Swami Sivananda on Bhakti

Photo taken of me by Eileen Escarda during an early morning sadhana, with Snatam Kaur at Blue Spirit in Costa Rica, 2011.

"Bhakti is resting on God.  Bhakti is flow of devotion like the flow of a river.  Bhakti is continuity of devotion, just as there is continuity in the flow of oil from one vessel to another vessel.  Bhakti is attraction of the Jiva to the Lord, juist as there is attraction of the needle to the magnet.
"Bhakti is love for love's sake.  The devotee wants God and God alone.  There is no selfish expectation here.  There is no fear also...He feels, believes, conceives and imagines that his Ishtam is an ocean of love or Prema.
"Bhakti transmuts man into Divinity.  It intoxicates the devotee with divine Prema.  It gives him eternal satisfaction.  It makes him perfect.  It weans the mind from the sensual objects.  It makes him rejoice in God.
"Emotional excitement is not devotion to God.  Devotion is pure love.  Fanaticism is not devotion.  It is frenzy.  It is mere excitement.
"Bhakti is not emotionalism, but is the tuning of the will as well as the intellect towards the Divine.  It is supreme love of God.  It blossoms afterwards into Jnana.  It leads to immortality or God-realisation.
"Bhakti is the direct approach to the ideal through the heart.  Love is natural to everybody."

"Bhakti is open to all.  Bhakti can be practiced under all conditions and by all alike.  Learning, austere penance, study of the Vedas and brilliant intellect sre not needed for the attainment of Bhakti or devotion.  What is wanted is constant and living remembrance of God, coupled with faith.  That is the reason why the path of Bhakti is available for everyone."

"The easiest approach to God.  Bhakti is easier than any other way of approach to God.  In Jnana and Yoga, there is the risk of a fall.  In the path of devotion, there is no risk as the devotee receives full support and help form God.  Those who tread the path of Jnana and Yoga are liable to become proud of their powers and wisdom.  Bhaktas are humble.  Humility is the foundation of Bhakti Yoga.  Jnana Yoga is the Yoga of wisdom.  It is the path of analysis and rejection. It is the path of endless negation.  This is a very difficult path.  Raja Yoga also is difficult.  It is like stilling the waves of the ocean.  You will have to still all the thought-waves.  Karma Yoga also is difficult.  It is like climbing to the highest peak.  You need tremendous will-power.  Bhakti Yoga alone is easy.  The Lord is stretching his hands to lift you up from the mire of Samsara.  You will have to grasp his hand firmly.  But, one thing is absolutely essential here.  You should not have any other thought than that of God and God alone.
"The child thinks of the mother alone.  A passionate husband thinks of his wife and wife alone.  A greedy man thinks of his money and money alone.  Even so, the devotee should entertain in his heart the picture of his Ishtam and Ishtam alone.  Then he can have Darshan of God easily.
"Objects are enemies of God.  Sons, wife, property, cattle, houses, friends and relatives are enemies of God.  You must cherish perfect indifference to these objects.
"You must not think of the body and its wants too much.  Thought of body, thoughts of food, thoughts of wife and children make you forget God.  You cannot have thought of God if you have thoughts of Anatma things."
"Desire obstructs the growth of devotion.  Devotion to the Lord increases when mundane desires are renounced.  Renunciation is the very essence of devotional love.  Divine love has no element of desire in it."
"People put a question: 'How can we love God whom we have not seen?'
"Live in the company of saints.  Hear the Lilas of God.  Study the sacred scriptures.  Worship Him first in his several forms as manifested in the World.  Worship any image or picture of the Lord or the Guru. Recite His Name.  Sing His glories.  Stay for one year in Ayodhya or Brindavan, Chitrakuta or Pandharpur, Benares or Ananda Kutir.  You will develop love for God.
"Every act must be done that awakens the emotion of Bhakti.  Keep the Puja room clean.  Decorate the room.  Burn the incense.  Light a lamp.  Keep a clean seat.  Bathe.  Wear clean clothes.  Apply vibhuti or bhasma and kumkum on the forehead.  Wera rudraksha or tulasi mall.  All these produce a benign influence on the mind and elevate the mind.  They generate piety.  They help to create the necessary Bhava or feeling to invoke the Deity that you want to worship. The mind will be easily concentrated.
"Practice of right conduct, Satsanga, Japa, Smarana, Kirtan, prayer, worship, service of saints, residence in places of pilgrimage, service of the poor and the sick with divine brave, observance of Varnasramaduties, offering of all actions and their fruits to the Lord, feeling the presence of the Lord in all beings, prostrations before the images of the saints, renunciation of early enjoyments and wealth, charity, austerities and vows, practice of Ahimsa, Satyam and Brahmacharya--all these will help you to develop Bhakti."

