Abreviated Okugyo in Toledo

A shorter version of the okugyo experience was held in Toledo May, 2, 3 & 4. We were pleased to have Chris from New York State join us. Even though this was a smaller version, I got a lot out of the experience and I know the others did as well. Many of us also went to Oberlin, Ohio, to see Ikeda Sensei at the seminar there, which was icing on the cake!

Sounds of the universe

Check out this article from SPACE.COM

http://www.space.com/scienceastronomy/070418_solar_music.html

Apparently, the sun makes sounds much like the string of a guitar being plucked, except these strings are giant ribbons of magnetic energy. I don't think any of this group are the least bit surprised. I just wonder which of the sounds of the kototama this might be??

Though small, the last okugyo had a great feeling to it. I really enjoyed the cooking (and it was nice to have a smaller group to cook for). It's cool that we are starting to get more folks coming from non-Shobu schools to take part in this training; and it's also been great to see Sasha and Bob picking up the ball and running with the Sunday meditation sessions, even though the group is still very small.

March Okugyo Pics

Here are a few pictures from the March '07 Okugyo

...up in the snowy mountains of Vermont.

Okugyo Cookbook

Okugyo Cookbook!


Grains


Brown Short Grain Rice
1/2 cup rice per person
1 3/4 cup water/cup of rice
~ 1 T. Olive oil
~ 1 T. Sea salt

Rinse rice three times in pressure cooker pot. Add appropriate amount of water, keeping in mind what is already left in the pot from rinsing. Add about 1/2 T. oil for every cup of rice. Sprinkle with salt. Once the lid is secured, cook on a medium to high flame for about a 1/2 hour, until the pressure gets up. Lower the flame and allow to cook for roughly an hour.


Pressure Cooked Brown Rice with Dried Chestnuts

**a crowd-pleaser and super easy

Serves 3-4

1 1/2 cups short grain brown rice
3 cups of water
1/2 cup dried chestnuts (in a pinch can use jarred, pre-soaked, roasted chestnuts—no need to soak)
sea salt or small piece of kombu

1. Wash rice and soak in two cups of water for 3-5 hours or overnight. Wash chestnuts and soak in 1 cup of water 3-5 hours or overnight. After soaking, remove any red skin from the grooves of the chestnuts.
2. Place rice, chestnuts, and their soaking waters into a pressure cooker, mix together adding either salt or kombu.
3. Bring up to pressure on a medium-high flame
4. When pressure is up, place a flame deflector underneath and reduce flame to medium low while maintaining pressure.
5. Cook approximately 40-50 minutes.
6. Turn off flame and let pressure reduce naturally
Rice Balls
**good for on the go

Cooked brown rice (leftovers work well, bring to room temperature)
Gomashio or nori sheets
Umeboshi plums

1. Wet your hands and form rice into a ball
2. Poke a hole in the center and place half a plum. Press together to close.
3. Roll each ball in gomashio or wrap completely with piece of nori that has been moistened with water.

Wheat Berry Salad
(Serves 20)
3 cups wheat berries
3 t. cumin seed
3 t. fennel seed
1 1/2 cups raisins
3/4 cups dried cranberries
3 fennel bulbs cut into small pieces
9 scallions
1 cup pecans
3/4 cup parsley
3 apples
Juice of 3 oranges

Soak wheat berries overnight
Cook wheat berries with cumin and fennel seed for about 2 hours.
Soak dried fruit for 1/2 hour. Toss chopped apples with O.J. Add fennel, scallions, parsley and pecans.

In separate bowl mix the vinegrette:
3/4 t. powdered cumin
1 12 t. sea salt
6 T. rice vinegar
Juice of 3 oranges
18 T. olive oil

Combine wheat berries, vinegrette, and fruit mixture.
Breakfast

Oatmeal
1/2 cup whole oats per person
1 T. Sea salt
1 T. Olive oil
Raisins or other dried fruit

Soak oats over night. Discard soaking water. Add more water – enough to leave a few inches over the oats. Add oil and salt. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat and cook for 1 1/2 hours. Be sure to stir occasionally. Add dried fruit midway through cooking. Garnish with nuts, dried cranberries, raisins, cooked apples!


Baked Apples
1 small apple per person
Rice syrup or barley malt

Core apples, leaving the bottom sealed. Drip syrup into the cored apple. Oil a pan with a little safflower oil. Bake in the oven at a medium temperature until soft (about 45 minutes at 300.


Miso Soup
(Serves 16)
3 Onions
4 inches of Kombu
Assortment of seasonal vegetables (daikon, carrots, dried shitake)
Olive Oil
Wakame
Miso (to taste, roughly 1/2 cup, depending on the miso.

