Kushi institute conference

finally I can post about Kushi Macrobiotic Conference!

It was held in Yamanashi, surrounded by beautiful old trees and clean air!!

On the first day we had a welcoming party and of course that means....

THE FEAST!!!

The buffet menu was

quinea salad in a plate of chicory

steam salad

cold cabbage roll

soy and vegetable mini burger

kidney bean corochette

gratin with autumn vegetables

brown rice with sun dried daikon

brown rice udon noodle

green tea mousse

It was so good to be there with like-minded people. This was my first conference for me and I didn't know what to expect but I had a very good feeling already. holding my daughter's hand I was so excited about the new experience I was about to have.

Because we couldn't stay another night at Shalom Hutte, we travelled down south of Nagano to stay at Yoshi Yoshi minsyuku.

I was sad to leave Shalom but when I met the host from Yoshi Yoshi I felt positive about the stay already. Carrying an one year old boy he rushed around to find a toilet for layla! (,who didn't want to use Japanese squat style toilet)

And the meals were fantastic!!!

Very different from European style dishes at Shalom Hutte. The meals here were traditional Japanese,

touch of Shoushin (Buddhist temple meals) Lots of things I haven't tried before and I really liked it.

Next day the host took us to his farm.

we pulled a couple of daikons, sweet potatoes.

There are soy beans, millet and even rice too.

while staying at Shalom Hutte, My daughter and I went exploring in the area. then we found an area full of chestnut trees.

we helped ourselves and collected so many and shared with Shalom Hutte staff. We had to leave before the dinner but they were going to use the nuts for the meal that night.

I wonder what they turned into.....

Personally I just love them boiled and eat them straight out of the shell still warm. The natural sweetness of the chestnuts are so comforting to my usual yang state.

here I am helping the staff with adzuki beans.

so easy to buy a packet of beans from a shop but it takes a lot of time to even collect a small bowlful.

Here are some of the meals that were served in Shalom Hutte.

All the meals are vegan, macrobiotic friendly and most of the produce they use are organic and fresh from their own garden. They bake their own naturally leavened bread as well.

Because it was their late summer they had abundant supply of nightshade vegetables such as eggplants, tomatoes etc. I hardly ever cook those vegetables myself these days but I did enjoy them for a special occasions.

meals are European inspired with many interesting sauces to make the dish more tasty and interesting. The courses start with an entree, soup, the main dish and then of course a dessert to finish off.

Nicely presented too.

Breakfast was buffet style. steamed brown rice bread was my favourite, served with homemade soy butter or/and sesame and miso spread.

After Tokyo we traveled to 'Shalom Hutte' in Nagano, Azumino Shinshu.

My parents had given me a book about Eco, allergy-friendly accommodations in Japan. and Shalom Hutte was one of them. It was also featured in a macrobiotic magazine called BIO as well.

The owner spent 3 years building the place himself and opened the ground for local kindergarten, which was great for my daughter as well.

The guided tour around the inn is organised by the owner very mornings, taking you to their organic farm and ecological facilities.

their farm and compost toilet

We stayed here for two nights and I wish it was longer!

I can only say the positive things for this place. It is definitely a place where you can relax and feel peaceful, surrounded in the beautiful natural environment. The staff are all so friendly and helpful. perfect for families as well as those for need to be away from their busy lives for a few days.

I will post more on their fabulous meals next time.

Next day my daughter joined me in Tokyo and went out for lunch in Nezu.

This is the shop I wanted to visit for a while. It has a quite good range of organic groceries as well as fresh fruits and vegetables.

Lunch here is organic and macrobiotic. home style Japanese meal.

we ordered a set menu which changes daily.

As some people know, I am in Japan at the moment. I will be here for another 2 months or so. Japan is where macrobiotic philosophy started.

I still have my parents living in Ehime-ken in Japan and that's where I am staying mainly. However my daughter and I have just come back from the central Japan, greatly experiencing the macro community. And I have to say it was one of the best experience I have had in a long time!

I just loved it so much.

It was so condensed so lots to write. I will post slowly...

On Tuesday I flew to Tokyo for the final seminer to finish off the correspondent study that I had been doing.

this is where the seminer was held

little cafe down stairs as well as selling some macrobiotic groceries

This is what we made on the day.

Brown rice - cooked with a pressure cooker, Osawa pot, and

ceramic pot. The texture of the rice are different

depending on how its cooked.

Osumashi (vegetable soup) - good stock is very important for this

light soup

Nimono with hijiki, carrot and shitake mushrooms

Nishime with sweet seasonal vegetables -calm energy is created

by cooking gently. Yin and yang energy can be

altered by changing the way the vegetables are

layered

sweet and sour tempeh

grain coffee jelly with soy cappuccino topping - here they used the

grain coffee with barley and chicory