
Cebola picadinha, cenoura e pimento cortados em cubinhos, salsa, sal, azeite e temperos a gosto
Farinha ou pão ralado

Molho
150ml de molho de soja
300ml de água
2 colheres de sopa de kuzu (ou amido de milho)
1 colher de sopa de óleo de sésamo tostado
2 colheres de sopa de malte de cevada
Sumo de gengibre fresco

Preparação
Almôndegas
Desfazer o tofu com as mãos, salteá-lo na cebola com azeite e sal, deixar cozer, temperar a gosto; quando cozinhado, juntar a cenoura e o pimento picados.
Fazer pequenas bolas e passar por pão ralado ou farinha.
Levar ao forno num recipiente untado, mais ou menos 30 minutos (até ficarem douradas).

Molho
Juntar os ingredientes todos em frio – excepto o gengibre -, levar ao lume e deixar levantar fervura até espessar q.b, se ficar demasiado grosso, adicionar um pouco de água. No fim, juntar o molho de gengibre.

Servir as almôndegas temperadas com o molho (no caso da foto, as almôndegas foram ao forno com o molho, que caramelizou e ficou bastante saboroso).


O prato completo constava de massa cozida e salteada com cebola roxa, tirinhas de cenoura e nabo enrolados em alho francês couve e bróculos escaldados.


A sopa foi a consagradíssima canja de millet e a sobremesa uma tarde de maçã com nozes (de acordo com esta receita).



No total, 2,5 horas a cozinhar...


FRANCESINHA MACROBIÓTICA







Heresia suprema – ter cozinhado uma francesinha vegetariana na mui nobre, sempre leal e invicta cidade do Porto, berço das afamadas (para mim infames…) francesinhas.

A receita, aprendida há alguns anos no Curso Anual de Culinária Macrobiótica, com a Geninha Varatojo, só agora foi testada, tendo sido aprovada pelos demais comensais.

Para mim, é uma receita que só farei muito excepcionalmente, em jantares mais festivos, pois é um pouco pesada.

Ingredientes

Pão de forma integral fatiado

Tofu fomuado fatiado

Cebolas em meias luas (qb)

Abóbora ralada (qb)

2 dentes de alho

Bebida de soja

Azeite, limão, mostarda, vinagre de ameixa, vinagre de arroz, molho de soja, sal, manjericão, orégãos.


Preparação

Levar a cebola ao lume num tacho largo, com um fio de azeite, dois dentes de alho e pitada de sal; quando a cebola estiver transparente, acrescentar a abóbora ralada, adicionar pitada de sal. Deixar estufar até os vegetais ficarem bem cozidos, macios e sem molho. Verificar o tempero e adicionai vinagre de arroz/ameixa a gosto, pitada de molho de soja.


Num recipiente alto e estreito, colocar uma medida de bebida de soja e uma medida de azeite, mostarda, um pouco de sumo de limão, sal, vinagre de arroz, umas folas de manjericão fresco. Bater com a varinha mágica até a mistura ganhar uma consistência de maionese, o que no caso concreto foi conseguido adicionando mais azeite, à medida que se ia batendo com a varinha. Verificar e, se necessário, rectificar os temperos.


Num recipiente que possa ir ao forno, colocar as fatias de pão de forma e regar bem com bebida de soja. Colocar em cima das fatias de pão as seguintes camadas: vegetais estufados, fatia de tofu, fatia de pão, fatia de tofu. Cobrir com a maionese, que pode ser salpicada com molho de soja. Vai ao forno entre 20  a 30 minutos (até a cobertura ficar dourada).


Polvilhar com manjericão picado e servir com uma enorme salada.


Depois do jantar é recomendável andar uns quilómetros, lavar a louça toda e ainda aproveitar para fazer uma limpeza à casa, para garantir que a digestão se faz antes de entrar nos braços de Morfeu (sob pena de o Morfeu não chegar de todo…)

domingo, 22 de maio de 2016

OUR MACROBIOTIC WINTER DINNER PARTY

This was a dinner prepared, cooked and shared by the students of Level II International MB Course, last February, in Lisbon.
The recipes were not the most important – some, like the caramelized carrots - are a novelty some are very well known and had been previously posted in this blog.
We tried to have all five transformations in the dinner in what concerns ingredients and cooking methods.



