Blackberry Picking!

there is a little farm near prinston, so we went there, where we could do berry picking.

i wanted to pick blueberry, but they were already gone, so instead, we picked up some blackberry!

i didn't even know how they grow!

i made a simple salad with the berry in the evening, and the next morning, had it with organic plain yogurt.
yum!!

Eating.....

come to think of it, we tend to think that "eating" is such an induvidual, personal activity.
but it's NOT!

there are so much, so many involved until the food comes to our table. everyday!
farmers, of course.
purveyers, drivers, retailers, or those who cook (and do the dishes, in some cases)
not just people,
but soil, water, the sun, the moon, the wind, worms, bugs, all the nature.
and if you eat animals or fish, they "sacrifice" their lives for us.

we tend to forget these things when we eat, and take it for granted....

in japan, we say "itadaki masu" before eat, and "gochiso sama" after we ate.
to show gratitude.
and i see in western culture, some people say grace before eating.
i think that's very beautiful : )

going to a green market and meet farmers every week, or doing a little gardening really made me realize those things : )
"how lucky, and happy i am to be able to eat this delicious meal today, despite everything else!"

My Little Organic Garden

my little organic garden in prinston is getting out of control!! ---in a good way : )

after the cool, rainy summer, i was afraid that some veggies could not survive, but the hot weather in the past week seemed to have helped!

beet, turnips, sunchoke are all good.
and even leek and celery are doing well : )

weeding, watering, harvesting just for, say 30min, under the intense sun really hit me.

and makes me appreciate how farmers are working so hard every single day, sunny or rainy, hot or cold, so we can eat!

when we say grace at dinner table, we should say, "thank you" to the farmers, too!

What's wrong with green bell peppers??

in yesterday's NY Times dining section, there was an article about how lots of people have not so good feeling about green bell pepper!

come to think of it, green pepper is one of the vegetables that many japanese kids do not like to eat.

for me, bell pepper means this green one.
i didn't even know that there are other colors, and taste different until not so long ago.

anyway, this is so UNFAIR!

so i immidiately cooked something.
sauteed green pepper with fried tofu.
by the way, i buy green pepper from the organic farmer that was interviewed in this article.
Norwich Meadow Farm.
they have a stall in union square market.
and they have so many different kinds of beautiful peppers!
and all delicious : )

i have a theory.
try organic one before you decide if you like it or not.
they taste different : )
or at least from local, small farms.
maybe people who do not like green bell pepper only tried non-organic one!

recipe

1 coat tofu with whole wheat flour or brown rice flour(or mix)
2 saute with sesame oil
3 add garlic, ginger and scallion and saute
4 finally add green bell pepper(cut) and saute with salt and pepper.
5 add 2 tbs of soy sauce and mix
bon appetit : )

Time's full story here http://www.nytimes.com/2009/08/12/dining/12green.html?_r=1&ref=dining

Refreshing Summer Noodle Salad

90 degree!
real summer at last!

this hot, humid and hazy weather can lose your appetite.
in japan, where its more humid than here, we eat cold noodle like soba-buck wheat-, udon or somen when we do not feel like eating.
they are easy to digest, and nutritious at the same time.
and also refreshing with dahi-based dipping sauce.

i added a bit of summer salad like celery(from green market, of course) , yuba(tofu skin) and wakame seaweed : )

recipe

boil and cook noodle, cool down.
cut celery, sprinkle sea salt and press
soak dried wakame in water for 5 to 10min, drain well.

dressing

dashi
soy sauce
brown rice vinegar
lemon juice
black sesame
all mix

place the noodle, and salad on top
pour generous amount of sauce
and serve cold

stir and eat : )

my happy happy saturdays

every saturday morning, i go to union square green market.
just looking at those beautiful, delicious produce makes me smile and happy.
---aren't these hairloom tomatoes just gorgeous?

they really stimulate my creativity.----cooking, in my case.
"what i can make out of this or that?"

coming back, straight to the kitchen, take care of all the veggies and fruits w/ TLC so that they last long and fresh. ---takes 30min to 1 hour!

then, cook for lunch : )

today's menu

1 sear-baked okra with sesame oil, ---alternative to deep fry
* eat with salt and lemon juice.

2 salad with hairloom tomato, arugula, peppermint, basil with pumpkin seeds.
*simple dressing ; 1ts olive oil, 1tbs vinegar, salt pepper and lemon juice

3 blanched red beet

4 soup with japanese turnip and celery leaf, w/dashi, soy sauce, ginger and salt

5 and sourdough bread with local grass-fed butter

delicious food makes me forget all the stress and makes me smile : )

summer beauty

in the market,
this year, i have discovered my new "it" there.
heirloom tomatoes!!

as a macrobiotic, im not a big "tomato" person, (nor eggplants or pepper) since they are tropical origin and considered a bit too yin, makes me feel off balance or even sneeze or runny nose when i overeat them ---typical yin condition : (

but look at these beautiful color and shape!
even though they are a bit more expensive than "normal"ones, they are just so tasty!

and i love their characters, too.
each one is so different, unique, just like new yorkers!

for a balance (to make it less too yin) , i add a bit of sea salt (and yes, to pay some respect those guys, i use special hawaiian sea salt) , or grill with basil from my own little organic garden ( i mean, pot)
yum yum yum!!

and each week, i try different hairloom tomatoes from different farm.
like tomato tasting!