Thank you, farmers : )

eat with strawberry/water cress salad, brown rice and garlic chive miso soup.
thank you, farmers : )

turnips tops are sweet and delicious, too : )

my after-farmer's market lunch : )

sauteed kale with garlic and orange juice
steamed japanese turnips with sea salt and lemon juive
stir dried sugar snap peas, carrot, shitake and tofu with kuzu soy sauce

Power of Food

always amazed how food has a strong impact on our body (and mind, too!).

umeboshi, ginger both worked so well for seasick this time.
also one morning in kauai, i was not feeling very well, feverish even.
probably too much wine, and ice cream, maybe even too much fish : (

so i had grated daikon.
also made a daikon drink with dried daikon.
of course, umesho bancha tea, too.

by around noon, i felt much better, fever was gone, and in the afternoon, i was enjoying snorkeling!

daikon is great to dissolve excess fat (fat, of course, includes sugar), and relieve fever due to the diuretic effect.(yes, i went to bathroom a lot in the morning)

now daikon is my "can't-live-without" travel companion : )
thank you, daikon!!

Ancient Village

landed on a beach.--surrounded by huge valley.
this place used to be an ancient village.
amazing how hundreds of people lived in such a small space.

we snorkeled there : )

another cave we got in,circled around the rock in the center.

hard to capture the real beauty of the valley.
i was so mesmerized that i even forgot to get seasick...

Cave

since the boat was so small that we could get into caves along the way!
more exciting than rollercoasters : )
soaking wet, but who cares! it was such an adventure!

Boat tour along Napali Coast

most specutacular coast in hawaii, Napali coast.
took a boat tour, with this small one!
a bit nervours, so i drank umesho-bancha tea in the morning, and brought ginger tea in a small thermos, and took a pill that i bought at a natural food store.
yes, i always get seasick....

and of course...

strawberry and rhubarb crumble, macrobiotic way : )
a.k.a, no sugar, no dairy.

cook rhubarb with apple juice,sea salt and cinnamon and add strawberry.
add water dissolved kuzu root starch (for thickning, and add some yang energy)
for crumble, high quality oil, whole wheat, oat, toasted almond,maple syrup.
bake 15min or so with 350F.

rhubarb contains oxalic acid, which inhibits absorption of some minerals such as calcium.
cooking could reduce the amount, but not much.
so better not to over consumption.
enjoy in moderation!

more strawberry

who knew?
daikon tops and strawberry!

blanch daikon radish tops, and cut.
for "aemono" or tofu creamy dressing,
crumble or puree tofu
add dashi stock, miso, tahini(optional), ume vinegar, soy sauce, toasted nuts and sesame
all mix well, then add sliced fresh local strawberry!
beautiful and yummy : )

Strawberry

a little break from Kauai.
strawberry season in NYC : )

made tofu strawberry parfait.
super simple, just puree tofu, apple juice and strawberry.
add some granola if you like.
simple, healthy but delicious!

breathtaking...

wild flowers

what a view!

hiking in kauai, never get bored

more hiking...

Healthy Meal : )

stayed at a hotel with kitchen, so enjoyed cooking using local produce.
today's lunch was scallion and miso brown rice risotto, tempeh with onion, kale with soy ginger sauce.
yes, even ginger is local!
and pressed cucumber with wakame seaweed, umeboshi vinegar dressing.

feeling a nice breeze from the ocean, paradise....

Sea salt making

Salt Pond Beach on the couth shore, there was this small seasalt field, where people were producing sea salt.
not commercially anymore, only for their own use.
but wouldn't that be great if you can make your own sea salt?
this is solar evapolating, using the sea water right from the ocean.
can it be more "locavore" ?

from a distance

i though this was rice paddy, but in fact, it's a taro field.
beautiful!

Taro

so huge!
looks like japanese satoimo(japanese taro), but they are more.....gigantic!
poi, made from this hawaiian taro, is so nutritious that they have been traditionally used as a baby food, too. like japanese okayu (rice porridge).
fascinating how each culture has its own way of growing and eating staples.

Hawaii's Staple

hawaii's staple, Taro!
and this is taro field.

ahhhhhh, negative ions

at the end of the trail, enjoyed swimming here : )
nice and cool!

hiking to the water falls

also more about the hiking to the water falls.
never got bored, since everything was just beautiful.
streams, trees, wild flowers,and lots of birds...

more view

Sleeping Giant

does this look like a face of sleeping giant?

Hiking in Sleeping Giant

a little more about hiking in sleeping giant, just to share the great view : )

Hawaii's Grand Canyon

looks like sacred places everywhere!

sunrise at sacred place

by the place i stayed, there was this small place on the ocean.
sacred stones are scattered, and you can watch both surise and sunset from there.
every morning, i went there and prayed to the sun.
some people were just sitting, meditating or doing yoga.

My Core Food

still, my breakfast was the "core food".
after bancha-twig tea with umeboshi plum,
brown rice porridge, miso soup, along with saurkraut and kale miso(from Macrobiotic restaurant in honolulu).

and surely this kept me healthy during the vacation : )

Local Food

enjoyed lots of tropical fruits.
interesting how my body naturally wanted these so-called "extreme yin foods" while in Hawaii.

Local Food

ran into local farmer's market!!
when in hawaii, eat as hawaiians do : )
kauai pineapples are a bit round-ish, but super delicious!

Organic Muffin : )

found this cute little organic bakery on the way back from hiking in Sleeping Giant.
using local, organic ingredients, fresh and delicious!

Sleeping Giant

a great view from Sleeping Giant.
it was right after sunrise.
now im hungry...

Jungle jungle jungle

and mosquitoes, mosquitoes, mosquitoes...

Garden Isle, Kauai

first time to Kauai, Hawaii : )
wherever i looked at, breathtaking view...

this is a view during one of many hiking trails i took.
Napali Coast.

Strawberry Salad : )

with watercress (also from local : ) and hijiki seaweed.

to make it less "seaweed-ish", hijiki is cooked with orange juice.
for the dressing, anything goes well, but i like to enjoy each ingredient (so fresh!), very small amount.
just a splincle of olive oil, aged balsmic vinegar, salt and pepper.
and toasted sunflower seed.

beautiful and delicious!

Strawberry!!

Finally, the wait is over!
yes, strawberry season has come to the north east : )

People's Power

this is my life theme.
nuclear free world.
as a japanese, i naturally feel a tremendous responsibility to do something about it.

promoting macrobiotic way of eating is not just for individual health, but a health for humanity.

i may be a small person (literally!), but i believe in people's power!

Farms not Arms!

loved it : )

Appeal from Hiroshima and Nagasaki

started in 1985, japanese people have been collecting petitions for nuclear free world called "appeal from hiroshima and nagasaki".
the goal is to collect 1 billion signatures from around the world, and so far, more than 100 millions have been collected.

and every few years, those pettitions are turned in to UN disarmament committee, making a huge impact on the international politics on this important issue.

if you see japanese collectin this, please sign!
your action means a lot toward the world peace : )

For Nuclear Free World

on the eve of "non proliferation treaty(NPT) review conference, thousands of people around the world gathered in times square!

more than a thousand people joined all the way from japan (including more than 100 hibakusha, or a-bomb survivors, the mayor of nagasaki, and hundreds of peace activists in japan).
turned out there were more than 10000 participants!

felt like i was in tokyo : )