Qi and Cheer - Holiday Cooking

Cooking during the holidays can often feel heavy along with the emotions and busyness that drain our energy during the holidays. The key to happy/healthy holidays is to create balance! The traditional dishes we share at the holidays are so filled with love, many are passed down from generation to generation. One way to bring more Qi and cheer is to bring up the shared memories that infuse these dishes! Today I will share with you two complimentary, lighter offerings to integrate into your feast.

Not-Stuffing Stuffing is a personal favorite and one I’ve even been able to share with meat-eaters who have enjoyed it. It includes pre-cooked mung beans and Chinese pearl barley. You can find how the recipe below and more recipes on my website here: Click Here

The warm essence of the squash soup can be a new holiday dinner favorite and sure to become a regular all winter long! I hope you enjoy these recipes,

Recipes/Ingredients

Squash Soup:

Ingredients:

2-3 Green and White part of green onion/scallion

1TBS Walnut oil

1TBS Mushroom seasoning

1 TBS Nutritional yeast

1 whole Squash

1 whole Apple

1 cap full of Cooking wine

Instructions:

Start with the scallions and sauté in walnut oil for approximately 8- 10 minutes

Add the Squash and Apple

Optional intuitive additions: ginger or cranberry or anything else you'd like

Add the mushroom seasoning

Add the nutritional yeast

Add about 4 cups of water to the soup, enough to cover the vegetables/ingredients

Let the soup simmer for 20-30 minutes

10 minutes before everything is soft enough, you’ll add the cooking wine

Last you’ll puree in a Vitamix for 8 minutes until smooth

Not-Stuffing Stuffing

Ingredients:

Combine and Sauté in a wok 2-3 Green Onions all of the white and part of the green

1 TBS Walnut oil

2-3 Celery

The entire pack of Mushrooms

3-4 sprigs of fresh rosemary

3-4 sprigs of fresh thyme

3-4 sprigs of fresh parsley

3-4 sprigs of fresh sage

2-4 TBS Mushroom seasoning (to taste)

1 whole Apple

1 Dried orange peel ( I used clementine)

1 cup Cooked Barley

1 cup Cooked Mung Beans

1-2 TBS Nutritional Yeast

Directions:

Combine starting with the green onion and saute and once everything is well sautéed, you’ll add to a baking dish. You can save it in the frig and right before dinner you can bake it, or right after all the vegetables and seasonings are well combined and soft in the wok Bake at 375 degrees for 20 mins or until lightly brown on top