I'm OK, You're OK and That's OK. Reflections on a Macrobiotic Year.

I'm OK, You're OK and That's OK.

Reflections on a Macrobiotic Year.

As 2013 flickers to an end, I have been contemplating the lessons I have learned this year.  The year end holidays can provide an opportunity for us to come together in a spirit of peace and good will or they can shed a harsh light on our differences including the way we choose to observe the holidays, our dietary differences, and our family dynamics.  I have been spending this time exploring the concepts of judgment and acceptance and the power they exert on us.

I was fortunate to participate in a year end workshop focusing on Sarah Susanka's book, The Not So Big Life.  She challenges the reader to ask these questions:  In the past year, what are the results of the actions I have taken?  How have I been changed by my sorrows and disappointments?  How can I integrate the key lessons of the past year into my life right now?

As I took the time to step away from the hubbub of the holidays and really meditate on my life choices this year, a seed of knowledge began to take shape and grow.  I realized that this has been a year of amazing new friendships, learning to set boundaries and tolerate the consequences, really listening and learning from others, becoming unbalanced and fumbling my way back to balance again and again and throwing judgment away.

The most challenging pill to swallow has been that life is NOT a fairy tale.  Good people suffer horrible, painful deaths instead of growing gracefully into old age.  Families misunderstand each other, holding grudges that may cause years of silence.  Loved ones move away and it rips your heart out.  Everyone doesn't get to enjoy a big, happy family gathered around them at holiday time.  Life is painfully lonely for many friends out there.  Even the fairy tales are fraught with frightening life challenges, too scary even for adults, much less the children to whom we read them!

Harsh judgment of ourselves and others is a culprit that seems to rear it's ugly head again and again.  We judge appearances, religious and dietary choices, and many other things.  Judgment divides us into " Us" and " Them".  It takes us away from our own pure, true self and the goodness of others.  It was trained into us as children and no longer serves us in our lives.  Acceptance breeds love and understanding and opens us up to the wonderful "different" people with whom we get to share this journey we call life.

Here are my own wishes and intentions for the new year and hopefully they will resonate with you.  

I am choosing to live in the now.  As my friend Charlie told me, " If you have one foot in the past, and one foot in the future, you can only piss on now."

I am choosing to forgive those who have hurt me in the past.

I am choosing to love and nurture myself, physically, emotionally and spiritually, honoring my needs and desires.

I am choosing to stop judging myself and others.

I am choosing to temper my expectations of myself and others in my life.

I am giving birth to a Susan who loves, appreciates and accepts her gifts and the precious gifts of others.  May each and every one of you choose to have a happy, healthy new year and share your wonderful gifts with others.

Please feel free to make a list of your intentions and reflections for the new year and post it here or on the Facebook page.  I would love to hear about them.

In the Business of Macrobiotics

The year 2010 was a whopper for me.  I took Denny Waxman's class in Philly, I got separated from my marriage of 34 years and I began my new business of macrobiotic cooking.  It all began when my friend, Marilyn, said to me, " You are a great cook.  I would like you to cook macrobiotic meals for me."

  

I was really a novice at cooking the macrobiotic way.  In March of 2009, I stepped off the Holistic Holiday at Sea and into my new life as a person embracing the macrobiotic way of life.  This involved turning my kitchen inside out and basically throwing out many of the items I had enjoyed as a vegetarian.  My family never knew what hit them.  Suddenly I was in the kitchen five hours a day and employing ingredients like kombu seaweed, natto, brown rice syrup, and brown rice miso.  What had happened to their mom who had met them at the door with warm baked chocolate chip cookies every day after school?  I was determined to master every recipe in the Self Healing Cookbook by Christina Turner, still my favorite macro cookbook.  I invited Marilyn to come over every Thursday to practice cooking together.  This lasted a few weeks, and then she hired me!  I am forever indebted to her for having the confidence in me to get me started on this path.

After I set an intention to cook for people, the clients began knocking at my door.  One of my first clients was lovely woman with pancreatic cancer.  Watching her fight for her life with such strength and optimism inspired me to cook the healthiest meals I could.  As I delivered her food, I looked forward to our interactions and realized that the cooking was just a small part of what we shared.  I feel like I become an important part of the lives of those for whom I prepare my healthy meals.  The macrobiotic food contributes to their healing, of course, but I think the human interaction and hugs play a crucial part as well.  In this world of cyber friendships, skin to skin and face to face communication has been lost.  There is little talking across the back fence and sharing recipes between neighbors any more.  When I deliver my food, it provides a chance to touch base with my clients and check in with them.  It is so fulfilling to see them waiting for me with a smile and a welcome hug.  I ask how they are doing and they tell me how much they are enjoying the food and, in some cases, how they think I am a " lifesaver", in that they can reserve their energy, part of the week, and not have to cook.  I treasure these interactions and view them as a important aspect of the healing.  Back in the day, neighbors were friends, checking in on you, cooking you a tasty meal, but now we have become isolated from one another.  My wonderful job allows me to get some of that face to face interaction back and it benefits me as much as the clients!

