Hearty Italian -- a naturally healthy cuisine (2)



Italian cuisine that is enjoyed by
the natural essence of fresh veggies

When I was in Italy
with my teacher, Sophia, earlier this year,
I noticed that the food in Italy was actually very humble
-- whether to dine in a small deli or high class restaurant.

Many of the food that we tasted in Italian eateries
were cooked from very local produce and
seasoned with large amount of
tomato, balsamic vinegar, Italian spices and olive oil.

While some people may call it "boring",
I perceive that as pure food tasting,
because Italian doesn't need a lot of stimulating elements in their cooking
and they get contented just with the natural essence of fresh veggies and fruits.

One of the dishes I had in Italy that impressed me was
not anything fanciful or exotic,
but world reknown Italian minestrone soup / vegetable soup.

At this small little cafe at Venice airport,
I was surprised that how they cooked the soup
with so many nutritious ingredients.
Amazingly also, by the Yin-Yang analysis of the food, it's very balanced!

At such a small cafe, the Italian cooked with sincerity and wisdom.
That's what that touched me.

Looking at the recipe below,
you will understand how balanced and nutritious the soup is.
Basically it's a complete meal
(I just had it for lunch, thanks to my Thermos thermal cooker :P).


Zuppa di verdura  (vegetable soup)


Ingredients:


Part 1: Seeds* (Yang)
.o. whole wheat
.o. big barley (coarse variety)
.o. kidney bean
.o. lentil
.o. mung bean
.o. chickpea
.o. black eye bean


-- 1 heapful tablespoon for all of the above
* do soak for 8 hrs, better if sprout for 24hr, before cooking for higher energy and removal of acidity.




Part 2: Vegetables (Yin)
.o. Carrot, diced ................................. 1 root
.o. Brocolli, diced ............................... 1 handful
.o. Cabbage, shredded ....................... 4 pieces
.o. Potato, diced ................................ 1 small
.o. Tomato, diced ............................... 7 ripen ones
.o. Celery,diced .................................. 1 stalk


Part 3: Spice/Seasoning
.o. Oregano, dried .............................. 2 tbs
.o. Rock salt ....................................... to taste
.o. Balsamic vinegar ............................ 4 tbs / or to make soup taste tangy enough
.o. Extra virgin olive oil (optional) .........3 tbs


Methods:

-- Put in 3 bowls of water to cook all the ingredients (except olive oil) until soft (on medium fire) before adding in more water gradually to top up to 5-7 bowls (depending on how thick the soup you would like it to be). Cook for another 15min. Stir in olive oil just before serving to minimise damage to good oil.



Well regards,
Kee Yew
pureland2012-at-gmail.com



{Learning Holistic Wellness for Wisdom and Compassion}