"Kindle love divine in thy heart, for this is the immediate way to the kingdom of God.  Pray to the Lord.  Sing His glory.  Recite His Name.  Become a channel of His grace.  Seek His will.  Do His will.  Surrender to His will.  You will become one with the cosmic will.  Surender unto the Lord.  He will become your charioteer on the field of life.  He will drive your chariot well.  You will reach your destination, the Abode of the Immortal Self."

God by Swami Sivananda

Excerpts from the book, Bliss Divine, by Swami Sivananda.

"Who is God?  What is God?  Is there a God?  Where is God?  How to realize God?  Man wants an answer to these eternal questions.  Certainly there is God. God exists. He is the only reality. God is your creator, savior and redeemer.  He is all-pervading. He dwells in your heart. He is always near you. He is nearer to you than your jugular vein or nose. He loves you. He can talk to you. You cannot find God by the intellect. But, you can find Him by feeling, meditation, experience and realization."

"The jasmine does not speak, but it wafts its fragrance everywhere.  The lighthouse sounds no drum, but sends its friendly light to the mariner.  The Unseen beats no gong, but Its omnipresence is felt by the dispassionate and discriminating sage.
"Behind all name and forms is the one nameless, formless Essence.  Behind all governors is the one Supreme Governor of governors.  Behind all lights is the one Light of lights.  Behind all sounds, there is the soundless Supreme Silence.  Behind all teachers is the one Supreme Guru of Gurus.
"Behind all these perishable objects is the one imperishable Absolute.  Behind all these motions is the one motionless Infinite.  Behind time, minutes and days is the one timeless Eternity.  Behind hatred, riots and wars is the one hidden Love.
"God is the totality of all that exists, both animate and inanimate, sentient and insentient.  He is free from ills and limitations.  He is omnipotent, omniscient and omnipresent.  He has no beginning, middle or end.  He is the indweller in all beings.  He controls from within.
"God is all in all.  God is the only reality in this universe.  The existence of things is by the light of God.
"God is ever living.  All depend on him.  He is not depending on any.  He is the Truth.
"God is the end or goal of all Yoga Sadhanas.  He is the centre towards which all things strive.  He is the highest purpose or highest good in the world.  You have the urge of hunger.  There is food to appease the hunger.  You have the urge of thirst.  There is water to quench the thirst.  There is the urge to be always happy.  There must be something to satisfy this urge.  This something is God, an embodiment of happiness.  God, Immortality, Freedom, Perfection, Peace, Bliss, Love are synonymous terms."

"What is God?  It is hard to tell.  But, when I look at the Ganga, I know it is God.  When I see jasmine, I know it is God.  When I behold the blue sky, I know it is God.  When I hear the chirping of birds, I know it is God.  When I tast honey, I know it is God.
"The Supreme is indefinable, though scholars give intellectual accounts of It which are not absolutely true.
"Every man has his own conception of God...The greatest and most important thing in all the world is to get a right concept of God, because your belief about God governs your entire your life."

"Is there a God?  God is beyond human imagination, but he is a living reality.  Brahman is no metaphysical abstraction.  It is the fullest and the most real being.  The existence of God cannot be proved by scientific experimentation.  The Absolute baffles the mind of even the greatest scholar.  It eludes the grasp of even the mightiest intellect.  It is experiences as pure consciousness, where intellect dies, scholarship perishes, and the entire being itself is completely lost in It.  All is lost, and all is found...Though you do not see the stars in the daytime, yet they do exist.  Though you cannot see the sun during a cloudy day, yet it does exist.  Even so, though you cannot see God with these physical eyes, yet He does exist.  If you get the divine eye or the eye of intuition by the practice of meditation, you will behold him."