Many of my clients do not have a life threatening illness and just want to enjoy healthy food after a busy day.  In the Washington D.C. area, it is not unusual to hear of people working 80 hours a week. I run into many who have no idea what it's like to enjoy a home cooked meal and purchase all their meals at Wegman's hot bar, Whole Foods, and at restaurants.  They are too stressed out to cook or do not enjoy it.  Often, after a conversation, I learn that they skip meals and do not eat til late afternoon or they are finally getting to have some food at 10 at night.  This is the norm for them.  It can be shocking to realize that many of us never learned how to eat!   In this world of fast food restaurants and processed boxed microwavable meals, this has become the acceptable way of life.  I started a new program called "Plates" a few months ago.  Clients can purchase just one tasty meal that they can have after a busy day at work at least one day a week.  I figured it would expose them to what a healthy home cooked meal tastes like. 

Many friends and relatives are curious about what I am doing, but still not ready to eat healthfully themselves.  I invite them over to watch" Forks Over Knives",  to open up a discussion about health and serve them tasty macrobiotic food.  I contribute macrobiotic food to the Thanksgiving table and bring it to potlucks and it always creates a stir of interest that I hope will ignite a flame of participation in healthy living.  I try not to lecture about what they should be doing, as I was guilty of doing in the beginning of my practice.  I notice people are curious and sometimes ask me for books on macrobiotics or may order a meal.  I must be patient as everyone is on his own journey and some only will change when faced with a life threatening illness.  My goal is to be able to expose as many as possible to the lifestyle that I love and to the delicious food that complements this lifestyle.

I feel like I have the best job.  I get to buy and cook healthy food.  I get to create meals that are appealing.  I get to help my clients become healthier.  I feel the gratitude and happiness from my clients when they receive my meals and I get to enjoy the relationships formed with my clients.  I get to support my own macrobiotic practice with my job.  What more could I ask for?

Macrobiotics and Me

Macrobiotics and Me.

Everyone has a story and this is mine.  You may be asking, "What's a nice girl like you doing in a place like this?" I was a middle class mom living in a suburb of Washington D.C. with  my four intelligent, beautiful children and my husband of 32 years. I was an organizational tutor for many years who helped clients get through school and turn their lives around.   I had never bucked the system before.  I followed my doctors, teachers and parents advice to the letter.  I was a " good" girl who crossed all my T's and dotted all my I's my entire life.  I was a vegetarian who loved her pizza and ice cream.  I thought I was healthy even though I was up to 175 pounds and aching all over.  

It was in this mindset, in 2009,  that I noticed an ad in Vegetarian Times promising a vegetarian cruise leaving from Florida, complete with interesting classes and exciting ports of call.  Best of all, there was food I could eat!  I begged everyone I knew to go with me.  They all had a reason why they could not attend.  I was terrified to go alone, but something inside of me told me this was an important crossroads in my life.  With anxiety in my heart, I packed and got myself on a plane to the rest of my life.  Standing in line, I exclaimed to the heavyset man in front of me, " This is so exciting.  we are going on a health cruise!"  He looked at me in shock.  You see, he was on the other part of the cruise, where people could indulge in all the goodies a cruise offers.  I thought the whole cruise was part of the program!  Imagine my surprise, on the food line, the first lunch, when, expecting to see pizza and and other cheese laden  savories, I spied seaweed, miso soup, and other strange oddities I had never before seen or heard of!  I defiantly snuck up to the soft serve ice cream the first night.  After all, no one was going to tell me what I could and could not eat!  

By the third day, I was hooked on macrobiotics.  Everything made crystal clear sense to me.  It was like I had come home to a place I felt secure and my mind lit up like a light bulb as I heard the teachers describe yin and yang, order of the universe and chewing.  I returned home and my family did not know what hit them!  I cleared the cupboards, brought home strange ingredients they had never heard of and began cooking on Japanese burners, sometimes 6 hours a day.

Next I went to Asheville, North Carolina where a warm and knowledgable group of macrobiotic "oldies" welcomed me to Lino and Jane Stanchich's retreat in the mountains.  I met people trying to recover  from cancer and other ills there.  One man was chewing each bite 400 times as he was quite ill.  We did do in each morning and learned about poop from Lino.  I never  laughed so hard.  The meals Jane prepared hooked me on macrobiotic cooking and I wanted to create them too.  I left there with even more resolve to make this life work for me.

