transform : your kitchen

transform :: your kitchen

The first time I read Ginny's book, "Controlling Crohn's the Natural Way," I was struck by a particular chapter.  Ginny has just embraced a macrobiotic lifestyle, but she realizes she needs a lot of help.  She hires a macrobiotic chef to come stay with her and guide her initial cooking, and the chef lays down some ground-rules.
Ginny immediately struggles with her in-laws, who insist on preparing radically non-healing food in the kitchen.  It throws off the energy of the whole environment, and the chef becomes so upset by the power-struggle that she eventually leaves.

Why is it that food is the source of so much emotion?  Why do people become offended when we say that we're vegan?  And why is the kitchen so important?

My kitchen is my office, my pharmacy, and my laboratory.  When I went macro, I suddenly began inhabiting my kitchen in a way that I never had before.  Little things that never used to bother me started to bubble to the surface.

How old is this cereal?  Have we always had this many kinds of sugar?  Where am I going to put this suribachi?  If I have the lid to a pressure cooker... where is the rest of it?

Suddenly, it wasn't okay that my brother was frying bacon on the same pans that I was toasting seeds on.  The kitchen began to feel very, very crowded.  When I cried (and it happened a lot in the early days), it was nearly always in the kitchen.  I sat down with my head in my hands and cried because I  forgot to get carrots at the store, moths had gotten to my brown rice cereal, and I just spent $70 at Whole Foods.

I am in a very different place now.  I love cooking, and burning dishes is now the exception rather than the rule!  So how did I go from frantic to fantastic?  I followed the following rules...

run your kitchen like a restaurant

Macrobiotic cooking involves many dishes on many burners.  They cook at different times in different ways, and being a good macro chef is a little bit more like playing Whack-a-Mole.  You need to run your kitchen like a restaurant.   I'm going to break down the steps, and if you follow them, you'll be well on your way to Vegan Nirvana.

cleanliness // godliness

-Throw away old food.  If it's not on your list of counselor recommendations and you think you're going to be tempted, pitch it or donate it.  You need the space for your new macro goodies!


-Set the stage.  One secret of high-end retail?  When we sell clothing, we arrange it in boxes, stands, and shelves so that it's so pretty, you're dying to pick it up and touch it.  This is called "staging."  Grocery stores do the same thing.  One way to stage food is to place similar ingredients in similar containers.  At the Kushi Institute, we place all our seaweeds in labeled ball jars.  It's super cute! When food is organized and easy-to-find, you save money because you're not constantly re-buying things you already have!


-Label, label, label.  A lot of this stuff looks the same.  Cous-cous and quinoa look VERY similar in the jar, but the difference is vast.  I'm pretty obsessed with these labels, Martha Stewart for Avery.

set up stations

This is May's idea.  She got the book "Wild Fermentation," and we've been fermenting pretty much non-stop ever since.  But where to put our pickles?  In our dream kitchen, there is a special shelf on the pantry where our sanitized jars, tubs, weights, and pickle presses live.

In your kitchen, make space for your new macrobiotic activities.  If you plan on fermenting, make an area to store your pickles while they ferment.  You will be cutting a lot of veggies.  Make sure your cutting boards, knives, and prep bowls are all in the same area.  This area should be high-priority.  I know a lot of you are sharing kitchens with non-macro loved ones and roommates.  I think it's worth it to invest in a high-quality knife and cutting board, but if you do, make sure the people you're sharing a kitchen with are familiar with good knife and cutting board care, or label your special supplies. 
 

the shift system

 Restaurants work in "shifts."  Every day, we do the same tasks at the same time.  Think of your meal as an assembly line.  The item you're manufacturing will vary from day to day, but the order and method are the same.  Whether you're making one dish or five, if you follow the same order and method every time, you'll be faster, more efficient, and less likely to forget things.


0.  Prep work.  The day before, take a look at your recipe.  BUY ingredients you don't have, SOAK beans and grains, and DEFROST if something is frozen.
1.  Wash your veggies.  Use cold water.  Warm water causes some veggies to discolor and oxidize.
2.  Cut your veggies.  I like to cut EVERYTHING, from the huge chunks of squash to the tiny minced garlic before I even start on the meal.  This makes the meal itself much calmer, and I know right away if I don't have an ingredient I need.
3.  Place cut veggies/soaked seaweeds where you can see them.  The Food Network does it.  Martha Stewart does it.  They must be onto something, right?
4.  Start long-term dishes.  Grains, pressure-cooked dishes, nishime... whatever can be set in the back and allowed to do its thing.
5.  Start short-term dishes.  These are the "diva" dishes.  The high-maintenance ones that need a lot of babysitting.  Whether it's roasting almonds or quick-blanching carrots, I like to get these out as close to the meal as possible.
6.  Do dishes as needed.  I have an "oil/non-vegan" sink and a "non-oil" sink.  Whenever I have a free second, I'm popping back and doing my dishes so they don't pile up.


Hey, Becky!  What's with the purple steps?  These are the steps where your doting family members and friends can step in.  Rather than delegate an entire macrobiotic dish to them (which can be well-meaning at best and disastrous at worst), these are the baby steps in your process where it's usually safe to let people help.  Just remember to keep to your order, and you'll be fine.

your kitchen, your energy

We are what we eat.  High-quality ingredients, thoughtful recipes... these are crucial to preparing good macro food.  But good energy is the most crucial ingredient in any macrobiotic dish.


The following (the ICE steps) are three steps I use to create good intention in my food:


Intention.  Place your hands on your ingredients and envision what you want this food to achieve.  Imagine a calm, peaceful feeling in your body after finishing a meal.  Envision the person you are feeding being happy, healthy, and calm.


Check your energy.  If you're upset, stressed out, or unfocused, take a seat.  Sit down, close your eyes, and breathe.  Take three deep breaths, and focus your mind on the present.  Be calm.  Be centered.  Not only is this helpful for reducing stress in your life, it's helpful for not burning your aduki beans.


Embrace your creation.  When your food is finished, look at your plate.  How blessed are we to have healthful, delicious food in front of us!  Everything from the food growing in the Earth to the energy we had to prepare this meal is a precious gift.  Close your eyes and breathe the thankfulness and delight into your body and into your food.


I hope you enjoyed this primer on transforming your kitchen!  Stay tuned for the last segment in this series, "transform :: your health"