Life and Spirituality

Spinach mixed with Balsam flowers growing against a  boundary wall in author's home A n earlier post had described that if one had space indoors and light through windows then it is a lovely idea to grow herbs and other things indoors in pots. However, if the season is right and you have some space to garden outdoors then mixing in leafy vegetables like spinach, celery, goosefoot, lettuce etc. is a wonderful idea in flower beds. They look wonderful as shown in the picture from my garden. It shows spinach growing in with balsam flowers in a small strip against a boundary wall. Then one can go on to add small fruit trees and berry bushes in the garden too. Just a bit of a lemon tree is visible on the right of the picture. One may also include herbal bushes like basil, sage and curry leaf in the garden. I have several in mine. When there are edible things growing around the garden, then one can make any meal delightful by adding some fresh organic green things picked ri

  W hile just plain steamed vegetables are nice in a traditional western dinner of roast, sausages or grill, these must remain side dishes on the dinner plate. However, increasingly based on new health studies or for spiritual reasons many are shunning or reducing meat in their diets. In this latter case it is possible to make a main dish out of vegetables provided one uses the right recipes for stir fried vegetables; these can make a delicious and wholesome main dish on a dinner plate. In this latter case just one or two hard boiled eggs, a salad and buttered bread on the side makes a complete and nourishing dinner that delights mind, body and soul. The following tips and spices will be helpful for any interested reader The Simple Stir fry Stir fried vegetables are prepared by heating a little butter, clarified butter or cooking oil in a pan or pot and then adding chosen seasoning and vegetables to it, followed by a little stirring and cooking with a cover in the pa

  Kanji, the vegetable drink H ere is a wonderful drink made from a few select vegetables. It is a great accompaniment for lunch. It shall contribute to good health while adding a sparkle to a meal. In North-Western India it is called Kanji and in West Asia it is known by a different name that I forget now and once when a friend from Poland visited he said that they make it in Eastern Europe too. I have not found it in Western Europe or North America though during my travels and it is time they learned about it because it is very simple to make. It has a pungent acidic taste that is pleasant with a meal once you acquire the taste and that does not take more than a couple of glasses of it. There are several variations of the drink but here is the recipe from my home: Ingredients Four liters drinking water Half kg turnips Quarter kg Beetroots Quarter kg Carrots (The darker the better) A finger of Ginger A few bay leaves and sticks of cinnamon (optional)

Fruit and Vegetable Seller, Louise Moillon, 1631. Musée du Louvre V egetables and fruits come from plants that are a complimentary life form. They have genes, chromosomes and blood (chlorophyll) just like us except that at the center of the blood molecules in plants there is a magnesium atom instead of iron and therefore its color is green. Different shades of green in plants are because we see this green blood in combination with other plant matter that differs from plant to plant.   The Universe created the two different life forms so that they may support each other and prosper together. Our waste including the carbon dioxide we breathe out as well as the other waste we produce daily is fresh food and air for plants. When we pass away, the bodies we leave behind provides more food for plants. Similarly the exhaled waste breath of plants- oxygen is fresh air for us. However while plants satisfy themselves with our waste we go further and kill them too for our food