Summer Cooking Class

Our Vegan Macrobiotic SUMMER Cooking class was lots of fun and scrumptious food! 

 

Summer Cooking  Menu

People with different levels of experience came together and learned as a team, adding diversity and spice to the class.

One was a long time macrobiotic student (more than 10 years).

One had been studying macrobiotics for a few years.

One was studying a long time ago, stopped for a while, and decided to start afresh.

One had just star thinking about it.  A vegan high school student came with her father, sister, a friend, and a  curious and hungry mind.

One was a yoga teacher who was new in macrobiotics.

Check out the photos of the class.

Cooking Quinoa with Corn 

Eric showing how to cut to high school  student

Sanae was covering the lid for Tempeh dish

 

Summer Greens

Summer Complete Meal

Summer Soup 

Dessert: Grain Coffee Gelée and Almond Cream Anglaise 

Happy People 

Leo got tired of waiting by the door while cooking class

Coming up are a picnic potluck at Clover Park in Santa Monica on Sat. July 28, 

a SEASONAL cooking class for LATE SUMMER on Sat. September 1, at studio mugen in Santa Monica. 

Hope you will join us!!!

Love, Sanae

Enjoying Life Together

It was Eric’s birthday:

One of best things after we closed Seed Bistro Wilshire Location was Eric and I have more time to enjoy our life together.

Our friends, Mark and Donna decided to take Eric to Mendocino, Northern California for his birthday. Of course I was lucky to be a part of this cerebration.

We stayed A Green Vegan Mendocino Bed and Breakfast Stanford Inn for first time.

Eric was working too much means 90~100 hours last 10 months. 

Eric’s stress level was so high and sometimes I was afraid that he might get sick if he continued.

Look at below photos that how much Eric is enjoying his perfect birthday.

 

Eric canoeing

Eric with Mark and Donna

Eric’s birthday candle on three flavor sorbets at Stanford Inn

Sometimes when you are working too much you really do not realized how life is simple and it is to have fun anything you do…

When we came back we revised Seed Kitchen’s menu.

Check Seed’s blog to see the new menu items. http://seedkitchen.com/wordpress/?p=1339

This is a greatest time for us to enjoy life together: cooking at home, hiking, spending time with our furry family, taking nap and watching movies….

 
Eric making Potstickers with furry audiences 

Eric with four of our dogs in Santa Monica mountain http://www.nps.gov/samo/index.htm

Bubu taking nap

Our slogan for this summer is "Going slow"!!!

Hope you enjoy your summer.

My best,

Sanae

Los Angeles Macrobiotic Conference

Finally, West cost/Los Angeles will have Macrobiotic Conference.
Thanks to Danny  to putting together.
It is so excited!!!!

Save your day on Oct. 13, 2012.

Seed kitchen is going to Cater the food!!!

Eric and I are going to teach a cooking class also.

Contact for information and registration
http://www.lifeinbalancemacrobiotics.com/

Spring 2012

It was pretty warm winter, but also our weather here in Southern California has been so temperamental.
Someday gets so warm even hot and we forgot it was winter and someday was so cold and windy we forgot we live in Southern California. Either way we tent to forget where we are living (ha ha ha...laugh!)



However we have noticed our peach tree in Santa Monica has been in full bloom, about 4 weeks earlier than usual.
I heard that Maple trees in the East Coast are releasing syrup much faster, and the syrup is not mature yet, so it would take much more to make sweet syrup this year. Consequently, the price is expected to be much higher. Just like these maple trees humans are releasing body fluid, and many people are experiencing a much earlier spring detoxing.

We recommend that you simply include wholegrain and balanced vegetables (root, round and leafy) in your diet, eat less, chew well, and do moderate exercises --walk outside for 30 minutes-- have fun, and get enough rest. We send out our Newsletter for more details on Seasonal Healthy Tips so if you are interested to receive it, please email us from our website of
http://www.loveericinc.com/index_en.html

If you are interested to our events and classes, please check our Meetup site Community Vegan Macrobiotic Meetup
http://www.meetup.com/Vegan-Macrobiotic-Community-Meetup-Group/




Here are beautiful photos we took this Spring in our garden:

Sunlight Almond Bloosom



Angelica


Loquat



Apple Mint


Daffodils


Carrot Tops


Bee and Peach Blossom



Hope you enjoy our photos of Spring!

