Healthy vegan ice cream

I gave this on a potluck last weekend and it was a HIT!! :P
Ingredients:
1 liter full fat coconut milk
600 gr amazake (2 bags)
pinch of salt
2 1/2 tablespoon of arrowroot
2 tea spoons of agar powder (about 2 grams)
250 gr ripe banana
40 grams 100 % pure dark cacao powder (depends on your taste)
put all  in a blender, and then in a heavy-bottomed saucepan. Bring to a simmer
over medium heat, stirring constantly, until the mixture thickens and can coat
the back of a wooden spoon.
Remove from heat and let cool to room temperature. Cover and chill in an
hermetic box at least 3-4 hours, or up to 24 hours.
every two hours , get it our of the freezer and stir so the air can get in, do
this about 4 times ( so better start it on a  weekend in the morning :).
You can change the amount of amazake to make it sweeter , and add more cacao powder if you want it rather strong, but please do not change the amount of agar: not enough agar and you have an ice cube, too much agar and you have a kind of gelatine :P

Vegan Ice Cream without sugar

This is very easy to make, without ice cream machine.
Take 4 small bananas, very ripe, so the peel should look brown, but the inside not too brown.
Peel the bananas and put them in a bag in the freezer for a few days.
Take 250 ml 100 % coconut milk, I use Chaokoh, and a bag of  amasake (fermented sticky rice, available in every supermarket in Thailand under the name "kow maak"{ข้าวหมาก}, it is the best form of natural sweetness, 40% maltose). Put both the amasake and the coconut milk 10 minutes in the freezer, and then put the bananas , coconut milk and amasake in the food processor, add 3 table spoons (or more, depending on personal taste) of pure cacao powder and blend for a few minutes till very smooth. Put in an airtight container in the freezer (the less air in the container, the better) for at least 5 hours. I did not use cacao here, I used carob powder as I had still left, so the color is a little bit lighter.  
Bon  apetit!
If you leave it overnight in the freezer, it gets a bit hard: move from freezer to fridge 4 hours before consumption.

Arrowroot: as a medicine

I promised someone of the Thai Health Food Society to write about arrowroot: you can buy it at Foodland and it is the only starch (except for Kudzu, what is impossible to find in Thailand) that belongs in a healthy kitchen. When you have stomach problems or a cold, just dissolve one table spoon in a cup of cold water, put it in a pot , heath it up, add umeboshi (for sale in Lemon Farm, they call it buay cheen, Chinese plum), add shredded ginger, and a table spoon of healthy soy sauce (I only use Sun Chaw Wong, you can find it in Fuji Supermarket  of at Lemon Farm).
You will feel much better soon :)

3-MCPD

We easily go for less healthier choices, not knowing what is in the products that we buy. Soy sauce is one of those choices, as when we shop in our supermarket, we rather buy soy sauce there than in our health food store. The "commercial" soy sauce has nothing to do with the "traditional" soy sauce from our health food store. Most commercial soy sauces contain sugars and also 3-MCPD. 3-MCPD or (3-monochloropropane-1,2-diol or 3-chloro-1,2-propanediol) is an chemical compound which is carcinogenic and has male anti-fertility effects. It is created in foods by protein hydrolysis by adding hydrochloric acid to speed up the reaction of the (soy) protein with lipids at high temperatures. It has been found far exceeding health standards by in some cases thousand of times in many Chinese and Southeast Asian sauces such as Oyster sauce, Hoisin sauce and Soy sauce, but Korean or Japanese sauces do not utilize hydrochloric acid in production and therefore do not produce 3-MCPD. This does not means that Korean and Japanese sauces are healthier, it means only that they do not contain 3-MCPD. I once had the honour to speak with the 85 years old cook of Hirohito, the former emperor of Japan, and he told me that at the imperial court, they only used Kikoman soy sauce, but not the commercial one, which is made in only one day, but a brew only made for the emperor, fermented for more than one year. Using hydrochloric acid is a far cheaper and faster method but inevitably creates carcinogens, which is why artificial soy sauce can sell for far cheaper than traditionally fermented soy sauce. One good soy sauce available in Thailand is the Sun Chaw Wong soy sauce, made from GMO free ingredients, rich in amino acids, fermented for up to one year. This brand has 3 different soy sauce , one is without sugar.

2) Toxins in our environment

I wrote in August :

In the coming weeks I will write a series of articles about toxins:
1) toxins in the air
2) toxins in our environment
3) toxins in our food
so soon I will try to find the time to publish some more about point # 2.

my best pickle ever!!! Papaya!!

