No way to get around chopping all those veggies.
Carrots, garlic, onions, asparagus stalks, mushrooms...
Then crumbing the 8 oz of tofu (after drying it) then marinating it in soy sauce with cilantro.
Each ingredient was oil-free saute'd in my non-stick skillet. Then added to the crock pot.
I had to add more onion flakes because half my sweet onion had gone bad.
Since I didn't have celery, I found cutting small discs of the aparagus stems gave me just the right crunch.
I used 3 cups of vegetable stock and 3 cups of water, then a cup or more of Rice Dream after all the veggies were cooked (about 3 hours in the crock pot).
I may have added more Cayenne (maybe 1/2 Teaspoon) and Cumin (just 1/4 Teaspoon) than I usually would...but I wanted a "hot" spicy soup. I threw in a half can of white beans, a bit of baking soda, and a tablespoon of apple cider vinegar, and a tablespoon of molasses.
Today's quote:
And because I'm about to change the header photo...
I want to keep this one for the memory
𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝘀𝘂𝗺𝗺𝗶𝘁 𝗼𝗳 𝗼𝗿𝗶𝗴𝗶𝗻𝗮𝗹 𝗦𝗮𝗻𝘁𝗮𝘀.
"Santas" of Northern Russia: on very left, Yamal Iri, the "White Elder" of the Yamal Peninsula, belonging to the indigenous Nentsi people; Second from the left is Russian Ded Moroz himself; Third from the left Chyskhaan, the "Bull Man" of the Sakha people of Yakutia, in Northern Siberia; next one, the lady, is Tugeni Eneken, "Mother Winter", of the Evenki and other tundra nomads; after her is the visiting official Santa Claus of Finland; and then Pokkaine, the youngish "Santa" of the ethnic Karelian people.
Photo: Vladimir Sevrinovsk
This last year I've enjoyed following several favorite authors, sometimes re-reading some that I forgot some detail about.
Then the other day I happened upon a movie made from one of the Lee Child novels about Jack Reacher. He's a 6'-6" 250 pound guy who always pounds whoever, and however many thugs come up against him. But he's also somewhat a nice guy too. Defending the underdog, looking out for unjustly treated others.
Anyway, Hollywood has really messed up in using smallish hero actor, Tom Cruise to be Jack Reacher. I laughed when I saw him portraying the huge hero I had been reading about.
So one of the movies had started about an hour before I discovered it on TV the other day, and I was drawn into watching it. I knew I'd read the novel...but this story didn't match my memory at all. I kind of enjoyed it...but the next day I checked out the original book on digital from the library and started it again.
Wow...it really wasn't the same story at all. The bare bones maybe, but twisted all over the place. The movie ending is also nice and warm and fuzzy, but nowhere near the one in the book. How can they do that? Why would they do that?
Hollywood somehow had Major Turner have a connection to a girls prep school, and the daughter (maybe) of Reacher's ends up going there....and there's a big scene in Mardi Gras in New Orleans, which never occurred in the book. In the book the big ending is finding out who had high personnel clearance to have manipulated all of the illegal actions to protect high ranking officials in DC in having a private club where opium smoking was experienced. This never happened at all in the movie.
So I've gone back to another favorite author, who satirized many other authors' stories on purpose.
Terry Pratchett's Maskerade...a spoof on The Music of the Night...aka Phantom of the Opera.
This is my own paperback, published in 1995. I have most of Pratchett's books, (and none of Lee Child's). I re-read these every few years. Unfortunately Pratchett died a few years ago from Alzheimer's.
I do think some of his rather fun fantasy books have been made into movies as well...with probably the same problems I see in the Jack Reacher stories.
what is this world coming to?
Today's Quote:
This fat-free one layer spice cake is an altered version of the one I found on the web. I kind of changed a few things!
