roasted shitake mushrooms and golden cauliflower soup

soup with candles and flowers

I have seen orange colored cauliflowers around but never cooked with one; that is until today. What I’ve made here is basically this soup without the collard greens and dill, and added a small peeled celery root that I had on hand. Everything was blended until smooth and velvety, resulting in this lovely butter-hued puree.
I served the soup topped with these tasty roasted shitakes, turning an otherwise simple everyday meal into something dinner-party-worthy.

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beet barley risotto

beet whole barley risotto with wilted beet greens

I’ve been thinking about making a barley risotto for most of winter and since it’s Valentine’s Day soon, I thought it was a good time to make it with beets.  This dish is something healthy and beautiful to make for someone in your life you love.

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black sesame gomasio

black sesame gomasio

Gomasio is sesame salt, made from toasted sesame seeds and sea salt ground together. It is a delicious condiment that I think goes particularly well with simple grain dishes, especially brown rice.

You can buy prepared gomasio in many health foods stores but when you make it fresh the flavor is delicious and the smell, intoxicating.

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Gomoku; Japanese winter brown rice dish

gomoku

Gomoku is often called a five vegetable Japanese rice stew; but, I feel the word stew is misleading as it isn’t really stew-like. I thought maybe I could call my version a pilaf but that word doesn’t explain what it is well either.  Pilaf doesn’t conjure up the deeply warming and nourishing properties that this dish beholds.

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