One of my favorite foods in the winter time is Mochi. Often over looked because of it being so plain, it can be used to make all kinds of recipes. I use Mochi in my first cookbook, Perceptions in Healthy Cooking, in many of the recipes. I have shied away from using it in some of my latest cookbooks because the company that made Mochi, that I would buy from, went out of business. A few years back I taught myself how to make Mochi from scratch. I always have some on hand in the freezer of my home made Mochi.
As a special treat for the holidays, I created Chocolate Mochi and I am going to teach how to make it Wed. Dec. 7 in a virtual cooking class. I will be teaching 4 different ways to serve it also; waffles, puffed in a pan, sweet pecan roles and Chocolate Mochi Sauce. If you would like to attend sign up:
https://www.macroval.com/cookingclasses.htm
Mochi is a traditional Japanese food. They have a tradition of making the sweet, gooey treat at the end of December for their festive New Year's dinner. It is made by soaking, then steaming sweet brown rice. What makes the mochi so unique is then they pound it to get a thick, gooey mass of rice. If you make it yourself this way you can eat it right away, as they do in some families still to this day.
It is traditional for the pounding to be done by the grandparents. The grandfather doing the pounding and the grandmother turning the hollowed out log that is used to make the mochi. Having traditions such as this for foods makes eating the food extra special.
Did you know you can give the gift of health to your friends for Christmas? I offer GIFT CERTIFICATES for sale. You can give someone the gift of attending my Cooking Classes or a Lifestyle Consult.
https://www.macroval.com/giftcertificates.htm
Mochi is high in Protein
The sweet brown rice used to make the mochi is high in protein. Mochi is known to be a strengthening food that increases your stamina. It is recommended for people dealing with health problems such as: blood sugar imbalances, weak intestines, anemia, and lactating women. Mochi is great to keep your bowel movements regular and can help with constipation.
The mochi you buy in the store is not made by a grandparent hand pounding it for you. They have to produce large volumes of the food, so they have come up with machinery to imitate the traditional way of making the mochi. It comes in a square wrapped in plastic. Mochi is not always easily available, which is why I teach how to make it from scratch.
The mochi that you may find for sale is hard and is not in the refrigerator section. I do not like the hard version of mochi. It is still a good healthy food, I am just not a fan of this variety of mochi.
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Cookbooks make great Christmas gifts!
https://www.macroval.com/buycookbook.htm
Some of my favorite ways to use mochi is to melt it for a ‘cheese’ sauce, added to soups to thicken them and added to casseroles for a creamy texture. You can achieve that nice creamy, gooey texture as a cheese substitute.
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HI everyone! Someone mentioned that they saw Mochi for sale at a major store chain. It then occurred to me that people may get the dessert that is made with sugar and white rice called Mochi confused with the healthy Mochi that I am referring to in my blog and that I am teaching in my class. They both have the same name which makes if confusing. Mochi made from sweet brown rice is the healthy Mochi. Mochi made with white sugar and white flour, often found in the freezer section of stores should be avoided, the ingredients are not healthy. Just wanted to clarify that, thanks, Val