So I was teaching a class this weekend in Costa Mesa, and while I shopping for groceries at the local Whole Foods, I was leaning down to scoop some brown rice when I saw a scooper to my left, digging into  the millet.  Of course, it’s not everyday someone scoops millet for anyone but their bird, so my eye followed the scooper up the arm to the shoulder to the head of a person whom I would never associate with millet.  And I said so: "You don’t look like the average a millet guy…"  You see, I was expected a hippy, a ponytail, crazy skinny-ness, or a chick.  This guy was NORMAL!  Like, I-live-in-the-world-and-have-a-job-and-you-might-catch-me-reading-Consumer-Reports-normal!  And true to form, he knew his millet; said it contained the miraculous Vitamin B-17… he was currently getting off dairy and was also concerned about getting enough calcium….(cough) ahem… HE WAS GETTING OFF DAIRY!!!  What is the freaking world coming to?  I told him about sea vegetables and later, when we bumped into each other again in another aisle, plopped a bag of hijiki into his cart. 

My point being that the world, she is a changin’.  In so many ways, so quickly.  Arlen Specter just became a Democrat.  Normal guys are eating millet.  And with a little nudging, seaweed.  Don’t you just love life?

More Proof: here’s a link to an article in the L.A. Times which ran last week; it’s about the massive proliferation of macrobiotic restaurants in the area and includes interviews with  Lee Gross, Eric LeChasseur, Sanae Suzuki and Yours Truly. 

My apologies to anyone who subscribes to this blog and experienced my radio silence for the last few months; I’ve been working on a SECRET PROJECT that I can’t discuss until this fall.  Suffice it to say that it has involved a lot of writing, so blogging became less attractive since I’ve been at the computer all day every day for a while now.  But I’m back and looking forward to connecting again.

Calling all Southern California Hip Chicks and Chucks: I will be teaching a class in Santa Monica on May 30th; it’s Cooking for Romance and we’ll be discussing the different needs of men and women.  If you’re interested in coming, email me at jessicathehipchick@gmail.com

Here’s an amazing recipe for watermelon soup I made in class this weekend (although I didn’t create it–thank you internet!)  I know it may not be hot enough everywhere in the country to crave it yet, but try it out as soon as you see the watermelons coming!  It’s ridiculously easy and tastes fantastic. When I drank some in class, it was so relaxing and refreshing that I literally felt my smile get bigger…

Watermelon Soup

4  cups  Cubed seeded watermelon
1/3  cup  Frozen (thawed) apple juice – concentrate
1 tablespoon  Fresh mint leaves
1/2  teaspoon  Ground ginger
1/3  cup  Plain soy yogurt 
Freshly ground pepper and mint sprigs

Dice enough watermelon to measure 1/3 cup; reserve for garnish. In blender or
food processor, process remaining watermelon, apple juice concentrate, mint
 leaves and ginger until smooth. Refrigerate, covered, for 1 hour to blend flavors.
Serve in small chilled bowls; garnish with reserved diced watermelon,
dollop of yogurt, pepper and mint sprig.

 Makes 6 servings
 

So I bought this book about farts for my sister.  It’s got a little battery-operated box on it that contains ten fart sounds.  She’s a full-grown woman, but has this really infantile love of farts which I’ve never understood, but lovingly endured.  I AM TOO MATURE FOR THAT!!  But then, I was listening to aforementioned [...]

There comes a time when one has to totally fess up.  Especially when one has written a book about macrobiotics and when one thinks one is supposed to follow a certain diet as perfectly as one fantasizes one should.  OH WOE IS ONE! 
I’ve been drinking coffee this week.  I really, really hate to admit [...]

Okay.  I’m really excited about this because I don’t consider myself the best cook in the world and it’s a rare day I think one of my original recipes is worth repeating, SO PAY ATTENTION:
Mysteriously Good Noodle Dish
1/2 package whole wheat spaghetti noodles
1 tablespoon olive oil
2 collard greens, washed sliced with spine chopped into thin [...]

My back went out this week.  I feel like an old man, saying that.  "OY…MY ACHING BACK!!!" 
I was at the gym, lifting some free weights–like the total jock that I am–and I thought I would just do a little multi-tasking.  So I set my iPhone down between my thighs, on the bench, and continued to [...]

As you watch the Dow drop like a lead weight, do you expand or contract?  I mean it: upon hearing that the world is flying even more rapidly to Hell in a cute little handbasket, does your body relax or get tense?

It’s a very important question.

Crisis is yangizing.  Which means contracting.  When you hear that [...]

However, by cutting out meat, you are taking a lot of the yang out of your diet. Remember, meat, salty cheese, baked flour and salt are all really yang. That leaves you messing around on the yin sides of things: sugar, fruit, white flour, soy “milks” and “ice creams”, chocolate, and if you’re a partier, alcohol and drugs. Without the yang, and with too much yin, vegans can get weak, anemic, depressed and isolated. Not everyone, but some.

That the economy is tanking.

I’ve been swimming lately in the Pacific ocean.  Even writing those words, I sigh…

My friend Lou and I go down to the beach a couple of times each week.  When we get there, we talk on the sand for a while, downloading our respective days, and then one of us says [...]

Sounding like a weird cat lady… I love cats!  They’re just so cool!  I remember having an argument with a dog person once (and I like dogs, but I’m just not a dog person, per se), and in defense of the superior feline, I challenged: “What could be better?  A cat is like a furry [...]

After my book came out, I received an email from a woman named Janice Taylor.  She had just written a book called Our Lady of Weight Loss and it was about to be published by Penguin as well.  In her email, Janice was looking for advice on promoting her books, tips on what to do, [...]