mellow mushrooms

this week, i had to go on a macrobiotic fast to take care of the side effects of the

antibiotics i took.  they were gnarly.

the only thing that got me through it was 'the best of jefferson airplane' and my

subscription to martha stewart weddings.  there were a lot of late nights listening

to "white rabbit" examining floral centerpieces.

i went to the grocery store and picked up some exquisite shrooms.

this is a shiitake mushroom.  to pick a good shiitake, it's crucial

that the mushroom hasn't flared yet.  the edges of the  mushroom

should be curled under, like a teacup flipped upside down.

don't cook with the stems of mushrooms.  they're tough and the

sense i get is that they're very constricting and yang.  they're much

tastier when slow-boiled as an ingredient in soup stock.  i have a

giant stack of frozen shiitake stems in my fridge at home.

mushrooms really do make you mellow.  slivered shiitake

mushrooms finely, boil for fifteen minutes and add a pinch

of sea salt to relieve tension and calm a frayed disposition.

this is a portobello mushroom cap.  i usually don't cook with them

because i think they're too flaky and messy, but it added a nice

chewiness to my spaghetti.

those of you with dishes that predate 1980 must have at least one

iconic, all-american chicken bowl.  i've seen these in almost every

apartment i've been in that wasn't an ikea show model.

there's literally an entire subsection on ebay devoted to them.

i thought that using this bowl would inject my food with that

peaceful, easy feelin'.

ok, so it occurs to me that this picture looks like primordial

mitochondria, so i apologize for how unappetizing it is.

psychedelic psquash pspaghetti

with

mellow mushroom sauce

::ingredients::

two spaghetti squashes

5 cloves garlic

2 shallots

2 tbsp olive oil

sea salt

1 large yellow onion, diced

3 cups diced assorted mushrooms

1/2 cup almond slivers

toasted sesame oil

3 tbsp kuzu dissolved in 5 tsbp cold water

tamari to taste

::squash noodles::

preheat oven to 375.  slice squashes in half, and gut seeds and sprouts with a spoon,

leaving about 1/2 to 1 inch fruit on every side, depending on the initial size of your

squash (see above photograph).  mince garlic and shallots, and fill inside cavity of

each squash half.  pour 1/2 tbsp olive oil, and coat squash and fillings thoroughly.

bake at 375 approximately 1 hour.

::sauce::

stir-fry onion in toasted sesame oil over medium heat until translucent, about 3-5

minutes.  add mushrooms, stir-fry an additional 3-5 minutes until soft, then add

3-4 cups water, almond slivers, bring to a boil, and simmer for 15 minutes.

add tamari and stir.  take your dissolved kuzu mix and SLOWLY fold into

the pot, mixing quickly.  if you pour it all in at once, you'll end up with a

solidified block of creamy jello that tastes like nothing.  it's gross.  make sure

your kuzu is fully incorporated.

once your spaghetti squash is out of the oven, allow it to cool until it's safe to

touch.  grasping the squash, rake the tines of your fork down the sides, peeling

the "noodles" from the squash, and deposit them into a large bowl.  if the squash

is cool, this is really fun.  if the squash is still hot, like mine was last night because

i'm a glutton who might as well just eat out of a trough, it's incredibly painful.

let that be a lesson to wait for it to cool.

spoon a large dollop of your mushroom sauce over your garlicky "noodles,"

pour yourself a big bowl of greens (i used dark kale, below), and enjoy!

mmmm.  groovy.

peace, love, and macrobiotics

sometimes, the worst weeks are my best weeks.

this week, my doctors laid down the law and told me i had to

get penicillin injections for my ongoing battles with infection.  i know

 it's due to the unbalanced schedule i lead, but as long as my life is

out of balance, i guess my skin is too.

i fought them pretty hard, as i haven't taken antibiotics since 2009.

sure enough, i experienced horrible side effects.  ironically, also skin

related.  i didn't get much sleep this weekend, and i was really worried

that due to the severity of the reaction i had, that i'd have to go on meds.

i usually only talk about food (or shoes) on here, but i know a lot of you

are struggling with your health, and i always want to be real with you,

because the macrobiotic community is... a community.  we support each

other, and i think that communal support is really key in healing.

well, i decided to get back to the basics to treat my symptoms.  i took

out my cutting board, and really spent time with the food.  i carefully

washed, dried, and sliced all my veggies, and i was amazed at the calm

that came over me.  a ton of emotions and thoughts that i hadn't realized

were there floated to the surface.  i calmly balanced my meal, using root

veggies, greens, seaweeds, and grains.  i took several remedies, including

aduki bean tea tonight.