"Where is God?  There is nowhere where He is not.  Just as one thread penetrates all the flowers in a garland, so also, one Self penetrates all these living beings.  He is hidden in all beings and forms, like oil in seed, butter in milk, mind in brain, Prana in the body, fetus in the womb, sun behind the clouds, fire in wood, vapor in the atmosphere, salt in water, scent in flowers, sound in the gramophone records, gold in quartz, microbes in blood.
"God dwells in all beings as life and consciousness...Feel his presence everywhere...God pervades the entire universe.  He walks in the garbs of a beggar.  He moans is pain in the guise of the sick.  He wanders in the forest clad in rags.  Open your eyes.  See Him in all.  Serve all.  Love all.
"Feel the Divine Presence everywhere--in every form, in every thought, in every feeling and in every sentiment, in every movement, in every emotion.
"God, seen through the senses, is matter.  God, seen through the intellect, is mind.  God, seen through the spirit, is Atman or the Self.
"Thou art indwelt by the Lord.  He is the inner ruler, Antaryamin, guarding and controlling your life.  He is in you and you are in Him.  He is quite close to you.  He is not very far, but is nearer to you than you are to yourself.  You were thinking in the beginning that He could be found only in Mount Kailas, Ramesvaram, Mecca, Jerusalem, sky or heaven.  You had very vague ideas.  This body is His moving temple.  The sanctum santorum is the chamber of your own heart.  Close your eyes.  Withdraw from the sensual objects.  Search Him in thy heart with one-pointed mind, devotion and pure love.  You will surely find him."

"How to realise God?  God is a question of supply and demand.  If you really yearn for His Darshan, He will reveal Himself to you in an instant."

30 Day Cleanse! Version 2.0

Cleansing from consumption

I just completed my first blogging 30 Day Cleanse!  It was so therapeutic I'm going straight into another one.  My first thirty days focused on calorie consumption and a bit on caloric expenditure as well.  I was cleansing my gastrointestinal tract, my organs of assimilation and detoxification such as the liver, kidneys and skin.  The sense organ at play was the tongue and the organ of action the feet.  For the next thirty days I will be focussing on my consumption of media and commodity...I will be cleansing my eyes, ears and mind and filling the gap with my own production of creativity and the consumption of more traditional art.  I will also be cleansing my pocketbooks, eliminating needless expenditures. I will utilize the same tier system, beginning with tier one: two 30 minute media blocks per day when I can use the Internet and a tight budget of necessary household or business purchases only.

Watch me Grow!

High altitude strawberries I discovered at Machu Picchu

Beet and Cashew Cheese Stack

4 Medium-Large Beets

1 cup Raw Cashews soaked 2 hours, will yield about 1 1/2 cups soaked cashews

Tabelspoon Olive Oil

Big handful fresh Basil

1/4 cup Water

Salt and Pepper

You need to find some good sized beets for this recipe, I happened to use golden beets because the red beets available were very small.  This would make for a beautiful Christmas dish with red beets the way the green colored cashew cheese layers between, but it was also lovely with the golden beets.  The beets were gently boiled until soft, about 40 minutes, and then peeled and cooled (I put them in the freezer for ten minutes).  They are then sliced into three or four horizontal sections.  Gently slice your bottom slice so your beet stands up well.

To make your Cashew Cheese, combine the rest of the ingredients, soaked and strained Cashews, olive oil, Basil, salt and pepper in a food processor or blender adding the water gradually to cut the consistency you like, you may use more or less water. 

To assemble salad lay down a small bed of lettuce, I'd choose something delicate like arugula or spinach, and place the bottom layer of your beet in the center.  Put a spoonful of cheese on top, a layer of beet on top of that, continuing until you've reassembled your beet.

I'll post a photo asap

Mung Bean Coconut Soup

While playing on Pinterest I found this beautiful recipe for Green Lentil Soup and used it as a base for this Mung Bean Soup.  I used more Indian spices and think of my soup as an Indian version of a French recipe.  I would normally do the spices in the beginning, but do agree with this recipe that by adding the spices in separate after the soup has cooked awhile gives it lots of flavor.  I also used canned coconut cream instead of milk (because I ran out and that's all the store was carrying on a Sunday morning) and that made the soup wonderfully rich and creamy.

