Hello Again,

It feels like it’s been so long since I’ve written here even though we just had the one week off between Quarter 1 and Quarter 2.  It was lovely to have a little break and Grandma and Papa Plate (on my side) were able to visit and play with Little Plate for a few days which she absolutely loved!  We also had a few days of just being homebodies and relaxing which was nice as well.

I wish I could say that I was well-rested for Quarter 2 but a few nights before I started waking between 2-3 am and not being able to sleep a wink after that so I started with 3-4 hours of sleep/night for multiple nights in a row before the week and it continued half way through the week and I was feeling it!  Some people get Hangry when they haven’t eaten in awhile. . . I get Tangry (tired + angry) when I’m tired.  Or more like Topeless (tired + hopeless). . . not topless. . .oh man.. . I still haven’t caught up on those Zzzzzs.  It did improve the end of this week, yay!

The sleeplessness aside, the first week of Ayurveda had a lot of wonderful highlights.  The main one being that we’ve made it to the more healing healthy-supportive cuisines!  I am so excited to learn more about Ayurveda, Raw, and Macrobiotic cooking!

We started the week off with a day of Ayurveda theory taught by Chef Felicia Tomasko which was such a treat.  She was so personable and really helped us get a feel for the basics of the teachings of Ayurveda.  She was a wonderful teacher and explained things so well and in a way that we could all understand.  Not to mention, she is so entertaining to be with too!  We wish we could keep Chef Felicia for the whole module.

One of the principals taught in Ayurveda involves the basic energies that make up basically everything around us, including the systems within us.  These are Vata, Pitta, and Kapha (the doshas).  They relate to the elements, seasons, our own constitutions, and the flow of every day.   We had a fantastic introduction to these things and how they can help us be better and more mindful chefs.

We also were introduced to the concept of supporting your agni (digestive fire) eliminating amas, and the 6 tastes of Ayurvedic cooking which include: Sweet, Sour, Salty, Pungent, Bitter, & Astringent.  We worked on being able to balance all 6 flavors and focus on the specific flavors that help balance each dosha.  We have been able to work with another wonderful Chef Instructor during our labs this week and it has been an exciting module so far.

Here is a little glimpse of what we made:

Tridoshic Day- This menu does not provoke any of the three doshas

 

 

 

 

 

 

Vata Day- This Menu can help balance someone who is Vata Imbalanced

 

 

 

 

 

 

Pitta Day- This Menu can help balance someone who is Pitta Imbalanced

 

Garden Pea and Zucchini Soup & Chapati (not pictured)

 

 

 

Kapha Day- This Menu can help balance someone who is Kapha Imbalanced

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We finished off the week with a fun herb and spice discussion and identification class.  Oh my goodness, a lot of new spices have already been introduced in our Ayurveda lab and we have many to learn and become familiar with.  One of my classmates mentioned that this week has been kind of like cooking blind because we have no idea how the recipes are supposed to come out and it’s a challenge, but also exciting.  Another challenge is getting things done swiftly.  We are a smaller class and this has always been something we are working on but this module especially as a lot of recipes each day and a lot of labor intense steps or just little steps that add up- like grinding all the spices fresh or toasting them before using them in the recipe.  I’m sure by week 3 we’ll get into the flow though.

Quarter 2 got off to a rocky start.  This week was maybe the must challenging week that I have had here at NEACA. . . maybe even in the top three in my long history of the pursuit of higher education.  A combination of fatigue & anxiety, getting back into the swing of school after the  break (and yes, this included Little Plate crying for momma to “come back please” the first couple of mornings which broke my heart), some tension in the kitchen, and some disappointment made for a long week.  Having some rough days here and there can really help the brighter days feel special and gives me a better appreciation for the little things which is what I’ll focus on this week.  Keeping it all in perspective 🙂

Loves,

Ashley

PS: It has finally cooled down here in Austin and we have enjoyed the BEST weather this weekend! HOORAY!

Food For Thought

What makes a leader?  Here at the Natural Epicurean every student gets the opportunity to practice their leadership and team work skills on a daily basis.  It can be challenging in the kitchen to communicate effectively and the last couple of months have been great in helping me to further cultivate these skills.  I’m so far from perfect but I am grateful for the practice and being able to reflect on these things through our activities at school.

I have also been thinking about it because this week in school we had some homework that involved taking multiple quizzes (I think I ended up taking about 7) to figure out what our basic natural dosha constitution is.  I am fairly consistently about 51% Kapha, 47% Pitta, and 2% Vata.  Notable personalities that have about the same constitution include Oprah Winfrey and Martin Luther King Jr.. . . they are also ENFJs from the Meyer Briggs 16Personalities quiz and that is what I am too.  Of course, I take this with a grain of salt because everyone is different but I do feel like I enjoy practicing leadership skills and hope to be an educator and lead by example with the knowledge I am acquiring through this experience.

To me a leader is someone who will openly listen to those they work with in a respectful and considerate manner.  They then communicate and work things out in a professional manner and importantly, take action when needed.  One aspect that I think is significant but that maybe we don’t always consider is that a strong leader is able to work through disagreements in a constructive way.  It’s easy to want to shy away from any sort of confrontation but sometimes we need someone to stand up for others.  This can be messy but a good leader isn’t always in the peacemaker role, they sometimes have to get in the middle and work through the hard stuff without being afraid of having and sharing their opinion.  I am excited to continue to work on and reflect on these characteristics.