On the first full moon day of 2023, we catered Japanese Obento boxes to Wanowa's local community in San Jose. In Japanese, Obento is the name of a takeaway lunch served in a box, usually nutritionally balanced, and arranged in an artful way. It was a little scary to drive on the "death road" highway with many sharp curves because of the rainy weather, but fortunately, it did not rain until we finished the mountain road. Thanks to the blessings of the forest🙏 Here's the menu: ☆ Kuzu soup with Wakame seaweed & Chinese cabbage ☆ Red bean rice ☆ Quinoa cabbage rolls ☆ Tsukune (Japanese tofu-ball skewers) ☆ Sautéd Konjac ☆ Potato salad ☆ Mashed tofu salad with chrysanthemum ☆ Simmered pumpkin ☆ Green beans with sesame paste ☆ Sweet & sour red cabbage with Amazake vinaigrette ☆ Strawberry rice balls(traditional Japanese confectionery) I worked so hard on creating Japanese confectionery called OHAGI. I wrapped each strawberry with sweet red beans, sweetened with dates and maple syrup. Then, I wrapped it again in sticky mochi rice. After that, I wrapped it again in white bean paste colored pink with beets. Finally, I decorated it with white bean paste colored with Matcha and sweet potato paste. I was so glad that it came out so cute and tasty! Cooking is my expression of prayer, joy and happiness. May this Obento bring them health, peace, and happiness throughout the year🙏💕🙏
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Tonkatsu, thick slices of pork that are breaded and deep fried, is one of the favorite foods of the Japanese. This western-inspired dish has been enjoyed for over 120 years, and we could say this is one of our soul foods. Young Japanese kids eat pork cutlets before games and exams. The word "katsu" also means "win" in Japanese, so they eat pork cutlets to encourage victory. When I was a child, there was a very popular Tonkatsu restaurant in my neighborhood, and my family used to go there on special occasions. As we lived frugally, dining out was a special event back then. Tonkatsu is crispy on the outside since it is coated with bread crumbs and deep-fried. When you bite into it, the crispness of the bread crumbs and juicy texture of the meat makes a sizzle-like sensation in your mouth. Since I became vegan, I don't eat meat anymore. I miss the Tonkatsu flavor, the harmony of crunchiness, and the juicy texture spreading all over your mouth, along with all those sweet memories of my family chatting over Tonkatsu dinner. So, I created vegan Yuba-katsu, using konjac and yuba (bean curd skin). It came out good - crunchy and delicious. I succeeded in recreating a texture that mimics that of real Tonkatsu. However, it was not exactly the same flavor as meat, so I need to work more on that. But when I ate my Yuba-katsu, it brought back my childhood memories - the restaurant smell, the memory of the table where we used to sit, and the anticipation of eating Tonkatsu with my family. The texture of Konjac is very chewy and elastic, so I thought it could be possible to create a meat-like texture with various innovations. I think I was actually able to pull this off. Now, I need to work on the flavor part if I want my Yuba-katsu to taste like a real pork cutlet. Since I am vegan, I am already very much satisfied with my Yuba-katsu. But I am a chef and I thought it would be an interesting challenge to taste like real meat. So, I will keep working on it and update my blog once I get the result I am looking for. I incorporate Konjac into my diet a few times a month since it has a lot of medicinal properties. It is a root vegetable that grows in Asia and is known for its starchy corm, a tuber-like part of the stem that grows underground. It makes a rich source of soluble dietary fiber known as glucomannan - a natural, water-soluble dietary fiber. Glucomannan expands to 200 times its size. Upon entering the digestive tract, it envelops calories, carbohydrates, and fat. Once it passes through your digestive system, the body regards it as fiber and flushes it out of your body along with the toxins in the digestive tract. It's no wonder the Japanese call it a "broom for the stomach." Glucomannan also attracts water in the digestive system and becomes a gel, slowing the digestive processes and trapping carbohydrates. This helps to stabilize blood sugar levels. Konjac is a miracle food for detoxification, and it is now getting very popular with the Keto crowd. You can buy Konjac at any Asian food market. Konjac has a unique smell, but you can get rid of it by massaging it with a bit of sea salt and blanching it for 3 minutes in boiling water with sea salt. Then, you can slice it and sauté with any vegetable or throw them in your soup or stew. A private house in Glenwood forest in Scotts Valley will be hosting a café on 12/2-4 from 11:00 am to around dusk. We will be serving an afternoon tea set (100% plant-based sandwiches, scones, and sweets) inspired by English-style afternoon tea with Wanowa's twist of being gentle on the body and soul.
