Wednesday, May 13, 2015

Bamboo Vegetable Soup May 13, 2015

Welcome to my blog, today I am linking with-

Woman 2 Woman Ministries hosted by Shari

The Art of Homemaking Mondays hosted by Jes

Women With Intention hosted by Jenny

Mondays @ Soul Survival hosted by Donna

I've been reading some Japanese blogging friends talking about cooking and using bamboo shoots, so I thought I would like to share a recipe using bamboo shoots.  This is the kind I can get at the Asian market, it has a very interesting interior, Japanese artistic cooks slice it in ornamental ways-

Recipe- Bamboo Vegetable Soup
1 large cone bamboo, sliced and chopped or 1 can bamboo shoots
1 cup / 250cc celery, chopped
1/2 yam or sweet potato, chopped
4 cloves garlic, minced
2" / 5cm ginger root, minced
1 turmeric tuber, minced,
and/or 2 Tbsp / 30cc turmeric powder
1taro root, peeled and chopped
1 cluster oyster mushrooms
2 cups / 500cc broccoli or kale flower bud heads, chopped
1 cup / 250cc Chinese pea pods, optional
Water for cooking level
Lemon pepper to taste

Instructions-
Boil water, add Turmeric powder, add rest of ingredients, simmer to desired degree of doneness.
Season with Lemon pepper to taste, serve with chicken, poached eggs, or other protein source.

Part of the ingredients, the taro root is the small fuzzy kind, R of the ginger root-

Served with poached eggs-

Served with pea pods-

The taro root, along with conjac root, purple yam (brown on the outside, purple streaks in the flesh), and 4 other Japanese root vegetables, contain Hyaluronic acid, which is the basis for collagen and causes the people in the small Japanese town of Yuzurihara to live to very old ages.  Their joints stay flexible, their skin doesn't sag, and they don't have problems with the usual level of heart disease and cancer.

http://www.livestrong.com/article/312974-yuzurihara-diet/

These may be available in your local Asian market.   Some foods that also boost Hyaluronic levels according to this article are potatoes, sweet potatoes, broccoli, cauliflower, asparagus, green beans, peppers, citrus fruits, berries, cherries, bananas, brown rice, pumpkin, beans, parsley, and cilantro.

Turmeric powder, for best absorption and health benefits as an anti-oxidant, must be added to boiling water and then kept at boiling temperatures for 10 minutes, so I add the powder at the beginning of cooking but use a pressure cooker since it cooks the food in 3 minutes after pressurized, I hope this doesn't decrease the absorption.  Cooking in a normal pot would probably take 10 minutes or more.   The recipe could be stir-fried but would not benefit from the Turmeric powder as much, though that could be boiled alone on the side.  The yam has a pleasant sweet taste.  I enjoy the intense taste and crunch of the minced ginger and turmeric, but it might be an acquired taste for some.

The lowly bamboo root does not look appealing as it emerges from the ground, it takes skill to turn it into a useful and tasty food.

The Asian people are resourceful to use many of the plants in their environment, and treasure bamboo roots in the spring.   It takes knowledge to use them since they must be specially cooked and processed to take away harsh tastes, and picked correctly as well since at some point they develope cyanide.

We similarly have a sin nature that renders us unuseful and unappealing, but God through His great grace sent His Son to take our sins in His own body on the cross and wipe out all the law that was against us, so the penalties of our sin are paid in full.

Since we have been given such grace and mercy, we are to be ambassadors for Christ, telling others this message, that when we come to God in faith, Jesus' righteousness covers us and we become new creations, so we can stand blameless before God.  So reconcile others to God, don't try to shame, blame, or guilt trip them into the kingdom of God.

2 Corinthians 5:17-21 NKJV
17. Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new.
18. Now all things are of God, who has reconciled us to Himself through Jesus Christ, and has given us the ministry of reconciliation,
19. that is, that God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself, not imputing their trespasses to them, and has committed to us the word of reconciliation.
20. Now then, we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God were pleading through us: we implore you on Christ's behalf, be reconciled to God.
21. For He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.

The finished work of Jesus to take all our sins makes us righteous in God's eyes, He can not see sin in us because the bill was fully paid.   Micah 7:19 NKJV:  "He will again have compassion on us, and will subdue our iniquities.  You will cast all our sins into the depth of the sea."  

So we can come to Him in confidence that when we confess our sins, they have been taken away and cast into the sea, never to be seen again.  So we are enabled to walk in love.

Hannah

©Transforming Path, all rights reserved.  I enjoy reading your comments and thoughts on my post, and will visit you and comment as well.




8 comments:

  1. Interesting recipe. It's not hard to find young bamboo root here.
    You're right, cooking bamboo root needs adequate skills.
    Thanks for dropping by, Hannah.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks, Lina, I have some bamboo shoots coming up now in my yard but they are not big like this one, I probably won't try to cook them.

      Delete
  2. What an interesting recipe and full of some healing spices! Thank you for sharing it on the Art of Home-Making Mondays!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks, Jes, I do what I can to see that the food I eat will build health rather than sickness. Thanks for hosting!

      Delete
  3. It is humbling to realize how little I know about these interesting and wholesome vegetables.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Thanks, Kenneth, Asian peoples are good at really using the plants in their environment, like most native people around the world. It's interesting how modern cultures have lost touch with a lot of that. I like to find out about the native plants and use them.

    ReplyDelete
  5. I love how you connected the scripture with the Asian love and use of many plants. I do love Asian foods and soups are especially good. I haven't tried my hand at making too many Asian dishes yet. This soup appeals to me.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks, Joyful, I enjoy making soups, this summer I had a lot of beans, and also squash, so have been using them most of the time.

      Delete