JWH Author's Voice What Our Body is Craving : the Power of Tsubu-Tsubu
"Fancy eating at Tsubu-Tsubu Cafe?" asked a colleague of mine one day.Tsubu-Tsubu Cafe is run by Yumiko Otani, a food designer who is also a member of Japanese Writers' House. She organizes an NGO, The International Life & Food Association (ILFA), whose motto is "changing our diet can change our life." She also runs a restaurant, Tsubu-Tsubu Cafe, that serves a variety of grain dishes, and publishes a magazine called "Tsubu-Tsubu." Tsubu-tsubu is a Japanese expression that means "grainy." Otani uses this expression to break down the existing images of grain. Doesn't it sound irresistible? I wasn't particularly interested in vegetarian dishes, but was totally satisfied with the dish I had at the cafe that day. The delicious lunch and the cafe's cozy atmosphere also made me decide to join the special "Sweet Day" held at the cafe at the end of March. You can imagine how impatient I was!  On the day of "Sweet Day," the cafe was packed with nearly 40 people. The sight of a strawberry mille feuille waiting to be served on the counter put us all in a happy frame of mind. The event began with this mille feuille and then continued with donuts, blancmange, ice cream … We ended up having seven sweet dishes and two types of tea during the two-hour-long event. Of course, when we left the cafe our stomach was completely full. But we were not just eating - we also learnt how to make a couple of recipes from the event. None of the dishes at the cafe contains milk, butter or sugar. Even the custard cream is made without egg. Surprisingly, though, it is really tasty! I remember that the dish I had eaten there for lunch tasted as if it had been made with meat. I guess grains can be transformed into something similar to other ingredients, like meat or egg, when Otani cooks. She has so far created more than a few thousand grain recipes. All of the activities of ILFA, including the cafe, carry Otani's messages about the attractiveness of grains, the preservation of the natural environment, and, of course, the importance of eating.  "Grains give peace to our body and mind as well as to the world." "Gourmet grain dishes can please both children and adults, and help us regain our health without giving up gourmet foods." "A grain diet is eco-friendly and can reduce starvation. It has the potential to bring peace to the world." Eating grains can also help us control our weight. According to Otani's newly published book "Grain Gourmet Diet," the most common cause of obesity is malnutrition. Most of the nutrition that we consume is not really used and is deposited as fat and waste every day. Mmm ... this rings a bell. High calorie foods are very convenient and tempting, but what we really have to eat is grains. As they contain all the nutrition that we need, our bodies expel waste naturally just by eating them. Otani used to work as a fancy goods designer. However, one day she realized that her vocation was something different: "familiarizing people with a grain diet is my mission. I was studying design and marketing in order to do so." The sudden death of a friend due to trying the wrong macrobiotic diet led her to take a serious stance about the grain-centered diet, and she has now been sending out her message for more than two decades. What she has discovered must be that tsubu-tsubu grains give vitality to our life. In Japan, metabo, a new term spawned from "metabolic syndrome," is making headlines almost every day, and people are becoming more focused on healthy eating, and are more aware of the nutrition supplied by grains. The expression "tsubu-tsubu" can be exported, and may create a boom in the near future. (Miyu)
  
♠ How to make Tsubu-Tsubu custard cream ♠ Ingredients 28 g millet powder 300 ml apple juice (ideally, not from concentrated juice) 1/8 teaspoon salt 1) Put powder and juice into a heavy pan and mix well. 2) Heat the pan over high heat and stir the mixture with a spatula. When it becomes thick, turn down the heat to medium and continue stirring until it gets glossy. 3) When it comes to a boil, add the salt and stir for a minute. 4) Put the cream in a container that has been immersed in water. * If you stir the cream from time to time in the container while it cools down, it will become creamier!! ♠ Official site of ILFA: http://www.ilfa.org/ilfa_eng/index.htm ♠ Otani’s recipe book “New Grains” http://www.trannet-japan.com/ep/tjc_rights_dtl.asp?rt=05000010 | |
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