Happy New Year!

Happy New Year!!
I hope you had a wonderful new year.

In America, people start to work from Jan 2nd.
I can't believe it!
Japanese people don't want to work Jan 1st, 2nd and 3rd.
These days are very important for us.
We usually eat Osechi which is traditional Japanese new year dishes with family.

Anyway, I didn't share my Christmas, so I'd like to show you my fantastic experience:)

I went to North Fork near Yosemite from Dec 23rd to 26th.
Sanae has a cottage there.
It takes 4 or 5 hours from Santa Monica by car.

North Fork is small village, so residents live in nature.

The cottage in woods was very quiet and peaceful.
I heard to the murmur of a tiny stream beside the house.

Do you know this tree?  It's unique, isn't it?

This is a Manzanita.
I thought it was artificial, but actually it was natural.
The power of nature!
Awesome!!

We went to a view spot for meditation.

We looked out over the whole of mountains, lake and blue sky.
It was very silent and peaceful place too.
I'm a beginner for meditation, but I felt warm sunshine and fresh breeze, so I refreshed.

Have you ever heard Vipassana Meditation?
There is one of this center in North Fork.
It is a program to meditate ten days!
Students have to follow a full schedule of meditation and they aren't allow talking, reading and any other communicating. They also can't make eye contact with other people!
They learn to observe the reality within themselves at deeper levels.
Sanae has joined many times and she really recommends it.
I want to try it someday!

Anyway, I'd like to introduce about Sanae's cottage.
This is a living room.
  
There is a big fire place and a kitchen on the right.

This is a room for Yoga and meditation.
There is a nice patio, so she eats breakfast there in summer.
Sounds good!
She hopes to open a small cafe and teach Macrobiotic, do yoga and meditation together.
She also hopes that this cottage will be a friendly place for people who love nature.
I strongly agree with her.
I can't wait!

This is the Eve's macrobiotic dinner by Eric.
That's wonderful!
Stuffed squash with shiitake gravy, saute wild rice with vegetables and walnuts, mashed purple sweet potatoes and steamed green.
I can't explain the detail, because I didn't know what the ingredients were.
I just knew it was so delicious!
I always admire dishes that he cooks. 

This is a dessert, which is Tarte Tatin.
 
He picked these tiny apples near house.
Sweet and sour!
My stomach was happy :)

This is a macrobiotic breakfast by Sanae.
Cream oatmeal with roasted pumpkin seeds and vegetable tasty miso soup.
These were very gentle flavor and also good for body.
We ate together with the beautiful morning sun.

Time is slowly in North Fork.
We went on a hiking and saw a lake, a river and a dam during the day.
We watched DVD and knitting at night.
I sat back and relaxed on a sofa with six dogs.  

It was snowing lightly at last day.
It was a pretty snow scene.
I had a great time.

I usually go to sea for relax, but I notice mountain is good too.
Nature has the ability to heal people.

Sanae and Eric go to there for relax even though they have just weekend.

I want to find my peaceful place to relax.

Aya 
 

Making the Persimmon Leaf Tea

Hello, how are you?

Do you know persimmon leaf tea?

I've never known that before I had it here.
It is dark color and a little bit sweet.
It's a good flavor! ( Actually it has a lot of Vitamin C.)

This tea is made from persimmon tree in Sanae's garden!
She makes tea by herself.
She makes everything...wow!!

I'd like to introduce about the persimmon tree and some trees in her garden:)

This is a persimmon tree. Most of leaves have already fell down.
I picked up these leaves and washed them one by one.
I could wash properly because leaves were strong.
And then, I wiped them one by one, and put in baskets for the drying.
It took a long time.

These leaves are very pretty!
I've never notice that persimmon leaves are so beautiful,
even though there is a persimmon tree in my parents' garden.

I want to try to make the tea next autumn in Japan.

There are many trees which have fruits.

This is an orange tree.
Oranges are huge!
That looks really heavy.

This is a lemon tree.
It's a bright yellow, very fresh!

This is an avocado tree.
There are some avocados.
Viva Santa Monica!!

Seed sell persimmon leaf tea only in the holiday term.
It's lovely!!

I appreciate the blessings of nature.
I hope you enjoy the tastes of the season.

My first Macrobiotic cooking class

Hello!  I'm Aya, from Japan.
I'm staying at Macrobiotic Studio mugen in Santa Monica (It's next to Eric and Sanae's house.) since the end of Nov.
It had been raining when I arrived in Santa Monica.
It was good weather yesterday, but it looks like rain today :(

        


This is a neighborhood around Studio mugen.  It is very quiet and beautiful area.
These trees are really tropical to me compare to Japan because branches and roots are interesting shapes.






BTW, This is the first Macrobiotic class of 12 series.
I'd never learned Macrobiotic cooking before I came to Santa Monica,
so it was my first experience.
It was lectured about Macrobiotic thinking and truth, and then I learned how to cook brown rice.
Even though it is all called "Brown rice", actually there are many different types.
Many natural markets in America sell grains and beans by weight, so we can buy small amounts.
It is very convenience!

This compared the different type of brown rice and pots, which were a stainless steel one, a pressure cooker and donabe (ceramic pot).

When brown rice cooked, there were a lot of holes.
This was a sign of delicious rice!
Wow! It was good smell :))

Sanae made Goma-shio. (sesame and salt)
Goma-shio is traditional Japanese food, but I've never made Gomo-shio by myself because we usually buy it at a store.
We washed sesame seeds, toasted and ground them.
It took a long time, but was so nice smelling and very tasty!
It was amazing!!