2 organic pears, peeled and cut into small pieces
1-3/4 c whole wheat flour
3/4-1 c regular white flour (set aside half of this flour to add only if the batter seems too runny when all is mixed together...I added all of it to mine. This is about a half again what was called for in my original recipe, but I found my batter at pancake consistency, so added enough flour to get a thicker cake batter consistency)
1 Tbs. cornstarch (No idea why this is in recipe...you might leave it out.)
1-1.2 teasp. baking soda
1 teasp. ground ginger (I couldn't find mine, so used grated fresh, but I think the ground would be best)
1/2 teasp. sea salt
1/2 teasp. ground cinnamon
1/4 teasp. ground cloves
1/4 c. applesauce (I cut this down from original recipe which called for a whole cup...and with the consistency problem I think a smaller amount is preferable)
1/2 c. molasses (I used dark, it could work with light also, and because it's such a dominating flavor, if I make this cake again, I think I'll cut the molasses down to 1/4 c.)
1/2 c. pure maple syrup
1 teasp. pure vanilla extract
1/2 c. chopped nuts (pecans or walnuts) optional
powdered sugar (optional)
-------------
preheat oven to 350 degrees, cut pears into small pieces and set aside
in a large bowl stir together the first 7 ingredients (through cloves) In a medium bowl stir together the next four ingredients (through vanilla).
Add applesauce mixture to flour mixture and combine
Stir in chopped pear and nuts (if you use them)
Bake 30-35 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool slightly in pan on a wire rack. You might sprinkle cake lightly with powdered sugar for extra sweetness (I didn't do this).
Serve warm or cooled.
Other note: I used 1/2 c. of almond flour instead of total whole wheat. I wouldn't do that again, since there were noticeable flakes of the almond flour in my first bite!
Enjoy...and let me know your experience with this recipe, should you try it or a variation thereof!
Today's quote:
For years, every morning, I drank
from Blackwater Pond.
It was flavored with oak leaves and also, no doubt,
the feet of ducks.
And always it assuaged me
from the dry bowl of the very far past.
What I want to say is
that the past is the past,
and the present is what your life is,
and you are capable
of choosing what that will be,
darling citizen.
So come to the pond,
or the river of your imagination,
or the harbor of your longing,
and put your lips to the world.
And live
your life.
Mary Oliver
Early on Dec. 24 during a wet warm day...good to stay indoors!
Temperatures kept on dropping.
Earthrise, taken from the moon.
In 1968, the Apollo 8 spacecraft entered orbit around the moon on Christmas Eve). Frank Borman, Jim Lovell, and William Anders became the first humans to orbit a celestial body other than our Earth. Apollo 8 circled the moon 10 times
William Anders later said that although the astronauts went on their mission to explore the moon, what they really discovered was the planet Earth. He added: “I think it’s important for people to understand they are just going around on one of the smaller grains of sand on one of the spiral arms of this kind of puny galaxy [...] it [Earth] is insignificant, but it’s the only one we’ve got.” Writer's Almanac newsletter 12.24.20
As Winter Solstice/Yule has passed, may we all enjoy more lightness, more joyfulness, and abundant good health!
As we honor the birth of Jesus Christ, may we each hold his message of loving one another in our hearts, and express it towards each of us!
I hope everyone will have a wonderful day full of joy, love, new surprises, and connections with loved ones! I know I will!
Today's Quote:
THE NATURE OF MAGICK
Magick-workers know that magick is all about influencing probabilities. Magick can’t make fireballs fly out of your fingers. What it does is to influence situations which have yet to be fixed in stone so that they are more likely to manifest in a way that you consider favourable to your purpose. It works by the principle of chaos theory; slight alterations of direction can have huge consequences. String theory tells us that every decision that is made takes us into one possible reality out of several options. Magick aims the rocket that will take us there.
Whether or not this happens because we are actually exerting our Wills to change reality, or whether this happens because magick focuses intent and makes us more likely to be make some targeted decisions than others, isn’t relevant. The effect is relevant. It’s the moment of choice that matters.
from The Magical Battle of Britain, Dion Fortune
Our state, and our area have many people identified as having food insufficiency. When I first heard the term I was eating at a site which provided low cost nutritious lunches for seniors. That was last year.
I've become vegetarian in 2020, which meant I couldn't get nutrition from these lunches which were oriented around an animal based protein. I'm happier making most of my meals now with low-fat plant-based choices. This was recommended by my cardiologist and the Ornish Heart Rehab program.
Warning, a rant shall follow!
Mission Hospital System, which has become a for-profit member of the HCA corporation, is closing down the Ornish program. I don't know the reason why, but can guess. We survivors of heart conditions were learning new lifestyle choices including stress reduction with meditation, exercise, and eating low-fat plant-based diets. We also formed small groups that could help support our emotions with a counselor facilitator. A lot of healthy choices.