2 weeks ago I got an email from Bill Hettig, my pickle teacher, about a papaya pickle.
http://www.perfectpickler.com/using-your-noodle/ . As I did not have the Rogan Josh, I mixed with the scallions, garlic, grated ginger, kosher salt, 2 crushed Thai chilies and a tablespoon of the unripe papaya seeds. Papaya seeds are very healthy and a little bit of peppery taste. They are anti malaria, can be used as an antibacterial agent for Escherichia coli, Staphylococcus aureus or Salmonella typhi, and is nephroprotective (protect the kidneys) in toxicity-induced kidney failure.
Qua taste, this is probably one of the best pickles I have ever made :D
For your info, in Asia you ll find the ripe papaya with the fruits, and the unripe papaya in the vegetable section
The first week, the pickle is a bit slimy (can probably be solved by adding a crated carrot) but after 2 weeks the slime disappears. I can eat much more of this pickle , than e.g. from my kimchi and saurkraut, it is much easier to make, it is much more orginal, it is MY perfect pickle!!

With the orange tool, I peel my vegetables, with the blue one, I shred my vegetables.
Another variant: 1 kg shredded unripe papaya + 1 shredded carrot (160gr)+ 3 crushed chili's + 3 gloves garlic, crushed + 1 table spoon grated ginger + 70 gr finely cut scallions + 24 gr kosher salt (2%). Mix all with your hands, let it rest about 10 minutes and crush everything during 10 minutes with a mortar, in order to break the cells open , to facilitate the merger of tastes and the release of the natural juices. Put afterwards all in your pickle pot, if necessary add water till the pot is full, and close the pot. As I live in the tropics, I keep this pot 12 hours in room temperature (30 Celsius) and put then my pickle pot in a reversed "au bain Marie", in a pot with chilled water, and cover this with a lid. Twice a day, I add some ice cubes, to maintain the temperature (approx 25 degrees C), till I can smell clearly the fermentation, and then I put all the pickled stuff in a glass jar in my fridge, where it can stay up to one month.

Before I continue with toxins....

I want to present you Eric Lechasseur, one of the best macrobiotic Chefs of the moment.
Click here for his videos.

1)Toxins in the air

A recent study showed that the air inhouse is more polluted than the outside air.
Dust in homes, offices, and other human environments contains small amounts of plant pollen, human and animal hairs, parts of insects, textile fibers, paper fibers, minerals from outdoor soil, human skin cells, and many other materials which may be found in the local environment. Also be aware that there are gasses from paint, cleaning products, possible radiation from building materials, etc. And as dust is always in motion, we inhale this dust, so it finds a way into our lungs.
This dust is not easy to avoid, except by regular wet cleaning.
Another option is taking good care of our lungs: dried shitake mushroom, soaked and cooked, lotus root (cooked as a vegetable), daikon and ginger : all foods, which stimulate the removal of mucus from the lungs, and by doing so, also eliminate the toxins (dust) from the lungs.
The more mucus you have in the lungs, the easier toxins will stick.
Most mucus is made by eating meat and diary products, so avoiding those foods, will also help you heal.

Toxins

In the coming week I will write a series of articles about toxins:
1) toxins in the air
2) toxins in our environment
3) toxins in our food
Keep an eye out, please
:D

Wakame

Wakame or Undaria pinnatifida, is a sea vegetable, or edible seaweed. It has a subtly sweet flavour and is most often served in soups and salads. The young wakame, the kind we find nowadays the most in shops, can be cooked or just soaked and eaten raw. Sea-farmers have grown wakame for hundreds of years in Japan and Korea. Wakame lowers your bad cholesterol (LDL) and controls your blood sugar level, so is advised for diabetes. It also protects from goiter, constipation, large intestine cancer and gives you a healthy skin.
If you live in Thailand, you can buy your wakame here.

Kwas

Image via Wikipedia

Kvas (квас) is an ancient and beloved beverage from Slavic Europe. While it is basically a low-alcohol beer, it is enjoyed as a soft drink, even by small children. Factory-made versions have been available for some time and many are quite good. But homemade will always be best. 

Ingredients

• whole wheat sourdough bread, cubed -- 1 pound
• Water -- 3 quarts
• a red apple
• Raisins -- 2 tablespoons

Method

1. Bring the 3 quarts of water to a boil in a large pot. Remove from heat and immediately stir in the bread. Cover with a clean towel and let rest in a dark, cool place for 8 to 10 hours.
2. Pour the liquid through a fine-meshed sieve or strainer, gently pressing one the bread to get the liquid out. Don't press too hard, or your kvas will turn cloudy.
3. Pour into a 1-gallon pitcher or container. Add the raisins and pieces of apple and cover tightly with plastic wrap and a rubber band. Set in a dark, cool place for 4 or 5 days , it should bubble a bit.
4. Carefully pour off the clear liquid into a clean container or individual bottles. Chill well before serving.

