LIFE IS CHANGE
I began the morning thinking of a simple three ingredient meal and black coffee for breakfast, but something was nudging me to add a few more ingredients to spice up my dish and create a wonderful breakfast meal.
Wabi-sabi is the Japanese term used to describe beauty through impermanence. It seeks to find beauty in the simplicity and rustic elements that follow natures' way, and the path to enlightenment, which began with zen monks and samurais in the 13th century. Centered on the philosophy of seeing the beauty in imperfections, I see it as connected to minimalism and the yin-yang opposite of the western concept of modern beauty - a perfect complement.
Cooking for me involves wabi-sabi and in a way is very intuitive. Even if I have a tried and tested recipe, I'm open to changes and additions that may change the texture and character of a dish.
MARKET DAY
As my fresh fruits and vegetable vendor did not bring me my supply of bananas for breakfast, and looking at the pantry, I realized that I needed to use up what's left and re-stock on our supplies and groceries. For breakfast, I started off with just three ingredients in mind: button mushrooms, black beans and pineapple tidbits.
KAIZEN?
I decided to add garbanzos (chick peas) after I put in the mushrooms to add more texture to the dish. It worked well with the mushrooms and black beans.
Adding green peas seemed like a natural thing to do after this, so I added a can.
Looking at it, I felt that it lacked color so I added some carrots that improved the visual as well as nutritional aspects quite a bit.
And to add depth to the taste, and nutrition, I sprinkled with half a spoon of Golden Roasted Flaxseed.
PROCEDURE
| No. | Description | Photo |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | Heat a pan and add in 3 tbsp of lauric oil, then put in the black beans. | |
| 2. | Add in the button mushroom after a minute. Add a dash of mushroom powder to enhance the umami taste. | |
| 3. | Put in the garbanzos and cook for around 5 minutes. Add a dash of cayenne, salt and pepper. | |
| 4. | Add in the pineapple with the juice. :) The sweetness is a nice balance to the dish. | |
| 5. | Gently stir and let cook for 3 minutes. | |
| 6. | Add in the green peas. | |
| 7. | And the carrots. Adjust the taste to your liking. | |
| 8. | Add in half a tablespoon of flaxseed and stir in. Gives the texture an added twist, plus a nice taste. |
FINALLY
Transfer to a bowl and serve hot. :)
ZEN IS IN EVERYTHING WE DO
It was an interesting process that made me look at the way I see life and its imperfections. That things aren't always the way it should be. Or, isn't it?
I believe that there are no coincidences in life and, at the other end of the stick, that there is a reason why all things happen. All of this philosophical ramblings coming from cooking is funny, now that I am thinking about it.
Going back to the cooking. The dish itself had different colors and textures and tastes that stimulate different parts of the tongue. Because of this, I decided on just plain steamed rice instead of my usual fried rice. Added some sliced tomato and cucumbers to top it off and enjoy.
That's it for now. Hope that everything is well with you. Keep safe everyone. Cheers! :)
*all photos are mine. :)