Carrot soup

Lisa shared this recipe a couple of years ago, it has become a family favorite; of course the original recipe evolved since I can not help adding spices. It is delicious served hot during winter, and chilled in summer.

4-6 cups vegetable broth or water
1 pound of carrots
2 Tbsp coconut oil or butter
1 large size chopped onion
2-3 garlic cloves
1 tsp mustard seeds
1 tsp smoked paprika
1 tsp curry
Salt and pepper to taste


Heat liquid in a pot.
Melt coconut oil or butter in a soup pot add onions, garlic, mustard seeds and spices; sweat covered for 5-6 minutes.
Add broth and chopped carrots, bring to a boil, and then simmer for 15-20 minutes or until carrots are tender.
Process in blender (you may add juice from lacto fermented veggies).

* Serve in a white bowl (to appreciate the deep orange color) with lacto fermented veggies (cabbage, kimchi, beets, carrots), finely chopped parsley or cilantro or chives; or a dab of sour cream or yogurt.

* Alternate spices to vary the flavor you can use ground cinnamon, ground cumin, a dash of cayenne pepper, fresh grated ginger, smoked paprika, curry, fresh grated or sliced turmeric, fresh coconut slices, or ground cardamom seeds.

* Add surprises to the soup, garbanzo beans or edamame...yummy!

Book Club in February 20, 2013

Book: The Bean Trees by Barbara Kingsolver

The Royal Book Club (from Royal, Alabama) meets once a month at one of the members’ home from 7 to 9 pm; February was my turn and it was interesting that the same day the pond was being dug I was to host our meeting, along with our yoga class! Needless to say it was busy between getting food prepared and being outside helping Alden when he asked me to - while Gregg was digging the pond, Alden was keeping up with him by removing roots, raking organic material, etc and I was occasionally asked to go outside and help in the process. My schedule for the day was yoga at 5, followed by potluck and the book discussion to wrap everything up. Yet I truly enjoyed the process of getting ready, hosting, taking part in the conversation and why not, cleaning up after the gathering. I guess I was present and grateful through the whole process.

While a potluck is not typical for a book club meeting, I invited the yoga team to prepare a dish to share with the group; once a month we seem to eat in a rush between yoga and book club, we have less than 30 minutes to eat, change clothes and drive to the hosting home; not enough time to chat or eat in calm, might as well share the privilege of dining together with all, and enjoy the meal instead of having to rush just after we spent an hour and half getting relaxed! I also feel for Martha and Jan driving from Birmingham to get here on time; I imagine them having to stop somewhere to eat a quick bite, fill up on snacks or end up eating late at home. I've been there when I was working as an executive, life seemed busy and many times to get from there to somewhere else there was not much time to have a decent meal. And the of course I very much enjoy dining with friends, lively conversations thrive around a bountiful table.

That afternoon I kept the wood stove going and started to prepare the evening meal around 1 pm. As I chopped onions, and carrots, added spices and water to make the carrot soup I was delighted noticing the intense orange color of the carrots, the smell of onions and spices; filled with gratitude for this opportunity to cook for friends I was holding Keitha in my thoughts trying not to spice too much the soup or guacamole; in doing so I tried to recall Keitha’s voice in my inner ear, I guess I won’t hear it again in the real world; I had taken it for granted that a person will speak to the end of her life. I have seen people lose the ability to walk, move, hear, etc but Keitha is the first person I know well that can’t speak anymore while she is still so lively, her eyes sparkling when she smiles; she is a walking encyclopedia, she knows much about the outer world and also about the inner one – she meditates and practices Baha’i; she has a computer called Alex that allows her to write her messages and it can even speak. I admire Keitha!

It was easy to put the salad together with fresh lettuce and parsley, black olives, chopped onions and lacto-fermented cucumbers soaking in lime juice and oregano. Guacamole, tea and lemonade are just plain easy to prepare.

By 4 pm everything was pretty much ready, I also washed some Jerusalem artichokes and sweet potatoes and left them ready to be cooked in the wood stove.