Variations

• Add 2 tablespoons of fresh mint leaves with the raisins
• Some recipes substitute berry juice for 2 to 3 cups of the water, giving it a refreshing, fruity flavor.
• Kvas is often served unfiltered, with the yeast sediment. This gives it a richer flavor and boosts its vitamin content.
• The final fermentation can also take place in stoppered bottles if you like. In step five, pour the strained liquid into individual beer bottles. Add one or two raisins to each bottle and rest for 4 or 5 days. Move to a refrigerator and store chilled until consumed. CAUTION: the bottles have an alarming habit of popping open from pressure during the fermentation. So it's best if you know what you're doing.

Cool(ed) pickles

Since the 4 years I live in Thailand, I have made a lot of fermented cabbage (sauerkraut), but recently my pickle teacher (Bill Hetting from http://www.perfectpickler.com/) told me that my room temperature (30 degrees Celsius-86 degrees Fahrenheit) is too warm to pickle and it could create some less beneficial bacteries, and indeed after a while my sauerkraut gets a bit too dark and the taste is not that "sauer" anymore.
So I decided to cool my pickles during the first 4 days of fermentation to less than 25 degrees Celsius-77 degrees Fahrenheit, so I bought myself a big waste bin, filled it partially with water and ice and put my pickle pot in it, so it was cooled "bain Mare" style. After the initial 4 days I put it in the fridge, where I can keep it for at least 8 months.The pickles "bain Marie" style  gave me a much better result, thanks Bill.

My new rice cooker

After 32 years cooking my brown rice in a stainless steel pot, I finally bought myself a rice cooker.
As I did not want a cooker with aluminium interior, I bought the Supor Elegant 50YC9 ( Supor is a French brand from the SEB group, the cooker is made in China), and this cooker has a ceramic interior.

It was on promotion for 1.990 thb and has a position for brown rice.
It has positions for rice, brown rice, congee, soup and steaming.

12th International Macrobiotic Summer Conference in Europe

12th International Macrobiotic
Summer Conference
including the Art of Life School Level I, II, III and IV
July 24 - August 5 2011.

For more information, please click here.

Cashewnaise

Image via WikipediaHere another delicious recipe to replace mayonnaise.

Cashewnaise:
1 cup cashews , soaked for 2 hours and drained
1/2 teaspoon paprika
2 cloves of garlic
3 tablespoons of lemon juice
1/4 cup of sesame oil
1 teaspoon of salt or to taste
2 teaspoons of (brown) mustard
Combine all ingredients in a blender or food processor and process to a creamy consistency. If necessary, you can add some water, but not too much.
Store in refrigerator for up to a week.

Personal & Global Predictions for 2011 and 21th Century Including the 81 Year Cycle

January 28 - 30, 2011

2011 – Metal 7 Year
Whereas 2010 (a Soil 8 year) brought many, often drastic, changes in social, economic and financial areas, and on the personal level as well, 2011 (a Metal 7 year) will bring more pleasant influences with new friendships and personal fulfillment. 2011 is not a year for a leap in the dark, but will be an excellent time for achieving better health and putting energy into personal relationships. Persons born in a Soil 5, Metal 6, Soil 2 or Tree 4 year will experience more lightness and the potential to flourish. Persons born in a Tree 3, Soil 8 or Fire 9 year will be able to strengthen their energy. Water 1 persons will experience a strong desire to drastically change their life. For Metal 7 persons it is advisable to stay put, in order to go through potentially hectic times in a harmonious way.

Your Personal Predictions:
In 2011, each of us will move into a different 9-Star position. Discover exactly what influences the new year will bring to you – including which plans are likely to succeed, and which actions to avoid. Learn the most promising months for your relations, your health, travel, finances and career. This seminar will help prepare you on many levels for the year to come. A special class will be conducted on 9 Star Ki in a broader scope: the cycle of 81 years from 1955 till 2036.

Program

Friday January 28	17.00 – 18.00	Arrival and Registration
	18.00 – 19.00	Dinner
	19.30 – 21.00	Lecture – Introduction to Nine Star Ki Astrology
Saturday January 29	08.00 – 09.00	Do – in exercises
	09.00 – 09.30	Breakfast
	10.00 – 12.30	Lecture – Nine Star Ki in Relations
	12.30 – 13.30	Lunch
	14.30 – 18.00	Lecture – Personal Predictions 2011
	18.00 – 19.30	Dinner
Sunday January 30	08.00 – 09.00	Do – in exercises
	09.00 – 09.30	Breakfast
	10.00 – 12.30	Lecture – Global and Personal Predictions 2011
	12.30 – 13.30	Lunch
	14.00 – 17.30	Lecture – Global Predictions before and after 2036 ( 81 year cycle)

January 28 - 30, 2011
Friday 17.00h till Sunday 17.00h 
Place: The Kushi Institute of Europe, Amsterdam

Cost
€275 per weekend, 2nd person 20% discount
In combination with 2 or more of the 3 fascinating study weekends 20% discount.
Prices include classes, study material, warm macrobiotic meals, accommodation (limited) in 2-3 person bedroom. Your registration is final after receiving your non refundable down payment of Euro 50
Classes are English spoken

Registration 
Your registration is final after receiving your registration form and non refundable down payment of 50 Euro.