Millet soup
Ingredients
1 sliced onion
2 sliced carrots
Some squash, diced
2 cups millet washed and drained
10 cups of water
Sea salt, olive oil and plum vinegar
Peppermint



Preparation
Heat a bit of olive oil add the sliced onion and season with the salt, let stew in a low fire until onion becomes soft and transparent; add the carrot and the squash and let cook for some minutes then add the millet and finally the water. Bring to the boil, lower the fire and let it boil for about 30-40 minutes.
Season to taste and add chopped peppermint.
Serve decorated with a slice of lemon and peppermint.

Main course



Brown rice cooked in the pressure cook
Marinated tofu baked in the oven
Caramelized spring carrots and squash
Vegetables pie
Sauté of carrot and arame seaweed
Home-made vegetables pressed with salt



And then came the desserts. Wau!!!

Tofucake




Apple pie


sexta-feira, 8 de abril de 2016


OAT PORRIDGE WITH ROASTED ALMONDS, GOMASIO AND SPROUTED RICE

Ingredients


  • Oat flakes
  • 1 pinch of salt
  • Roasted almonds
  • Sprouted rice (home made)
  • Raisins (soaked)
Preparation

Cook the flakes with enough water to prevent sticking, add a pinch of salt and the raisins for 20 minutes. Make sure there´s enough water, otherwise the mixture will thicken too much. 

Add a few drops of shoyu. 

Top with the sprouts and sprinkle the almonds over it. You can also add some gomasio. 





ENJOY!

quarta-feira, 17 de fevereiro de 2016

FRESH BLOOD

This blog need posts!
The current kitchen owner is too busy to be able to feed it on a regular basis.
So, she decided to recruit. She didn’t have to go on a head hunter crusade – all she had to do was invite her class mates from level II International macrobiotic course...
And now she’s waiting for the output of all those talented people…

sábado, 9 de janeiro de 2016

MISO SOUP, SHORT GRAIN BROWN RICE, STEWED ADZUKI BEANS, APPLE PUREE




This is the very first recipe of the beginner’s classes I had with Natália almost six years ago! I made some adaptations both because I didn’t have all the ingredients and because I decided to try something different.
It is a full menu, with soup, main course and dessert.
Desserts are seldom cooked and served at home. Indeed, not only was I told that they should be seldom served but also I do not have the time and, above all, I can do well without the extra calories.
However, the apple purée is a classic since it very easily and quickly cooked. All that can be said about is that it is a perfect dessert to the cold season.

Menu
Miso soup
Short grain brown rice
Stewed adzuki beans
Apple purée

Miso soup


Ingredients (serves 2)
Water, 1 tsp of barley miso (*) per serving, a bit of “daikon” (dried radish), ¼ onion and ½ carrot thickly chopped, a bit of pumpkin chopped in small cubes; 1 bit of wakamé seaweed, fresh herbs to garnish (chives) or finely chopped leak.
My favourite miso is rice – not surprisingly since my favourite food is rice. But barley is less concentrated and appropriate for this season since the temperatures are pretty high (17.ºC in January in a city located in parallel 38.º North!!!). I particularly like the non-pasteurized miso, where small grains are still visible. It is so, so tasty!

Preparation
Bring the water to boil in a pan, together with the daikon and the vegetables; after 10 minutes, add the wakamé cut into thick stripes and let it gently boil for another 10/15 minutes. Take out some water from the broth and mix in the miso, Pour the mixture in the broth, allowing it to simmer for some 2 or 3 minutes (the simmering is essential to activate the miso properties).
Serve with chopped fresh herbs, as chives or chopped leek. You can also add some fresh ginger juice or a bit of lemon. Both the herbs and the fresh juice add freshness to the soup and make it more balanced, since the miso is very yang and concentrated.

