ROSANNA'S NEWS AND VIEWS©
August, 2000
We have reached an important milestone in the evolution of our newsletter and we are very happy to announce it in this issue. Those who are subscribed to our macro discussion group are familiar with the macrobiotic masters, Kaare Bursell and Bill Neall. They have given their time and knowledge to make the group an important online resource for those who are experienced, as well as for beginners on the path of health through balanced nutrition.
We are happy to report that these two counselors have agreed to become contributing editors to our newsletter and we have given them carte blanche to freely express their ideas here. If any effort of this type is to grow and flourish, it is important to have fresh views and ever-deeper knowledge to offer to subscribers. We are grateful that these two outstanding practitioners have agreed to pass along their teaching through our pages and we welcome them. In our next issue, another outstanding contributor to the Macro list, Anne Mark, has agreed to do an article.
We have noticed with interest the development of Linux as an operating system to rival Microsoft Windows. We note that this “operating system” has spread through a cooperative effort and is now in use in all corners of the world. This model appeals to us as a possible way to spread the macrobiotic “operating system”. Can a few dedicated practitioners with cooperative effort bring these health ideas to a large enough community to reach critical mass and begin to propagate itself worldwide? We shall see in time, God willing, and we do feel we have taken an important first step with this initial alliance. We are honored that they have accepted our invitation. Bill has written an article for this issue and we highly recommend it.
if you enjoy these pages and find them useful, please visit our gift page. Here you will have the opportunity to contribute to this publishing effort and it won't cost anything except a few moments of your time. You will gain a useful Internet resource.
We, Rosanna and James, will continue to contribute our own thoughts, and we invite other experienced counselors and practitioners to join this effort. Of course, Rosanna will continue with her delicious recipes and we continue as publishers.
In this issue we are pleased to offer articles from our subscribers Nik Fernee and Anand Rao. Nik has written an article on Feng Shui and Anand gives his insight into the chemical structure of things we eat, from the mystic’s perspective. Isn’t it amazing that these contributors hail from Scotland and India? It makes our point that this “operating system” could be spread globally for the benefit of humankind.
Nik Fernee also has a website. We have sought his astrological advice and we have found his suggestions to be helpful and inspiring. He was especially accurate in his dietary recommendations and we thank him for his informative article on Feng Shui.
Hato
Mugi Soup
Ingredients
2
Scallions chopped into ¼ inch sections.
7
cups Spring Water
2
Dried Shitake Mushrooms, soaked for ½ hour and cut into small pieces
3”
piece of Kombu seaweed, soaked ten minutes and cut into small sticks.
1-cup
Hato Mugi (also known as pearl barley or job’s tears) grain
1
small carrot julienne style
1
cup Mung Bean Sprouts
3
average size leaves of Kale, chopped in small pieces
Soy
Sauce to taste
Preparation
Clean and wash
the Hato Mugi well (be careful, this grain often has stones and dirt in it).
Put it in a soup pot with the Water, Kombu and Shitake Mushrooms and
bring to a boil. Lower the heat and
simmer for 5 minutes. Add Carrots and Scallions and return to a boil.
Simmer for 10 minutes, then and add Bean Sprouts, return to a boil, then
simmer again until the grain is soft, about 25 minutes total (using natural
gas). Add Soy Sauce to taste and
serve.
Rice
Noodles with Pesto Sauce
Ingredients
For noodles:
1 Package
Japanese Rice Noodles
Plenty of
Spring Water to cook the Noodles
For Pesto
Sauce:
¾ Cup roasted
Walnuts
½ Cup Water
2 Tbsp. Extra
virgin Olive Oil
2 Cloves
Garlic, chopped fine
¼ Cup chopped
Parsley
1 Cup (or more
if you like) fresh Basil
2 ½ Tbsp.
White Miso
Preparation
Heat Water for
noodles to a boil; while you are waiting, blend all the ingredients of the sauce
using a blender or a Suribachi. Cook
the noodles in the boiling water until al dente, drain the noodles, toss with
the sauce and serve.
