Category: Book

Vegan Recipes – The Lotus Kitchen – Fresh Zen Spring Rolls

Skip Jennings & Gwen Keannelly

Skip Jennings & Gwen Keannelly

This week’s Fresh Zen Spring Rolls recipe comes from my upcoming book with Gwen Keannelly, “The Lotus Kitchen”. This book intends to offer more than just a gingerly curated collection of healthy and boldly flavored recipes; it’s a culinary journey fused with a spiritual component that encourages you to explore an engaged and meaningful pathway to empowerment through yoga and enhance your existing practice with thoughtful food preparation and mindful eating.  Who doesn’t like spring rolls? They are the perfect finger food that satisfies that hunger pang or main course companion.

Fresh Zen Spring Rolls

8 sheets rice paper (6 inch rounds)
1 bunch cilantro
32 basil leaves
1 red pepper, thinly sliced
1 bunch green onions, thinly sliced
2 carrots, thinly sliced to long ribbons
16 ounces cooked tofu, thinly sliced
1 small head red cabbage, thinly sliced to long ribbons
½ cup peanuts, chopped

Arrange equal amounts of tofu and vegetables in eight separate piles. You will follow this procedure with each of the eight wraps. Moisten the rice paper either by brushing a thin layer of water or simply sprinkling a little water with your fingers. The key is to make the stiff rice paper more malleable. Place the cilantro and basil leaves in the center of the circle. Add the cabbage, red pepper, green onion, carrots and tofu. Sprinkle the chopped peanuts over the vegetables. Fold rice paper in half, then fold over the sides and roll tightly from the bottom up. Slice the roll in half on the diagonal and serve with peanut sauce. Serves 8.

Peanut Sauce 

2 cups crunchy peanut butter
½ cup fresh lime juice
½ cup fresh orange juice
¼ cup soy sauce
1/2 cup rice vinegar
3 tablespoons crushed red pepper
2 inches fresh ginger, peeled and chopped
5 cloves garlic
½ cup fresh cilantro

Mince the garlic and ginger. In the bowl of a food processor fitted with a steel blade add the rest of the ingredients and blend until smooth. You can add less pepper if you are shy about the kick. Taste the sauce and add more soy and peppers to suit your taste. Add more orange juice for desired consistency. Add the fresh cilantro just before serving. You can either serve it warm or at room temperature.

The Practice: Like the Fresh Spring Roll creation, there are many unique parts of the body temple. In yoga we begin our practice by becoming aware of our body temple. We gently awaken our body as we invite all parts of self to participate in and benefit from the experience. Ginger, citrus, soy and cilantro all subtly awaken the palate while the peppers startle with power.  There are over 1,400 varieties of ginger and its healing properties are legendary. Welcome ginger to quiet rumbly stomachs, thwart a summer cold or even ease the discomfort of osteoarthritis. Red peppers are high in Vitamin A and stimulate circulation.

Mind Awareness Mediation Instruction:meditation

The body awareness meditation can be done two ways:

1. In a seated or standing position connect your mind and thoughts to one body part.  As you think about the body part, breath deeply and become aware of how it feels.  Send thoughts of healing and loving energy to that particular area and continue the body is feeling whole and complete.

2. The meditation can also be done by taking a moment to contract or squeeze each body part, starting with the hands, moving up the arms and then moving to the thighs and legs, repeating until the body is alive and awake.  Like the first option, empowering thought and mantras, along with breathing, will enhance the meditative practice.

Chris Chen Eats Raw, Sweet Beet Soup, Body Connection, Inspired Conversations

Blog Highlights of the WeekKelli-custom hat1

 

Vegan Recipes – Lotus Kitchen – Sweet Beet Soup

Skip Jennings & Gwen Keannelly

Skip Jennings & Gwen Keannelly

Welcome to The Lotus Kitchen, a place of being and a space of the mind where yoga and vegetarian cooking entwine. This book intends to offer more than a gingerly curated collection of healthy and boldly flavored recipes; it’s a beacon that shines light toward an awakened way of life. A journey that encourages you to explore an engaged and meaningful pathway to empowerment through yoga and enhance your existing practice with thoughtful food preparation and mindful eating.

Look for more Lotus Kitchen Recipes soon online and in stores.

Sweet Beet Soup

Beets are a gift for the body temple. They provide an energy boost, purify the blood, offer tryptophan to nurture mental health and contain vitamins A and C and niacin. They’re available year round and this soup is a colorful way to nourish guests and self.