The only choice the next survivors will have will be a version of the standard rehab class that includes 40 minutes of exercise with a heart monitor, then about 20 min. to sit quietly and be meditative. They may be recommended to eat plant-based diets, but they won't have one served for lunch as well as be given instructions how to cook low-fat. I learned how to sauté vegetables without any oil...and now can cook completely oil-free. I have good friends to offer me a support system in a time when more people are isolated from each other...and I do a daily meditation, which we spent an hour a day practicing during Ornish Rehab.
I am really dismayed that this wonderful program has ceased to be supported by the corporate hospital system. I know certain cardiologists do support it, and I hope they will offer it somewhere else soon. This is the only cardiac rehab plan that has statistical evidence of reversing the symptoms of heart disease. One of my cohorts had not been considered eligible for surgery for his heart problems, so his alternative was the Ornish program. He visibly became much more fit, lost a lot of weight, and he stated he was eating very differently from his normal southern cooking lifestyle.
And in case you're thinking it has to do with insurance, I was told all insurance covers the Ornish Lifestyle Rehabilitation Program, including Medicare. Makes sense, since many elders were in this group...mainly those who had had heart attacks and some form of surgery.
I've seen a statement that the "new" Cardio-Rehab will have more of the Ornish training in the future. I guess they can do a lot of these things without calling it Ornish. There's another plant-based famous scientist, Campbell, who has provided lots of good recipes. (That's where I got my potato and bean recipe earlier in the week.)
I must also include in my rants, how I've adapted to having only texts, emails, blogs, and zooms to connect with people. Oh, and a few phone calls. I love talking one on one and having a conversation. As a senior living on my own, I limit my encounters, as I've been warned to do. But first I missed the hugs. Now I miss conversations. OK, I can still pick up the phone myself!
Quote for today:
For the future residents of the earth: may their world still be packed with mysteries. May they still grow giddy on the eve of a great adventure. May they become more responsible to one another and the planet. May they keep their taste for the renegade. May they never lose their sense of innocence and wonder. May they live to chase brash and astonishing dreams. May they return to tell me, if such a thing is possible, so that I can know the answers to a thousand scrupulous puzzles, hear of whole civilizations that bloomed and vanished, learn what travel to other solar systems has revealed and behold the marvels that arose while I was gone. If that’s not possible, then I will have to make due with the playgrounds of mortality, and hope that at the end of my life I can say simply, wholeheartedly that it was grace enough to be born and live.
Diane Ackerman, Deep Play
Our capacity for denial is stronger than our capacity for belief. We find it easier to not face the truth. We go on living our ordinary lives while refusing to believe the overwhelming evidence that our way of life is self-destructive. A prisoner of the past, we go on doing things which we know are killing us. Worse, we believe that the inevitable conclusion of all our deeds will not come to pass. We think that somehow, at the last minute, there will be a miracle, a magical solution. We possibly even hope that factors in nature we hadn’t considered will somehow wipe clean the slate of our cultural and environmental crimes.
Ben Okri
(Thanks to fellow blogger who shared the above quote. She gives this as a link to the larger work.)
The following are from dioramas in the museum on Mesa Verde, Colorado. It's an area covered by ruins of a civilization which no longer exists. I share it because there are educated guesses as to it's demise. Some of them might have included a pandemic.
Remember, this United States of America has been around for it's Democratic Republic experiment for just 240 some years, depending upon whether you count from the Declaration of Independence in 1776 or the Constitution with Bills of Rights ratification in May 1789.
So we're trying to advance in the face of global climate crisis, strained race relations, and a pandemic. And when these problems are solved...then and only then, will we have a new normal.
103 things white people can do for racial justice
Here's a great link in case you're wondering what you can do about racism. Remember racism is a problem of white people, not a problem of people of color.
I had read this site's list of 60 things white people can do for racial justice, and saved it. When I went back it had increased to 103 things!
I edit a church newsletter/journal and am encouraging people to consider what they can personally make an intention toward in the next year. Not a resolution, but an intention. And for myself, I've been working slowly in this direction personally to publish things for public or friends to see what I have to share. I'm just one person, but I will not do nothing, so I do what I am capable of doing.
