The energy you approach your cooking with will be translated into the food as it's prepared. They say the kitchen is one of the most important rooms in the home because cooking is the highest art. The food we eat creates our health and consciousness.
The kitchen is also where I spend a lot of my time since cooking yummy vegan macrobiotic food and teaching is my job. I want the area to look beautiful and be a sacred space. When I walk into the kitchen, there are items that evoke positive feelings for me such as peace, abundance, and beauty. For example, we have milagros from Peru, Chinese good luck coins and characters, bowls filled with organic produce, organic teas, and symbols of longevity, prosperity, and welcome.
Tuesday, September 29, 2009
Sacred Kitchen 2
Here is another photo of the kitchen. What kind of feelings does it give you? Leave your comments!
Sunday, September 27, 2009
Italian Parsley
While waiting for my cooking demonstration to start at Whole Foods in Kahala a gentleman stopped by and we started chatting about books and Italian parsley. Considering that I'm a huge fan of parsley, I asked him for his recipe. He looked at me with a question mark on his face. "Recipe? Just take the leaves off a bunch of Italian parsley and add a sliced banana. Pour apple juice over the parsley and banana mixture until the apple juice covers the mixture. Blend. Sure tastes better than wheat grass juice." "I agree." "You do?"
Thursday, September 24, 2009
Cooking for the Changing Seasons
Dan and I were just saying yesterday that we can feel a change in the weather. Have you felt this too?
Although it's still quite warm, we can start introducing a little bit of fall cooking to ease our bodies into slightly cooler weather.
Fall Cooking Style (From Aveline Kushi's Complete Guide to Macrobiotic Cooking)
During the late summer, energy begins to flow downward until it becomes very condensed by late autumn. The change from hot to cool weather is often sudden. To mitigate this change, we can begin to adjust our diet in late summer by including more early fall squashes and root vegetables in our meals. In autumn, food is more plentiful than at other seasons. Just as the trees produce a multitude of yellows, golds, oranges, reds, browns, and light greens, these beautiful colors are found in the cornucopia of grains, beans, squashes, root vegetables, and autumn greens, such as kale, turnip greens, daikon tops, and cabbages. Many of the foods harvested in the fall have natural preservative qualities and can be stored for several months to be used through the cold winter and into the spring. Millet and round vegetables, such as onions, turnips, cabbages, and squashes, may be served more frequently in the late autumn months. During the summer months, the kidneys and bladder are often overworked because of an excess intake of liquids, fruits, raw foods, and salty snack items in an attempt to balance the extreme heat. In autumn, the results of this imbalance are experienced in colds, coughs, and other sicknesses of adjustment. Stronger cooking in autumn, as well as the change in weather, starts to discharge this excess. At this season, we can begin to introduce more rich tastes and styles of cooking into our menus, such as bean stews, fried or deep fried foods, creamy grain stews, sweet rice and mochi, hot amasake, and pureed squash soup and squash pies. Dishes can be prepared with longer cooking times and styles, such as long, slow nishime-style boiling, long time sautéing, or kinpira style braising. Vegetables may be cut in larger slices and chunks for longer, more slowly cooked dishes. Sea vegetable dishes can become hardier and include tempeh, dried tofu, or soybeans. In autumn, foods may start to be seasoned with a little more sea salt and a little more oil. The amount of raw foods served can be substantially reduced and dried or cooked fruits used more in preparing desserts.
Although it's still quite warm, we can start introducing a little bit of fall cooking to ease our bodies into slightly cooler weather.
Fall Cooking Style (From Aveline Kushi's Complete Guide to Macrobiotic Cooking)
During the late summer, energy begins to flow downward until it becomes very condensed by late autumn. The change from hot to cool weather is often sudden. To mitigate this change, we can begin to adjust our diet in late summer by including more early fall squashes and root vegetables in our meals. In autumn, food is more plentiful than at other seasons. Just as the trees produce a multitude of yellows, golds, oranges, reds, browns, and light greens, these beautiful colors are found in the cornucopia of grains, beans, squashes, root vegetables, and autumn greens, such as kale, turnip greens, daikon tops, and cabbages. Many of the foods harvested in the fall have natural preservative qualities and can be stored for several months to be used through the cold winter and into the spring. Millet and round vegetables, such as onions, turnips, cabbages, and squashes, may be served more frequently in the late autumn months. During the summer months, the kidneys and bladder are often overworked because of an excess intake of liquids, fruits, raw foods, and salty snack items in an attempt to balance the extreme heat. In autumn, the results of this imbalance are experienced in colds, coughs, and other sicknesses of adjustment. Stronger cooking in autumn, as well as the change in weather, starts to discharge this excess. At this season, we can begin to introduce more rich tastes and styles of cooking into our menus, such as bean stews, fried or deep fried foods, creamy grain stews, sweet rice and mochi, hot amasake, and pureed squash soup and squash pies. Dishes can be prepared with longer cooking times and styles, such as long, slow nishime-style boiling, long time sautéing, or kinpira style braising. Vegetables may be cut in larger slices and chunks for longer, more slowly cooked dishes. Sea vegetable dishes can become hardier and include tempeh, dried tofu, or soybeans. In autumn, foods may start to be seasoned with a little more sea salt and a little more oil. The amount of raw foods served can be substantially reduced and dried or cooked fruits used more in preparing desserts.
