Journal: Thursday, March 17, 2011

DAILY JOURNAL

DATE: Thursday, March 17, 2011

Yesterday's polenta is now set Fried polenta with shoyu When I got up this morning, I prepared my lunch for work. I sauteed a few slices of yesterday's polenta  in some olive oil seasoned with a few drops of shoyu. I placed the cooked polenta in my container with leftover kale and arame.  I sliced an organic dill pickle for garnish.  I heated up leftover split pea and barley soup and placed it in a thermos.  I washed a few strawberries and threw in a tangerine for dessert or mid morning snack. Breakfast:  Green Tea Lunch: My lunch Dinner:   Brown Basmati Rice, Red lentils and cauliflower,  vegan raita, chappitis, spinach and sweet potato/apple dessert Brown basmati rice cooking I started off by putting on brown basmati rice, 2 cups of rice and 4 cups of water and two pinches of sea salt, bringing it all to a boil and then simmering for about 50 minutes.  I cooked the rice in a clay pot with a cast iron lid.  I like to use a variety of pots in my cooking as different mediums impart different energy to food. Red lentils and cauliflower I then started on the red lentil dish. I sauteed chopped onion, garlic, dried red pepper,  1/8 teaspoon of cumin and coriander,  and 1 minced tomato in olive oil.  After about 5 minutes I added half a chopped cauliflower and 1 cup of red lentils and water to cover.   I brought all to a boil and simmered for 30 minutes.  I added 1 teaspoon sea salt and 1 teaspoon curry powder once the lentils were soft and cooked another 10  minutes.  And for the piece de resistance, my CHAPPITIS.  I started to use my sourdough starter to make chapatti some time ago.  I call them chappitis because they puff up like pita bread.  They aren't quite naan.  I make them once in a while when I crave bread.  They are easy to make but if you are new at making them, don't make them when pressed for time. I take all my sourdough starter and pour it into a bowl.  I add about 1 cup of water and an equal amount of whole wheat or unbleached white flour and stir.  I replace my starter by pouring about half the mixture back into my sourdough jar.  Then I add a pinch of salt and flour as needed to what remains in the bowl and knead to form a dough. I shaped the dough into five balls.  You can't tell from the photo but they are bigger than a golf ball. The dough should be soft but not sticky.  These instructions are a little vague but it's best just to get right into it and practice. I got confused by complicated instructions involving exact temperatures, percentages and fractions.  It is really easy to work with sourdough.  It's like drop backs. One day you just get it.  Roll out one of the balls into a circle or as close to a circle as possible.  Make sure to lightly flour your rolling pin and rolling surface. Heat up a cast iron frying pan on medium high.  When it is hot add the rolled out dough.  If you press lightly on the dough, it will puff up.  Brush some olive oil on top and flip over. Cook on the other side until done.  Then repeat with the rest of the dough. Doesn't it look surprisingly authentic? This is one of those desserts that everyone probably makes.  I like to think that it's my invention. I cut up 2 peeled sweet potatoes.  And I cut up 4 apples, peel on.  I zested 1/2 organic lemon. Sweet Potato/Apple puree  I placed the apples,sweet potatoes and zest in a pot with about 1 cup of sweet apple cider (I buy it at a regular grocery store because it is not pasteurized and it ferments if left out).  Add a stick of cinnamon or 1 star anise and cook until soft.  Then I blended it all with my hand held electric whisk. Vegan Raita The raita looks and tastes like the real thing (I haven't had the real thing in a long time) to me.  Take tofu (I blanch it in boiling water to make it more yang) and blend with lemon juice, a bit of olive oil, a bit of shoyu or ume vinegar.  Taste and adjust the seasonings.  Combine with chopped cucumber and cilantro. Quasi Steamed Spinach? I cooked a box of baby spinach in olive oil and garlic until soft.  My mother in law cooks her greens with a smaller lid on top of the vegetables inside a large pot.  The vegetables taste good this way. More yang because of the pressure?  Drier perhaps because the moisture escapes?  It's a quasi steamed dish.  Variety in cooking methods is also good. My Indian macro dinner. It took longer to explain how to make this meal than it did to prepare it.  And the photo makes the meal look more beige than it actually is. And my lunch for tomorrow is packed.

¨    ½ hour walk/exercise                                    

              

¨    body scrub

¨    no eating 3 hrs. before bed                          

¨    miso soup

¨    grains and vegs. at each meal

¨     mild yin

¨     milk yin

¨     pickle

¨     bm

Comments: 

You don't have to soak red lentils and they cook up quickly.  They can be combined with grain.  Or pressure cooked with vegetables and water to make a soup in 20 minutes.

When you take the time to make your own "Indian" food you have control over the seasonings, the amount and quality of oil and the salt.