Spring is on the way...

Last week we picked greens from roof-top garden at Studio mugen for our cooking class.

We picked Italian parsley, orange flowers, asparagus and dandelion leaves.

We cooked with these greens in our cooking. We made pressed salad with daikon, red raddish tops and carrots seasoned with lemon, apple juice and salt.

We also made whole wheat pasta salad with sauteed vegetables (red onions, yellow onions, snow peas leaves, lotus roots, carrots, seasoned with balsamic vinegar and salt).

Steamed rolled tofu with chestnuts cream sauce:

Creamy Japanese yam soup:

After cooking class we got puppy's therapy....

Jessica Porter with the puppies.....

Amazing Story About Kona

Eric and Sanae are known for having a house full of golden retrievers, but what many people don't know is that Sanae fosters golden retrievers with Golden Retriever Club of Greater Los Angeles and donates her pups to organizations like Paws'itive Teams and autistic foundations.

One of their special goldens, named Kona, has gone on to do amazing things for one young man named Patrick.



Patrick was paralyzed as a toddler and has lived most his life in a wheelchair. But, this doesn't stop him from living an exciting life and doing his favorite activities now with the help of Kona and friends.

Visit msnbc.com for Breaking News, World News, and News about the Economy

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