We will also be collaborating with our friend Maki Yama on Saturday only. Maki, who has been exploring how to make delicious roasted coffee for years, will be brewing organic roasted coffee that is gentle on the body for you ✨ If you are a coffee lover, please book your seats. You can enjoy Wanowa's healthy meal with Maki's exceptional coffee. In addition to coffee, we also have a selection of organic teas, such as hibiscus tea, earl gray, and 3- year- aged Japanese Kuki tea💕 Here's the menu: ☆ Potage soup ☆ Colorful quinoa salad with greens ☆ Vegan egg salad & cucumber sandwich ☆ Apple tart ☆ Pumpkin pudding ☆ Freshly Baked scones with homemade clotted cream & jam ☆Beverages - Roasted organic coffee (available only on Saturdays from 11 am to 3 pm), Hibiscus tea, Earl Grey or 3-year-aged Japanese Kuki(Stem) tea Take-out is also available. Please let us know your pick-up time. As of 11/30, all the tables were fully booked. Thank you so much🙏 Please let us know if you want to have coffee when you make a reservation. So, we can roast the coffee beans in advance😊 Once your reservation is confirmed, We will email you the address of the house👍 ARIGATO GOZAIMASU🙏 I prepared 100% plant-based OBENTO to nourish the body & soul for the autumn Doyo season! While cooking, I wished for the health & happiness of those who would eat Wanowa's OBENTO. Here's the menu. ☆ Miso soup with root vegetables and tofu ☆ Half-polished brown rice with azuki beans and lotus seeds ☆ Wood ear mushroom simmered in soy sauce & mirin ☆ Stew of Winter melon, dried tofu & shiitake mushroom ☆ Kimpira-sauteed Daikon radish ☆ Vegetable Croquette ☆ Beet and bean's patties ☆ Spaghetti squash & mushrooms in a little Gratin ☆ Chrysanthemum in white tofu salad ☆ Simmered burdock ☆ Sauteed cabbage with hijiki, carrots, and onions ☆ Vinegared wakame seaweed and cucumber ☆ Red turnip with orange vinaigrette ☆ Gluten-free lemon cake Thank you so much for Wanowa's beautiful community for your continued patronage! Approaching the end of the beautiful autumn days, I prepared a 100% plant-based dinner for Wanowa's community. Ramen was the main course. It all started with my friend's request, saying she wanted to have my ramen, which she had not enjoyed in a long time. Unfortunately, she couldn't make it due to scheduling conflicts, but many other friends came over to try out the 100% plant-based ramen, and I am so grateful for the opportunity. Thank you to all my friends who came over to try out my ramen. This was our menu: ☆ Beets and green salad with tofu ricotta cheese ☆ Homemade pork-style ramen with 5 toppings of different vegetable dishes ☆ 2 kinds of OHAGI Japanese confectionery (Matcha & sweet Azuki bean paste) ☆ 3-year-aged roasted Bancha tea For the appetizers, I prepared heart-nourishing beets and green salad. Beets are essential vegetables for Wanowa's menu because of their outstanding medicinal properties. Since the main course menu was ramen, I wanted to balance out the oily soup. Even though it is 100% plant-based, and I only use organic sesame seed oil and tahini paste. But since the ramen still has a certain amount of oil, the beets were a good choice to balance the meal. Beets are high in copper, an essential mineral for energy production and synthesizing certain neurotransmitters. They are loaded with vitamin C and minerals, yet low in calories and fat. They are also a good source of several key minerals, including zinc, folate, and manganese. The betalains in beets strongly support liver detoxification. The color of the ramen noodles is blackish, which comes from kneading the hemp charcoal powder (made in Miyako Island, Japan) into the ramen dough. This charcoal powder has a robust detoxing power - they are carbonized under oxygen-free conditions at high temperatures. Then, mixed with an enzyme solution containing many beneficial microorganisms, and dried under the sun for at least three days. It absorbs free radicals and unwanted substances in the intestines and excretes them with many nano-microscopic holes. In the U.S., "Activated Charcoal" or carbon 60 seems to have