Short grain brown rice


Ingredients (serves 2)
1 (small) cup of short grain Brown rice, 2 cups of water, 1 stripe of kombu seaweed, a bit of salt.
Preparation
Cleanse the rice carefully and soak it with the stripe of kombu (ideally for 6-8 hours). Then drain the rice and put the kombu, the drained rice and fresh water (not the soaking one) in a pressure cooker and bring to the boil, add a pinch of salt and close the cooker. When the cooker gets the pressure on, lower the fire (not so much that the pressure is turned off), put the pan on a plate to diffuse the heat, and cook for 40/45 minutes.
Notes
Cooked in this way, the final result is very well cooked rice, with unaltered grains and quite tasty. It is very yang so it should be alternated with less yang methods, such as cooking it in a traditional pan with 3 measures of water per measure of rice, where the result is a creamier rice.
When using seaweeds, the amount of salt should be reduced. Seaweeds add minerals to our food, in which sodium is included.
Sometimes I cook the rice with barley. The proportions are 2/3 of rice to 1/3 of barley: Other cereals, such as millet, oat or wheat can also be used.
I served the rice topped with toasted sesame seeds.

Stewed adzuki beans


Ingredients
Adzuki beans, water, a tripe of kombu, 2 striped onions, a bit of pumpkin cut into Small cubes, olive oil, fresh coriander to garnish.
Preparation
Cleanse the beans and soak them overnight with the kombu. Drain the beans and put the kombu, the drained beans and enough fresh water - at least 4 measures to 1 measure of beans - in a pressure cooker and bring to the boil, add a pinch of salt and close the cooker. When the cooker gets the pressure on, lower the fire (not so much as to allow the pressure to turn off) and cook for 40/45 minutes. The beans should be well cooked and soft but unbroken. Should they cook too much they will break and the result will not be the same (we are not preparing a purée…)
Meanwhile, in another pan, lightly sauté the chopped onion with a drop of olive oil and a pinch of salt until it becomes golden, then add the pumpkin cubes with a pinch of salt. Let it cook for 10 minutes and add the cooked beans with a bit of its cooking water. Gently stir for another 10 minutes, season to taste and served garnished with fresh chopped coriander.
Notes
Other kinds of beans can be used for this stew such as black soya beans or our traditional Portuguese beans (red, white, “catarino”, “manteiga”) or chickpeas or green lentils. Red lentils or friar beans are not so appropriate.
Should you like it, you can also season with a pinch of cumin powder, which helps the digestion of the beans.


In the original recipe, the main course was completed with broccoli which were replaced with green beans lightly boiled with very few water and a bit of olive oil and salt.


Pickles
Turnip seasoned with ume su
Grate the desired amount of turnip, season with ume sue; it can be served immediately or after some time; should there be leftovers they can be used for about a week.







Pressed vegetables with salt
Finely cut carrot, onion and white cabbage. Sprinkle with salt and tighten with both hands (as if you were washing them) until the salt penetrates the vegetables; put the vegetables in a presser or, if you don’t have one, in a glass container with a weight on top, for at least a couple of hours. Serve drained (as the salt makes the water to come out of the vegetables). You can keep the pressed vegetables in the refrigerator for a week or so (the longest period I have tried so far is 3 weeks and they were fine). 

Takuan (long pickled white raddish with salt and bran rice, not home made)

Apple purée
Ingredients
Golden apples, a pinch of salt, lemon zest, 1 cinnamon stick
Preparation
Wash the apples, peel and cut them in halves, which should be immediately soaked in salted water for 1 minute and then placed in a large pan, with the plain part of the halves facing the base of the pan. Add the salt, the lemon zest and the cinnamon stick. Cover the pan. Keep in strong fire for 5/10 minutes, then lower the fire and maintain for 20 minutes. Take off the lemon peel and the cinnamon stick and purée the apples with a blender.
Season with lemon (or orange) zest. I used finely chopped almonds, which added some fat and protein to the dessert.



