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Part 1: The Art of Vegetarian Cooking: Freedom, Digestion, and Flavor Greetings and a pleasant, beautiful afternoon to you all watching the broadcast. Our theme this afternoon is to continue cooking. Swāmījī concluded the morning session with a question about what to eat with a soy allergy, and today's teaching concluded with the question of what to do or where to go when we are allergic to soy. I would like to expand on this topic, as we often encounter not only soy allergies but also allergies to gluten and milk. Our schedule this afternoon mirrors the morning: an introduction, some practice, and finally questions. I want to begin by sharing that our great role model is a certain Mr. Voňka, who during the First Republic had six vegetarian restaurants in Prague. They were large establishments for 60 to 100 people, and people stood in line for a table. Evidently, most patrons were not vegetarians. They did not go there to become vegetarian but to have a wonderful gastronomic experience. That is our goal: our food should be pleasing to everyone. The difference between us vegetarians and non-vegetarians is that we eat such food daily, while they might have it only two or three times a week. The opposite is a state where we anxiously adhere to fifty rules and prepare food that is not tasty and that we do not enjoy. Once, someone considered me such a person and said I wanted to request entry into nirvāṇa. Truly, no one attains nirvāṇa by this path. Therefore, we should approach all principles around eating more freely and with greater ease. A common mistake is for someone to say, "I am independent of food, I am already a great yogī, I do not care what I eat." But this is not a sign of spiritual maturity. I believe this is not the way of fundamental evolution. If such a person misses a second meal, they become restless. If they miss a third, they stop working for the day to focus on securing food. A true master, even without food for a day, continues to fulfill duties. Not a minute passes without a thought arising that one should be seeking food. But when the body receives food, it savors it, for it has a far greater capacity to perceive tastes. In other words, taste belongs to the body, not to the soul. If you do not enjoy your food, you will not properly digest it. When you do not care about food properly, your digestion also does not function properly. The food was much better when it came directly to the dung heap, so to speak. My aim is not to frighten you, burden you with obstacles, or complicate your life. Now, to the issue of soy and food quality. If you are allergic to soy—meaning you cannot eat tofu or protein concentrates—it basically does not matter at all. You do not need them. Earlier, during socialism, it was thought here that perhaps cereals, vegetables, and fruits contained no proteins, and that only meat and dairy products could provide them. But as I said this morning, there are so many proteins in grains and legumes that they fully suffice. We do not need additional protein concentrates. However, we are accustomed to meals where the base is a protein concentrate. It also appears that with increased protein intake, we address certain psychological tensions. When you live in an ashram, you can eat only porridge and lentils. But in ordinary life, with its burdens, it is often a good way for a person to balance everything. Scientific studies show that if you consume 100 grams of animal protein, you face significant problems, experience a large loss of calcium, and have an increased risk of osteoporosis. However, there are populations with an intake of 100 grams of protein, mostly from plants, that do not have this problem. Is there a risk that you might consume more plant-based proteins as if you were eating more animal food? In conclusion, you do not really need concentrates, but if you consume more plant proteins, it cannot harm you as long as they come from plants. These protein concentrates are also made from wheat, corn protein, and mushrooms, so you can look for substitutes in these other plant proteins. Regarding dairy products, some people consume a lot of cheese. Many studies have been conducted on Seventh-day Adventists. Overall, they were much healthier than those on a meat-based diet. Adventists are vegetarians, especially in America and Canada. But those who consumed a lot of dairy products and cheese were worse off than those who ate meat. Cheeses that mature for a long time cause the cholesterol in them to oxidize. If you consider how many dairy products you need to consume to get enough B12, that is a problem for vegans. You only need about 200 ml of milk or dairy products per day—equivalent to one 100g yogurt or 10g of curd. It is a very small amount, and vegans can take B12 in tablets. Essentially, there is no other known problem for vegans with a balanced diet except the risk of B12 deficiency. Today we will talk about legumes and prepare them with fat. I would like to say something about fat. With oils, it is necessary to distinguish whether we are using them for salad or for