6 cups Vegetable Stock
1 1/2 cups Sprouted Mung Beans
Ghee
1/2 Onion chopped
1/2 teaspoon mustard seed
1/2 teaspoon cardamom powder
1/4 teaspoon each of cumin seed, cumin powder, turmeric, salt and pepper
2 Garlic Cloves
Can of Coconut Cream or Coconut Milk
2 hands full of Spinach

In a pot bring to boil the stock and beans, if you have sprouted the beans it only needs to cook a little while, but if you are using dry beans you must first cook them 35-45 minutes to soften them.  Once you've got the broth and beans simmering (or after awhile if you are making dry beans) in a separate pan heat a tablespoon of Ghee or some other type of oil and add your mustard seed until they begin to pop.  Then add the onions and after a minute the rest of your spices and sauté, stirring occasionally for about 3 minutes.  Add your garlic, minced or pressed, and continue to sauté over medium heat, stirring occasionally until cartelized, about ten minutes.  Add this onion mixture to the soup as well as the can of coconut and simmer 5 minutes.  Add the spinach just before serving and season with salt and pepper to taste.

I'll post a photo ASAP.

Healthy Cooking Class

This event took place already, the first such cooking class.  Lots of fun and I am so grateful to those who came! We learned some tools and techniques to feed ourselves healthy food.  Please click on the subjects to read more.

Menu
Ghee
Sprouts
Fresh Juices we made a green juice of Celery, Cucumber, Beet Greens, Lime and Ginger
Raw Hummus
Mung Bean Coconut Soup
Kitchari of Brown Rice and Mung Bean
Kitchari of Lentil and Basmati Rice
Beet-and-cashew-cheese-stack
Chocolate Cream Pie with Graham Cracker Crust

Pinterest board for class ideas

Before We Forget!

Divine representations of our own inner light,
Lakshmi, Ganesha & Saraswati. 

What a blessing the recent command from Swami Sita, "Go out and create Spiritual Community!"  I listened and a few months later a few of us have gathered on the first and third Tuesdays of each month from 7:30pm- 8:45pm.  An important part of our Satsanga, or spiritual gathering, is the reading from a divine or inspired text.  I have been choosing each reading from Bliss Divine by Swami Sivananda.  On the first meeting we read the chapter on Satsanga, at the next meeting we read Prayer, third meeting we read Bhakti and fourth meeting, yesterday, we read God.  At present publication I have reflected upon Satsang, and and to remind and encourage myself to write blogs on each of these subjects....which I've almost completed, only Prayer remains!  Enjoy and I hope to see you tonight for Satsang...the reading is on Fear!

Herbal Detox Tea

At The Robin's Nest, the sweetest little tea shop in the west, we carry Herbal Detox Tea, a nutritious tonic for your liver and digestive system.  The ingredients are all roots and the tea has an earthy flavor and light color.  Read about the health benefits of each of the 5 ingredients.

Dandelion root contains many anti-oxidant vitamins, minerals and phytochemicals. It is beneficial for the liver and the gastrointestinal tract.  It is a mild diuretic and stimulates the appetite.  Dandelion Root tea is also excellent for balancing blood sugar.

Eleuthero  is an adaptogen, a compound that helps the body copy with stress.  It boosts concentration as well as immunity and has been shown to increase the body's ability to burn fat during exercise. 

Burdock Root is an ancient blood purifier, and in purifying the blood it clears the complexion.  It can stimulate bile production and regenerate cells of the liver and reduce excessive levels or uric acid in the blood, wonderful antidotes to a rich diet.

Milk Thistle is know to protect and regenerate the liver, and it aids the liver in purifying the blood.  It also has a to fitting a calming effect on the gastrointestinal tract and stimulates digestion by helping to increase the production and secretion of bile and hydrochloric acid. 