Note
Should you not purée the apples, the result will also be a delicious one, just make sure that they do not overcook; like the beans, the idea is to have soft and unbroken apples. The seasoning is the same. For a more sophisticated ending, you can add a cup of kuzu dissolved in water and let it simmer until becoming creamy. The apples shall have a jellified touch that adds to its glamourous look! 
I have posted this last version several times, the first one in 2011

segunda-feira, 4 de janeiro de 2016

FOREWORD

In February 2010 I enrolled in a beginners cooking class, with Natália, at Instituto Macrobiótico.
After the beginners’ course, I enrolled in the advanced classes, also with Natália, and then I decided to enroll in the annual course, which I attended in 2010/11.
This blog was created by Matilde during the annual course, five years ago.
During these last five years, Portugal went bankrupt, asked for international finantial help, then suffered a severe austerity regimen (which consisted mainly of taxes on the higher salaries and cuts in state aids)  and is currently working hard to go bankrupt again in the very near future...
On a personal basis, I have suffered two too great losses but also realized  that macrobiotics is the home where I have returned to and should never leave again (though I had never been there…). I have stuck to it in these last five year – although not always very strictly and orthodoxly – and in this blog I have posted recipes and I have posted stories about recipes and food and I have had lots of fun.
I truly believe that food is essential in family lives. Had I not seen my mother and elder sister around the pans, the oven and the cooker, had I not had three sited meals every day and I would probably had never learned how to cook – or even bothered to try – and the story of my life would have been a different one.
I recall Babbet’s Feast novel and movie as an example of how food gathers people in family reunions and, if it is outstanding, how it can melt even the hardest heart, the pain-in-the-ass relatives who are always complaining about something (although, in my experience, the later – usually males – are quite difficult to satisfy, probably because they have never laid their hands on kitchenware…).
I would like to post on a more regular basis, but not every day – this is supposed to be a hobby, not a job! -, and have decided to do so in English.
I took the decision to thoroughly review all the recipes I have collected in my cooking classes since 2010, some of which I have never tried.

Both the recipes and the teacher shall always be identified.
Alea jacta est!

sexta-feira, 1 de janeiro de 2016

REASONS FOR A PLANT BASED DIET


New Year resolution:
To improve my diet and go through a plant based diet as much as I can.



REASONS FOR A PLANT BASED DIET (*)

ð DICEASE PREVENTION & INCREASE IN GENERAL HEALTH
ð DECREASE IN HEALTH COSTS
ð IMPROVED REGIONAL FOOD SECURITY
ð BENEFIT TO ENVIRONMENT & CLIMATE CHANGE
ð IMPROVED FOOD MANUFACTURE & PROCESSING

SPECIFIC HEALTH BENEFITS

ð DECREASE IN LDL (cholesterol)
ð REDUCED INFLAMATION THROUGH A MORE ALKALINE DIET
ð BETTER BALANCE OF VITAMINS & MICRONUTRIENTS
ð IMPROVED INTESTINAL HEALTH


(*) As summarized by Bill Tara in the International Macrobiotic Course (Level I) - Lisbon, Sept./Oct. 2015


segunda-feira, 1 de junho de 2015

A LESTE DA LUA E A OESTE DO SOL - A PRIMAVERA (11)

VEGETAIS SALTEADOS E GRELHADOS



Os ingredientes
1/2 beringela em cubos (previamente picada com um garfo e polvilhada com sal, cerca de 20minutos)
1/2 courgette cortada em tiras finas, longitudinalmente, com o descascador de batatas
6 cogumelos de Paris bem grandes, cortados em quartos
meio pimento vermelho cortado em riras finas
1 cebola cortada em meias luas
azeite, sal, vinagre de ameixa, 1 colher de sopa de molho de soja
salsa picada para polvilhar

A preparação
Levam-se os cubos de beringela e de courgette a grelhar numa frigideira anti-aderente, virando de todos os lados até ficarem tenros. Os cogumelos salteiam-se em lume forte com pitada de sal e fio de azeite, em tacho tapado, até todo o líquido que formam se tiver evaporado.
Num wok, levar a cebola em meias luas a saltear rapidamente com fio de azeite e pitada de sal, quando estiver translúcida, juntar as tiras de pimento, juntando uma pitada de sal, e depois os cubos de beringela e de courgette grelhados, envolver bem, e, por fim, juntar os cogumelos. Temperar com uma colher de sopa de molhode soja.

Rectificar os temperos, com umas gotas de vinagre de ameixa e polvilhar com salsa picada.
Pode acompanhar com arroz cozido.