cooking. For high-temperature cooking, we choose fats that do not contain essential fatty acids, as those oxidize first. Olive oil and canola oil are considered good. Rapeseed oil contains a lot of omega-3 fatty acids, which are quite scarce nowadays. Other oils have large volumes of so-called omega-6 particles, which are very much represented today. The "omega of difficulty" is represented in Pisces, and often this is the reason why Pisces is represented, because of the omega content. But we vegetarians do not suffer from heart attacks, so that argument is meaningless for us. For heat cooking, rapeseed oil is interesting, but palm oil has proven best for us. It is said that frying and baking are harmful to health. Yes, that is true, but be careful: this applies especially to animal foods when we bake, cook, or fry them. As I told you this morning, animal foods do not contain antioxidants. That is why so-called free radicals form there, chain together, and also arise in our organism, damaging our health and primarily contributing to cancer. If food has high antioxidant activity—containing many antioxidants—then significantly fewer or no free radicals arise. There is a big difference, several orders of magnitude, between someone making meat in breadcrumbs and vegetables in a pea stew. People can easily verify this by noticing that after eating a piece of meat, they usually need to lie down, but after eating vegetables prepared with legumes, they feel light, can go for a walk, and can work after lunch. Now I would like to pass the word to my wife so she can say something about preparing legumes and about what she is preparing here for you. I would like to say that legumes were once called the meat of the poor. Beans were on the menu almost every day. During the Second World War, cakes were baked from beans, and they were used for stuffing. Between the two world wars, 20 kilos of pulses were consumed per person per year; today in the Czech Republic, only one kilo is eaten. When I pondered why, it is also necessary to note that back then it was 30 kg of meat per person annually; during the First Republic, it was 80 kg. Why such a shift? It seems many people have stopped digesting well or complain they cannot digest legumes. Shall we try to explain the principles to improve the digestion of legumes? It is common to soak legumes overnight, especially those that are not peeled, like beans, peas, and lentils. It is very important to drain the soaking water. The reason is that enzyme inhibitors in this water also inhibit our digestive enzymes and worsen the absorption of important minerals like iron and zinc. Therefore, it is very important to pour out this water after soaking. People often object, saying they pour out valuable substances. That has been explained. We cook the legumes in completely pure, fresh water. It is also good to drain that first water again after about two minutes of boiling. By briefly boiling, the husks separate from the grain. After soaking, you change most of the water again because you must not disturb the sediments. Often, after soaking, when you mechanically rub the legumes, the husk falls off and you can drain it away. That outer layer causes the most bloating problems. We often think, as with grains, that the most valuable part is in the husk, and that discarding it is a mistake. But there is a fundamental difference between a whole grain and a legume. In cereals, minerals and fiber are throughout the entire kernel. So, we soaked the legume, drained the soaking water, and are cooking it in clean water. It is even recommended, for truly sensitive digestion, to strain the water once more during cooking until digestion improves. This draining happens after two minutes, basically when the legumes are brought to a boil. After soaking, we cook the legumes in pure water. It is then important to add some spice to the cooking. When I spoke about spices in the morning, I had in mind people who consume meat three times a day. When we spoke about attachments in today’s lecture, I was referring to people accustomed to abundance. When I spoke about smāchakas, we can use spices very delicately, yet they are very effective for our digestion. So, what spices? When I cook legumes, I add bay leaf, allspice, oregano or basil, satureja, thyme. If you like it spicier, you can add chili or konphuma. Even the mentioned spices, the mahā spices, can be opened in oil. When cooking legumes, salt is added only at the end of boiling because the legumes would not soften otherwise; they would remain hard, or the cooking time would be significantly extended. Similarly, if you want to add something sour, add it at the end so as not to unnecessarily prolong the cooking. Another common mistake in Czech cuisine is that legumes have recently come to be regarded as less valuable food. So, hard-boiled eggs, sausages, or bacon were served with legumes, and no vegetables—at most a sour cucumber. Legumes contain more protein than meat. For example, in 100 grams they have about 22-24 grams of protein, while beef has around 20 and pork only 15. Therefore, one should regard legumes as a