I am having a hard time getting any of my superhero questions answered here. I think it's because we are a site of newbies! Does anyone know of any macrobiotic forums that have been around awhile? I don't need any vegan support. Strictly macrobiotic questions. Why isn't my miso diluting? Still specks throughout, afraid to overheat and kill enzymes. How long does miso stay good for? Is it ok to keep tamari in a cabinet or does it have to be refrigerated? How long can I keep my homemade pickles in fridge? Should I eat kombu that I cook with rice and beans or discard? Can I add sea vegetables to rice and vegetables or must I to cook them? rehydrate them?etc, etc...

I really like Jessica Porter's site. She has video cooking classes that are very imformative. Not sure about any forums...her website has lots of links to referance.

As for miso, I dissolve my miso in a teeny bit of warm water before adding it to a pot.

Hope you can find answers to all your questions.

Not a forum, but check out the Macrobiotics for Dummies book...I haven't read it yet, but it's on my list. Generally speaking, all of the "for dummies" books are really well written, are easy for newbies (in whatever subject area) to understand, and answer common questions that a lot of other books might take for granted that you already know....

Thank you Barbara and Acumindy. I also dilute miso in a teeny bit of the cooking water before I add it to the pot but it never dissolves completely? Is my miso bad maybe? There are specks all throughout every time! grrr....

Lea, miso never dissolves totally in the traditional sense - there should always be little tiny specks. Also depending on the brand, miso can keep indefinitely when refrigerated - check your container it might give some sort of indication. Hope that helps a little!

To add to what Ashley said - good miso never gets the completely dissolved look and taste that I've seen from miso at a sushi restaurant. Most of the time restauarants use a pasteurized miso or even instant miso that is a much finer grain/texture than the miso with all of the healthy benefits.

You want those specks! :)

Cybermacro is a long running forum you should check out.
I mention here with Jessica's site and my other favorite macrobiotic sites.
http://www.vivalagreens.com/theblissfulchef/?p=468

Also, I suggest to get a strictly macro cookbook that explains all this in depth (which The Kind Diet only touches on it). Jessica Porter's book is the best and fun, The Hip Chick's Guide to Macrobiotics.

In my opinion (I'm not a newbie:), if you are cooking a lot it's fine to keep oils, vinegars, etc. in the cabinet. I never refridgerate mine, but I use it often.

Miso can last a long time. If you start to see dark or blackish mold that is not good. But white light greyish mold can just be scrapped off and discarded. Be sure to always use a clean utensil and smooth over the top of the miso (so no air pockets are in there).

If you like the kombu, it is best to chopped it up and eat it. If you don't like the taste you can discard it. Sea vegetables all have different textures and require different soaking and cooking techniques. But in general, dried seaweed (except for Nori) can be pre-soaked 5-10 minutes before cooking (drain off soaking liquid). If you have a specific question about a particular sea veg ask.

Pickles can last awhile, a few weeks up to months, but it depends on what type of pickle and what it is stored in.

Hope this is helpful. I will try to come on more to the forum to answer macrobiotic questions for everyone :)

Christy, Sierra and Ashley - thank you, thank you, thank you! When I make miso soup if it sits for a few minutes it seperates and gets cloudy. Is this also normal? I read Jessica Porter's book as well as The Macrobiotic Way and Christina Pirello's- Cooking the Whole Foods Way. Any other good Macro book suggestions? Also someone posted about rice cookers and I read these are not recommended in macrobiotics. Only stove and stovetop pressure cookers. But I don't know why not? Any idea?

Miso never fully dissolves.. if you let it sit, it kind of congregates on the top! You just gotta stir it a little before drinking it again!

I am not marobiotic - and only a 6 day old vegan - but I think ancient chinese secret can explain the reasoning behind the pooh-poohing of rice cookers...

Macrobiotic diets are based strongly on chi - ancient chinese word for energy.  "Natural gas",  "pressure",  these are ancient things.  'Electricity', 'rice cooker', these are modern things.

That modern stuff could mess with the chi of the food - possibly?

Yes, it's totally normal for the miso to separate or settle after you've mixed it up, just stir it again :) 

I keep my tamari in the cabinet.  And my cookbook says to discard the kombu after soaking & the initial cooking. I don't eat it.  I think several of your other questions were answered already. Hope you found another forum that has helped!

Check out MIna Dobic's sitehttp://www.minadobic.org/

and Macrobtioic Guidehttp://macrobiotics.co.uk/