In The Blue Heron Ranch Cookbook: Recipes and Stories from a Zen Retreat Center, Nadia Natali offers delectable and simple recipes, many of which were passed down from relatives and adapted to the daily demands of those traveling to her Zen center. Natali shares her diverse life experiences through personal stories of her family’s trials and tribulations while living in the wilds of California’s Los Padres National Forest.
In the following interview, Natali tells how she came to write this cookbook, and she also discusses one of the toughest challenges a woman can face: parenting.
Q. What inspired you to write The Blue Heron Ranch Cookbook?
A. Many years ago when I started living out here at Blue Heron Ranch, I cooked for my family all the time and then we started a Zen center where I ended up cooking for the retreat. The people said they loved the food and why don’t I write a cookbook, and I actually took it to heart and started writing down some recipes and put it in a file and left it. Then my daughter, Marica, who is a wonderful illustrator, and I decided to collaborate. This became what is now called The Blue Heron Ranch Cookbook.
Q. It says in the book that you lived in a teepee for several years. Was this hard to do with children?
A. Actually, while I was in it, no. I think if I had to anticipate it, I would have dreaded it and if I had to look back and do it again . . . at the time it was really wonderful until it started to rain during the winter months. It was very hard because it actually rained in the teepee and we had to put buckets around to catch the drips, and then the mice came. I know it sounds terrible, but besides that it was really charming with rugs around and a wood burning stove, and a little knee high kitchen area. We were building our house during this time and it made it easier to handle, especial since I was pregnant with our third child.
Q. What made you choose to home school your children?
A. We came here to Ojai originally because we wanted to live near a small town that had a wholesome environment and a school we felt good about. And we started our kids at a Krishnamurti school, called the Oak Grove School, which is a great school but it didn’t suit us, or our lifestyle. So we just kept them at home.
Q. What methods did you use to educate your children? Did you use a curriculum?
A. At first I thought maybe we would, there was a home schooling program in Ojai that I tried to follow for a week or two, and I found that it was dry and it made me feel anxious. I wondered how I could keep it up, it was so structured, and I felt overwhelmed. I noticed that the children learned a lot more when we let life circumstances teach them, especially considering what the kids were exposed to. We were basically living off the land with no electricity for years. No phone, no TV, no media distractions. There was just nature, and us, creating a livable home situation.
Q. So how did your children learn to read and write?
A. I ended up teaching them how to read. I made up all kinds of games to teach them and each learned in their own unique way. My husband, Enrico, taught them math and interestingly, in two weeks time they were able to cover what most kids in school took several months. And we found out later that they all had more than enough skills in both these areas, so I was very relieved.
Q. Did you have any support?
A. At that time, home schooling was new and my parents were not supportive at all, in fact they were very concerned. And some friends even viewed the whole thing as an experiment. But there were a few families who had children the same age as ours that really connected with us and appreciated what we were doing. What was really interesting was that wherever we went, people always commented on how well behaved the kids were. Yet they also said, “Your kids really know their own minds.” And this was the support I needed.
Q. You wrote about holding Zen retreats at your home. How did you handle childcare, cooking and still have time to participate?
A. That turned out to be great! There were a few families that had children the same age as ours that came to our Zen center. We worked out a system of taking turns, with one parent watching the kids while the others sat in meditation. And even though I did all the cooking I still managed to attend most sittings. We organized it in such a way that all the participants helped out. It worked out very well, very balanced.
Did you teach your children how to cook?
Not directly. They just watched me. Because it was such an important part of our lifestyle, when I was in the kitchen they would jump up on the counter and sit there and ask if they could stir or cut, and it became a natural thing for them. Especially the girls who learned so easily. Now Marica who illustrated this book, has become a great cook and has gone to a level that is beyond me, taking more risks and more interest.
What is one of your favorite recipes you included in your book?
Although this book is mostly vegetarian, I guess I would say the Miso Pine Salmon, because it is so delicious, simple, and easy. I just want to add that even people who don’t cook can use this cookbook and can use some of these recipes without ever having to understand cooking, because the way the recipes are written and laid out, they are much easier to understand.
Nadia Natali grew up in Westport Connecticut, graduated from Columbia University in New York, and received an M.A. in dance therapy from Hunter College. During this period, she met her future husband, Enrico Natali. The Natalis lived for eight years in the backwoods of northern NY and moved to Ojai, California, when their first child was born. Soon after arriving in Ojai, Enrico became a serious Zen practitioner and over the years attended many Zen retreats. After Nadia tried a Zen retreat in 1989, she and her husband decided to start a modest meditation retreat center at the Blue Heron Ranch. Since that time they’ve hosted numerous weekend and eight-day retreats. Nadia cooks all of the meals and participates in the meditations.
Miso Pine Salmon
Serves 6
This recipe was given to me by Kobun Chino Roshi, a Zen teacher and our friend. It is the best salmon I’ve ever tasted. It is so easy, I use this recipe all the time.
1. Place in a large baking dish:
2.5 lbs Fresh salmon rinsed: score fish crosswise 1/2″ deep
2. Mix and spread over entire fish then turn fish skin side up:
2 Tbs. Miso paste, mellow white
2 Tbs. Water
4. Find and cut fresh from a tree:
2 3” Pine tree branches with needles, if you can find them*
*This is optional but will add the special flavor that completes this recipe.
Place on top of fish while baking. The branches will turn black.
Bake at 500° for 15–20 minutes.
Remove branches before serving.
*Due to fire hazard, do not leave oven unattended.
CLICK HERE to learn more about The Blue Heron Ranch Cookbook.
Posted by Talia Shapiro 
