If a bee stings you....

"If you should be stung by an innocent bee, which seeks only after a sweet and sugary smell, it is your own fault. The composition of your blood and consequently of your entire constitution is saturated with excess sweetness and the sugary taste. Is it not the laxity of your personality and the weakness of your physiological makeup dependent on the quality and composition of your blood and entire constitution? If you find the sting of a bee intolerable, perhaps you should understand this as a divine warning. This is a signal that your life is in danger..."
George Osawa

Agedashi Nasu, deep fried eggplants in grated daikon dashi broth

cut half or quater, lengthwide, and fry in oil, set them aside
heat gently a cup of dashi stock, 2 tbs of soy sauce and 2 tbs of mirin, cool it down
grate daikon and add to the broth

soak fried egg plant in broth for a while (at least 30min)
add grated ginger, and eat room temperture or warm : )

* eggplants are night shade, could cause inflammation. especially if you have arthritis, should be avoided.

Macrobiotic Lunch Box

i prepared some food for the concert.

1 brown rice ball with shiso
2 pressed salad (cabbage, celery,carrot and chick peas) with ume vinegar
3 arugula and tomato salad with sauteed maitake mushroom, balsamic vinegar dressing

tasted even better eating outdoor : )

Philharmonic in Central Park

went to the philharmonic concert in central park!
last time- 2 summers ago--, we arrived so late that we had to sit outside the lawn, but this time, arriving one hour before the start, we could get a nice spot : )
the sound system was surprisingly good, considering the fact that it was outdoor!

beautiful music under the.....clouds, had a fabulous time : )

Celery Farm Natural Area, NJ

and birding

in the park, you can just walk around this fresh water marsh.
and i saw so many kinds of birds!

blue herons, a family of swan(only one baby left, and the rest were killed by the snapping turtles!), canadian gooses, different kinds of ducks, wood pecker, red- winged black bird, and what looks like cedar waxwing, and a little bird with blue bright dots(could not identify), etc etc.
and yes, i saw huge snapping turtles, which i though was a rock or something at first.

great place for birding.

cute little friends : )

ive never seen it in nature, but they were everywhere in the park!

Forest Bathing, "shinrin-yoku"

on saturday morning, a beautiful day, went to this place called Celery Farm, Allendale NJ.

in today's NY times talks about "shinrin-yoku" or "forest bathing" in japan.
and how being exposed to plants, nature can boost immune function, as well as mental wellness.
the secret, according to the article, may be "phytoncides", the airborne chemicals emitted by plants.

aside from negative ions, there are so many reasons to be in nature : )

Lettuce, when it's not crisp anymore....

salad greens are abundance this season.
and naturally our body needs/wants them to cool down.
but the problem is they do not last very long!
if you have a bit sorry-looking lettuce in the fridge, blanch very quick, shock in ice water, and squeeze (all in 30 sec)
then cut into bite size, particularly goes well with miso-brown rice vinegar dressing.(recipe a few pages below)

so enjoy the last bit of lettuce : )

Bean and Corn Salad

Corn season!
Corn, the summer grain, is especially nurturing the heart and small intestine, which are most sensitive to this expansive season.

cook black soy bean
blanch corn
press cabbage and radish(1 hour or so)

mix all, add a few drops of ume vinegar.
(or other home made dressing)
pretty, refreshing, and delicious!

Daikon Tops

i use most of the part of vegetables.
skin, tops, roots, as much as possible.
that's macrobiotics!

anyhow....
blanch daikon tops until the color brightens.
shock in ice water, then squeeze out excess water.
cut into bite size

eat with ume vinegar, or soy sauce, or in this case.
dressing made of white miso(1ts),broen rice vinegar(1ts), cooking water(1ts).
sprinkle toasted sesame.

Fried Daikon

easy snack or appetizer.
thin slice daikon radish, sprinkle sea salt, let it sit for a few minutes.
coat the slices with brown rice flour (or whole wheat flour), then fry until golden.
yum yum yum!