white soups for a not-so-white christmas

the iraqi market in the jerusalem souk

The markets in Jerusalem this time of year have the full spectrum of colours for a rainbow diet, a diet that contains all the micronutrients via the different colours of our natural foods.  And with the glorious colours, writes Dr. Gabriel Cousens, we eat with our eyes and begin to imagine the taste before we put it in our mouths. Apparently, this anticipation is one of the best ways to pre-digest our food.

One of the colours we don't see much of in this region during the Christmas-Hannukah season is white ~ there is no sprinkling of snow over treetops and few references to winter as I know it. It is also a colour of food that is associated with the naughty things ~ white flour, white sugar, pastas and the tasty things that fill our guts with gluten, sugars and unfortunately, bloating and discomfort.  To bring white back into food fashion, I have conveniently fallen in love with the nutty sweet white vegetables and am finding ways of bringing them to our table and stomach with panache!

So I have been making "white soups" because they are best made with seasonal celery root, cawliflower, jerusalem artichoke (or sunchokes). The other discovery is chestnuts which we find all over the markets in the East.  Add them in to your soups and they make a super-creamy, toasty kind of creation.

This is an exceptional base for a series of delicious soup combinations because of the scrumptious and unique taste given by the peppery sweetness of tarragon! 

creamy celery root and chestnut soup, with tarragon

2 leeks, thinly sliced  

2 cloves of garlic, chopped small  

1/2 c vegetable stock (and/or you can also use any leftover wine)  

dash of dried thyme and 4 bay leaves  

2 celery roots, chopped or 1 cawliflower, or the equivalent of jeru-artichoke (looks like ginger or galangal)  

8 c vegetable stock, or water with herbamare salt!  

handful of dried chestnuts  (you can find at asian stores, or the health food store)

1 teaspoon lemon zest or lemon rind  

1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg  

1-2 tablespoons of fresh or dried tarragon  

2 tablespoons light miso (or whatever you have handy)  

ground pepper and salt to taste  

rice or soy milk to thin the soup

making the soup

cook the leeks, garlic, salt and sherry/veg broth til the leeks are tender and begin to caramelize. add in the thyme, bay, celery root, stock and chestnuts.

cover and simmer for 40 min then add in the lemon zest, nutmeg, tarragon, pepper, miso and salt. remove from heat and discard the bay leaves so you can blend the soup. 

add rice milk to thin the soup if you want, and garnish with lemon zest and tarragon or thyme!

thank you to amazing vegan gourmet the millennium restaurant for the inspiration for this recipe, which invited the mighty tarragon into my life!

amuse-bouches (& the fire of transformation)

.....an "amuse-bouche" is a whimsical appetizer offered before the meal, invented by the chefs to please, tease and invite the taste buds to a kind of ecstacy....

what new can we create from the seemingly useless? how can we utilize as much of our food sources as possible?  

in the Conscious Kitchen, we work with creativity, resourcefulness and awareness in many different ways.  this is a recipe for a once-in-a-lifetime “amuse bouche” called Jeanne D’Arc.  the idea was hatched as a result of the sheer wonder evoked by very naked, vulnerable oranges whose skin had been "zested" and whose juice had been squeezed for other recipes and dishes already...coupled with our desire to create as little waste as possible.  our "collective chefs" worked with sheer inspiration with the parts of the orange that are FULL of nutrients, yet often overlooked as a potential ingredient.  

we transformed a seemingly useless skin into a fiery taste sensation.

"Jeanne D'Arc gave her life for something new to be born. There will be a fire of flavor exploding in your mouth"

in giving our recipes and dishes a unique name that captures the experience of creating the dish, we create a kind of wholeness, an invitation to remember not only the taste of the food, but its personality.  it is a way of saying "i hear you!" since the name is inspired from the ingredients, the process, and the context in which we find ourselves cooking so consciously together. 

the power of naming also brings to life a story.  and this story is a way to introduce our eaters to the food that is offering itself to us, and the light of inspiration from which it was created.  and that all of this - the food, the ingredients, the process, the love and inspiration - will be nourishing their bodies and souls....

food ingredients

2 oranges, using leftover peel 
     ...naked, wounded, surrendering with unexpected shining beauty and softness...

zested orange and lemon peel, 
     ....mixed with bit of freshly squeezed orange-juice and the leftover pulp from squeezing the orange

date-water 
       ...the soak water from dried Axladitsa dates creates a sweet water that can be used as a  sweetener...

greek honey

2 bananas, sliced

1 dark chocolate bar, cut into squares

wild fennel, freshly harvested from the walk on the wildside

       ....for extra-taste and decoration (a little Tree of Life on each island of fire)

preparation:

mash the orange peel and zests together. add some date water and honey, as needed and then roll them into balls. to arrange each amuse bouche, take a square of chocolate, add a slice of banana, the ball of orange and add a dash of wild fennel.

magic ingredients

the conditions for creating such amuses for our bouches is really about the kind of space we create together in order to be fully responsive to that which wants to be created.  it certainly helps to have a beautiful, spacious, sunny, windy kitchen, with life blowing through, in all its forms…this kind of vitality and life shows up in the spirit of teamwork that evokes fun, joy, laughter, reciprocity and trust ~ in one's own creativity and giving trust to each other to create;  spontaneity and improvisation that surprises oneself and others; wonder, details and beauty as essential ingredients;  resourcefulness that leads to surprisingly new and refreshing things born out of what we think is rubbish/ left overs/ compost/the old skin.... 

