rice

Nourish Bowl: Poke or is it Bim Bap Bop or …….

| Liz Thomas


Poke Bowl or maybe I should call it a Prana Bowl, it gives you so much energy without being heavy. 
This is not strictly like the Poke I had in Hawaii, they make it much more simply without the Togarashi, maybe just some sesame. It was my staple there as I was recovering from an illness, I was after a healthy, inexpensive meal that wasn’t American take-away. This is a traditional dish and was a taste revelation. I credit it with aiding a swift recovery. 

Such a healthy dish. With the addition of kimchi and egg it reminds me of Bim Bap Bop, a Korean dish that means stir it up! Dave also loves this dish as illustrated below. We love sashimi so we like to eat a little salmon neat before we hit the flavour sensation of the marinated fish. If you don’t like fish it’s good just with the veg or some other simply marinated protein like tofu or chicken (cooked obviously). Stir it up, my belly always tells me it’s happy after this one, I feel nourished and satisfied. Enjoy 🙂 


Recipe 

Marinate 750g raw fresh fish (tell your fishmonger you’re going to eat it it raw, mine goes out the back to get the freshest) Salmon/tuna in the following for 2hrs to two days in the following 

Optional 1 tablespoon Togarashi: sesame , chilli, seaweed, salt, dried orange peel chopped, grind up with a little salt (to dry peel, use a vegetable peeler to take off the orange zest and hang for a few days depending on the weather) 

1 tablespoon Soy sauce 

1 teaspoon Sesame oil 

1 teaspoon Grated chilli, ginger and garlic or  to taste

1-2 tablespoons Spring onion finely sliced
Serve on a bowl of rice (red rice is even healthier) with salad veggies chopped and sprinkle with toasted sesame seeds and spring onion greens.
Just use whatever you have, obviously I had plenty this day. I fried some mushrooms from the Asian store, the cheapest place to buy them, with sesame oil, butter, fresh ginger, garlic, white pepper and salt. Rehydrated wakame seaweed in hot water soya sauce and a few drops of sesame oil. Kimchi. Fried egg. Diakon, carrot, avocado and bean sprouts. 
Serve with extra Togarashi, pickled ginger, soya sauce and wasabi on the side. 
Namaste 

Liz

lizthomasyoga.com 

Rosewater Spiced Rice Pudding

| Liz Thomas

A special treat on a stormy south coast day and an excellent way to use up some excess milk. This will stick to your ribs and warm the cockles of your heart (whatever that means). It smells divine and as you will see doesn’t need a lot of sweet additives to be delicious.
Rosewater Spiced Rice Pudding

Serves 4-6
Ingredients

Pudding
1 1/2 cups Aborio or shortgrain rice
3 cups milk
1 scraped vanilla pod or few drops of essense
1/2 teaspoon ground cardamon
1/4 ntmeg grated or half teaspoon ground
1 broken cinnamon/cassia stick or 1/2 teaspoon grond
1/4 cup rosewater
2 tablespoons Honey

Garnish
1/4 cup chopped pistachio
Lavender flowers or rose petals

Method

1. Simmer, as gently as possible, all pudding ingredients for 15mins till rice is cooked and milk absorbed. Keep an eye on it so it doesnt boil over or burn on the bottom, stir occassionally.
2. Remove cinnamon stick and vanilla pod, garnish with nuts and flowers serve immediately in summer and warm in winter.

IMG_0898.JPG
Namaste Liz

Middle eastern Rice & Lentils- with optional lamb or goat

| Liz Thomas

The spices in this dish are the heroes. Dont skimp and try to freshly grind them if you can.
Great for using up leftover roast meat or utilising mince. This feeds alot of people, double the ingredients and easily feed a party.

From a yoga perspective it has more vegetable content than meat so it is quite balanced. However it will be really yummy without the meat!

IMG_0845.JPGIngredients

300g       lamb/goat mince or chopped left-over roast
1-2cups  white (I use basmati for its higher GI) rice
400g       cooked lentils, canned or simmer dry brown or french lentils with garlic, half an onion and cinnamon stick for 10-15 mins till tender

3                red or brown onions caramelised: slice and fry in olive oil or butter and 1-2 tablespoons of butter for 1/2 hour on medium, add 1 teaspoon of brown sugar/honey and 1 tablespoon of balsamic vinegar and fry for 10 mins till reduced.
1                clove garlic
1/4 cup   chopped, roasted almonds and/or cashews
1-2 cups  stock
1 teaspoon each cinnamon, allspice, and cumin
S & P

Method

1. If using mince fry in olive oil till brown and finely broken up
2. Add garlic and spices fry for 1-2 mins
3. Stir in rice and fry for 2 mins
4. Add stock, cook covered on low heat for 10-15 mins and rice is tender.
5. Add onions, lentils, nuts, S & P. Stir well.
6. Garnish with parsley and/or coriander.

Namaste Liz