Zenful Kitchen

February 18, 2022 Sharon Jacobson

Zenful Kitchen

Recently I was asked why I describe my kitchen as zenful. It is because I am intentional about keeping the feeling here relaxing and filled with calming energy. I love cooking by myself sometimes because it is easy for me to just cook and be present and not be influenced by the energy of others. It reminds me of an experience I had as a teen where I was sitting in a small rowboat in the middle of the lake by myself. I wasn’t rowing or anything. I was just sitting there in my boat, feeling the warmth of the sun and the coolness of the summer breeze. I just was.

That is not to say I don’t like having others in the kitchen with me; I do. However, I have to remember to maintain my peaceful presence in the midst of others so that the kitchen stays calm and relaxing. If I am not the calming presence in the space, things can easily get pulled out of balance by others stress and need to be in control. If I don’t do anything, things can go wrong. So I stay the calm in the storm and restore balance, peace and that zenful feeling.

I remember a scripture in the New Testament where Jesus and the disciples are on a boat in the storm and everyone is panicking but Jesus who is sleeping through it. After they wake him up, he just looks at the storm and says peace, be still. In the kitchen when I stay solid and calm, others do not panic and we are most likely to keep that zenful energy in my kitchen.

There are times that I have those rough waves and storms in my kitchen. Sometimes my friends want to help but get stressed out because of their own lack of confidence over what they are doing. The teacher in me has to remind them to breathe and have fun in the moment. This is how we learn and create amazing memories. In the midst of these moments, we learn how speak to the nervousness and say breathe, I can do this. I have also had people try to boss me around in my kitchen because of their need to be in control. Sometimes, I suggest we work together and collaborate, after all we are not in a competition. Other times, I delegate parts of the meal and act more like the conductor of an orchestra so that we all play together and serve up a meal that comes together in perfect harmony.

There are things which help me stay zenful in the kitchen. One thing is my remembering to take time to meditate and be at peace as I roll in. This is especially true when preparing a feast for company like I am this weekend. I remind myself to enjoy each moment and to infuse love into all that I make. I also envision the whole process so I know the least stressful and most enjoyable way to experience the day. I think about what I am doing and what it symbolizes, like how coring 5 lbs of apples for my apple crisp is an opportunity for me to think about my core values. I think about how the apples will be coated in ingredients which will help with their transformation and add flavor to them as they cook. I think about the vegetables I will be adding to my salad and what each one brings to the party I want people to experience as they eat. I try to remember that people experience love and comfort at the table in different ways. While I love my lasagna, I enjoy soup more (especially this time of year). Thus the menu this weekend will contain soup, salad, lasagna, garlic bread and a bubbling apple crisp with vanilla ice cream and homemade caramel sauce.

What I love doing most in the kitchen is infusing love and zenfulness into everything I make. I want everyone to not only taste the love but experience it. Each meal should be creating a memorable moment, one bite at a time. There is nothing like being at the table with those we love that nobody wants to leave. This is what happens in the zenful kitchen.

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Bowls for Veggies

September 28, 2018 Sharon Jacobson

When we began this new vegan journey, I had no idea how much I would be learning and considering as I planned out our menu for the week. Not that I stick to it exactly, however, it helps me think through how much I am preparing and what I need and am I making sure we are getting enough of all the nutrients we need. There are so many processed vegan products and we have been trying where possible to avoid those. However, making our own seitan to make “chicken” patties and other faux meat products can be a bit more time consuming then our schedule allows.

The other challenge can be that Zoe and I have different palettes and love different kinds of food. Zoe loves foods that are crunchy, salty, sweet, and fried. As a friend of ours says about her husband, you can be an unhealthy vegan, especially when you are filling your diet with deep fried everything, ice cream, and foods that are loaded in pasta, pizza dough, etc. I tend to like more vegetables, especially the ones Zoe does not like, such as eggplant.

When we find something we both like we get uber excited, as that rarely happens.

