wholefood kitchen

An article from Melanie Waxman’s website:

‘According to research we have been using herbs in medicine and to improve the flavor of the foods for thousands of years. Scientists are now discovering that the early doctors and herbalists knew a lot more than they were given credit for. Many historians believe that herbs were used for medicine and healing because they either resembled a part of the body or from simple observation that the person improved after taking the herb.

Today herbs are often only used as garnishes to add a colorful aspect to our meals. However, they do so much more than make a plate or soup look pretty. Herbs are packed with nutrition and by enjoying them on a daily basis, provide that extra burst of energy to keep us feeling and looking great.’

full article

Road testing Melanie Waxman’s recipe for Plum Crumble, ahead of this weekend’s Chi Gong/I Ching retreat at Springhead in Dorset which I will be cooking for. I think we are onto a winner. Served here with Soya Cream, and with thanks to Macrobiotic Chef Nicky.

A taste of the results of a week spent in the Concord Institute kitchen under the guidance of Macrobiotic teacher Melanie Waxman. The course provided an exploration of foods appropriate to the season, in this case the movement into Spring. Melanie presented a beautifully balanced selection of dishes over the week, and, as always, gave a vivid illustration of the benefits of embracing Macrobiotic principles in your life. She represents an understanding of Macrobiotics which is not about rules and restrictions, but an invitation to develop a natural intuition around food, and enjoyment in preparing and sharing it with others. To enjoy the ‘great life’ which is the literal interpretation of the word Macrobiotics. The bulk of the weeks’ dishes were documented by course participant Yukiko Amatsu, and can be viewed here.

Melanie Waxman is coming to town in May, to conduct a master class in cooking for yourself and your family. This isn’t about becoming a masterchef. This is about tapping into abundance, celebration, serenity and balance. I find it a little extraordinary people aren’t falling all over themselves to get on board. There are only a few places left. Sure I’m biased, but simply because I’ve already had a taste of what Melanie has to offer. Check out the Concord Institute website for more details, or contact me directly to register. Here’s an introduction to what Melanie has to offer, in her words:

‘I have been actively involved in the healing arts since the early ’80s and specialise in balancing health; through food and diet, in the body, and in the home. I offer macrobiotic cooking classes, coaching sessions, massage treatments, and feng shui consultations. I have written a number of books on cooking and health, which you can purchase on this site, along with enjoying my free articles and recipes.

For the past 27 years, I have embraced a macrobiotic lifestyle, which is based around a diet of whole, organic, living foods; grains, beans, vegetables, sea vegetables, fruits, seeds, and nuts. This delicious and natural way of eating has given me the strong foundation to enjoy an active and adventurous life.

From the early days until now, my life has been enriched with experiences. I have lived in three countries and worked with students and clients from all over the world. I have a great zest for life, tons of energy and a youthful outlook. As well as my work, I love to paint, garden, hike in nature with my dogs, dance, ride horses and do yoga. I strongly believe that I would be a very different person if I hadn’t changed my diet and lifestyle all those years ago.

I am also a mother and have given birth to seven fantastic children; 5 girls and 2 boys. We have a lively and loving family life. Our house is full of people, dogs, and cats at all times of the day. We have the usual dramas, the tears, and the laughter, which are part of family life. My children are strong, healthy, and self motivated. They give each other a great deal of love and support, whether it is with personal challenges or helping with homework. Every day we eat home-cooked macrobiotic food and sit together to enjoy our meals. I feel that this is one of the most important aspects of creating a happy, secure, and peaceful family life.

My desire is to give back all that I have learned through the work I offer, and the information presented on my site. I am dedicated to helping people of all ages, backgrounds and cultures. I offer information on different aspects of healthy living, and give my full support to organic farmers, organizations, and companies who are working so hard to protect and enhance our world.

YOU can and do make a difference. What you do today, will effect our world tomorrow. I encourage you to make simple changes to your life and diet; ones that will have a profound effect on how you feel emotionally, physically, mentally, and spiritually. This is the time for new beginnings. Together we can work to create a beautiful world for every one of us, for our children, and for the future of this planet.’

