Wisdom Quarterly: American Buddhist Journal: taste

Showing posts with label taste. Show all posts

Friday, January 16, 2026

Happy Int'l Hot and Spicy Food Day

International Hot and Spicy Food Day

Is "American Chinese food" Chinese food?

VIDEO: Vui's Kitchen on Hot and Spicy Food Day 2026

Favorite: green curry over rice

There is a world of Buddhist vegetarian cuisine. What is so good about vegan and vegetarian Thai and Indian foods, Chinese and Korean? Curry? No, it's that they are spicy and flavorful. But even Chinese food has a hot source call Szechuan. Mexican food (like sauteed fajitas) is the most popular cuisine in the USA. Why? It might have something to do with the spicy, freshness, crispy crunch, and health benefits -- greens, chiles, lemon, peppers, beans, and whole grains (at least in the original indigenous form). Many Buddhist countries, which are renowned for their calm, cool, and collectedness -- sure do offer a lot of spice. It is the characteristic of hot place, particularly tropical ones like Theravada Sri Lanka.

INTERNATIONAL HOT AND SPICY FOOD DAY - January 16, 2026 (National Today)

Better than meat? Plant-based proteins

Chef Gordon Ramsay makes spicy cauliflower vegan dish

5 regions known for ultra-spicy dishes and countries where the heat is much milder (MSN)
CC Liu, Crystal Q., Imogen, Dhr. Seven, Ashley Wells, VEGAN TEST KITCHEN

America's most racist man tries Asian food

(Cantomando) America's most racist man tries Asian (or 'Nese) snacks for the first time

Leaving behind White supremacy, almost

We are Nordic pagans! The Nazis’ War on Christmas | HISTORY

"Numb Little Bug"

Git yer goddamn Gook food outta ARE cuntry!

LYRICS: "I don't feel a single thing/ Have the pills done too much?/ Haven't caught up with my friends in weeks/ And now we're outta touch/ I've been drivin' in L.A./ And the world, it feels too big/ Like a floating ball that's bound to break/ Snap my psyche like a twig// And I just wanna see/ If you feel the same as me

[CHORUS]
This is God's own racist country, the Deep South
Do you ever get a little bit tired of life?/ Like you're not really happy, but you don't wanna die/ Like you're hangin' by a thread, but you gotta survive/ 'Cause you gotta survive/ Like your body's in the room, but you're not really there/ Like you have empathy inside, but you don't really care/ Like you're fresh outta love, but it's been in the air/ Am I past repair?

Big Pharma's chemical sorcery?

A little bit tired of trying to care when I don't/ A little bit tired of quick repairs to cope/ A little bit tired of sinkin', there's water in my boat/ I'm barely breathin', tryna stay afloat/ So I got these quick repairs to cope/ Guess I'm just broken and broke

[VERSE 2] The prescription's on its way/ With a name I can't pronounce/ And the dose I gotta take/ Boy, I wish that I could count/ 'Cause I just wanna see/ If this could make me happy// [CHORUS]

Shoulda stuck to Asian veg food

[OUTRO] Do you ever get a little bit tired of life?/ Like you're not really happy, but you don't wanna die/ Like a numb little bug that's gotta survive/ That's gotta survive.

Whoa, Asians be crazy? (Rosemead)

What happened to former reigning Asian Hollywood (Kill Bill) Beauty Queen Lucy Liu?

How ‘Rosemead,’ a film inspired by a tragic true story, helped paint a fuller picture of the truth | LAist

VIDEO: Monterey Park? SZA's "Kill Bill" Asian (parody) Watch out, Ling Peng (Kill Bill)

Supreme White Power? Jewish Christmas in Nazi Germany
Canadian Cantomando visits Alabama; Em Beihold, "Numb Little Bug"; CC Liu, Pfc. Sandoval, Crystal Q., Seth Auberon (eds.), Wisdom Quarterly

Friday, February 28, 2025

Youth Sutra, The Buddha's Diet Plan

Anti-fat propaganda poster, USA, 1942

Want guaranteed weight loss and better health? What if there were a "Royal Buddhist Diet"? Well, there is and it's hard, but it really works.

King Pasenadi of ancient Kosala was very fat.

He waddled around his kingdom, belly swollen, feet sore, short of breath. One day, after eating a bucket of rich, royal food, he found the Buddha and sat beside him, panting like a sweaty mess.

