[Arts]: Zen and Food

[GloriaMeiseiko]

Hello!
Taking a look at this part of the forum I realized that there was no food and recipes thread, I do not know if it is because it is not considered an art or because it is not something that interests. If so, please delete this message.

Or maybe because there is the famous topic of being vegan/vegetarian/pisciterian...in Buddhism.

Would a thread for us to upload our recipes be useful to the sangha?
It might be interesting since we are a very international forum.

If so, I promise to upload my Spanish recipes (mostly vegetarian).

Sat/Lah

[Bion]

Hi, Gloria! Actually sounds nice. At some point we might've had this discussion I am sure.. I haven't checked the archives. Regardless, we all eat and with Rohatsu coming up, we can all use some ideas about what we could make that is appropriate for that.. Thanks for the initiative. Oh, and I have moved your post to the All Of Life area.

Gassho
sat and lah

[GloriaMeiseiko]

Thank you! I didn't quite know where to put this topic in the whole forum, it's still a bit complicated for me

Gassho
Sat/Lah

[Bion]

Thank you! I didn't quite know where to put this topic in the whole forum, it's still a bit complicated for me

Gassho
Sat/Lah

No worries. I didn't know where to put it either

Gassho

[Jundo]

What a lovely idea! Thank you, Gloria.

We have had a couple of brief threads in the distant past on Shojin Ryori, Japanese vegetarian temple cooking, including some small sharing of recipes. But it was a long time ago, and it is a great idea to expand ...

Shojin Ryori ; food for spiritual practice
Shojin Ryori (traditional meals in a Zen monastery)

Also, this Korean cook is sometimes mentioned ...

https://www.google.co.kr/amp/s/amp.theguardian.com/global/2016/oct/09/zen-and-the-art-of-korean-vegan-cooking?client=ms-android-lgu-kr

https://www.google.co.kr/amp/s/mobile.nytimes.com/2015/10/16/t-magazine/jeong-kwan-the-philosopher-chef.amp.html

Of course, Master Dogen's "Instructions for the Cook" is about the temple cook.

Gassho, J
stlah

[GloriaMeiseiko]

Thank you both, I love watching videos and recipes of vegetarian Buddhists, their precision and delicacy are impressive.
I worked as a kitchen assistant in oriental restaurants in Wales years ago, that's where my passion comes from. Although sometimes I feel like just warming up a pizza in the oven.

For me cooking is partly relaxation and zen practice, I notice that if I am concentrating on cutting the carrot, it tastes better (and I avoid cutting my fingers...).

If anyone else would like to share their recipes, great.

Gassho
Sat/Lah

[mdonnoe]

Hello, Gloria!

I served as Tenzo (head cook) for a Zen Center for a couple years, and relied mostly on recipes from the "Tassajara Recipe Book," which were a blend of "retreat recipes" cooked for the monastic community as well as foods cooked for temple guests at the Tassajara Monastery in California (I trained there briefly, 20 years ago).

You can get the book directly from the author Ed Brown's website here: https://peacefulseasangha.org/shop/
Ed Brown is a zen teacher and dharma heir of Suzuki-Roshi, and a super super nice person. He will sign the book for you too, if you ask!

When cooking for retreats, I was asked to make sure not to use what were called the "black foods" (meat, fish, eggs, onions, garlic and radishes), so that changed or eliminated some recipes from use in a retreat context. Outside of a retreat context (when cooking for guests and special events), I'd still cook everything vegan, but onions and the like were added back in (partly because I really love onions).

I hope this helps!

Gassho,
Michael

SatLah

[GloriaMeiseiko]

Hello, Gloria!

I served as Tenzo (head cook) for a Zen Center for a couple years, and relied mostly on recipes from the "Tassajara Recipe Book," which were a blend of "retreat recipes" cooked for the monastic community as well as foods cooked for temple guests at the Tassajara Monastery in California (I trained there briefly, 20 years ago).

You can get the book directly from the author Ed Brown's website here: https://peacefulseasangha.org/shop/
Ed Brown is a zen teacher and dharma heir of Suzuki-Roshi, and a super super nice person. He will sign the book for you too, if you ask!

When cooking for retreats, I was asked to make sure not to use what were called the "black foods" (meat, fish, eggs, onions, garlic and radishes), so that changed or eliminated some recipes from use in a retreat context. Outside of a retreat context (when cooking for guests and special events), I'd still cook everything vegan, but onions and the like were added back in (partly because I really love onions).

I hope this helps!

Gassho,
Michael

SatLah

Thank you very much!
It must have been very good to be all that time in the kitchen, I have always thought that it is the most interesting place in any Buddhist center.

I will save the website to remember to buy that book, it sure has some very interesting recipes.

My proposal is to show from our kitchens, as ¨tenzos¨ of a virtual sangha the common recipes that we do, it is not necessary that they are specifically Japanese or Zen, I think that a paella or a simple stew can be just as good for our practice.

Here is a sample, a paella from my Tibetan Buddhist days many years ago (Chakrasamvara Center, Seville)

11951926816_49288bbddf_o.jpg

Gassho
Sat/Lah

[Tai Do]

Thank you for bringing this idea, Gloria. I loved so much to cook when it was only my wife and I; but with three kids now the house (and the kitchen) is always a mess and I have been cooking less and less, not enjoying it so much (it difficult to make my spoiled daughters eat their vegetables and other less appealing foods for their tastes). By the way, I love paella... please share the recipe

Tai Do
Satlah

[Kokuu]

That is a lovely idea, Gloria!