1 tablespoon olive oil
2 medium red onions
1 (4 inch) piece fresh ginger, peeled
6 cloves garlic, peeled
8 cups vegetable stock
2 pounds beets
2 pounds carrots
Pinch of kosher salt
½ teaspoon white pepper

Roughly chop the carrots, beets, red onions, peeled ginger and garlic. Toss with olive oil and place on sheet pan. Sprinkle with salt and pepper and roast for about one hour until tender. Move to soup pot and add the stock. Simmer over medium heat until the carrots are tender. Puree and season with salt and pepper. Serves 6

The Practice: Beets are also a top source of nitrates, which when converted to nitric oxide actually expands veins and arteries, allowing more blood to flow and carry oxygen to the brain. This makes beets a perfect wisdom food. Yoga stimulates the mind that creates clarity in one’s life.  The Hatha yoga pose shoulder stand or any inverted pose is for brain health.   The upside down poses allows oxygen to flow to the brain, while releasing pressure from the legs.  Shoulder stand is an excellent yoga pose. Like the beets it nourishes the brain with well-needed oxygen and rich blood flow.

Shoulder Stand Pose (Salamba Sarvangasana) Instruction: Lie flat on your mat and breathe easy.  Place both feet flat on the floor, hip-width apart with toes facing forward.  Tuck your chin towards the chest and place your hands to the side of the body on the floor.  Lift your hips and knees to the sky; raise your hands to your lumbar spine.  Steady your body by placing the weight of your body onto the elbows and shoulders.  When ready, extend the leg toward the sky.  While practicing the shoulder stand, visualize the oxygen flowing to the brain with ease and grace.  Create a mantra that incorporates the affirmations that the brain is full of oxygen; therefore thoughts are clear.

Vegan Recipes – Lotus Kitchen – Blueberry Mango Salad

Lotus Kitchen - Skip Jennings & Gwen Keannelly

Skip Jennings & Gwen Keannelly

Today’s Vegan recipe, Blueberry Mango Salad, is from my upcoming book, The Lotus Kitchen with Gwen Kenneally. Blueberries have some of the highest amounts of anti-inflammatory and antioxidant properties in nature. Coupled with mangos, agave nectar and finished with crystallized ginger it’s absolutely delicious.

In addition, this and most of the recipes in the book are paired with a practice and yoga balance piece and this week’s pose, savasana, is at the bottom.

Look for the Lotus Kitchen Recipes soon online and in stores.

Enjoy,

-Skip

Blueberry Mango Salad

4 limes
1 cup water
¼ cup agave nectar
2 large mangos, peeled and cut into 1-inch pieces
3 cups blueberries
1/4 cup finely chopped crystallized ginger

Blueberry Mango SaladRemove zest from one lime in strips with a vegetable peeler and cut any white pith from strips with a sharp knife. Squeeze juice from limes. Bring zest, water, and agave to a boil in a saucepan. Remove from heat and stir in lime juice. Let syrup stand 20 minutes, then remove zest with a slotted spoon and discard. Toss together mangoes, blueberries and syrup in a large bowl and sprinkle with ginger. Serves 4

The Practice: The nectar and sweetness of the fruit in this salad reminds us that the practice of yoga is sweet nectar as well. When we finish our daily practice of yoga we are reminded of how sweet life is. Physical practice brings us to a place of surrender and final relaxation called Shavasana, the corpse pose.  “Life is Good.”  To get to the nectar of yoga, we must work through the practice. The journey, in this experience, is to recognize the preparation of the salad is very much like the practice of yoga.  Once the salad is complete, sit and is still; enjoy every bite.  “Life is God.”
Yoga Corpse Pose (Savasana)Corpse Pose (Savasana) Instruction: We lay on our backs in full rest experiencing the pleasures of the breath and moment. It is also the final meditation of the practice where we remember that life is really really good.

 

Video Sale, Shifting Journeys, Minestrone Soup and My Meditations

Practice pinned on noticeboardSome Blog highlights

Peace and Blessings,

-Skip

Stepping outside the Black Box: The Power of Invitation by Emill Kim

Anxiously clutching rosary beads in my hand, I walked through the quiet church. Every one of my movement possessed a certain gravitas in the still of this sacred space. This was the church of my boyhood; I had gone to school here, learned my catechism, grown up here, and lost my faith here.

