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Title: Changing Seasons Macrobiotic Cookbook
ISBN: 1583331646
Author:
Aveline Kushi
Wendy Esko
Publicate Date: 2003-07-28
Publish: 2003-07-28
List Price: $15.95
Average Customer Rating: 4.5
Format: Paperback
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Amazon Lowest New Price: $6.74
Amazon Lowest Used Price: $6.40
Amazon Merchant Price: $10.85
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| Customer Review: |
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1: nice idea....nicer food
I really have used and enjoyed this cookbook thoroughly. This is my second macrobiotic cookbook. Though I'm not eating a 100% macrobiotic diet I still appreciate the principals and ideas associated with the concept. The philosophies are laid out in the beginning of the book.
The book is formatted by the seasons. It gives three menus for each meal of the day for seven days per season. Some of the recipes repeat itself; however, they are usually staples of a macrobiotic diet anyway.
The only thing that may frustrate someone new to macrobiotics or this book is that it requires some ingredients that will need be hunted for. Most health food stores and oriental grocers will have what is needed. One thing worth mentioning about macrobiotics and the recipe book is that the food is extremely affordable.
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2: Vegan cuisine is not macrobiotic cuisine
This cookbook's well-organized menus and recipes specific to each of the 4 seasons in a temperate climate zone is very helpful, but the book's title is misleading. The word macrobiotic is used in the book title, however all of the book's recipes are vegan. A little history is recounted here: During the first decade of macrobiotics in the USA, all the macro cookbooks featured a moderate use of fish and fish products. Fish products played an especially important part of soup recipes, such as miso soup. The alteration of traditional macrobiotic recipes in this cookbook to excise fish means that the authentic macrobiotic diet is actually not being represented here, and the fact that this cookbook does not discuss that omission makes it even more out of balance with mainstream macrobiotic thinking.
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3: Eating in rhythm with life
This is a wonderful resource for everyday, practical meals to feed family and friends as well as nourish your own soul. Great recipes and menu-planning. A great complement to Practically Macrobiotic.
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4: Macro for the Undecided
During the 1960's, Michio and Aveline Kushi popularized macrobiotics in the States, and this practical, well-written book is a good introduction. I chose this as a present, after browsing through Amazon.com for a book that combined recipes and macrobiotic concepts. As I discovered later, the balance of easily prepared recipe and basic macrobiotic concepts reflects the balance that "macro" devotees achieve through their diet. The gift recipient, Buree-Kan Kobayashi (name used with permission) confirmed that Aveline Kushi's book I chose wisely. Although Buree doesn't strictly adhere to a macrobiotic diet (he's more of a California vegan/macro/fish/almonds guy), my friend commands a basic understanding of macrobiotic concepts and principles.
One of the concepts most familiar to Westerners is the balance of yin (roughly: "hot") and yang ("cool") energies, and that's why Kushi organizes her recipes around the seasons. At the risk (read: probability) of oversimplifying, here's an example of this principle: One should eat yang foods (more raw foods, such as roots and fruit, de-emphasizing salt--a yin food) in the summer to balance the heat, and yin foods (cooked foods, often with more spice) in the winter. The book covers the transitional Autumn and Spring months as well.
Whether or not you accept these and other concepts, the book presents excellent, healthy dishes emphasizing fresh, nutritional, unprocessed foods. The recipes are generally easy to prepare, but not "dumbed down." Most ingredients can be bought at a local supermarket (especially one that emphasizes natural foods, like "Whole Foods"), but proximity to a health food or Asian store will be helpful. The flavors attainable without using meat or dairy products (your basic vegan diet) will stagger the taste buds of the uninitiated.
The simple but imaginative recipes will satisfy adventurous appetites. Satisfying staples include seitan (wheat gluten), tempeh (a cultured soy originally from Indonesia), tubers, and different grains. The list of keywords in Amazon.com's book description above hints at other foods that may be new to you; "exotic" as they may sound, these healthy foods represent the ordinary diet of millions. I think it was wise not to present cures and prescriptive herbs; the flavorful recipes are sufficient reason to incorporate some degree of macrobiotics into your cooking. If one really takes to this cuisine and wishes to explore more macrobiotic theory and praxis applied to nutrition and medicine, one can explore a more technically oriented text. Recommended for those ready to take a bite.
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5: Fantastic
As a newcomer to macrobiotics, I absolutely loved this book and have used it every day since I bought it. It outlines easy, quick basic recipes that anyone can make - most of which involve few basic ingredients.
Everything down to how to make basic brown rice is in here. I am so blessed I happened to get this book in the beginning. After now having read some of the other macrobiotic books, I realize I might have been frustrated by the foreign ingredients and complicated recipes and been turned off from macrobiotics otherwise.
One thing I did when I bought this book (as I was just slowly learning macro foods and starting to introduce them to my cupboards) is sift through the book and start noting common themes of ingredients. After identifying and buying some of the "base" products identified, I was able to make several different recipes. These recipes make up my diet today and every day.
I would recommend this book to anyone, especially beginners like me.
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