Thanks for the Formspring questions! Keep them coming – Ask me anything. I recently answered another disordered eating question and a question about work.

This morning after meeting (3rd week in a row!) Bobby and I went to Souen, a macrobiotic restaurant, for brunch. It was absolute heaven. You might remember that I experimented with macrobiotics last year (actually it was just over a year ago this month) and I really enjoyed it. I cultivated my love of kabocha and I learned a lot about how the food we eat impacts the way we feel (duh). Here are some resources:

• Becoming Whole, by Meg Wolff (book review)
• 2-week wrap-up
• 1-week thoughts
• Lessons learned

So today I wanted to try going back to macrobiotics again. I opted for “Brunch A” ($8.50 – well worth it!! Huge portions for me):

• Kenchin-Tofu Drop Soup: tofu, shiitake, burdock, carrot and watercress in kombu kuzu broth.
• Corn Bread or Spelt Bread (I got corn bread, duh – with miso tahini dressing)
• Steamed Vegetables (carrot, daikon, squash and greens)

Bobby got “Brunch B” ($11 – oddly enough this was less food than Brunch A):

• Yuba: steamed tofu “skin” marinated in kombu-shiitake broth.
• Mixed Grain of the Day (basmati wild rice)
• Goma-Ae: steamed special greens with black sesame sauce.
• Goma Tofu: soy free, creamy and nutty sesame “tofu”.
• Stewed Vegetables: cooked carrot, gobo, yam cake and lotus root in tamari broth.

I thought this was possibly the best lunch/brunch I have ever had. And there were flowers, soy sauce, and sesame seeds:

My soup came first. Bobby and I actually swapped soups because we each liked the other’s better.

The cornbread was really interesting (in a good way) – it was not very sweet at all and tasted healthy (again, in a good way). It came with miso tahini dressing (I finished this dressing and got more – so good). Two related recipes that I made before:

• Corn bitelettes (a BSI entry)
• Cornbread pudding/casserole

My veggies came last. The kabocha was ripe and perfectly steamed. The carrots and daikon were also perfectly steamed. Even the kale was delicious! (Sometimes I think it’s boring.)

Here was Bobby’s spread (clockwise from top left: spinach, rice, tofu skin thing, sesame tofu thing, and soup):

I thought that Bobby’s gomae (steamed spinach with sesame sauce – I have a recipe here) was really yummy. He thought it tasted a little bit like dirt, but I honestly thought it was awesome. I also thought his goma tofu (tofu made with sesame) was awesome, but he didn’t like the texture much. Next time he is getting fish. We’re going to bring his mom here when his family visits in March (!). I think she would appreciate it.

Brunch dessert was a piece of Macasure chocolate. I saw it at Whole Foods yesterday and picked it up. Really good! Bobby liked it too.

I’m gonna end with a mantra that I was contemplating this morning during my hour of silence:

May everyone be happy, well, and peaceful.

How was your weekend?

While making this recipe I felt like I had transplanted myself to another era. This is a recipe of the 50’s (60’s? 40’s?). I could see my grandmother mixing these ingredients on a late fall afternoon, preparing a semi-homemade dinner for her family and waiting to hear about her husband’s and her children’s days.

I like to think that I’m going to be a good wife and mother some day. What this means exactly I’m not sure. I hope to cook good food, take care of Bobby (and eventually kid(s), God willing), have a nurturing home, and in general have a “normal” and healthy life. Being happy and healthy are probably my top priorities.

Coco asked today how you would rank the following: family, friendship, love, health, and career. My response was: love, family, health, friends, and then career. I consider love and family one and the same. As much as I enjoy working, I would probably be just as happy making a home (provided I could get over the guilt of not using my degrees) as I would working an exciting and demanding job. I would actually be happier as a homemaker, to be honest. What is your ranking?

One reason that I love cooking so much is that it brings up memories for me. Sometimes it brings up memories that are not even mine – I suppose I’d call them fantasies, or daydreams (like imagining my grandmother in the kitchen). So I’d like to share this inspiring recipe today, not because it’s particularly healthy or unique, but because it brought me a special happiness that I don’t always find in other parts of my life.

Maggie’s Cornbread Casserole

Ingredients

• 1 package of Jiffy cornbread mix
• 2 eggs
• 1 container of 2% Greek yogurt (mine was 7 oz. of Fage; I’m sure that any ~1-cup container of any yogurt would suffice)
• 1 can of yellow sweet corn (drained)
• 1 can of creamed corn

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 375F.
2. Mix all ingredients together in a baking dish. I used what I think is called a “loaf pan”. It’s about 9 inches by 4 inches and it’s maybe 3-4 inches high. It was almost full.
3. Bake for 40-60 minutes. A toothpick should come out clean. Baking times will vary depending on what pan you use and how your oven bakes.

Enjoy with a friend or loved one. Make a memory and savor the moment.

Does cooking evoke memories for you? What other activities are particularly meaningful for you?