Pecan pie for this fall

Autumn has come! Well, in LA, we have been having a cool summer. I am ready to have autumn now. I made this Pecan pie to celebrate this season. Nutty and sweet! Usually pecan pie is very sweet with lots of sugar. I made this sweeten with Amazake and maple syrup. It was just satisfying natural sweetness.

I am actually going to Japan to attend Kushi Institute Level 3 this fall. I am going to take lecture from Mr. Michio Kushi, a great teacher and master of Macrobiotics. I am very excited! I like to continue blogging over there. KIJ (Kushi Institute Japan) is located in Kobuchizawa, a mountain region Japan. It is a beautiful small town surrounded by forests and hot springs.

Azuki Kabocha

This is Azuki Kabocha dish, one of the typical macrobiotic dishes. I made this dish for a client who has weak kidneys. It is very nourishing as well as tasty! Azuki (sometimes spelled Aduki) is a Japanese red beans and Kabocha is Japanese pumpkin. You can find them in Japanese stores or any health food stores.  
Azuki beans are very good for our kidneys and strengthen your blood and Kabocha is very good for nourishing our spleen and pancreas. Many people including me love sweets. I ate so much chocolate and sweet baked foods in the past. Those foods in highly sugar contents and baked goods wear out our spleen and pancreas in time. So, it is very good to have this dish for our organs and enjoy the natural sweetness!

Azuki Kabocha:

1 cup Azuki beans soaked over night or 6 hours (Also use the soaking water)
Kabocha pumpkin (about 2 cups cut into cubes)
1" square piece of Kombu
water

In a stainless pot or a cast iron pot, put the kombu then put beans and cover with the beans' soaking water. Bring it a boil. Skim the white foams with a strainer. This will help digest beans better. If the water level reduces, add a little more water to cover the beans. Put the lid on and simmer until the beans are 90% done. Put the Kabocha on top of the beans. Simmer 10 minutes until the kabocha becomes soft.
sprinkle 2 pinch of salt and gently shake the pot to mix the ingredients.

Now I am getting back to blogging...

Hi! Sorry about the long pause. I know....it has been a long time. I didn't realize...Well, I have been traveling in studying. After my KI Europe training, I ended up taking more extended classes in Japan. At Kushi Institute Japan, I was able to learn many things about cooking since Japanese people are very keen when it comes to cooking. The taste and the presentation is fabulous, it is part of our culture. Learning there really brought me in depth understanding of Macrobiotics.

I am back in LA, doing private chef, personal coaching of macrobiotic cooking. It is challenging to cook healing foods sometimes, but it is always a good education for me. It has been a joy to promote this healthy living movement. In a month, I will return to Japan to complete my level at KIJ, the level 3. I am looking forward to it.

the photo is plumeria flowers in Waikiki, Hawaii. I was there for a photo shoot assignment last month. Such a vibrant energy!