Leslie on OC16

I was recently on OC16's TV program called Career Changers.

Check out my segment on their You Tube Channel where I demo how to make a healthy holiday Quinoa Pilaf:

http://www.youtube.com/user/CareerChangersTV#p/u/1/3tGSrg0pu80

Plant-based "Made in Hawaii" Potluck, Oct 15th

I just spent the afternoon shopping and preparing a few dishes for the "Made in Hawaii" potluck my friend Joy and I are hosting tonight. It was difficult to choose what to make because so many ideas flew into my mind while all the veggies simultaneously flew into the shopping cart. Approximately $100 later and I was on my way!!! I have a hard time with restraint when it comes to quality ingredients. :-) (But I will choose quality ingredients over other treats any time.)

I had a hard time with the flavor of the oil that I picked up (which shall remain unnamed) so my executive decision was to change to olive oil and use some balsamic vinegar too. Those were the only non-local ingredients in these dishes.

One of the items that I'd like to incorporate into a dessert is some kona coffee.... How to do this vegan style??? Hmmm...... Ok will work on that.

Here are some of the things that I was working with.....

Chinese cabbage, red radish, daikon, asparagus, basil, thyme, mint, lemon, orange, strawberry, lilikoi, tomato, Waialua chocolate, Japanese cucumbers, mac nuts, beets, beet greens, kale, and arugula.

Cold French Lentil Salad

My friend Kathy turned me onto this dish that combines French lentils with fennel. I have to admit, even though I am adventurous, I was at first a little bit skeptical, until I tasted it.

The flavors exploded in my mouth, and boy, did I change my mind quickly! It was absolutely stunning!

It was so good that I immediately decided to highlight this recipe in my Grains and Beans cooking class.

When I took out the fennel, everyone got nervous and squirmed a little bit in their seats (kinda like how I had too). I could see them looking at me and thinking, "What is she about to do?!"

Here everything is ready and we are just about to eat.

(photos by Ruth)

The final recipe looks like this (below) and it comes from Vegetarian Times.

Recent Photos from the Bento Cooking Class

photos by Paul Herchig

My Trip to Waikiki Worm Company

I've dabbled in composting before, but I was told that I wasn't doing it quite right. I had a spinning composter, but worms don't like to get tossed around. When I changed living arrangements, I sold my spinning composter and took a hiatus from the whole endeavor.

Throwing vegetable scraps away just didn't feel right, and after attending the recent agriculture conference, I committed to seriously getting back into composting. I made my visit to the Waikiki Worm Company this afternoon and purchased all my new composting items. Here is the store owner getting my worms ready for me.

Mindy explained to me how to set up my system. First, I have to shred paper and place it into my composting bin.
Then, I take the pile of worms and separate it from the vermicast, sprinkling the vermicast onto the paper to make a nice bed for the earthworms. It's important to water it so that it stays moist.
From there I take the ball of earthworms and place them onto the bed and let them wriggle their way into their bed of paper and vermicast.

Now I can begin to feed them, so I grabbed some alfalfa sprouts that I had leftover from a cooking class and sprinkled them in.

Finally, it's important to cover the food with more paper, and then wet everything down, and place on the lid.

My system is now operational! I'm heading back to her shop on Saturday to pick up some compost tea to spray on the foilage of my plants.

I'm really seriously working on getting a big container garden going. Here is my kale, basil, thyme, chives, parsley, and Maui onions.... (hard to see but they are all in there!).

Cilantro and arugula are sprouting in some other containers...

Hawaii State Agriculture Conference

On September 23rd and 24th, I attended the Hawaii State Agriculture Conference at the beautiful Ko'Olina Resort. For two days, I thoroughly enjoyed and took in as much of the information as possible, and here is my interpretation and summary of the issues for you:

• We as a nation and world are in completely uncharted territory in terms of CO2 emissions and are in dire need of innovation and new ideas.
  
• The most critical issues facing the islands seem to be the price and/or availability of energy, land, water, and the number of farmers. In addition, financing and transportation are important issues. 'Energy' and 'Agriculture' may see some big fights to come. The main recommendation is for everyone (conventional and organic farmers and ranchers) to try to "get along" and to communicate well regarding our shared issues.
• UH's College of Tropical Ag is working on aquaponics to meet some of the new sustainability standards set for 2050. Aquaponics helps solve problems of access to land. Some of the components of farming this way are expensive, so they are looking at ways to source items locally (e.g., fish food and fertilizers).
  
