Oat Water

Over on my cooking yesterday I posted about gruel, referencing the famous New Vrindavan Oat Water.

Ahhh, the memories. Not for me but for some longtime New V residents. While the stories I've heard about the oat water never sounded so yummy (and usually included phrases like, "You were lucky if you got a raisin!"), Ghosh and Soma Prabhus have different memories. And they were even gracious enough to share recipes. In quantity!

And there was no mention that the oats used were from animal feed sacks as I heard. Just see how important prajalpa niyamagraha is.

Okay...so here are the comments...for the pleasure of the Vaisnavas. May your new year be filled with devotion and oat water!


Madhava Gosh said...
"just oatwater" ?

Apparently you have never had real oatwater.

It happens to be the one thing I do know how to cook, having been the one who first made it and taught the regular cooks how to do it.

Kirtanananda told me how to do it so I did and introduced it to the other devotees.

About half the normal amount of oats to water, it was cooked for 1-2 hours at a simmer until the oats lose their form and become one with the water, creamy. A few raisins added later but soon enough that they plump up. Some ginger and a bit of salt, and a tablespoon of ghee per gallon.

"Oat water" was a bad marketing choice for a name, oat broth or cream of oats would have conveyed the idea better.

Oat water was great, not an austerity, when taken hot.

December 30, 2008 11:41 PM




Soma said...
ahhh... oatwater, it is my favorite breakfast. I would eat it everyday if i could. I have such warm memories of it. We rarely ate oat water by itself. It was used like gravy on the rice. And it was an unbelievable improvement from the previous fare. it was one part of the day that we all looked forward to. Personally i didn't like the raisins or dates in the oatwater. but because they would sink to the bottom i could just scoop it off the top and miss the raisins and dates.
anyway, i cooked the oat water for a few months in 1985. i still have the recipe that Amburisha prabhu wrote on a scrap of paper for me.
here it is;
14 gal. water
1 overflowing gal. of oats
3/4 cup of salt
2 cup rasin or dates
ginger and gee impurites if any.

(for the rice)
4 1/2 gal. rice
6 gal water(slightly less)
2 cups salt.
gee impurities if any

that's the historical recipe from 1985.

Going YouTube Crazy!!!

Just in time for the New Year I have figured out how to upload video to YouTube. Whoopee! This is a big moment in my life.

Unfortunately I don't have much worth sharing just yet, but the Holy Name is always a safe bet.

Here are some quick clips taken pretty soon after we moved to Alachua. My friend Gopi, who moved here from North Carolina just a couple of days after we did, as well as Premananda Gour Prabhu and his wife Mayapur Malini are all chanting away along with my family. Fun fun fun. Premananda and Mayapur left for India shortly after we moved here and have been there ever since. They are very exuberant devotees.

Okay so here is the rip roaring kirtan ;)

Part One
Part Two
Part Three

As you can see from the video, Premananda Prabhu is great at engaging the children, whom he truly loves. This is also evident from seeing his own kids, Bali and Kish, in kirtan.

Gopi (Gopiparandhana Dasi) chants super sweetly. She went to gurukula in Guyana an now her daughter attends the gurukula in Alachua.

Happy New Year to all..hoping to develop taste for the Holy Name...sweeter than....money!

"Mata, Look at My Butter. I'm Lalita Sakhi."

My favorite gopi, back from the forest collecting honey.  Okay, that's what Madhumati does. But this is Lalita and she just churned some pink butter.

The Day After

Blue skies, white clouds, Krishna and Balarama following the cows over on Govardhana where the cows play....

Christmas was pretty non-monumental for us.  But the day after marked our first trip to St. Augustine.  

I enjoy the beach but not in the traditional sense. I am not an ocean swimmer nor am I into exposing my body to the sun--or anyone else for that matter.  But since we do now live in Florida, I am open to visiting the beach often.  The warmth of the sun, the ocean air and the soothing sound of the waves don't take much effort to enjoy.

And the kids thoroughly love it.  We never took them to the beach before moving to Florida simply because we didn't do much stuff like that.  The beach always required some effort (meaning driving) and since there wasn't going to be any devotees there, I never thought it was worth the effort.