Yellow Dock can help support the healthy function of your liver, kidneys, gallbladder, bladder and intestines by enhancing your body's efforts to purge itself of toxins that can overburden those organs. Yellow dock extracts toxins from your body's tissues and acts as both a laxative to stimulate bowel movements and a diuretic to increase urine flow--both of which help remove waste from your body. Yellow dock helps your body produce more bile to break down the fatty foods you eat and improves the flow of bile and other digestive juices. It also helps reduce the amount of irritation and inflammation in your bowels.   Yellow Dock also contains iron, vitamin C, phosphorus and calcium. 

Growing Sprouts in your Kitchen

If you spend a lot of time in your kitchen, you might enjoy growing your own sprouts.  Sprouts are very good for you, they are very alive when you eat them which makes them high in Prana, or vital life energy.  They are a good source of vitamins, minerals, amino acids, proteins and phytochemicals.  Bacteria can develop on sprouts and cause illness, so it is important to use clean equipment and to know what you are doing.  Here is a great site with lots of information as well as a store for supplies  sproutpeople.com. I buy my favorite sprouts at the farmers market, Sunflower Seed, as I am not successful growing them myself. Many small seed sprouts have given me challenge and I recommend new sprouters begin with the following easy sprouters, mung beans, garbanzo beans, cashews and almonds.  For cashews and almonds you are not trying to grow a long stem sprout, but only activating the plants spouting instinct with a short soak of 4-8 hours.  The nuts will then be soft and easily blendable, perfect for making milk, butter or cheese!  For the mung beans and garbanzo beans, after an initial overnight soak we will begin to rinse and drain the beans periodically (1-3 times per day) until the sprouts look like we want them, maybe 2-5 days.  Again, be careful as there is a risk of bacterial infection if something has gotten in to your mix and is germinating along side your sprouts.  Your bean sprouts can be eaten raw on your salads, or cooked or prepared in other ways.

My supplies:  jars and sprouting trays, mung beans, garbanzo beans, lentils, alfalfa seeds and radish seeds

dry radish seeds in tray

dry alfalfa seeds in sprouting tray

beans soaking in jars, seeds and lentils in trays for 8 hours

radish seeds 24 hour soak

alfalfa seeds 24 hour soak

mung bean after 24 hour soak

garbanzo bean after 24 hour soak

radish seed after 48 hour soak

alfalfa seeds after 48 hour soak

mung beans after 48 hour soak

garbanzo beans after 48 hour soak

Kitchari, the perfect food

Kitchari comes from India and means mixture, usually of rice with daal or mung bean and spices.  It is nourishing and also cleansing.  The mixture is very easily digested and provides a plant based complete protein.  It has been used in India in the tradition of Ayurveda as a cleansing or fasting food.  For a period of time only Kitchari is eaten and the body is provided time to cleanse the digestive system and eliminate systemic toxins. Ayurveda believes that all healing begins with the digestive tract, and kitchari can give it a much-needed rest from constantly processing different foods while providing essential nutrients. The blend of rice and mung beans offers an array of amino acids, the building blocks of protein. Its mixture of spices is believed to kindle the digestive fire, the Ayurvedic description for your innate digestive power, which can be weakened by poor food combinations.  Kitchari can be prepared in many different ways with many different varieties of ingredients.  And if I didn't convince you, try this, this, or this!

Brown Rice and Mung Bean turned yellow by Turmeric

1/2 cup mung beans soaked 2-8 hours
1/2 cup brown basmati rice rinsed
Ghee
1/2 onion chopped
1 clove garlic
Mustard Seed
Coriander Powder
Cumin Seed and Powder
Turmeric Powder
Water

Heat a tablespoon of ghee and add a teaspoon of mustard seeds, simmering until they begin to pop.  Then add onions, the rest of your spices, 1/2 teaspoon of each and garlic and sauté on medium for a few minutes.  Add beans and rice and sauté another 2-3 minutes.  Add about 6-8 cups of water and bring to a boil then reduce heat and cook covered for 45 minutes.  Salt and Pepper to taste when you are done.

Enough for three days!

