Archive for the ‘Food’ Category

We want to promote healthy and conscious eating. In our last vegetarian class many of us contributed with some recipe. This was Sabrina’s raw food contribution.

As you know, the moment we cooked foods, they lose their very sensitive enzymes and many times nutrients. So they more alive these foods are, the higher their nutritional value and energy.

 This is all about bringing the highest energy into our diets. Enjoy something fresh for the warm days are coming…!

Ingredients

4 broccoli stems, washed and peeled

6 inch long piece of daikon radish, peeled

2 kiwis, peeled and diced

2 large carrots, peeled

2 cloves garlic, minced

½ bunch green onions, chopped

2 tbsp pine nuts, toasted

¼ tsp. ground black pepper

2 tbsp water

Black sesame seeds

 Directions: Coarsely grate broccoli stems, daikon radish, and carrots and put in a bowl. Add green onions, kiwis, pine nuts, garlic, salt, pepper, and water to bowl and toss together. Adjust seasoning to taste, and transfer to serving bowl. Garnish with black sesame seeds.

Vegetarianism was arguably created by the Vegetarian Society in 1840. They claim it came from the word in Latin ‘vegetus’ meaning “lively”, because this is how this diet make vegetarians feel. Vegetarianism has been in existence way before the mid 19^th century. There are entire cultures that have been vegetarians and have live that way for generations. Many of us find it very difficult to be vegetarians, or even conceive only eating vegetarian. However, we all realize the importance of eating healthy and including all the characteristics of vegetarianism (sporadically!) in our daily meals. As a society we are starting to realize, now, more than ever, the important that food has on our health, state of mind, energy levels, and most importantly on our planet. The recent nomination to an Oscar as BEST Documentary of the movie FOOD, Inc. has triggered a new wave of awareness and consideration of the different aspects of where our food comes from. It is after all, the most significant green or ecological gesture we can produce daily.

So, we thought we would add some delicious vegan soup to your repertoire. We present to you, our infamous zucchini soup.

Zucchini Soup

2 medium size organic zucchinis

¼ cup of Virgin Olive oil

2-3 cups of water

Pinch of rosemary

Pinch of pepper

Pinch of Cayenne Pepper

1 tablespoon of aminos (salt replacement)

1 pinch of hing (garlic replacement)

¼ cup of pine nuts (optional, or other nuts)

Directions: Bring enough water to cover the zucchini to boil. Add the rosemary, black pepper, aminos. Place the zucchini in the water until it changes color (darker green) and become lightly cooked. Let it cool for 5 minutes until ready to be blended. Place it on the blender with cayenne pepper and hing.  Add the cold olive oil. Blend until smooth. As a touch of taste you may broil or lightly heat the pine nuts to add flavor and texture as you serve.

In our attempt to keep all involved and updated, I am going to start posting, hopefully, daily updates on this blog.  We certainly hope this may become an exchange too.  So we do await for your comments at the end of each blog entry.

Let me start by updating all of you on the amazing time we had at the cooking “class”!  it turned into, as many things tend to do in our center, into a wonderful time to be together.  We all shared recipes, food, and a time to laugh and be together.  It was a pretty amazing activity.  We all hang out like a family.  It was heart warming to see everyone sharing and just being genuinely happy.  Many of us truly commented on how this really felt like “thanksgiving”… How can it not feel like that?! 

There we so many aspects to be thankful for!  I cannot have words to thank Mohan and Vidula for letting us use their very comfortable home to get together.  Anyone that walks into their house feels like home.  Also, we are so grateful to Sabrina who contributed at the very last minute with a delicious dish.  Serge, our unofficial recorder!  He never missed a dish, a step, a preparation!  You never know when that flash is coming through!  Don and Betsy for their pleasant and constant smile and easy going personality!  Hui and Eric that are always game for everything!  It is the people that truly make the difference!  Of course, next time, we will pull out the ping pong table a little sooner!  If you are expecting the recipes, make sure you check my entries this week!

So far away in so many ways from my family, our center has shaped to be more than a group of friends, but truly a spiritual family!  So grateful!

The Thanksgiving season is speeding toward me faster than ever this year. So of course, I haven’t started planning it yet, but this writing is certainly making me think about it. So besides the usual things to plan like figuring out what am I going to cook,(it’s never the same menu since I like to make it easy on myself ☺), making lists of needed supplies, etc., this holiday does make me think more about my actual thanks giving or its kissing cousin: gratitude.

Sabrina's casserole is almost as good as her chaturanga dandasana!

Gratitude has not always been a conscious part of my life. I learned, sometimes the hard way, that gratitude was earned just like anything else. I thought life owed me a free “Happiness Express” card and of course, it needed to be platinum or is it black now? That may be a good sign that I do not know for sure. So, with consciousness and “showing up” ability, I realized more and more that gratitude was like a muscle (hopefully not the arm muscle) because for the life of me I cannot seem to get the arm balancing pose of Chaturanga Dandasana. It’s the four limbed staff pose that usually follows our all time favorite: the plank pose, just in case you were wondering.

