Macro Buzz

Seeing the Big Picture

2009-07-14T10:59:00.018-05:00

I wanted to talk about macrobiotic living in this blog - about seeing the big picture. Sometimes this is a difficult thing to do as we get caught up in the small details of our lives. It was brought home to me early last Friday morning. I woke up very early to a storm; as the thunderstorm passed the wind started to blow and I knew I would get up and see lots of broken branches and damaged flowers. The window was open and suddenly I could smell smoke.

I ran outside and saw that the cottage that we had been painstakingly building for the last four years was on fire. There was nothing I could do. I was devastated. For three hours I waited until the fire department was gone and I could safely sit down and cry; only to find that the little pond at the side of the cottage was filled with rubble. I remembered the frogs and several hundred tadpoles inside. With two helpers I cleaned for the rest of the day. We took out the tadpoles one by one, put them in a bucket of water and drained and cleaned out the pond.

All that clean up work had been a good thing for me. I realised that I felt differently; it was not the end of the world after all. My family, my friends, my pets were all safe and, after all, the cottage could be rebuilt. For a few hours I had been unable to see the big picture; I had forgotten what macrobiotic living means.

So when you take the kids to school, run to the store, send that e-mail, remember to stop just for a moment. Take that moment and breathe deeply. Smell the flowers, feel the warmth of the sun, talk to your neighbor or co-worker and consciously still your mind. Those little in-between moments when you seem to be doing nothing are the most important moments. That is when time stands still and that is macrobiotic living.

To see the world in a grain of sand
And Heaven in a wild flower
Hold infinity in the palm of your hand
And eternity in an hour

William Blake

Auguries of Innocence

Kohlrabi and Carrot Salad

2009-07-13T20:53:00.025-05:00

I am always looking for new recipes for some of those summer vegetables that I grow every year for the enjoyment of seeing them grow and because I know they are healthy. Kohlrabi is one of those vegetables.

If you are buying it at a store or farmer's market pick the smaller bulbs and make sure the leaves are still attached. Kohlrabi is very high in Vitamin C; 1 cup has almost 100% of your daily requirement of Vitamin C and is also very high in fiber.

I found a great recipe on Orangette's blog. It was adapted from The Farm to Table Cookbook, by Ivy Manning, and Chef Fearn Smith of The Farm Cafe.

I often have a habit of trying to reinvent the wheel but this recipe was perfect as is. I decided to leave out the pea shoots because I did not have them and I also left out the garlic. The second time I made this recipe my carrot and kohlrabi pieces were a little big so I steamed them for about three minutes and that worked out really well. The fennel seeds and the toasted sesame oil give this salad a really interesting flavor and the crunch of the carrots and kohlrabi is very refreshing. Try it as a side dish or even a snack by itself.

Kohlrabi Salad

2 medium red or green kohlrabi bulbs
1 large carrot, peeled
1 tsp. fennel seed
2 Tbsp. rice wine vinegar
1/2 tsp. kosher salt, or more to taste
1/2 tsp. freshly ground black pepper
1 small garlic clove, pressed (optional)
2 Tbsp. olive oil
1 tsp. toasted sesame oil
2 cups pea shoots (optional)

Trim away any stems from the kohlrabi bulb. Using a sharp chef’s knife or a sharp vegetable peeler, cut and discard away its tough outer skin. Then julienne the kohlrabi, using either a mandolin or the same sharp knife. Julienne the carrot too.

In a small dry skillet, toast the fennel seeds over medium heat until they begin to brown slightly and smell toasty. Transfer them to a mortar and pestle or spice grinder, and grind them into a coarse powder.

In a small bowl, combine the fennel seeds, vinegar, salt, pepper, and garlic, if using. Slowly whisk in the olive oil and sesame oil. Pour over the vegetables and toss to coat. Taste, and add more salt, if needed.

Chop the pea shoots, if using, into 1-inch pieces and toss into the salad immediately before serving.

University of Michigan's Solar Car Team

2009-07-08T10:03:00.007-05:00

The University of Michigan Solar Car Team is one of the most successful solar car teams in North America, having won the North American Solar Challenge (NASC) five times. The team has also placed third in the World Solar Challenge (WSC) three times. University of Michigan students have high hopes for the latest solar car.

"They hope to win the World Solar Challenge in October," said John Federspiel, who will be a senior in mechanical engineering in the fall and is the crew chief on the solar car project. The annual race across Australia from Darwin in the Northern Territory to Adelaide draws college teams from across the globe. It will will be the first test of the car, dubbed Infinium.

They will need lots of energy for both the trial run in the US in July as well as the actual event in Australia. GoMacro will be providing MacroBars for all the team members for both events. We hope that the extra nutrition and energy contributes to the success of this great environmental project. We wish them all the best.

