Day 12 at the Kushi Instiute

Well my husband says if you don't like the weather in New England just wait 5 minutes and today proved him right.  It was a cool sunny day and then suddenly it got cold, cloudy, and then it started to snow, so this is a picture of the snow that was falling for about 10 minutes and then it got suny and hot again.  We all ran outside to take pictures.  Today I learned how to cook Nishime.  This dish is good for tonifying the digestion and the intestines.  You cut up squash, carrots, shitake mushrooms, and burdock and then you layer them in a cooking pot begining with the shitake mushrooms first, squash, then the carrots, and the burdock last.  Put about 1/2 and inch of water and bring it to a boil.  Add a pinch of salt cover and cook for about 20 -40 minutes or until the vegetables are soft.  Be careful not to burn the vegetables or to pull them out before they are ready especially the burdock root.  It contains a volatile oil that needs to be cooked out.  This dish is very delicious and with the weather going from cold, then cold rainy, and then a little sunny it warms the belly and nourishes the digestion.
Burdock Root if you have never seen burdock before you can buy it at most Asian stores it is a loon brown root that is kinda of beige on the inside.  The helps to clear the skin but also helps to tonify the large and small intestines.  It is very yang so it also give you energy and warmth to intestines.  I love cooking this root I guess because my weakness is my large intestine and every time I eat it I just feel good inside.
At the Kushi Institute they don't use much seasoning at all except for some salt, soy sauce, mirin, ume vinegar, and miso.  At the beginning it can be a little disconcerting but then after a few days you get used to it and you really get to enjoy the real taste of the food.  I am liking how the different vegetables just burst with flavor in your mouth.