Ceramic Egg Cooker

July 26, 2017 Sharon Jacobson

Sometimes it is the simplest things in life that can inspire you and motivate you to do and see things differently. Take for example, the Pampered Chef Ceramic Egg Cooker. It is simply a ceramic vessel that allows you to cook up a healthy breakfast in just a few minutes. Put eggs in it, shake them up, and your favorite ingredients and put in the microwave. That’s it right?

Honestly, though I have come to realize there are some powerful lessons in this egg cooker. The lid has a vent hole which lets steam escape as you cook and includes a silicone gasket, which keeps the lid secure. We can easily understand why this is important when microwaving, as we do not want things boiling over and making a mess. In our own lives, we so often have moments or situations which make us want to blow a gasket, and thus we create messes, or contribute to messy situations in our lives. The vent hole reminds me that I need to ensure that I have people, places, and things I do which allow me to vent without losing my temper. One of the things which allows me to let off steam is cooking. I will pull out my manual food processor and chop up lots of onions, and other vegetables. I also meditate, sit in my rocking chair, go for a roll around the block, have a need to keep it real with the Ultimate Consciousness and go sit in my meditation and prayer garden and surrender it to the Universe.

Peace, Kale, and Potatoes

April 5, 2017 Sharon Jacobson

The other day I was listening to someone near and dear to my heart. I would say we were having a conversation, but really, they just needed me to sit and listen. Sometimes we all need that in our lives. After we hung up, I found myself sitting with sadness about how bitter and hardened their heart was. Somehow that led to me thinking about two vegetable potatoes, because when we bring them home from the store are hardened, and kale which can be bitter if not treated properly. Interestingly when transformed, they can become soft, tender, and nutritious.

Kale can be quite bitter, but massaging it with one’s hands causes it to break down the structure of the kale and causes it to wilt, change color and shrink. You can also add a little olive oil or salt to assist with the process if desired, however, in most cases, a little tender loving care will do. Isn’t that how our hearts can be as well. Sometimes we have allowed life to harden our heart and cause us to become bitter. I remember being part of a meditation group once where we were told to see ourselves opening our chests and taking our hearts out and examining its condition. Was it smooth and soft or were there hardened spots. In those places where our hearts had hardened, we were guided to gently massage our hearts, like the kale, until they had returned to their softened texture and we had transformed them. Then we gently placed our hearts back in our chest and secured them in place allowing ourselves to feel the release of all that which had hardened our hearts. Sometimes, we need to work with our hearts, like we do with kale and gently massage away that which has caused our hearts to harden.

Lacking Enthusiasm

July 8, 2015 Sharon Jacobson

This morning I was seeking inspiration and came across this blog about dogs who are not enthusiastic eaters. I had to laugh because the only time I had known a dog who did not eat with enthusiasm was when they were sick. However, as I read this piece I realized that a lot of her advice had to do with people as well personally and spiritually. So today, I am trying something a bit different and my responses to her are in italics.

Most dogs are eager eaters. You’d be hard-pressed to find a dog that actually knows how to chew.

However, there are some dogs who don’t eat well. Some are finicky about what foods they eat while others are just less than enthusiastic about the whole experience. There are temporary circumstances when your dog’s appetite may suffer and that includes vaccinations, illnesses, changes in the household, changes in his normal routine or travel. But these are usually short lived decreases in his appetite that will return to normal without much delay.

Food, Joy, and Happiness

July 4, 2012 Sharon Jacobson

At a dinner gathering a while back, one of our guests told me that my cooking made her feel so happy. As I spoke with her more about this, I came to realize that it had little to do with what I had made, or even about what she had eaten. What made her feel happy was the love she experienced sitting at our table. Sometimes we think food can make us happy. I will be the first one to tell you that a plate of sushi or sashimi will always bring a smile to my face. Digging the goodies out the ice cream is always a fun thing for me to do. When I was a child, I always loved twisting the cookies apart and licking the middle of the Oreo’s and sucking the cream out of the Twinkies.

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