Refunds
In case of cancellation more than 2 weeks prior to a course, full refund is granted except for the non-refundable down payment. Less than two weeks prior to a course or if interrupting a course, no refund is possible.

The 9 Star Ki Chinese Astrology weekend is 1 of the 3 Fascinating Study Weekends with Adelbert and Wieke Nelissen.
Please, click here for the information on other weekend:

 The 5 Transformations – Compas for Every Day Life
April 22 - 25, 2011

 The Way to Health, Vitality & Strength– The Healing Power of Food
April 1 - 3, 2011

Each additional weekend you take will receive a 20% discount for you as well as a second person.

The Organ Clock

Every one of our 12 organs have a two hour peek period during the day, a period when just that organ is most active.
In "Healing with Whole foods", Paul Pitchford advises the correct time for eating, depending if you are a 3 meals, 2 meals or even a 1 meal-a-day person.
If the energy in an organ is out of balance, symptoms will be more noticeable during the organ's two-hour period e.g. if you regularly wake up around 2 am, blame your liver.
Organs who are 12 hours "away" from each other, influences each other too, so if the first has a lack of energy, the second will have too much energy and balance should be recreated.
Too much energy: the illness or problem occurs and gets bigger both when the body is at rest and in physical activity.
Lack of energy: the illness or problem only occurs or gets bigger during physical activity.
05.00-07.00 : large intestine
07.00-09.00 : stomach
09.00-11.00 : spleen
11.00-13.00 : heart
13.00-15.00 : small intestine
15.00-17.00 : bladder
17.00-19.00 : kidney
19.00-21.00 : pericardium
21.00-23.00 : sansho
23.00-01.00 : gall bladder
01.00-03.00 : liver
03.00-05.00 : lung
Sanso I explained already in a previous blog. Pericardium in TCM is not the same as in western medicine, it is more the function of circulation than the bag around the heart.
The pericardium governs blood, and houses the mind, both functions being the same as the Heart. As a TCM student you should know that the Pericardium meridian points have a powerful influence on the mind. It also has an effects on a persons relationships.

Between 05.00-07.00 we should drink water, or even better  Rejuvelac, to trigger bowel movements to eliminate the toxins / waste from the day before, and make place for the new day nutritients.
Between 07.00-09.00  3 meals-a-day people should eat the most important meal of the day, dont forget to eat from yang to yin in your day time, so no fruits in the morning, to optimize your food with the energies in your body.
Between 09.00-11.00, the spleen takes over from the stomach, the stomach passes its contents on. Enzymes from the pancreas continue the digestive process.
Between 11.00-13.00, the heart takes over and distributes the energies / nutritients from the food through the whole body.
Between 13.00-15.00, it is time that the small intestine becomes active, this mostly for the proteins in your meal, as they need longer time to digest.
Between 15.00-17.00, the bladder organizes the elimination of the liquid part of the meal.
Between 17.00-19.00, it is time for the kidneys: they filter the blood and maintains the proper chemical balance of blood based on nutritional intake of the day.
Between 19.00-21.00, the Pericardium transports what the kidneys decided to keep.
Between 21.00-23.00, the endocrine system adjusts the homeostasis of the body based on electrolyte and enzyme replenishment.
Between 23.00-01.00, the gall bladder takes over, in his function to clean all tissues, and also processes cholesterol and enhances the brain function.
Between 01.00-03.00, the liver cleanses the blood and processes the waist.
Between 03.00-05.00, the lungs become most active in the expulsion of waist gasses.

This is what our body and our organs do every day, should n't we be very gratefull for these wonderfull processes?

Sansho

Sansho, also called the triple heater is regarded as a "organ" in Chinese Traditional Medicine. Triple, as it has a superior, a middle and a lower source of heat, situated at the entry, the middle and the exit of the stomach, the places where we find the most ulcers.

The middle heater transfers food into energy, producing clear energy, that goes to the superior heater and later to the lungs, and unclear, liquid energy that goes to the lower heater. and later to the kidneys.

Poor fish

William Li: Can we eat to starve cancer?