Have a sweet happy spring for you, your family and friends.

Love,
Sanae

"Dangerous" Mannequin

The more I practice the way of the universal order I feel this life is a delicate balance between Yin and Yang forces.

I had an almost perfect New Year, but I started to feel very exhausted with fever and congestion in my chest with pain all of sudden.

At first I did not want to understand why I started to feel bad; I can see it now…I was in denial. I did not want to cut short my good New-Year vibe.
What the universe had to teach me once again was it was time for me to face reality, or the "backlash." I forgot to take my physical condition into consideration, reflect on my past year(s), be humble, follow my heart and acknowledge that my 103-degree fever meant I needed to rest.

In the grander scheme, I needed not fear that the good feeling I had as I kicked off the New Year is ruined or lost.

There are usually three things that cause me discomfort physically.
1.I eat out too many times (it means for me more than one time week or three times a month), even at vegan restaurants, since many of them use sugar or cane juice, agave etc. Also unfortunately many restaurants do not use quality ingredients of oil and sea salt, use sugar or MSG of filter water.
2.I don’t have enough rest and over-exert myself.
3.I get mentally so exhausted from stressful events.

The past holiday season was no exception. I ate out frequently, and I ran myself ragged with too much activity. I also needed to deal with the accident I had three years ago at the J. Crew store on Third Street Promenade in Santa Monica, as the case was not moving in a timely manner.




I was shopping at the J. Crew store when I was struck by a mannequin. J. Crew stating that some kids push and it got tipped over. I had no idea what happened and I lost conscious for a short time and was taking to ER. I suffered from concussion syndrome and PTSD – symptoms including fear of going out shopping – for at least two years. Since I did not want to take western medicine to treat my symptoms, recovery was slow. I had headaches, nausea, dizziness, neck pain, nightmares and was sensitive to noise and smell which was all concussion syndrome. Who would think that a mannequin could be so dangerous.

The last six months were very stressful for me as I attended three depositions while preparing for the opening of our new restaurant Seed Bistro. I also went to two mediations over the holidays and repeated my account of the accident and the ensuing problems I had. J. Crew hired a doctor to interview me one day for 8 hours and submit his report of 23 pages aimed at discrediting me and the problems, while my doctor, who treated me, reported I suffered from concussion syndrome and PTSD. I realized that the J. Crew lawyer was being paid by the hour as he grilled me about my childhood, why I came to America, why I went to shopping at J. Crew, why do I have a driver license when I don’t drive, do I need a cane to walk and am I going to limp for the rest of my life…and on and on. Well, my childhood was not perfect, I came to America when I was 19 years old to learn about another culture and English, I went to J. Crew because they have smaller-sized clothes and I was looking for a blouse to wear for a Christmas event, I still have a driver license because I have not give up hope that I am going to drive again, and although I use a cane I cannot say whether I will limp forever, since as long as I am alive there is room for improvement.

The same questions were asked many times. I felt like a criminal. Did I see the mannequin coming? It fell on my head from a higher level. I could not have been more unaware and unprepared. J. Crew never apologized. I did not get reimbursed for most of my expenses, but I decided not to pursue it, as I feel life is precious and I have to choose my battles."

Some people might say life is a game, but I am not one to play this kind of game. There are more fun things to do in life.

I now believe that in a way it was blessing that I had a high fever after New Year's and stayed in my bed and was able to think more clearly about what's important in my life.

I made lotus root tea to nurture my chest, since lungs take a beating when you are in a state of turmoil.



Healing Lotus Root Tea


Yin and Yang -- you need a balance between these forces to survive and thrive.
Some days are sunny, some cloudy and rainy. I wanted to share the dark episodes in my life, since I may have given the impression that after the last near-perfect NewYear's Day, I would live happily ever after.

I do my best to not practice perfection, but practice the principles I hold dear in life.

Love, Sanae

2012 Happy New Year Vol. 2 after New Year Sunrise

While I was inspired by watching the New Sunrise I also was thankful for our health and many blessings.

Our usual New Year festivity is a full schedule:
After watching the first sunrise of 2012 I made “Ozouni” mochi (sweet rice cake) in vegetable soup. Usually I make a very mild Ozouni, but this year I made it stronger, making Eric cry out after his first bite “OMG this is an *** kicking OZOUNI!”

