In Memory of Daido Roshi (1931-2009)

John Daido Loori
came home from the Korean war
via Japan.

lost his soul
to the Buddha and
became a Zen master,
but that was much later.

moved to Mt. Trempler, NY,
bought an old church,
lit some incense,
made it a monastery,
slept in a leaky vestibule
with two followers,
sat zazen always -

even when he was smoking the cigarettes
that finally killed him last Friday.

I am sure he was not surprised
by that slow ambush.

he had tea with death every day.

he understood
with the clearness
of a cold lake.

earlier today, they scattered his ashes in the garden
by the cottage where he lived his last days,

and where, come spring, they will cut flowers
to offer the Buddha on the main alter.

I once asked him why place flowers before
our graven Buddhas of rock or wood.

“explanations never really explain” he said,
and this was, i think, his way of saying -

“just live your life.”



.

French Potage with Pistou

OK Gang. Here's a great, easy, delicious soup for one of those cloudy fall days when old man winter can't decide whether to stay or go. We had it this week and the recipe lasted for two days. Wonderful with a chunk of solid bread and a big piece of sharp cheddar cheese.

Soup:

2 Tbs. unsalted butter
3 medium leeks (white and pale green parts medium finely chopped (about 5 cups)
1/3 cup dry white wine
5 medium potatoes - russet works but I like gold
6 medium carrots, chopped
5 cloves garlic, minced.
1 Tbs. fresh thyme or 1 tsp. dried
1 Large bay leaf
4 cups vegetable broth
2 cups water

1-3 tsp. truffle oil (to taste)

Pistou:

1 cup firmly packed basil leaves
1/4 cup walnuts (toasted is nice but not essential)
2 cloves garlic
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil

What To Do:

1. Melt butter in pan over medium heat.
2. Add leeks and a 1/2 tsp. of sea salt.
3. Cover and cook util leeks are softened. Stir often. Maybe 6 or 7 minutes.
4. Add wine and garlic. Cook uncovered until the wine is mostly evaporated.
5. Add carrot, potato, thyme, bay leaf, broth and water. Cover and bring to a boil...reduce heat and simmer for 35 minutes (until everything is really soft).
6. Remove bay leaf. Add one tsp of truffle oil. Purree in batches in blender or processor or use an immersion blender until smooth. Season with pepper (unless you used low sodium vegetable broth, it probably doesn't need salt). Add a little more water if its too thick. It should be on the thick side of creamy not the creamy side of thick. Taste and add more truffle oil if you like!
7. While all that is cooking you can make the pistou in your processor (hard to do in a blender). Drop the garlic into the running processor. Scrap down. Add the basil and walnut. Pulse to combine. Add oil and blend until smooth. Salt and pepper to taste.

To Serve:

1. Place a dollop (a Tbsp or so) in the bottom of each deep bowl. Ladle 2 cups of hot soup over top to cover the pistou. Sprinkle with a little fresh thyme if you have any. Serve.
2. Your guest then stir the soup to mix in the pistou.
3. Bread and cheese board on the side.

Toast!

First Snow 2009

It won't last of course but fun to see the first real snow of the season! As far as I can tell we've got more than just about anyone so far.

Pasta with Corn and Asparagus

Dinner tonight was corn and asparagus with pasta. Fresh corn stripped off the cob. Fresh asparagus. Mostaccioli pasta. So delicious it still seemed like an August afternoon rather than a chill September evening!

4 ears of corn
1 bunch of asparagus
3/4 pound of mostaccioli pasta
Olive oil
Salt/Pepper to taste
Tablespoon dried oregano
3 cloves of garlic minced
1 teaspoon red pepper flakes
1/2 teaspoon dried dill
Dash of ground dried thyme
1/4 cup of white wine
Vegetarian bouillon cubes.

1. Strip the corn off the cob. Cook in a little olive oil, salt and pepper until almost done. Remove from heat.
2. Cut asparagus into 1/2 inch or shorter pieces. Cook in the boiling pasta water until just heated through. Drain and rinse with very cold water until chilled.
3. Add pasta to water (add bouillon cubes to make a broth to cook the pasta in) and cook according to package directions. Add a little olive oil to the water!
4. Heat a few tablespoons of olive oil in a big saute pan. Add the corn and bring to a simmer. Add the garlic, oregano, red pepper flakes, dill and pepper to taste. Stir to prevent browning.
5. When corn is heated through add the wine and bring back to a simmer
6. Add the asparagus and stir and shake until its heated through.
7. Hold until pasta is ready. Drain pasta (reserve a little liquid) and add to the corn asparagus mixture. Toss and shake until its all heated through. Add a little of the reserved liquid if it seems a dry.
8. Serve.

Namaste.

