Cooking for Peace

I feel happiest and most at peace when I am grounded.

Because I have a predominantly vata constitution (see Know Your Dosha: Ayruveda 101, June 3, 2014), which is light, airy and quick to change, being grounded does not come naturally to me. I have to work at it.

Home-made capsules of blessed
thistle powder and Perfect Food
(also in green and white tub), a
dish of empty capsules, flowers
from the new Trader Joe's.

For me, being grounded means I'm thinking clearly, feeling well and sleeping well. I'm calm, patient, compassionate and confident. To stay grounded I meditate, practice yoga, garden, walk, and receive polarity therapy.

I also do some less obvious things - clean the house, brush the dog and make capsules from herbs - physical tasks that require little thinking, yet keep me focused in the present moment.

One of the things that grounds me the most is often overlooked by people searching for serenity: cooking. I love to cook: to chop vegetables, smell simmering spices, create something out of nothing.

A few days ago I was feeling a little out of sorts and decided to make a variation on a chicken stir-fry recipe by Emeril. I always start with a recipe, then alter it depending on what's in the fridge and pantry. This time I changed the chicken to tofu and the green beans and cashew to broccoli, carrots, onions and chinese cabbage (a less expensive alternative to bok choy. I actually like it better.)

Tofu, vegetables and basmati rice
adapted from a recipe by Emeril

The key to this recipe is the hoisin sauce, which has a bit of a kick as well as a bit of sweet, so it doesn't really matter what ingredients you use. The recipe also calls for soy sauce, sesame oil, Asian spice blend, garlic, red pepper flakes and sesame seeds. Yum!!!

So, I cooked and I ate and I felt so much better. And then I gave some to my son, a somewhat selective eater, and he ate it, too! Then I truly felt at peace. I didn't even mind that he topped it with Frank's RedHot sauce.