A Simple Celebration: A Vegetarian Cookbook for Body, Mind and Spirit - Hardcover

Simon M.D., David

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0517707322 ISBN 13: 9780517707326

Publisher: Harmony, 1997

Synopsis

In A Simple Celebration, Ginna Bell Bragg, chef at the Chopra Center for Well Being in La Jolla, California, and Dr. David Simon, director of clinical programs for the Center, explore the spiritual and mindful aspects of cooking and offer a practical, easy-to-use vegetarian cookbook that incorporates Ayurvedic health care principles into more than 140 delicious recipes.  

While many recipes in A Simple Celebration have a subtle Indian influence, Bragg and Simon include a variety of other cuisines as well, resulting in a balanced, health-enhancing diet. With recipes such as Warm Wild Rice Salad, Pasta with Madeira Mushroom Sauce, Ginger-Molasses Muffins, and French Apple Cake, it is clear that the ancient mind-body principles of Ayurveda can be readily applied to dishes from every culture.

Supporters of Ayurvedic health care, Bragg and Simon emphasize in A Simple Celebration the importance of understanding one's dosha, or body type. Dosha recommendations are given for each recipe in the book, and a chart is provided that describes the taste quality of common vegetables, fruits, herbs, spices, dairy products, and other foods.

About this title

About the Author

Ginna Bell Bragg's interest in personal growth led her to work at the Rainbow Ranch in Calistoga, California.  Today, she continues her development of Ayurvedically balanced meals and cooking classes as the chef and nutritional expert at the Chopra Center for Well Being.  Dr. David Simon has studied Ayurveda with Dr. Chopra for more than ten years. He oversees the research wing of the Institute and provides direction for all clinical programs offered at the Chopra Center for Well Being.

From the Inside Flap

imple Celebration, Ginna Bell Bragg, chef at the Chopra Center for Well Being in La Jolla, California, and Dr. David Simon, director of clinical programs for the Center, explore the spiritual and mindful aspects of cooking and offer a practical, easy-to-use vegetarian cookbook that incorporates Ayurvedic health care principles into more than 140 delicious recipes.

While many recipes in A Simple Celebration have a subtle Indian influence, Bragg and Simon include a variety of other cuisines as well, resulting in a balanced, health-enhancing diet. With recipes such as Warm Wild Rice Salad, Pasta with Madeira Mushroom Sauce, Ginger-Molasses Muffins, and French Apple Cake, it is clear that the ancient mind-body principles of Ayurveda can be readily applied to dishes from every culture.

Supporters of Ayurvedic health care, Bragg and Simon emphasize in A Simple Celebration the importance of understanding one's dosha, or body type. Dosha r

Reviews

Ayurveda (Sanskrit for "science of life") is a traditional system of medicine and health popularized in the West by Deepak Chopra. This cookbook by two of his close associates, a nutritionist and a medical doctor, adapts Ayurvedic principles and cooking for Westerners. Ayurveda teaches that different people have different mind-body constitutions, which can be balanced by the correct choices of foods and tastes. A self-test establishes the reader's constitution (or dosha); a "Balance of Tastes Chart" outlines specific needs for each constitution. More than 140 meatless recipes list the prominent tastes of each ingredient and of the completed dish and also the influence on each constitution. The freshness of ingredients is stressed, as is the state of the mind and the heart while in the kitchen or at the table. An important chapter, "How to Eat," teaches the reader to honor the natural wisdom of the body in choosing the setting and pace of a meal and in recognizing the body's signals of hunger and satiety. Penny Spokes

Bragg is chef and Simon is medical director of Deepak Chopra's Center for Well Being in La Jolla, California. Here they describe the principles of the center's Ayurvedic philosophy and present recipes for "purification and rejuvenation." Better vegetarian cookbooks abound, from Darra Goldstein's The Vegetarian Hearth (LJ 2/15/97) to Anna Thomas's The New Vegetarian Epicure (LJ 4/15/96). This one is for Chopra's followers.
Copyright 1997 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.

Pasta with Madeira Mushroom Sauce

Light and fast, this is great for surprise guests. Don't worry, the alcohol burns off.

20 minutes to prepare

1 teaspoon olive oil (sweet)
1 large portablello mushroom, sliced (sweet, astringent)
20 domestic mushrooms, sliced (sweet, astringent)
1 garlic clove, minced (all but sour)
2 tablespoons minced scallions (pungent, sweet)
1/2 cup chopped fresh parsley (pungent, astringent)
Sea salt(salty) and pepper (pungent)
1/4 cup Madeira wine (sweet)
2 cups cooked pasta of your choice (sweet)

1. In a skillet, heat the oil to the smoking point. Saute the mushrooms, garlic, and scallions for 2 minutes, stirring frequently.
2. When browned, add the parsley and salt sand pepper to taste. Add the Madeira and cook for 2 minutes.
3. Toss with the cooked pasta.

Serves 2 to 4


Baklava
Made with maple syrup instead of honey, these goodies are awesome.

1 cup sunflower seeds (sweet, bitter)
1/2 cup pine nuts (sweet)
1/2 cup roasted or blanched almonds (sweet, bitter)
1 cup raisins or currants (sweet)
1/2 cup shredded coconut (sweet)
1/4 cup maple syrup (sweet)
1 teaspoon vanilla (sweet)

filo sheets (sweet)
soft or melted ghee for brushing (sweet)
sesame seeds (sweet)

Combine first seven ingredients in food processor. Process for about thirty seconds, just long enough to chop up the ingredients but not so long that it pulverizes them. Spread several filo sheets sparingly with soft ghee. Remember, the more ghee you use, the more calories from fat are added. Just use barely enough to hold the filo sheets together. Spread filling at one end and roll up, adding more ghee if necessary. Cut into small pieces, about two inches. Place on cookie sheet. Sprinkle with sesame seeds. Bake for about 25 minutes or until golden. Cool completely before serving.

Edition details

• Publisher: Harmony
• Publication date: 1997
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0517707322
• ISBN 13: 9780517707326
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 223