This week the monastery kitchen took to the road, as Tun Hiriko, Samanera Ñanamoli and I spent a night out in the wilds. Judging by the weight of his rucksack Ñanamoli might not have left the sink behind. But I made do with the dripping rock above our heads and a brushwood stove. I enjoyed it very much; the simplicity and improvisation of working with an open fire – the primitive pleasure of sitting around together staring into the embers. Come the morning we returned under a bright moon, stopping in the trees to lay our Guardian Weekly tablecloth over the beech leaves and prepare breakfast: Which amongst other things (but not porridge) consisted of Kendal Mint Cake – as used “by the successful British Everest Expedition in 1975 and by other great expeditions since the turn of the twentieth century.” Quite, indeed.
Wednesday proved something of an expedition too. The stove stayed cold, the monastery closed down and the whole community headed south as an A1 Buddhist convoy, until we arrived at the Thai restaurant in Kathy's hotel, the Sun Dial in Northallerton, for the
And so today's meal consisted of reheated Thai food which Kathy and her staff kindly gave to us on leaving. With a few additions here, a few additions there, and a little jiggery-pokery with Anagarika Radek's pasta, I managed a new variation on our east-west theme. It happens often, actually, that I find jiggery-pokery a useful skill; the ability to embellish and embroider a bit; to be the spin-doctor of the monastery kitchen, reworking yesterday's food to successfully offer it today. I see it as serving economy and thrift and its outcome as a canny test of monastic dispassion.
This coming week will be somewhat different as we all go silent and stay put – one of a number of 'silent weeks' dotted through the year which the Ajahn views as our contribution to global sanity. Personally speaking, I find them a challenge to my sanity. So having the daily task of preparing a meal can be a welcome and fruitful distraction; an interesting one too, if it involves the silent ‘co-operation’ of a visiting guest. It’s strange to work like that with someone; sometimes fraught with tension, sometimes peaceful and companionable. Rather like the silence itself. Either way, the view from the monastery kitchen is not the same.
Right now though, the view shows that the following would be helpful:
- Soya milk (preferably GM-free)
- Semi-skimmed long-life milk
- Tahini
- Brown rice
- Garlic and root ginger
- Root vegetables
- Cheese
And that some additional items would also prove useful to the storesmaster:
- Batteries (size AA, AAA)
- Stamps (any value)
- Fire wood
- Danish oil
- Teak oil
- Long matches
- Old newspapers (not just for tablecloths)
Thanks you too, but we have plenty of the following:
Toothbrushes, salt, instant coffee, towels and soap.
