The tea I had this evening was made with ginseng and dried pink rose hips. I was a little put off when I first opened the teabag as it smelled like potpourri, but after brewing it for a few minutes it made the prettiest and most aromatic cup of tea. Rose hips are high in vitamin C and can also be eaten. The ginseng teabag that you add separately has a flavor that takes getting used to. It's definitely an earthy tasting brew.

Ever since returning from Japan a few weeks, I'd been craving the simmered pumpkin that Naoki's mother made many times while we were there. Luckily, I found that Nijiya, our local Japanese food market carries organic Kabocha! The first time I purchased one, I selected the smallest (in case I made any mistakes in cooking it).

> It was simple to cut, scoop out the seeds, and slice into 1 1/2 inch or so pieces.
> To finish, place pieces of the pumpkin into a large pot, fill one third of the way with filtered water, soy sauce, and mirin (Japanese cooking wine).
> Sugar is optional, but I usually leave it out, as this vegetable is sweet enough (to me).
> Heat on high until boiling, then reduce to a simmer until the pumpkin is easy to cut through.
> Add a small drizzle of olive oil towards the end (my mother-in-laws suggestion) and serve hot or cold.

* My dear friend, who has the most amazing cooking skills, recommends adding butter. I have to agree that I love that richness it adds, but can do with out the extra fat, salt and calories.

* This lovely little dish makes a welcome addition to a packed lunch. It is rich in beta carotene, with iron, vitamin C, potassium, and smaller traces of calcium, folic acid, and minute amounts of B vitamins. <= last part pinched from Wikipedia.com

We just arrived in Japan yesterday after a long journey by car, plane, speedboat, and minivan!

Our first place to visit was my in-laws in Mie. My lovely mother-in-law, Misako-san, prepared a wonderful assortment of dishes of different types of sashimi, homegrown edamame (soybeans), lots of fresh vine-ripened veggies from their garden, and mixed rice loaded with yummy bits of shitake mushroom, tofu, and other greens. In addition to their green tea, they also have a huge garden of tomatoes, cucumbers, shiso (a type of basil), grapes, and much more.

For breakfast this morning, we had grilled mochi (rice cakes) wrapped in seaweed, miso (w/tofu, seaweed, and more mushrooms), fishcake stuffed with cucumber, and more melon and white peaches...yum!

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Unfortunately this is only for North America!
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VERY INTERESTING INFORMATION

I didn't know until I read it that the little stickers on loose fruits and vegetables have valuable information on them! According to a letter from 'a scientist knowledgeable in the field of genetically modified organisms (GMOs)' in the October 2003 issue of Gourmet magazine:

"A useful tip to the consumer [would be] a primer on how to read the little stickers on loose fruits and vegetables. Besides providing the store's cash registers and computers with product identification and price information, these stickers can tell you a lot about the food you are buying. A label with four digits indicates conventionally grown food. Labels with five digits starting with an 8 indicate that the food is genetically modified. Labels with 5 digits starting with a 9 indicate that the food is organically grown."

Well as soon as I read this I looked at all my little stickers and it's true! All my organic food had stickers with 5 digits beginning with 9 and all the conventional food had stickers with four digits. There were no five digits beginning with 8, nor do I plan for there to be, but what a great thing to know! Am I the last one to know this?

Last night I found two teabags of my favorite organic mulberry tea and enjoyed it alongside my pastries filled with spicy fish roe (mentaiko) this afternoon. The flavors brought back memories of our travels to Taiwan and Japan two years ago. Taipei is where I purchased this wonderful tea. Naoki and I often ate Japanese style pastries/bread while we were running around Japan hosting presentations and promoting our business.

The movies and dramas I enjoy most involve food. I love stories that center around cooking and people coming together to eat. It's even better when they take time to admire the dishes or ingredients.

I'm so excited about the opening of Nijiya here in San Jose! It will be the closest market to us that sells locally grown, organic produce, Japanese/Asian food items, delicious cooked lunch box sets, and yummy desserts!! We've been traveling to the Mountain View location to purchase their special organic brown rice and to Mitsuwa off of Saratoga Avenue to find other ingredients. This is so much more convenient.

Hopefully there will be other wonderful retail stores and restaurants that come to San Jose's Japantown!

I actually thought dinner was going to be a simple affair with everyone sitting down to a meal, but it was much more fun with all the different dishes to try, the diverse company and interesting conversations going around the table. I am really blessed to have such truly special people as friends.

To satisfy my fix, I blended two scoops of French Vanilla low-glycemic shake with one heaping scoop of naturally flavored orange fiber/energy mix (no, not Metameucil for those of you wondering!) along with a cup and a half of cold filtered ionic water and a handful of ice (also made from the same water). The taste and flavor was spot on, and the plus side was that this frothy drink was low-glycemic, high in protein and fiber.