the same effect. I occasionally make bread/pizza bases by adding activated charcoal. It combines well with flour, leaving neither a strong taste, nor a strong smell. For dessert, I prepared two kinds of Japanese confectionary called OHAGI(Sweet Azuki beans & Matcha). OHAGI is a Japanese dessert made with glutinous brown rice and Azuki beans. Traditionally prepared Azuki beans contain a lot of sugar, so I used dried dates, brown rice syrup, and a hint of sea salt to sweeten my Azuki beans. For the matcha version of OHAGI, I boiled mung beans with maple syrup and a hint of sea salt. Once they became softened, I added a dash of Matcha powder. Then, I wrapped the homemade raw matcha chocolate with mashed glutinous brown rice. I wrapped it again with Matcha mung beans. It came out so tasty👍 I avoid using refined sugar for my cooking since it can lead to negative health consequences such as diabetes, obesity, hypertension, heart diseases, and neurological problems. I use homemade Amazake, date sugar, brown rice and maple syrup as an alternative to white sugar. In Japan, we have a traditional morning assembly in the schoolyard at elementary and junior high schools. All teachers and students must participate first thing in the morning. Every student must stand in line and listen to the principal's words. There, some of the children collapse or feel sick due to anemia, and they always end up resting at the nurse's office. We call it "Morning Assembly Collapsing Syndrome." I secretly envied the pale friends disappearing into the building to rest😂 Many nutritionists point to dietary problems as the reason for this. Surveys have shown that children with anemia often eat sugary doughnuts, sweets, and sugary juices for breakfast. When I was in junior high school, we did an experiment in school where sugar water didn't conduct electricity, and salt water did. I remember the teacher joking that you could get into a pool of sugar water to avoid electrocution when lightning strikes. We humans conduct electricity through our bodies. Our cells are able to transmit electrical currents. When we examine brain function, we look at brain waves, and when we look at heart function, we use an electrocardiogram. Electricity is required for the nervous system to send signals throughout the body and to the brain, making it possible for us to move, think and feel. Therefore, to improve the flow in the body, including better brain function, it is essential to avoid white sugar and consume moderate amounts of good sea salt, which is better for our bodies than ordinary table salt. For children, a healthy, nutritious breakfast is vital for development. I will introduce some of the easy healthy, delicious breakfasts on another blog. Last week, I had a private pop-up cafe on the patio in front of our house in the forest. I prepared a 100% plant-based and gluten-free Thai cuisine for friends who had a craving for healthy spicy food. From a macrobiotic point of view, spice and coconut milk have a strong Yin energy, so I used Basmati brown rice with lotus seed which both have good Yang energy - as a main dish to help balance the energy. Here's the menu for Wanowa's 100% plant-based Tahi cuisine: ☆ Pomegranate juice (Non-Alcoholic welcome drink) ☆ Yum Woon Sen (Spicy glass noodle salad with greens) ☆ Spicy Thai Green Curry ☆ Basmati Brown rice with lotus seeds ☆ Mango pudding with white chocolate coconuts cream ☆ 3-year-aged roasted Bancha tea Lotus seed, in tonic form, has been widely used in Japan as an herbal medicine since ancient times for preventing and improving women's diseases. It is rich in vitamins, minerals, dietary fiber, and other ingredients that effectively promote health and stabilize the autonomic nervous system. It would be beneficial to include them in our diet. You can buy lotus seeds at a regular Chinese store or order online. You can cook them together with rice. It is easy to prepare - rinse thoroughly and soak them in cold water for 6 -8 hours. Then, split them with your fingers. If there is a sprout inside, it is better to take it out since it tastes bitter. Next, cook them with rice. Add one cup of lotus seeds and one cup of water to the rice and cook covered on low heat for 45 minutes. Another important part of this meal was the Bancha tea I served. 