#PGMinseason | The Collaborative Recipe Anthology & Ashley Neese

TEXT by Katherine Oakes | PHOTOGRAPHS by celine mackay & ashley neese

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WE HAVE REALLY EXCITING NEWS TO SHARE—it's a big idea, inspired entirely by you, and we cannot wait to see where it leads!

This past fall we ran an instagram campaign designed to bring together the Pure Green community by sharing recipes and photography inspired by seasonal ingredients. The results of the campaign were phenomenal. With the help of our community leaders Lindsey Love, Claire Ragozzino and Laura Wright, we received over 800 submissions in just a few short weeks. As I marveled at all the submissions, an exciting idea began to form.

We propose to you a very special project. A continuation of #PGMinseason, but reinvented in much grander fashion: a printed, hardcover cookbook, with our community as the author. Pure Green In Season: A Collaborative Recipe Anthology, would work something like this: over a period of one year, in order to guide us through the many seasons, we will hold a series of open calls for submissions. What we're asking for is a developed recipe, supported with great food photography and styling. Each submission will be reviewed by us, one at a time and with careful consideration. The result? A gleaming cookbook, beautifully designed and executed with nothing but the best, most delightful finishes (in typical Pure Green style), with a hundred and fifty recipes spanning the bounty that each season offers.

Now, it's easy to have our head in the clouds about this—we tend to dream big over here at PGM. This is a collaborative project through and through. As such, we will be funding the book using a crowdfunding campaign. There are still some specifics to figure out, but when the time comes to launch the campaign (likely in the next 4 to 6 months), we'll be calling on the community at large to help us get the word out. We don't doubt for a moment that the project will be supported, especially with all of your help!

We cannot wait to get started, the exceptional results of the first round have us pretty excited to see how this project unfolds. We envision it reaching far and wide, and hope to show the world how much passion and talent the PGM community possesses! That is the goal, and the manifesto that drives us forward.

Please read on for the submission guidelines, only submissions that meet all the requirements will be considered.

SUBMISSION GUIDELINES:

Please include a short paragraph introducing the recipe and any anecdotal stories of how you came to create it or why you particularly love the seasonal ingredient(s) used so much.
An original, completed and tested recipe. Please note, by submitting you are guaranteeing that this recipe is entirely your own. Recipes 'adapted' from other pre-existing recipes will not be considered.
Submission must include a minimum of one, vertical full page high resolution photograph.
We will allow submissions with several contributors, such as a recipe writer, stylist and photographer, etc., just be clear to note the specifics.
Recipes must feature at least one, seasonal, local ingredient (such as a soup based on squash) appropriate with the season of the submission period. NOTE: our previous round featured vegetarian recipes almost exclusively. This is not a requirement, we may also include recipes with meat as long as the meat is ethically and locally sourced—this is another important way to support local livestock farmers.
Submissions will only be accepted during the open calls in order to give us time to process and sort through submissions. Dates for the open calls will be announced with several weeks in advance.
While the best case scenario is that your submission be previously unpublished, we will accept submissions that have been previously published on your personal blog or website, so if you have a bank of recipes already done, that you know are awesome, send us over a few! (Note: recipes that have been published on any major, third party blogs, such as Design Sponge or Food 52, or in any print books or magazines, will not be considered.)
There is no limit to the amount of submissions per contributor.
Follow this link to submit! http://puregreenmag.submittable.com/submit

HOW WILL WE EVER CHOOSE?!

We will be considering each submission and looking for a few key things:

Our food editor Jonathan will be reviewing the recipes and making his selection based on interest of the recipe; use of at least one main seasonal ingredient(s); the quality, healthfulness and mindfulness of all ingredients; and flavour combinations. Other criteria that we might look for include innovation, personality in the recipes, and complexity.
Quality of the photography, food styling and prop styling will also play a role. Please click here to see a sample submission.

THE FIRST SUBMISSION PERIOD, COVERING THE WINTER SEASON, OPENS JANUARY 15 AND WILL RUN UNTIL FEBRUARY 12, 2015.

To help kick things off, we're pleased to share a post (which also serves as a fantastic example of a good submission, for more click here. We're super delighted to have Ashley Neese on board as another community leader for this winter round of subsmissions. We've long admired and respected Ashley's voice in the wellness community, thank you Ashley for taking part!

Five Questions With Ashley Neese

Three words that describe you best? Sensitive, perceptive, visionary
What food could you never live without? Leafy greens
Favorite Ingredient? This changes all the time. Right now it's ghee:)
Craziest recipe you've ever made/tried to make? Raw Southern Style Green Bean Casserole. It was a raw take on those heavy, Ritz cracker topped casseroles of my youth. It was wild.
In a sentence, what does seasonal cooking mean to you? Aligning with the rhythm of nature

Cooking in season is one of my favorite ways to take care of myself. Choosing to eat seasonal foods helps me tune into the subtle shifts in nature and live in harmony with the earth. Observing the changes in each season gives me an opportunity to develop a deeper connection to myself and balance my energy according to the environment.