I think Macrobiotic use common foodstuffs and cook in simple ways.
It's important that we make by hands.


My Macrobiotic life started this day.
I'm a just beginner in Macrobiotic and also blog.
I try to learn it and share my experiences.
( My English is not good, so it's a challenge!)

Thank you very much.
Aya

Seed Kitchen 4 year Anniversary!!!

After the beautiful rain the sun showed up as thought it was just for our 4 year anniversary. Eric made 300 cupcakes for the cerebration.

We thank you so much for coming to Seed Kitchen anniversary event last weekend. Over all more than 200 people came!!! 

We had so much fun with many people. 

Here are the photos!!!

Morning was cloudy from the rain we had all night, but we went to hike and saw this foggy Santa Monica and Venice beach..... 

As we were going to Seed Kitchen's 4 year anniversary there was sun light!!!!

At Seed Kitchen 4 year anniversary cerebration!

Eric's anniversary cupcakes:

All day so many people were coming and going:

 

Cassandra Tondro’s green art was beautiful and inspiring. People had many questions about how she started Green Arts and how she created them. She was very informative and engaging.

Cassandra Tondro’s website: www.tondro.com

Receipe Menu Contest:

Sanae talking to people her 100% organic skin products

Sanae's 100% organic vegan scrub and cleanser

Trying out the scrub and cleanser

Eric with his delicious healthy beautiful cupcakes

Thank you so much for coming and supporting our 4 year anniversary!!!!

Love,

Eric and Sanae

LA Macrobiotic Conference 2012

The first Los Angeles Macrobiotic Conference was held Saturday, October 13, 2012. 
The conference featured many leaders in the macrobiotic community and was supported by a variety of macrobiotic-oriented vendors.

Our Seed Kitchen was catered Lunch and Dinner for 55 people.
Eric and I also did our cooking class.

We also set up as a vendor and Pamela Buonanotte helped us to introduce and sell our products: Seed Kitchen's cookies, Croissant,  Atlantic Sea vegetables,  Eco-green Bamboo Utensil set, organic dog treats and shampoo, our cookbooks and my macrobiotic skincare line and dog shampoo etc.
It was fun and everybody had good time.

We thank Danny Kessler and Jeanne Beveridge and Patrick Grosset to put all this conference to be success and all the people who patisipate and support this event in LA.
We hope to be a part of this even many more years!!!

Love,
Sanae



Registration: Danny Kessler


Seed Kitchen's vendor table 


My Macrobiotic Skincare products: Sea Vegetable Scrub and Whole Grains Cleanser - 100% Organic, Vegan and Gluten free!


with Pamela Buonanotte


Lunch by Seed Kitchen


Serving Lunch 


Cooking class Roasting Millet


Cooking class with Eric


Julia Ferre' and Jessica Porter



Dinner by Seed Kitchen

Summer in Manzanita Lake and Creek side

Our favorite thing to do in the summer has been going to Manzanita lake and Whisky Creek of Cascadel Woods in North Fork, California.

North Fork http://www.north-fork-chamber.com/visit.html

is at the exact center of California. 

It is at the foothills of the Sierra Nevada near Yosemite National Park.  
North Fork is at an elevation of 2638 feet (804 m), 9.89 miles (15.92 km) miles south east of Bass Lake and 14 miles (23 km) from Oakhurst. 

We found North Fork through our meditation practice of Vipassana center in North Fork in 2008 and have been going there every two months or more to gate a way from the city.

Manzanita Lake is a small lake only about a mile long and perhaps a couple hundred yards wide but this little-known jewel is great for fishing and relaxing for people and a great swimming spot for dogs, especially our brood.  When I first time saw this lake in 2008 I thought I had found paradise!

Manzanita Lake is well hidden from the roadway leading to the lake and is completely edged with vegetation and trees. This makes the lake a fine place to canoe / kayak while fishing or watching birds.

In recent years a few pairs of Canadian Geese have been nesting and raising their young there. The geese and assorted ducks can often be hand fed according to the locals. Osprey, Red-tailed Hawks, Acorn Woodpeckers, and Red-winged blackbirds can also be seen. The lake is regularly stocked with trout and has large- mouth bass as well.

The stream that feeds the lake offers a fine upstream paddle that's not difficult and gives you a bit of exercise. The water ways meander around little islands of wild growth and trees. A few well placed sand bars give you an opportunity to park your vessel and watch birds or simply take in the sounds of the running water. 

Whisky Creek of Cascadel Woods

The elevation is 3,648 feet. It is a little higher than North Fork. Cascadel Woods is very good for hiking. Whisky creek is a good place for dips on a hot day. We just love to take our dogs there to hike and dive in the cold mountain water.

There are the photos from summer.

KIJ correspondence certificate cooking class

We have been privileged to offer KIJ (Kushi Institute of Japan)’s macrobiotic certificate correspondence course from our Studio mugen in Santa Monica since 2007.

It is a course taught in Japanese. 

I wish this kind of course were available when I started to learn macrobiotics in 1993.

This summer only two students competed the basic program, but we decided to continue to offer the course, consisting of cooking in the morning and lecture in the afternoon.
If you know any Japanese who is interested to take the course please recommend what we are offering.

These are the photos from the last KIJ course.