– Melanie Waxman

‘Whole Food Cooking is all about working with the gifts of nature, living foods in season, that have the ability to heal, nourish and delight.’ – Melanie Waxman

Melanie Waxman is coming to London from May 1–7 to hold a week-long course at the Concord Institute entitled ‘Spring into Summer.’ Melanie is living proof of the benefits of engaging with home cooking and accessing balance through food. She opens up a world of life and colour, yet offers a calm and assured presence in the kitchen, creating an incredible nurturing, nourishing space. She is one of the world’ finest macrobiotic cooks and teachers, with books including ‘Upbeat Macrobiotic Cooking for Family and Friends, and her latest: ‘Eat Me Now.’ She is the mother of seven children, with firsthand experience of what it means to bring balance to the kitchen, and create beautiful meals for you and your family.

If you have not had the pleasure of being in the kitchen with Melanie before, this is an opportunity not to be missed. For more details, please visit the Concord website. To book your place (these are filling fast!) call 020 7607 1140 or email me directly.

What makes a Root Vegetable Soup so satisfying? Could it be to do with the nature of the food we use to make it? There’s plenty of evidence and theory to support the idea, but one of the best examples I’ve heard is Melanie Waxman’s invitation to think about the nature of a Carrot. Its experience of life. A calm, quiet existence, embedded in the earth, gradually evolving and growing over time. Encountering, yet overcoming obstacles to growth. Is it any wonder they provide such grounding and nurturing energy when we eat them? Melanie will be visiting the Concord Insitute in May to run a week long cooking programme, which is not to be missed. Dates to be confirmed, but provisionally May 1–7.

And so to the Soup: A simple Leek, Swede and Parsnip Soup which turned out quite beautifully. As always, I start by making a hearty Vegetable stock. For the Soup, some good earthy Organic Root Veg: 2 Leeks, 2 Parsnips, 1 large Swede. Washed, trimmed and cut into slices (Leeks) and chunks (Parsnips, Swede). A current fave is the ‘pencil cut,’ like you are sharpening a pencil… hold parsnip and cut off section, then rotate round as you continue cutting. Fantastic shapes (sizes can vary according to your wishes) and immensely satisfying.

A Le Creuset pot or similar, with a healthy splash of Oil. I used Olive, with some leftover Anchovy Oil. Veges placed in, most watery first, (Leeks, Parsnip, Swede) with a generous sprinkle of Sea Salt between each layer. Then, the tried and true ‘drop lid’ method: placing a smaller size lid inside, covering the veges, and pressing down. (small plates can be used instead) The pot lid on top, with heat set to medium. Not too urgent. You can tell by the sound of the cooking. Keep an eye on this, you don’t want the veg to catch before generating enough liquid. (If it does, don’t despair. Scoop out the unburnt veg, Clean the pot, and start again) After 20mins or so, you’ll see, and hear, some bubbling of liquid. Now’s the time to top up with some strained stock, adding enough to cover the veg. Leave to simmer gently, until veg are cooked. Add more stock, Season with Sea Salt. At this point, I sometimes add some Butter (Goat’s Butter is wonderful) and in this case I added a Parmesan Rind. For a creamier finish, you could use Oatly or Soy milk. Blend the soup, and add more stock if necessary. For serving, have some fun. This bowl is topped with Creme Fraiche, some Sauteed Shittake & Kombu with Shoyu (from the Stock) and a drizzle of Chilli Oil in Jamie Oliver ‘bish, bosh, bash’ style. Another variation I tried the next day was Greek Yoghurt and Chopped Scallions. Back to Earth. Like a Parsnip, innit!

A twist on the Fish Soup from the previous day, with the addition of half a packet of Coconut Cream and some fresh Coriander, to round out the original blend. Leftovers are great, but Melanie Waxman once said that if we eat too many leftovers, we tend to feel ‘leftover.’ Stretching out a meal over a few days is great, but she recommended using fresh ingredients to supplement the dish.

World reknowned Macrobiotic Cook and Teacher Melanie Waxman will be running the next Seasonal Kitchen at Concord Institute in February, with dates to be announced soon.. Having brought up 7 children following wholefood/macrobiotic principles, Melanie is an expert in simple, nourishing home cooking. And from my experience of her classes, she is a vivid illustration of the benefits of wholefood cooking, in her ability to remain an absolute ocean of calm in the centre of a storm! She has published numerous books including her latest publication ‘Eat Me Now!’ If you are interested in taking your home cooking to a different level, don’t hesitate to register for this course. Check out a youtube interview with Melanie here.

‘There’s a Rat in mi kitchen
What am I gonna do?
There’s a Rat in mi kitchen
What am I gonna do?
I’m gonna teach that Rat, that’s what I’m gonna do,
I’m gonna teach that Rat.’*

I am that Rat. And its in the kitchen that I have been conducting an experiment. The experiment comes in the exploration of a question: ‘What is my relationship with food?’ Equally, it could be rephrased simply as ‘Who am I?’