....is really a kind of hosting Life in all its potential....

thank you to Katrin Kohlbecher for her generous harvest of this recipe and experience

and to Richard Moreham and Julie Arts for their gleeful photos 

jerusalem's first conscious kitchen

the invitation to create a conscious kitchen in jerusalem grew quite naturally from a new learning triad in which i find myself.   we are 3 women of 3 different generations who meet regularly to explore the complexity, paradoxes and possibilities of life. 

on the menu was first of all, a good deal of fresh produce from the Yehuda market, magically transformed into a delectable seasonal meal cooked with the characteristics of Spring.   Secondly, was a process of creating a conscious space in which to eat, share and open the space for new themes and insights to come forward and feed our learning cycle.

on the Food menu

cool cuke soup with spicy tomato chutney

fennel and orange salad with tangy dressing

fresh local veg stirfried with ginger, lemon zest & hijiki seaweed

spelt bread

stRAWberry cashew cream tarts (on pecan-date cookies)

lemon water with fresh mint

on the Who menu:

judy tal is a hungarian-born israeli, a mathematician by training who courageously stepped out of academia and into a new life of leading leaders in learning.  a real expert, she is creating mathematical models of complexity and self-organizing. a grandmother and second-generation holocaust survivor, she exudes strength and vulnerability. "it is a miracle that i am alive!" a true artist in the truth she speaks about life.  she is almost 60.

jill levenfeld is an LA-born israeli, a peace educator deeply committed to dialogue and co-existence with palestinian children and adults, religious, inter-faith, diverse communities. her full heart and soul are invested in a breath-taking depth of projects with palestinian friends and colleagues. contagious curiosity and boundless energy, jill is honest and generous beyond measure.  she is a proud mother of four children, two of whom are in the army. she is almost 50.

i am the almost-40-year-old.

the What menu:

Check-in 

to become present to each other, asking what is alive in our lives and hearts since the last time we met.

Framing in

 the spirit, intention and practices of the Conscious Kitchen. 

Preparation

in silence 

in the spirit of Radical Amazement a la Schumacher College kitchen which is a way of entering a relationship with the food that is offering itself

(a term coined by Rabbi Abraham Joshua Heschel)

Cooking

the spirit of the season ~ quick cooking, seasonal, local bright foods arranged in bouquets, 

cooling foods

Blessings 

from each of us, in our own way

on the food, and those who grew it, prepared it, 

the land it came from and the miracle of its existence in the first place

Eating with gusto, appreciation and chewing!

Clean-up

the How menu:

 this includes bringing awareness to the cooking & preparation, nutritional content, beauty and aesthetics, rhythms of the seasons, relationships with the food's producers, the vibrations and energetics in our food, our waste to the magic of silence and conversation, sharing our cultures and rituals of blessing and thanks...

Open space 

for a rich conversation on complexity, self-organizing and the body, 
if it is written in the body's dna code to self-organize towards purpose (a bone cell becomes a bone), then do human systems self-organize towards purpose ~ and what is the difference between purpose and self-interest?

fennel and orange salad, cook cuke soup with spicy tomato chutney, 
fresh veg stir-fry with ginger and hijiki

stRAWberry cashew cream tarts

this is a delicious desert idea that i discovered when i was a raw foodie - nut creams that make rich frostings combined with fresh fruit, on easy to make no-cook pie crusts!
in hebrew strawberries are called tutim, and they are grown in israel and not palestine; they're an imported crop, not indigenous to this land.

stRAWberry cashew cream tarts
on pecan-date cookies

cashew cream
1 c whole raw cashews
4 soft dates (no pits)
1 tablespoon maple syrup or agave nectar
1/2 cup strawberries or blueberries
1 tablespoon olive oil or coconut butter
1 tablespoon shredded beet
dash of vanilla extract
dash of lemon rind or zest

soak the cashews in fresh water for at least 30 minutes. soak the dates, too, for at least 10 minutes.
drain the water. (keep the date-water for liquid sweetener!)

to make the cashew cream, blend together the cashews, dates, maple syrup, the berries, olive oil, beet and vanilla til it's nice and smooth. add the date water sweetener if you want to make it smoother and creamier!

