What is a life calling? I think it may just be when someone’s skills meet the challenges of a particular idea. I have had a few of those occasions in my life – one of them was to write a book about my experiences trading – thanks to everyone who supported that effort! The cool thing about callings, is that when you commit to answering them, it gives you an incredible energy to bring about what the calling asks for. In my experience with the book, I would work a full week in my regular job, then go in on the weekend to work on the book. That calling got…
Winter is the season of death, and it was all I could do to survive this past one. Our compulsions to work and eat the way we do in warmer and healthier times always seems to conspire against us during the coldest months, leaving us sniffly, feverish and bedridden. I suppose either we choose rest or nature chooses it for us – or at least so it was for me in February, the worst part of the Tokyo winter. But from every death comes new life, and the opportunity for that life to be better than the one that preceded it. Eventually, though too late, I listened to the dictates…
I was lucky to live my first 32 years without losing a friend to anything other than distance and diverging interests. That streak ended last weekend with the death of a great man, a great friend, Anton Cavka. Anton barged into my life through Pete, a mutual friend in the party circuit in Tokyo. Shotgunning beers in his Harajuku office/house is among my earliest, hazy memories of hanging out with him. I reveled in his stories of alcohol-fueled insanity, female conquest, and the legend of his right cross from God. He was loud, bold, but with the humility necessary to know he was not everything – in his own words,…
This week in the blue belt life – new recipe up for my Satsumaimo Power Bread. Check it out, head to the Ginza Farmers Market (or your local farmers market) for ingredients, and whip up a batch this weekend. Recently I have been devoting time to putting up recipes I have found helpful in a vegetarian/vegan lifestyle. I have no intention of making this into a recipe blog – why even try when there’s Thug Kitchen? But since I am eventually going to delve into a major problem humanity faces – our attachment to the religion of carnism – I feel it is important to give solutions to that problem…
This week in the blue belt life – new recipe up for my super-effective chemical-free homemade deodorant. Check it out and start smelling right. Also check this sweet music vid out from my colleague jwswiss: Enjoy and productive week ahead!
This week in the blue belt life – posted an awesome hearty soup recipe from 500 Vegan Dishes by Deborah Gray, updated the vegetarian recipes page, and added the Mizuna Mind Opener recipe in English. Still working on a template for recipes that looks good on mobile and that I can plug recipes into relatively quickly. We eat well in the blue belt household and it is only right for me to share in that bounty. So fire these recipes up, let me know what you think, and have a productive week ahead!
Every weekend I visit the Ginza Farmers Market to stock up on the best produce in Tokyo and catch up with my friends at the market. Each visit is a ritual – in addition to getting outside and procuring fresh foods that will drive me toward greater health, I get to build community, interact with vendors, visitors and regular shoppers, and always learn something new, about the produce, the people, or a particular area of Japan. Selection at this market is generally much better than supermarkets, with hard-to-find items like kale, spaghetti squash, and butternut squash – to name a few I picked up today – available when in season.…
On December 6, 2014 I shot the video for “A Day at the Ginza Farmers Market” and five interviews with the manager of the market and vendors. Last week I finally uploaded the last interview video, completing the series. The market is more vibrant than ever as education spreads on healthy dietary choices and sustainable farming practices. This market really is a one-stop shop for all your culinary needs – from staples like rice and pasta to fresh fruits and vegetables to free range organic eggs to specialty items like dried shiitake and various types of seaweed. I personally do fully half of my total shopping here, with the remaining…