Here's a sample...numbers 10 and 11...
10. If you or a friend or family member is an educator, watch or share this video of Neil deGrasse Tyson speaking about his experience as a Black student telling people he wanted to be a scientist and astrophysicist. Tyson’s experience reminds me of a Black friend whose high school teachers tried to dissuade her from taking AP classes, because, with the best of intentions, they thought the AP classes would be “too much” for her. Be an educator who supports and encourages, not one who dissuades. Talk to educators you know about being educators who support and encourage, not educators who dissuade.
11. Work on ensuring that Black educators are hired where Black children are being taught. If you want to know more about why and how this makes a difference for Black children, check out this episode of Malcolm Gladwell’s podcast. There are some really good nuggets in there about how schools can support the achievement of Black students — from ensuring Black students aren’t closed out of gifted programs by using test results instead of white teachers’ recommendations to the influence that having a Black teacher has on a Black student’s education to the importance to fostering a school ethos wherein Black students think, “This school is here for me.”
My youngest son actually works with high school students, to encourage those who usually would drop out, many of whom are Native American, to not only graduate but to start college. It's a Federal program called Gear-Up...starting mentoring students as freshmen, working with the families to help these students succeed. And those who graduate and go to college get a stipend to help pay for college.
My African Violets just keep on blooming, and making pretty fuzzy green leaves. You can notice I don't even dead-head them, just let the dead blossoms fall into the dirt.
This is a repost, because Thurs. night when I tried to date it, all my Google programs froze up.
...And here's a lovely lunch that I fixed the first day I felt like being back in the kitchen...after 2 days on antibiotics and a small dose of a steroid. I admit I only made half a recipe. It was pretty darn good. It comes from the T. Colin Campbell Center for Nutrition Studies. The link is in the title below.
1 ½ tsp garlic powder
1 tsp onion powder
2 Tbsp dried minced onions
½ tsp ground mustard powder
1 tsp dried parsley
¼ tsp dried dill
1 tsp dried chives or 1 Tbsp fresh chopped chives
¼ tsp smoked paprika
1 cup yellow onions, finely diced
2 Tbsp garlic, minced
1 cup vegetable broth
1 cup water (or more broth)
2 tsp nutritional yeast
¼ tsp baking soda
1 lb baby red-skinned potatoes, halved
1 lb fresh green beans
¾ tsp sea salt or to taste
¼ tsp black pepper or to taste
2 tsp apple cider vinegar
2 to 3 tsp Dijon mustard
1 15.5oz can cannellini beans, drained and rinsed
Freshly chopped parsley (optional)
1 Place all the spice/herb ingredients (except sea salt and pepper) into a bowl, mix to combine, and set aside.
2 In a large Dutch oven or stockpot, add the finely diced onions and sauté over medium-high heat for 5 to 7 minutes until the onions are tender. Splash vegetable broth or water as needed to prevent sticking.
3 Add the minced garlic and sauté for one minute.
4 Add the remaining vegetable broth, water, nutritional yeast, and the spice/herb mix. Stir well to incorporate, bring to a boil, and then immediately lower to a simmer. Add the baking soda and stir to combine.
5 Stir in the baby potatoes, then layer the green beans on top of the potatoes. It is important that the baby potatoes are on the bottom, submerged or nearly submerged in the liquids. The green beans should sit on top and will steam/cook while the potatoes cook in the liquid.
6 Cover with a tight-fitting lid and simmer for 15 minutes.
7 Remove the lid and add the sea salt, black pepper, apple cider vinegar, Dijon mustard, and cannellini beans.
8 Stir well to combine, then continue to simmer uncovered for approximately 5 to 10 minutes, or until the baby potatoes are perfectly tender.
9 Remove from the stove and allow to sit for 7 to 10 minutes to allow the flavors to further develop.
10 Serve with freshly chopped parsley.
The light is returning!
Our longest night has given us time to come together and share our many blessings from this past year. And of course to let go of any of the negative energies we might have become attached to. A virtual gathering is a blessing...to have electricity and some technology which sends and receives wi-fi signals.
The old threads are unraveling,
The old threads are unraveling,
Get your needles ready.
