Cozy Autumn Menu

Now that the Autumn season is quickly approaching, it's time to start thinking about switching from light crispy salads to warming and more nourishing dishes. Autumn is the time to slow down your pace by emulating the slower pace of nature, as trees begin to lose their leaves, we feel drawn to cuddle up with a good book and some hot tea. We start craving introspective soups, comforting chewy rice and sweet roasted root vegetables.

In honor of the upcoming changes, we decided to have a cooking class on how to cook for this beautiful season- to help us feel great from the inside out and synchronize our own rhythm with the changing energies around us.

The organs stimulated by Autumn are the lungs and large intestine, so it is often common for people to experience symptoms of detoxification associated with these organs, such as respiratory or digestive issues. Some great foods to eat to help give these organs some extra TLC are white foods, such as daikon radish, turnips, lotus root, cauliflower, white beans and sweet brown rice. Leafy green vegetables and root vegetables are also excellent for nourishing these organs.

Check out the menu from the class to get some helpful ideas for your own meals during this season:

• Sweet Potato Cauliflower Miso Soup
• Brown and Sweet Brown Rice with Tan Gomashio
• Navy Beans with Sauteed Leeks and Onions
• Toasted Sesame Oil & Soy Sauce Nishime with Carrot, Butternut Squash and Onion
• Steamed Cabbage
• Poached Apple Stuffed with Roasted Tahina, Walnuts, Raisins, and Cinnamon

Enjoy!

Vegan is Virtuous

We all know about the benefits of being vegan and eating all natural whole foods- increased vitality, better functioning of your internal organs, and feeling just plain AWESOME.

But did you think about how being vegan can support a virtuous lifestyle? According to Hideki Kawai, expert Natural Healing & Healthy Living Chef and Educator, being vegan can help you tame your sex drive. This makes it easier to be celibate- whether it's for spiritual or personal reasons, or if you are just waiting for the right person.

When we eat energetically strong foods like meat, eggs and fish, we intake not only the nutrients from those foods, but also the energy from those foods. Many fish, like salmon, have strong energy- salmon are powerful enough to swim upstream, against the current through rugged rivers to lay their eggs. If we do not have super active lifestyles to burn off this kind of energy (and increase in sexual desire), then we have excess that we need to get rid of. When these urges go unexpressed, they can lead to feelings of frustration and uncomfortably.

So, really, it's another reason to go vegan- at least until you decide to embark on a new career in manual labor or are in a healthy, committed relationship.

Co-opportunity in Santa Monica

If you are ever in need of a fun shopping experience and great quality food and health products in the Santa Monica area, check out the Santa Monica Co-op. They have a wonderful selection of organic and natural foods, eco-living products, as well as a well stocked and varied natural body care department.

Since they are a co-op, they are owned by their customer members, instead of a corporation. As it says on their website, "Every true co-op operates according to the Seven Cooperative Principles." These principles are: voluntary and open membership, democratic member control, members' economic participation, autonomy and independence, education, training and information and cooperation among cooperatives. Check out their website to learn more about co-ops in general or to find out about the Santa Monica Co-op.

Seven Cooperative Principles
Santa Monica Co-op

Great Selection at Erewhon

Erewhon Natural Foods Market has an great selection of all kinds of healthy food to stock your kitchen. It is also a "one-stop source for macrobiotic staples." They feature excellent brands of miso (over 30 varieties), seaweed, soy sauce, umeboshi plum products, teas and Japanese foods. They even have a macrobiotic consultant available to provide you with recipes and advice and on site cooking classes. You can even check out their website for more free recipes. 

 

 If you are already feeling hungry when you get there, you can check out their full service deli, salad and soup, sushi bar, and another prepared foods section.

Erewhon is located close to so many great things in LA, such as The Grove and Farmer's Market for outdoor strolling and shopping, and CBS Television City, where you could check out the live taping of shows like "So You Think You Can Dance."

Erewhon Market

Refreshing Cold Noodle Salad with Hideki Kawai

I caught up with Natural Healing & Healthy Living Chef, Consultant and Educator, Hideki Kawai in Los Angeles, California recently and he gave me this easy and delicious recipe for Refreshing Cold Noodle Salad- perfect for the hot summer weather! I wanted to share it with you, since his cooking inspires me to try new and different things. Hideki uses many cool cooking tricks that give his cooking an extra punch and added interest. The picture above is from when I tried out the recipe- it was awesome!

Also, if you are looking for excellent macrobiotic cooking services, health advice, or a little extra inspiration in the kitchen, then contact Hideki. He has 23 years of experiences and training from some of the foremost macrobiotic pioneers in the United States. He has cooked and taught all over the world, including Japan, Portugal and throughout the United States. He served as a Head Chef and Menu Planner at Kushi Institute in Becket, Massachusetts for 22 years and has worked in six macrobiotic or Japanese restaurants.

 To learn more about what Hideki does or to set up a cooking class, contact him at hijikihawaii@yahoo.com or call #310-692-5144. 

Cold Noodle Salad:
6 Medium sized red radish, sliced in wedges
1 Ear of fresh corn, taken off the cob OR 1/4 bag of organic frozen corn
1 Package of seitan (store bought), sliced in 1/2 inch pieces
1 Cup sauerkraut
1 Cup apple juice
2 Teaspoons of brown rice miso
1/2 Package organic angel hair pasta (whole wheat or artichoke)
2 Leaves of romaine lettuce, sliced in 1/2 inch strips
1/2 Cucumber, sliced in rounds
2 Teaspoon umeboshi vinegar
2 Teaspoons olive oil
2 Teaspoon soy sauce
Sea Salt

Noodles:

1. Boil 6 cups of water in a pot with 2 teaspoons of sea salt.
2. Put pasta into boiling water and let it boil until cooked, approximately 8-10 minutes.
3. Drain pasta in a strainer and put noodles in a bowl with cold water. Drain noodles and place in refrigerator.

Vegetables and Seitan:

1. Saute radish slices in a small fry pan on medium to medium low heat with 2 teaspoon umeboshi vinegar until the liquid has evaporated. Set aside in a bowl.
2. Saute corn- first heat the pan on medium heat, add the corn, add 2 teaspoon of water and put the lid on. Cook for 1-2 minutes. Add a pinch of salt and cook for 1 additional minute with the lid. Set aside in a bowl in the refrigerator.
3. Saute seitan in 1 teaspoon in olive oil for 1 minute on a medium high flame, then add 2 teaspoon of soy sauce and saute for 30 seconds. 

Sauce:

1. To make the sauce: put the sauerkraut, apple juice, miso and 1 teaspoon of olive oil in a blender. Blend until smooth.

Assemble:

1. Put noodles on a plate or in a bowl.
2. Drizzle the sauce onto the noodles.
3. Place the lettuce, cucumbers, radish, corn and seitan in sections on top of the noodles. Drizzle again with sauce.
4. Optional: Garnish with sliced fresh basil, scallions, parsley or chives.

Serves 3-4 people
Enjoy!