Rose Cottage

 This week for Earth day, our Climate Action Group hosted several events:  Saturday a fair worth talks on reducing use of plastics and recipes/ tips.  On Monday, we joined the worldwide prayers for the earth, and showed the new film Common Ground, which highlights the importance of returning to sustainable agricultural practices. Rojo Chiquito beans in filtered water  This morning, I'm soaking Rojo Chiquito beans  (du ya • gi ga ge i) - I usually soak beans 4+ hours, then rinse, drain and pre-sprout by repeating the rinse / drain sequence several times over 8-24 hours.  I'll simmer frozen veggie trimmings for stock, and add asplash of vinegar, kombu (seaweed) a bay leaf,yomohi and herbs as I cook the beans. (For Stock plus Rice n Lentils recipes, check out this post  These small red beans will take a bit longer than the lentils, likely 60-90 minutes total) I Picked up the beans on my Tuesday trip to Wellspent Market (in Mac Mkt on Alpine, near the Tea Garden) They were grown

 In recent years, many of us have become intersted in Blue Zone areas with higher numbers of centenarians, including Okinawa. There are books and PBS Recently hosted a series exploring Blue Zone lifestyles.  Soup and salad Recently, Aki (Samurai Matcha) filmed a session with Christal, who has been living in Okinawa and researching  the practices of these older adults.  They share tips from her research and visits in this video  - 7 Healthy Habits of Okinawa.   Like my previous post sharing tips from Aki's Japanese lifestyle, anyone can incorporate some or all of these into their own lives.  Aki and Christal open with an invitation to spend time with your friends, and not canceling plans unless it's truly necessary! Spending time with others several times weekly (daily when you can!) supports mental health and happier nature.  Healthy eating - and only till 80% full (hara hachibi bun me) - is common in older Okinawas, (and key in all the Blue Zones.) A variety of ingredients