How I use IOWA MISO every day are :
​
     - Drink simple miso-soup every morning
     - Use miso instead of salt 
     - Use as a dressing, or dip
     - The combination of certain ingredients are excellent:
        Miso + honey, Miso + tomato, Miso + butter, Miso + sesame seed/oil,
​        Miso + herbs, Miso + vinegar
     - Use as an ingredient for sweets

Here are some photos of dishes using IOWA MISO!
I will introduce the recipes. All are very delicious! 

✿ IOWA MISO flavored caramel sauce 

   ​IOWA MISO caramel dipping sauce with apples. Of course, you can enjoy this sauce with ice cream and toasted bread as well. That way you create your own miso-flavored ice cream.
Ingredients: ​
  • Sugar ½ cup
  • Heavy whipping cream ½ cup
  • Water 4 Tbsp.
  • Butter 1 Tbsp.
  • IOWA MISO Amber 1 Tbsp.​
How to: 
  1. In a saucepan, combine the water and ¼ cup of sugar and cook over low heat until the candy becomes brown. 
  2. Once off the heat, add the cream and cook over low heat for another 2-3 minutes.
  3. Add the remaining sugar (¼ cup), butter and IOWA MISO, and cook low heat until desired  consistency is reached.Constantly stirring about 7-10 minutes.  * Keep that mind as it gets harder as it cooks down.
  4. Enjoy with fresh apples, ice cream! ​

✿  Apple & IOWA MISO salad dressing

Ingredients
  • 1 sour apple
  • ¼ onion
  • ½ avocado oil
  • 3 Tbsp. apple vinegar
  • 1 ½  Tbsp.  IOWA MISO Amber
  • 1 Tbsp. honey 
  • 1 tsp. Sesame oil
  • 1 tsp. Soysauce 
How to: 
Combine all ingredients in a blender and blend. It can be stored in the refrigerator for 3 days,but it tastes better if you eat it right away! 

✿ Cheese & Cabbage IOWA MISO SOUP

  • Ingredients
  • Cabbage as you like 
  • IOWA MISO 
  • Vegetable oil/ sesame oil/ butter 
How to:
  1. Cut a cabbage as you like (but maybe a little larger than for a salad, so it'll be very satisfying to chew!)
  2. Put a thin layer of oil (vegetable oil/ sesame oil/ butter = will change the flavor of soup), then add the cabbage. 
  3. Saute the cabbage very well. 
  4. Add water to cover the cabbage, but be careful not to add too much (the soup will be watery). 
  5. Boil until the cabbage is as soft or hard as you like it. Crunchy cabbage is delicious, but cabbage softened to a pulp is also very good. At this point you add a little bit IOWA MISO, so that the flavor of the miso mixes with the cabbage. 
  6. Once you decide this is my/today's favorite cabbage, turn off the heat, then add more IOWA MISO. 
  7. Serve the soup in a bowl with mozarella cheese sprinkled on top. Melted cheese is always delicious! You can also add freshly ground pepper/curry powder/ or red pepper. 

✿ One plate with four different types of fermentation!

Recently, I have been learning how to bake sourdough bread. Now, my family and I love my 4 fermentation snack plate! 
 
​- Sourdough bread 
 - Unsalted butter 
 - IOWA MISO Amber
 - Locally produced honey
​
 It is delicious, especially the salt (IOWA MISO) and sweet (honey) combination with a little sourness from the bread. So it is quite a complex taste. 
And it is good with hot milk or miso-soup. This meal is really great for breakfast, morning or afternoon snack.

✿  IOWA MISO-Creamed Kale

Ingredients: 
  • 3 Tbsp. unsalted butter (add more as needed)
  • 1 Large shallot → thinly sliced
  • 2 cloves garlic → thinly sliced
  • 4-6 cups of packed kale
  • ¹/₂ cup mushrooms →  sliced
  • ¹/₂ Tbsp. soy sauce
  • ¹/₄ cup dry vermouth or dry sherry 
  • ¹/₂ cup heavy cream + 1Tbsp. IOWA MISO Amber (or more to taste)→ mixed well
  • Salt & freshly ground black pepper. 
Instructions:
  1. Melt the 2 Tbsp. butter in a large skillet, add garlic and shallots, cook for about 3-4 min on low heat. Add kale, slowly adding it in several  increments 
  2. In another pan, melt 1 Tbsp. butter and add mushrooms. Cook for about 5 minutes with medium heat. Once cooked add soy sauce and saute for a few more minutes.
  3. Once the kale is cooked, turn the heat on to high and add vermouth or dry sherry, then let it evaporate, about 1 minute.
  4. Add the MISO-cream mixture and cook for about 2 minutes on medium high heat. Add mushrooms.
     Serve with some black pepper and you’re done! It is a very delicious main/side dish.  You can eat a lot of kale! Once you eat this dish, you just have to grow kale in your own garden this summer! 

