I made 16 OBENTO (meal box to go) to celebrate Lunar new year, which will be 1/25/20. I used a lot of vegetables to cleanse and nourish our bodies. Here’s the menu. ⭐︎ White bean soup with broccoli ⭐︎ Baked tofu ( vegan version of miso-marinated baked Cod) ⭐︎ Steamed Burdock Root with Sesame sauce ⭐︎ Sautéed daikon and carrots with Koya-Tofu ⭐︎ Roasted Brussel sprouts ⭐︎ Spicy sautéed Conjack ⭐︎ Red beets salad ⭐︎ Rice with pickled SAKURA cherry blossoms with sautéed Daikon leaves ⭐︎ Matcha and Azuki bean cake Since I prepare the OBENTO by myself in my small kitchen, I can only make 15-16 at most. I often stay up all night to prepare as I make everything from scratch. It is hard work, and I sometimes can't help but blame myself for choosing to do this. But, at the same time, it is the precious moments of inspiration and learning. In Japan we call this "UMINO KURUSHIMI," In English, you could say there is purpose in the struggle. It is true that no matter what you are creating, you work so hard to bring out your creation to the world. Along the process, you may encounter many blissful pains, and sometimes, it is not pretty at all. But in the end, you can get overwhelming sense of fulfillment once in a while. It could be a trivial momentum. But through accumulating it, I believe our lives can become much more vibrant.
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We had hail this morning. Then, it changed into the rain. After that, the forest was filled with white fog. Then, the blue sky spread with lights. I felt the energy of purification. It was beautiful, so perfect timing to welcome the season of the winter DOYO. We are going to embarking into the winter DOYO season starting tomorrow. Each season fixed according to the sun's longitude: Spring-27°, summer-117°, autumn-207°, and winter-297°, and about 18 days before the beginning of each season, we have DOYO seasons. Which means we have 4 DOYO seasons throughout the year. And tomorrow will be the first day of the winter DOYO. According to the five elements theory — wood(spring), fire(summer), Earth (DOYO), metal(autumn), and water(winter) — are believed to be the fundamental elements of everything in the universe between which interactions occur. The season in CA is now winter, which is influenced by water energy, but to be precise, we will be in the Winter DOYO season combined with water and earth energy. During the DOYO season, the unsettled air of the transformation from winter to spring is floating around us. Also, the intense energy from the Earth is arising at the same time. Earth is the energy of the soil. The soil is the place where life is born and returns. It means that the soil has two opposite sides of the force, which are reproduction/fermentation and the putrefaction/deterioration. And we get influenced by those forces. In fact, it's the season of cold and flu, and our immune system gets weaker and prone to get sick easily around this time of the year. If we eat more processed food, fat, animal food, & white sugar, the inside of our intestines becomes close to the sate of "putrefaction/deterioration." On a process of digestion, they produce various toxins, and harmful bacteria thrive. Hence our life support energy in our body tries to discharge toxins, and you are more drawn to the energy of the soil of returns. But, if you eat more plant-based food, and fermented food such as MISO, any types of pickles of sauerkraut, KIMCHI, Ume plums, your good bacteria in the intestine thrive. Then, it nourishes and preserves cells in the colon and the liver. So, your immune system becomes stronger and helps to prevent gastrointestinal diseases as well as cancer and heart disease. Which means that you are more drawn to the energy of the soil of born. It is said that earth and human intestines contain approximately the same number of active microorganisms. If we give too much fertilizer, animal compost to the soil, it accumulates layers of toxic components of chemicals and prevents the growth and weaken the vitality of the crops. We could see the same effect in our intestine. If we intake too much of chemical substances such as preservatives, coloring agents, refined sugar & salt, and too much animal protein, our intestinal wall gets stiff. Then, we create fecal impaction, which is very similar to the toxic layer in the soil. A long time ago, human manure was used as fertilizer in Japan, which was the oldest organic cultivation in human history. By laying the manure in a fertilizer tank and fermenting it, it becomes easier for plants to absorb. The fermentation heat reaches 158F, so fungi and parasites get destroyed. The farmer bought Samurai's manure at the highest price because the quality of manure was the best compared to others. Samurai families lived in frugal; they eat one soup, one vegetable side dish, brown rice, and a bit of pickle twice a day. So, their digestive and gastrointestinal system was excellent condition. When we are in the Doyo season, it is time to take care of your body by eating a well-balanced diet. In Japan, we eat a lot of root vegetables such as burdock, daikon, taro roots. They contain the balanced energy of heaven and Earth. Since the Earth is the color of yellow according to the five elements theory, it is good to eat yellow color vegetables such as Kabocha pumpkin, sweet potatoes. Also, chewing well is one of the essential factors in being healthy. https://wanowa.weebly.com/blog/the-miracle-of-chewing By eating well for the next 17 days, we can embrace the spring with full of joy. Oh, my goodness. What a fantastic way to start the new year 2020 together! I never expected that we would have close to 100 reservations (including takeouts and volunteers.) The banquet hall was full of people with laughter and buzzing. I was so happy to see many faces from Monday dinner, a lot of friends from the Japanese community, and new local friends. They all came to dine together. Thank you all for coming to make it happen once again. Thank you to the Panninsula Macrobiotic Community for their years of dedication and achievements. We are here as a result of your decade of grass root movements. I will continue to learn and to cook a healthy healing cuisine based on the macrobiotic philosophy for the community. Thank you to all the volunteers who worked so hard to make it successful. And last but not at least, thank you, Maureen from groundedincommunity.com, who found the beautiful venue, and organize to carry on monthly dinner! I hope we can continue to keep moving forward, generation to generation. Wishing you a healthy & happy new year! Here's the menu we created for this month! ⭐︎ Lentil walnut loaf packed with veggies & brown rice ⭐︎ Mushroom gravy ⭐︎ Sweet potato medallions ⭐︎ Broccoli with tahini sauce ⭐︎ Boiled Japanese turnip marinated with olive oil & lemon juice ⭐︎ Green salad with creamy Amazake dressing ⭐︎ Beets salad marinated with cranberry Amazake dressing ⭐︎ Chocolate brownie All vegan & gluten-free Happy New Year 2020 to everyone!
On January 8th (Wednesday), I will be cooking lentil walnut loaf packed with veggies & brown rice and topped with mushroom gravy, sweet potato medallions, broccoli with tahini sauce, green salad with creamy amazake dressing and a chocolate brownie at First Presbyterian Church, Palo Alto. Anybody who loves healthy vegetarian food can join! The cost of the dinner is just $15. If you have time, please make a reservation at the website below by Monday afternoon, or send me a message. It would be wonderful if we can celebrate the new year together! If you don't have time, however, you can also grab takeout as well. You can make a reservation through our "meetup" site. https://www.meetup.com/mondaygourmetvegandinners/events/266938375/?_xtd=gatlbWFpbF9jbGlja9oAJGZiOWE5ZTE0LWQ2NGYtNGQ5NC1iM2E2LWU4YTA0MTk3ZmViNQ&_af=event&_af_eid=266938375 There is another way to make a reservation by using ”Eventbrite” as well. 😁 https://www.eventbrite.com/e/climate-friendly-plant-based-community-dinner-tickets-84924973883 |
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