3-year-aged roasted Bancha is the tea made out of stems instead of leaves, which are dried and aged for three years. Since leaves have Yin energy that cools your body, this tea was made only using stems. These tea stems are gentle to the stomach, and have a pleasant aroma. They have almost no caffeine, and a warming effect on the body. So, this is recommended as an ideal tea for all ages to drink regularly every day. Also, Bancha tea is rich in catechins, supports the absorption of vitamin C and improves digestion and absorption. Since catechins also have sterilized properties to fight off all viruses. So, you can use this tea as a mouth/eye/nose wash by adding a bit of sea salt. You can find roasted twig tea/Kukicha in the United States. Kuki means stems in Japanese. Since we are entering a cold season, it would be nice to have good tea in your home. Our grandma used to say, "your kitchen is your pharmacy!" Recently, I posted about holistic dentists. It’s been one of my dreams to be treated by an excellent holistic dentist. Unfortunately, due to limited insurance coverage, most of us only have a few options when it comes to dental work. Besides holistic dentists, I’ve also undergone regular dental surgery - extraction of a tooth as well as a bone graft in the back right of my mouth a week ago. It was a scary experience😢 I’ve tried my best to follow a holistic approach as much as possible. This has helped me immensely for faster recoveries. Since taking this approach I have been doing well and was even able to take a hot yoga class yesterday. So, I want to share with you how I take care of my teeth in a holistic way. 1. Choose the new moon! First, I choose the soonest new moon possible for the day of the surgery. During a new moon, the Yang energy of the earth gets stronger, so the water in our body goes to the lower part of the body as the gravitational pull from Earth reaches its maximum. So, if you undergo surgery or medical treatment, it is best to pick a new moon for your surgery date. During this time there will be less bleeding, and wounds will heal faster. In addition, since you are less susceptible to the side effects of medications, the success rate of surgery is higher, and the recovery period is shorter. One drawback for this approach is that during the full moon, our bodies bleed more, and wounds can open up more easily. This happens because the Yin energy becomes stronger. Also, during this full moon period you might experience more side effects from medications. Our body has a lot of water - some say 60-80% of the body is water. All creatures on Earth, including humans, are affected by the ebb and flow of the tides. These changes in tides are caused by the moon's gravitational pull. So, I always try to set up any medical appointment around the new moon. From an agricultural perspective, it's a good time to sow seeds during the full moon. They need less water because the earth absorbs and retains moisture better. 2 Fasting! A wonderful tool for recovery. After the surgery, I went straight home and fasted for a few days. If you are in pain and feel miserable, fasting may make you feel better. Fasting helps reduce inflammation and wounds heal faster since all your enzymes can concentrate on restoring your body. If you eat, all the enzymes in your body have to focus on digestion. But if you skip eating, your body will use the enzymes to heal your body instead. You should try fasting when you feel sick, have a headache, or catch a cold. You might be surprised with the effect fasting will have on you! Some holistic doctors even recommend fasting for damaged DNA repair. 