Michael Wynne is one of our trusted shop volunteers and you have met him a few weeks ago when we ran a little story about him. Michael loves to cook and he was so kind to share one of his favourite recipes with us: Nourishing Winter Zen Style Adzuki Beans.

INGREDIENTS

  • ½ cup dried adzuki beans
  • 1 cm piece of wakame
  • 1 cm piece of ginger
  • 1 small onion
  • ½ tea spoon of turmeric
  • About 400g diced pumpkin
  • 10cm piece of celery
  • 2 tea spoons of tomato paste / passata
  • 2 cloves of garlic
  • 2 tea spoons of miso paste
  • 1 cup brown rice
  • 2 umeboshi plums
  • Spring onions to your liking, thinly sliced
  • A handful of toasted pumpkin seeds

METHOD

  • Wash adzuki beans, soak in water overnight and wash. Add to a pot with water (about 2 cups of water to 1/2 cup of beans) and simmer without lid on and scoop off scum.
  • Add washed wakame.
  • Saute some ginger, onion, a little turmeric, add to beans and wakame, add pumpkin and celery* and slow cook for 1 to 1.5 hours.
  • In the meantime, cook brown rice, it can be finished/roasted in the oven at this time of year (for more yang).
  • You can add some tomato paste / passata when almost cooked and add fresh, thinly diced garlic.
  • Dilute miso in warm water in serving bowls.
  • Add bean mixture and rice.
  • Stir in umeboshi plums.
  • Garnish with chopped spring onions and roasted seeds**.
  • Enjoy! 🙂

*Celery tops are quite bitter but can diminish coffee cravings if you are willing to cultivate a taste.

**Dry roasted pumpkins seeds can aid digestion stomach / spleen chi especially if chewed slowly.

Thank you, Michael, for sharing your recipe!

Photo provided by Unsplash.