I enrolled in Denny Waxman's one year class in Philadelphia.  While there I forged bonds with several students who were on the same journey as I was.  I honed my cooking skills, even though I hated every minute of making pressed salad over and over again with Susan.  Each month I couldn't wait to hear what we would learn next.  The seeds of this blog were born there.  In my excitement,   I offered  to create a newsletter for Denny complete with profiles of students, recipes, macro travel ideas, book and movie reviews.   He was not interested, but after starting macro travel friends on facebook and this blog, I see that over one thousand other people are.   Unfortunately other untenable experiences  in that class ended with me resigning and feeling quite disappointed  in macrobiotics.  It felt like my balloon had burst.  Thankfully, I met other teachers who encouraged me, like Warren and Verne and Melanie, and my unbridled enthusiasm for macrobiotics grew once again.

Through all these times I felt there was a sense of connection that was missing in the macrobiotic world.  I attended Summer Conference my first year and realized, just as when I went on the cruise and they couldn't hook me up with other Marylanders to make my journey easier, there was no way to be connected to others in your home state.  I put up bulletin boards listing every state with columns for name, address and contact info.  By the second day, it filled up with eager newbies and seasoned macros wanting to form pot luck groups and meet others on their own macrobiotic paths.  I was not allowed to post a board this year to the disappointment of attendees who approached me about it.  The site Macro Travel Friends on Facebook now has over 800 friends who list travel info, places to stay, counsellor events and I have connected several healing chefs with cancer patients through this venue.  Through my cooking business I hope to improve people's lives with good wholesome macrobiotic food.

My own potluck group has grown from three of us, in the beginning,  to eighteen this past Saturday night.  We each told about our macro journey this last pot luck.  People were so encouraged by my story that I decided to share it here.  That cruise was my life changing event.  I ended up losing fifty five pounds, clearing my mind, improving my health, and meeting so many wonderful people around the world.  

Macrobiotics shakes your life up.  It makes you look at your life differently.  It isn't always an easy journey, but one well worth it.  

"Two roads diverged in a yellow wood,

And sorry I could not travel both

And be one traveler, long I stood

And looked down one as far as I could

To where it bent in the undergrowth.

Then took the other, as just as fair,

And having perhaps the better claim,

Because it was grassy and wanted wear:

Though as for that the passing there,

Had worn them really about the same.

And both that morning equally lay

In leaves no step had trodden black.

OH, I kept the first one for another day!

Yet knowing how way leads on to way,

I doubted if I should ever come back.

I shall be telling this with a sigh

Somewhere ages and ages hence:

Two roads diverged in a wood, and I

I took the one less traveled by,

And that has made all the difference.

Robert Frost

Making Friends in This Crazy Modern World

I wonder whether there are many people in our society sitting home alone.  Is it easier to avoid connections with others and just stay by yourself?  I hear of many new acquaintances and long time friends who find it too tedious to get dressed up, put on makeup and go out for the evening with others and struggle to find things to talk about.  It is less work to sit in front of the computer or television and to have virtual friends, they tell me.  In the old days, families lived in the same neighborhood or even building.  Children grew up with aunts, uncles and grandparents close by.  If a parent was not available the kids had many others to call upon for homework help or a shoulder to cry on. The movie, Avalon, by Barry Levinson is an excellent example of this.  Neighbors talked over the fence and helped each other out.  My parents had a group of friends they saw every Saturday night for cards or dinner and they even dressed up for these occasions.  Now, it seems, people drive into their garages and are not seen again til they leave for work the next day.  Families may get together for holidays, but seldom see their relatives otherwise, if at all.

Are all the meet up groups taking the worry out of picking up the phone and inviting someone over?  All you have to do is rsvp and show up once a month.  Does this social invention help people to make friends?  Recently we discussed this in my Spiritual Friends group which meets twice a month.  We all get along well when there is a topic as a focus, but what is everyone doing the rest of the month.  The leader, a friendly laid back guy named Charlie, suggested that he only wanted to have one meeting a month, after having taken the lead for 3 years.  What would happen to the group?  Would anyone pick up the slack?  Of course, since I can not stand indecision, I stepped in.  I asked them what they enjoyed doing.  We brainstormed several ideas and then I got my calendar out and pinned them down to dates.  Some suggestions were a visit to Butterfly World and a walk in some gardens, a festival, a holiday party, a Halloween hayride event, and a joint Thanksgiving dinner.  They were all interested, but no one wanted to take the first step to plan it.  I urged different people to take charge of just one event.  They reluctantly agreed, but were very hesitant to offer their homes.  Reasons given were, "My home is too small.", or "My home hasn't been cleaned since 9/11."  As soon as I got home, I sent Evites for each event to hit while the iron was hot, so to speak.  So now we all have some events to look forward to.  It wasn't that they had full dance cards.  It wasn't that they did not like each other.  Are people just resigned to being at home alone until someone else takes the initiative?  Who knows if they will even get out of their cocoons and show up!

