Pepole at Seed (1): Jose Sanchez

Hi, everyone! Today, I would like to introduce one of our assistant chefs, Jose Sanchez.

At the age of 23, Jose comes from one of the most well known cuisines. Especially here in Los Angeles. That’s right! Tacos, burritos, enchiladas, tamales, you name it. Coming from a Mexican background is truly a blessing in his eyes. Former employee of M café de Chaya, he became conscious of the toll his diet was taking on his body.

Then, he totally changed his lifestyle when he started working at Seed. He became a vegan-macrobiotic activist. Eating lots of vegetables and grains is his way of reaching out and voting for awareness towards global warming, sustainability and of course animal rights! No better way than to do it yourself.

Jose has become a huge fan of Yoga, outdoor running, and indoor cycling. He tries to squeeze in a work out at least 4-5 times a week. He participated in the L.A. marathon last month and is continuing his races every other week throughout the year. Follow him on Facebook.

Now, living a macrobiotic way of life, he is not only focusing on his physical health, but also concerning about an ecological lifestyle.

Plastic cups are not his thing. Jose enjoys collecting unused glass jars from jams, pickled foods and reusing them as his drinking container. You will see him walk around everywhere with one thinking it might be something strange. It’s only kukicha tea, so don’t be worried.

One of his many goals/dreams is to star in the revival of RENT on Broadway, of course whenever it is time for another run. He is taking acting classes at Santa Monica College now to help truly master his craft.

His message to us is this:

“Stay out of your comfort zone and challenge yourself with something new. Laugh at fear.”

We are apt to be “normal” as we are getting older, but he seems to be suggesting living a life with passion to feel alive.

I hope his dream will come true.

Nobu

Eric's Birthday (May 15th)

Hi, everyone!

On last Saturday, we celebrated Eric’s birthday at Seed.

Actually, his birthday was Friday, but he was out of town. Then, employees decided to come over at Seed the next day.

We started to show up around 2:30 pm, and finally Sanae came in with a big smile.

While Eric was working at kitchen, Bill (on the left in photo) took out a vegan cake, which he made for this day, from a refrigerator.

After lighting candles on that cake, we began to sing a happy birthday song. Then, Eric came toward us from the back kitchen and blew out those candles.

He seemed to be very delighted with everyone’s blessings. Customers at Seed also celebrated his birthday.

This was the first celebration of Eric’s birthday since Seed started. We also like to celebrate the first anniversary of Seed this year.

Anyway, happy birthday to you, Eric!

Nobu

New Menu at Seed

Hi, everyone!

Today, I would like to introduce our new menu at Seed.

We decided to have scones and muffins on weekends. We have two kinds of scones, which are flaxseeds & currants and blueberry, and two kinds of muffins, which are raspberry & chocolate chip and zucchini & cardamom.

I had some of them already. The tastes were very healthy and less sweet. They were sooooooo DELICIOUS.

Please stop by and try some of them. You will love it!

And also, we started a cold soba noodle salad from this month.

It comes with a yuzu-ginger flavor’s dressing. Toppings are cucumber, daikon sprout, shiitake, wakame, sprout, carrot & daikon, and scallion.

It is just perfect in this summer season. Don’t miss it!

Eat healthy foods and live a happy life.

Nobu

Seed on Los Angeles Times

Hi, everyone!

Today, I would like to share with you about our Seed’s article on Newspaper. On April 22, Seed and other macrobiotic café in L.A. were introduced in FOOD section on L.A. Times.

The main title is “Macro menus,” and you can read the sentence, “-L.A.’s macrobiotic restaurants are going mainstream.” in the subtitle. How nice it is!

In the very beginning, the article is talking about us. As Jessica Porter, author of the book “The Hip Chick’s Guide to Macrobiotics,” points out in that article, “Now is a time to eat light.”

Moreover, our mango tango bowl is the top of the page. It looks so yummy.

In the middle and end of the article, you can read Eric and Sanae’s words and story with their picture.

The very last words are “It (their dream of opening a macrobiotic bistro) will come.”

So, Seed is just a beginning for Eric and Sanae.

Their miracle, happy life still continues…

Nobu

The Shifting of Mind in My Life

Hi, everyone! Today, I would like to talk about my mind development in L.A.

Though more than 15 years has passed since I came here from Japan, I have experienced mind-shift a several times. Roughly speaking, it is composed of three stages- national, international, and global.

Firstly, learning foreign cultures leads to realizing our own cultures. When I came here for the first time, I enjoyed facing totally new circumstances and talking to those who had different cultural backgrounds. However, at the same time I became aware that I have learned Japanese mind since I was born in Japan. I was totally Japanese in the land where so many different races lived together.

