2 avocados, diced
1/2 onion, diced
1 jalapeño pepper, vein and seeds removed, diced
1/8 teaspoon salt
Juice of 1/2 lime or lemon
In a mixing bowl, mash with a fork, half of the diced avocado.
Add onion, jalapeño pepper and salt. Mix well. Stir in rest of diced avocado and lime or lemon juice. If not using immediately, cover top of guacamole with plastic wrap to prevent browning.
Serve with chips.
5 ounces silken tofu
2 cups sugar
1 can coconut milk
1 1/2 cups coconut flakes
2/3 cup canola oil
3 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
Preheat the oven to 350°F.
Using a paper towel, lightly wipe the inside of a 9 x 13 inch baking pan with canola oil.
Place tofu, sugar, coconut milk, coconut flakes and canola oil in the bowl of a food processor and puree until thick and uniform in texture.
In a large bowl, sift the flour, baking soda and baking powder.
Add the liquid ingredients to the dry ingredients.
Mix until combined. The batter will be thick.
Pour batter into the prepared cake pan.
Bake for approximately 40 minutes, or until top is golden brown.
Cool the cake on a rack while preparing the frosting.
Frosting
1/2 cup coconut milk
2 cups Earth Balance nondairy butter, or another brand
Powdered sugar (add until desired thickness is obtained)
coconut flakes, toasted – for garnish, optional
Heat the butter in a microwave safe bowl until it is melted.
Place the melted butter and coconut milk in a blender.
Blend on a low speed, adding in the powdered sugar until the desired
thickness is obtained.
For added decoration, sprinkle toasted coconut flakes on top of cake.
2 medium large eggplants
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil, divided
1 cup homemade bread crumbs – recipe to follow
2 cups tomato sauce – homemade or canned
1 pound fresh Mozzarella cheese
1 cup grated Parmesan cheese
fresh basil leaves
salt and pepper
Preheat oven to 350°F.
Slice the eggplant horizontally into 1/3inch slices. Sprinkle
the eggplant with salt and pepper. Heat half of the olive oil in a
saute pan and lightly brown the eggplant on both sides.
Lightly coat a cookie sheet with olive oil, starting with the 4 largest pieces of eggplant place them on the cookie sheet. Add a few spoonfuls of tomato sauce followed by a slice of the fresh Mozzarella cheese, sprinkle with Parmesan cheese and continue to layer the eggplant slices on top of each other repeating with the sauce and cheese on each layer from largest to smallest. The final layer should be covered with the remainder of the sauce and sprinkled with Parmesan cheese. Bake in the oven for 15 minutes.
To plate it, make a small pile of bread crumbs and set one serving of
the eggplant parmesan on top. Tear some basil leaves and spread them
around the plate follow up with a drizzle of olive oil, and a sprinkle of
Parmesan cheese.
Repeat procedure for the rest of the eggplant.
Homemade Breadcrumbs
4 slices day old bread of your choice
olive oil
salt and pepper
Preheat oven to 450°F.
Slice the bread into very small cubes and spread them out on a cookie sheet. Drizzle them with olive oil and a dash of salt and pepper. Bake until golden brown.
Serves 4
Note: Eggplants can be peeled, if desired
Substitute Daiya Vegan Cheese to make this a vegan recipe
1 1/2 cup unsweetened nondairy milk, such as almond, rice or soy
2 dried apricots or 4 pitted dates
1 banana, cut into chunks
1 cup chopped kale leaves
1 cup spinach leaves
1/2 cup fresh or frozen berries
Combine nondairy beverage, apricots, banana, kale, spinach and berries in a blender and blend until smooth.
Serves 1
1 1/2 – 2 cups rice, soy or almond milk
1/2 cup silken tofu, optional
2 – 3 cups frozen, unsweetened fruit
1/2 banana, sliced
1/2 teaspoon fresh ginger, chopped
1 tablespoon golden roasted milled flaxseed
1 tablespoon protein powder
1 tablespoon peanut butter powder
Put all of the ingredients, starting with the milk first, in a blender and power it up. Blend until smooth.
Serves 2
8 ounces button or portobella mushrooms, grilled/roasted
1 red bell pepper, grilled/roasted and cut in pieces
1/2 large eggplant, peeled, cut in chunks and grilled/roasted
1 bunch green onions, grilled/roasted
16 mixed Mediterranean olives, pitted, optional
1 – 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
2 ounces goat cheese, crumbled
1/8 teaspoon each salt and pepper, or to taste
4 whole wheat tortillas or flatbreads
4 large lettuce leaves
Roughly chop mushrooms, peppers, eggplant, green onions and olives.
Toss them in a large bowl with the lemon juice, goat cheese, salt and pepper.
Line tortillas with lettuce. Spoon vegetable-goat cheese mixture on top. Wrap tightly, tucking in the ends burrito-style and serve.
Serves 4
Note: Can use leftover grilled/roasted vegetables to prepare these wraps. Great for a summer supper or a packed lunch.
3/4 cup lentils, washed and drained
3 tablespoons olive oil
3 shallots, thinly sliced
1 carrot, 1/4 inch dice
1 celery stalk, 1/4 inch dice
1 red pepper, 1/4 inch dice
2 teaspoons fresh parsley, chopped
2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
6 ounces fresh spinach, chopped
Salt and pepper to taste
Place the lentils in a saucepan, covered with water.
Bring to a boil.
Simmer for 15 minutes.
Drain the lentils.
Meanwhile, heat olive oil in a skillet over medium heat.
Add shallots, sauté for 2 minutes.