I think Facebook and social media has enhanced some of these behaviors.  Why go out and see friends in the flesh when you can have 837 online friends.  Unfortunately these "friends" can not feed your cat when you are out of town or provide a real shoulder for you to cry on.  Is securing a "like" on a facebook comment replacing a hug from an actual friend who brings you miso soup when you are sick?  Online you can dress in your pjs or not at all and converse for hours with people all over the world.  There are benefits to this expanse of opportunities to connect that way.  You can usually find someone available any time of the day or night, for instance.  But, does this replace in person socializing?  How is the fabric of society being affected by these computers and phones that pop up everywhere from the restaurant table or for a private bathroom event.  Even when people do get together the ever present "device of choice" creates an atmosphere where it is uncommon for someone to be in the moment, only conversing with the one person in front of them!  Are we afraid we will miss that all important piece of news or event that can not wait until we are finished giving our full attention to the person we are with?  I, too, am guilty of not being in the moment at times.  Social media is addicting.  It takes a conscious effort to decide to banish it for a particular time frame, like celebrating Shabbat, or to cut it off at a decent hour in the evening.

How many of you grapple with these issues of wanting to connect on a more personal level and having trouble setting limits with yourself and others around the computer and phone?  Does it compromise your sleep, your desire and ability to make meaningful relationships?  Is it like this in other countries?  I know I have 100 readers in Russia.  What is it like there with regard to creating friendships and social media addiction?    Just wondering.... Feel free to comment below and we can get a conversation going...online, of course!

No Way, You Can Not Be 50! (2013 Kushi Summer Conference)

No Way, You Can Not Be 50!

The tattooed guy on the boardwalk in Atlantic City who makes his living guessing people's ages has nothing on our macrobiotic friends.  Time and again at this Macrobiotic Conference, I have been shocked to find out that the beautiful, interesting woman with whom I have been sharing a table at lunch or dinner, and doesn't look a day over 25, is actually 41.  Those adorable, fantastic dancers  at our social on the last night who move with abandon and have the flexibility of a teenager are actually 80 or more!  Macrobiotic people just get younger and younger, living their lives with vim and vigor.  Take a look at Michio Kushi, as he speaks so eloquently and walks with a jaunty step at 87, or Maggie Cottrell, cutting up the dance floor at 85, and you will know they are doing something right.  My intention is to be as spry as they are when I reach 80, in 50 years or so.

This year,  it feels like there is a smaller crowd here.  The benefits of a manageable group are shorter waiting times in the food line and more personalized attention from the teachers who seem more relaxed and more approachable than usual.  I can only imagine what the Holistic Holiday at Sea in March will be like this coming year.

They are expecting 1800 participants.  We vegans will take over half the ship!  While I am thrilled that so many more are embracing this way of life, I am worried that the quality of the cruise, long lines at meals, standing room only classes, etc., will suffer.  I hope the powers that be are taking this into account so that the cruise veterans will not be turned off and take their vacation dollars elsewhere.  Many have confided in me that they are not returning this coming year due to long waits in the dining room and problems with the quality of the food.  The beauty of the Kushi Summer Conference is that all the classes are macrobiotic related and all the fantastic food and people are macrobiotic.  One would hope that the cruise remembers its roots and continues to invite macrobiotic speakers ( bring back that hilarious Verne Varona, the informative Bill Spear and some cooking teachers who don't use sugar) and doesn't dilute the macrobiotic experience.  I love the cruise and want to recommend it to everyone I know, but I really yearn for the simple days of the Costa Fortuna.

Today I have the wonderful treat of a private session with Ed Esko on 9 Star Ki.  For those of you who are not in the know, 9 Star Ki is a revealing form of astrology that originated in Japan.  Three numbers,  determined by your birth date and year and other methods, reveal a wealth of information about your personality, relationships and future.  Ed is Mr. Nine Star Ki so it was very enlightening to get to sit down with him.  I gathered insight about how to deal with my challenging children, my relationship and decisions in the coming months.  Lots of food for thought.  Other private sessions at the conference include shiatsu  massage, macrobiotic counseling, energy healing and hypnosis.

I learned some interesting facts this weekend.  Bill Spear shared with us that the Inuits, in Alaska, dig out the whale's belly, and before eating the meat, gather the fermented seaweed there and consume it.  Fermented  foods are important to the survival of all cultures and the ancients ones were aware of this.  He also told us that the food pyramid was created by the food and dairy industry and based on the Irish immigrants who lived in Boston in the 1930s.  These people did not have the foods that  we have now and lived a very different life than we do so the chart's relevance to current day Americans is questionable.  I love hearing his story about the Javanese woman who asked him if we Americans " eat before we eat", referring to appetizers, and then asking if we " eat after we eat", referring to dessert.  I finally understand that when asked if something is yin and yang I need to think, "In relationship to what?"  I am more savvy now about many things thanks to these wonderful teachers who have dedicated themselves to explaining macrobiotics and spreading its amazing message for over 40 years.