Secondly, accepting various values in different cultures creates a sense of solidarity within us. I have learned there are a diversity of opinions and thoughts through a L.A. life. It is very important to realize the variety of cultures and accept mutual lifestyles in our societies. Then, we are ready to create a new type of culture, cooperating together. At this stage, I was becoming more internationally-minded in this world.

Thirdly, considering the relationship between human beings and nature makes our societies sustainable. I have become interested in both living and natural environments since I took part in LOHAS (Lifestyles of Health and Sustainability) forum in 2006. Today, I live a daily life with a sense of social and natural contribution in order to create a new cultural standard- sustainability. I am a citizen of this earth.

Now, I am taking action at the local level. As we always need to take small action, as a first step, for our mega-projects, so earth citizens have to take local action toward our sustainable future with global consciousness.

For example, Sanae and I started Seed Community Clean-Up about 4 months ago to contribute to our neighborhoods and create a sense of community in Venice area. We clean up a parking lot, bus stops, and side streets around Seed. In the end, we would like to extend cleaning areas to Venice beach.

Anyhow, my mind-shift is still going on. There seems to be no ending point for this growth within me. What is next? I am looking forward to facing it.

Live with nature!

Nobu

The Personal Lifestyle of Sustainability

Hi, everyone! I am Nobu from Seed. Now, I am very interested in self-leadership to create sustainable development. I believe that we must lead ourselves first when we truly deserve a social change. For me, to lead myself to the conscious, creative level is to lead this society to the sustainable one. Today, I would like to talk a little bit about my personal sustainability project (PSP).

First, we use biodegradable cups, containers, and utensils at Seed, but to reduce trash as much as possible, I regularly bring my own chopstick, plate and cup when I have a job there. Instead of using disposable ones, I can deepen the consciousness of appreciation by taking care of my belongings .

Second, we clean up our neighborhood every Sunday from 10:00am to 12:00pm. For me, cleaning up streets is almost identical to cleaning up my mind. I can create a meditative state of mind and develop a sense of contribution when I concentrate on sweeping on the streets.

These two things- appreciation and contribution- are great seeds to bring about change for the better in personal and social life. We always need to plant these seeds and keep nurturing them. Then, we can pick some fruits later. To enhance our life and this society, we can start anything we can do now with these appreciation and contribution.

I always believe that the first small step each person takes will create a big change in the future.

Thank you.

Nobu

An adventure in North Fork and General Updates

I arrived in North Fork on Thursday. The drive was beautiful. It was snowing heavily on Friday morning and my original plan was to leave from Sanae's and Eric's cabin in North Fork on Friday but I got snowed in! I had to wait until it stopped snowing, and they finally plowed the roads so that my little 2-wheel truck had enough power to move through the 6 inches of snow!

Here are some pictures of North Fork and me clearing the snow out from under my truck. I took the dogs for a hike and they just love to play in the snow. It is really pretty here, especially as the sun comes out and melts all the snow. I'll be able to drive out of here now! Don't get me wrong though. I loved being stuck here because it gave me extra time to spend on my little vacation. The cabin is gorgeous. Eric and Sanae spent a long time and put in hard work to remodel it, but as you can see from the pictures, they did a great job. I've been happy to help Sanae around the cabin.

I've been proofreading Sanae's new book which is called, "love, sanae" and it's almost finished! Sanae made some excellent dishes while I was here. She made miso soup, mochi, brown rice, kukicha tea (I like to mix the tea with grain coffee. It may not sound appealing but I like it!), vegetables, seitan, and some other great foods. Now I know what her recipes in her book must taste like if prepared properly.

On another exciting note, Seed was listed in the top 10 best vegan vegetarian macrobiotic restaurants in Los Angeles (by Blackbook), and this is only after being open for 3 months! I'm looking forward to seeing what impact this will have on Seed; I think it will be a very positive one!

Things are really starting to gain momentum in Eric's and Sanae's world. 2009 is proving to be a great year!

So my macrobiotic journey continues, and as I spent these last two days here in North Fork, I notice what a difference being in a secluded part of central California makes. I slept like a baby. It's very quiet here. I'm glad I was able to come up here and give myself a chance to get away for a couple of days, while at the same time helping Sanae with what she's up to in her life. I noticed that my macrobiotic meals here in North Fork were more enjoyable and meaningful, and I think it's because I am out of the city; this gave me a chance to really clear my mind and enjoy the present.

I'm going to stop at Yosemite on my way back to Los Angeles. Hopefully they'll let me in since I don't have chains on my tires. I want to go hiking and take some pictures.

I feel so warm and comfy after having winter foods; it warmed up my body temperature. It's cold here but I think that the drive back won't be too bad. In fact, I'm looking forward to it.

Make a note to eat at Seed this week and buy "love, sanae" when it comes out. You'll be doing yourself a favor!

Until next time,

Joel