Rich foods are royal. Healthy foods are priceless

The Buddha gently commented, "When one stays mindful, one will know how much one has eaten and what amount is enough. Then all of that person's afflictions will become slender and one will age gently and protect one's life."

A Brahmin youth from the king's retinue was standing nearby. King Pasenadi instructed him to memorize the Buddha's words and recite them whenever the king was about to eat.

As soon as King Pasenadi learned to pay bare attention to his eating -- to savor it and remain aware of chewing and tasting and swallowing it -- he was able to delight in a single cup of rice.

TikTok live from Pasadena (@alyssaantocii)
[So as not to body shame the royal, let's just say he was voluptuous, zoftig, big boned, had a glandular condition, metabolic syndrome, was prediabetic, loved flying his freak flag and doing his own thing, had too much plastic xenoestrogen in his body and brain from the environment, ate too much, and had poor impulse control from early traumatic childhood events that made his regulation of dopamine a challenge.]

Hollywood diet craze: candy (Food Network)
NATIONAL STRAWBERRY DAY (Feb. 27th) adds an extra aphrodisiac to the American "month of love." Devilishly sweet, delightfully low in calories, strawberries (which are not really berries though avocados are) are the perfect food to feel naughty and nice at the same time. Grown both around the U.S. and around the world almost year-round, we’re never far from a supplier of this tasty tongue-tickler to celebrate!
It's also FAT THURSDAY, International Polar Bear Day, Protein Day, Pasty Day, World NGO Day, The Big Breakfast Day, Introduce a Girl to Engineering Day, No Brainer Day, Retro Day, Chili Day, National Toast Day...

What does this Japanese Elly Amai Strawberry from Erewhon cost $19? (Food & Wine)

Going vegan saves the animals and the planet.

In time King Pasenadi became slender and strong, full of energy and beautiful. And as he sat stroking his slender limbs, he said:

"The Buddha has twice shown me compassion -- for my benefit now and for my benefit in the future."

What is this diet regimen called? "Mindful eating." What is "mindfulness"? Let's ask Ven. Analayo:

Fat Chance: Beating the Odds Against Sugar, Processed Food, Obesity, and Disease

The Buddha looks too young

Mahavira: The Buddha was 35

In the Dahara Sutta, SN 3.1, King Pasenadi hints that the Buddha is too young, so young in fact that, compared to other prominent teachers, he must not yet be fully enlightened.

The Buddha explains to the king that there are four things in the world that must not be taken lightly on account of their youth:

a noble,
a snake,
a fire,
a holy person.

It was this discourse (S.i.68f.) that resulted in the conversion of King Pasenadi, which Mahayana refers to as the Kumāradrstānta Sutra (Rockhill: p.49):

Youth Sutra: Too Young?

Ven. Sujato (trans), Dahara Sutta (SN 3.1), suttacentral.net edited by Wisdom Quarterly

Thus have I heard. Once when the Buddha was staying near Sāvatthī in Jeta’s Grove, in Anāthapiṇḍika’s monastery, King Pasenadi of Kosala arrived and exchanged pleasant greetings with him.

When their greetings and polite conversation were over, the king sat respectfully to one side and said to the Buddha: “Does the worthy Gotama claim to have awakened to supreme enlightenment?”

“If anyone should rightly say of someone that he has awakened to supreme enlightenment, it is of me that one should say it. For, great king, I have awakened to supremely perfect enlightenment.”

The king replied, “There are those wandering ascetics and [temple-bound] Brahmin priests who lead a monastic order and spiritual community (sangha) and tutor that community. They are well-known, famous founders of religions (dharmas), deemed enlightened (holy) by many, such as:

Little serpent (naga) can become mighty dragon

“I also asked them whether they claimed to have awakened to supreme and perfect enlightenment, but they made no such claim. So why do you, given that you are so young and only [relatively] recently gone forth [into the left home life of a wandering sannyasin]?”

“Great king, these four should not be looked down upon nor disparaged because they are young:

a noble,
a snake,
a fire,
a mendicant.

“These four should not be looked down upon nor disparaged because they are young.”

That is what the Buddha said. Then the Enlightened One, the Teacher, went on to say [in verse]:

“A person should not despise

a noble of impeccable lineage,

high-born and famous,

just because such a one is young.

For it is possible that that lord of humans,

as a royal heir, will gain the throne.