Winter is my favorite season for slowing down and spending quality time in the kitchen. In my home winter is all about foods that are nourishing and warming. In cooler weather it is important for our bodies to stay strong and warm. This Nourishing Miso Soup recipe is a staple in my winter recipe rotation as it provides the comfort and healing qualities often associate with winter soups.

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Miso is a fermented, enzyme and probiotic rich food that is beneficial to consume year round. In winter I choose darker miso because it has been fermented longer which adds more warmth to the body. I love adzuki miso. Barley is also a good choice for winter. Darker miso is typically less salty than lighter miso. In Traditional Chinese Medicine miso is a prized medicinal food that is used to prevent diseases and strengthen the body. Miso is alkalizing, boosts immunity, and supports digestion.

Winter often corresponds with the water element so consuming sea vegetables is a great way to further align with the season and consume extra vitamins and trace minerals. Sea vegetables like kombu, nourish our hair, nails, and skin which can become very brittle and dry this time of year. I also use heat producing herbs to this recipe to further warm the body and support the immune system.

To add an element of beauty and texture to the soup I made a small batch of quick pickled lotus root. I put a few slices of red beet in the jar to give the lotus root some color. This is a very easy thing to do and it is sure to impress everyone. Lotus root supports the liver and lungs which tend to need extra attention in winter. This gorgeous root is typically thought of as a summer food but when blanched and pickled makes a delicious and healthy addition to a winter soup.

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When making the soup you will add the miso at the very end. You don’t want to boil the miso - that denatures the enzymes and good bacteria that we want in the soup. In more traditional recipes a small portion of the broth is removed from the soup. The miso gets stirred into that portion and then added back into the big pot. The general rule of thumb is 1 tablespoon of miso per 1 cup of water. I use a little less in the recipe but feel free to adjust to your tastes.

My Nourishing Miso Soup recipe can be enjoyed all winter long. Feel free to switch out the greens and herbs for whatever you have on hand. You could even quick pickle some daikon if you can’t get your hands on lotus root. The most important part of any recipe is that you take your time, connect with the food, and have fun along the way. Here’s to eating well and taking really good care of yourself this year.

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Nourishing Miso Soup

Serves 4

Ingredients

6 c. water

4 inch strip kombu, cut into several pieces

1 & 1/2 c. burdock, cut lengthwise then into half moons

1/2 small onion, chopped

1 small carrot, chopped

5 cloves garlic, minced

4 oz. shiitake mushrooms, sliced

3 small heads baby bok choy, ends trimmed and leaves separated

2 Tbsp. fresh ginger

Small handful enoki mushrooms, ends trimmed

4 Tbsp. dark miso

1 medium carrot, shredded

1/2 c. diakon, shredded

2 scallions, finely chopped

1 Tbsp. black sesame seeds

Pickled lotus root

Add the water to a medium pot and turn on the heat to medium-high.

Next add the kombu to the pot. When the water comes to a boil reduce the heat to a low simmer.

Add the burdock root, onion, chopped carrot, garlic, and mushrooms to the pot and simmer, covered for 20 minutes or until the burdock is tender. When burdock is tender turn off the heat.

Ladle out one cup of the broth into a small bowl.

Add the bok choy, ginger, enoki mushrooms and cover the pot. Let sit covered for 3 minutes.

Mash the miso into the small bowl of broth carefully until combined. Pour it into the pot and stir in gently. Taste and add more miso using the same method if needed.

Ladle into bowls and garnish the soup with shredded carrot, daikon, scallions, black sesame seeds, and a few slices of lotus root.

Enjoy this soup warm and reheat leftovers over low heat as to not boil the miso.

Quick Pickled Lotus Root

I’ve written down a basic recipe that you can expand on and adapt as you see fit. I used a smaller Weck jar and created measurements accordingly. Once you decide how much lotus root you want to make and what size jar you will use, it’s easy.

A good base for lotus root is one part vinegar to two parts water. I experimented and tried my usual 1 part water to 1 part vinegar ratio for quick pickles but it was way too over powering for this delicate root. I added a few thin slices of red beet to give the lotus root some color.

If you want these for your soup make them one day ahead as they need twenty four hours to pickle. The longer it stays in the fridge the more flavorful it will become. Be sure to sterilize your jar before using it. To sterilize it, just place the jar in a pot of boiling water for 10 minutes. Use tongs to get it out of the water.

Ingredients

1 Weck jar size 741

1 c. sliced lotus root

1 Tbsp. apple cider vinegar

4 thin slices of red beet

1 c. water

1/2 c. apple cider vinegar

1/2 tsp. kosher salt

Blanch the lotus root in a small pot of water with 1 tablespoon of vinegar for 8 minutes. Drain and rinse with cold water.

Put the lotus root in your sterilized jar. Add the beet slices on top.

In the same small pot add the water, 1/2 c. vinegar, and salt. Bring to a boil and simmer for a minute or two.

Ladle the brine into each jar until all of the veggies are submerged. Allow to come to room temperature on the counter.