Now I am realizing that childhood is kind of a long process and we need to fill the time with something. St. Augustine was absolutely beautiful. The temperature was in the mid-eighties and the sky was nice and blue. The kids went into the ocean with my husband and I headed up the sand castle building. All in all, a day full of mode of goodness fun.  Can't wait to go back. 

On the way back home my husband and I agreed that Florida surpasses its reputation.  Eighty five degrees at the beach sure beats twenty degrees with snow on the ground. In this way, I don't miss Gita Nagari.

Now if only my friends would come visit.  Gopa, I'm keeping the waffle iron warm for you!

Dwarka Palace construction crew.

This was only half way through construction. We were all too sand covered at the end to snap pics. Madhuati decorated the palace with shells and Venumadhava hoisted a flag made from a gull feather.

These guys checked out the ocean and decided 56 degrees was not too cold to swim in.

Me soaking up the rays in my string bikini.

Vaisnava Body Building Worked for Me!

Another Reason I Miss Gita Nagari

Gita Nagari is close to New Jersey. And in New Jersey, this is going on:

Camellias for God

Personalized Plates

We finally registered our cars in Alachua.  We had a choice of plates that read on the bottom "Alachua,"  "Orange" or "Sunshine State."  Of course, we chose Alachua.  Representin'.

But oh my was I super happy when we got the plates.  My car is M00 6NY and my husband's is M00 7NY.

MOO!!!!!  That's as good as "HARI BOL" in my book.  and the 6NY and 7NY just makes me think of Prabhupada in New York in the 60's and 70's.  You know...where it all began!

MOO!!!

Thank you, Krishna, for spiritualizing the mundane. Everything emanates from you and I see your love for such a small jiva as myself in such tiny sweet gestures. 

MOO!!!  MOO!!! MOO!!! 

Remembering My Good Fortune

This morning's class was given by Srutakirti Prabhu and was super sweet.  I haven not heard prabhu speak since the time he came to "Gregg and Kristen's" in NJ for a home program in 1997.  Of course, he spoke about Srila Prabhupada and his words were totally captivating.

His stories were humorous, poignant and, above all, humble.  Srutakirti Prabhu's mood is absolute humility.  Affable and soft spoken with a wide grin, I would imagine that anyone meeting him would find him immediately likable.  He is, in a word, charming.

But his charm is completely an extension of his humility.  When hearing him speak of Srila Prabhupada's glories or his own service to Srila Prabhupada, there is no question that Srutakirti Prabhu is aware of his great fortune.  And when he speaks he really is sharing that fortune with all of us.  

Because it is ours just as much as it is his.  

Of course, I am not at that level of realization.  If I was I would actually do something for Prabhupada.  But in the meantime, it is nice to meditate on the fact that this initiation into the Brahma Madhva Gaudiya Sampradaya is more than just some ritual I sat in on almost 11 years ago; it is my good fortune.

Walkable Alachua

Yesterday morning I awoke feeling morose; I really missed Gita Nagari. Of course, the day before I did receive an email that the schools were closed in State College due to snow--snow being something I generally don't miss about Gita Nagari.  But the thought of walking out my back door and looking at the undulating snow somehow made my heart melt for our old life.  

I miss the radiant heat of my wood stove.  Sure, the cold days here are about 55 degrees, but we have central heat and I cannot seem to stay warm...especially when the system is cooling off and blowing cold air.   I miss the snow, knowing that when it is all melted and spring steps forward, snow drops and crocuses will push their way through the rich earth and the grass will reclaim its lush verdant glory.  The old maples will loom even larger once their leaves appear and shade will be available any time of day in our yard at our house--which is still technically ours despite finally getting a renter.

Here we have pine trees.  Need I say more?

But later that day I was reminded what I really like about Alachua (besides the fact that when you go to the temple there are actually devotees there!).  I like, no no, *love* the location of our house.  Although it is about an 8 minute drive to the temple, everything else is *WALKABLE*!  Coming from Gita Nagari where a trip to the grocery store was a major ordeal, this is a biggie. 

