Settle Down with Soba
It has been very cold in New York lately. February approaches, COVID lingers. We have all been forced to make use of things in the back of our cabinets in these times: maybe we’ve had a drink before dark, maybe we have cried on the kitchen floor, maybe we have been great at being monastic and doing our Sadhana (conscious spiritual practice) and Yoga. Maybe it’s somewhere in between.
I take great joy in cooking. It is a finite amount of time and a singular focus on what you’re doing. Being present for a task, and one as important as nourishing your body and your family, is good for the mind, biology, the soul. I sharpen my knives professionally about every three months (check out Warren Cutlery in Rhinebeck if you’re a Hudson Valley-ite, they are offering drop-off / pick up service). I chop a lot of vegetables and I do a lot of dishes. Sometimes I rebel and can’t cook another thing that day, and we order in from a fabulous local Thai restaurant, Aroi, or, if my son had his way, we would get $100 worth of sushi and Japanese food from Osaka every other night. Twice a month soosh is our average.
The going easy on the clean-up help from my strapping healthy always-starving nine-year old kid who is my darling son is coming to an end, and his I-suck-at-dishes-routine is one of the things that can tip me towards rage these days. Anyway, between the chopping (mostly plant based house are we) and recipe research (NYTimes cooking app is my best friend), I also like to do fridge triage. That is basing the menu off of what needs to be used in the fridge. Substituting dry spices for herbs when we just don’t want to go out to the store, put another log on the fire and make due, that is what we do a lot of nights, plus what if some infected person touched something, oy, so many concerns….
I am lucky to live in between upstate and Manhattan, choices abound for delivery, and I seek out the lesser populated markets, or farm markets, which might be up to a 30 minute drive away. That’s my version of OCD, like my only one. I have to make sure I find the best stuff and get my ingredients for my dinner concept, sometimes in the end I wind up buying more than I would have if I just made simple quick meals. I am not above a good tofu hot dog with sauerkraut in a pinch, don’t get me wrong (get Lightlife brand tofu dogs and fry them with a little oil in a pan).
For fun, I’d like to share with you my recipe for soba noodles, somewhere in between fridge triage and gourmet Asian flavor profile, which I featured on my @yoginicuisine Instagram page earlier this week.
INGREDIENTS:
Base
3-4 carrots, grated
2 cups roughly chopped dark leafy greens (ideally pre-packaged organic)
1 scallion
1 package soba noodles
Sesame seeds, toasted - optional
Handful of cilantro - optional
Tofu or other protein for a complete meal
Marinade
2 tbsp shoyu (soy sauce)
1 tbsp toasted sesame oil
1 tbsp other oil
1 tbsp Mirin or Chinese rice wine
1-inch piece of ginger, minced
1-2 cloves garlic, minced
Splash of brown rice vinegar and/or Chinese mushroom sauce, optional
RECIPE:
Grate fresh carrots
Chop scallion on a diagonal bias to make longer pieces
Chop cilantro
Whisk together the ginger and garlic with shoyu; sesame oil; other oil (grapeseed, regular light sesame oil) mirin or Chinese rice wine; splash of brown rice vinegar and Chinese mushroom or oyster sauce if you have it.
Cook soba noodles 4 minutes
Drain sobas, return to the pot and add the vegetables, cilantro and marinade.
Toss, sprinkle with toasted sesame seeds, enjoy!
The benefit of this recipe is that it’s quick, you can add whatever (neutrally seasoned) protein you like, and the bite of the raw garlic and ginger are savory and pungent and have anti-viral properties.
I find it amazing that so few national news dialogues are about prevention. The good news is there is SO much we can do that’s nourishing and good, and cooking for ourselves, getting to know food, what we like, what works, what doesn’t work, when to just effin’ order in, is such an active part of my life. Most of the reading and research I have done over the years has been easy to retain, and has helped me to administer to myself, heal myself even. Here is some information for you that I think makes a lot of sense regarding supplementing a good (mostly plant based diet, trust me on this) which has floated through my sphere in the last few months regarding preventing illness, especially viruses:
Take more Vitamin D, C, Zinc and Quercitin
Take L-lysiene (an anti viral also great for cold sores, which I unfortunately get, so gross)
CBD and weed is supposedly very good for anti inflammation and pain as well as insomnia, if it’s legal where you are, which is should be everywhere, duh, please make use of dispensaries which have all the clinical information on various products
Quinine (HCQ, zinc ionosphones)
Oregano oil on the feet
Colloidal silver
If you live in an urban environment, wear your clean mask, and line your nostrils with a thin layer of Neosporin or antibiotic ointment. Viruses often enter through the nose and start to replicate in the cilia and mucous membranes there, and at the back of the throat. Oh and that logically leads me to recommend salt water gargling, too.
Finally, I would be remiss if I didn’t add how important, for so many reasons, it is to not eat factory farmed meats, or conventional dairy, which is laden with antibiotics, growth hormones, the animals are fed GMO feed, it’s just highly unnecessary. Plus, cutting out red meat and dairy (and excessive amounts of sugar) has shown, again and again, to prevent heart disease, and type two diabetes. Eat your vegetables, everyone, trust me.
Oh yeah, and do your Yoga. I offer one to two low-pressure Zoom group sessions per week, every Tuesday “Sashtanga,” which is advanced beginner to intermediate flow, and semi-advanced Ashtanga Yoga practice is happening Saturday 1/30/2021 at 10am. Your contributions are greatly appreciated and I offer pay-what-you-can for these classes.
Namaste, thank you, hope to see you, hope you are taking good care.
Love and Blessings and Peace on Earth,
Sarah