Senior Macrobiotic Teacher and Counselor Coming to Honolulu
I was living in Japan when I started macrobiotics. I managed to find a counselor in the area, and plunged headlong into learning how to cook. From there, I became engrossed in all the lectures I could possibly attend, even though they were in Japanese.
How I would have loved to hear them all in English.
This is why I am so thrilled Warren is coming.
I first met him in Vermont, when I was working as a Cooking Class Volunteer, and again two more consecutive years after that as the Cooking Class Coordinator.
I have to say, he's brilliant. Every time I hear him lecture, I learn so much.
It's so exciting that he'll be here!!
How I would have loved to hear them all in English.
This is why I am so thrilled Warren is coming.
I first met him in Vermont, when I was working as a Cooking Class Volunteer, and again two more consecutive years after that as the Cooking Class Coordinator.
I have to say, he's brilliant. Every time I hear him lecture, I learn so much.
It's so exciting that he'll be here!!
Wednesday, September 02, 2009
Body Scrub
This week I was blessed to go to a Korean Spa for the first time. Part of the day's bliss was enjoying a body scrub. After sitting in the heated pool for about 30 minutes to soften my skin, a lovely Korean woman invited me onto a table, much like a massage table, and scrubbed my body from head to toe, followed by pouring hot water over me. It's pretty shocking to see the amount of dead skin that gets exfoliated.
This procedure reminds me of the body scrub recommended in macrobiotics which is an equally wonderful way of achieving the same results: clear, soft, radiant, smooth, youthful skin; better circulation; and removal of toxins from the body.
How do you do it?
Get a large bowl or a bucket of hot water, as hot as you can tolerate, and dunk a washcloth into it. Squeeze out the excess water, and scrub your body from head to toe. When the washcloth cools down, put it back in the water and repeat squeezing it out and rubbing your body. A good body scrub takes about 15-20 minutes and should make your skin a little bit pink.
When you do this daily (or twice daily), it helps to move any stagnated energy through your body.
A body scrub in the morning will help wake you up and energize you for the day, and one in the evening will help you relax and fall asleep more easily.
This procedure reminds me of the body scrub recommended in macrobiotics which is an equally wonderful way of achieving the same results: clear, soft, radiant, smooth, youthful skin; better circulation; and removal of toxins from the body.
How do you do it?
Get a large bowl or a bucket of hot water, as hot as you can tolerate, and dunk a washcloth into it. Squeeze out the excess water, and scrub your body from head to toe. When the washcloth cools down, put it back in the water and repeat squeezing it out and rubbing your body. A good body scrub takes about 15-20 minutes and should make your skin a little bit pink.
When you do this daily (or twice daily), it helps to move any stagnated energy through your body.
A body scrub in the morning will help wake you up and energize you for the day, and one in the evening will help you relax and fall asleep more easily.
Easy Lentil Soup Recipe
When I'm looking for a quick, easy, and inexpensive but delicious and nutritious meal, I put together a lentil soup. Lentils are low on the glycemic index, low in calories, and high in fiber and protein.
Lentil Soup
1/2 cup lentils (green or French)
1 onion, diced
1 carrot, diced
1 stalk celery, diced
1/2 cup organic corn
1/2 cup winter squash, kabocha or butternut, diced
1/4 cup burdock root (optional, for a smoky flavor)
1 to 2 tsp thyme
miso or sea salt, to taste
4 to 6 cups water
bay leaf, optional
Rinse the lentils and place in a pot with the water and bay leaf. Bring to a boil and cook for about 20 minutes. Meanwhile, cut all the vegetables. Add them to the lentils along with the thyme. Cook for an additional 15 to 20 minutes, or until the vegetables are soft. Season with sea salt or miso to taste.
Lentil Soup
1/2 cup lentils (green or French)
1 onion, diced
1 carrot, diced
1 stalk celery, diced
1/2 cup organic corn
1/2 cup winter squash, kabocha or butternut, diced
1/4 cup burdock root (optional, for a smoky flavor)
1 to 2 tsp thyme
miso or sea salt, to taste
4 to 6 cups water
bay leaf, optional
Rinse the lentils and place in a pot with the water and bay leaf. Bring to a boil and cook for about 20 minutes. Meanwhile, cut all the vegetables. Add them to the lentils along with the thyme. Cook for an additional 15 to 20 minutes, or until the vegetables are soft. Season with sea salt or miso to taste.
Warren Kramer coming to Honolulu
October 13, 2009 to October 18, 2009
“Optimal Health and Healing Through Macrobiotics”
With senior macrobiotic educator and health counselor Warren Kramer, an internationally renowned senior macrobiotic educator and health counselor.
Enjoy a variety of ways to participate, including:
Cooking Classes- Cooking for Hearty Appetites, Cooking for Natural Beauty
Lectures- Restoring our Natural Healing Ability, Smart Bone Health, What do Yin and Yang Have to do with Me?
Health Consultations
What is a Consultation?
Who is Warren Kramer?
Testimonials About Warren
SIGN UP NOW! EARLY PAYMENT DISCOUNT AVAILABLE.
For schedule and prices please go to WWW.MACROBIOTICHAWAII.COM
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