Tonight is party time for all of us.  After studying hard, we macros know how to boogie.  Participants of all ages get out on the dance floor and strut their stuff.    I see women from twenty to eighty five move with abandon and more energy than I have witnessed in one room since last year's conference!  It is a joy to watch an experienced ballroom teacher guide one woman after another in the most graceful dances.  Others are in their own world,  just feeling the beat of the music, and making up their own magical movements.  I feel fortunate to be a part of this group, who know how to enjoy themselves.
Kudos to Cathy and John Russo who orchestrate this lovely experience for us year after year.

Tomorrow we all head home.  We feel filled up with the spirit of macrobiotics.  We are renewed in our resolve to make our practice  better and to share our newfound knowledge with others.  Friendships have been refreshed and formed anew.  Contacts have been made and ideas have been shared.  As we head out to the real world, where we are looked upon as oddballs,  we know in our hearts that our kindred spirits from the conference join us in our commitment to one peaceful world.

Schmoozing at the 2013 Kushi Summer Conference

The Kushi Summer Conference is being held at the Dolci Center in Basking Ridge, New Jersey.  People come from all over the world to hear renowned speakers on macrobiotics share their knowledge with us.  This year's presenters include Michio Kushi, Verne Varona, Tom Monte, Ed Esko, Bill Spear, Warren Kramer, Melanie Waxman, Denny Waxman and many others.  It is difficult to juggle the full schedule of classes to be able to hear all my favorites.  Fortunately most of the lectures are taped and you can buy the CDs to listen to at home.  There are also classes each morning in yoga, Tai Chi, Do-In, Qigong, and Meditation.  In the coming days Christina Pirello, Patricio Garcia De Paredes, Melanie Waxman and Deco Nakajima will be sharing their cooking expertise with us.

It is pouring cats and dogs when we arrive and gather with many old friends to receive our room assignments.  This upscale hotel is a lovely venue for the Conference, with large cushy rooms and spacious meeting areas.  KO and I head straight to the Kushi Store on the second floor to drop off the Macro Travel Friends t shirts, selling for a very reasonable twelve dollars this year, a real steal!  My friend Kelly, a nutritionist in Maryland, has written an excellent book called Cure Your Child With Food and we have put them on sale at the store as well.  The well stocked store is a macrobiotic's dream as its tables are brimming with snowy agar, large sacks of grains, juice sweetened cookies, books by our favorite authors, useful kitchen utensils and healthy seaweed.  I buy a new cookbook by Bettina Zumdick, a teacher at the Kushi Institute, and promise myself to return tomorrow to peruse the goodies.

My favorite part of the Conference is reconnecting with friends I have not seen since last year.  We greet each other warmly with hugs and kisses and compare notes from the last twelve months.  Today , while waiting for a lecture to begin, I met a new friend from New Jersey and he shared his wealth of  information regarding New Jersey shore vegan and macrobiotic friendly restaurants.  I'm looking forward to a trip there to try them out.  Everyone is very friendly and you never know if you will sit down with a person who cured their cancer, diabetes, heart problems or eczema with  macrobiotics.  The stories are motivating and help to reinforce the reasons I am following this path.

The food is already outstanding.  Tonight's dinner is divided into a healing diet and the regular macrobiotic fare.  On the menu is the creamiest roasted garlic polenta I have ever tasted, Red Lentil Loaf with Mushroom Gravy, steamed kale and many salad options. The brocoli soup is accompanied by sourdough croutons.  For dessert, they offer a lemon poppy seed cupcake.  We enjoy our food while having a lively conversation with a couple from Maryland who share their experiences taking cooking classes in Becket at the Kushi Institute.

After dinner there is a lecture with Tom Monte entitled Creating Peace- In Your Life, In Your Most Cherished Relationships, Community and World.  The standing room only crowd is treated to a heartfelt dialogue on the importance of dealing with our anger and sadness before we can reach the stages of compassion, love and fulfillment.  You can hear a pin drop in the room as we intently absorb Tom's crucial life lessons. He counsels, "If you are waiting for someone else to change then that is making your own happiness dependent on the other changing."  The other person can not prevent us from having happiness any more and we need to pay attention to the tender victim in ourselves, face our anger and not let it fester into disease.  There are many interesting lessons in Tom's wise words.

The evening ends with Michio Kushi, at eighty seven years young, welcoming us to the conference.  Next Jessica Porter entertains us with her usual brand of humor while introducing the speakers for the weekend.  It is always a treat to hear her come up with an anecdote about every presenter and put a funny spin on it.

Exhausted and excited we return to the room for some well needed sleep.  Can't wait to see what they are serving for breakfast tomorrow and best of all, I don't have to cook for myself!