The journey I have taken has been deceptive. Initially, my prevailing love of food drew me in, and inspired an engagement with and commitment to learning the arts of wholefood cooking. Yet this passion, as strong as it is, constitutes just a taste of what is really available in the kitchen. The kitchen provides an invitation to engage in the world with a full and rich sensuality.

There is a version of sensuality I have always used, but primarily as a form of escape to create a separation between myself and the world. Through cooking I have uncovered the lack of trust I have in myself, in the world, on a sensual level, which explains the efforts I have made to maintain this sense of separateness and isolation.

How has this become apparent?

Primarily, by engaging in the practice of cooking in the context provided by Jean Torne, Mutsuko Johnson, Melanie Waxman and other teachers within the Concord Institute kitchen. It was during Jean’s recent Seasonal Kitchen programme that yet another layer of the metaphorical, transformational ‘Onion’ was stripped away.

At the start of the week, Jean laid out an extraordinary context, asking us to voice the question ‘Is this food?’ when faced with choices about what we select to nourish and sustain ourselves. This began a week-long exploration of awareness.

There was an invitation to develop tastes and flavours slowly and patiently. We experimented by cooking using a low flame. We cooked slowly, but used the extra time to simply connect with the activity at hand, rather than filling the available space with another action, as we have learned to do in our multi-tasking obsessed world.

We were encouraged to taste others’ food, comparing the difference in flavours, textures, saltiness, degree of cooking. Infinite variations emerged from a single recipe, based on who was cooking, how was cooking, why was cooking. We often took an hour or so to ‘finish’ our dishes, We paid careful attention to the fine-tuning of flavours, tastes and smells, and learned to appreciate the distinction between ‘adding’ and ‘pouring.’

And did we learn recipes? Yes, and No. They acted as a guide throughout the week, but we connected with cooking as an activity which comes from a different place. Less cerebral, more whole-body. We navigated through dishes and the menu as a class, and as groups. On one occasion, the group I was working with consulted a printed recipe, and we ground to a halt. Suddenly there were clashes of opinion, interpretations, debates and confusion. The difference was palpable, and we returned immediately to the ‘whole body’ approach.

During Jean’s course, and certainly afterwards, other things have come to light. Faced with food, and choices about food, I am presented with myself, my thought patterns, my habits around food.  ‘It is mealtime, I must eat.’ (regardless of whether I am actually hungry or not) ‘I must finish what’s on the plate’ (even though I’m already full, 2/3 of the way through a meal)’ At mealtimes, I eat too much, and too quickly, simply from habit. I encounter an insatiable craving, a hunger in me which goes beyond my connection with food, and indicates a state of survival I live in. And then, after eating too much? My body shuts down. I need to sleep. I feel frustrated, annoyed at myself, for I am aware that I am responsible. Yet I cling to my blanket of powerlessness, for the sense of security and familiarity it provides.

Outside of the class, I found it difficult initially to recreate the meals, simply because it requires a level of patience and commitment to myself I am not accustomed to. A commitment to a level of responsibility for my own nourishment, for my own wellbeing, but also an opportunity to enter into a new world , one where I am engaged, connected and able to make a full contribution to, and connection with others.

The experiment continues. Through engaging with wholefood cooking, I am learning the benefits of slowing down, taking time, listening to what is around me, listening to my body, to myself. There are messages which are starting to come through, beneath the noise that buzzes around me, which are less to do with ‘me.’ All that seems to be required is to enter the kitchen regularly, with a sense of patience, sensitivity, awareness, and gratitude.

My heart goes out to Jean Torne and teachers of the Concord Institute kitchen. They have created a space which holds up a mirror, revealing the person I am. I have encountered someone who is at times vulnerable, anxious, naive, impatient and arrogant, but as time goes on I am beginning to see my own breath form on the glass.

The world outside beckons.

Kevin Helas

An article which featured in Issue 19 of the Concord Institute Newsletter, available online.
Image taken from ‘Ratatouille,’ a remarkable film about the he(art) of cooking, and making a difference. See the trailer.

*apologies to UB40 for the lyric modification.

Two variations of a wonderful Cornmeal Dessert prepared by participants of Melanie Waxman’s Spring Seasonal Kitchen programme at the Concord Institute. They tasted even better than they look.