my body has begun healing on its own, and i feel like my mind and my

spirit are healing with it.  i realized through this that i can trust my body.

i also realized that i really don't need coffee as much as i think i do :)

finally, i am not only trusting in god, but overwhelmed by his universal

providence.  he loved me enough to let my illness be my teacher to guide

me to the foods i knew i should be eating.  

i feel so blessed cooking these recipes, and as i cook, i can feel the energy

and love of all the amazing friends and teachers whose recipes i prepare.

i know that their wish for me was to grow strong enough to heal myself.

the movements they taught me, techniques, recipes, guidance, and patience

are with me when i cook.  i really almost lost hope this week.  i felt so

helpless and demoralized, and then i felt the love of all of my friends and

teachers who shared macrobiotics with me and knew i would be okay.

when you cook macrobiotic food, think about all the people who passed down

those recipes.  they shared them from love, and someone passed it along to

someone else who passed it along to you because the food you're cooking

enriched their life, and because they care about you.

and that is why i love macrobiotics.

It's A Dark Brown, Rich Beverage

They say civilization is only three meals away from anarchy.

After five days in the car, it happens a lot faster than that.

We decided our collective kidneys were fried after days of coffee and hard crackers, so we decided to start a family three-day remedy regimen.  The family that slow-cooks beans together stays together.

What I hope to accomplish in drinking this tea is discharging stagnant kidney energy, thus sleeping better, experiencing less bloating, and lose those bags under my eyes from late nights on the road!

1 cup dried organic aduki beans

5 cups spring water

Kombu, wakame or nori seaweed, postage stamp-sized (optional)

Set five cups water to boil.  If you tend to be dry and thin, either avoid this tea or be sure to use the seaweed.  If you start to feel yourself growing tense after drinking this a few days, add the seaweed.

Simmer aduki beans in boiling water for one hour.  Most of the liquid should boil down, and the brown liquid that's left should be thick as Paula Deen's tears.  I drink this at least an hour before bed, because sometimes it gives me an upset stomach.

Follow for three days or as directed by a counselor.

Macrobiotic Theory: Aggression

Macrobiotic diagnosis most often focuses on physical ailments, but a major symptom of general poor health is attitude.

A healthy, balanced body has a healthy and balanced mind.  Western culture focuses on illness in terms of physical pain.  Mean-spiritedness, unkindness, and aggression are symptoms.  If mind, body, and spirit are connected, a frayed or aggressive mind means an imbalanced body.

That being said, mean people still irritate me.

It's hard to look at a person who is cutting you down and say, "Wow!  They must have a pretty serious dietary imbalance.  I wonder how their colon is doing..." but as a macrobiotic person, it's important to view angry people in their proper context.

This week, jacked up on sugar that I really should never have eaten, I found myself getting really angry.  A girl I know said something mean and petty, and I got wrapped up.
Do I know this person very well?  Not really.
Is it possible for me to cease all interactions with her?  Pretty easily.
Was the comment even directed at me?  No, but I felt targeted.

If I consider this from a macrobiotic perspective, this is not only a symptom of her imbalance- it's a symptom of my imbalance.  I was so hyped up on sugar and caffeine that I allowed myself to get riled.

I know for a fact that this girl has a health-weakening diet and lifestyle.  Think about the mean girls you went to high school with.  A steady diet of alcohol, sugar, and sporadic meals will make any person aggressive and nuts.

This is how I understand the anger-yin imbalance relationship.

I crave sugar and chocolate when I'm stressed out.  I just want the quick carbs and sweetness to create calm.  Once I have them, I bounce to the middle for a couple of hours (Temporary Calm).

Unfortunately, these effects are only temporary.  Because we're pulling our body into an artificial calm, when we come back, our original symptoms (stress) return.  This time, they're accompanied by craving.  If I don't get chocolate, I start to get cranky and angry!

It's a band-aid, not a cure.

Listen, we're all human.  Like I said, I had sugar this week.  When you're upset, the last thing you want to do is steam some kale.

The reason I made this chart is so that we can have compassion for people who have taken it to the next level.  They're not only angry, they're targeting or making fun of other people.  To me, aggression is the next stage.  

Stress <  Anger  < Aggression

Michio Kushi's intention in sharing macrobiotics with America was to work to create one peaceful world.

When we are balanced, the anger of others doesn't stick to us.  It breaks like water on rocks.  There's no anger in us to respond.  We have peace.  As each person who comes to macrobiotics finds peace, we begin to reduce the anger in others, because they have no target.  Person by person, we start to build a peaceful world.