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 […]
Simple Roasted Sweet Potatoes
Baked sweet potatoes are amazing. The combination of the oil and natural sugars give a wonderful caramelized texture and taste. Try them alongside Rosemary Red lentils or other with other recipes instead of rice or potatoes. Plus they are full of happy minerals and vitamins. 1¼ kilos (3 pounds) sweet potatoes 4 tablespoons olive oil […]
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 […]
Stuffed Dates with Apricots
One of the young adults on the Young Minds retreat recently asked if there were any party snacks in the cookbook? There are few recipes that would work nicely, but not a chapter devoted to them. Which got me thinking. why not include one in Volume Two? (Yes, Volume Two could happen. Emphasis on “could” […]
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 […]
Snert (Split Pea Soup)
I bet you could win over many a Dutch person with Snert. Snert (with an e as in elephant) is one of those fantastic winter-warming soups synonymous with icy weather and skating in the Netherlands. (Rather like in Britain where parched peas, treacle toffee, bonfires, and fireworks are synonymous with Guy Fawkes night on November 5th.) […]
Lychee Cake with Aquafaba
Funny, it was only after I’d finished the Zen River Cookbook a few years ago that more attention in the media started going towards vegan cooking, and vegan cakes in particular. Maybe living in the Netherlands, where cows are so much part of the culture and landscape, it took a while for it to surface? […]
Peruvian-Style Aguadito Soup with Coriander
Sometimes we are invited to Peru where Ryusho Sensei and his family live. It’s also the home of Zen River Lima who organise an annual event for Tenkei Roshi. They often invite us to do some sightseeing before flying home so this time we found ourselves staying in a lodge overlooking the Amazon! Over breakfast […]
Cream of Cauliflower Soup
After preparing a little too much cauliflower for lunch, what on earth was I going to do with the rest of it? Soup? Apparently so. We live in the The Netherlands after all and cauliflower is a happy staple that smiles at you all year round. Rather than bond it with a roux sauce – […]
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 workaround; 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-dried tomatoes […]