And in anger will execute a royal punishment

and have one violently beaten.

Hence, avoid such a noble

for the sake of life.

Whether in village or wilderness,

wherever a snake is seen,

one should not look down on it

nor despise it for its youth.

With its rainbow of colors,

a snake of fiery breath slithers along.

It lashes out and bites a fool,

male and female alike.

Hence avoid it

for the sake of life.

A fire devours a huge amount,

a conflagration with a blackened trail.

One should not look down on it

just because it is young.

For once it gets fuel

it will become a huge inferno.

It will lash out and burn a fool,

male and female alike.

Hence avoid it

for the sake of life.

When a forest is burned by fire,

a conflagration with a blackened trail,

shoots will spring up there again,

with the passing of days and nights.

But if a wanderer endowed with virtue

burns you with holy power,

you will have neither sons nor cattle,

nor will your heirs inherit wealth.

Childless and heirless you become,

like a palmyra palm-tree stump.

That is why a wise person,

seeing what is beneficial,

will always treat these four properly:

a snake, a fire,

a famous noble,

and a holy person endowed with ethics.”

When this was said, King Pasenadi of Kosala exclaimed:

I've got my eye on you, Little Fire

“Excellent, sir, excellent! As if one were righting what was overturned, or revealing the hidden, or pointing out the path to one who was lost, or lighting a lamp in the dark so people with eyes could see what is there. Just so the Buddha has made the Teaching clear in many ways. I go for guidance to the Buddha, to the Teaching (Dhamma), and to the [noble] Saṅgha. From this day forward, may the Buddha remember me as a lay follower who has gone for guidance as long as life lasts.”

Hacking of American Mind: Science Behind Corporate Takeover of Our Bodies and Brains

Practical Buddhism: Royal Buddhist Diet: Guaranteed Weight Loss; Ven. Sujato (trans) (Dahara Sutta, SN 3.1) edited by Dhr. Seven and Amber Larson, Wisdom Quarterly

Sunday, February 9, 2025

Happy Nat'l Pizza Day (Gluten?)

VIDEO: The Right Stuff celebrates National Pizza Day (Feb. 9, '25) with Good Morning America

The Right Stuff celebrates National Pizza Day

(Good Morning America) Feb. 7, 2025: Lifestyle contributor Lori Bergamotto shares top pizza recommendations for ~~Super Bowl~~ Taylor Swift Viewing party and National Pizza Day this Sunday. GET PIZZA FIX HERE: tinyurl.com/bdhzaw3u

Pizza is an American invention

Gluten-free vegan deep dish?

They don't eat pizza in Italy. They don't even know what it is. Italia eatta panini, a kind of fluffy bread with just a few garnishes for flavor. It took an American to make a pie. Living on the West Coast, which may arguably be the best coast, we are all about a thick crust, preferably gluten-free.

The East Coast, in New York style, a flour tortilla is used, the thinner the better. (How does that make any sense?) Living outdoors in giant in backyards, the west and Southwest can have their own pizza ovens year around, except for the two weeks when it rains.

Vegan nut cheese drizzling, Beyond meat toppings, and lots of fresh green basil, thin heirloom tomato slices, herbs, and no pineapple (we repeat, no pineapple, this is not Hawaii), with savory spices, maybe even some shitake mushrooms... There's no end to what the imagination can create on Pizza Day.

Oddly, this year falls on 4/20, and Pizza Day falls on Super Bowl Sunday -- traditionally known as the day more avocados are consumed than any other (except maybe Cinco de Mayo) due to the dips, chips, and sandwiches. It's almost as if someone, some deva up there, knows what's going on down here.

Q: What's wrong with gluten?

Gluten kills (Pura Vida Foodology)

A: Gluten is found in wheat, barley, rye, oats, and buckwheat (not a grain or grass but full of a gluten to protect itself), a plant toxin appearing in different forms with different names but doing the same thing to our intestines -- stripping the cilia and leading us to have digestion and malabsorption issues. ALL oats (even the ones labelled "gluten free") are the worst because they are full of avenin (oat gluten); the label is accurate because the wheat version (from cross-contamination) is called gluten, not the oat version.

Our intestines should look like a shag rug on the inside, not a smooth water hose. But as colorectal exams show, we are no longer equipped to absorb nutrients. All humans are harmed by any amount of gluten (gliaden, avenin, etc.), but we're used to it.

