Driving Lessons

One of my favorite quotes is from the movie The Journey, directed by Harish Saluja: Life Gets in the Way of Art. Every year I warn my graduate students in the Creative Writing program at the University of Houston to be prepared for unexpected busyness that will sabotage our writing. Well, humblingly, that's what has been happening to me this summer, with a son getting ready to leave for college, and another one learning to drive, and one of them joining a breakdance group, and both of them deciding to play the guitar . . . . You get the idea.

Anyway, as I've been helping my son practice driving (a character-building experience for us both), I've been musing on the similarities between being a good driver and living a spiritual life.

In Chapter 12 of the Bhagavat Gita, Krishna says, (my loose translation from the Sanskrit), "a person who does not make others anxious, nor allows anyone to cause anxiety in him, is a true devotee, dear to me." Isn't that at the heart of good driving?

How about the realization that if I hurt you, I can't escape getting hurt myself? That my good is bound up in your good? "Therefore all things whatsoever ye would that men should do to you, do ye even so to them." (Matthew 7:12)

And when I remind my son to not go too fast on the freeway, nor too slow, and to stay in one of the lanes in the center, I'm reminded, literally, of the Buddhist practice of majjhimā paṭipadā, following the middle path.

I've been noticing a number of parallels between good writing practices and living the spiritual life, too. I'll discuss those another time.

Meanwhile, comments, anyone?

Tofusion

Apologies for the long gap between entries. I was finishing  my novel, One Amazing Thing, literally working on it day and night. Everything else fell by the wayside. It was intense. My  family lived on sandwiches and pizza. (I suspect the boys didn't mind the pizza bit too much).

But now that the household is slowly being restored to normal and I'm back in the kitchen, I thought I'd indulge in vanity and share with you a fusion tofu dish that I created. As with most of my cooking, it's very easy--and the boys actually started liking tofu after they ate this. This recipe is a healthy protein alternative for vegetarians/vegans.

You will need: one large onion, 6 cloves garlic (we like garlicky stuff--you can use less), 1 large green bell pepper or 2 small ones,  1 t red pepper powder (more for the brave), 1/2 t crushed oregano or Italian spices, 4 T canola or olive oil, 16 oz FIRM tofu, and 16-20 oz of your favorite kind of spaghetti sauce. Mine has mushrooms in it. (Amount of sauce depends on whether you want it drier, for wraps, or more saucy, to eat over rice or spaghetti). Salt to taste.Remember, the sauce will already have some salt.Sometimes I add fresh basil leaves at the end.

Chop onion, garlic and bell pepper. Squeeze water out of tofu & crumble it. Saute in oil, medium heat: onion, garlic, bell pepper. When golden, add oregano & red pepper powder.
After 1 minute add the tofu. Saute about 5 minutes--more if you want it to turn golden & have a slightly nutty flavor. Add spaghetti sauce. Cook on low heat 10 minutes. If it seems too liquidy, cook it a few minutes more without covering. Add basil (optional).

The whole thing takes about half an hour. Can be served over hot rice ( I like it on brown rice) or spaghetti. Or eaten in a multi grain tortilla wrap.
 
Great with a big green salad on the side and fresh fruit for dessert. (If you want to indulge, have it with the mango ice cream recipe I put up on the blog earlier. )

Let me know if you try it. And if you have a favorite tofu dish, I'd love to know. I've become quite the  Tofanatic.