 

More tomorrow on Day Two.

Detroit or Bust.....Friends Trump All!

You may be wondering why anyone would want to take a vacation to a city that has just declared bankruptcy.  Well, friends trump all.  Every year we make the sojourn to Florida to go on the Holistic Holiday at Sea, a vegan cruise that draws passengers from all over the world.  We join together in our love of macrobiotics and veganism to attend lectures by renowned speakers such as Colin Campbell, the China Study, Caldwell Esselstyn, known for helping Clinton get healthy, Neal Barnard, the head of the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine, and others.  On this amazing cruise in the Caribbean, I have met fantastic people from all over, many of whom have beat cancer using macrobiotics and the plant based diet.  For the last several cruises KO and I have formed an unbreakable bond with macro travel friends from Akron, Ohio and Dearborn Heights, Michigan.  We have enjoyed vacations together to Hawaii, a North Carolina beach house, the Cleveland Film Festival, New Years Eve in Maryland and now the Ann Arbor Arts Festival, Detroit and Canada.

We begin this reunion of D14, Chi Master, The Dancer, KO and myself at the Ann Arbor Arts Festival on the grounds of my alma mater, the University of Michigan.  The festival is actually five art shows together and covers the entire town.  So, of course, we need refreshments before we begin.  Our first restaurant, and you know we are an eating bunch so there will be many, is called Jazzy Veggie.  We gorge ourselves on Sweet Potato Quinoa Burgers, Couscous "Crab" cakes with remoulade sauce, Vegan Enchiladas filled with creamy beans and healthy vegetables and delish cherry and apple pie.

Tanked up and ready to spend the next eight hours walking the streets in 100 degree temperatures, we head out.  The art is amazing!  There is everything represented from stained glass oak doors, handsomely  crafted  pottery  bowls with crushed glass inlay, and brilliant watercolors to a whole section devoted to causes such as green living and charities.  I find a CD where,  in a second, the guy puts my grandson's name in and  it becomes a personalized tribute to MILO!  Another find is a water balloon contraption you hook up to a faucet and it turns into a powerful squirt apparatus.  We rest on the lawn of the University of Michigan where Chi Master treats us to his yogic expertise as he twists his body into positions no one else should attempt. Our stomachs are rumbling again so we head to Silvios, an organic pizzeria with vegan and gluten free options.  They grow their own herbs right inside the restaurant under bright lights!  We share a polenta fritta, sorrel and dandelion soup, vegan pizzas and colorful leafy greens salads.  I love traveling with this group because no one minds sharing and if you stick your fork in someone else's food, no problem.  Exhausted, hot and tired we head back to D14's house in Dearborn Heights. Perspiration records were beaten today.  Global warming is alive and well in Michigan!

D14, our host, is the most amazing tour guide.  He allows no grass to grow under your feet and we are on the move all the while!  Today, he starts with a drive through customs as we enter Canada.  We head toward Sarnia, Ontario, the kissing capital of Canada, and the beautiful lake country.  I have never been to a Great Lakes beach and Lake Huron does not disappoint.  The fresh water is clear and blue and so refreshing compared to our salty east coast beaches.  We had the whole place to ourselves and it was a welcome respite from the heat.  Of course, we found an excellent vegan restaurant nearby.  Organic Greens Cafe was a yummy find.  It is a cozy and colorful joint on the Main Street  of Sarnia, surrounded by a hippie tie dye store and vacant storefronts.  It turns out that this cafe is owned by some fellow cruisers and has only been opened a few months.  I am surprised to find such delicious vegan food in a town like this, but the Kale of Dreams soup is deliciously creamy without any dairy of course, and the peanut butter smoothies are decadent!  Caesar Salad is fortified with Romaine dressed in Cashew Dressing, toasted sunflower seeds, Tamari and apples.  I opt for a Japanese rice bowl with miso and bok Choy.  The display case is filled with homemade goodies we purchase for home.  After a walk around this ghost town we head home after another full day.

The last day D14 leads us to the amazing Eastern Market in downtown Detroit.  Blocks and blocks of stalls boast several vegan and organic growers alongside traditional fare. The berries are plentiful and we see the largest organic blackberries and red ruby strawberries.  We sample fresh raw chickpeas, tart pickled radishes, Avalon Bakery's sweet vegan cookies and other delicacies.  Everyone enjoys walking through the endless rows of produce and flea market goods.  Next we take a tour of areas of Detroit where the homes date back to the turn of the twentieth century.  Henry Ford's home built in 1908 and where he lived until 1915 is located in the Boston Edison area and we peek in at his lovely gardens.  Just a few blocks away we witness vacant buildings with every window broken.  D14 explains that the city has no money to repair these relics of the past and it is a sad site to see such abandonment.  

