On Saturday, Joyce and I attended a macrobiotic cooking class, coordinated by Arnold and instructed by Leslie Ashburn of Macrobiotic Hawaii. She focused on Japanese macrobiotic cooking, which was smack dab in my area of interest. As I’m quickly heading into my last trimester, I am becoming increasingly concerned about my health and how that translates to Baby Champuru.

Leslie demonstrated a number of dishes, encouraging questions and discussion that created an entertaining and engaging class that concluded with participants sampling the delicious fruits of her labor. The dishes were gently flavored and may require your palate to acclimate themselves to the new tastes if you’re more accustomed to feasting on fast food and plate lunches. However, there is no comparison between the feeling you get after eating a macrobiotic lunch and a McDonald’s extra value meal. Even though I ate a TON, I didn’t have that icky, oh-my-gosh-I-feel-miserable feeling that I would normally get after eating a heavy meal. You also leave the table with a good, guilt-free feeling of wellness, knowing that you did something good for your body rather than waddling away thinking “I really shouldn’t have ate that.”

It seems so logical: making that connection between what you eat and how you feel. It’s common sense, right? Not always, especially when convenience is king and hitting the drive-thru is a way of life for many of us who eat on the run. But, what are the long-term consequences for taking these shortcuts? We’re already seeing the effects in the prevalent problem of obesity and poor health. This is definitely not what I want for my child and for my family. I am a big proponent of moderation, so I doubt that I’ll go completely macrobiotic/vegan — but if I can make healthier choices when cooking at home, I believe it will only benefit us in the long run.

Okay, I’m stepping off my soapbox now and getting back to the food.

I was most impressed with the dessert, Berry Cherry Parfait with Tofu Cream, which was made completely without sugar and was so delicious! (In fact, it was so delectable that I am craving it at this very moment!) If the thought of “tofu cream” makes you want to gag, trust me, after tasting it, you would never guess that it was made of tofu. The only down side to the recipe is the difficulty in finding the required ingredients. I was so eager to make this dish that I made a special trip to Down to Earth in search of such foreign ingredients as brown rice syrup and agar agar flakes. Unfortunately, they had neither at the location I visited. I suppose I will have to venture out to the downtown location sometime in the next week or so.

I was able to track down the ingredients for the Dried Daikon and Shiitake Miso Soup, Hijiki, and Tsukemono. I made them on Saturday night and was pleased by how simple they were to make and how well the dishes turned out. I altered the recipes somewhat to my own taste and will probably continue to tweak them as I go. I made the miso soup two days in a row, and the second day’s attempt was better than the first. That will probably end up being a staple in my household. I love the subtle flavor of the broth, which contains no dashi (broth flavored with bonito fish flakes), but rather is made solely with the soaking water from the sengiri daikon and the shiitake mushrooms. I couldn’t find the organic brown rice miso or barley miso that it calls for, so I am hoping that I’ll be able to find it either at the downtown Down to Earth store or perhaps Marukai or Shirokiya.

I’ll share my slightly altered recipe for the miso soup with you. If you try it, let me know what you think.

Sengiri Daikon and Shiitake Miso Soup
1/4 cup dried daikon (sengiri daikon), soaked and chopped
6 dried shiitake mushrooms, soaked and sliced
6 cups water, including the water that you used to soak the dried vegetables
3 T miso (or to taste)
tofu, cubed
1 t dried wakame
2 green onions, sliced

Soak the sengiri daikon in enough water to cover it, then chop, set aside (saving the soaking water). Soak the dried shiitake mushrooms, chop them, and set aside (saving the soaking water). Place the soaking water and fresh water (totaling 6 cups of liquid) into a pot. Add the chopping and sliced daikon and shiitake and bring to a gentle boil. Cover, simmer, and turn heat to low. Simmer for about 20 minutes. Remove the cover and take out a small amount of broth from the pot and place into a bowl. Blend with the miso. Pour the pureed miso back into the pot, add tofu and wakame, and simmer gently (without boiling). Serve garnished with sliced green onions.

More recipes can be found on Leslie Ashburn’s website at macrobiotichawaii.com.