Macrobiotic meal, my style

using produce fresh from the market, i made
1 daikon and square nishime
2 black soy bean and onion
3 blanched kale and scallion
4 pressed cabbage, basil and parsley
and brown rice w/ check pea and arame seaweed.
didn't forget miso soup with cauliflower.
heavenly delicious : )

Market in Fall

2 weeks of absense, i immidiately went to union square green market.
wow, already fall produce!!
another favorite season : )
what will i cook?

In Becket, MA

2 weeks at kushi institute in Becket, MA.
such a healing experience.
between classes, or meal, i just walked in the woods.
sometimes to the lake.
eating only macrobiotic meal, nothing else.
my body and soul are totally purified : )

Please tell me you are kidding when you say....

"i'm eating lots of ice cream"
Mr. Steven P. Jobs, Apple's chief exec, after he received a liver transplant, because of a complication caused by pancreatic cancer.
"to gain weight"

the biggest culprit for pancreatic disorder is SUGAR!!
and dairy, eggs as well as sugar---3 main ingredients of ice cream-- are extremely hard on liver, since those foods overburden the organ when it tries to digest and detoxify the acids from those foods(fat, foreign protein).
so ice cream is the last thing you should eat!!

when you have a pancreatic problem, it is hard to gain weight since your body cannot properly absorb nutrients.
also, because of the insulin problem, you tend to crave "sweetness".

what you need to do is,
1 eat foods easy to digest (whole grains, vegetables)
2 chew well (50 to 100 times each mouth full),
3 also to strengthen pancreas and to satisfy the sweet tooth, drink "sweet vegetable soup.

hope Mr. Jobs read this, and contact any macrobiotic counselor!!

Spider Veins?

according to today's times, astonishing 70% of population will be affected by spider veins, or telangiectasia.

and seems that the main stream treatment for that is called scerotherapy, a kind of injection to "irritate the vein's lining and cause its wall to collapse".
sounds very aggressive and invasive!!
also costs up to $500!
some people use cream for the condition.

but from Macrobiotic point of view, the undelying cause is.....
overconsumption of liquid, fruits, juice, or oil., which expand the capillary.
and this is not just about "apperance", but could be a sign of trouble with heart,circulatory,digestive, excretion system, liver, spleen/pancreas.
also, people with spider veins tend to have migrain, or menstrual problems.

so, instead of spending lots of money on surgery or cream, i suggest that they go to the root cause.
cut down on liquid, juice, fruits for a while.

Macrobiotic Bento Box : )

This is a sample meny that i make for "Macrobiotic Bento Box" (pick up/delivery).
not as cute as the ones introduced in today's new york times, though.
but as it is mentioned, i care about presentation, too.
a part of japanese culture : )

"Still Walking" and Fried Corn Cake

i saw a beautiful japanese movie, called "still walking", the other day.
no big drama, kind of reminds me of old Ozu movies, subtle but real, and nothing special happens throughout the movie, even at the end.

some people may not appreciate this kind.
nothing like hollywood movies.---don't get me wrong.i, too, sometime enjoy hollywood movies! : )
but i just loved it!

then i thought about food.
the difference between modern diet and macrobiotics or traditional japanese food.

our modern food culture is like a hollywood movie, while macrobiotic is like this kind of japanese movie.

we tend to like food that gives us instant satisfaction, something that you can taste strong flavor with the first bite, mainly intensified with seasonings such as salt, sugar,herb or spice.
tangible and easy to understand,does not require chewing or any other effort from or side.
we will have instant "wow!", but does not last long, and sometimes it gets boring.

macrobiotic, or traditional japanese food, on the other hand, the taste is subtle and gentle, not very strongly flavored or seasoned.
instead, each ingredient has its own place, and you will appreciate gradually and slowly, as you chew and chew and chew.....

after a hollywood movie, we would have "wow" instantly, and can say "i loved it" or "not".
while this time, after "still walking", my friend and i didn't have any quick comment, not very sure if we liked it or not, but gradually, kind of sunk in, and over dinner, finally we started to talk about it.
and we decided that we loved the movie!

and i liked this slow process.

by the way, there are some cooking scene in the movie, and one dish made me drool.
that is deep fried corn cake.

so i made it---though i didnt know the recipe.
taste sooooooo sweet and delicious! (kind of instant, but lasts long, too : )

recipe (Jin's version)

1 kernel of corn (i used organic corn from norwick medow farm. thank you!!)
1/2 cup of corn meal
1/4 cup of whole wheat flour
1 to 1 tbs of grated mountain potato
pinch of salt

mix and deep fry
enjoy!

Morning After Mini Fasting....

Over the weekend, i was eating a bit too much, so my body said to me, " take a break, please".
so yesterday, no snack, simple meal during the day, and skip dinner, went to sleep earlier than usual.

this morning, i woke up one hour earlier w/o alarm clock, refreshed and recharged, and went for a walk to central park.
a perfect beautiful sunny day.

then i came accross black-crowned night-heron!
looks like an early bird catches a bird : )

skipping meal(evening) from time to time is a good way to rest (and strengthen) hard-working digestive sysytem,(spleen,pancreas,liver, kidneys) , and detox.
most effective on the new moon or full moon.

also an unexpected can happen, too : )
** 4th, full moon. 18th, new moon this month.

Swine Flu

Bioligically, flu virus is not a living thing.
it's a pure protein.
so instead of "kill" them, we can "break down" the virus as we do other food.
traditionally around the world, we have eaten certain foods/spice/herb to break down animal protein. such as garlic, ginger, daikon, lemon, wasabi, umeboshi plum etc etc.

Tamiflu is also made of a chinese spice, too.

most importantly, we can build a strong, healthy body(blood) to avoid falling sick by eating right diet in the first place.

washing hands, wearing mask, or avoiding crownds might be important.
but sometime it's inevitable to expose the viruses.
so why don't we eat right to protect ourselves?

here is more about this http://www.wholelifewithjin.com/swineflu.html