3 Apply the Japanese traditional folk remedy, "taro plaster." After the surgery, I applied a taro plaster on my cheek and jaw area to absorb all the toxins. In Japan, the taro plaster remedy has been passed down for generations. Taro plaster is a unique remedy for feverish aches, bruises, pains, knots, sore throats, mastitis, rheumatic fever, and cancer pain. The Taro and ginger enzymes absorb the toxins accumulated in the affected area through the skin's pores. It is very effective. But there is one drawback. Since we use raw food to make the plaster, we need to replace the plaster every 4-5 hours. An exception to that frequency is during sleep. When we sleep, our metabolism is less active. I apply this plaster a few times a day for the first few days. After that, I only use it once a day just before I go to sleep. After my dental surgery, Miraculously the purple bruise on my jaw and the pain got a little better each day. After a week of applying those plasters, my pain was gone, and the bruise was barely visible. On the day before the surgery, I was careful about what I ate. I tried to avoid sweets or oily foods so that my blood would stay slightly alkaline. Keeping one's blood healthy is very important for a fast recovery and for overall good health. Here is the recipe for this very effective remedy. How to make taro plaster: Ingredients: ☆ taros (2-3) ☆ ginger (1% of the amount of taro weight) ☆ flour (same weight as taros) Direction: 1. Wash the taro, remove the skin, and grate. 2. Grate ginger, using 1% the amount of taro you are using. 3. Mix the taro and ginger well and add an equal amount of flour as the taro. 4. Spread this paste on a piece of cotton cloth 1/2 inch thick. 5. Place the cloth (taro mixture side down) on the injured or swollen area. 6. Replace the plaster every 4 or 5 hours, except while sleeping. Recently, I received the order from Mrs. Y to cater Wanowa's 100% plant-based creations for her baby shower in Campbell. A few months before, she participated in our Yoga retreat, which was held in our backyard. There, she had eaten Wanowa's vegan bento (Japanese lunch box) and enjoyed it so much that she wanted me to cook for her party. She wanted me to create something wholesome, healthy Buffet-style menu for her friends. Here's the menu for the shower. ☆ Sweet, sour beets & green salad with ricotta cheese ☆ Two kinds of open sandwiches - Eggless tofu salad with sautéed mushroom - Smoked salmon style - carrots with avocado ☆ Potato salad ☆ Tsukune (Chicken-like meatball Yakitori style using Tofu and veggies) ☆ Japanese root vegetable stew ☆ Quinoa salad with baked Brussels sprouts ☆ Green tea mousse parfait with a three-layer style (Matcha mousse, sweet red bean paste & sweet Amazake-Kinako ice cream) Thank you, Mrs. Y, for letting me prepare the food for your special occasion. Also, thank you, Y-chan, and our legend chef, J, for allowing me to use your guest house kitchen. I fell in love with the gorgeous one-piece countertops beneath the classic wine barrels on the deck. I loved your beautiful home with stylish Artisan touches everywhere😊 Various friends have recently asked me if I knew of any good holistic dentists in the area. Coincidentally, I had a chance to listen to the latest podcast of Luke Storey's interview featuring the world-class experts in the field, Drs. Stuart M. Nunnelly and Candice Owens. I was blown away by a lot of high-quality information regarding dental health and beyond. So, I want to share it with you. If you are interested, please check it up. → → → The Life Stylist Podcast Episode #434
My dear friends who live in the city stayed in our unit just like Airbnb guests last weekend and took my Ramen class. My son returned to college in the early morning of the day, and I was close to tears. But, they gave me a mission to show them how to make Ramen from scratch. In addition, I taught them how to make Japanese traditional natural sweeter, Amazake. I was busy preparing a recipe and going grocery shopping for the class, so I had no time to weep. They kept me in good company😊 Thank you, B & T, for staying in our unit and taking my Ramen class. It was such a joy cooking together. You made me reaffirm the pleasure of teaching cooking. I hope you, two will make time to create your delicious Ramen together💕 |
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