This same concoction makes a lovely sorbet if blended til smooth then placed in the freezer for 30 minutes! Yum :)

One of our friends from Oklahoma sent us the most heavenly pieces of dark chocolate truffles! I would not be able to describe how decadent and delicious they are. They arrived in a modest looking pale wood box and were set in a gold foil tray wrapped beautifully in red tissue. Each of the 15 pieces of chocolate were well dusted with cocoa powder and melted almost instantly on the tongue. Every bite flooded the mouth with the most intense rich chocolate taste.

Yes, if I ever had to choose death by chocolate, I would choose to do so with these tiny pieces of happiness... (I'm speaking figuratively and not literally, of course.)

I used two containers of fresh cranberries, one navel orange cut into small pieces, xylitol, and pure blackberry honey. All of the fruit and honey is organic. After using the chop feature on the blender, I stored the contents in a jar for this Thursday's Thanksgiving dinner. Cinnamon, nutmeg, and/or a light dash of ground clove can be added.

To keep from overeating during the holidays, I'll usually have a light meal two hours before consisting of food that I'm used to eating on a daily basis, such as brown rice, fish or chicken and a dark green veggie on the side. When we arrive at my family's place, I'll use a small plate to keep portions under control. If I'm too lazy to fill a second serving, I've probably had enough to eat.

My sweet-loving family also always have a variety of desserts to gorge upon. Mom's pecan pie is my weakness, so I'll have a sliver and a nice hot cup of cinnamon tea to accompany it. This time I'll bring a lovely chocolate port from Sonoma Port Works (I blogged about this earlier) for my sister. It's heavenly drizzled on vanilla bean ice cream.

This weird, but interesting looking citron is called a "Buddha's Hand" and was purchased at today's farmers market at the Ferry Building in San Francisco. It's scent is similar to a Meyers lemon, but more intense and slightly sweeter. I brought one home to show Naoki, since he has an interest in photographing strange things (you'll probably see it on his blog later)

Along with my buddha's hand lemon, I picked up one "pain epi" wheat bread (it's shaped like a stalk of wheat) at Acme Bread Company, and two organic oranges to make cranberry/orange relish. While walking back to the office, I broke my bread in half to share with someone on the street and stashed the other half in my bag containing the buddha's hand. The aroma of the fresh baked bread and citrus together created a wonderful smell!

The best part of eating that bread this evening was the light lemon taste it took on from the oils in the citron. It was perfect alone, though I did eat it with a small piece of pepper jack.

If you're a part of the 7% of women who never miss a meal or make unhealthy food choices, maybe you don't need supplements. For the rest of us, supplements are a great way to fill in what's missing from our diets and may even prevent against disease. But with all the pills and potions on the market, which ones do you really need? The following guide will spell out which nutrients we should be taking every day based on the latest safety and efficacy research, which forms are best absorbed, and optimal doses.

The ground rules - Unless otherwise noted, all the nutrients on this list should be taken in a daily multivitamin with a meal. A multivitamin saves you money compared with buying dozens of individual bottles, and the nutrients will work better as a team. Also, recommended amounts are for adult women, not men or children. (It is specified if doses are different for pregnant, breastfeeding, or menopausal women). Bring this guide with you when discussing supplements with your doctor or when shopping. Most important, please remember vitamins cannot replace a healthy diet, but they can help compensate for what's missing - and provide you with peace of mind as well.

On that note, I'd like to interject and state that a wholefood, natural food multivitamin can be taken without food and without worry of nausea and stomach upset. Oftentimes multivitamin/mineral supplements contain minerals which are essentially dirt chelated in either protein or another matter that will trick the body into digesting it as food. The issue is that most of it isn't properly absorbed. The best way to get these necessary nutrients into the system is to take a multi that is made from natural plant matter that the body recognizes as food and is able to assimilate.

There are always treasures to be found at each of the local farmers markets in the Bay Area. Today was our first time exploring the one held in downtown Campbell. We decided last Sunday while at Santana Row's Farmers we'd follow one of the friends we made at the Twin Girls Organic Fruit Stand to his new location and purchase some of their fresh pressed, organic pomegranate juice. As usual, we arrived 30 minutes to closing. We found our friend, Isaias, and puchased a bag full of Fuyu persimmons, red/black pluots, two pomegranates (cracked, how Naoki likes them), and two bottles of the pom juice.

