Black Bean Soup

This soup is special for the Water Element and helps to strengthen our kidneys.  It uses several foods that are especially beneficial to the kidneys:  black beans, barley, cinnamon, cloves, quality sea salt, black sesame seeds, and kombu seaweed.  I cooked the beans in a pressure cooker because this method forces the flavor and nutrition deep inside, just like our Water Element is deep inside.  According to Paul Pitchford, author of Healing With Whole Foods, pressure cooking can be used to tap into deep core issues that we have, releasing them to enhance our spirituality.

If you don’t have a pressure cooker, this can be cooked on the stovetop – it just takes about 2 hours longer, OR you can use canned black beans.

Step 1:  Prepare the black beans by soaking 1 package of dried beans in a bowl of water overnight.  (Skip this step if using canned black beans.)

Next Day, Prepare the Soup:

1.  In a pressure cooker pot, place 1 tsp cumin seeds, 1 strip rinsed kombu seaweed, ½ cinnamon stick, 2 cloves, 2 bay leaves, and the rinsed pre-soaked black beans.  Cover with water at least 2 inches above the beans and 3 Tbsp olive oil.  Place the cover on the pot and bring to pressure (see the directions for your pressure cooker).  When pressure is reached, lower heat and cook for 10 minutes.  Remove from heat, release the steam and open.  Do not drain.

2.  Check the beans – they should be slightly soft and perfectly done.  Remove the bay leaves, cloves (if you can find them floating), and cinnamon stick.

3.  Remove the Kombu square.  Now softened, cut it up into tiny squares and re-add back into the soup.

4.  Place the pot back on low heat and add the following ingredients, preferably organic:

1-15-oz can peeled & chopped tomatoes

1 container of your favorite salsa pureed with 1 cup fresh cilantro

1 orange, peeled, de-seeded, and chopped into small chunks

1 green pepper, chopped

¼ cup uncooked barley

1 Tbsp ground cumin

2 Tbsp powdered vegetable broth

1 Tbsp powdered shiitake mushrooms

1 tsp quality sea salt, or to taste

½ tsp black sesame seeds

Cover (but don’t pressurize) and cook over low heat until the barley is soft, about 35-45 minutes.  Ready to serve!

Recipe: Creamy Dreamy Risotto

This recipe came about as I was playing with my new pressure cooker over this past summer. Pressure cooking is something I have never done until recently, but I was very interested in trying it because the pressure causes the energy of the food to go inwards and deep, all the way to the Jing level of your body. This is in contrast to cooking a soup, for example, which would expand the energy of the food outwards.

One of my favorite nutrition sources, Paul Pitchford, in his Healing With Whole Foods book, suggests that by eating pressure cooked food with intention and reaching such a deep energetic level one can work on healing both physical and emotional issues that are held deeply within the bodymind. One can also access this deep level to cultivate spiritual growth. Ok – I’m going to try this for a while and see what I think.

I have to say that so far just by taste alone I am very impressed with pressure cooking. Among several dishes I’ve made absolutely perfect black bean soup in just over 20 minutes, but this risotto is my favorite.

My sister says this is the one dish I make that she thinks about, wondering when I’m going to make it again. So many others that have tried it have asked me how to make it that I’d like to share the recipe. Beware – it’s super easy to make and can be addictive.

Ingredients:
8 organic tomatoes
1 organic lemon
2 cloves garlic
1 sprig fresh sage chopped (or ½ tsp. dried)
1 box or bag Italian Arborio rice (about 3 cups dry)
1 cup bleu cheese crumbles
2 tbs. olive oil
2 tbs. butter
sprinkle of quality salt
extra water

1. Rinse the rice and set aside.

2. Cut up the tomatoes and de-seed the lemons but keep the peel on. Peel the garlic cloves. Feed all of these through a juicer. If you have 3 cups of rice you will need about 7-8 cups of liquid, so add enough extra water to make this amount. Use 7 cups if your tomato juice is very thin, and 8 cups if the tomato juice has any thickness to it. If you’re not sure, use 8 cups. [If you don't have a juicer you can substitute a bottle of organic tomato juice with the juice of one lemon squeezed into it.]3. In the pressure cooker, heat the olive oil. When hot, add the sage and let it infuse the hot oil for a moment before adding the rice. Coat the rice and stir for about 1-2 minutes.

4. Add the juiced liquid and extra water, sprinkle of salt, stir and cover. Allow the pressure to build and cook on high setting for 7 minutes once the pressure phase has started. After 7 minutes remove from heat and allow the pressure to release.

5. Open the lid and stir the rice mixture. Add 2 tbs. butter and the bleu cheese sprinkles. Stir again and it’s ready to serve. Goes great with a salad and whole grain crunchy bread. (As the instructor of the Five Elements Nutrition Program at our school, I absolve you from any guilt for eating butter in this dish. Sometimes experiencing great happiness when you eat will neutralize a moderate amount of butter.)
Depending on serving size, this recipe serves between 6 and 8 people. Enjoy!

[Note: If you are going to buy a pressure cooker, look for one that is stainless steel. It costs more than aluminum but is worth it! I have a Fagor brand and am very happy with it. I have no financial interest in saying this.]