When cooking tasty fall dishes it is important to use rich, aromatic seasoning to satisfy our taste buds. We have been enjoying the light fare of summertime foods and now it is time to add more seasonings and richness to our food. In the fall we turn our ovens back on and enjoy casseroles and start to crave warming soups.
Two important seasonings we can enjoy in the fall are toasted sesame oil and tamari. Toasted sesame oil has a nutty, earthy flavor that works very well when sautéing. A unique natural by-product of sesame seeds, sesamol, protects sesame oil from oxidation. This means the oil is less subject to rancidity and loss of flavor over a period of time. Toasted sesame oil is also high in linoleic acid, one of the three essential fatty acids our body cannot produce. Tamari is a wonderful, salty condiment used to flavor all kinds of dishes. It is simply the salty liquid that comes from the fermenting of soybeans. Good quality tamari contains enzymes and amino acids that aid in digestion. Tamari also has the unique ability to neutralize the extremes of being over acidic or over alkaline. The lactic and phosphoric acids in tamari absorb excess of being over alkaline. And the saline nature of tamari acts upon acid foods to neutralize them. When shopping for tamari it should be wheat free and naturally fermented.
Brown Rice, Tempeh and Squash Casserole
3/4 cup brown rice
1/4 cup wild rice
2 cups water
1 package tempeh
1 onion (diced)
4 cups butternut squash (cut in cubes)
3 cups chopped portabello mushrooms
5 garlic cloves (minced)
1 tsp. basil
1/2 tsp. sage
1/2 tsp. Paprika
Sauce
1/4 cup water
1/4 cup tahini
2 T. tamari
Pot boil the two rices in the 2 cups water for one hour. Steam squash until fork tender. Sauté the onions in toasted sesame oil and a dash of tamari until translucent. Add garlic and sauté for just one more minute. When done, put in a large bowl. Using the same pan sauté the mushrooms, when done add to the bowl. Still using the same pan, brown the tempeh in toasted sesame oil and tamari, and add to the bowl. Whisk together the sauce ingredients and add along with the rice and steamed squash to the bowl. Add spices and mix all together. Pour into an oiled casserole dish and bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes, uncovered.
French Onion and Black Bean Soup
2 onions (thin half moons)
toasted sesame oil
tamari
8 cups water
3 (15 oz.) cans of black beans (drained)
6 T. tamari
1 tsp. basil
Chef Valerie Wilson, a.k.a, Macro Val, has been teaching cooking classes since 1997. Visit her website; to purchase her new cookbook, Perceptions In Healthy Cooking Revised Edition, set up a phone consultation, or listen to her radio show, www.macroval.com. Facebook, Macro Val Food.
Reprinted with permission from the Fall 2007 issue of Health & Happiness U.P. Magazine, copyright 2007. All rights reserved.
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