Wednesday, December 8, 2010

have Buddha, will travel...

The day before the annual 10 day Thanksgiving retreat all things were mindfully topsy-turvy.
Spirits were high and there was a pleasant buzz around the monastery in anticipation of the retreat. The many retreat accoutrements were being packed up and loaded into sangha members' cars, to be driven down to the Angela Center in Santa Rosa.

All things aligned perfectly to allow the retreat to go on:
Ajahn Pasanno agreed to teach-(last year at this time, who would have imagined Ajahn Amaro moving to England!!!)
Paul Friedlander offered to be the registrar-
Paul Eaton offered to cook-
Cyndia Hitesi offered manage-
Juliann offered to teach movement-
sadhu, sadhu, sadhu!!!



Day's Menu:
Kale Salad with Sesame Seeds & Arame
(this is our new favorite dish)

1 cup arame seaweed, soaked in plenty of warm water for about 15 minutes
2 bunches curly or Tuscan kale, leaves removed from the stems and sliced very thinly
2 carrots
3 scallions, sliced very thinly
2 tablespoons of sesame seeds
3 tablespoons toasted sesame oil
3 tablespoons umeboshi plum vinegar

1. Bring a pot of water to a boil, add the shredded kale and cook until just tender, about 5 minutes or so. Drain the kale and rinse under cold water, then drain very well, squeezing out as much water as you can, and place it in a large bowl. the kale will be very compresses at this point so take a minute and fluff it back up by pulling it apart.

2. Drain the arame and press out as much water as you can. Add the arame to the kale and toss well.

3. Whisk together the sesame oil and umeboshi vinegar.

4. Add the carrots, scallions, sesame seeds, and dressing-toss everything together.

We used 6 bunches of kale
and gomashio instead of sesame seeds.



bagels, cream cheese, and lox

9 bagels and 1 loaf of German rye bread

plus for the kitchen:
2 bottles of olive oil
2 quarts of honey
3 bags of hard candy for wan phra