Garlic sculpture

2009-07-03T19:56:00.003-05:00

Immune system boosters

2009-05-27T15:07:00.025-05:00

Today has been a rather dreary day. It's raining and I feel the beginning of a cold. That got me thinking about how important our immune system is. It helps get rid of infections and helps us heal faster. For it to function properly we need a lot of nutrients and the older we get the more we need, but our body does not absorb nutrients as well as it did when we were younger; so what to do. I am not a believer in taking lots of pills; I prefer to get my nutrients from natural sources.

My mother was a firm believer in warm milk and honey. That was a long time ago and the milk was from our own farm. Today after my bout with breast cancer I avoid dairy products but healthy drinks in between meals seems like a good way of boosting our intake of nutrients. I have a jar of shiitake mushrooms on my shelf that I use in soups and sauces. Full of nutrients and protein it has been prized in the east for thousands of years. A great book, Japanese Foods that Heal by Jon and Jan Belleme, has lots of interesting info. on these mushrooms, so I decided to try their very simple recipe for shiitake tea.

Shitake Tea

1 dried shiitake mushroom
2 cups water
Pinch of sea salt

Soak the dried shiitake in the water for 1 hour. My dried mushrooms are sliced so I just took a handful. If you use the whole mushroom then remove and discard the stem and thinly slice the cap. Pour the water and the mushroom slices into a saucepan and add salt. Recently I have been using Himalayan sea salt from Sustainable Sourcing. I used to measure out salt but it is such a pleasure to hold these crystals between your fingers that I now eyeball my recipes and use a pinch or several pinches of salt in my recipes. Many people think salt is salt but I swear that this salt actually tastes better. I used to put salt in everything but now I am more careful. Less sodium is better for your health. Anyway simmer for 10 to 20 minutes over medium heat until the liquid is reduced by half. This tea will keep up to two weeks in the refrigerator. I enjoyed the mushroomy taste and I even ate the mushrooms. I always enjoy their chewy texture; probably satisfying my subconscious meat cravings. A great medicinal tonic and a good way to imbibe extra nutrients.

The following recipe is from The Macrobiotic Path to Total Health by Michio Kushi and Alex Jack . It is a healing drink incorporating many nutrients. Some of the ingredients are a little more difficult to find but they are available at most health food stores. Nori is rich in protein, Vitamins A, B and C and calcium and iron. Umeboshi plums have many medicinal uses and an umeboshi plum a day is considered to be one of the best preventive medicines. British author Robbie Swinnerton considers the umeboshi to be the culinary equivalent to a cold shower. He writes, "The abrupt, searingly tart, tangy, salty taste jolts the eyes open, shakes the stomach awake, sandpapers off any staleness from the taste buds, and gets the day off to an unforgettable start." Daikon radish is a popular Asian vegetable, very low in calories, high in Vitamin C and a great digestive aid.

Carrot-Daikon Drink

1/2 cup carrots
1/2 cup daikon
1/3 nori sheet
1/2 umeboshi plum

Grate 1/2 cup each of carrots and daikon. Add 2 cups of water and bring to a gentle boil. Add nori and the umeboshi plum (minced). Simmer for about 3 minutes. If you want a little more flavor add a few drops of tamari. Drink it while warm and definitely eat all the vegetables.

There are also many invigorating herbal teas. They are great pick-me-ups and you can drink them at any time of the day. One of my favorites is lemon balm tea; probably because it grows wild in my garden so I have a steady supply throughout the summer.

Lemon balm is great for treating colds and flu and is reputed to enhance longevity. Fresh leaves are best but you can also use dried. Steep it in boiling water for 10 - 15 minutes. Experiment with the quantity of leaves. It is a very relaxing drink. Sweeten with maple syrup or agave nectar if you wish.

Following is a link for nettle tea from the adventures of a 21st century forager. I have not tried this myself but in the area of rural Wisconsin that I live in, the Amish are paying $10.00 a lb for stinging nettles. Supposedly, somebody had to crawl through a field of stinging nettles to get home after having hurt himself. Miraculously his arthritis was cured. I cannot attest to the truth of this but if you have arthritis it might be worth a trial.

I think you will be surprised by how much better you feel after trying some of these tonics. Even better, put aside fifteen minutes every day to relax and enjoy them.

MacroBuzz - A Blog With An Attitude

2009-04-26T20:21:00.027-05:00

A blog with an attitude is like a room with a view or a life with a purpose....it is not a necessity, in fact, we can live our lives quite happily without it, but it can also make our spirits soar and expand our horizons in ways that we could not have imagined.

So I have discovered some blogs with an attitude. They are inspirational, opinionated and entertaining with useful information about health, nutrition, food and a love of life. The adventures of Langdon Cook, a 21st century forager on fat-of-the-land. as he makes dandy bread with dandelion petals. Rhubarb revelation at tea and cookies and pan-fried gnocchi with morels and fiddleheads at veganyumyum. I have added these and many more to my blog list.