If you've ever tried and liked POM at your local grocers, you will LOVE Twin Girls freshly pressed pomegranate juice! The first sip will make you pucker, but after your initial taste it really becomes so deliciously sweet. It would make for a wonderful popscicle, drizzled atop vanilla ice cream or even a fruity vinegarette dressing. One thing to keep in mind though, it's best to drink it in a small glass. While it is preferable to drink after it's just been pressed, it does contain a high amount of sugar. There's also a potent amount of antioxidants, but a little does go a long way.

More on the health benefits of these jeweled fruit -

- High in potassium, vitamin C, folic acid, fiber and polyphenols
- lowers risk of heart disease by preventing the formation of plaque
- preserves nitric oxide, a chemical that regulates blood flow and maintains healthy blood vessel health
- combats free radicals that may cause stroke, hypertension and Alzheimer’s disease
- high levels of antioxidants may prevent premature aging
- polyphenols may slow or even prevent the development of cancer

The cover of the program featured a DNA strand interlaced with fruits and vegetables, quite similar to a recent Newsweek cover that discussed the same topic.

Can what we eat/consume influence our genetic makeup and can we take a preventative approach to developing the diseases that are coded in our genes?

Fresh and delicious, but not so pretty to look at, Artic White Nectarines were had at this past Sunday's farmers' market in Santana Row. We arrived for the last 30 minutes and most of the more asthetically pleasing fruit had been taken. Still those yummy, organic white nectarines from Kashiwase Farms hit the spot! They were sweet and still firm, although they were a little bruised. I've heard (and I don't know if it's true) that the ugliest fruit are often the tastiest. In this case, it was true. The two red pluots I purchased from them were also excellent and still lovely to see.

In my earlier posts, I showed a chart from EWG. When purchasing peaches and nectarines, going organic is best, as they absorb the most pesticides in conventional farming. These fall into the medium/moderate category on the the glycemic index. Consuming fresh fruit is often preferable over drinking fruit juice, which can raise blood sugar levels. Fiber from fruit can help time-release the sugars found in natural fresh fruit, making it easier for the body to digest and keep blood sugars at a healthy level.

Many of us have issues with digestion, either with acid reflux (heartburn), gas of some sort, constipation and/or diarrhea. Going from an unhealthy diet of junk/fast food to a super healthy eating plan can also cause an "uproar" in our system. What may be lacking are the necessary and beneficial enzymes need to properly breakdown our food, as well as a quality probiotic supplement to assist with the complete digestive process.

* All Natural Gelatin-free Gummy Bear Snacks - These contain a blend of freeze-dried fruits and veggies, along with other added essential nutrients. (No colors, fillers or preservatives) They are so tasty, I find them hard to resist eating by the handful.

* Natural and Super Fresh Tasting Japanese Green Tea - Brewed hot or cold, this is honestly the best green tea I've ever had. Most of the tea we buy at the supermarket has been sitting forever on the shelves or have been overprocessed. This tea is actually green and makes the perfect substitute to coffee in the morning. Does contain caffeine, but does not cause the jitters like coffee.

* Travel size Aloe Gel - Oftentimes most aloe products do not contain the active ingredients that fresh aloe does. This easy to carry gel is soothing to burns, cuts, and irritations. The healing ingredient of aloe has been stabilized in this product. Sunburns, papercuts, scrapes and bug bites are a few of the things we use this get on.

* Preservative/Paraben-Free Skincare - This line will launch in the U.S. in March of 2007; however, we are able to have our family ship it to us from Japan. It isn't anything like what is currently on the market and the results are remarkable! Did I mention I love the eye cream?

Please contact me directly via email at jeanette337 at gmail.com

Nothing beats the taste of a freshly picked strawberry or tomato grown in your garden, or in our case, balcony planter. I never believed it til actually trying it for the first time! Our local farmers market carries a fabulous assortment of tasty, organic produce, which I believe probably tastes even more amazing right after it's picked.

We purchased organic baby tomato seedlings and wild strawberries plants from Whole Foods in Campbell earlier this spring. It was the first time I'd ever grown something edible.

This chain originated in Osaka, Japan and has several shops in various parts of Asia and is now scattered in

Gazpacho is one of my favorite dishes, especially on hot summer days! This is an easy recipe that I modify to my taste using spicy peppers, more garlic and sprouted wheat toast (instead of the stale white bread). Since this is a cold soup, you can add Phyto-Aloe powder to enhance the nutritional value and taste. Enjoy!

Today we headed to the Farmers Market at Santana Row. Thankfully the crowd was light, as I believe most people were swarming around downtown San Jose for the Grand Prix racing event. There were quite a few certified farmers there and a handful of organic vendors as well. We left with decent sized bags of delicious white peaches, white nectarines, shiney red plums, juicy strawberries, and one crisp, j-shaped Armenian cucumber - all organic of course!