What I Brought to Thanksgiving 2012

Holiday Salad

1/2 Red Cabbage sliced thin

Green Lettuce like herbal blend or arugula in equal proportion to cabbage

4 ounces Sunflower Seed Sprouts

2 cups Walnuts

2 pomegranate

2 stalks of celery diced
6 ounces diced candied pineapple

1 shallot diced

1 garlic clove dices

juice of 1 lemon

apple cider vinegar

olive oil

salt and pepper

Jalapeno Chile Relleno

Jalapenos

Jack Cheese

Flour

Egg

frying oil

To make this recipe you need to first roast your chiles.  After they have been roasted, cooled, peeled and seeded, you can stuff each with a small slice of jack cheese.  Now you prepare your eggs by beating the whites until stiff peaks form then gently folding in the egg yolks.  You get your oil hot and ready for frying, about 1 1/2 inches deep.  You take the chiles and gently coat them in flour, dip them in the egg until coated and drop into the oil.  Fry for 2-4 minutes on one side until golden and then flip to cook on the other side 1-3 minutes.  Dry over paper towels to absorb the oil.

Satsang from Swami Sivananda

Tonight I lead an event/class at my shop called Satsang.  We begin with silent meditation for about 20 minutes.  Next we sing the Daily Chants  which takes about 15 minutes.  If we are in the mood for song, we might sing some more chants at this time.  Next is the study or philosophy part of our gathering where we will either read form a book by Swami Sivananda such as Bliss Divine or Swami Vishnu Devananda or maybe from the Bhagava Gita.  If we are blessed with a wise soul, we might be given a lecture by a swami, doctor or scholar or on a special day enjoy a performance by a dancer or a musician.  At the conclusion we sing a variety of chants and prayers (maha-mrityunjaya, universal-prayer, arati)and then share in the prasad.  At the first of the recent Satsang gatherings I read from Swami Sivananda's Book, Bliss Divine, the chapter on Satsanga, and here are some of my favorite quotes.

Swami Sivananda 1187-1963

Swami Vishnudevananda

"If the dust is in the company of the wind, it soars high in the sky.  If it is in the company of muddy water, it becomes a dirty mire.  If the air is in the company of jasmine, it wafts a sweet aroma.  If it is in the company of offal, it disseminates a foul odour.  Put the parrot in the company of wicked men.  It will start abusing.  Put it in the company of Sadhus.  It will repeat, "Ram, Renga, Renga."  Even so, if one is in the company of a sage, he attains knowledge and soars high in the realm of eternal bliss."

"In the East, students are always advised to seek the company of holy men and listen to their conversation, thus fanning into flame a little spark of love and earnestness.  Only a strong soul can keep itself glowing in isolation, and the beginner will do well to take the opportunity that comes in his way to strengthen his own aspirations by communion with others who share them."

Lakshmi, Ganesha and Saraswati

"If you cannot get the Satsanga of living Mahatmas, you can take recourse to the study of books written by great souls.  When you study them you are in holy communion with the authors.  If you study Vivekachudamani, you are really having the Satsanga of Sankaracharya for the time being.  If you read Yogavasishtha, you are really having Satsanga with the sage Vasishtha.  In the evening, four or five people can assemble together in a temple or a quiet room and can study for one or two hours either the Gita or the Upanishads or the Ramayana or the Yogavasishtha or the Bhagavata.  Slowly your mind will be purified.  You will get the real taste for the spiritual path."

Oatmeal Stuffed Apple

Hers, with Walnuts

His, without!

Simple, but takes a little time.  I served them with a steak knife to make them easy to cut. The apple is so sweet, you could leave out the maple syrup and cut back on those calories.

1 cup oatmeal
2 cups water
Salt
Maple syrup
Raisins
Walnuts
2 Apples

Preheat the oven to 375* and put a small pot over medium flame.  Put oatmeal and water and pinch of salt in pot and cooked over medium low for ten minutes stirring occasionally.  Carefully cut the center out of an apple keeping the bottom of the apple intact so that the apple makes a small bowel. Place 6-10 raisins on the bottom of the apple and cover to half way with oatmeal. Drizzle in a small amount of maple syrup and fill the rest of the apple with oatmeal to overflowing.  I placed the two apples in a small cast iron skillet and set that in the oven at 375* for 15-20 minutes.  About half the oatmeal was leftover and I got it hot just before serving by placing it in the oven for a few minutes.  I nestled each apple over a scoop of oatmeal and garnished with a drizzle of maple syrup and some walnuts.

