This is fast becoming a green favourite. But I have to confess, it took a while to make it yummy enough without the chicken and the tomatillos, a small green tomato-like fruit that doesn’t seem to grow in shops around here. When we’ve been served this is Mexican restaurants, there was lots of sauce and […]
Category: Main Meals
Cool Potato Salad
Tenkei first introduced me to this festive cold potato salad not long after I met him. He told me his mum often made it for summer parties. I imagine it was one of those post-war creations made on a budget? All you needed were potatoes plus whatever was at hand to mix through it. Sardines, […]
Fresh Thai-Style Veggies
Today The Netherlands became stricter on social distancing, as have many other countries in our world. The good side might be that, if we are still in good health, by being stuck at home there may be more time to cook? At least I hope so! Anyway, this might be a nice recipe to try. […]
Kedgeree with Smoked Tofu
A long time ago, I read somewhere with great fascination that the British Royal family were served Kedgeree for breakfast on New Year’s Day. I never knew what it was and thought it was some exotic, mysterious, complicated recipe. Until I discovered nothing could be further from the truth. Turned out it was not just […]
Cream of Mushroom Pasta with Broccoli & Soy Slices
Pasta must be an all time favourite in Zen Centres. It hardly matters what kind and it’s always a win-win situation. At the old Kanzeon Zen Center in Salt Lake City, pasta would often be the meal of choice for a festive celebration. I recall going a little overboard one time. It was at the end of Ango […]
Amaranth with Pisto Topping
Amaranth. What to do with it? Heaven knows. It’s sticky, it’s tacky, it’s downright deliciously nutty and gives a wonderful feel-good after glow. It’s one of the super grains of the ancient Aztecs… Because of its unusual consistency I thought amaranth might cook like baked polenta when topped with some simple vegetables and heated in […]
Mango Curry
When visiting my lovely family in Bilsborrow I wanted to make tea simple by using what was in the fridge. There were some random vegetables, and a mango! After picking up a can of coconut milk from the local village store, we got cracking in the kitchen. The result was quite satisfying and without too […]
Black Olive & Walnut Pesto Pasta
Uh oh. Ran out of time for the work period on Sunday. Almost everything was ready except the ingredients for the pasta. Thinking of a quick work around; why not make pesto with essentially the same things? So into the blender went a couple of cans of drained olives along with a jar of sun […]
Vietnamese-Style Stir-fried Cabbage & Scrambled Egg
Shorin, a Zen River member, volunteers at a food garden in Uithuizen that grows organic vegetables. Occasionally they can bring home a few surplus veggies that didn’t find a new home. This might explain the two huge sweetheart cabbages propped on the kitchen counter that together weighed well over 2½ kilos . I’d never seen […]
Shakshouka with Scrambled Tofu
Shakshouka. What a lovely sounding name. This dish, originating from the Mediterranean and Middle Eastern regions, is often prepared with poached eggs on top. But for our purposes scrambled silken tofu works great. The superb blandness of it sprinkled with a little black salt mimics the neutral taste of egg whites set against the pungent spices […]