Food Friday: An Introduction, Cool Summer Quinoa Salad.

A few months ago I alluded to the fact that I restructured my diet.
This restructuring has been a process of moving towards more organic, whole and hearty foods - usually with more nutritional bang for the buck. Contrary to what seems to be popular belief, at least within the law firm, I am not/nor have I become or ever been a vegan or vegetarian.

Due to severe food allergies, nutritionally it would be highly difficult and involve waaaaay too many laboratory manufactured powders, pills and tonics. I looked into it. It's just not what's best for my body. So, I am labeling myself a Conscious Omnivore - like Indiana Jones in The Last Crusade, it's important to choose, but choose wisely.

As any of the Cru will tell you, I love to cook and would almost always rather cook than go out for a meal. Some of my best times with Parson were pulling together meals for one another or for our friends who would descend upon Braveheart's manor on Fst. Fluellen solicited me for a couple recipes back in December of last year for our hometown magazine. When I'm in a funk or hitting the artist's block hard, the Mathematician and the Artist will goad me into trying to cook or bake something new - sometimes successfully, sometimes not so successfully - quite like my first attempt at cooking quinoa on Friday night last week (it was the "rinsing" that proved more of a difficulty than anything).

So, adding this feature only seemed natural.
Also, what better way to start the weekend?

So how do I cook?
Well, sure sometimes there's a recipe involved. Sometimes it's just what's on sale at WholeFoods or the results of scavenging in my kitchen. In my experience, the latter tends to produce more successful results - simplicity and austerity leading to creativity (not unlike the Niyama of Santosha, and this week's recipie).

Sometimes I'll take a couple of recipes and combine them together (sort of like either Jivamukti or Baptiste). Sometimes I'll be ever faithful to a recipe that has stood the test of time (like Ashtanga or Iyengar).


For my first offering to the table and in honor of the heat of a late DC summer:

Cool Summer Quinoa Salad.

• 1.5 cups uncooked quinoa
• 3 cups water
• red pepper flakes
• 2 bunches of green asparagus
• corn kernels from 4 ears of corn (~ 4 cups)
• 1 small diced red onion
• 2 thinly sliced average scallions, both white & green parts
• good quality olive oil
• champagne vinegar
• salt
• freshly ground pepper
• 1 cup fresh French sheep feta
• 1 cup julienned basil leaves

Quinoa: Preheat oven to 400F. Bring three cups of water (I used water but low sodium chicken broth or veggie stock could be substituted) to boil with 1 tbsp of olive oil and a teaspoon of red pepper flake. Add quinoa. Cover put with lid and place in oven 400F oven for 20 minutes. At the end of 20 minutes, pull quinoa from oven, fluff with a fork and recover to steam for another 5 - 10 minutes. Refrigerate.

Corn: Remove corn from the cob. Heat a large skillet over medium heat, and add 3 tbsp olive oil. When oil is hot, add corn, salt, and pepper, and cook for 5 minutes (until no longer starchy, just at al dente). Move corn into a large bowl and stir in diced red onion, scallion, 2-3 tbsp champagne vinegar, and 2 more tbsp olive oil.

Asparagus: Reheat skillet with 2 tbsp of olive oil place washed and trimmed stalks of asparagus in skillet. Add hearty dash of salt and fresh ground pepper, searing the asparagus until all stalks are just al dente and bright green. Remove from heat and cut into 1" segments. Mix in with corn.

Refrigerate and allow to cool. Once cold, fold in cold quinoa.

Stir in fresh julienned basil and fresh sheep feta right before serving, adding salt and fresh ground pepper to taste.

Serve cold or at room temperature.
(Serves 6-8)


Enjoy!


Notes: I cook the quinoa a day ahead, so I'm sure that it is cold when adding it to the corn and asparagus. For the feta, I use French b/c it tends to be a little creamier/less salty. Also, I'm sure it would be fantastic to use grilled asparagus and corn in this dish, however, my DC apartment doesn't afford that capability and the Egg is on the other side of town.

Class# 197; AYC DC Mysore Class # 46: Eureka!!!

I STOOD FROM URDHVA DHANURASANA!
- with an assist from the bench -

(and after taking two days to recenter myself from Monday's lackluster practice and slamming my chin on the hardwood floor in my transition out of Bhuja Pindasana earlier this morning)


It was so cool, everything just clicked into place. As I started to stand it felt a bit like I was toppling forward *yet again* to my knees and was about to give in and then I realized that I was standing.

Absolutely crazy man.


Also, I must give a shout out to Yogitect out in SF for posting his notes from a recent backbending workshop he attended. Something in there really just clicked in this morning's practice.

Mantra Monday: I know. I know. I know. Or, in other words...

...dedication, patience, and contrary to my belief I am only human.


Phone call with the Mathematician:

• I know.
• I know.
• I know.

Translation:

• I know that I've quite possibly been running myself ragged these past few weeks between yoga, work, and "fun work."
• I know that at some point, the human body needs some good solid sleep and downtime.
• I know that when I'm overtired I can become a tad emotional, lack concentration, and will devour anything and everything in sight.

Transmogrification:

• If you keep on hitting your hand with a hammer, it will continue to hurt. Recognition of the hammer is the first step.
• Pleasure and enjoyment are found within the simplicity of the moment.
• Act don't react.