Sautee onions in olive oil. Add other veggies. Sautee until tender. Add water and kombu. Bring to a boil. Reduce to a simmer for 1 – 2 hours. Add small pieces of wakame and cook for anther 5-10 minutes. Turn off burner. Separate out a few cups of broth to mix with the miso. Reintegrate miso mixture into soup. Garnish with scallions.

Soups

Squash Soup
(Serves 16)
20 cups winter squash (preferably butternut) cubed
8 inches Kombu
4 T. white miso
3 medium onions
2 cups chopped and toasted pecans

Sautee onions in olive oil until golden. Add cubed squash, kombu and enough water to cover with a few inches to spare. Cover and boil. Reduce to a simmer. Cook until squash is soft. Remove two cups and mix with white miso. Return this mixture to the soup. Garnish with chopped nuts.


Mushroom Barley Soup
(Serves 16)
4 cups mushrooms
2 cups barley
4 inches kombu
8 T. olive oil
8 medium onions
10 T. miso
4 t. lemon juice
12 thin slices of ginger
Fresh thyme
1 cup chopped shallots or leeks

Sautee onion and mushroom until the onions are golden and the mushrooms are golden brown. Add shallot or leeks and sautee until soft. Add water, kombu, barley and ginger. Cook for 1 hours. Finish with lemon juice and thyme.


Lentil Soup

**can cook for a long time, just be sure to add more water if needed

serves 3-4

1 cup lentils
3 cups water
1 onion- diced
2 carrots- diced
2-3 inches burdock root- diced
1-2 stalks celery- diced
shoyu

1. Sort and wash lentils
2. Boil in water for 50-55 minutes
3. Sautee vegetables in a little water for 30 minutes
4. Add veg to lentils, add shoyu to taste and cook on low flame for another 10 minutes





Veggies

Roasted Root Vegetables
Assorted vegetables, possibly including:
Onions
Beets
Yams
Squash
Turnips
Garlic
Carrots
Parsnip
Leaks

Cube vegetables. Arrange on a baking sheet. Toss with olive oil and sea salt. Roast in the oven on a low hear for 1-2 hours. To prevent drying vegetables, you can cover them with tin foil or a lid. Remove foil to crisp up the veggies at the end.


Cabbage Slaw
(Serves 20)
Four heads of cabbage cut into thin strips
10 carrots, shredded.
2 cups white miso
4 T. rice vinegar
1 cup sesame seeds

Mix miso and vinegar in a bowl. Toss together with cabbage, carrots and sesame seeds.

Pickled Beets
2-3 pieces of beet/person/meal
Barley miso

Cut up beets into pieces. Boil until soft. Mix miso with enough water to soften. Immerse beets in miso for at least 1 night.
Burdock Root and Carrot (Kinpira Style)

** time consuming to prepare, although fairly quick to cook!

Serves 3-4

1 burdock
1 carrot (or lotus root)
shoyu
water (for lighter dish) or sesame oil (for stronger dish)
ginger juice or grater, optional

1. Cut equal amount of burdock and carrots into matchsticks (or shave with a knife)
2. Heat water or oil in a pan
3. When hot, sauté the burdock for a few minutes until the strong odor disappears, then layer the carrots on top of the burdock.
4. Add water to just cover the burdock. Cover and cook for approximately ten more minutes.
5. Add shoyu. Cover again and cook another seven or so minutes.
6. Remove cover and cook until most of the water has evaporated
7. Towards end of cooking, can add a little ginger, and add more shoyu to taste




Arame with Dried Daikon

**hard core macro, strong (but good) seaweed taste- good as side dish

Serves 3-4

1/3 cup arame (1 1/4 oz dry) rinsed, drained, and sliced (or can use hijiki)
1 onion, sliced
1-2 carrots
1/2 cup dried daikon, rinsed and soaked for 15-20 minutes (can use soaking
water if not too dark)
water
dark sesame oil
shoyu
scallions (optional)
ginger juice or grated (optional)

-- can add tofu, dried tofu, tempeh, or different vegetables

1. Place a heavy skillet over medium flame and heat oil. Saute onions for a few minutes.
2. Layer arame on top of onion, then the daikon, then the carrots. Add enough water to almost cover the carrots and bring to a boil.
3. Reduce flame to low simmer. Cover and cook for approx 20 minutes.
4. Add shoyu and cook another 10 mins or longer until most of liquid has been absorbed. Add scallions and ginger.
Proteins

Tofu with a Miso Glaze
(Serves 20)
8 packages of firm tofu
2 cups white miso
1 t. honey or maple syrup
4 T. rice vinegar
Olive oil

Slice Tofu and arrange on a baking sheet over olive oil. Mix together glaze and spread over each slice. Bake in oven at 250 for an hour. Watch carefully, reduce heat if necessary.