✿ Miso Sesame Sweet Potatoes

Ingredients:
  • 2 pounds (~3) sweet potatoes, cut in ½-inch thick square pieces (you can also use winter squash)
  • 1 Tbsp.  toasted sesame oil
Sauce:
  • 1 Tbsp. toasted sesame oil
  • 2 Tbsp. molasses
  • 1 full Tbsp. of IOWA MISO Amber or Ruby
  • 1 tsp. tamari/or soy sauce
  • ¼ cup freshly squeezed orange juice
  • 1 tsp. freshly squeezed lemon juice
  • ¼ tsp. grated lemon zest
  • 5 Tbsp. water
Instructions: 
Preheat the oven to 425F / 220C, with a rack in the middle.
In a large bowl, toss the sweet potatoes with 1 tablespoon of the sesame oil. Spread the squash on a parchment-lined or well-greased baking sheet in a single layer and roast for 30~40 minutes, turning over with a fork after 15~20 minutes. Or, until golden on both sides and soft.
In the meantime, in a medium-size bowl, whisk together the ingredients of the sauce.
When the sweet potatoes are deeply golden on both sides, remove from the oven.
Transfer the sweet potatoes to a 2-quart baking dish. Pour the sauce mixture over the sweet potatoes, and gently toss. Bake, uncovered, for 15 ~ 20 minutes, or until a good amount of the marinade boils off. Toss a couple times along the way. Finish under the boiler if you like, or if you like a bit of extra color on top. Remove from the oven, and season with salt, if needed.

✿  Creamy Miso Slaw
Ingredients: ( about 4 people)
  • Sauce:
  • 2/3 cup mayonnaise
  • 2 Tbsp. IOWA MISO Ruby
  • 2 Tbsp. unseasoned rice vinegar
  • 1 Tbsp. grated peeled ginger
  • 1 Tbsp. sugar
  • 2 Tbsp. soy sauce
  • 1 tsp. rice wine
  • 1 tsp. toasted sesame oil
  • Vegetables:
  • 1/2 head Napa cabbage, thinly sliced (about 6 cups)
  • 1 carrot, peeled, julienned
  • 4 scallions, thinly sliced on a diagonal
  • 1/4 cup chopped chives
  • Finishing:
  • 1 Tbsp. black sesame seeds
  • Shichimi togarashi (for serving): a Japanese red-pepper mix, can be found at Japanese markets and in the Asian food section of some supermarkets.  You can also use Red pepper flake.
Instructions:
Whisk mayonnaise, miso, vinegar, ginger, soy sauce, wine, and oil in a large bowl. Add cabbage, carrots, scallions, and chives and toss to coat. When you do not eat immediately, keep the sauce aside, and when you are ready to eat, add it on top of the vegetables. You can try out how you like cutting the cabbage, either horizontally or vertically in respect to the stem. Depending of the direction, you will find there are differences in the texture of the cabbage.
Serve topped with sesame seeds and shichimi togarashi/ or red pepper flake (optional)

 ✿ IOWA MISO Roasted Cauliflower!
​Ingredients
  • 1 head of cauliflower
  • 2 tbsp. of fresh cilantro or scallions
  • 1 wedge of lime or lemon
Condiments
  • 2 Tbsp. of IOWA MISO Amber or Ruby
  • 1 Tbsp. of soy sauce
  • 2 Tbsp. oil ( grapeseed oil or olive oil)
Baking spices
  • ¼ tsp of red pepper flakes
  • Option: minced garlic
Instructions:
  1. Preheat oven to 430- 450゜
  2. Line baking sheet with parchment paper
  3. Cut cauliflower into small bite-sized pieces
  4. Combine miso, oil, lime, soy sauce, red pepper flakes, minced garlic, in a small bowl. Mix well.
  5. Toss the cut cauliflower in the miso mixture and spread it out over the baking sheet in 1 layer
  6. Roast for 15 min., then toss the cauliflower, and bake again for about 10 min. Then sprinkle the chopped greens over the cauliflower.
    　