Hiking Gray's Peak

Had a great time hiking to the top of Gray's Peak on Saturday (an official Colorado 14ner!) with friends from church (www.houseforall.org). Some lovely fotos were taken by our expedition photographer (more on Facebook). On the bottom of the pile is Bill, then moi, to my left is Victoria, to the right is John and above is the photographer herself Sheralee. Charlotte was MIA due to her Mom's illness but Nanny is out of the hospital and doing well. We all expect Charlotte along on the next trek!!

Stand By Me

Chilled Curried Coconut Corn Soup

Fresh corn in an Amish market in OH today. Here is a picture of Nanny and me shucking it.

But what to do with it. Sure we'll eat some of it with lots of butter and salt but for a little more adventure may I suggest this marvelous soup!

Ingredients:

Five ears of corn, shucked.
5 tablespoons minced cilantro
1/2 cup finely diced red onion
1 tablespoon butter
1/2 tsp ground turmeric
1 tsp ground coriander
1/2 tsp paprika
1/2 tsp garam masala or mild curry
Salt/Pepper
1 tbsp flour
1 can coconut milk (13.5 oz)
Juice of one or two limes (to taste)

Method

1. Cut the kernels off the cob.
2. Scrap the cobs with the dull side of a knife to get out the "milk".
3. Break up the cobs and add to 5 cups of water with chopped cilantro stems, red onion trimmings and simmer for at least 30 minutes. Strain.
4. Heat the butter and cook the onion until soft but not brown.
5. Add the spices and stir for a bit.
6. Stir in flour, then coconut milk, and the corn, milk and scrapings. Bring to a simmer.
7. Add 1 tsp. salt and 1/2 tsp pepper ( I like lots more actually).
8. Add cilantro and 1.5 cups of the strained "stock."
9. Bring to a simmer and cook for 10 minutes. If too thick add more of the "stock" until you get a consistency you like.
10. Puree a cup of the soup in the blender for a minute and then add back to the pot.
11. Add the juice of one lime.
12. Stir and adjust seasonings.

Cool. Refrigerate until cold.
Serve with a sprinkle of chopped cilantro and a swirl of plain yogurt on each serving.

Deeeelishious.

Namaste.

Rob Bell Makes Me Want To Be Reality Fierce!

I've always liked Rob Bell. Sometimes more than others but his style and insight is really compelling, more often that not. His book "Velvet Elvis" got me on the path of following Jesus. This video has Rob talking about the Good News and how that message is based communicated by example, not laws. Great stuff.

one perfect day (mark 6:53-56)

I've rewritten this poem about a dozen times and finally got to read it during service today at House For All Sinners and Saints. It was a bluegrass service to boot!

__________________________________________________________
one perfect day (mark 6:53-56)


i walk into intensive care

and see my sister lying under
crisp white sheets.
a dozen beeping monitors gathered
closely around her bed.

i sit down.

she is still but waltzes.
she rushes to the respirator, then steps back.
she flows with the whirring dialysis and then pirouettes
around her suitor.

i daydream.

i watch her breathe for hours. the nurses come and go, i touch
the hems of their white skirts. they do not turn about.
the night nurse touches my sister’s brow
with a cool cloth. she does not stir.

i feed dollars to the coke machine at 2 AM.

we sleep on sofas in the family waiting rooms.
we wait for the doctor to tell us something. “she is no better,” he says
“she is growing worse.” as he leaves, i touch
his clothes. he does not turn about.

we go home to our beds.

the stars come out.
they orbit her.
she breathes them in.
she is in her bed but far away,
climbing mountains beyond mountains.

the nights come and go.

we lie awake. we are still.
we listen to the snow as it covers the prairie with sleep.
we wait for it to cover us. grateful for its soft numbing cold.
we fold our hands. we wait.

we bargain.

in her deep chemical sleep,
does she feel my fingers on her forehead? does she dream?
does she listen in on our unspoken prayers?
does she dream of the one perfect day she'd like to have

if she wakes up?

will she remember the god with whom she laughed
about all our fleeting lives?
did she ask for her one perfect day?

the one with sun on water, children and husband, song and dance?

did she grasp at the fringe of his cloak?
did he turn to her then, just as he was fading?
and was that the very same moment
that she at last opened her eyes


and looked so puzzled?

august 6

the light
that instantly
prevented
every
chance to turn away.

the searing
pain
just before
ashes.

how the earth
believed itself
shot.

vast forests of
memories
vanished.

vast futures
now unattainable.

worlds lost.

Delusion and Enlightenment

Too lazy to be ambitious,
I let the world take care of itself.
Ten days' worth of rice in my bag;
a bundle of twigs by the fireplace.
Why chatter about delusion and enlightenment?
Listening to the night rain on my roof,
I sit comfortably, with both legs stretched out.

-Ryokan