Macro view...
Monday, December 4
Today was about the macro view of the world of cooking with an intro to macrobiotics and our first session on Food and Healing. Macrobiotics was founded in Japan by George Obsawa, who had strong freedom and world peace goals, and is based on yin or expansive energy from the inside out and a more relaxed feeling by eating and drinking certain things, and yang or contractive energy toward the inside, meaning a more active feeling by eating and drinking some things. It is believed in macrobiotics that all things in life and food are yin-yang (i.e. wellness and sickness), everything has two sides, there is energy in everything, including food, and therefore there are certain beliefs about which parts of each vegetable have more expansive or contractive energy and how certain cuts encourage more expansion or contraction (i.e. upper part of a carrot has yin, if you cut straight across it's yang), what cooking techniques contribute to expansion and contraction (shorter cooking times is more expansive, longer cooking times is more contractive), and that everything is changing all the time. Why it is one of the important components of our study is that macrobiotics believes in healthy principles that are the basis of our cooking such as selecting natural whole foods, locally produced and seasonal, etc. , it brought food as a health concept into the medical community and it introduced healthy Japanese products into the North American marketplace such as nori and miso.
We will study a number of different approaches to diet and health, with the school proposing that no one approach being the right one, but providing us with a wide range of knowledge, the latest research on food and healing, and a diverse set of tools to help each unique individual. Also, in looking at each approach, we look at the general history, principles, and the myths and the pros and cons of each dietary approach. Equally important, we look at how to cook delicious and healthy food under each area. For example, some people may have the view that macrobiotic cooking is dull or not flavourful but we cooked a number of dishes, Japanese-based, that were delicious and some of my favourites such as mochi cakes with sweet brown rice and some we filled with a savory walnut mixture and then wrapped them in nori and for others we filled them with a sweet paste filling. We also made a lovely arame (sea vegetable) and tofu dish, a shitake mushroom and noodle soup that was warm and comforting, and a refreshing pressed salad, etc. I told the teacher this was a dangerous class as I absolutely loved all the food. Good thing my colleagues loved it too and could share in the food (so I didn't eat it all) and relate to my enjoyment.
Tomorrow, we head into the kitchen for our Friday Night Dinner practice 2 and have the morning to prepare a four-course gourmet vegan meal that will be judged by our teachers and staff. Everything is moving very quickly...
Today was about the macro view of the world of cooking with an intro to macrobiotics and our first session on Food and Healing. Macrobiotics was founded in Japan by George Obsawa, who had strong freedom and world peace goals, and is based on yin or expansive energy from the inside out and a more relaxed feeling by eating and drinking certain things, and yang or contractive energy toward the inside, meaning a more active feeling by eating and drinking some things. It is believed in macrobiotics that all things in life and food are yin-yang (i.e. wellness and sickness), everything has two sides, there is energy in everything, including food, and therefore there are certain beliefs about which parts of each vegetable have more expansive or contractive energy and how certain cuts encourage more expansion or contraction (i.e. upper part of a carrot has yin, if you cut straight across it's yang), what cooking techniques contribute to expansion and contraction (shorter cooking times is more expansive, longer cooking times is more contractive), and that everything is changing all the time. Why it is one of the important components of our study is that macrobiotics believes in healthy principles that are the basis of our cooking such as selecting natural whole foods, locally produced and seasonal, etc. , it brought food as a health concept into the medical community and it introduced healthy Japanese products into the North American marketplace such as nori and miso.
We will study a number of different approaches to diet and health, with the school proposing that no one approach being the right one, but providing us with a wide range of knowledge, the latest research on food and healing, and a diverse set of tools to help each unique individual. Also, in looking at each approach, we look at the general history, principles, and the myths and the pros and cons of each dietary approach. Equally important, we look at how to cook delicious and healthy food under each area. For example, some people may have the view that macrobiotic cooking is dull or not flavourful but we cooked a number of dishes, Japanese-based, that were delicious and some of my favourites such as mochi cakes with sweet brown rice and some we filled with a savory walnut mixture and then wrapped them in nori and for others we filled them with a sweet paste filling. We also made a lovely arame (sea vegetable) and tofu dish, a shitake mushroom and noodle soup that was warm and comforting, and a refreshing pressed salad, etc. I told the teacher this was a dangerous class as I absolutely loved all the food. Good thing my colleagues loved it too and could share in the food (so I didn't eat it all) and relate to my enjoyment.
Tomorrow, we head into the kitchen for our Friday Night Dinner practice 2 and have the morning to prepare a four-course gourmet vegan meal that will be judged by our teachers and staff. Everything is moving very quickly...
posted by Caroline at 4:34 AM
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