Steamed watercress and hijiki salad

need a freshness and "upward energy" to your meal?
but raw salad is a bit too cold?
quick steam watercress, it still has crunchness and freshness.
add hijiki seaweed , dressed with ume vinegar, soy sauce, and toasted sesame and sunflower seeds.
easy, refreshing winter salad : )

French Onion Soup, macrobiotic way

using dashi stock (dried shitake and dried kombu), shitake mushroom and grated brown rice mochi.
recipe from Mayumi's Kitchen.
one of my favorites this winter so far : )

Winter Wonderland!

another big snow storm in new york.
went for a walk in the morning in central park.
just so pretty : )

Central Park this morning

Core Food

in my country, traditionally our daily meal is centered around rice and miso soup.
rice is even called "main dish".
since i came to this country, i realized that how this way of eating (having core food,whole grains, supplmented by some side dishes) gives me a sense of ground-ness in this ever-changing, chaotic world.

there is even a certain way to place rice and soup in japan.
rice, on your front left side, and soup the front right side.

dishes in the pic.
brown rice and millet
miso soup with kabocha and scallion
lotus root, dried daikon and hijiki seaweed
chick pea with carrot, onion and potato
blanched kale, cabbage and radish w/ ume vinegar dressing. sunflower seeds, sesame
and a few small glasses of junmai sake : )

Happy Dark Leafy Greens!

have been studying so called "modern nutrition" recently, and re-discovered how much nutritional value dark leafy greens have!
it's like a miracle foods. no wonder they call them "nutritional power house".

trying to eat them everyday, and yes, feeling good!

the other dish in the pic is lentil stew, with parsley as garnish.(yin and yang again!)

indulgence

whole wheat vegan biscuits from "Kind Diet".
using NY farm's local whole wheat pastry flour, it tastes so fresh!
jam is a holiday gift from friends, organic winery called Frog's Leap in NAPA.
store bought rice milk whip cream was.... ok.

arame, dried daikon, onion and carrot

another favorite dish.
eating sun-dried foods like this (dried daikon) provides much needed vitamin D in winter.
sweet taste of this dish relaxes my soul : )

adzuki bean and kabocha

simple yet conforting. one of my favorite winter dish : )
scallion is a nice touch to balance the energy (yin and yang)

Brunch at candle cafe

one of my favorite, candle cafe on upper east side.
this BBQ tempeh (the menu said seitan, but apparently it was tempeh) sandwich was fabulous!
good friends, tasty/healthy foods....perfect sunday afternoon : )

quick lunch

this is my typical "quick" saturday lunch in cold seasons.
brown rice, miso soup, sauteed veggies (with tempeh and leftover sobna noodle), stewed veggies.

nabe soup with soba noodle

this may be one of the coldest winter in new york!
using this nabe pot a lot this year.
and naturally crave soba, winter grain : )
great with vegetable miso soup!

deep fry

yes, sometimes i crave deep fried food.
this is deep fried Fu, whole wheat, bread-like gluten food.
my friend said, "wow, this tastes like a pork chop!"
sauce is apple/miso.
only problem is.... to take care of used cooking oil.
is there any place that collects it in the city???

soba soup

not the soba noodle, but soba grain.
soba is considered a winter grain, and has warming effect on your body.
perfect dish for this super cold weather : )
comforting and tasty!

reflection of sunrise

morning walk

even big snow doesn't keep me from morning walk!
and i encountered this unexpected beautiful sunrise, along with a big hawk and some red cardinals : )

another snow storm in NYC

but not much accumulation, well, not as much as last time.
sorry, kids! ---no snow day
the pic is the entrance of central park

and Zoni soup

an of course, the main dish for new year is Zoni soup.
from my mother's recipe.
each year, getting better and closer to my mom's...i hope

wish you all a happy, healthy and prosperous year!!

sweet tooth

long-cooked sweet black soy bean(maple syrup and honey)
baked creamy japanese sweet potato with caramerized walnuts
no refined sugar, yet gently sweet : )

sweet pressed daikon & carrot and amaranth "cavier"

red and white are considered "good fortune", and use the color combination for ceremonial occasion.
daikon and carrot are perfect for this.
pressed and soaked in brown rice vinegar, orange juice and zest with raisin.

instead of real cavier, i made this dish with amaranth, with wakame and nuts.
creative vegan dish : )

Kombu Rolls

kombu rolles with gobo, carrot and deep fried tofu.
mirin-soy caramerazed anchovi with macademia nuts

Osechi, Japanese New Year Dishes

this year, i made all of them in macrobiotic way.
turned out great!

Year Crossing Soba in broth

a tradition in japan.
eating soba on new year's eve.
and i follow this tradition every year : )