Chickpeas
(Garbanzo Beans)
Ingredients
1 ½ cups
Chickpeas, soaked overnight in plenty of Spring Water
1 Carrot, diced
1 Medium Onion,
diced
Pinch of Sea
Salt
1 inch piece of
Kombu
4 or 5 Kale
Leaves, broken into large pieces
Spring Water
Preparation
Put Kombu and
Onions in pressure cooker, with enough Water to Cover the Onions.
Bring to a boil, then simmer the Onions for 5 minutes.
Add Carrots and drained Chickpeas and add enough water to cover.
Bring pot to pressure, reduce heat and cook for 1 hour.
Relieve pressure, open pot, add greens, salt to taste and mash a few of
the beans (this makes them creamy) and simmer for 10 minutes, or until the Kale
is cooked, but still bright green. Serve.
Cucumber
Salad with Wakame
Ingredients
2 or 3 Medium
Cucumbers, sliced very thin
5 or 6 Red
Radishes, sliced thin
¼ to ½ Cup
Soaked (5 minutes) Wakame Seaweed, sliced in small pieces
3 Tbsp. Black
Toasted Sesame Seeds
2 or 3 Tbsp.
Rice Vinegar
Salt
Preparation
Mix Cucumbers
and Radishes with a small handful (a few Tbsp.) Salt. Press for one hour. Steam
Wakame for 2 minutes. (You could
toast the Sesame Seeds here, if not already done).
After one hour, wash the Cucumbers and Radishes and drain them well.
Add the Wakame and Rice Vinegar, toss and garnish with Sesame seeds.
Serve.
Steamed
Butternut Squash
Cut
crossways into 1 inch thick wheels. Steam
until soft, but not mushy.
Optional Sauce
for Squash:
Ingredients
1 Umeboshi Plum
¼ Cup Pumpkin
Seeds, roasted
½ Cup chopped
Parsley
Preparation
Mix all
ingredients in a Suribachi and add a little Spring Water if it is too thick.
Spoon about 1 Tsp. on each Squash wheel at the moment of serving.
Crepes
With Summer Fruit Salad
Ingredients for
Crepe Batter
2 cups Pastry
Flour
2 Cups Spring
Water
¼ Tsp. Sea
Salt
Preparation
Mix all
ingredients so there are no lumps. Let
stand overnight in refrigerator. To
make Crepes, use an iron Skillet, very hot (Rosanna prefers this to lighter
Crepe pans) and add batter, depending on the size of the pot, in a uniform, thin
coat. When it is ready to turn, it
will separate from the edge of the pan and you can grab it with your fingers and
flop it over. (We call Rosanna fire-fingers)
Do not stack them upon each other; rather lay them out on a table to dry,
turning them often until they are cool. Then
you can stack them up.
Ingredients
for Summer Fruit Salad
½ Cup
Strawberries, cut into quarters
½ Cup
Blueberries
½ Cup Seedless
Grapes, sliced in half
1 Cup
Cantaloupe, cubed
I Cup Apples,
cubed
1 Cup Peaches,
peeled and sliced
2 Tbsp. Barley
Malt Syrup
Preparation
Mix all ingredients and allow to stand overnight in the refrigerator. Spoon it into the crepes when serving. This fruit mix is best made a day ahead of time. The crepes should be cooked the day they are served.
Buon Appetito!
Rosanna & James
In the Beauty of the World lies the ultimate redemption of our mortality. When we shall become at one with nature in a sense profounder even than the poetic imaginings of most of us, we shall understand what now we fail to discern.
Fiona Macleod, quoted in Evans-Wentz, The Fairy Faith in Celtic Countries, p. 1
Aesthetics is only the lowest form of perception of the Real.
Barqi, quoted in Idries Shah, The Way of the Sufi
The most beautiful thing we can experience is the mysterious. It is the source of all true art and science.
Albert Einstein, What I Believe
To know that what is impenetrable to us really exists, manifesting itself as the highest wisdom and the most radiant beauty, which our dull faculties can comprehend only in the most primitive forms — this knowledge, this feeling, is at the center of true religiousness. In this sense, and this sense only, I belong to the ranks of the devoutly religious men.
Albert Einstein, What I Believe