Cooking is a way of processing Life. On most days of the week, I spend at the very least an hour in the kitchen prepping and cooking food. I have come to love this time. It helps me to be more intimate with the food I'm going to put into my body and to connect with the entire process of preparing, consuming and digesting a meal as a sacred thing.
I took on a new eating pattern in the 75 days leading up to the wedding: consuming just fruits and vegetables 3/7 days of the week. On most other days, I continued to eat well with the exception of a few indulgences.
I look around and see that everyone needs a way of channeling stress continuously. For me practicing Yoga, meditation, journaling, walking and honest communication are primary methods of transforming harmful stress into growthful stress. Cooking is the cherry that goes on top.
It doesn’t happen often that I engage in addictive behavior. While we were on our honeymoon, we maintained our routines and were able to receive perspective on ourselves and our lives. One of the major elements that provided perspective while in Mexico was witnessing from afar the simple lives of the people who live in the quiet town of San Miguel:
It was snippets of moments…standing on our rooftop patio watching several children who probably all lived in the same small apartment play soccer together on the street…passing the same vendor each day on the road who roasted and sold corn to passersbys…walking by a mother with her two children and hearing the little girl say in Spanish, “He hit me!”
San Miguel De Allende: Photo by Jezael Melgoza on Unsplash
The first few days of our honeymoon, my mind wanted to keep moving. I thought to myself and said to Michael a few times, “I couldn’t live here because we have to keep getting things done. We have to keep moving forward with our mission and give our dharmas to the world.” After three or four days, my mind relaxed and I settled in.
One question I continued to put forward was, “What are we receiving by being here? How is it adding to our lives?” Part of the reason I felt flustered upon arrival was because I couldn’t immediately answer this question. Gradually I realized the fruit would make itself known in time and continue to make itself known in ways mysterious and unexpected.
Michael and I both visualized how we wanted to expand our offerings to the Fort Worth community within and outside of Elemental Yoga. I kept coming back to cooking. It seems like a simple thing to say but it was a profound revelation.
Every single day we were there I wanted to cook for us. It is true that I do this at home daily. But home doesn’t hold the same vantage point as the mountains. A light bulb went on inside my head: Cooking may be part of my vocation. I want to continue my cooking education. I want to deepen my education in Ayurveda. I want to teach people how to cook healthy and how to form healthy eating patterns.
My recent commitment to eat fruits and vegetables only for three out of seven days of the week was a wonderful long term cleanse. I highly suggest it to anyone. It is especially a good cleanse to do during the summer: the body craves fruits and veggies over grains and dairy.
Buying fruits and vegetables locally is even better. This strengthens the body’s immunity to local viruses and bacteria by building up the body’s microbiome with local bacteria. Below is a recipe that uses local green beans, cherry tomatoes and red onions all from Elizabeth Anna’s Old World Garden.
Yummy Raw Green Bean Salad:
Veggie Mix:
2.5-3 cups green beans
1/3 red onion
1 cup cherry tomatoes
Marinade Mix:
1 T garlic diced finely
1 T agave
1 T olive oil
2 T vinegar
1/4 t salt
1/4 t dill
Chop the edges off the fresh green beans and rinse. Finely dice ⅓ of a red onion. I chose not to chop the cherry tomatoes just because they are so full of juice that I didn’t want to lose any, but you have the option to keep them whole or chop them in half. Combine together all ingredients in the marinade mix and toss the veggies in the mix. Let marinade for 2 hours. Enjoy!