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 […]
Mashed Potatoes with Kale
This is a classic winter recipe from The Netherlands; Stamppot. A homey dish of boiled potatoes and other vegetables mashed together with milk and butter. Once served, everyone makes a hole in the top of their mash and like an erupting volcano fills it to overflowing with strong gravy . As most of our Dutch residents […]
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 […]
Pumpkin Okayu
Several years ago, Hoitsu Suzuki Roshi (son of the late author Shunryu Suzuki Roshi) had been invited to Zen River as Jokeshi (official witness) to a Shusohossen ceremony. It would be a perfect occasion to serve a Japanese-style breakfast with okayu and miso soup and all the pre-requisite condiments; pickled ume plums, toasted nori seaweed, […]
Lavender & Nut Dressing
One day, a friend of ours came from Hawaii to visit Zen River and brought along a small sachet of culinary lavender. First we made lavender cake. Quite yummy. Then I thought, hey, it might work well in a creamy, nutty salad dressing? It did. And if you enjoy the flavour, as well as the […]
Chunky Orange Marmalade
Orange marmalade. Love it. If I didn’t like cooking so much I’d probably eat marmalade and buttered toast at least twice a day – followed by a mug of Britain’s finest black tea steeped for ages and drowned in (soy) milk. So if like me – and my Dutch hubby no less – you have […]
Water Melon Gazpacho
An international favorite this one was. Not just because of the taste but because the colour was blooming amazing. The August heatwave was still in full throttle so a chilled soup was most definitely in order. Sitting zazen in the sweltering heat for sesshin were participants from twelve nationalities, including quite a few members from […]
Courgette Soup
It’s summer time, it’s hot and dry, and the sky refuses to rain. All the potential storms keep missing the garden. Even our new cat is taking shelter under my desk as it’s the coolest place in the house. (Although he might still be feeling a little shy.) In spite of the heat, standing over […]
Cocoa & Coconut Oats with Fruit
Liz, a close friend of mine, recently sent a link about the foodie craze that hit the US ages ago; Overnight Oats. Of course, I missed it. It’s even in the snack-to-go section in the supermarkets these days. But never mind, as one of my other friends likes to say when something goes amiss. Better late than never. […]
Chocolate Cherry Vegan Cake
After a few try-outs to make a chocolate cake sans dairy and eggs, this could be a keeper because after the morning coffee-break I found a mystery note lying on the kitchen counter that read; Later someone was surprised to hear it was egg and dairy-free as she thought those kind of cakes can sometimes […]