All of these blogs will provide us with insights and inspiration as we look at macrobiotics, health and nutrition from a fresh perspective. Of course, a strict macrobiotic diet can be great if you are sick but, I think, on this blog we are going to relax a little and look at other aspects of macrobiotics; we will expand the diet by looking at other traditions and cultures, we will look at eastern philosophies and their benefits, as well as trends that incorporate biodiversity and a more ecofriendly approach to our busy lives. We hope to have a blog with an attitude so stay tuned.

The New Organic

2009-01-26T15:20:00.007-06:00

Words express the importance of, and give dimension to, the important aspects of our traditions and cultures. The mesquite pod was a staple part of the diet of the Seri Indians. They had seven words to describe the stages of ripeness of the pod while we have only one. The word "organic" is important. For much of the 20th century it has meant a way of farming without pesticides and antibiotics; producing food that is wholesome and healthy without additives and preservatives.

It started as a way for small farmers to produce healthy food and counter the effects of agribusiness. In the last fifteen years agribusiness has seen the profits in organics and now we have huge so-called organic farms. We do not have the security of knowing any longer whether our organic food is GMO free, whether there is sewage sludge in it or traces of pesticides. We learn that most of our food travels an average of 1,500 miles to reach us, often picked green and lacking in nutrition. Freshness, quality of soil, the variety grown and where it came from can probably tell us more about what we are eating than the label “organic”

We can now become "locavores" eating food grown locally and purchased from a farmer's market, or a CSA box of fresh vegetable goodies from a neighborhood farm that we pick up on a regular basis. Of course, there is nothing better than digging in the dirt and harvesting the veggies that we have lovingly grown ourselves. We even have other options; Wildman Steve Brill who has been foraging in New York’s Central Park for decades will tell you that you do not have to grow it yourself. It is there for anybody that cares to look. He can find wood sorrel, tasting like lemonade at West 107th St and sassafras tasting like root beer in Central Park.

Although we do have other options you have to decide whether eating local is worth the extra effort needed to gather all your food from local but varied sources? It is so much easier to go to the local supermarket.. Yet, there is nothing like putting a face on one’s food, for every item on your plate will have a story to tell. Your meal has become an adventure and a source for dinner time conversation. As many of us try to save some money in a difficult economy we should look to the simple pleasures of a home cooked meal and a return to the enjoyments to be had from "hearth and home".

If you have been diagnosed with cancer

2008-12-03T06:20:00.042-06:00

I received a comment from Kelly on one of my blogs and she asked me to tell her more about the role of macrobiotics in fighting cancer. I made some comments about nutrition with brief references to some research and to the Kushi Institute. Thinking about my response, I realised that there is a lot more that I would like to say to anybody that is diagnosed with cancer.

About ten years ago I hosted a bridal shower for my daughter. Among the guests was a woman in her fifties that I had not met before. She seemed quiet, very considerate, and gave my daughter a gift with a very poetic and beautiful note. There seemed to be an "aura" about her and people gravitated to her. I later learned that she had recently been diagnosed with terminal lymphoma.

Five years later I was diagnosed with breast cancer and soon after with asthma, bronchiectasis and ntm in my lungs. I was in shock and the first person I thought of was Ella, the woman I had met at my daughter's shower. She was healthy and well and spoke to me at length about her experience, about the alternative medical therapies she had researched, and her decision to become macrobiotic. I heard about a woman in Beijing, a dancer, who had cured herself from cancer by dancing for hours every day. My husband told me the story of somebody diagnosed with terminal cancer who loved comedy. Since he only had three months to live he locked himself up in a room and spent three months laughing and listening to comedy shows. He survived, cured by laughter. Unfortunately I am neither a dancer or a comedian. What was I to do?

I am extremely good at research. I decided to research cancer and my options very carefully before making a decision. I read The Cancer Prevention Diet by Michio Kushi and Alex Jack, but I was most impressed by The China Study by Colin Campbell. This was a survey of 12 types of cancer conducted by Cornell and Oxford Universities over a period of 20 years. The scope of the book was far-reaching.

Their conclusions were based on much research; things that I could understand and trust. Vitamin supplements are not a substitute for good nutrition. Good nutrition can prevent disease in its early stages and can halt or reverse it in its later stages. There are virtually no nutrients in animal-based foods that are not better provided by plants. Plant based foods contain no cholesterol. They linked low blood cholesterol levels to lower rates of heart disease and cancer. The average level of blood cholesterol in China was 100 points less than the American average. Traditional diets in rural China had a very low animal protein intake, 7.1gms per day whereas Americans average 70gms per day. They also found that rates of cancer and heart disease were extremely low in comparison with the US.