• We currently have 90% of our energy shipped to the islands in the form of oil. There is a big push to move to biofuels (and I was sitting between someone from the Department of Energy and another person from the Navy who were both asking lots of questions and taking many notes), but farmers and ranchers are losing their land so that biofuels can be grown and produced. Although it was left unsaid, it was implied that the biofuels are GMO crops.
• It's critical that we all move to organic and sustainable methods of production. For health reasons in particular, organics were strongly recommended. We heard from ex-conventional farmers who have completely changed their methods and yielded some incredible crop results.
  
• Consumers need to educate themselves that food doesn't come from a store, it comes from the farmers. We all really need to stop shopping at places that offer "cheap" food and start prioritizing local producers. Buying "cheap" creates more long term systemic problems.
  
• Ranchers and farmers are people on whom we all currently rely every day (so we really need to value and respect them).
  
• Ranchers are moving toward grass fed beef. The cow is becoming a key part of the biofuel industry. It's predicted that perhaps the ranchers will start building some bio-refineries and when this happens, they will be selling energy back to HECO. (Seems like we really ought to be nice to our farmers!)
• Cows and worms are some pretty valuable creatures.
  
• Korean Natural Farming Methods and biochar are a couple of things to seriously learn about and incorporate into current farming.

Although the mood was hopeful and optimistic, I came home concerned about our food and energy security.

Photos from the Lunch: Wraps & Spreads cooking class

Thanks again to Ruth for sharing her photos from the afternoon cooking class! I had some help rolling everything up for everyone so that we could move on to the next recipe. Looking forward to next week's class, Lunch: Gourmet Bento Box Items

Recovering Your Health

From The Book of Macrobiotics by Michio Kushi

In order to recover and develop our physical, mental, and spiritual health, we need to reorient our way of life in the following ways:

• we should reflect upon our own daily life, whether we are pursuing only sensory pleasures and emotional comfort, and thus forgetting our native potential for greater happiness and higher freedom

• we should reflect further upon our daily food and drink and consider whether our meals are really balanced to produce the best quality of blood and cells as well as to secure the best mental and spiritual conditions.

• we should also reflect upon our thought and behavior toward our family, friends, and other people and consider whether our respect and love are really dedicated from the heart and whether our behavior toward them is really serving for their health and happiness

The beginning of self recovery from all personal unhappiness, including physical and mental disorders, is our understanding of the perceptual order of yin and yang. In order to release ourselves from all physical and mental disorders changing our degenerative tendencies towards health and happiness, we must first apply our understanding of yin and yang to our daily dietary practice, how to choose, prepare, and take our food and drink. Through proper eating, our blood and body will become sound and whole. Mental and spiritual well being will naturally follow. food is creating us. If the nourishment we receive is proper, we are naturally more energetic physically, more comfortable emotionally, and more elevated spiritually than when our way of eating is imbalanced and disorderly. If our daily food is improper, our health declines, our emotions are disturbed, and our spirit becomes chaotic. Personal feelings, social relations, and our approach to any problems are influenced by what we eat. When we feel any frustration and disturbance, we should first reflect upon what we have been eating. Our physical and mental habits, as well as tendencies in our thinking and capacities of our consciousness all depend upon what we have been eating for a long period, from the embryonic stage through childhood up to the present. To change our food is to wholly change ourselves. Through food, consciously or unconsciously, we shape our destiny.

Kanu Hawaii Eat Local Cooking Class

Date: October 1, 2010
Time: 5:30 pm	to	8:30 pm

As part of the Kanu Hawaii Eat Local Campaign, I will be teaching a class emphasizing local produce and how we can use it in quick, easy, nourishing, and delicious meals. This class is great for anyone who wants to use more local produce and even for those who use local produce often, but may want new recipe ideas.

Location: Pan American MOA, 3510 Nuuanu Pali Road, Honolulu, HI

Prices and more details can be found on my website:
Kanu Hawaii Eat Local Cooking Class

Myths and Misconceptions about Macrobiotics and Nutrition

Would you like to find a new level of health and vitality? Warren Kramer shares how the understanding of macrobiotic principles can transform your health and lead you to an even more amazing life. This lecture will take place on Thursday, April 15th, 2010. See Leslie's website for more information.

Cooking Class: Adjusting to Warm Weather and Tropical Climates

The recipes taught in Saturday's Cooking Class (that's 4/17/2010) will be:

• Corn Chowder
  
• Mediterranean Style Barley Salad
• Fresh Chickpea Salad
  
• Asian Salad with Sesame Dressing
• Red and Green Mixed Veggies
• Glazed Pineapple and Strawberries

Sound good? Come join us!

For more info, and to register go to Leslie's website

Warren Kramer Seminar

After coming for the first time in October of 2009, Warren Kramer, an internationally renowned senior macrobiotic educator and health counselor will be back to teach us more!

