Kurma

I gave a reading from the classic Sanskrit epic Srimad Bhagavatam this morning in the sublimely beautiful temple at Bhaktivedanta Manor, the mock-Tudor mansion donated by George Harrison that now serves as Britain's premier Temple. I am staying just five minutes drive away.

I spent several minutes meditating in front of the gorgeous forms of Radha and Gokulananda (Krishna) and Sita Rama.

I very much felt the presence of my Guru Srila Prabhupada also, especially as I sat and spoke my class before his murti (form).

I ate a light breakfast on the lawn in glorious English morning sun and was joined by some visiting Canadian Geese who knew where the action was.

Afterwards I held a press interview near the lake. Matthew Wolstenholme from the Watford Observer asked some questions for the upcoming article he's writing about my visit to The Manor.

He was especially interested in the menu for my Vegetarian BBQ class scheduled to be held Sunday week, my last day in England. I shared the menu with him, and he jotted down the details.

The Vegetarian Barbecue

Syrian Roast Pepper, Walnut & Pomegranate Molasses Dip (Muhammara) with Grilled Ciabatta & Vegetable Crudites

Barbecued Polenta with Rocket Leaves, Italian Caponata Antipasto & Shaved Parmesan

Barbecued Haloumi & Char-grilled Asparagus with Salsa Verde

Golden Oven-Roasted Cauliflower & Wok-fried Ginger-infused Snow Peas with Cashews, Sweet Chili Sauce, Sour Cream & Fresh Coriander

Yogurt-Cheese (Labneh) with Fresh Balsamic & Honey Strawberries

Media interview #2 was held up in one of the offices. Steve Holland from the Borehamwood & Elstree Times spoke to me for half an hour before he and cameraman Mark joined us for lunch. The feature article will be in this Friday's edition.

Before heading back to write this article I visited the on-site Temple Shop and glanced lovingly at the amazing selection of Maha-Prasadam Indian Sweets prepared in the sanctified Deity Kitchen.

These spectacular (and giant-sized) confectioneries are all made daily with amazing care and attention to detail from milk and sugar, saffron, cardamom, and lots of love, then affectionately offered to Krishna in the Temple. They are world-famous. I must remember to bring some back to Perth to distribute.

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They say 'no rest for the wicked'. If that's the case, I must have been a bad boy. Monday started off restful, but ended on quite a busy note.

After a fair bit of running around Watford in the early afternoon looking for some Rosehip Oil (not as common here as in Australia, it seems), my host and I embarked on a journey downtown for an interview in Lambeth at a television production house.

We chose train as our 'commute' (gosh, they use the word as a noun these days) since a journey by car would have taken us a long, long time. Just as well Sitaram knew his way around. The London Underground Rail system can be quite awesome to the unititiated.

Apparently numbers were down in the trains. It's only been a few days since the bombings, and some people are staying away, especially since today's 'Times' and 'Observer' front pages both quoted the Police as saying they expected more attacks. Some tracks are still closed.

We met with Jon Swain from Optomen Television, the team that helped make Jamie Oliver, the Two Fat Ladies and Gordon Ramsay so popular in the TV cookery world.

We spoke about the possibility of doing a new vegetarian TV cookery series together. Let's see what develops.

It was hot and cramped on the trains as we returned home in rush hour (still heatwave conditions in London) and we got back thoroughly 'knackered' to use the quaint Australian ver'knack'ular.

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Received this letter today:

Dear Kurma,
Your web site is great and I really enjoy reading your Blog entries.

Years after attending your Melbourne CAE workshops I continue to use your cookbooks as a constant reference for creating sumptuous meals!

Last night KFPs {Kurma's Fried Potatoes} and Dahl dumplings were served up and much appreciated - very fitting for a cold Melbourne night.

Quite simply, this is a message of thanks.

Travel safely and it's good to read that you are feeling better.

Best wishes, AD

Discuss Comment [0] Trackback [0] A Message of Thanks

Three stoners are sitting in a room smoking cannabis. After a few spliffs, they run out of gear. One of the men stands up and says,

"Look, I'll just nip into the kitchen and make one of my speciality spliffs."

So off he goes into the kitchen where he takes some cumin, turmeric and a couple of other spices from the spice rack, grinds them all up and rolls them into a huge joint.

On his return, he hands it to one of his smoking partners who lights it and takes a long drag. Within seconds he passes out.

Ten minutes go by and he's still out cold, so the others decide to take him to hospital. On arrival the nurses immediately take him to intensive care.

A doctor returns to the friends and asks, "So what have you been doing then? Drugs?"

"Well sort of," replies one of the guys, "but we ran out of gear, so I made a home-made spliff."

"Ahh," replies the doctor, "And what did you put in it?"

"Oh, just a bit of cumin, some turmeric, and a couple of other spices."

The doctor sighs. "Well that explains it."

"Why, what's wrong with our friend?" asks one of the men.

The doctor replies: "He's in a korma."

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Since I was here almost three weeks ago the raspberries have come to fruition in the back garden of Sitaram and Vibha's cottage.

There are many fruits ready to pick. I think I shall turn them into jam, one of my all-time favourite relaxing pastimes.

I had a free morning yesterday. It was an appropriate opportunity to rest and give my body a chance to fully heal from whatever it was I came down with in Belgium.

"Healing is a matter of time, but it is sometimes also a matter of opportunity." - Hippocrates

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