2012 is a dragon year and unpredictable year.
Personally I feel it is a revolution year so I wanted it to be different,
kicking off with my New Year Ozouni.
Well, life itself is never the same, but I really want to change voluntarily this year, for better or worse.


Photo: My Ozouni 2012


After we each had two servings of the delicious Ozouni, we felt full and relaxed. We watched the Rose Parade, but Eric soon fell asleep with the dogs and cat next to me. I took photos of them and also felt asleep.


Photo: Our dogs and cat's napping


We woke up still feeling full, so we decided to go on a new-year bicycle ride on the beach. There were so many people there, and I imagined they all took a nap and came out for fresh air just like we did.



Photo: Venice beach performers with so many audiences


It was a zoo on the beach, and we had fun watching the Venice beach performers who usually come to eat at Seed Kitchen.



Photo: Eric with our tandem bicycle


There was a music band contest for the Rose bowl and we saw many people from Portland, for some reason. Found out that school of Portland was one of the band contestants.

As we were just leaving the beach there was a stunning New Year sunset.
Life is truly full of cycles within a cycle as our earth is circling the sun, and no moment is ever the same.


Photo: New Year Sunset


To cap New Year's Day Eric made a reservation at Shutter’s hotel on the beach in Santa Monica where we had our wedding dinner party for our family and close friends.
This was a surprise to me because he usually forgets a make a reservation,
but I can see he is trying to make an effort to start the new year on the right foot!
We sat by the window and had a wonderful meal.

After dinner we watched a movie (which is kind of a tradition in Japan to watch a new movie on New Year's Day), “The Descendants." We enjoyed this movie because they showed Lanai beach, where we went last year for our vacation.
The Lanai beach area had organic farmers and we really enjoyed all the fresh vegetables and the farmers market.
Remembering our vacation on New Year’s Day was a nice touch, making us feel our hard work is worth it, and we can look forward to the next reward after our even harder work to come.

It was definitely a full day.
Now that we have set the standard for the year,
we want to remember to live each day of the year to the fullest!

Love,
Sanae

2012 Happy New Year! Vol.1 New Year Sunrise

We were greeted in the early morning by fog in Santa Monica,
reminding me of living in the San Francisco Bay many years ago.

When I rose at 5 AM, it was colder than I thought it would be,
but we set out on time for our first adventure of the new year.



Photo #1: Foggy Santa Monica


The fog was so thick we could not see the road ahead of us, and
driving toward the Santa Monica mountains for 20 minutes and
crawling through the Mandevilla Canyon Drive fog made us almost retreat in despair, but we safely arrived at West Ridge Trail, well above the fog.

We were surprised that it was much warmer than in Santa Monica, and the sky was so clear and beautiful with a reddish tinge above east side of the mountains.



Photo #2: Clear beautiful sky before New Year Sunrise



Some people might have read my blog about my little trek to see last year’s new year sunrise on the 10 year anniversary of my car accident.
I like to emulate the turtle’s spirit.
Having injured my legs, I could not walk freely.
Little by little I have been making an effort, as turtles do,
to advance and walk more each year.

So I decided to go farther this year, over a small valley.

I found a nesting place for me and my dogs Kula and Happy.
We sat and waited for the new year sun to rise.




Photo#3: Sky was changing color every moment



What a moment that was...I could feel the earth was round even on this small mountain.
Every moment, the color of the sky was changing.

On the west side I saw the image of a thick fog hugging the city of Santa Monica,
the beach and the ocean like a fluffy blanket.



Photo #4: Thick fog over Santa Monica



Nature’s beauty blows my mind away!



Photo #5: Fog over the Santa Monica beach and ocean and see the Catalina Island.


The sun came up at 6:59 AM.

Well, it was actually the earth moving, and
the sun was vibrantly illuminating each moment.



Photo #6: New Year Sun has showed up on time!



My beloved Eric surprised me with some pictures he took of me while I anxiously awaited the sunrise.

He captured the hope, anticipation, and beauty of my spirit.
It was not his spoken love, but the pictures he created of me through which I felt the deepest love.




Photo #7: Me and Kula with New Year Sunrise vibrantly illumination



I am thankful more than ever for Eric, our love and also our challenges.


Photo #8: Eric and New Year Sunrise


A wonderful New Year has already started~!


To be continued….love, Sanae