5E

Five Element Cooking -- for Winter

The book, "Feng Shui and the 5-Element Kitchen," talks about winter as "gathering forces for a new beginning  The recipes of this element nourish and strengthen your vital water energy." 

They suggest some interesting recipes to support and nurture (or enhance!) the energetics of winter, including: "calamari salad with zucchini and carrots," "adzuki bean salad with smoked salmon," "chestnut puree with cabbage," "miso soup," "carrot salad with oragnes," "mussel soup with barley sprouts," "seafood omelet," "soybeans with red peppers," "noodles with sprouted garbanzo beans," "smoked trout with potatoes two ways," "sushi with sole and cucumber," "sea bass with wild rice," "stuffed squid," "turbot with fennel gratin," and "saddle of venison with red wine shallots."  Are you sensing a theme here?  Most of these recipes seem to combine seafood with some other mild-flavored dish.  The flavor associated with the water element is "salty," so it's no surprise that seafood, much of which is caught from salt water, takes such prominence on this seasonal menu.

Note: In the cookbook, they also suggest ways in which each of these dishes is somehow enhancing the energetics of the season.  Cool!  This book and Nina Simond's book seem to be the only two that even make reference to the subject...

Eating with the Seasons: Winter

Paul Pitchford, writing in the classic, Healing with Whole Foods: Oriental Traditions and Modern Nutrition, writes about suitable foods and their preparation for this time of year -- winter.  He writes:

"Both the salty and bitter foods are appropriate for winter, since they promote a sinking, centering quality which heightens the capacity for storage.  Such foods also cool the exterior of the body and bring body heat deeper and lower; with a cooler surface, one notices the cold less.  However, use salt with care: an excess tightens the Water organs (kidneys and bladder), causing coldness and overconsumption of water, which weakens these organs and affects the heart as well.  Providing protection for the heart-mind in the winter is important can be accomplished with the addition of a few bitter foods, since their flavor is said to 'enter the heart'."

He adds,

"Most common bitter foods are not wholly bitter, but combinations of bitter and other flavors.  These foods include lettuce, watercress, endive, escarole, turnip, celery, asparagus, alfalfa, carrot top, rye, oats, quinoa, and amaranth.  The bitter flavor is also part of the protective coating of some foods, e.g., citrus peels and the outermost leaves of cabbage (seldom found on cabbage in supermarkets).  The strongest bitter qualities are in the herbal realm.  Common examples are chicory root, burdock root, horsetail, and chaparral.  Roasted, ground chicory is available as a major ingredient in many coffee substitutes.

Salty foods include miso, soy sauce (or the wheat-free version, Tamari), seaweeds, salt, millet, barley, plus any food made salty by the addition of salt.  Salt is over-used in the typical diet, while the bitter flavor is under-represented.  However, strong doses of bitter food are not needed except in the cases of certain imbalances, but small, regular amounts in winter nurture deep inner experiences and preserve joy in the heart.

He also cautions,

"After acclimating the body to winter with appropriate cooking methods and more salty and bitter foods, the cold person may still feel cold because of a lack of warming potential (yang) in the body.  In this case, add more warming foods (such as those listed later in the chapter under "kidney yang deficiency".)  Subjecting the healthy body to a little cold nourishes the kidney-adrenal function, but excess cold weakens it."

Seasonal Cooking for Winter -- Nina Simonds

Nina Simonds can always be counted on for some great recipes, and in her groundbreaking book, A Spoonful of Ginger, she shares some wisdom about the seasonal diet for winter:

"Winter is the season when the yin element controls the climate; darkness and cold are the pervasive influences.  Foods that are particularly suited to this time of year are: brown rice, wheat, barley, millet and oats; kidney beans, adzuki beans, black beans, and pinto beans; carrots, onions, potatoes and seaweeds such as kelp and nori, lettuce, and bitter vegetables including endive and escarole; cranberries; halibut, bluefish, salmon, swordfish, claims, crab, chicken, beef and lamb; garlic, ginger, pepper and other pungent spices."

Her wonderful book includes some "sample winter menus" for "wilted spinach and mushroom salad, vindaloo lamb, and basic cooked white or brown rice;" "spicy fish stew, scallion pancakes, and two-spice vanilla tapioca pudding"; and "Chinese cinnamon barley soup, hot and sour cabbage slaw, curried tofu, and basic cooked white or brown rice."

Editor's Note: the photo is of cioppino, a spicy Italian tomato-based fish stew, with seafood.

WATER - The Energy of Winter

The energetics of Winter, from a source I wish I could remember, in order to credit:

WINTER
Water, brings the elements full circle. It gives us adaptability and will power. It is the element of winter, giving us time to pause and gather strength. It is the seedbed of all life. Its function is to unite.

METAL - The Energy of Autumn/Fall

The energetics of the season:

METAL, the energy of autumn, gives us our sense of quality and value, and our capacity to look at what lies beyond ourselves. It gives us the power to let go. It represents our father. Its function is to extract.