for the pecan-date cookies

take half a cup of pecans, put them in the blender to make a crumbly crumble. then take 4-6 soaked dates and blend them in with the pecans.

with your hands create whatever shape you'd like for your tarts (round, square, go nuts!). you can dehydrate them a bit in the sun, oven or dehydrator to make them harder.

assembly and prep:
on each pecan-date cookie, spread some cashew cream, then add your strawberries on top in a formation that looks sweet and delicious. you now have a completely RAW berry tart!

taim me'od!
(very delicious!)

cool cuke soup with spicy tomato chutney

the spring in jerusalem is lush and vibrant, and the market is bursting with produce. our jerusalem conscious kitchen day was inspired to prepare our lunch according to the spring "vibration" of new growth, simplicity and lightness, meaning short cooking times, raw foods and local ingredients!

for the cool cuke soup:

3 fresh cucumbers, peeled
1/2 c freshly squeezed lemon juice
a dash of lemon zest
handful of pine nuts
2 tablespoons tahini
1 tablespoon honey or agave nectar
chopped fresh dill
chopped parsley
1/2 c water


blend together the cukes (called melafefon in hebrew!), pine nuts, tahini, lemon juice, lemon zest, honey til smooth.
add water gradually, and just as much as you need to make a rich (not runny) soup. then blend in the dill and parsley, add some salt to taste and chill the soup.

spicy tomato chutney

1/2 cup diced fresh tomotoes
1 tablespoon fresh hot peppers, or a dash of hot sauce or chili peppers
1 tablespoon chopped parsley
1 teaspoons of fresh minced ginger
1 teaspoon organic olive oil
pinch of salt

let the chutney sit for at least 15 minutes to let the flavours blend. we served our soup in little cups, with a spoonful of the chutney on top!

bete avon!
(bon appetit!)

summer som tam (thai salad)

Som Tam with Cashew Dressing

This is a recipe I learned in Bangkok when I did a Vegetarian Cooking Course with May Kaidee and we experimented with Raw Thai Cuisine; it can be made in any country!

Grate carrot in long noodles,

Do the same with beets

Chop up zucchini or make noodles

Slice a Red onion

Add coconut and grated Ginger

for the dressing:
Soak Cashews and crush them, add in nama shoyu (tamari or soy sauce), lime juice, sweetener like agave nectar, chopped hot pepper, water or oil and blend together to make a creamy sauce.

Garnish with mint and/or cilantro

You can serve this as a salad or put this combination in a nori or lettuce and make a roll.

Marinated Pear and Garden Spinach Salad with Crushed Walnuts

with fresh spinach harvested from Axladitsa’s organic garden

preparation and presentation

slice pears lengthwise

place them in a marinade of  
olive oil, balsamic vinegar, maple syrup and a tiny bit of soy sauce for as little as 15 minutes or up to 3 hours.

the pears with soak up the flavour and become sweet.
you can also add sliced red onions or shallots to the marinade for some colour and zest!

wash the spinach and place in salad bowl

right before serving, pour the pears and the marinade over the spinach;
the marinade becomes the dressing

crush walnuts and sprinkle on top

sliced fresh or dried figs also made a beautiful topping and add some sweet to the salad

Marinated Beet Greens and Arame on Zucchini Noodles
this is a favourite raw recipe that i keep playing with and elaborating the more i play... it is definitely in season right now, what with all that kale and chard coming in from the farms... i leave out the exact proportions so that you can experiment and make it to your taste. enjoy!

To make the Marinade:
Mix together olive oil, apple cider vinegar or lemon juice, and a dash of nama shoyu (tamari)
Mince some ginger and garlic
Mix in some maple syrup or agave nectar

Noodles
Grate zucchini into long noodles (you can also grate some carrot and red and/or yellow beet to make a tri-colour noodle combo)
Put aside for now

Greens

Finely slice or grate beet greens (or any greens such as swiss chard, kale, collards)
Grate 1 carrot and 1 small beet
Slice a handful of onion such as green, red or sweet white onion
And combine these in the marinade for at least 30 minutes, but you can leave it for hours!

Soak arame and/or kombu seaweeds for 5 minutes, drain and add to the marinade

Serving it up:
Take a handful of zucchini noodles and cover with the greens from the marinade, as a main course or as a side dish.
Garnish with Hemp seeds or Sesame Seeds and freshly chopped coriander

Make sure you serve it with garnish that adds colour, so if you’ve not already got yellows from yellow beets or purples from the swiss chard, grate a bit of red or yellow beet or grate a bit more carrot on top.

Tips:
You can use any dark green such as kale, dinosaur kale as they are great when marinated
You can also marinate Portobello mushrooms for a delicious variation.
Can add red, yellow peppers to the marinade or as a topping
Fresh corn looks beautiful!