I stood quietly at the foot of the statue of the Virgin mother. I have been a student, a scientist, a doctor, some would say a scholar at times. But here, in this place I was a penitent asking for grace.

In this internal and external space, I felt my energy release.

I wept openly.

********************************

There are several expressions.

“We don’t know what we don’t know.”
“We are blind to our own problems.”
“It’s hard to see when you are in the middle of it.”

These are a few common aphorisms that transcend language and culture; The instinctual acknolweldgement of the limits of our perspective coming from our mortal origins.

One of the biggest clinical challenge I have is when someone cannot understand that their lifestyle, fears, and beliefs is the source of their pathology.

That chronic disorders, debilitating pain, lack of healing can comes from a belief structure not rooted in truth but in fear.

If the mind believes something to be true then it will be expressed as truth in their reality. Physical reality starts first in the body. They are a locked self contained black box. Not aware of what they don’t know.

********************************

A question, “Why does one meditate?”

There are several answers but one popular response is that it “quiets the mind.” Although a great answer my follow up question is always

“Toward what end?”

There is an esoteric framework that we all hold reverent when practicing traditional spiritual practices. Their ways and promised outcomes we hold sacrosanct and beyond question. After devoting my adult life to studying such phenomena, I have developed a certain amount of pragmatism concerning everything.

The most desirable quality in any and all of my personal practices is efficacy coupled with efficiency.

I need it to work.
I need my efforts to affect a desireable change.

Thinking in the black box does not do this.
The self contained system is self referential.

*******************************

I posed this question to my friend, Ken, a highly gifted intuitive and one of the few people I have met who has used their gift to live a very comfortable life. Ken, once a civil servant, started developmenting his intuitive skills in adulthodd and began using his insights and impressions in both his investments in stocks and real estate. Coming from a relatively small humble start, he has reached a point in his life where he has amassed a considerable amount of wealth.

He told me the reason he meditates is to see things that is hidden from his mortal perspective. The goal of his meditation is reaching a particular point of resonance where he feels connected to the universe (or the collective unconscious). In that space he opens himself (asks) for information and insight.

This is a far cry and much different practice than thinking about nothing and performing triangle pose. Ken is explicitly connecting to the source with the intent of transcending his small self to connect to the larger Self.

*****************************

Our lives are on a path created by our lives up to this point.
The readjustments and recalibrations of this path are continually made but solely by our own manipulation of information.

As I’ve already described, some people are on paths of pain, suffering, and misery that are caused by misinformation. Their recalibrations are based on a narrative that has perpetuated illness. Although I can provide information to help them to change their course, their cognitive filter can also be altered by fear, ignorance, weariness, and closed energy

****************************

As I sat weeping in the church, I could feel the weight of the intents imparted into this space, the collective reverance, my own connection, hit me strongly. In that moment, my personal moment connection, I asked to be given grace.

Grace isn’t a particularly Catholic or Christian term, it is the invitation of our larger essence into our lives. When we set an intention for something good to come into our lives, we are asking for enormity of what we are to channel into our existence for our to receive our hearts longing.

This is grace.

My friend Ken had shown me that meditation was more than ‘thinking about nothing.’ It was an invitation for the cosmos, universe, God consciousness, collective unconscious, God, Allah, Ascended masters, angels, whatever, to come into our lives to provide special insight and wisdom.

If the overt spirituality of this is disagreeable, then we call call it the subconscious or collective mind. Whatever the case, when we are lost, feeling powerless, or just completely confused about our life path, journey, this is a good moment to ask for:

The spiritual non-sequitor.

Insight that comes from “left field,”

Something beyond the black box of our body, of our community, of our humanity, of our known world, to come grace us with energy and a glimpse of our divinity.

**********************************

In those moments of inhertied fear, doubt, anger, and uncertainty, I have made it my practice to take a deep breath and ask for help. The more I have been asking, the more I get a response. It’s been frankly wonderful but,

This takes practice.

Although a very powerful tool, it takes practice to,

Admit that you don’t know.
Surrender control.
Ask for wisdom.
Recognize the connection.

These blog post is my way of saying thank you for my gifts of grace.
These blogs are more than an invitation to you into something larger.
They are are reminders to recognize your connection.

Ernest Holmes, noted spiritual philosopher, once said,

“It is the nature of the Universe to give us what we are able to take.
It cannot give us more.
It has given all, we have not accepted the greater git.”

To receive more, sometimes you just have to ask for more.
Give an invitation and accept the invitation.
Reach out and you’ll be met halfway 

Namaste,

Emill (aka Dr. Kim).