Seasonal Cooking for Fall -- Nina Simonds

Nina Simonds can always be counted on for some great recipes, and in her groundbreaking book, A Spoonful of Ginger, she shares some wisdom about the seasonal diet for fall/autumn:

"Autumn is the season of the harvest, when the earth slowly but inexorably moves toward winter.  Pungent foods are best eaten in this period and include the following: rice, wild rice, barley and wheat; soybeans, tofu, tempeh, and other soybean products; cabbage, bamboo shoots, cauliflower, celery, cucumber, eggplant, lettuce and green leafy vegetables, pumpkin, winter squash, spinach and water chestnuts; apples, bananas, kumquats, mangoes, litchees, pears and strawberries; flounder, cod, salmon, turkey and chicken.

Her wonderful book includes some "sample fall menus" for stuffed cabbage pot, saucy ground turkey wrapped in lettuce leaves, black mushroom and leek soup, rainbow salad with spicy peanut dressing, banana-coconut pudding, hot and sour salmon with greens, cinnamon curry rice, and pumpkin caramel custard.

Having cooked Nina Simonds' recipes for more than 20 years now, I can safely say that I've enjoyed every morsel.   The photo is of the incredibly delicious black mushroom and leek soup.

Metal Tastes for Autumn/Fall -- for Cooking

According to Feng Shui and the Five Element Kitchen, the following tastes are associated with the metal element:

• Spices/Condiments: (hot) allspice, anise seeds, cayenne pepper, chile pepper, chili powder, cinnamon, curry powder, galangal, ginger, horseradish, star anise, white pepper, (warm) bay leaves, black pepper, cardamom, cloves, coriander seeds, cumin, ginger, mustard;
• Herbs: (hot) hyssop and lemon grass; (warm) chives, lovage, thyme; (neutral) garden cress, nasturtium, savory; (cool) watercress; (cold) peppermint.
• Vegetables: (warm) garlic, leeks; (neutral) celery root (celeriac); (cool) daikon radish, green onions, kohlrabi, onions, pearl onions, radishes, shallots; (cold) sweet onions, turnips. 
• Fruits: (neutral) peaches;
• Nuts: (warm) unsalted and roasted peanuts;
• Grains: (cool) long-grain rice;
• Oils: (warm) canola oil;
• Meats and Poultry: (hot) aged venison; (warm) chicken (free-range), cornish game hen, partridge, pheasant, quail, wild board, wild duck, young venison; (neutral) goose.
• Dairy Products: (warm) blue cheese, muenster cheese.
• Beverages: (hot) spirits; (warm) sake;

Eating with the Seasons: Autumn/Fall

Paul Pitchford, writing in the classic, Healing with Whole Foods: Oriental Traditions and Modern Nutrition, writes about suitable foods and their preparation for this time of year -- autumn/fall.  He writes:

To prepare food which reflects the qualities of autumn, we must be aware of its abundant but contrasting nature.  This awareness can be heightened by choices for more astringent as well as heartier flavors and foods.  In addition, cooking methods should involve more focused preparation to supply the greater energy required by a cooler season.  The essence of food is received through the sense of smell, which is related to the Metal Element and lungs.  The appetite is stimulated by the warm fragrance of baked and sautéed food – concentrated foods and roots thicken the blood for cooler weather.

The fall is the time to organize the open and perhaps scattered patterns of the previous warmer seasons.  To stimulate this activity in the body, to focus mentally, include sourdough bread, sauerkraut, olives, pickles, leeks, aduki beans, salt plums, rose hip tea, vinegar, cheese, yogurt, lemons, limes, grapefruit and the sour varieties of apples, plums and grapes.  Be cautious with extremely sour foods, because small amounts can have a strong effect.  In general, cook with less water, and at lower heat, for longer periods of time.  This internalizes one’s focus.  Likewise, the bitter and salty foods move energy strongly inward and downward; ideally, they are gradually introduced as the fall progresses into winter.

EARTH - The Energy of Late Summer

We're already well into late summer, whose specific energetics are the following:

LATE SUMMER
Earth, the energy of late summer, gives us the ability to nurture ourselves and others. It provides our center, and represents our mother. Its function is to sustain.

Five Element Cooking -- for Late Summer

The book, "Feng Shui and the 5-Element Kitchen," talks about late summer as "harvest time - a sweet pleasure.  Sweet tastes tranquilize, create a good mood, pacify, and enhance a harmonious community."  Furthermore, "A well-nourished stomach makes us feel good and distributes the energy to all the cells of our body.  And the connective tissue provides unity.  The recipes for this element help to balance your body, mind, and soul." 

They suggest some interesting recipes to support and nurture (or enhance!) the energetics of late summer, including: "barley soup with vegetables," "salsify salad with brown mushrooms," "snow pea salad," "sauteed oyster mushrooms," "baked stuffed potatoes with avocados," "zucchini chips with olive oil mayonnaise," "potato-mushroom gratin," "quinoa with champagne," "vegetable 'risotto' with arugula and dill," "vegetable sushi," "potato puree with truffle oil," "spaghetti with snow peas," "hot mirabelle plums with nougat parfait," "figs in coffee sabayon," "stuffed dates," and "mango cream."  In the cookbook, they also suggest ways in which each of these dishes is somehow enhancing the energetics of the season.  Cool!  This book and Nina Simond's book seem to be the only two that even make reference to the subject...