Kushi Day 3

Today we started cooking classes in the main house kitchen. The old stove is left in tact (above) but is not used. It forms one wall of the kitchen and serves as a reminder of all the meals that must have come out of this kitchen.

Our classes started with beginner mind. We learned the basic equipment you might need in a macrobiotic kitchen. Beginner mind is such a great way to start as we all came with different levels of fluency and knowledge. I learned a lot from this class even though I have been transitioning for 17 months and have been going to Warren ‘s classes regularly.

Other classes today were
Quality food selection
Vegetable energy
Menu planning and
Philosophy intro to yin and yang.

We were in classes from 7am until 8:30pm with breaks in between classes. A busy day.

A few takeaways:
When chopping Energy comes from your hara,. Energy from your center passes down your arm into the food.

Once a bean is cracked it loses it’s chi and will not germinate or will not grow. Same nutritional value but will not strengthen you.

Quinoa-not good for lung problems. Better to avoid quinoa. ME!!
Sad to hear that the price of quinoa has risen so much due to its popularity that the people who live where it grows can no longer afford to buy it.

Tekka will bring up your iron levels. I’m going to use this condiment while I am here and buy some when I get home.

Scallion juice for mosquito bites. These anecdotal snippets of information make cooking class so important. This healing information is only passed along through word of mouth. It seems like reconnecting with an old tradition.

We took a Field trip into the garden and found a wild burdock plant growing next to a wall.

Burdock is extremely strengthening, it’s a blood purifier and can easily be included in stir fries and an important macrobiotic dish called Kinpira. The length of the burdock root under this leaf is the size of the leaf, so it takes a lot of strength to dig it out.

Energywise I did ok with the long day. The food we have mealtimes fuels us. Some of my colleagues are having a hard time with discharging the food and drinks (coffee) that they are used to having. Hopefully they will start seeing the benefit of the clean meals by Thursday or Friday.