Avital Sebbag - Five Seasons in The Kitchen: Zen Inspired Vegan Cooking

FIVE SEASONS IN THE KITCHEN ZEN INSPIRED VEGAN COOKING AVITAL SEBBAG TO SEE THE BEAUTY OF THE UNIVERSE BETWEEN EARTH AND SKY. A BUD APPEARS AFTER THE RAIN CONTAINS THE ESSENCE OF LIFE SO PURE AND FRESH SEASONS GO SEASONS COME. AVITAL SEBBAG For my parents, Gabriel (of Blessed Memory)
and Simcha Sebbag who gave me life. For my sons Yossi, Mikey, Gabriel (Babi),
Joey and Jonathan. Photography Michal Lenart Hebrew Editor Tamar Mor-Sela English Translation Elizabeth Zauderer Art and Design Eddie Goldfine Consultants Efrat Marciano Orit Rachmani Styling Ingrid Kutner Calligraphy Elsa Foyn Layout Itzik Yefet Daniel Weizner FIVE SEASONS IN THE KITCHEN ZEN INSPIRED VEGAN COOKING AVITAL SEBBAG Published by: Avitality, Domain of Change Translated from Hebrew by: Elizabeth Zauderer ISBN 978-965-555-927-9 Copyright 2015 by Avital Sebbag, Tel Aviv All rights reserved. Printed in Israel by: Ravgon Printing House, Ltd. TABLE OF CONTENTS

GOOD TO KNOW

For information on food products, recommended books and websites, mindful eating, juice cleansing and cooking techniques visit my website at

INTRODUCTION This book marks a mile stone on my journey toward an understanding of heathy nutrition and its place in our lives. TABLE OF CONTENTS

GOOD TO KNOW

For information on food products, recommended books and websites, mindful eating, juice cleansing and cooking techniques visit my website at

INTRODUCTION This book marks a mile stone on my journey toward an understanding of heathy nutrition and its place in our lives.

It is an opportunity for you, dear readers, to glimpse the wonders of a wholesome lifestyle, and to develop an awareness to the mental and spiritual benefits of well-balanced nutrition by experimenting with delicious, easy-to-prepare recipes. This book motivates change. And change means taking action. Faced with a vast amount of information and approaches to healthy eating, you are probably wondering What is the right way? The truth is, there is no right way. I believe with all my heart that we are all creatures of the universe whose earth, seas and skies provide us with the physical, mental and spiritual nourishment we need. That said, we must recognize the values of natures abundant offerings, and come to know how we can best benefit from them.

We must be attuned to nature, to the changing of the seasons, and with each season, to the assortment of foods it provides. I have been practicing Zen meditation for years, and have visited many Zen monasteries around the globe. During these visits, I found myself drawn to the kitchens, the beating hearts of these establishments, where humble, tasty foods are prepared foods that satisfy the body, while preserving the ecosystem. The practice of awareness is enhanced when foods are lighter, and so for me Zen cooking is a way to develop the essence of my existence to contribute to the world by nurturing and nourishing myself and those around me with healthy foods, and by practicing a wholesome, happy, serene and loving lifestyle. In 1998, I gave birth to my eldest son, the first of five boys. Motherhood radically changed my perspective on life, and deepened my desire for a well-balanced way of life in an ecologically sound environment.

As a result, I embarked on an exciting exploration into the wonders of anthropological nutrition, shiatsu, Chinese medicine and Eastern philosophies. It was on these journeys that I came to understand that we are all one with the world, and that nature provides us with all we need to be healthy and happy. It is my hope that this book will encourage you to appreciate natures gifts, to understand the importance of preserving them, and most importantly, to live your life the best way you can after all, you too are a gift of nature. AvitalSong Kuan WHAT IS ZEN? By Sefi Rachlevski The essence of Zen is a striving for truth beyond words; an existential and spiritual truth that any attempt to define distances one further from internalizing its core principle of liberty. Zen was inspired by existential Taoist philosophy that developed in China approximately 2300 years ago, an age in which Buddhism was established, and in which Plato and Socrates laid the foundations of Western philosophy. This was also the time in which the Hebrew Bible canon of the Second Temple was compiled.

The tao in Taoism means path; the leading philosopher of the path was Chang Tzu. In the following parable Chuang Tzu epitomizes the basic principle of Zen: If the goat knew it was a goat its feet would become entangled. If the fish knew it was a fish it would sink to the bottom of the river like a lead stone. The goat, the fish, the mountain and the river know themselves by not-knowing. Only man attempts to know himself by way of a knowing. Therefore, man fails to be a man in the same way that a goat is a goat, a fish is a fish, a mountain a mountain and a river-a river.

The constant aspiration for deep knowledge, knowledge that is not founded on knowing, is the foundation of Zen philosophy. This knowledge does not scorn language and intellect, but rather searches for a path beyond definitions and social norms. An existential, internal and personal path, at the end of which is the desired enlightenment. A mystical experience that hauls man out of a myriad of inner, social and definitive conflicts, and restores him to his essential existence, that which is beyond consciousness. Zen emerged as an existential philosophy some 1500 years ago in China. From there it expanded to Japan, Korea and the rest of the world.

Due to its link to Buddhism, Zen was practiced in monasteries where its objectives were to practice deep inner reflection, meditation, personal learning, a humble lifestyle and self- sustenance. Similar to the Hassidic movement at the beginning of its spiritual development, Zen focused on creativity and contemplation through short stories and dialogues. The ability of Zen to release man from his own internal well, the well of words, definitions, social codes, ego, and the physical, is what attracts so many to practice it the world round. At the opening of Marcel Prousts canonical novel Remembrance of Things Past, the hero bites into a Madeleine cake. Its taste elicits memories and contemplations that in turn espouse memories that fill the entire novel. It is my hope that through the recipes in this book, each and every reader will find his or her own Madeleine cake.

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