Enjoy a variety of ways to participate, including:

Lectures/Cooking Classes The goal of practicing macrobiotics is freedom and happiness. Without our health, we are not free to live our lives as we wish. Macrobiotic education teaches principles we can use to guide our own lives. Yin and Yang, or the complementary and antagonistic aspect of all of life, are at the core of much of macrobiotic education. It is the study of change.

Lectures will include:

1) Myths and Misconceptions About Macrobiotics and Nutrition $30, Thursday April 15, 7 to 9 pm

2) How to See Your Health; The Art of Visual Diagnosis $30, Friday April 16, 7 to 9 pm

3) Application of the Five Transformation Theory to Discharge Past Foods $30, Saturday April 17, 9:30 to 11:30 am

4) Fifty Ways to Love Your Liver $30, Sunday April 18, 1:30 to 4:30 pm

Cooking Class will be:

Seasonal Cooking for Warm Weather and Tropical Climates $50, Saturday April 17, 1:30 to 4:30 pm

Click on the lecture or cooking class title above to learn more and to pay. It will take you to a separate page with the course description and PayPal button.

Health Consultations Schedule a one-on-one meeting with Warren Kramer to discuss your particular needs and to receive individualized recommendations for how to strengthen or regain your health.Your recommendations are specific to you and based on macrobiotic principles of health and well-being. A limited number of personal consultations with Warren are available. They can be scheduled Wednesday (the 14th), Thursday (the 15th), Friday (the 16th), and Sunday (the 18th) and will be held at a private residence in Manoa.

Health Consultation Prices and Details

All classes will be held at Pan American MOA Foundation, 3510 Nuuanu Pali Drive Please see Leslie's website for all the payment and registration details

Easy Whole Foods Cooking for Busy People (8-week series)

Easy Whole Foods Cooking for Busy People (8-week series)
**discounted class fee!**

When: Begins May 2nd
Taught by: Leslie Ashburn
Fee: $160/series; $30/class

Are you interested in healthy eating but not quite sure how to practice it? Are you overwhelmed by the task of cooking for your family?

This is the cooking class for you.

This 8-week series is intended to provide a very approachable and affordable way to commit to your cooking journey.

Leslie's vegan macrobiotic cooking classes are for people who seek a healthier lifestyle and a natural approach to diet and healing. Learn how to bring more balance, flexibility, and joy into your life through the power of food. In each class, you will discover the importance and health benefits of a whole foods plant-based diet. Only the freshest, organic, seasonal ingredients are used in a variety of sumptuous and enticing ways. The recipes shared in the class are easy to prepare, even if you have just a little bit of cooking experience.

Classes include an introductory lecture, demonstration, recipes and educational material. The atmosphere is casual, interactive, and friendly. All questions welcomed during the cooking classes. We sit down to enjoy a delicious taste of the food, followed by cooperative cleanup.

Series includes recipes for:
grains
beans
sea veggies
greens
root veggies
round/ground veggies
soup
dessert

Early Registration is required. The entire series is $160. You can sign up ala carte for $30/class.

Sacred Kitchen

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Originally uploaded by macro808

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.

Sacred Kitchen 2

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Originally uploaded by macro808

Here is another photo of the kitchen. What kind of feelings does it give you? Leave your comments!

Offerings

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Originally uploaded by macro808

I like to offer a space for sacred and devotional items in the kitchen.

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.

Vegan Organic, Healthy, Sustainable Meals on Sundays!

Come out on Sunday to the new Haleiwa Farmer's Market and check out my booth, Macrobiotic Hawaii, by Leslie Ashburn for information about how macrobiotics provides a comprehensive and effective approach towards establishing and maintaining improved physical, mental, and spiritual health. Eat delicious, happy-to-be-alive vegan macrobiotic bentos that help you live your "great life".

If you want to "be green", macrobiotics is a great way to go!

Here are some reasons (from the Organic Consumer's Association) to eat more plant based food:

• Food accounts for 13% of all Greenhouse Gas emissions.
• Red meat and dairy are responsible for nearly half of all greenhouse gas emissions from food for an average U.S. household.
• Replacing red meat and dairy with chicken, fish, or eggs in your diet for one day per week reduces emissions equal to 760 miles per year of driving. (Imagine how eating more whole grains, beans, and vegetables would improve this number!!)
• Switching to vegetables one day per week cuts the equivalent of driving 1160 miles per year.

Support local farmers and small businesses:

I'm using Ma'o Organic Farm produce like salad greens, kale, parsley, and basil as well as Mrs. Cheng's nigari tofu. Yum!