Lunch Out

Found a small restaurant on a guide book that serves macrobiotic food. Takes a little bit of drive there, but hello!? A bored-ass housewife spending her hours here! And the weather was so nice and mild, I needed that excuse to go for a ride; driving around randomly without too little purpose comes expensive nowadays in Japan, with the gas price sky-rocketing.

Fukuroh, or night owl, barely accommodates 10 people, if not fewer. At least it looks that way. Macrobiotics isn't something a lot of people in Aichi go for, where strongly-seasoned dishes and high-calorie fried items are preferred on a regular basis. I am surprised it was actually on a guide book. The place was tiny like no tomorrow, but it was as big as they needed. A very nice lady managed the whole place alone, whom I chatted with a bit. She got a certification from Le Cordon Bleu. I was impressed.

The lunch plate is their speciality. And it was good. Not the best I've had as far as macrobiotics goes, but good. It feels detoxifying and I feel cleansed after a macrobiotic meal.

The cake plate comes with a cup of barley coffee. The chestnut tart was probably my favorite.

Until next time,

Sak

A Cup Full of Decaf, Please!

I have been off the wagon with caffeine for a few months. And, being a big coffee lover that I am, it's been quite hard, especially right around 2 o'clock in the afternoon. Too hard, in fact, ever since I retired and moved, staying home dillydallying all day long. Have manipulated myself with a very strong cup of pearl barley tea (aka Job's tears). Which tastes fine, or actually very nice and pleasing and I give it a whole credit, but only as tea. Super strong tea could never replace a cup of dark java, just like a bucket full of yogurt is never gonna get anywhere near a spoonful of Hagendaz.

The lamest thing is, decaf coffee beans ain't easy to find in supermarkets in Japan, if at all possible, so I went back to my macrobiotics days -yes, I was a vegan for about half year two years ago, and searched on line and came across this.

Jones decaf coffee:
Tried and tested, I declare it's as good as weak regular coffee. So I make mine very strong, and all is good. My afternoons are saved. Phew.

Until next time,

Sak

Lunch in Tokyo

Was in Tokyo the other day again.

I had had, and still do, a cold that's tenaciously sticking around my sinus and I can't get rid of the phlegm for the life of me. Translation: I can't taste a damn thing. My voice's turned husky and I admit I rather like how I sound, though. Very Phoebee-singing-Smelly-Cat-on-a-sick-day.

Anyway, again, I can't taste a damn thing. I only know what I am eating since I have the visual. Yet, sitting at my favorite macrobiotic cafe alone gave me comfort. So I thought I might as well pretend I can savor the food.

The lunch special that's only available for 10 people a day.

Steamed brown rice with red beans, and kasu soup.


Completed with a cup of herb tea.



Gotta love Brown Rice Cafe!

Until next time,

Sak

Lunch a la Whole-Food

My favorite macrobiotic cafe is on Omotesando Street, and I was hungry and in the right place when I was strolling around Tokyo.

I hadn't eaten there for a little while, so I was quite excited to sit down at the table for their lunch special with a cup of sake-kasu soup and brown rice. YUM!



Look how pretty! And everything you see in this is vegetable! Only wish that I could eat this way every day of my life.

Felt very healthy afterwards.

Until next time,

Sak

Lunch in Tokyo

Was in Tokyo for T's guitar (and my curling hair dryer), and for lunch we went to a semi-microbiotic restaurant where meat is allowed. I opted for a curry lunch, and the yumminess blew the roof off!




Num num.

Btw, I haven't blogged about how my macrobiotic life has been going, but I still do believe in and practice it. For lunch or dinner together with a company of someone, however, it's hard to follow the whole all-organic, no-animal-anything concept completely. I have meat and dairy, yet the enjoyment of having a meal with the people I love takes my feeling guilty to back seat. Like my beloved author Mireille Guilliano says, "moderation is the key," and I believe that should be applied to everything in life.

Untill next time,

Sak

Cranberry Juice

I like drinking cranberry juice concentrate with warm water. And since I just adore the color it creates, I like drinking it off a wine glass.

It's so concentrated, a spoon full of the juice is enough to make a big glass. Cranberries are supposed to cleanse your kidneys as well as liver and spleen, and are good for your "filtering" system. A perfect detox drink!

Until next time,

Sak

Snacking

Snacking on gun-modoki tofu. They are basically tofu with sesame balled up and deep-fried.

I just toasted them. No sauce or dip required. Makes a very good snack in the afternoon.

Until next time,

Sak

A Japanese Breakfast II

Spending a very slow Sunday morning. My cold has subsided a bit, and I am hungry for a substantial breakfast since I went to bed early to get rid of the fever last night.

So I made myself a hearty breakfast.

menu:
brown rice (oats and millet cooked together)
miso soup (bean sprouts and seaweed)
spinach (sesame paste on)
picked plum and sea kelp

3 years ago back in southern California, my usual Sunday brunch consisted of white flour, butter, sugar and maple syrup, in a form of pancakes. I never would have imagined eating the way I did this morning! Not in a million years.

Until next time,

Sak

Morning Porridge

Breakfast should be something easy on the stomach. 80 percent of the time I make a bowl of oatmeal, but this morning I was feeling a little more hungrier than usual and made myself a brown rice porridge.

ingredients:
brown rice (cooked)
dried kelp dried shitake mushroom
pickled-plum paste
water


You just cook everything in a pot. Easy to make, hearty and warm and filling, it's perfect for a little wake-up meal.

sak

Radish Tea

My skin is being a little iffy since I'm coming down with a cold and also expecting the delightful time of the month soon. My latest remedy for the skin problems, namely blemishes?: radish tea.

