Savor the Expanding Joy
I love my greens.
Inside a portable tiffin they comingle with herbs, cooked vegetables, and rice. I bring it with me to the yoga studio for breakfast after I teach. As students put away their mats and don their jackets and boots, they curiously peer into my little stainless steel bowl.
Salad for breakfast?
Yes. And a mainstay for me at every meal.
Kale and collards, spinach and Swiss chard, arugula, beet greens and bok choy. I love this poignantly earthly food.
But not only when I’m eating it.
I love the preparation.
I take my time.
I hold the leaves.
Cherish their stems and ribs.
Honor every stalk.
Respect the veins and their textural sheen.
This bunch was once part of the earth and soon it will become my body.
I keep it simple. Food like this just needs to be fresh, not complicated.
My favorite recipe, like most relationships in my life, came naturally.
I want you to have it too.
Massaged Kale (Rated PG-13)
1 head of curly kale
1/2 Avocado ( If you like it really creamy, use a whole one.)
1/4 cup(ish) Olive oil
Juice of about ½ lemon
Salt to taste
Tear the kale leaves from the rib. Don’t be fancy, skip the chef’s knife and use your hands. Wash the kale and then spin it or towel it dry. Tear into bite size pieces. Place kale in a big bowl and drizzle in the olive oil. Sprinkle the salt. Squeeze in the lemon. Scoop out the avocado and add that too.
Now massage.
I mean it.
Take off your rings, roll up your sleeves, get your hands in there, and worship that kale.
Get busy with handfuls at a time until every blissful leaf is voraciously lubed. This takes some time, be patient, be sensitive, be loving.
Look at it.
Meditate on how the kale submits to your hands.
This is food of the earth, and you’re holding it and loving it, the way it is going to love you once it enters your body.
Taste it off your fingertips. You’ll know when it’s ready.
Your hands at this point will be fully coated with oil, lemon, salt, avocado, and bits of kale. Scrape the bigger leaves into the bowl and then go ahead and lick your palms. This is why I will never be a professional chef. Do not be shy, go all out. If you have a good friend over, let them have a taste too.
Once you are done, your hands will probably still be slick with this delicious dressing. This is nature’s moisturizing body scrub. Do not wash it off, rather massage what’s there into your hands like the luxuriant lotion that it is. Way better and more natural than anything from a bottle.
If you really must clean your hands at this point, rinse them under warm water but do not scrub and if you can avoid it, stay away from soap. Gently pat your hands to dry. They will thank you. They will be so soft. And tasty.
Top this salad with a bunch of fresh herbs like cilantro, parsley, or mint; you know what you like. Now go serve this delicious meal to someone you love. Or if no one is there, eat it yourself and savor every piece.
Sure, it may be nice to have some other food too, especially if you need something stick-to-your-ribs, but seriously, this is an astonishingly fabulous, beautiful, perfect meal in itself. There is so much love in it, no one will notice that it’s just kale. And really, it’s not. It’s your heart in a bowl.
The Sun and Moon and Earth
Danced together
To bring you this delight.
Receive the nectar on your tongue
As a kiss of the divine.
- excerpted from The Radiance Sutras, by Lorin Roche
Curious about the meditation of cooking, the yoga of eating? There are myriad ways to dive in to a practice, let’s find yours. Private coaching is available. Contact me.