I’m sitting down to write this post as my father—my amazing, wise father who flew all the way from Hawaii and then drove down to LA from San Francisco—is settling in for a few days of a visit. Instead of being finished with all my work, having my apartment spotlessly clean, and presenting him with a crystalline goblet of some restorative alchemical elixir upon his arrival, I’m distracted, there are partially unpacked Amazon boxes strewn about the living room, and…I’m typing away at my computer. Such is life. Is there ever enough time?
In moments like this, I do what my dad has always been quick to remind me to do: I remember what’s important. I slow down. And for all its triteness, I do my best to heed his ultimate advice: “Breathe deeply and receive the love of the universe.”
I know.
Slowing down, receiving, breathing—all of these things are difficult to do when I’m so tightly wound that I may as well be a walking to-do list. And the truth is, I know I’m no good to anyone when I’m in such a state, least of all myself. Stress so quickly becomes brittleness of mind.
As my brilliant mentor always reminds me, it’s often a matter of expanding time. As esoteric as this sounds, expanding time is really just a matter of what you choose to focus on. Where your mind is trained. What you decide to care about. Am I caring about the stress? Or am I caring about my father, who just drove 375 miles to see me?
Preparing food and eating together has always been, for me, a miraculous way to expand time. To dwell in the domain of sweetness, family, togetherness, and calm. To still my galloping mind. To see clearly those things and people I love most.
I won’t go on much longer, since my father is here and brought golden beets and carrots from Bolinas for us to roast for dinner. But I will go on long enough to say: Make these tacos. This week on my Intuitive Eating with Kale & Caramel recipe column, I explore the rejuvenating power of spice.
These tacos are light with Japanese eggplant but rich with miso, cilantro whipped kabocha squash, and fresh Asian greens. Tatsoi is my favorite, but other greens will work just fine as well. The sriracha sour cream and toasted black sesame and pumpkin seeds add incredible dimension.
Let the flavors expand time as they hit your palate. Share with someone you love. Get the recipe here!
Ingredients
Miso Eggplant
- 2 cups thickly sliced Japanese eggplant
- 2 tablespoons miso
- 1 tablespoon coconut oil
- 1 teaspoon toasted sesame oil
Cilantro Kabocha Squash
- 2 cups steamed kabocha squash chunks from a 1 1/2 pound squash
- 1 clove garlic
- 1 teaspoon miso
- 1 teaspoon coconut oil
- 1/2 teaspoon ume plum vinegar
- 2 teaspoon soy sauce
- 1/4 teaspoon cayenne or more for stronger spice
- leaves handful fresh cilantro
Sriracha Sour Cream
- 1/4 cup sour cream
- 2 teaspoons sriracha hot sauce
Taco Fixings
- 6 small flour tortillas
- 2 cups fresh tatsoi leaves (or other dark baby greens like bok choi, chard, spinach, etc.)
- 2 tablespoons black sesame seeds
- 2 tablespoons raw pumpkin seeds lightly toasted, pepitas
Instructions
- Preheat oven or toaster oven to 425ºF.
- Slice Japanese eggplant in half lengthwise, then cut into 1/2-inch pieces.
- In a small bowl, mix miso, coconut oil, and toasted sesame oil. Place eggplant slices in a medium bowl and massage with the miso mixture. Place on a baking sheet and roast in preheated oven for 10-15 minutes, checking at 10 to see how they’re doing. When they’re bubbling and browned, and can be easily pierced with a fork, they’re done. Remove from the oven and set aside in a bowl.
- While the eggplant is roasting, Fill a large pot with an inch of water and place a metal steamer inside. Turn heat to high and cover with a lid. Halve your kabocha squash and deseed it, then cut into thick slices for steaming. Remove lid and put squash in the steamer, distributing evenly. Toss in one peeled clove of garlic. Replace lid and let steam 15-20 minutes, until squash is tender. Then remove from heat.
- Once squash is done, remove the metal steam using tongs and run cold water over the squash. Drain water, and use a spoon to scoop out the flesh into a blender. Add the clove of garlic, miso, coconut oil, ume vinegar, soy sauce, and cayenne. Blend until smooth, then turn off blender. Add cilantro and blend again for another 20 seconds or so—don’t over-blend the cilantro! Empty into a bowl.
- In a separate bowl, mix the sour cream and sriracha, and set aside for plating your tacos. Place toasted sesame and pumpkin seeds in another bowl. In a third bowl, set out your washed tatsoi or other greens.
- Gently warm tortillas as you like, either on a cast iron griddle, or in foil in an oven (or toaster oven).
- When you’re ready to assemble your tacos, start with a shmear of cilantro kabocha, top with miso roasted eggplant, and then add your greens, seeds, and sriracha sour cream. Enjoy!