Result:

• Clear schedule.
• Capture the play of the sun rising on the landscape with a SLR camera.
• Bake dark-chocolate-ginger-biscotti.

One Year Markers; B-lated One Year Asana Practice Anniversary

I was all excited because, I *thought* today was my one year anniversary of attending my first-ever-yoga-class. However as I looked back at my blog during lunch (which I began the same day as my asana practice) apparently I missed it by a day.

It was yesterday!
I forgot my own anniversary!

So far to date (not including this morning's practice) I have attended:
193 classes in a studio/shala setting.
Which translates to attending classes for 53% of my first year.

This number does not include the various workshops spanning AcroYoga to Jivamukti to Baptiste to Forrest Yoga and Nada and Kirtan. Nor does it include the 4-day AcroYoga intensive in London.

Translated to hours on a yoga mat (hym), I'm estimating, approximately: 335.75 hym.
I think that's a respectable number. Not a small amount of asana.
But not wildly crazy for a first year.


I'm not including the hours reading about Yoga Philosophy/Techniques or watching demos on YouTube or general asana "play." There are some things that are hard to quantify, especially when the practice of Yoga, in a traditional sense, is an 8 limbed path.

I will also spare you the calculation of that amount of $$$ I have spent on classes/worshops out of my own general fear of seeing that number in print outside of the safety of my budget. Also, I would rather not open the can of worms that is the amount of business I have single handedly provided Lululemon, Amazon.com, YogiToes, BePresent, and Manduka on yoga related "stuff."


Here's to the start of the beginning of my second year!



Aside: Lawyers log their lives in 6 minute increments - maybe I should be applying some of this logging logic to drawing/painting and other artistic pursuits...

Class# 192; AYC DC Mysore Class # 41: Follow-Up

Ok. So I might have been "a little" pithy in my post earlier today.
It was one of those practices where nothing seemed to "work quite right."

Whether it was attempting to spring my "legs symmetrically and tightly around my arms like a snake" for Bhuja Pindasana or any speculation of standing from Urdhva Dhanurasana even with the assistance of the bench - I *might* have been becoming "a little" impetuous.

While at the bench, D walked over and commented that I was basically standing and placed some blocks on my mat so I'd be closer to "standing" when/if I came to my knees. I fully realize asanas take time and patience and that things will eventually will click. After further sundry attempts and glorious fiascos, D concluded that I might not be using enough of my lower back muscles. Seeing as though I landed square on my Polish nose during my solo drop-back attempts on Saturday and Sunday - I have a sneaking suspicion that he might be onto something. So, promptly he had me stand and move into a half drop back and just hang there, focusing on my back muscles.

If you've never hung with your head a foot or so from the ground, bent backwards for a good 30 seconds...three times in rapid succession...
Let me tell you.
It's an interesting experience - to say the least. Something like walking on the edge of panic - that moment before inking that first line on a pristine piece of 300lb hot press paper, it seems to take an eternity and is always a little awkward.


In retrospect, I quite liked it.


So. Tomorrow is a new day.
I will wake at 5 am. I will be at the shala at 5:45am.
Back to the drawing board, or mat, as you will.

Class# 192; AYC DC Mysore Class # 41: Question 3

Why am I doing this?

Class# 185; AYC DC Mysore Class # 35: Do. Or do not. There is no try* & a Jedi Assist

According to the Mathematician and the Artist, I didn't crawl much when I was a baby. I'm almost positive my reasoning went something like this: Why am I going to crawl around on the ground, getting myself dirty when everyone else is upright moving so much more efficiently? Walking was pretty much where it was at. They are oft and quick to regale me with the story that I stood up unassisted in the URI quad, took two steps, paused, my eyes widened and then fell to the ground. And after that, there was certainly no going back.

Of late I've been "forgetting" to work on standing from Urdhva Dhanurasana (UD) being "too tired" to attempt to stand. Yes, there's a 4" bench available to assist in standing and drop backs. I've tried it and have not gotten any closer to standing. Drop back, no problem either with or without the bench. Standing just wasn't happening. Besides, if I'm going to stand, I'm going to stand without the bench.

(I have noticed that I do have a slight proclivity to stubbornness.)

On my first UD of the day, D walks by my mat and inquires, "Are you going to stand today?"
My response, "No." I return to the floor and reset for my second UD. I go up for my second UD, and walk my hands closer into my heels. 15 breaths, I do a little rocking back and forth, return to the floor. My "final" UD, I go up walk my hands insanely close to my heels.

I see two feet enter my dristi, and they aren't mine. D, tells me "You're going to stand." I realize there is no other option as the feet disappear to my feet. As I let out a frustrated sigh, D presses two finger tips smack dab in the middle of my maunbrium (upper part of the sternum - yes I still somewhat remember anatomy from AP Bio all those years ago) and I stood up. I really stood!? Don't ask me how it happened but it did! I dropped back, his finger tips still there and back up again. D gave me some coaching on drop backs, and on my second drop back, I got a little hang time before my hands touched the floor, it was almost as if his finger tips were holding me off the floor. Crazy. From that point on, I felt like a character from a Pirandello play. Up and down, up and down.

But if I had known it would only take two finger tips!



*Yoda, Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back