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    9-11 (and personal choice)

    ByElizabeth

    Secretary Hilda Solis sent workers at the Department of Labor an email invitation yesterday to do some volunteer activity today to honor those who lost their lives in the tragedy of 9-11.  She did not remind us of terror or enmity or need for war.

    It resonated with what my teacher John Friend, who often discusses the need to serve as part of our practice, counsels in times of distress.  He admits that it is not, as the t-shirt would have it, “all good.”  We can choose, though, how to respond to violence, to suffering, to meanness, to evil.  We can, he urges, seek to respond from “the highest.”  We personally have the choice to try to bring light when we encounter darkness.

    I do not always succeed, particularly with the small things, but I continue to try, and I deeply appreciate all the teachings and reminders I get.

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    Durga Yantra

    ByElizabeth

    Last night at dinner a friend noticed my necklace and asked about it.

    “My friend Eleanor Drabo, who is at Eastern Market on the weekends, and is a wonderful artist and jewelry designer, made it for me,” I told her.

    “Did you draw the image?” she asked.

    “I asked for the basic design,” I explained, “it’s the central part of the yantra for the Goddess Durga. She’s the Goddess who had to slay the demon the the male gods made so powerful they couldn’t get rid of the demon themselves. I had it made of scrap gold–broken jewelry I’d found over the years at yard sales, a couple of unstylish single earrings that might have been a grandmother’s, and the custom ring from my former marriage.”

    “That sounds like a story for your blog,” she suggested, “such a transformation.”

    “It could be.”

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    At Your Request (Grown Up Cranberry Sauce)

    ByElizabeth

    I was first taught how to make cranberry sauce in 3rd or 4th grade.  We made the recipe off of the back of the bag, which recipe I am fairly certain is still on the bag of “conventionally grown” cranberries.  The recipe is:  One bag cranberries + one cup water + one cup sugar.  Bring all ingredients to a boil.  Maintaining a vigorous simmer, stir continuously until most of the cranberries have popped and the liquid has thickened.  Allow to cool.  OK to make in advance; store in refrigerator.  From that time on, we did not eat cranberry sauce from a can, which was a big deal in the late 60s, early 70s.

    This year’s variation is organic and uses some local ingredients.  Three generous cups (this is about the same as the typical bag of cranberries) of cranberries + one cup apple cider + 1/2 cup sucanat + a splash of cognac or brandy.  Maintaining a vigorous simmer, stir continuously until most of the cranberries have popped and the liquid has thickened.  Allow to cool.  Optional:  add another splash of cognac while cooling.  OK to make in advance; store in refrigerator.

    Variations:  (1) use pomegranate juice instead of cider; include a vanilla bean and a sliver of lemon rind while cooking.  (2) replace cognac or brandy with Calvados and include a cinnamon stick while cooking. (3) replace the cider with orange juice, the cognac with triple sec, and use turbinado sugar instead of sucanat.  The variations are many.  Just have the types of fruit, flavorings (spices and liquor) meld with eachother, and make sure there is enough sugar to gel the sauce.

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    Signs Around Town

    ByElizabeth

    I love this piece of yard art (assuming it was intended to be art).

    Do you have places that you have reserved for yourself that perhaps would be better abandoned? Are there places and spaces where you could grow and explore that you shy away from because of the emptiest of signs or rules?

    Just asking (I know I do, if I am being honest with myself).

    Peace and light, E — Posted with WordPress for BlackBerry.

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    What’s For Breakfast?

    ByElizabeth

    Snowpeas, tri-color beans. Peppers. Cherry tomatoes, basil (blueberries and strawberries did not make it out of the garden).

    A student asked me the other day why I garden–was it to save money, he asked, was it for better tasting food?

    It does save money to grow food and food eaten straight out of the garden is a foodie’s exquisite pleasure, but those are not my primary motivations.

    I garden for the delight it brings through all of my senses and for the joy of knowing that the garden never questions nurturing. The more I give the garden, the more it gives back, without question or judgment.

    I garden for the sense of relationship with the deeper seasonal patterns. To experience at an intimate level the impact on health and thriving of variations in seasons, light, heat, and rain.

    With the drought and extreme heat in our area, the garden is struggling. Peppers are fruiting before having gotten tall and full. Cucumbers are yellowing and drying, though a couple have grown large enough to eat. There is a surfeit of kale, but the snow peas, which prefer cool weather, barely had time enough to grow enough to flower before it was too hot to thrive.

    Part of the reasons some recipes have many ingredients is because they are premised on there not being enough of any one thing to make a meal. I am getting a few servings of vegetables every day, but the blasting heat is preventing the kind of abundance for some things I might have in another year. The grapes, though, may be outrageous; they like this crazy heat.

    I want to be conscious of these challenges and serendipities. I want to know how I might need to change and adjust to thrive in a world that is ever more out of balance. I garden because it helps me be aware of crisis and challenge, but always and first providing extraordinary pleasure and beauty.

    Peace and light, E — Posted with WordPress for BlackBerry.

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