Our group tries two other restaurants that we enjoy.  Om Cafe in Ferndale  is our destination for brunch one morning.  They offer tofu scramble, miso soup, sushi rolls, and other macrobiotic choices.  Inn Seasons Cafe in Royal Oak is a dinner spot where we wait forty five minutes for a table.   I choose brown rice, black beans and veggies as I need a break from all this fussy food we have been having.  Others order excellent earthy mushroom soup, KO and D14 have baked spaghetti, Chi Master has enormous marinated shiitake mushrooms and the Dancer has fragrant pesto risotto.  The meals in the Detroit area have been most satisfying and who knew there were so many vegan choices here?

In Royal Oak we happen upon an Armenian festival.  As we stroll down the street and the sky darkens into evening, we hear lilting tunes and see a crowd gathered.  We are excited to see Armenian foods, crafts and fortune telling.  The Dancer and Chi Master show off their smooth ballroom dancing moves as we all look on. It is a magical end to our evening.

One of the highlights of the trip is a lavish brunch presented by D14's mom and aunt.  We have met them on the cruise as well.  Walking from D14's home to his mom's, around the corner, we are greeted fondly by many neighbors.  I am waiting for Ward and June Cleaver to invite us in as this reminds me of the neighborhoods of the 50s and is surely different from home.  When we arrive the table is laden with Zucchini Carrot Fritters, Raw Kale Salad with blueberry pomegranate dressing, Raw Beet Salad, German Chocolate Spelt Cupcakes, Raspberry Banana Cream Tart, and Peach Cobbler.  We sip on Fresh blueberry lemonade, Pomegranate lemon tea and ginger, lemon and mint infused water.  It is a feast to behold!  Caterers in their previous lives, these gifted woman have shifted their menus to meet their vegan lifestyles.  We chat into the afternoon until we must reluctantly  leave for the airport and our flight home.

Our four days spent in Detroit and environs has been a connection among kindred spirits.  The group of us enjoy sharing our love of the vegan way of life and having adventures together.  It is well worth it to go out of your way for friendship.  When you care about people it is crucial to make the time to keep them in your life.  My friend, Kelly, in Maryland and I have spent every Friday for the last twenty two years hanging out and having adventures.  It is important to us so we make it a priority and do not let other things get in the way of our special time together.  Be sure to make the important ones in your life a priority even when your every day responsibilities try to take over!

Next stop....Kushi Macrobiotic Summer Conference in Basking Ridge,  New Jersey.

Ambling Through Historic Annapolis

Ambling Through Historic Annapolis

For a wonderful journey back through time to colonial America, spend a day in Annapolis.  Located just an hour from suburban Maryland, Annapolis provides many diversions for a summer day.  We head over early on a Sunday morning to pay a visit to the dockside Farmers Market.  Yachts, speedboats, sailboats and kayaks ring the harbor as we walk toward the market.  Fresh colorful vegetables and crafts are offered here and though it is smaller than most markets the setting makes it charming.  We have brought a picnic lunch of bean salad and couscous, sweet and sour tempeh, greens and  twig tea and we sit on a bench near the water to eat.

Following the path along the water, we see many crowded seafood restaurants and adorable shops.  We have come to tour the William Paca House or the Hammond Harwood House where the docents give guided tours.  As we walk up the Pinkney Street along the aged brick walkway,  we spy the open door of the Hogsheads House.  Two ladies outfitted in floor length 1700s frocks greet us warmly.  Hogshead House was built in the early 1700s and then rebuilt in 1800.  The entrance way is filled with artifacts including a group of firearms, leather goods and implements made from hides and horns of animals.  The docent explains where the term " Lock, stock and barrel" comes from.  They are individual parts of the gun which can be replaced without purchasing a whole new firearm.  We learn about hard tack, flour, water and salt,  which hardens into a rock and then can be kept and later softened with tea or soup.  Tea for the wealthy was made from expensive tea leaves while the poor only got the dregs, tea compressed into a block.  Horns of animals were used to hold gunpowder that one could carry with himself until needed.  Horns were flattened by boiling them in vinegar and placed in molds to make spoons.  Beeswax was used to make cups airtight.  Hogheads are the barrels into which the cash crop tobacco was twisted for storage and transport.  Pipes of clay were used for smoking the tobacco and when done the ends were bitten off .

It is fascinating to hear all these stories and to learn about all the uses the colonial settlers found for what was in their environment.

Exhausted  from our free tour and our walk through the many narrow winding streets, we happen upon the Reynolds Tea Room.  It sits on Church Circle and has a lovely view down the steep street to the waterfront.  This dwelling was constructed in the year 1747 and owned by a hatter and dry good salesman.  It has been a home and bed and breakfast as well as a tavern for weary travelers.  There is a massive offering of teas here.  We choose from names like Angel Falls Mist, Gunpowder Green, Sencha Kyoto Cherry Rose Festival, Hawaiian Lili'uokalani, and Yin Zhen Silver Needle.  It feels so relaxing to sit near a window , sipping our tea and sharing a warm golden raisin scone.  

