BRAISED FENNEL

Fennel, or Florence Fennel, is a much neglected vegetable. Whenever I buy one at the store the person on the checkout looks at me and asks "What is it again?" When I was a kid the Italians that lived all around us ate it all the time. We Australians regarded it as strange and exotic. But, of course, we were wrong. It is a beautiful vegetable, very healthy and has many uses. Here is a pic:

A basic way to proceed is braising. That is, we lightly fry the vegetable in a heavy pan beginning with a little oil and then reducing it down in its own liquid. First, dice into pieces, including the feathery tops:

Put into a pan with a little olive oil. Put on a low to medium heat and slowly braise. 

At the end, add some chopped parsley. I also stir through a light sauce made from tapioca starch. That is, one teaspoon of starch to half a cup of water. Add to the hot pan and stir. Here it is (steaming hot):

Lunch. Brown rice. Braised fennel. Baby carrots. Broccoli. A miso and lemon sauce. A rocket and lettuce salad. A few pieces of crumbed fish (in this case, ling). 

SANE MACROBIOTICS

It was put to me recently that there are a high proportion of "nuts" in the macrobiotic fraternity. The person who reported this had ventured online and had delved into various macrobiotic websites or blogs, or rather one in particular, and found it... well... "nutty". That is to say, paranoid, extremist, immoderate, given to bizarre theories, and so on. What reply did I have to this, they wondered?

My reply: yes, there are plenty of crazy types who hang out on the fringes of contemporary macrobiotics, just as there are on the fringes of, say, the raw food movement, or similar alternative food movements. It is an unfortunate fact of life. In fact, there is no shortage of crazy people in just about any walk of life, and macrobiotics is no exception. So, yes, you will find health nuts, food puritans, conspiracy theorists et al. among the macrobiotic fraternity. 

The best antidote to this is simply to read widely. Don't stop at one website. Explore further. There are a wide range of opinions and a wide range of temperaments out there. Do not judge macrobiotics by just one website or by one book. Be suspicious of people who say their way is the only way. Be prepared to encounter crazies, yes, but if you look deeper you will find plenty of sane, sensible, sincere people who advocate and enjoy this type of cuisine. Avoid extremists. Use common sense. 

That is the best advice. If someone tells you to eat nothing but brown rice as a means to communicating with higher intelligences from outer space - get another opinion! 

Hopefully, you will find an eminently sane and sensible approach to macrobiotic food on this present blog. Over the years, and through much reading, I have learnt to avoid extremes, to embrace compromises and to find a middle path to health and delicious macrobiotic cooking. For a start, I distinguish between macrobiotic cuisine and macrobiotic therapeutics. The therapeutic side of macrobiotics may sometimes seem extreme - but that is because it is for sick people. For example, fasting on nothing but brown rice may be useful for someone who is sick. But it is not a recommended practice for a healthy person and it is not part of macrobiotic cuisine. The cuisine is rich, varied, healthy and beautiful - not extreme at all. There are always fanatics who will try to impose their extreme views on things - avoid them and seek out sane voices. 

ENDLESS RICE BALLS

Rice balls are an endless treat, one of the staples of macrobiotic cuisine. They can be prepared in a thousand different ways and enjoyed all year round. The basic technique is very simple and is capable of endless variation. You can whip up some rice balls any time and keep them in the refrigerator to be enjoyed later either hot or cold. They can be used as a snack, a stand-by or as an acompaniament to other dishes. It is therefore an important thing to master. You should spend some time learning how to make good rice balls. 

The main ingredient, of course, is rice. Brown rice is our staple grain. Soak the rice for a few hours and cook it in a pressure cooker with a pinch of salt and a strip of kelp seaweed according to standard macrobiotic practice. Drain well and let cool. Best if it is refrigerated overnight. This then forms the basis of the balls. You can add a myriad of additional ingredients to it. In the pictures below we are using: finely chopped spring onions (scallions), finely chopped broad-leafed parsley and finely chopped and sauted leek, since these ingredients are readily available from the garden. Best to lightly fry off the sliced leek, although this is not essential for the spring onions and parsley which can be added raw. 

Using wet hands, knead the additional ingredients into the rice mix. Use a scruntching motion of the hands, pressing the mass together. If the rice is too dry, add a tiny amount of water. (If the rice has been undercooked the balls will not hold together. Best if the rice is slightly overcooked and starchy.) 

Now set the mix aside for a few hours. Again, best to put it in the refrigerator. (Time is an ingredient, don't forget. And yang. Many things improve over time, especially flavours and textures. Give the rice time to absorb the flavours of the other ingredients.) 

Rice balls can be deep fried without batter, but in my experience are best done tempera. In the picture below I am using a besan flour batter, i.e. a chickpea flour batter. You can add a little self-raising flour if you must, or a few spoonfuls of sourdough leaven, in which case you leave the batter in a warm place for a few hours before using. 

Now, dip the balls in the batter, deep fry in a good quality oil and drain on absorbent paper. 

Besan flour makes a lovely batter and, moreover, is an additional protein since chickpeas are a legume. Two-thirds besan and one third wholewheat is good too. Experiment with different flours. Be sure to have the oil hot (but not smoking) or else the balls may end up oily. That is the secret to all tempera foods. Having the oil at the right temperature is crucial to avoid oiliness. We want the food to cook in the oil without absorbing the oil - the key to this is temperature. 

Should we be eating so much oil-cooked food, you ask? Well, tempera is a basic cooking method in traditional Asian cuisine, and since macrobiotics is very light on fats we can afford to use deep frying as a basic cooking method. The Japanese, remember, are among the longest lived people on Earth and deep fried (tempera) dishes are a standard part of their diet. Don't be afraid of deep frying. If your diet is otherwise high-fibre and low-fat then you can enjoy deep-fried foods in moderation. Deep frying adds flavour and texture and crunch, as long as it is not over-done. Just be sure to use a good quality oil that is fresh and not rancid. 

Deep fried rice balls can be eaten with confidence. They are healthy and delicious. 

Again, there are endless variations possible. For a start, use coriander (cilantro) instead of parsley. Or add some finely chopped ginger. Or some crumbled tofu. And so on. Then try different batters. Use rice balls as a staple dish. It is a great way to eat more brown rice.