Master Classes and Party Celebrating National Release of “simple Recipes for Joy” in San Francisco last weekend.
The menu for the book signing party was:
Spicy Tempeh
Asian Noodles
Maharini Dal
Saffron Rice
Insteada Tuna Salad
Simple Sauteed Collard Greens
Kanten dessert
& choice of herbal teas…
There were about 100+ students packing the studio room that afternoon … kudos to the chef, Phillip Gelb of In the Mood for Food Catering, as there were enough food, so much that many were going back for seconds – all dishes from Sharon’s book, nicely served on, of course, recycled paper plates… It was delicious! The best part is not only is it tasty while eating it, afterwards, you feel good about eating – really felt that you were eating not only, the nutritious, the right foods, but they were Kind foods – good for our Karma.
Yes, my plate was cleaned up like his in the photo and I would have gone back for a second had it not been for the fact that, I had just broken a 3-days near-fast diet with this meal so… needless to say, I was stuffed from just one plate. Kanten is very Japanese and have always loved Kanten dessert so that made me very happy that many of her dishes are Japanese ingredient inspired, such as Nori, hijiki, Miso, glass noodles, she introduces – & Onigiri (rice ball – Japanese comfort food) are in there! It made me very happy that she is fond of them. Actually, being vegetarian is probably not that difficult for most Japanese as it is reported in the 1920s, the Japanese society was 90% vegetarian… Vegan is a step beyond in the realm of shōjin-ryōri, a vegetarian cuisine developed by Buddhist monks. What I loved about what she said is that her recipes are “simple” as the book’s title describes. Japanese shojin ryori is yes, wonderful – an art form and often symbolic – but unless you have a lot of time and hands, its not that easy to create at home all by yourself without years of training – so this book is mindful of how we live in this modern world where labor and time are resources that are precious and scarce.(especially when you are trying to schedule in a 90 minutes yoga class on regular basis!) I really loved what she said in respect to cooking and eating. Her words reflected her understanding of how we live in this highly demanding modern world:
“Not everybody can do head-stands everyday but everybody can and do eat everyday.”
“These recipes are simple and if you have to spend more than one hour cooking any of my recipes, I’d feel I have failed.”
Love the cover of this book (and of course the content:)! It’s a take from Alice in Wonderland, one of my favorite children’s books… This book has beautiful photos and would make a great gift (Christmas, birthdays, couples tie a knot, it’s a beautiful day, get well, etc.) for any body who eats; whether they cook or not, whether Vegan or not. It’s really geared for anyone and everyone because as she puts it, the recipes are simple – its accessible to all …and transformative no doubt. Just look and feel the beauty she radiates that transcends time and space.