Ingredients:
dried radish (a quoter cup)
water (2 cups)

You just boil them together on a medium heat for about 5 minutes. You can remove the radish or eat it, but I prefer using it for some other dish than in my drink.


It does taste a bit like radish, a little tangy and sweet. It takes a bit of getting used to the taste since I still think of radish as a vegetable and not exactly a "tea" material. But it works great on your skin the next morning when you wake up, I can guarantee you.

Sak

Brown Rice Millet Jelly

A vice in macrobiotics is sugar. Processed sugar, like the regular sugar, confectioner's sugar, or even brown sugar, are considered unnecessary in your body.

But that doesn't mean "sweetness" is banned forever in your diet. You simply use more natural alternatives, such as ama-sake, which I often use in my cooking as you can see in my blog entries, maple syrup, and brown rice millet jelly. The last one of which I had never had in my kitchen until today. I had another delivery made with lots of macrobiotic food and organic stuff this morning. Included was the item in question.

It's sort of like honey in texture, only maybe thicker, and tastes a lot like maple syrup. Very tasty on its own.

I tried it in my brown rice flakes that I blogged about the other day, and it was really yummy. Will use it more often now.

Until next time,

Sak

Lunch at Home I

The sun light gently comes in through the south window, and I simply cannot think of a better place to be right now than right here in my living room.

A half day off is really lovely. I can't get this enough. Being able to go to work at 5 pretty much means that I get to eat three meals at home!

My lunch today:
vegetable-fruit soup
squash bread
roasted chestnuts


The soup is actually an organic vegetable-and-fruit juice right out of the carton. Amazing what a plain heating up can do, really, creating an instant main course of a meal!

Sak

Mid-night Snack

I have a half day off tomorrow. Yay!

And instead of being in bed at 10 at parents', I'm back at my flat spending the night up watching movies.

The stew I ate for dinner digested really quickly and I got hungry again. It's a little too late at night to be eating something but I couldn't stand it. So here is what I opted for a mid-night snack: toasted brown-rice flakes with soy milk.

I added a spoonful of ama-sake to sweeten a bit. Very easy on the stomach, and you are less guilty for eating so late and near bed time.

Until next time,

Sak

Burdock-root Stew

My dinner tonight: vegetable stew cooked with miso and soymilk.

Ingredients:
burdock root
carrots
maitake mushrooms
shiitake mushroms
spring potatoes
ginger
soy milk
miso paste
water

All in a pot cooked slowly over a medium heat until the potatoes pretty much dissolved. It's so creamy and rich, it's hard to believe it's dairy-free.

Until next time,

Sak

New Toothpaste

I got myself so into the whole macrobiotics concept in the last month and a half, it was a matter of time I started being keener on using organic items outside of the kitchen as well.

Replacing my regular tooth paste to Pax Naturon was the first and easy step to make, since I needed to buy a new paste.

It's less foamy, but tastes clean and cleans well, too.

Until next time,

Sak

Winter Squash Soup

The problem with my schedule is that I can't come back home at a decent hour. Having a decent dinner at a decent time on a regular basis is something I haven't done in a long while . Practicing macrobiotics, I want to finish eating my last meal 4 hours before bed, which is nearly impossible since I want to be in bed by 12. And I'm starving after work, so I opt for something very light.

I used to have fresh salad, some fruit or yogurt. But raw vegetables and fruit, or dairy products are now off limits for me. My option now, is some warm soup.

And tonight, I made a soup out of winter squash.

Ingredients:
half of winter squash
a cup and a half of soy milk

...that's it. Can you believe it? Creamy yet dairy free, buttery yet butter free, sweet yet sugar free.

You basically cook the squash in a bit of boiled water until soft enough to, well, squash it with a spoon. Then you add the soy milk to make a very smooth concoction. That's it. It's ridiculous what a divine soup only two ingredients can make. A pinch of salt added might work better for some people, though.

For a bit of crunchiness, I also sprinkled on some brown rice flakes.

Yumminess!

Until next time,

Sak

Fruit Tea

Here is a drink I had at a cafe while shopping with sis yesterday.

Rose hip Hibiscus tea with dried fruit. The scent was a little too sweet for me, but it tasted just right: citrus-y and apple-y and berry-ly.

I have been off coffee for a month and 14 days now. I am quite impressed with myself.

Until next time,

Sak

Book Report: The Macrobiotic Path to Total Health

This is virtually the bible for all who practices or believes in macrobiotics. I got it delivered yesterday.

I debated for a little while when I was to place the order, because they do, naturally, have the Japanese and original version of the Mr. Kushi's wordings in prints. I wanted to try and read in his actual words, but English version, unbelievably, happens to be cheaper! on Amazon (and in the market, for that matter), and I decided it's just easier for me to read and register after all.

The thin leaves and small prints remind me of my college text books...


My bed-time bible (mine's King James) will now be replaced for a little while.

Until next time,

Sak

A Japanese Breakfast

Felt like eating rice for breakfast like a true Japanese at heart this morning.

menu:
brown rice
pickled plum
okura with sesami sauce


I just can't get enough of the brown rice lately. It's grown on me.

sak

Tofu in Pot

I come home around 10 from work, which is a tad too late for me to have dinner since I want to try to be in bed by 12. So I eat light yet hearty enough.

On a very cold winter night like today, tofu in a pot makes it perfect.

Ingredients:
tofu
shimeji mushrooms
welsh onion
dried kelp
dried shitake mushrooms
soysauce (dipping sauce)
lemon juice (dipping sauce)
plum vinegar (dipping sauce)

Delish! and keeps you super warm!

Sak