Zen is a school of Mahāyāna Buddhism. The Japanese word Zen is derived from the Chinese word Chán, which in turn is derived from the Sanskrit word dhyāna, which means “meditation” or “meditative state”.
Can food bring calm to our lives?
Can it bring enlightenment?
The school of bread and soup?
I think that school is the one my grandmother and her friends graduated from.
Soup is often considered a great witches cauldron – a brew for health that feeds the soul.
Bread is said to represent the body of Christ but for many it’s the time to be with one self – meditate – while kneading, it’s the learning of patience while rising, the sharing of self while serving.
No matter where you grew up or what culture or religion shaped your life they all seem to have a commonality towards Moms and Grandmas stirring a pot of soup.
The weather has turned chilly, the wind is whistling past, the rain gave way for a few hours to winter sun. It’s time to warm the house and one’s soul.
Baking homemade bread to be truly simple. Just put flour, water, leaven and salt together and stir.
The smell of baking bread cannot be matched by any other I’ve ever found. Add to it the smells of a kitchen rich in flavors from garlic, to butter, cabbage, chicken, potatoes and more.
To inspire the baker in us all my favorite site is Mother Earth News. Discovered in the early 70′s I’ve lived through it’s pages for years.
Healthy No-knead Bread Recipes
Homemade Bread: Truly Easy and Delicious
Soup and Bread Are A Satisfying Pair
The Warmth of Soup
A chop here and stir there and suddenly the
Confetti Vegetable Soup
Start with 2 quarts of water, to which you may add any fresh vegetables you like: turnips, rutabagas, carrots, onions, potatoes (with the skins left on and scrubbed well), celery, lima beans, yellow squash, peas, corn, green beans, tomatoes, etc. Start the root vegetables first, then add the quicker-cooking ones. The idea is to make this soup as colorful as possible, so dice the vegetables into bite-sized pieces that look like confetti.
Season the broth with minced garlic, 1 teaspoon of sage or thyme and 1 tablespoon of vegetable salt. If the soup seems watery, pour a little of the hot liquid into 1/4 cup of plain yogurt and blend the mixture well so that it has no lumps. Then stir the thickener into the main pot and dish up!
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My Grandmother and her friends talked and thought as they worked. The vegetables were often gathered versus bought and often more than a single garden supplied the bounty. The chopping got harder and louder as the passion of the conversation flew. The gossip of life and the stories of the neighborhood were gathered and shared. The same homes hosted the wakes and celebrated lives passing through food.
MatchaGT is nature’s natural source of energy and antioxidants. Used for centuries in Japanese tea ceremonies, Matcha provides a powerful pick-me-up plus antioxidants and other health benefits to keep the body, mind and spirit in perfect balance. A great drink to sit and share your stories over.