Afterwards we made a quick stop over at the Great Mall in Milpitas for something to eat and to get a bit of exercise in. Window shopping at a mall that's the size of four football fields definitely counts as exercise.

This particular mall has a mix of really cool and some seriously junkie stores. I usually have a lot of fun visiting the accessory shops that sell all types of sparkley stuff. It's a bad case of "Magpie Syndrome", being attracted by things that glitter and catch the light. Maybe it was from being full or from shopping the day before at the Gilroy Outlets, but I couldn't find anything to purchase even though there were some excellent sales going on.

The wise Chinese view seasonality of foods in a more complex light, through the application of TCM (Traditional Chinese Medicine) wisdom to dietary habits. In short, certain foods are considered too yang, or hot to eat in excess during the warmer months, while others are prized for their yin ability to cool the body, useful in the heat of summer. If all that sounds a bit too wacky for you, simply try to avoid eating things like beef tripe or sauteed snake meat in summer. Much too much yang! Save it for Spring Festival, or your next trip to Iceland, or something. Overall, the goal is internal balance between yin and yang forces within the body.

I learned this while on one of our travels last year to Taiwan. It was such a treat to enjoy grass jelly desserts, fresh island fruits (pineapple, dragonfruit, guava, and lychee). The vegetarian restaurant our friend introduced to had the best selection of cold noodle salads, veggie sprout handrolls and blended ice drinks!

Slices of crisp English cucumbers between lightly toasted wheatbread, slathered with seasoned cream cheese are especially wonderful since they require little work and have lots of flavor. Fish, mushrooms, watercress, and chilled salads are also great at helping beat the heat.

Since this was my first time visiting the winery, I anticipated a bunch of businesses lined up in an auditorium of sorts handing out samples of their chocolate specialties. What greeted us there was a lovely chateau, pitched white tents along the Plaza (including a few poolside), and a rustic two floored building, all housing the most delectable chocolate treats, savory dishes, and/or decadent icy dessert!

Warm bread pudding with white chocolate sauce from the talented young pastry chefs at Mission College, ahi tuna tartar on crisps from Spago, a variety of skewered items (cream puffs, rice krispie treats, strawberries, marshmallows, shortbread, brownies, etc.) to dunk under the white or dark chocolate fountains, tiramisu tarts, latte slushies, delightful cheeses from The Grapevine (Willow Glen - San Jose), Vemeer Dutch Chocolate Cream vodka over ice (two of the nicest ladies served these!), truffles laced with rose essence by Cacao Anasa, and the perfect chocolate coated marshmallow lollis by Schurra's Candy Factory were a few of the most memorable pleasures I indulged in.

On one floor, I fell in love with the Epoisses, a delicious and extremely soft French cheese, and on the second floor I went crazy for the chocolate port (Deco Port) from Sonoma Valley Portworks. Those two paired so wonderfully together, my dear friend was gracious enough to bring me to Beverages and More to pick up a bottle. (Yes, yes the true wine/cheese connoiseurs are probably balking at the combination, but my God I love it!) Now I need to wait til Tuesday to find my way to The Grapevine to buy that cheese!



















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Epoisses + Deco Port = LOVE

Last night, a friend and I (she's a native east coaster), dined at Tony Soprano's pizzeria in downtown San Jose. After that first bite into a simple slice of hot cheese pizza, I was in total bliss. The sauce and melting cheese were pure perfection! Don't even get me started on their crispy (not oily) calamari, hearty and generous servings of Chicken Marsala over a bed of linguini or their golden toasted garlic bread. The only thing that outshined the food, which wasn't an easy thing to do, was the service. Everyone from the patrons to the employees were so happy, wonderful and nice. Did I mention it was a Monday night? Anyway, my friend told me that their pizza was the closest she's come to what she's had back east and that's saying a lot! Her next quest is to find the perfect cannoli here...

The restaurant is a few months old and they will be getting their liquor license by the middle of this month. Drop in and take a look at their menu, bet you'll have a difficult time deciding what to order. My next visit will be to indulge in their seafood pasta laden with wine drenched mussels, clams, shrimp, and scallops in your choice of white or red sauce. Portions are extremely generous and can be shared or saved for the next day. Oh and pizza can be purchased by the slice!

Tony Soprano's Pizzeria Ristorante
87 E. San Fernando Street (btwn 2nd & 3rd Street)
San Jose, CA 95113
(408)271-9707

Worth visiting Monday thru Saturday when the incredibly talented Chef Marvin is working!!

Tell Richard J says hello!