Tempeh
(Serves 16)
4 packages of tempeh
Slices of ginger
Olive oil
Toasted sesame oil

Sautee tempeh in oil until each side is golden brown. Cover with water and add ginger. Let simmer for 20 minutes. Add to a stir fry or serve on its own.

Squash, Azuki Beans and Kombu

**a traditional favorite, can adjust proportions for heavier or lighter dish

serves 2-3

1/4 cup azuki beans
1-2 cups chopped winter squash (butternut, acorn, buttercup, hubbard)
2 small pieces of Kombu which has been soaked for a few minutes in water
sea salt

1. Wash and soak azuki beans with kombu for several hours or overnight
2. Put the kombu in the bottom of a heavy pot and add squash
3. Add azuki beans on top of squash and add enough water just to cover the squash.
4. Bring to boil slowly. Cover after 10-15 minutes.
5. Cook on a low flame for about one hour. The water will evaporate as the beans expand, so gently add water along the sides of the pot to keep the water level constant.
6. Add approx. 1/8 teaspoon sea salt per cup of dry beans. Cover and cook for another 15 minutes or until most of the liquid has evaporated.
7. Turn off the flame and let the pot sit for several minutes.


Chickpeas with Carrots and Onions

**even Steve liked this!!

Serves 4

1 cup chickpeas (garbanzo beans)
1 carrot
1 onion
kombu
sea salt

1. Soak one cup of chickpeas for 6-8 hours or overnight with a small piece of kombu
2. Dice about 1/2 cup of carrots and 1/2 cup of onions
3. Layer kombu on the bottom of the pressure cooker and place chickpeas on top. Add approx 3 cups of water (may use soaking water)
4. Bring contents to a boil without a lid, reduce the flame, and cook for 30 minutes without lid. Discard any foam that may rise to the surface.
5. Cover pressure cooker and bring to pressure on low flame. Cook with low pressure approx 40 minutes.
6. Allow pressure to reduce and remove cover
7. Remove beans and layer the carrots and onions on the bottom of the pot. Place beans on top of vegetables
8. Bring to a boil, cover with a regular lid (better not to pressure cook the vegetables), reduce heat and cook on medium flame for about an hour.
9. Add sea salt and continue cooking until beans are done and most of liquid has evaporated.
Condiments

I Dimension White Miso Dressing
1 package sweet white miso from Kushi
1/2 cup brown rice vinegar
1/4 cup olive oil
1/2 cup tahini

Combine all of the ingredients. Add water until you reach the desired consistency.

Peanut Sauce
1 jar of natural peanut butter
1/2 cup brown rice vinegar
2 T. shoyu
1 T. honey or maple syrup
3/4 cup chopped onions

Sautee onions in oil. Combine remaining ingredients, adding water until you reach the desired consistency. Combine onions and sauce. Eat over rice or pasta with tofu and lightly sautéed veggies.


Umeboshi-Pumpkin Seed Dressing
** people seriously licked the bowl
Serves 3-4

1/2 umeboshi plum or 1 tablespoon umeboshi vinegar
1/4 cup raw pumpkin seeds (green pepitas)
water
chopped parsley, scallions or chives for garnish

1. Sort, wash and dry roast the pumpkin seeds in a skillet (takes a few minutes but better to go slow than burn them-- seeds will start to smell toasty and may start to pop).
2. Grind toasted seeds to a paste in suribachi (grinding bowl).
3. Remove the pit from an umeboshi plum and grind to a paste with the seeds in the suribachi or add vinegar
4. Add water to desired consistency (add a little at a time)
5. Add garnish

Gomashio Sesame Salt

** helpful in neutralizing acid in the blood and relieving tiredness; traditionally known to strengthen the nervous system.

Recommended about 1 teaspoon per person per day- can make large amount and refrigerate for two weeks

12-14 parts sesame seeds (black or tan)
1 part sea salt

1. Wash seeds in a fine mesh strainer and let them drain
2. Dry roast the sea salt in a pan over medium high flame until the moisture evaporates and the color turns gray
3. Put the salt into a suribachi and grind into a fine powder
4. Roast the seeds over medium flame approx 10 minutes. When done the seeds will begin to pop and smell delicious.
5. Add seeds to salt in suribachi and grind until thoroughly crushed and mixed.

Jan 07 Okugyo Pics

Here are some pics of the Jan 07 retreat at Tamarack Farm in Vermont from Becca!