This is an updated version of an article that has previously appeared on this blog. Please post your favourite ways to cook and eat greens!

Green leafy vegetables provide a wonderfully nourishing, yet relaxing and uplifting energy to our bodies. They provide us with an amazing spectrum of nutrients and phyto-chemicals. On an energetic level they impart flexibility and resilience and open-ness.

I love my greens! Greeen veggies always brighten my day and I have them at almost every meal including breakfast.
There are so many to choose from. I like bok choy, choy sum, various other Chinese greens, Chinese broccoli, kale and collards which I loved but which we dont get here in Australia (though we have grown it ourselves once) - Chinese broccoli kind of comes close. Chinese cabbage is something also consider a green and is nice in pressed salads.

Although broccoli sure does qualify colour wise in the category of "greens," I consider it more a ground vegetable energy wise, though at some meals I do use it as my green vegetable, often cooking it in the shallow boiled method (see below). I do often use a little salt when I cook broccoli unlike with other green (leafy) vegetables as I find it hard to digest and the taste does not appeal to me as much without it, unless it is an especially fresh head of broccoli. Since the cooking time is still quite quick, I add the salt at the beginning of cooking.

I mostly avoid the green leafy vegetables that contain oxalic acid which can interfere with mineral metabolism - these include spinach and chard. Occasionally I do use them - Swiss chard is nice in a chickpea and leek stew, but it is an exception rather than a staple for me.

I really love the texture of spinach and find that rocket (arugula) makes a great substitute and contributes its own unique taste. Served raw it is quite peppery but once it is cooked it loses that sharpness.

I love the unique bitterness of chicory and find it incredibly healing to my liver and the rest of me. Dandelion greens also have a storngly beneficial effect on the liver. They grow as weeds everywhere - if you pick them make sure they have not been treated with pesticides!

I also like to use parsley as a steamed or quick boiled leafy green as it is incredibly high in nutrients. It is also a more yang leafy green with its complex leaf structure being a marker for that. One can simply use an entire bunch and easily eat it when cooked. It has a lovely flavour. I love to put it on top of shredded nori while it is still wamtr and the heat of the cooked parsley then blends into the nori for a very tender and flavour-filled and unexpected side dish. This is also nice with a drop of flax seed or toasted sesame oil on top when finished.

Think of varying how the greens are cooked. The variety in macrobiotics is not just about the ingredients but also the different energy that different cooking methods provide

• steaming

• pressed salad (actually a form of cooking but with no heat) - the veggies are “cooked” with pressure, salt and time

• quick boiling (have water at a rapid boil and dunk in the vegetables till they become very bright and remove from the hot water immediately. some varieties may need a little longer. Don’t overcook them! I like to watch the clock. Soft greens like bok choy usually only need one to three minutes while tougher greens like kale and broccoli greens may beed four to five minutes until they are tender and easily edible.
• water sautéed - like a stir fry, but using water. High heat, lid odd the pan and use chopsticks or a wooden spoon to move the veggies around so they dont burn or stick -best done with veggies chopped finely
• boiled salad - like quick boiling but each vegetable is submerged separately - start with the least strongly flavoured vegetable first so the cooking water doesn’t take on the taste of the vegetables too much. then combine and dress (optional) with a dressing
• shallow boiled - place veggies in pan with tight fitting lid and cook with a little water - about one inch or just below the level of the veggies. Cook at high heat with the lid on. you will soon get a feel for how long to cook for and how much water to use so that after a few minutes the veggies are cooked to perfection and there is little or no water left. you can remove the lid and boil off the extra water if some remains. Be careful not to burn the pan!
• oil sautéed. This may bot be suitable on focused healing diets initially but can be enjoyed later from time to time. Sauté the vegetables at moderate heat (never let oil smoke) until they turn bright green but are still nice and crispy and crunchy. This provides a lot of dynamic fire energy.

It is best not to use salt when cooking greens as it brings out their bitter flavour in a way that can be unpleasant to some palates. Sometimes I chop the greens before I cook them, sometimes afterwards. That changes the energy as well.
Sometimes I slice the greens with great precision and end up with very fine greens which need less cooking time and other times I enjoy the energy of more roughly chopped and larger pieces. sometimes I serve them whole.
If cooking tough or slippery textured greens, I try to present them in a way that is easy to eat. So chopping them before or after cooking is something I do regularly. I have been served Chinese greens in oriental restuarants in a way that looked pretty but was nearly impossible to eat in a way that was anywhere near graceful!

Once in a while I roll up the greens before serving them, with or without a filling like a pickle or a spoonful of sauerkraut, or a small piece of sea vegetable or tororu kombu or some seeds or nuts, grains or beans. You could even try a piece of cooked tofu or tempeh inside.

It is nice to use a garnish on greens, though not always necessary. I do like to use contrasting colours.
some suggestions include

• grated raw carrot
• grated raw beetroot
• grated raw vegetables that have been marinated
• carrot pickles
• sauerkraut
• nori sea vegetable strips
• black sesame seeds
• white sesame seed
• pumpkin seeds
• tahini mixed with ume paste
• tahini mixed with miso or shoyu
• a splash of rice or ume boshi vinegar
• a squeeze of lemon juice
• chopped chives or spring onions
• boiled corn off the cob
• dulse flakes
• kelp granules
• green nori flakes mixed with ume shiso sprinkle

Most of all enjoy them!

copyright 2006-2008 Ilanit Tof. All rights reserved

Repickling - Second time around

All you demented fermentors out there - lovers of cultured foods and those who appreciate the nutritional and energetic benefits of eating fermented foods may be wondering, "what do I do with that jar of pickling juice once all the pickles have been consumed"
Well unless you are pregnant or your liver is seriously craving the sour taste, you won’t be tempted to drink it. However in certain countries this is done either as an appetite tonic, digestive cleaner or just because it has been done traditionally.
Some combinations of pickling juice (see the article here on how to pickle) actually have a pleasant taste (as you can infer I have tried it!) though others are less palatable. However this liquid does contain valuable enzyme, lactic acid and friendly bacteria.

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Nuts about Seeds

Since my last post on the benefits of soaking and sprouting seeds I have been asked, "how do we know it is a good idea to soak and/or sprout nuts, seeds, legumes and grains?"

Apart from the modern scientific understanding of anti-nutrients and enzyme inhibitors and enhancing trace element absorption and the long history of traditional cultures’ preparing their foods this way, there is a rather endearing yet telling feature in nature that also points to these benefits.

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Become a demented fermenter in the kitchen by experimenting with these tasty and healthy ideas…

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For some added variety in grains, why not add some wild rice to your next pot of brown rice? Besides being high in vitamins and minerals, wild rice adds a delightfully nutty taste and texture to brown rice. Wild rice is also thought to positively affect the kidneys (in oriental medicine foods with a dark colour are particularly tonifying to the kidneys and reproductive energy pof the body).

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http://www.clairvision.org/ckb/ckbe/ckbc/fol_0000_0001/cat_0000_0192/index.html

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