piece of meat and not combine and strengthen them together with other proteins. To make legumes easier to digest, combine them with vegetables. I am always surprised at how much effort it takes me to come up with that, and then I find some Indian recipe where they cook so naturally. When you cook legumes and then add cooked or steamed vegetables, it becomes a much lighter, more digestible meal, and there are significantly fewer legumes in it. A raw vegetable salad as a side dish is also very appropriate. So, on our plate, we have one-third legumes cooked in water, combined with steamed vegetables and raw vegetables. The plate and the digestion are completely different from the traditional preparation. But it is still possible that even legumes prepared this way can cause digestive problems. Then the solution is legume flours: chickpea flour, bean flour, pea flour. You can start by thickening a soup with some legume flour. I would like to point out and strongly emphasize that you should cook those legumes in the soup thoroughly, for 20 minutes. But please, do not let it overpower for more than 20 minutes. When we observe how people celebrate anniversaries today, they always do it in a very intense way. Some are surprised and say they cook for only about three to five minutes. That rush very unhealthily affects digestion. I believe our digestion will not accept such haste. For one pot of soup, take one tablespoon of that legume flour. Part 2: Refined Transcript: Enhancing Cuisine with Legumes A sauce thickened with legumes can be the most nutritionally valuable dish in an entire meal. This offers a way to significantly improve traditional Czech—or indeed, European—cuisine. One reason such cuisine is often considered hearty but unhealthy, leading to weight gain, is the frequent use of sauces thickened with a roux of white flour fried in fat. This flour can clog the intestines and contribute to weight gain. In contrast, using finely ground, well-cooked legumes introduces beneficial coarse fiber, which is gentler on digestion and improves intestinal passage. The same principle applies to soups, often thickened with roux, which can be upgraded by using legumes instead. Another common culinary challenge is replacing eggs. Legume flour, such as pea or chickpea flour, is an excellent substitute. For instance, in whole-grain rolls, the texture can become dry and crumbly, but adding legume flour binds it beautifully, creating an egg-like consistency without using eggs. This is not only healthier but also simplifies food preparation in large-scale operations like bakeries, eliminating the hygiene and storage concerns associated with eggs. Furthermore, a well-seasoned batter made from legume flour is excellent for frying vegetables like onion rings, cauliflower, or broccoli. This can be a delightful introduction to vegetarian cooking for those unfamiliar with its principles. An interesting observation concerns onions. When cooked gently, their natural sweetness emerges. This inherent sweetness in a savory dish can reduce the subsequent craving for something sweet after the meal, preventing that uncomfortable, heavy feeling and promoting a sustained sense of well-being. When a densely cooked legume flour is blended with yogurt, it creates a wonderful sauce for steamed vegetables. It also works excellently as a binder in baked dishes like pasta or potato bakes, eliminating the need for eggs or cheese. Spicing is key. Cumin, coriander, and mustard seeds are best briefly toasted in oil. For heat and color, chili and turmeric can be added at the end of cooking to prevent burning. Fresh green herbs like parsley are a fine finishing touch. The skill of master chefs often lies in working with spices in fat, avoiding artificial flavor enhancers like glutamates, which impart an unnatural taste. Soy sauce has its place but is not for every dish. It can be used as a table condiment, allowing individuals to adjust the saltiness of their meal without the risk of oversalting, as it distributes flavor more evenly than plain salt. Soy milk is also useful but, again, not for every meal. In summary, the method is to take inspiration from global techniques to upgrade national cuisines. Use local, seasonal ingredients where possible. For example, while high-quality, traditionally fermented soy sauce is excellent, if a local producer committed to the slow, proper method emerged—perhaps creating a "Czech soy sauce" with the care of Pilsner beer—it would be a great benefit. A product like "Hraška" (a Czech blend based on pea flour) exemplifies this approach. It is gluten-free, uses natural ingredients, and includes mineral-rich salt with a lower sodium content. It is durable, with a long shelf life, and is becoming appreciated not only by health-conscious consumers but also by the general public for its taste and versatility. The goal is to create food that is good and enjoyable for everyone, transcending national boundaries. By applying these principles—using legumes as thickeners and binders, mastering spices, and choosing quality ingredients—you can enhance your own national culinary traditions.