Layered Tortilla

I saw a photo for something like this, and thought it would be great for a party if much taller than I made and with more layers of different fillings like beans, guacamole and roasted chilies. But for just my husband and I, two layers of tortillas was more than enough, half was leftover.  I prepared three fillings, spinach, tomato and mushroom.

2 whole wheat tortillas
1 1/2 cups frozen spinach
1 1/2 cups mushrooms
2 cups tomatoes
2 shallots
3 cloves garlic
2 tabelspoons of Goat cheese
1/2 Avocado
Red Wine
Oregano
Butter
Olive oil
Salt and pepper

In a pot I heated a little oil and added the frozen spinach and cooked over low heat stirring occasionally until thawed.

In a small cast iron skillet I heated a little butter and added a diced shallot and after a few minutes added two diced cloves of garlic. Next I added about 6 chopped mushrooms and a dash of red wine and a teaspoon of dried oregano.  I sautéed for another few minutes and then set aside.

I the same oiled skillet I added a tabelspoon of olive oil and sautéed a diced clove of garlic and two cups of diced tomatoes for about 4 minutes then set aside.

I lined a baking sheet with parchment paper and set my first tortilla in the center.  I spread the spinach evenly over this tortilla and placed the second tortilla on top.  I spread the tomatoes evenly over this tortilla and then sprinkled the mushrooms on top, the diced avocado, goat cheese, salt and pepper.  I baked this in the oven at 350* for about 15 minutes.

Corn Fritters

Corn Fritters reheated Sunday for Brunch and served with poached egg and bread fresh from the farmers market

My Corn Fritters ready for sampling!

I found this lovely recipe on the internet while researching vegetarian food options for a Spanish Tapas party: corn-fritters-with-spicy-honey.  I made some adjustments to the recipe based on what I had available, and the results were delicious!  I did not make the dipping sauce in the link, but instead served the fritters with a little glob of mexican cream and put on the table our collection of hot sauces...Yum!

Roasted Corn fresh from the cob

3 ears of corn
1/4 cup rice milk
1 egg
1 shallot
2 cloves garlic
2 green onions
2 tbsp cilantro
1 1/2 cup corn bread mix
tsp salt
tsp sugar
1/2 tsp coriander
1/2 tsp pepper

I roasted three ears of sweet white corn in the oven at 400* for 15 minutes then let them cool.  Once cool I cut the corn kernels off the cobs.  I mixed together an egg and 1/4 cup of rice milk and added this to the corn and blended it all together in my blender.  While the corn was cooking I diced up one shallot, two cloves of garlic, two green onions and 2 tablespoons of cilantro and set this aside in a big mixing bowel.  Next I mixed together the dry ingredients.  I hade a great organic corn bread mix so I used 1 1/2 cups for the base and added to it a pinch of salt, a pinch of sugar, a dash of coriander and black pepper.  Now in to the mixing bowel of diced greens I poured the corn blend and the dry ingredients and gently folded it all together with a spatula.  In a small pot I heated 1/2 cup grapeseed oil and 3/4 cup of sesame seed oil and spooned the corn batter in to the hot oil.  I fried them 3-5 minutes and flipped once golden and fried another 3 minutes on the second side.  I set them to cool on paper towels, flipping occasionally as they cooled to degrease.

The batter ready for the frier

The first fritters in the oil

A few more minutes on the second side

A delicious Vegan Dinner

Fresh Juice...Get Some!

I love fresh juice.  I bought my juicer one day at Costco with my mom.  It was after college and I was living at home and starting to get interested in health.  It probably cost about $100 and ten years later it still works great.  When it breaks I will upgrade to a stainless steel model.  Although the simple taste of a juice with one or two ingredients is amazing, I usually blend quite a few things together, directed by what I have available.  I try to use mostly vegetable with only a little fruit for sweetness.










Here is a list of things I throw in the juicer:

Celery

Cucumbers

Carrots

Beets and their Greens

Kale, Spinach...

Lemons and Limes

Ginger

Jicama
Apples
Pears