Hi Aine!
How do you pronounce your name?
Do you know Gerry Thompson, the Irish 9 Star Ki teacher ("Oriental Astrology:Consult the Oracle of Heaven and Earth", EWJ April 1983)?
According to the Absolute Macrobiotic Rulebook, there are very few, if any spices, used in macrobiotics.
Of course, the above statement is a total fallacy, because there is no Absolute Macrobiotic Rulebook, because there are no absolute macrobiotic rules, except one, and that is "there are no absolute macrobiotic rules"!!!
The thing is, though, based upon my own observation (and my guess
is that many here would agree with me) that many people who come here to macrobiotics are looking for something simple, some guidance that can help them with a problem or problems that they are having or have had with their health and many of them might be happy as pie with some approach as simple as
Macrobiotic Dietary Recommendations http://www.goodhealthinfo.net/mdr/index_mdr.htm or something like it.
Paul Pritchford is a very knowledgeable author who besides being a senior teacher at a world reknown healing institute
http://www.heartwoodinstitute.com/co...ut/Faculty.htm is an author of one of the most integrative healing educational books:
Healing with Whole Foods: Asian Traditions and Modern Nutrition http://www.bioinformatics.vg/Books/h...556434308.html and though I find his book quite comprehensive, I find it difficult to read and follow because of it's complexity.
It appears that Pritchford is teaching a method that attempts to integrate several systems of healing but I feel that next to the more simple macrobiotic approach, it seems to kind of be like juggling.
Regarding the spices, in the Kushi approach to macrobiotic cooking, it appears that spices like black pepper, sage, thyme, rosemary, etc., are not used, except by gourmet chefs like Christina Pirello, or others like yourself.
Celebrities and movie stars and people who are not recovering from life threatening illness (or who are not trying to radically change themselves), need to eat more widely and would suffer on a every day simple macrobiotic healing diet.
For persons following the latter, books like
The Self-Healing Cookbook: A Macrobiotic Primer for Healing Body, Mind and Moods With Whole Natural Foods by Kristina Turner
http://www.qualitynaturalfoods.com/s...lcookbook.html and
Changing Seasons Macrobiotic Cookbook: Cooking in Harmony With Nature by Aveline Kushi and Wendy Esko
http://www.qualitynaturalfoods.com/s...hngseason.html might be more approriate.
For myself, when I'm occasionally eating out or over at someone else's house, I would much rather eat food cooked the way your recipes are assembled than the way most vegetarian foods are served usually.
Thank you, for your contibution, and continue enjoying and creating your great adventure.
Very much.
Bruce Paine