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    Potage D’Ete Au Mid-Atlantic (and jivan mukti)

    ByElizabeth

    potage Could not resist the french name.  More fun than summer local vegetable stew.  An alternative name could be:  how to make three okra and six beans into dinner for two.  Or maybe four.  When I was out in the garden this morning, I simply picked what needed to be picked.  Featured here:  three okra, six beans, one jalapeno, two ancho chiles (one partly dried on the plant), two large tomatoes (both of which are only partly viable), two ripe and one green (fell off while I was picking the ripe ones) roma tomatoes, one very small garlic clove, baby leeks, garlic chives, tarragon, parsley, dill, and herb fennel.  Serve over quinoa, couscous, rice, or pasta, and it is easily a meal for two.  Add some red beans or other dried beans, and it could be dinner for four.

    One of the things I like about eating from the garden is the necessity of being creative.  Cooking from a cook book, who wants an ingredient list this long?  I could also be disappointed that no one of my plants is giving me enough to create a dish out of mostly one or two ingredients.  If I were getting these ingredients from the store, I would get more okra or beans or peppers.   There is a great joy in finding a sense of abundance and sparked creativity and celebrating pleasure, art, fulfillment, delight, offerings with what we have been given, whether it is the food from our garden, our bodies, our talents, our families, or the time and place into which we were born.  In finding the highest sense of abundance and creativity within our limitations, we are truly experiencing the yoga concept of jivan mukti, living liberation.

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    On A Bus

    ByElizabeth

    This morning I found myself on a bus instead of the train to New York because of the horrible accident on Tuesday.

    While waiting for the bus, I was interviewed by local TV. They were interested in reactions of people whose travel plans were impacted by the accident.

    This is roughly what I said:

    This was a horrible tragedy that need not have happened.  (I suppose it was for the best that I had not seen the news that a certain candidate for President was quoted as saying that we shouldn’t use a tragedy as an excuse to spend more money on things like safety lest I explain why we need better safety, more spending on mental health care, better treatment of employees, and more investment in infrastructure instead of lowering taxes for the wealthy, etc.) I said that the inconvenience meant nothing to me when I think of those who were on the train. I said that I wouldn’t stop taking the train. One accident would not change my commitment to using public transportation instead of the greater environmental impact of driving.

    And I said I’d had a good experience with Amtrak customer service. I didn’t say it to the camera, but I expect part of my positive experience was my recognizing when I spoke with an agent that the customer service employees must be having an incredibly stressful time of it.

    image

    View from the bus, approaching Manhattan.

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    Six Hours of R&R (A Simple Extravaganza)

    ByElizabeth

    I woke completely refreshed this morning, even though it was a very long work week, I taught two classes yesterday, I have lots to do today, and it promises to be a stressful work week coming. The sense of well-restedness is thanks to the six (or was it seven) hours of nurture I gave myself at the end of the day yesterday.

    First I walked to a late afternoon appointment with my wonderful massage therapist, Patrick McClintock. My walk to see Patrick  is a beautiful walk 14-block walk through Capitol Hill. I strolled home afterwards, stopping at the grocery store to pick up soy milk and a couple of other items I like to have in the house (no more than I could carry easily), then walking through Lincoln Park on my way home.  Taking my time on my walk, I visited with a few dogs and neighbors who were out.

    For dinner, I made a stir-fry of tempeh and radish greens (greens and herbs came right out of the garden).

    • In peanut oil (or other oil that can take high heat; not olive oil with asian flavors); slice a clove or two of garlic, mince some ginger, saute until garlic is translucent; add sliced onions and saute until translucent (when you add onion or onion parts depends on whether you are using onions, green onions, or scallions — white onion or onion parts go in before the greens, green parts go in after bitter/firm greens or with tender greens); add diced tempeh (or tofu or leave it out and add minced toasted nuts right before serving); saute until onions and tempeh are turning golden; splash with rice wine vinegar and Braggs liquid amino protein or soy sauce; quickly stir to integrate flavors; add greens and fresh herbs from the garden; saute until wilted; add splash of sherry, white wine or water; saute until liquid has evaporated. Serve with any grain or asian-style noodles.

    After dinner, I read for a bit. Then I gave myself a mini-facial and pedicure. At twilight, I sat out back with an herbal infusion made from mint and lemon balm from the garden and watched the moon rise — it was a glorious moon.

    I followed this simple, extravaganza with a long practice of restoratives, supine poses, and forward bends, and took my savasana into bed for the night.

    Maybe you cannot fit in this much, and I do not do this much R&R in a single block every week — some Saturdays I want to go out on the town. Try to make part of some of your weekends (especially critical if you, like I, work six days a week, not five)  restful without having to go away — perhaps including one of the Serenity Saturday workshops at Capitol Hill Yoga when you can.

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    Laying Down the William Penn House Practice (Last Practice May 15)

    ByElizabeth

    Perhaps because it has been hosted at a place that fosters the Quaker way of doing business, but when I first tried to describe why I thought it was time to leave off having a regularly scheduled practice at William Penn House, the first phrase that came to mind, was that the practice was being “laid down.”

    Very generally, much Quaker business is done by a committee consisting of members who are nominated by the meeting and willing and able to address whatever the issue that is the purpose of the committee. A committee may be formed to address a particular issue that a meeting is encountering or for general ongoing work for the life of the meeting. After a committee’s purpose is done–which may or may not be clear, depending on the nature of the issue–the meeting may choose to lay down the committee. Laying down a committee is not passing judgment. Sometimes, the committee has served its purpose well, but is no longer needed as much as the resources of the committee (it’s members) are needed elsewhere–either for the meeting or for their own personal lives.

    The William Penn House group practice started over 10 years ago. Its initial purpose was to keep going a class from a studio that closed for several months. Having the practice at William Penn House was also a good way to create neighborhood, Quaker, and yoga connections, provide support for the work of William Penn House, and provide an unconventional community donation practice space.

    In the years since the class was established, the whole tenor and climate of the world has changed. The neighborhood, too has changed. Among the changes, there are now several yoga studios on the Hill and there are lots of choices for a practice every night of the week without leaving the neighborhood. In the broad group that has participated in the practices, there have been graduations, marriages, births of children and grandchildren, illnesses, injuries, world travel, joys and sorrows, death, career changes, and it is time for those still in the habit of Tuesday night practice to reconfigure what and when we practice for our own good and for the great web, including together.

    I will always be grateful to all the practitioners/friends who joined with me in collective exploration of the practices and to William Penn House for being a welcoming and nonjudgmental host for a really long time.

    As a member of the Board of Directors and a neighbor, I will still be part of the life and practice at William Penn House. I am still offering small group and private classes in my lovely home studio. Send me a message, if you’d like to practice. I’m looking forward to scheduling practice on a more flexible basis.

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