✿ Tonjiru: pork-based miso-vegetable soup (about 4 servings)

Ingredients​
  • 8-10 oz of thinly sliced pork /chicken/ bacon/ beef/
  • ½ box of  Farm TOFU
  • 1-2 carrots - sliced into ¼ inch slices
  • ½ of daikon (Japanese radish) / Turnip - slice diagonally
  • 1 mid-sized onion - slice into ⅛ in. slices
  • ⅛ of a chinese cabbage / cabbage
  • ½ cup of mushroom - slices
  • 1 Potato - cut small cubes
  • Scallions - chopped
 (If you have a few vegetables you want to use up, you can easily       include them in this recipe.​)
​Condiments
  • 2 Tbsp. of sesame oil / vegetable oil
  • 1/2 inch of fresh ginger - finely ground
  • 3-4 Tbsp of IOWA MISO (personal preference)
Instructions:
  1. In the preheated soup pan pour sesame oil, then saute the ginger for one minutes. 
  2. Add in pork and sauté for 3 minutes or until brown, well cooked.
  3. Add the rest of the vegetables. 
  4. Sauté everything in medium to medium-high heat for roughly one minute.
  5. Add water to cover the vegetables by two inch, change the temperature to medium, put the lid on and cook for about 5-10 minutes or until vegetables are fully cooked.
  6. Skim off any foam that has risen to the top.
  7. Add Tofu here.
  8. Put miso in a ladle and add a bit of the soup, then mix with a small whisk until the miso is completely dissolved, then pour everything into the soup.
  9. Taste and add more miso to your preference.
  10. Add scallions just before serving.

✿ IOWA MISO-Sesame sourdough crackers

Please see:  https://homesteadandchill.com/discarded-sourdough-starter-herb-crackers/
Please follow directions from this website, but you can substitute IOWA MISO for the salt. The original recipe calls for ½ teaspoon salt = 3g. Miso tastes salty but when I calculate how much salt is contained in  ½ teaspoon of IOWA MISO, it is just 0.4g. So even 2 teaspoons of IOWA MISO is only about 1.6 g of salt. For brushing on top I used IOWA MISO and honey instead of salt. So I reduce the salt content of the end product. I also used sesame seeds instead of herbs. 
ingredients: 
  • ½ cup whole wheat flour
  • ½ cup unbleached white wheat flour. We used our unbleached bread flour.
  • 1 cup unfed, active sourdough starter. Meaning, take the starter at the time you would usually discard it – several hours after feeding, not just-fed. We store our starter in the fridge during the week, and choose not to make this recipe with the very first cold discard. Instead we feed it, let it get active and happy, then use the discard from the next feeding session. 
  • 2 teaspoon IOWA MISO (12 months old) 
  • ¼ cup (4 tablespoons) coconut oil. Butter or olive oil also work as good substitutes in this sourdough cracker recipe.
  • ¼ cup of black sesame seeds 
  • IOWA MISO honey for brushing: 1 Tablespoon of honey and IOWA MISO. Mix well and if you need, add a little bit of water.

✿Herbs and  IOWA MISO

I baked sliced eggplant and on top of it, I put miso mixed with basil & thyme. It is very delicious !! This is good with all kinds of vegetables (cauliflower, potatoes, carrots etc.) With rice, you have a complete meal.
Basil / Bail and thyme/  -----about 30~ 35g ( 1~ 11/2 oz)  
Ginger ------------------10g ( 0.35oz)
Garlic ---------------1 pease 
vegetable oil ----------1tps.
roosted sesame seed oil --------1 tps. 
IOWA MISO --------100g ( 3.5oz)
Sake/ white wine -------Tbsp. 1
Sugar   ----------Tbsp. 1~3
​1: Wash the basil and cut finely. 
2: Heat a thick-bottomed pan with vegetable and sesame seed oil and add minced ginger and garlic, sauté until the ginger and garlic produce a nice smell. 
3: Add herbs and again sauté until a nice herb smell pervades the air. Medium to low heat.
4: Add Sake, IOWA MISO and 1 Tbsp. sugar and mix well. Continue to cook for about 5 minutes with medium heat. Continue to mix well, otherwise it will burn.
5: Try it and add sugar or honey more to your taste. 
​

 ✿IOWA MISO Ginger Dressing

Ingredients: 
4 Tbsp. IOWA MISO (Amber )
2 Tbsp. soy sauce
2 Tbsp. sugar
4 Tbsp. rice vinegar
4 Tbsp. toasted sesame oil
2 tsp. ginger finely grated
2 tsp. garlic finely grated
2 Tbsp. toasted white sesame seeds

Put all ingredients in a glass jar and shake well. 

