Tofu Patties
1 pound tofu, drained
1/2 cup seasoned bread crumbs
2 Tablespoons soy sauce
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon asafetida
Preheat oven to 375. Oil a baking sheet.
Mash tofu with soy sauce, salt and asafetida powder. Mix in bread crumbs. Form into small patties and place on a greased baking sheet. Bake 20 minutes on one side, then flip and bake 15 more minutes. Enjoy with pasta and sauce.
Sounds Great, but I Have a Question.
That recipe sounds like it would work ideally in my usual eating habits. It reminded me of a thought that has been bugging me for a couple of days -- if one were offering Prasadam, is it permissible to use ready made frozen veggie burgers? I find them satisfying and incredibly convenient, but I have a sneaking suspicion that they might not be exactly fit for offering Lord Krishna. Far too easy, and they require no thought or planning. Am I right?! I would suppose it would be a better idea to make your tofu patties, freeze them, and have home made convenience food to offer! What are the rules, if any, for frozen and convenience foods?
Utility Is The Principle
Hare Krishna, Dear Dach,
I agree with what Radhikesh Das is saying here about Utility is The Principle.
That means that since you are working so much, in your life right now, and you have only just learned about offering food at all, what to speak of how exactly to cook and prepare food for Krishna,
it's very important not to get too caught up in the "very best that you could do"....
It's very good you're asking this, and it's important to know the best standard for cooking and offering your food.
However, sometimes we have to offer what we have, and if that means a frozen vege burger, then better to offer that, than to eat your food without offering it.
As long as the ingredients are purely vegetarian, then you can offer it.
When Srila Prabhupad first came to America, and He was living as a guest at the house of a friend, He used to use frozen vegetables and prepare and offer those.
Of course that's not the same thing as a frozen vege burger.
But the point is, that if there is not a realistic way to offer anything else, and you don't have time to cook properly, then you can offer it.
It's the devotion that matters most, Dach, so offer it with a lot of love.... : ) :) :)
Love,
Navasi
Offering Vs Reading/Chanting
Hare Krishna,
The very same question has been bugging me for a while but havent done anything about it so far, can frozen veggie burgers, ready to serve custard/rice pudding be offered to Krishna??
Due to my lifestyle its bit difficult for me to cook food every day, so I usually cook different dishes during the weekend, offer them to Kirshna and freeze them. During weekdays, I just defrost the frozen food for me and offer fruits to Krishna since the frozen food is already offered to him.
I could(with difficulty) cook food for Krishna during weekdays and offer him rather than just fruits, but I was wondering whether its better to spend an hour cooking food for Krishna or spend that time reading/chanting/etc???
At times I do feel bad/guilty for not offering nice hot food to the Supreme person on cold winter nights while I am still eating food just out of microwave, so i keep begging him either to change my circumstances so that I can cook every day or fill my heart with full of love for him so that I will go to any lenghts to offer him fresh food. Don't get me wrong, I love him now, you know what I mean. Please excuse if Iam sounding silly, I am not good at expressing my thoughts/feelings on paper.
Japaholic
Hearing & Chanting
Hare Krishna, Dear Japaholic,
Well, you will become tired of having me be the one commenting to your questions always... :)
But, since no one else has commented, I hope you don't mind if I do...
Since our whole Krishna conscious practice is based on Hearing and Chanting (and hearing also means reading the scripture), then to me that is the priority and everything else comes after that.
So the priority is:
Hearing (reading) and Chanting
Everything Else
Of course we have all sorts of things we have to do, and eating is one of them, so you do it to the best of your ability in terms of offering your food in whatever way you can according to your life situation.
But remember that Krishna has no need of our food, whether it's hot or cold, He is only accepting it because by offering it to Him, we are benefited, so there is no reason to feel guilty/bad about not giving Him something hot....
What He wants is our devotion, our love for Him, our thoughts to be about Him, etc...
That consciousness is attained through the process of Hearing (reading) and Chanting....
So, concentrate on those things first, and then, if you are able still to do even more, then that's very wonderful!!! :)
Love,
Navasi
Thank you
Hare Krishna, Navasi Mataji,
I am not tired of your comments at all, instead I am very glad that you always find time to answer my questions. Infact when I actually posted the question I was hoping you will answer it.
As always, your explanation is wonderful. Thank you.
Japaholic
Offering
Haribol Dachsowned. Your suspicion is right. Frozen foods are not exactly fit to be offered to Lord Krishna. The best food to offer is to make it ourselves and offer to Krishna when they are fresh. When food is prepared by others, it is said their consciousness gets into the cooking and those who consume it are affected by it. Thats why we need to cook in pure consciousness in a clean environment (Prabhupada asked Yamuna Mataji to clean her hands every now and then while cooking) and then offer it to Krishna. Foods prepared more than three hours before is considered to be in the mode of ignorance, and only foods in the mode of goodness are fit to offer to Krishna.
Again utility is the principle - if one has no other recourse, then we can offer whatever is available (vegetarian) and eat prasadam.
Radhikesh das
great work Suraj
MMM mmm
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Visit the Food Channel @ Krishna.com
Nice!
Well Done, lol :)