I can walk to two grocery stores, CVS, the post office, the library, the rec center, the dentist and more.

Yesterday was the Alachua Christmas parade and and the devotees were in it.  Since we live just a few blocks back from Main Street, both the starting point and ending point were walkable for us.  The parade was a lot of fun.  We don't normally get to go on harinama because they are usually centered around UF games, which involve a lot of drunk people--not something I want los ninos around.  Adi Karta Prabhu led an awesome kirtan and everyone seemed happy to see the devotees. Kalya-pani Prabhu led the procession walking on stilts. He is very theatrical. And the kids got to ride on a cart tossing candy canes out to the crowd of onlookers.

After the parade we *walked* over to the library to see a performance by Ani's dance school. Three classes performed (4 dances, I think).  My daughter was absolutely captivated by the performance.  Before the final dance, Ani called all the little ones to come up and be an animal in the forest of Vrindavan.  

Madhumati decided she was a cow and Sita taught her the appropriate mudra.  I coaxed Venumadhava to go up (no boys were volunteering) and be the token lion.  Ani very enthusiastically taught him the lion mudra but it kind of fell flat with my son.  Instead of replicating the mudra, he came and sat down.  

After everyone learned their part, Ani and the older girls "set the scene," becoming tamal and mango trees, the Yamuna river and the cooling breeze of Vrindavan.  Then all the animals were called and the little girlies did their best to replicate their mudras on their own.

My husband really enjoyed Ani's serious and sweet mood and the dedication of the dancers.  He is looking forward to Madhumati's coordination increasing so that she can become one of Krishna's dancing girls.

After the library, we *walked* back to Main Street for some ice cream at the sweet shop.  We discovered this place on the night of the town Christmas tree lighting and I have to say, am very excited about and thankful for its existence.  Although I generally dislike ice cream, I will happily go out for a scoop in order to add a little normalcy to my life.

When we finished up with our ice cream, we *walked* over to my husband's work Christmas party, which was held at a hall behind the police station.  His boss lives in our neighborhood, just a few houses down, so even though my husband works in Gainesville, the party was held in walkable Alachua.

We only popped in there for about 10 minutes and then headed home after a long afternoon of being out and about town.  

In the evening I drove over to the temple. But still, I don't mind not living walkable distance to it.  At Gita Nagari we lived a mile from the temple--a little far for a quick jaunt but still walkable.  But because the only thing between us and the temple were corn fields, the kids often got bored along the way (they are not natural born farm kids).  

So although our land is more sand than soil and filled with enough pine trees to supply an Ikea factory, I am digging the fact that we can take a walk and actually go somewhere.

In the morning the kids went to a classmate's birthday party, which is where they scored the sunglasses and rings Venumadhava is modeling.  Here we are...walking from our house to the parade.

Madhumati on the back of the truck wearing her Santa hat.  Well, hers for the parade.

Ekadasi and I were the only ones at the harinam representing "Bhakti Tirtha Swami's Dancing Girls."  As you can see from my wrinkles and Ekadasi's roots, we aren't really girls anymore.  But we can still bust a move...kirtan party animals!!!

Adi-karta Prabhu warming up the crowd.

Cute!

Have fun without us, kids!

Don't you have Bharat Natyam performances at your local library?

Sita teaching Madhumati how to be a cow without mooing.

Ani teaching Venumadhava how to be a lion.

Just like at your local ice cream shop, right?

My happy kids.  Black walnut and mint chocolate chip with rainbow sprinkles.

Prainlines and cream and black walnut for two.

We Are All Loving...

...the newly primed walls. Thank you, Babu!!

Distributing 24 Hr. Kirtan DVD for 10 Bucks Only!

This is a whole lot of kirtan rasa at a super mellow price!!!  A full $2.99 cheaper than what you can get it for at Krishna.com...and they're not even bootlegs!!!!

I am distributing them for the organizers of 24 hr. kirtan.  All monies go back to 24 hr. kirtan.  

Bring your 10 bucks to the feast this Sunday to get a copy or email me at devamirel@gmail.com.

Only 10 bucks!  Wooo-hooo.