Monsanto (Bayer Inc.) and others have manufactured new higher-gluten forms of grains. That makes food production more convenient, addictive, and harmful. We all want spongy, chewy, moist breadlike products, full of protein (the cause of gluten's harm) and lots of starch, which is quickly converted into sugar by the body.

Youngevity Founder Dr. Joel Wallach (doc)
Dr. Joel Wallach (criticalhealthnews.com) states that nothing is more widespread and harmful than the glutens (a plant lectin), killing countless people every year but doing so slowly by malabsorption, malnutrition, and the inability to replenish the micronutrients needed for vibrant living. Deficiencies caused by eating glutens cause many diseases, and supplementing won't help if we are still being exposed to gluten (hidden everywhere or in obvious sources) because our cilia has not been allowed to grow back. Macronutrients like calories come in, but not the trace minerals and vitamins from healthy foods and supplements. The soil is depleted, so even the best most varied (organic, seasonal, local, fresh, healthy) diet will not help restore the 65 to 90 vital nutrients we need if gluten is still in our diet.

Ananda (Dharma Buddhist Meditation), Dhr. Seven, Jen B., Imogen (eds.), Wisdom Quarterly VEGAN TEST KITCHEN; Good Morning America, Feb. 7, 2025

Monday, October 21, 2024

Tofu versatility in Korean BBQ (cooking)

Tofu can be mild as we "eat beans not beings," on a nice bed of fragrant rice like devas.

Tofu can be wild, super spicy Szechuan style or crispy and covered in Korean BBQ sauce.

Tofu shines in 'Culinary Class Wars,' demonstrating its versatility

How bean curd evolved from Goryeo-era luxury to staple in Korean cuisine

7 delicious ways to use tofu | Culinary Class Wars (Netflix)

Is Buddhism relevant in Korea today?

(Netflix K-Content) English subtitles. Oct. 8, 2024: Culinary Class Wars is now playing, only on Netflix. Who knew tofu could be such a versatile ingredient? The chefs conjure up dishes using soybean-based food for a chance to book a spot in the finals. Both Black Spoon and White Spoon chefs show that even bland and boring tofu curd (a plain plant-based cheese) can be just as flavorful as any other protein because it absorbs whatever flavor is added -- soy sauce, Bragg's aminos, ginger, chili, bouillon, garlic, onions, BBQ sauce. #CulinaryClassWars #PaikJongwon #AnhSungjae #Netflix #KContent

Tofu shines in Korean Netflix show

Golden Buddhas in a Korean Mahayana Buddhist temple, Seoul (korea.net)

Lotus Lantern parade on Vesak, the Buddha's birthday celebration, Korea

Tofu's boring, like meat, which makes it versatile

Tofu, recently highlighted by the Netflix cooking survival show "Culinary Class Wars," holds a special place in the hearts of Koreans for its humble yet versatile appeal.

Tofu, or dubu in Korean, is created by soaking soybeans, blending them into a puree, coagulating the mixture, and pressing the curds into solid white blocks of varying softness.

There are 1,001 vegan foods to make out of it.

A long-standing staple in Korean cuisine, tofu serves not only as a rich source of plant protein but also embodies the simplicity and balance that are integral to Korean culinary heritage.

The role of tofu in Korea's culinary history is closely linked to Buddhism and Buddhist temple cuisine, where vegetarian diets were central. Meat (made from often tortured and always murdered animals) is heavy bad karma. Tofu, which rich in protein and harmless (depending on cultivation practices), became an essential part of temple meals. This connection is not unique to Korea. Japan and China also cultivated rich tofu cultures through their Buddhist traditions.

Tofu's significance in Korean cuisine was recently spotlighted in the semifinals of the hit culinary show, where the seven remaining contestants were tasked with continuously creating inventive tofu dishes until they faced elimination.

KFC tofu? "Korean Fried Crispy" bean curd

While the show's contestants showcased tofu's versatility — crafting everything from Auntie Omakase #1's comforting Korean classics to Korean American Chef Edward Lee's sophisticated fusion creations with a touch of Western technique — each dish quickly went viral among Korean culinary enthusiasts, largely due to tofu's deep-rooted significance in the country’s culinary tradition.

The competition paid homage to tofu's integral role in Korean kitchens, where it has connected generations and sustained families. From stews to side dishes, tofu has been at the heart of Korea's ever-evolving food culture.