So anyway, as the cliche says: if we do not use it we lose it. And so it is with gratitude.  Even when I am having a not so good day, I will make an effort to see that even in such a day there is a reason to hope. Like with yoga, the more I practice it the stronger I become.  The art of thankfulness follows suit. The more I practice it, the more I can see something that I can feel gratitude for, thus strengthening my spirit,The art of thankfulness follows suit. The more I practice it, the more I can see something that I can feel gratitude for, thus strengthening my spirit, mind and body ever more. It’s a win, win, win situation!

You are probably wondering why this piece is titled “Not On My Thighs”. Well, in conclusion of this little writing, I wanted to share with you this little poem that came across my readings. The poem made me smile and hopefully it will make you smile as well.

Thanksgiving 8000 Calorie Poem

May your stuffing be tasty

May your turkey and/or tofurky be plump

May your potatoes and gravy

have nary a lump

May your yams be delicious

and your pies take the prize,

and may your Thanksgiving dinner

stay off your thighs

Happy Thanksgiving everyone! Thank you Devanand Yoga for providing such a loving, peaceful place for yoga practice. Namaste!

Title: Vegetarian Cooking Class
Location: 18819 Evergreen Falls , Houston, TX 77084
Link out: Click here
Description: Vegetarian Cooking Class with ample sampling, a full meal, REALLY!  Only $35 with all written recipes, and the support towards your center…
Start Time: 14:00
Date: 2009-11-07
End Time: 17:00

Green lentil sprouts or mung

The monsoon is the great growing season in India.  It’s also the giving season. It’s when the gods pour rain onto parched land. Farmers smile with relief, and city dwellers buy all their rain supplies in crowded markets: rain boots, umbrellas, and rain coats. Big fat droplets cool down the summer heat and a new blossoming green drapes the country side with the color of vegetation, symbolizing growth and fruition. In India, there are festivals to celebrate the season of abundance. Then there are fasts and pujas, weddings and after wedding celebrations that go on for the whole year. But this fun always starts with rain, with the resurgence of new life, when nature gives plentifully with open hands. The fragrance and flowering of those descending sheets of water never leave the hearts of Indians especially those from my home state Maharashtra, of which the capital city is Mumbai. From this rain crazed Mumbai, we bring you sprouts. When tiny shoots scramble out of those pretty green lentils, earth beckons you to rejoice and cook your first homegrown protein rich meal. Go on, make your own lentils. Soften them with oil and spice. Spread the stew (usal) on steamy rice. Add some ghee if you’re thoroughly spoilt, and squeeze a lemon just for kicks. It might rain today.

How to sprout:

Basically, the process resembles a lesson in germination. Give a seed some water. Incubate it in heat and humidity. Watch it sprout.

Steps:

1. Soak 1 cup of mung, green lentils in 3-4 cups of cold water. Cover with a lid. Let it sit undisturbed for 24 hours.  (I usually use a bigger bowl than seems necessary to avoid overcrowding, so my lentils have enough room to absorb water and grow turgid.)
2. Scoop out the lentils along with some remaining water into a white cheese cloth.  (Make sure to let in some water, enough to dampen the cloth, else the lentils will not sprout). Throw away rest of the water, emptying the bowl.
3. Pile the cheese cloth over the lentils to make a bundle. Secure with a knot. Place the bundle, knot down into a bowl (I use the same bowl from step 2 above). Allow to sit for 6-8 hours covered in a warm dark place (time varies depending on heat and humidity).
4. Untie the cheese cloth. Transfer sprouts in a container with a lid. Refrigerate immediately. Left sitting on the kitchen counter, lentils will start to give off a bad smell- remember all the heat that’s gone into it? – So, cool the sprouts unless you are throwing them in a hot pan right away.

I normally make a big batch and save it in freezer bags. That way, I have a ready supply for a quick delicious meal any time I want. If you’ve got the munchies, try some mung sprouts with peanuts, like I do. But beware; they are hard on the digestive system when raw. So go easy.

FYI… The time and quantity of water in this recipe are approximate. As mentioned before, how long it takes to sprout, and how much water the grain actually absorbs both depend on environmental conditions and quality of the grain itself. So watch and adjust.  You can never go too wrong. Even if you get minimal germination, or none at all, have a heart; you tried your best didn’t you?-just like I try my Pashchimottanasana and feel good about it any way. As in Yoga so in cooking; your best today is the finest ever.

Just in case, try this… On very cold and dry Houston days (what are these?) I trick my lentils into believing they are back in the tropics. I warm the oven for 5 minutes, turn it off, and then place the nice soggy lentil bundle (from step 3) in the oven, in

Mother Vidula practices vegetarianism and teaches cooking classes for the center

 sprouting heaven.

Bon appetit! and “Namaste!”- From the divine in me to the divine in you.

It is well-known that statistically speaking, diets don’t work over time. There are, however, ways to affect weight loss that will not only result in fewer pounds, but also a healthier body, a more alert mind, and a more peaceful emotional state. Yoga affirmations, exercise, and increasing intake of healthy, enjoyable foods can help to make weight loss positive and permanent. Food doesn’t have to become the enemy and you can create an eating program that is perfect just for you.