Cooking with new aims in eating

 

A vegetarian cookbook, and I'm skipping the first part about families... just looking for easy recipe ideas.

I sometimes watch Christopher Kimball on TV making delicious sounding things, so I wanted to check out some of these recipes too. And these two books are literally checked out from the library!

Did I mention I seldom use recipes?

My very favorite...I must eat it 3 times a week in the season!

Two and a half minutes in the microwave...

Which gets a good temp going (especially if it hasn't been refrigerated, so sometimes I go to 3 minutes) and then let it set for at least 3 more minutes wrapped in the wax paper to continue cooking!

I only cook one at a time, and that seemed to work even when fixing it for guests as well.

These are the basics for most of my salads. Sometimes nuts, cran-raisins, veggie cheese or other fun things are added if I have them.

I love these sprouts, but seldom eat all of them before they start to go bad. That used to happen a lot more to my produce...I'm getting better at eating it up by setting it as highest priority to eat each day.

I like lots of fun tastes on my salads...I also have some bottled dressings.

Today's quote:

The soul is the greening life force of the flesh, for the body grows and prospers through her, just as the earth becomes fruitful when it is moistened. The soul humidifies the body so it does not dry out, just like the rain which soaks into the earth.


—Hildegard of Bingen

Signs on Vehicles

 I wonder if this is the car of a genealogist. If not, why have that tag?

Now why did I take this car's photo? Ah, a Dead Head decal in the window...I had many friends who were followers/fans of the Grateful Dead, and thus had these stickers on their vehicles. I don't run into many current fans of the band which only entertained at concerts, up until the 1970s.

I didn't take this photo...and by looking at the cars, it was taken probably before I was born. But I was pleased to see I'd saved it from FaceBook somewhere. What a scream!

Today's quote:

We live in a time when science is validating what humans have known throughout the ages: that compassion is not a luxury; it is a necessity for our well-being, resilience, and survival.

ROSHI JOAN HALIFAX

Saturday on Lake Tomahawk

The radio controlled sailboats were out going thru their maneuvers. 

And in the other direction from my bench, another group was launching a kind of inflatable canoe shaped boat. Can an inflatable be called a canoe?

The boy in the "canoe" had his rod and reel, so they went all the way across the lake and he fished for a few minutes...then they came back and a young teenish female went for a ride.

While all this was happening, I was merrily eating my Burger King lunch...a Impossible Whopper.  It's a good substitute for meat.

I had such a good time watching all these activities! I thought to myself, I could sure have lunch here every day and have such fun...though most days only kids and parents come to the play ground, and more athletic types walk around the lake. 

Today's quote:

Following a cloud with our eye and drifting through the sky with it can be an easy and relaxing meditation.
 

Back to flowers!!

 I'm always talking about my friend Helen...but she refuses to go out at least one day a week, so she can work around her home. These are some of her flowers!

I might not have known this is a huge lavender plant.!

I did urge her to eat some of her strawberries~

Something about sunshine...she told me.

Today's quote:

In the span of a single second, our lives can change, as energy moves at a pace more rapid than anything we can fathom.

More local stuff

 

Every other day or so I walk up the steep hill of our parking lot...and this wall and slightly overgrown flowers are at the utmost top.

An unusual variety of day lily...variegated!

It looks like the ants responded to the ant bait treatment...last week they were all over these marigolds!

Impatient? I think so. Raindrops didn't phase this bloom!

Many of the petunias looked beaten down by the frequent rains in the last few days.

But I loved seeing this bloom with a raindrop caught on its lip.

On North Fork Rd you can see one of the rock quarries. From the amount of dump trucks on our roads, I would guess there are more around the bend.

Today's quote:

If you want to have a full and happy life, in good times and in bad, you have to get used to the idea that facing misfortune squarely is better than trying to escape from it.

NORMAN FISCHER

However, to escape from the virus of the past year, it seemed to be a good idea!

At the Columbia Museum of Art

 

My friend Helen and I enjoyed over an hour looking closely at the Escher exhibit (which expired on June 6)

I was thrilled to see this long etching...or maybe lithograph or even a lot of wood blocks. I failed to see any splices in the paper...but mainly was impressed by the design work! Yes, we all wore masks and stayed 6 feet apart, still.

The main foyer was capped by a Dale Chihuly piece of blown glass. He's a wonderful glass artist. I see when looking at this photo that the columns downstairs also have green neon lights going around them.

Wood sculptures...

Since I'm showing an "Escher a day" over on Alchemy of Clay, I won't include any of those here as well. I did quickly go to many of the other galleries to see what clay works might be on display. There weren't a lot, but most of the galleries were pretty small, so I guess the proportion compared to painting was about normal.

So I'll share the clay works next...at Alchemy of Clay blog.

While I was resting my feet, I saw these little ones in a stroller with parents, and was amazed how well behaved they were. Poor darlings, they would not enjoy Escher for many more years!

Today's quote:

In each of us there is a spark that can reverse the trends of violence and depression spiraling within us and in the world around us. By setting in motion the spiral of gratefulness we begin the journey toward peace and joy.   BR. DAVID STEINDL-RAST

Thirteen Pennies Restaurant and Mountain Home Store

  

My friend finally got me to the Thirteen Pennies Restaurant, which is run by the Black Mountain Home for Children, providing training as well as jobs for the older residents.  My friend had talked about a sandwich which she had always enjoyed, but it's been discontinued. So we had a mixture of raw vegetables on different kinds of bread...and they were good.

The seating indoors was very comfortable, and the outdoor seating was a bit hot when we arrived with noon day sun.

But by the time we finished eating, the deluge arrived. Fortunately the Mountain Home Thrift Store was adjacent, where we enjoyed walking around and finding many treasures.

That little white bassinette is just like the one I had as a baby...must look for the photo of me sitting up in it smiling...or perhaps I was just lying down. I also remember my little sister being in it when she was born 3-1/2 years after me. Boy did I have one of those moments of recognition when I saw it in the thrift store.

Today's quote: Let us keep ourselves open to the power that carries our life in every moment...that we may be filled with silent gratefulness.

PAUL TILLICH