Emill.kim@gmail.com

facebook.com/dr.emillkim

Vegan Recipes – Lotus Kitchen – Minestrone

Skip Jennings & Gwen Keannelly

Skip Jennings & Gwen Keannelly

Today’s crowd pleasing Vegan recipe is minestrone from my upcoming book, The Lotus Kitchen with Gwen Kenneally.

In addition, this and most of the recipes in the book are paired with a practice and yoga balance piece and this one has one at the bottom of the recipe.

Enjoy,

-Skip

P.S. Liked a recipe, let me know via my facebook page.

Crowd-Pleasing Minestrone 

2 tablespoons olive oil
2 yellow onions, diced
6 stalks celery (including leaves), thinly sliced
3 carrots, chopped
1 tablespoon Italian herbs (dried blend of oregano, parsley, basil, rosemary, thyme)
Serves 12

Sautee above ingredients over medium heat in large soup pot, then cover to sweat for five minutes.  

 Uncover and add:
4 cloves garlic, minced

Sauté 5 more minutes, then add:
12 cups vegetable stock
1 box chopped tomatoes or 3 cups canned chop tomatoes
2 Yukon gold potatoes, diced
2 cans (15 ounces) cannellini beans, drained
1 small head Savoy cabbage, quartered and sliced

Bring to boil and simmer 30 minutes. Then add:
8 ounces pasta of your choice
6 more cups of vegetable broth
2 cups green beans, cut into 1-inch pieces

Simmer 15 minutes. Serve with freshly grated Parmesan cheese. 

 

The Practice:

The Karma Yoga practice is the act of serving others. This crowd- pleasing soup serves many. When serving this dish focus on how you may serve  the universe and others to better the planet. Like a breathing meditation that helps one to connect with the universe, Karma yoga serves as reminder that we are all connected.
Breathing Meditation Instruction: Sit in a comfortable position. Relax and place the hands lightly on the knees. Close your eyes and begin to breathe. Be mindful of your inhale and your exhale. Begin to count each breath. As you breathe create a mantra that incorporates your intention. “I breathe this breath for the preparation of this meal. I am aware of the Universe. This food and breath are one.”

New Classes, Practice, Sexy Radio, Lotus Kitchen, Peculiar Children

Some blog highlights of the past week

Skip Jennings & Gwen Keannelly

Skip Jennings & Gwen Keannelly

– Skip

Producer Marie’s Book Review-Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children

Book Recommendation

October is all about fuPeculiar-Childrenn things for Halloween coming up. I absolutely love books and in particular, “Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children” by Ramson Riggs. It’s Mr. Riggs first novel and boy it’s good. In my opinion, it is along the same vein and aimed at Harry Potter fans looking for more adventure. Written in the first person, the story revolves around the strange life and journey of a boy named Jacob, who has grown up to form a special bond with his grandfather and his bizarre tales and photos of levitating girls and invisible boys.  Now 16 and coping with the sudden loss of his grandfather, he travels to the remote Welsh island where his grandfather grew up. There, he finds the children from the photographs- of his grandfather’s stories-alive and well–despite the islanders’ assertion that they’ve all been dead for decades. As Jacob dives deeper and begins to unravel more about his grandfather’s childhood, he suspects he is being trailed by a monster only he can see. If you like a little magic in your reading try this one out with or without your children. It’s a good book for the inner child in us too.

– Marie

Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children by Ransom Riggs is available at: Amazon, Goodreads and your local bookseller.

The Shift With Skip Radio Guest – Heather Gillis

Heather Gillis Author and radio guest on The Shift With SkipLife can sometimes lead us to unexpected places and leave us broken, desperate, and hurting. This week’s guest is author and BowenHope founder Heather Gillis who resides in Phoenix with her two children and husband, Mac. They help found Bowen’s Hope, after the death of their son Bowen to polycystic kidney disease (PKD), 13 days after his birth. PKD is a condition that’s fatal in babies under a year old.  Join Skip as we discuss how we deal with the pain of loss.

heather-gillis-bookWaiting For Heaven” Proceeds from the sale of Heather’s book benefit Bowen’s Hope.

 

My segment with Heather Gillis is available On-Demand here. All of The Shift With Skip Radio Shows are broadcasts live at 10AM every Wednesday’s, Check my events page on my radio page for the latest upcoming guests or to listen to past shows On-Demand.

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