Besides walking along the streets and touring the homes, Annapolis has many other activities.  You can take a boat ride and tour along the coastline or dine in one of the excellent restaurants that line the streets.  There are large parks to explore.  The State House offers tours where you can learn about Maryland's government and the Benjamin Banneker House details African American History.

How fortunate we are to have such rich opportunities for learning and spending our weekends so close to the Nations Capital.

Weekend Japanese Cultural Experience

Weekend Japanese Cultural Experience

I have been sick for a few days this week and what better way to cure my ills than to partake in some authentic Japanese Ramen, the answer to the standard chicken soup.  So we went on a quest for a true Japanese experience in good old Maryland this past weekend.  It was a challenge to find vegan Ramen, but we were up to the challenge!

KO and I started our day Saturday at the Kensington Farmers Market.  Nestled near the eclectic Antique Village, the Market included some delicious choices under the colorful multitude of tents next to the train station.  Homemade soaps and lotions made of healthy herbs and oils smelled heavenly. We sampled slivers of paisley colored fabrics that were filled with ice to keep you cool on a hot day.  Delectable fragrant scones and buttery croissants reminded us of our recent trip to Paris and England.   There were enormous barrels of pungent pickles and red, yellow and purple flowers beckoned us to enjoy their aromas.   Across the street, a building housed a wonderful selection of used books and I picked up The Secret Lives of Presidents, which interested me after viewing Hyde Park on Hudson, the story of FDR's love affairs right under the nose of Eleanor.

We capped off this part of our adventure with a lovely stroll through the turn of the century homes in Old Kensington.  One story is that when you bought a home here after the war, you got a Chevy along with it!  Every home is adorned with picture postcard gardens and it is a pleasure to walk back in time through this neighborhood.  In one of the antique stores we found an early 1900s wedding dress and an 1850s Chinese chair. It was fun to see what treasures we could discover there.

  

Our tummies were growling with hunger and the day had become humid and scorching so we ventured up to Wheaton to our first culinary experience, Ren's Ramen.  If you have been eating that cheap instant ramen in the packages found in every grocery store, than you are probably thinking that ramen is no big deal.  I was in for a real surprise.  KO had experienced ramen on his two journeys to Japan so he was seeking to recreate that experience.  The wavy Nishiyama noodles at Ren's are aged perfectly and sent here from Sapporo Hakkaido Japan.  The vegan ramen here is made in a seaweed broth, cooked overnight and onions, carrots, bean sprouts and cabbage complete the package.  We eagerly dug into our steaming bowls and were greeted with an almost buttery taste of wholesome broth and a kind of al dente noodle like none I had ever experienced before.  It was the perfect choice to sweat out any ailments you may have.  With less than twenty tables, the place was swimming with both Japanese and American clientele and the prices were very reasonable at eleven dollars for a large bowl of this amazing confection.

As we had planned a progressive meal where one has a different part of the meal at different restaurants, we headed to Tamari in Rockville to continue our Japanese experience.  First we stopped in at the Japanese grocery, Maruichi, located in the Talbot Shopping Center.  I had been searching for jinenjo, a wild yam which, when grated and eaten,  is supposed to promote strength and well being.  The store had this root vegetable along with many other interesting products.  We asked the proprietors what their favorite restaurant was and they said Niwano Hana,  so we scrapped our plans for Tamari and headed up the Pike.  We were greeted with the traditional Irasshaimase, which means welcome as we entered this quiet oasis in the Wintergreen Center.

Sushi chefs in their white hats and coats busily and meticulously prepared our vegan sushi as we listened to lilting Japanese melodies.  The sushi was fresh and flavorful. We topped our meal off with Yokan.

This is a type of dessert which is made with agar and Aduki beans, similar to jello, and was delectable and refreshing.  This food put us in the mood to complete our Japanese day by watching the movie, Ramen Girl, the story of an American girl in Japan who decides to find the secret of making real ramen and learns a great deal about life in the process. 

In the evening, we decided to work off some of this food with some more exercise.  At Kentlands  in Gaithersburg, on Friday and Saturday nights, there is a Tiki Bar next to the Diner.  It is here that the whole community comes out to hear bands play various genres of music.  This night Beggar's Tomb was on the bill.  Old and young came together to rock out to Grateful Dead tunes til late into the night.  Under the twinkling stars we danced with others clad in their tie dyes shirts and skirts, listening to music that took us back to our youth.  Nice to still be able to experience a small town feeling just ten miles from the DC line.

Hopefully Macro Adventure blog is giving you some ideas for how  to spend your weekends in this cosmopolitan area.  Please leave comments on the blog and join as a follower of the blog so we can all share ideas.  Until next weekend....