Also, wonderful you served as tenzo, Michael! I love the Tassajara recipe book and Ed's Tassajara Bread Book also.

Several other sources around Zen and food include Gesshin Greenwood's book Just Enough in which she shares both recipes and stories from her time serving in kitchens in Japanese Zen monasteries, and the documentary How to Cook Your Life which follows Ed Brown (the author of above mentioned Tassajara cook books) as he teaches people about cooking and Zen: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0943512/

Gassho
Kokuu
-sattoday/lah-

[Shinshi]

It is probably worth noting that Espe (aka Ed) Brown was a guest speaker here in 2018.

https://forum.treeleaf.org/forum/treeleaf/treeleaf-community-topics-about-zen-practice/archive-of-older-threads/10915-attention-special-zazenkai-sunday-with-rev-edward-espe-brown-the-tassajara-tenzo

He has a number of books and has a DVD entitled How to Cook Your Life (the title of one of his excellent books)

There is also a book by Gesshin Clair Greenwood entitled "Just Enough: Vegan Recipes and Stories from Japan’s Buddhist Temples" that is an interesting read and has a lot of recipes. She also wrote the great book "Bow First, Ask Questions Later: Ordination, Love, and Monastic Zen in Japan" about here experience of going to Japan and living in a monastery.

There are a number of other "Zen" cookbooks out there as well.

(editing to add: Kokuu beat me to the Clair Greenwood book while I was typing <g>)

Gassho, Shinshi

SaT-LaH

[Jundo]

Just a note that Japanese Buddhists tend NOT to be strictly vegetarian (for the most part, except some by personal choice.) However, in practice settings ... in the temple or monastery, and at Buddhist events ... they tend to serve only vegetarian food. Perhaps we should honor that tradition in our recipes here? The Indian Buddha, and many Buddhists in places like Thailand and Tibet, tend NOT to be strictly vegetarian, with the rule being that one eats whatever is donated and "placed in one's bowl." Even so, vegetarianism is encouraged. The Chinese tend to be strictly vegetarian for a variety of reasons, including a greater emphasis on animals as sentient beings than was found in India. The Japanese are more earthy ... about not only meat, but about marriage and alcohol too ... and tend to take a more "all things in moderation" (hopefully ) approach to such things.

When I was in Taiwan recently, at Buddhist events and places, I ate AMAZING vegetarian cuisine. The thing is that they do such amazing things with mushrooms, tofu and some other vegetables that it tastes JUST LIKE beef, pork, chicken and fish (or darn close.) My joke was to ask if I was picking up faux-bad karma by eating the faux-meat, and maybe I will be reborn as a faux-cow?

I myself will not claim to be strictly vegetarian, although I try to greatly reduce meat consumption, believe that animals may not think of these things the way we people do (so long as they are humanely treated), and look forward to the day that we replace meat with coming substitutes.

However, maybe we should stick with vegetarian recipes here, in respect for Buddhist custom.

Gassho, J
stlah

PS - Yes, Buddhists will traditionally avoid the garlic and onions. There are many reasons, including that they were thought to stimulate lust and desire ... not to mention that everyone had to live together in small spaces. Honestly, I do not think that such tradition needs to be strictly followed unless you are sitting in a Zen Hall shoulder to shoulder. I was just reading on this actually LINK.

[michaelw]

By coincidence I just ordered JapanEasy by Tim Anderson cookbook.
There is a vegan edition too which I think I would have preferred.
Tried some recipes I found online over that last year and pickled cucumber with ginger is a favourite.
Cooking is still fusion not wholly Japanese. Tonight we shall have teriyaki salmon with tender stem and a tahini dressing.
Looking forward to exchanging recipes.

Gassho
MichaelW

satlah

[Matt Johnson]

I have worked in restaurants most of my life. I won't get into all the reasons why. Consequently, I don't even know if I know how (or rather it doesn't make sense) to cook by recipe except when baking or making "costing cards" to determine the price of a meal.

Its more like I make something and then work backwards to the recipe. I was briefly tenzo at Sogenji but there, as much in home life, it seems to be you have a bunch of ingredients and you have to make something tasty out of it.

Sometimes those ingredients are rotting. Sometimes there's weevils in the rice. Sometimes you get a big donation of onions from a grocery store and you have to figure out how to dehydrate them. Sometimes you get a donation of ginger so you have to pickle a bunch in a hurry. Sometimes you're feeding 10 people. sometimes you're feeding 40... But a lot of this is less like recipes and more like making buckets of slop (mindful slop). Sorry I'm just being real here for a moment.

Don't get me wrong when I have the time. I really like to make a nice meal but as it's my job these days I probably have a much different relationship to it. But I would like to share a cultural dish at some point when I get the chance. I make a nice vegetarian poutine (which could be vegan if you had vegan cheese). I'll post it here soon.

_/\_
sitting now /ah
matt

[Gooey]

This is an exciting thread for me as cooking and food are one of my great passions in life. Working and volunteering in community kitchens, teaching fermentation and cooking workshops, and just cooking for friends and loved ones has been some of the most fulfilling work I’ve had the opportunity to do. I’m always learning more about food! It’s been great reading what people have shared so far.

One recipe that I’ve appreciated lately is an excellent recipe for a chicken-style seitan (faux meat made from gluten) that really nails the texture (although having eaten vegan for over 20 years I fully admit my recollection may be foggy). You can find it here: https://www.theppk.com/2021/01/every...chickn-seitan/

Gassho,
Gooey
(sat/LAH)