Add carrot, celery and pepper; sauté, stirring, for 5 minutes more.
Add parsley and vinegar.
Remove from heat.
Transfer to a bowl.
Add the drained lentils to the bowl.
Stir in the spinach.
Add salt and pepper to taste.
Serves 4
Addiction is a fixation on anything outside the self that you believe can deliver your happiness. Anything. Drugs and alcohol are givens. But also included are romantic relationships, clothes, cars, money, prestige, jobs, adventure, and excitement.
These enticements are cunning, baffling, powerful, and no one can escape this dragnet.
So much time is wasted worrying about marriage, jobs and money. When people lose these things, they act like their worlds are destroyed. That’s no way for a human to live.
We continue to smash our heads against the wall because our happiness is dependent on some external agency.
This is the hallmark of addiction. It’s a clinging dependency, despite negative or even catastrophic consequences.
I speak from experience.
I knew early on in childhood that I was destined to become an addict. I was never comfortable in my own skin, and I never felt part of the world. This made it easy for me to pick up the booze at age ten. I was getting high at age 12. By 14, I was snorting cocaine. By 15, I was dealing drugs and smoking crack. I was thrown out of two high schools and the family home, and I had been held up at gunpoint.
Thirty-two days before my eighteenth birthday, I was living in a friend’s attic, listening to Cat Stevens’, “Tea for the Tillerman”, and filling a pipe with lint I picked up from the carpet. I caught a glimpse of my shadow on the wall.
I realized that I had hit bottom.
I entered treatment on January 24, 1986. I’ve been sober ever since.
I learned ten years into my sobriety that yoga was going to be essential in my ongoing recovery. Because as soon as I stepped onto my mat, I couldn’t hide from myself anymore. So I didn’t come back for three years.
Yoga offers a spiritual roadmap to find your individual truth, and that isn’t always comfortable.
Yoga and recovery are spiritual kin. Karma Yoga is the action of selfless service. Bhakti Yoga is the acute awareness of the infinite blessings that surround you. Jnana Yoga is the study of the universal principles of living. These yogic traditions are the heart of the Alcoholics Anonymous 12 Steps.
When the student is ready, the teacher will appear.
I don’t pull punches. I want to keep it real. Yoga is not about poses or poseurs (not a typo – poseurs are people who try to be someone other than their true self). It’s not about trying to master a physical position. No matter how beautiful your warrior is, it doesn’t make you a warrior.
Yoga is not about standing on your head; it’s about getting your head out of your ass.
Namaste,
EP
Based on an interview I gave to Nancy B. Loughlin, a writer and yogi in Fort Myers, FL
When I started searching in earnest for a yoga studio that would serve my needs, I was disappointed to find that there was nothing out there for me . Having overcome addiction and having practiced clinical psychology for a decade before coming to yoga, I was looking for something more than most yogis were looking for in their first trip to a studio. I began taking one “celebrity” yogi’s class after another, looking for a fit. Then I stopped looking to others and began looking within. Smile is my style of yoga. Strange, but it was non-existent.
I want to make this the easiest practice when you open the door and walk in. Easy as in: This is familiar. This is fun. This is relative. This is pertinent. Instead of the sounds of harmonium, chanting, and prayers to Hindu deities, my Yoga Shelter studios blast music you know, instruct in plain English, and welcome everyone–and their baggage–to join the party. A tight ass might be a byproduct of the Yoga Rocks workouts, but there is so much more.
A great body does not equate a great life. If you only have so much time in a day, how much of it are you going to focus on this great body of yours? It’s a no-brainer! If you’re not focusing on your body, what are you focusing on?
That’s where the critical part of the yoga practice comes into play. I take what I learn from my teacher, Swami Parthasarathy, a Vedantic philosopher in India, and break it down into terms everyone can understand; learning to live the life we should and need to be living. Off the mat, students need to begin questioning everything.
I practice what feels familiar, and music is a big part of that. Yoga is about creating a silence within you. But you do not need a silent room externally. Music can be a game changer, especially for newbies. It can take an incredibly deep spiritual discipline and make it friendly, familiar, and less intimidating.
Rock on. Now let’s get loud.
Peace,
EP
As I pedal (on a life cycle in Hoi An) my way through another song on the instructor’s playlist (Tesla, “What You Give”) I am smiling, really marveling at my existence.
Who am I? I have searched through the scriptures from the West to the East. I continue to kneel at my teacher’s feet. I have heard the answer. But never once have I lived it or truly felt it.
What a life I live! A life so full, so complete, but only to the naked eye. I am the only one who knows this creation called EP. Yet, I cannot seem to get beyond him; except for the faintest tad of consciousness that has me, at times, watching this guy, who I know is not really me.
I have traveled far and wide. Yet for all the miles I have logged, I have not budged. I yearn to know who I am, but I am stuck in what I am not. I watch the world go ’round. I hear your problems and I know my own. I do see a oneness; it’s all of us lost!
This is my journey. However, I know I am not alone. There are only a few of you out there who may understand me, and to you I say let us keep on searching; patiently, courageously, never giving up and never turning our backs on this great mission.
Let you and I be full of class when we quietly look the world in the face and say “KISS MY ASS”, for we will not fall prey to our little lives. There is something bigger, something better, somewhere in you and me and we will die looking for it.
No more will we base a changeless happiness on a changing world. Let us Rise from the basement of ignorance and reach up to the Throne Room, the Ultimate Shelter; the world beyond the one we know. The world where we are all knowing… One step at a time…
Peace,
EP
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