We Don't Dine, We Sup.

Last night we supped.

I've been away in Minnesota for nigh on four weeks, and yesterday's evening meal marked the complete return. Eating alone or on the run has been one of the most difficult parts of being away from Kerstin, both from a macrobiotic standpoint, and an emotional one.

I brought back some hand-harvested wild rice that my father and I had reaped from Lake Minnewawa two years ago. We glided through the rice stalks, knocking off the heavy seeds into our canoe, loaded them into burlap sacks and had them roasted by a local Native American-operated roasting barn.

I added crushed walnuts, craisins, a touch of honey and brown rice vinegar to the rice and topped it with grilled portabello mushrooms, sautéed zucchini, onions and garlic—seasoned with oregano and thyme...and there's a wee little bit of farmer's market tomato in there.

Kerstin had made some lentils, which I added a light vinegar & oil dressing to. We ate it on the side.

Hubba hubba ding ding! Two happy little macros eating a simple gourmet evening meal once again.

Wild Rice

Anyone who knows me knows how much I love Minnesota. The lakes, the rivers, the trees, the hiking, the canoeing, the Twin Cities. The list goes on.

I also love trivia: state tree, norway pine; state pickle, dill; state flower, ladyslipper. I could go on all day. But one of Minnesota's best is also a macrobiotic treasure, and Minnesota is one of the only places you can get it in its natural form.

I'm talking about Wild Rice, Minnesota's state grain. Boo ya ka shaw.

Wild rice was the staple in the diet of the Chippewa and Sioux Indians, native to the north central area of America. Like brown rice, the grain is actually the seed of an aquatic grass plant. Since wild rice grows in cold water and cold climate areas, its seeds (wild rice) need to store enormous amounts of energy to germinate in the spring. Because of this need, wild rice is high in protein, the amino acid lysine and dietary fiber, and low in fat.

Lucky me, growing up and living in Minnesota for most of my life, I have had the opportunity to harvest and roast my own rice on several occasions. I feel a all of the harvesting work behind every bite I take, I remember the clear days in the canoe, the click of the harvesting sticks, the itch of the seed husks on my skin and the splash of the guide pole in the water. If only all the food I ate had as much positive energy behind each bite...

While some commercial wild rice is grown, its best and tastiest form is still hand harvested, mostly in Minnesota's lakes and rivers in the traditional method.