Breast cancer was linked to higher concentrations of estrogen in diets high in meat and dairy. Chinese women had about 40% of the estrogen exposure of the average American woman and about 1/5th the rate of breast cancer.

In summing up they recommended a diet low in meat and dairy, with sufficient amounts of sunshine in order to maintain a high level of vitamin D for proper regulation of the immune system and additional supplements of B12, if necessary. The diets of many traditional Chinese and Japanese were very similar to the macrobiotic diet. That, and Ella's support was what I needed. I became macrobiotic.

Since this study was published more work has been done on traditional diets. Many of these diets also seem to have lower rates of disease and some do include more meat and dairy. They do have much in common. Meat is not the focus of the meal. Food is minimally processed and often made from scratch. Caloric intake is lower. Meals are family occasions where food is eaten slowly and enjoyed.

So if you have been diagnosed with cancer or any other disease nutrition is an important first step. It does not have to be macrobiotics. As Michael Pollan said in his great book "In Defense of Food" ....".eat food, not too much, mostly plants."

Many stories have been published of people healing themselves from terminal disease. Scientific studies have not been able to prove it and doctors do not always believe it. We all understand the placebo effect, so utilising the mind to heal yourself is vital. Find something that you believe in, something that you love to do. For me it was macrobiotics, the preparation of simple meals made from scratch with organic, fresh foods for the body; yoga, meditation and growing my own food, for the mind. Whether it is dancing or laughing or just preparing and eating good food, find what works for you, what you truly believe in; then do it as though your life depends on it.

Da Farm

2008-09-05T11:04:00.023-05:00

Posillipo Farm is the headquarters of Gomacro. We have been here eight years in a rural corner of Wisconsin close to the Kickapoo river; claimed by some to be the windingest small river in the world. In this area you have two choices of where to live; up on a ridge or down in a hollow. We are on a ridge, cooler in summer and warmer in winter and the wind blows.

We have an organic farm with 125 acres where we grow our own vegetables with a big orchard and practice a vegan macrobiotic hopefully sustainable lifestyle. September is a pretty busy time since everything in the garden seems to ripen at the same time. I spread the bounty but there are lot's of tomatoes, apples, pears, raspberries, cantaloupe, corn, onions etc. to take care of.

As you can see from the pictures gardening is my passion. I am out there every day, spring, summer and fall and still have a hard time keeping up.

We also like to think of this farm as a bird and animal sanctuary and we have put in a 3 acre prairie which is home to a lot of birds and we take in assorted animals all of which live out the full lives here.

Hope you enjoyed the pics. Thought it would provide a little background on where GoMacro products are made. See ya!

Introduction to all things GoMacro

2008-08-08T12:37:00.004-05:00

We have been told that we need to blog. At the age of sixty I was not quite sure what that meant but I think that I am finally ready to take the plunge.

First an introduction to the bloggers. I am Amelia Kirchoff, owner of GoMacro and together with my daughter Jolanta Sonkin, we will be writing, and occasionally rambling, about all the things that interest us, about the people we meet and about the goings on at GoMacro. We will be joined by Monte McPheron, GoMacro sidekick who has been with us since the beginning. He is also a Tai Chi teacher and has been counseling victims of the recent flood here in S.W. Wisconsin. Other family members and friends will occasionally contribute words of wisdom and we always look forward to hearing your comments.

This morning I had an interesting conversation with our sales manager, Scott. He told me that Whole Foods came out with their earnings report and their stock dropped 17%. This, of course, was not what I wanted to hear first thing in the morning since we own stock in Whole Foods. What should we do at GoMacro to stay ahead in the current downturn. That was the question. Scott felt we should diversify – we should sell all things macrobiotic. I know that Starbucks turned to CD’s and books and that did not work for them but there is a little miso business in our neighboring community of Gays Mills. It has been there for twenty years making miso and seitan and I know the owner wants to sell. I wonder.

On the other hand maybe we should get back to basics. What does that mean? Isn’t that what we have been doing all along?

Now Scott is a very interesting person. In his formative years, many moons ago, he was macrobiotic. He read “Confessions of a Kamikaze Cowboy’ by Dirk Benedict which chronicles Dirk Benedict’s battle with cancer using macrobiotics, and it created such an impression on him that he also became macrobiotic. If you are old enough to remember the sixties and seventies you will remember that many people turned to macrobiotics and Dirk Benedict was one of them. He was ‘Faceman’ on the A-Team in the early seventies and flying space ace ‘Lt. Starbuck on Battlestar Galactica.

It is interesting to read about other’s personal experiences with macrobiotics and I think you will agree with much of what Dirk Benedict has to say. I enjoyed it immensely and am looking forward to Dirk’s next book about his experiences raising two sons in the Montana woods cooking macrobiotic meals on a wood cook stove.

That’s all for now. Enjoy the weekend.