I made kale/avocado salad with this dressing. Here'a trick for you: before you add the dressing, massage the kale with an avocado. When you massage kale in this way, it becomes soft. Then add the dressing. Of course, you can also add some scallions, tomatoes, etc.  It is really a delicious salad and it uses a surprising amount of kale! ​

✿ IOWA MISO in a mug cup

Ideas for a mug of IOWA MISO soup! 
⭒ IOWA MISO Amber (1 heaped tsp) + ginger (1 tsp) + Honey (1/2 Tbs.) + 1 cup of hot water 
⭒IOWA MISO Amber + Quick oats + Cheese + Hot water
⭒IOWA MISO Amber + Fresh salad  + Hot water
⭒IOWA MISO Amber + Curry powder +Ginger + Hot water
⭒IOWA MISO Amber + Butter + Cheese + Hot water
⭒IOWA MISO Amber + Basil Paste + Cheese + Hot water

✿ Lemon-Flavored IOWA MISO

Picture

​   
  • IOWA MISO Amber 3 Tbsp.
  • Sugar 1 1/2 Tbsp.    
  • Freshly squeezed lemon juice 1 ~ 1 1/2 Tbsp. 
  • Mix well. Please add 1 teaspoon of freshly ground black pepper and mix well just before serving.

✿ Garlic pickled in IOWA MISO

          I will introduce garlic pickled in IOWA MISO. You know of course that garlic has a lot of health benefits just like miso. Combine them and you'll receive double or even triple the benefits, and it is just so delicious and easy to make! ​
Ingredients: combine locally grown garlic and IWOA MISO
(our Amber variety is best): first peel the garlic cloves, then bury them inside the miso. Cover the cloves with miso. Keep refrigerated. 
That's it! After three months you can start munching on the cloves. They will remain crunchy for at least a year. My grandfather loved to have a thin slice of this garlic with his beer. It is also delicious with meat and vegetables. You can make your own dressing with either sliced garlic or garlicky miso or both! 

✿  Pretty Pink Hummus

This is my friend's favorite hummus, because it is a very pretty vivid pink color and delicious!  
Picture
Click here to edit.
Ingredients:
  •  2 cans of garbanzo beans — drained and rinsed 
  • half a beet, one mid-sized of onion — thinly sliced 
  • 3-4 pieces of garlic — clashed 
  • ½ ~ 1 lemon
  • IOWA MISO amber 2~4 Tbsp.
  • Tahini paste — ⅓ ~ ½ cup
  • Spices: cumin, smoked paprika
  • Salt as needed
  • olive oil

How to: 
  1. Put olive oil in a frying pan, add garlic. Then add onion & beets and saute until softened.  
  2. Put all prepared ingredients in a food processor, and mix well. While it is blending, add 2 ~ 3 ice cubes.
  3. Taste it, then adjust with salt as you like it.
  4. Serve on a plate, enjoy with vegetables or crackers! ​

✿  IOWA MISO marinated chicken breast.

My family loves chicken and it is one of our favorite ways to enjoy our evening meal. I add lemon to this sauce, so you will enjoy the fresh lemony flavor. It also softens the meat! 
Ingredients: for about 1.5 Lb chicken
  • 2 pieces of garlic — crushed
  • ½ of lemon — squeezed
  • 2 Tbsp. IOWA MISO Amber
  • ½ tsp. salt & pepper
  • 1 ~2 tsp. maple syrup
How to: 
  1. Mix all ingredients well in a container. 
  2. Marinate the chicken with this sauce. 
  3. Let it sit for 3 hours ~ or overnight in the refrigerator. 
  4. Bake in the oven ( 350℉ about 15-20 min) or frying pan until meats are cooked.  ​

✿  Basil-Walnut IOWA MISO

This miso is so fresh and delicious! When I serve this miso, almost everyone asks me, “ It’s delicious! Do you sell it?” Here is the recipe. Adjust the amount of sugar and basil to your own taste to make your own Basil-Walnut IOWA MISO!
Ingredients:
  • 4 oz IOWA MISO Amber
  • 30g fresh basil
  • 10g ginger
  • 1 clove of garlic
  • 1 tsp of avocado oil and roasted sesame oil
  • 1 tbsp. of mirin or sake
  • 1 ~ 3 tbsp. of brown sugar or maple syrup
  • 2 ~3 tbsp. of lightly roasted walnuts

    ​How to:
  1. Wash the basil and drain well, then cut into small pieces
  2. Prepare a thick-walled pan. Add oil, grated ginger and garlic and turn onto medium-low heat. Gently fry it for about 2 minutes until fragrant.
  3. Add basil in the pan and fry again for about 1 minute until fragrant.
  4. Add IOWA MISO, mirin, and sugar. Turn down the heat, so that it doesn't burn. Fry it constantly without burning for about 5~7 minutes until this miso becomes of a jam-like thickness. 
  5. Add the walnuts and mix. Let it cool down, then put the mixture in a clean jar. ​
  • When you keep it in the freezer, you can enjoy it for about 6 months.