Rice of Tranquility #2, with tofu, apples, kale and sauerkraut.

This could be classified as buddhist cuisine, due to its simplicity and purity! When a dish is only lightly seasoned, we are incited to discover the subtle aromas that we are usually not aware of, ie the floral flavours in the rice.

Ingredients

• Rice (used the calrose variety, japanese-type rice)
• Kale
• Apple
• Turmeric
• Salt
• Pepper
• Coconut oil
• Soy sauce
• Mirin
• Apple cider vinegar
• Shelled hemp seeds
• Sauerkraut (ideally homemade, it's easy and fun to do, much better and healthier than store-sauerkraut!)
• Anise seeds (optional)
• Nutritional yeast (optional)
• Cranberry powder (optional)

Preparation

Cook rice (Put rice in pot, cover with twice the volume of water, bring to a boil then simmer for about 20 minutes for white rice or 30 minutes for brown rice). I like to do more rice than necessary, as it's still good for at least two days, and even after that it can be used to make fried rice.

Cut kale, then cook by steeming. It will be done when leaves are darker and smaller, don't overcook.

Cut tofu and apples in small rectangles. I used one block of tofu and one medium apple. Put coconut oil on pan, warm it, then add turmeric, anise seeds, tofu and apple. Add seasonings and soy sauce. Cook for about 5 minutes.

When rice is ready, add a somewhat generous amount of apple cider vinegar (3 tablespoons?) and a teaspoon of mirin (these quantities were for about 8 portions of rice). You may taste it to make sure it's right.

Serve rice in bottom of bowl, then add the tofu/apples and kale over it. You may also add sauerkraut (pink sauerkraut for bonus visual points!). Sprinkle shelled hemp seeds. Then you may add soy sauce and nutritional yeast, not much of them if you want to preserve the meal's purity, but the taste is also good and hearthier if you add more.