detox, kind of...

a week in LA and Palm Springs.
even though i mainly had healthy meal at macrobiotic or vegan cafe, i ended up eating too much "fried" stuff, and vegan/macro sweets, along with lots of wines.

so i needed a bit detox upon returning.

natto, steamed kale, miso soup, brown rice.
my "core food" : )

Lunch after Green Market

summer is ending, but summer produce are still fresh and delicious!
back from union square market, and made a quick yet delicious lunch : )

peace tomato (the small yellow ones) are so sweet!

Experiment

Macrobiotic snack is always challenging.
too much nuts, seeds or dried fuirts makes me bloat.
whole wheat soughdough everyday is boring...

how about brown rice mochi?
but with what??

so i experimented.
first heat up moshi on a pan.
and tried with
1 nuts butter
2 apple butter (from farmer's market)
3 blueberry sauce (made by ME)

apple butter went well.
blueberry sauce was ok, but with combination of almond butter and the sauce was good. too.

sometimes i go with nori/soy sauce or sesame/soy sauce, too.

cook in amazake is great in cold weather.

any other ideas?

Another Okra Dish

another simple okra dish
steam okra and fu-nori (seaweed)
mix soy sauce and brown rice vinegar, and ground sesame
mix all

serve cold or room temperture : )

Surikogi

Grinding sesame...
fabulous aroma starts to emerge, and stimulates my senses and appetite : )
Gentle, circular motion and the grinding sound against surikogi is even so therapeutic...

City of Peace and Friendship

After the unprecedented catastrophy in Hiroshima and Nagasaki, those cities declared themselves "City of Peace and Friendship" to the world.

Since then, there have been huge grass root movements throughout the country to build "city of peace", "nuclear free city" all over Japan.
And now, almost 80% of the local authorities in the country have vowed to work for building "nuclear free world", "peaceful world".

I hope New York City will join this movement, and become a new capital of "Peace and Friendship".

big meal

brown rice with azuki bean
miso soup with daikon and scallion
hijiki,shirataki,dried daikon and carrot
kale
and sauerkraut

Kale, kale, kale

Kale is one of my favorite veggies.
but because it's very hard, especially the stem part, it takes time/patience to cook.
well, at least for me.

and sometimes it's relatively tender and easily cooked, sometimes extremely hard and takes forever to be cooked.
is that due to freshness, water content?

anyway, yesterday i blanched them and ate with tahini/peanut dressing, and toasted pumpkin seed.
standard macrobiotic dish.

and..... delicious!!

Enjoy Summer Veggies

lots of summer veggies are considered too yin.
still, at the peak of the season, they taste heavenly delicious.

the season starts to change, so i cooked them a bit longer than usual, with the help of other yang ingredients, such as miso, soy sauce, kuzu, and green lentils.

wow, it IS delicious!
veggies are red pepper, okra, japanese egg plant, green beans, onion and scallions.

Monday Detox

weekends, normally go out and have heavy (delicious) meal and wine.
so every monday is my detox day.
no oil
lots of vegetables.
easy on my digestion and nutritious.
yet, easy to cook...and of course, delicious.....

Nishime!
that is my perfect monday detox dish : )

daikon, carrot, broccoli, dried tofu and kombu.
least seasonins and you can taste how sweet each vegetable is!

Lazy sunday afternoon...

sunday afternoon, being alone and lazy.
something quick to make.

1 miso brown rice risotto with whatever in the fridge
2 leftover miso soup with soba noodle
3 blanched carrot top with sesame, soy sauce and mirin dressing (leftover)
4 pressed cucumber with wakame, w/ ume vinegar (leftover)

easy, but what a feast : )

Rishuu

even apples and pears!
surely season is changing.
and love to notice the change with produce : )

Beginning of Autumn

In Japan, around August 7th is considered Rishuu, or "the beginning of Autumn, according to old carender.

still hot and humid sometimes, but when i'm walking in central park in the morning, i could feel a subtle change in season.

and it is more obvious when i go to union square green market.
first grapes this season are out!

Toast to the sunset...

view from the roof top of the house we stayed.
heaven....

shiso pesto

speaking of shiso, i had some left over that i got from union square market.
so i made shiso pesto before i went to the island and brought it.

recipe is easy.
the same way as basil pesto,(i dont use cheese, though)
and instead, just use shiso.
OMG.
i loved it!!
used as a sauce for fish dinner on the island : )

Fire Island!

summer vacation on fire island!
the weather was fabulous, and the place we stayed this year was the best of all.

lunch was simple and delicious macrobiotic meal : )
the owner of the house grows some herbs, including shiso.
so i picked up and ate with brown rice.
so fragrant and delicious!
fresh from the garden... that's the best : )

okra!

okra is one of my favorite summer veggies : )
saute, deep fry, or even in a soup, so many ways to enjoy.
this time, the most simple dish, steaming.
cut diagonally, and steam until soft.
mix with ground sesame and soy sauce.
eat warm or cold.

65 years....

This is the 65th anniversary of Hiroshima and Nagasaki.

in 1945, August 6th at 8;15am, the first atomic bomb was dropped on human being in Hiroshima, Japan.
three days later, 9th at 11:02am, second one was dropped in Nagasaki.

Instantly more than 200000 people were killed, and since then hundreds of thousands of people have been suffering from radiation-related diseases, affecting second and third generations.

I have had many opportunities to meet a-bomb survivors--hibakusha-- since i was young, and they never ever mention or express any grudge or "retaliation".

instead, all they want is
"Never let this happen again"
"Never let anyone go through what we have gone though"

no more Hiroshima, no more nagasaki, no more hibakusha.
these are their cry, and hope.

and this is the ultimate goal in my life.

May Love and Peace grow and spread on Earth...

Water Melon from NY Organic Farm

because of the heat of this summer, i've been enjoying lots of fruits, maybe more than necessary : )
especially water melon, which i had almost no appetite last year (kind of cool summer, remember?)

so every weekend, i get this super sweet, delicious water melon from Norwich Meadows Farm, at a stand in union square.
they are small so perfect for me to finish in a few weeks by myself : )

then again, do not discard the rind!

Don't discard the rind of Watermelon!

you can pickle them : )

remove only the hard, outer skin, wash, then pickle or cook like cucumber.
this version is

heat a pan, a few drop of sesame oil and spread with brush
add 1 tbs of soy sauce and ume vinegar
before boil, quickly add cut water melon rind and coat with the sauce well.
let it cool, and press in the fridge for at least a few hours.