Seeing the Big Picture

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

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

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