Nancy arrived with her delicious corn bread, Lisa with an original stir fry with grilled beets, green leaves and onion, yummy! I made carrot soup, guacamole, salad, hot pepper jam, and babaganush plus tea and lemonade; Pat brought pickled okra and chips (she is in the midst of remodeling her kitchen, at present it has no walls, cabinets or floor). I forgot to email Emily asking for a potluck dish.

We had a nice quiet session, I went deeply into each pose, and fully relaxed at the end of our session. Inspired to reclaim consciousness from thinking it is interesting to become so aware of the inner aliveness in my body, the rhythm of my breath and the space around us while being aware of everyone’s presence.

Right before yoga Lisa announced she had placed a big log in the wood stove, it was quite chilly outside … uoops the stove got too hot to place the sweet potatoes inside… and the water of the Jerusalem artichokes, steaming on top of the stove, evaporated so they turned black. Oh well these two entries were not available for dinner, yet there was plenty to eat!

Susan, Linda, and Keitha arrived a bit after 6:30; Keitha brought a truffle dark chocolate bar, perfect for desert; Jan came in around 7:15; Pat left after yoga; still recuperating from a cold and busy with the kitchen remodeling. Sara, Martha and Sharon could not be here. Debra is on vacation in Baja California. I must mention that it was the first time Linda E came to book club, she was to take part in the group when it was founded in 2007 (?) but at the time she was still working full time at the Botanical Gardens in Birmingham; she is funny and has a great sense of humor!

 

We all enjoyed dinner, it was nice to eat and not to rush; such a pleasant atmosphere as everyone caught up, recalled songs, traded humor and talked about the book with lots of laughter during the lively conversation.

 

 Book: The Bean Trees by Barbara Kingsolver, American novelist, essayist and poet; she was raised in rural Kentucky and lived briefly in the former Republic of Congo in her early childhood. Born April 8, 1955 (age 57), Annapolis, married to Joseph Hoffman, education: University of Arizona, DePsuw University.

Awards: New York Times 10 Best Books of the Year, Book Sense Book of the Year Award for Adult Nonfiction, Book Sense Book of the Year Award for Adult Fiction.

The Bean Trees, first published in 1988, is the first book written by Barbara Kingsolver.  The protagonist of the novel, Taylor Greer, a native of Kentucky, finds herself in Oklahoma near Cherokee territory. The novel begins with a woman leaving an American Indian infant with Taylor. The remainder of the novel traces the experiences of Taylor and the child, whom Taylor has named Turtle. Covering Turtle's early childhood, the story includes a colorful cast of characters: Lou Ann, her roommate; Esperanza and Estevan, a Guatemalan couple; and Mattie, the owner of "Jesus Is Lord Used Tires". The novel also makes reference to the issue of Native American parental rights.

Interesting reflections we had regarding the book:

• ·       How we learn to love adopted babies, and new people that come into our lives.
• ·      The contrast between the mothers of Taylor and Lou Anne; Taylor’s mom was encouraging, trusting, giving her lots of attention and smiles;  Lou Anne’s mom was critical, which made her daughter feel awkward, too cautious, scared of many situations, and not being good enough.
• ·       The main character is not involved in a romantic relationship, a different take since Taylor doesn't try to pursue a romantic relationship with Estevan a married man that she is attracted to. 
• ·       How each one of us would respond if a baby was literally dropped in the co-pilot’s seat of our car.

We then talked about next month and since there was no book we agreed to meet at Lisa’s to watch the film Life of Pi. Thirty minutes later, after Lisa had just left, we realized Jan had brought the box of books for next month, hohoho are we light headed or what! As Linda's mother used to say: CRAFT - can't remember a fucking thing! Change of plans, we will meet again at my house March 20 to talk about the book Major Pettigrew’s Last Stand and in April we will reconvene at Lisa’s.

 

Then we got to listen to Emily’s poems, That Diesel Tractor Smell, Hesitant II and Wild… she is sooo good it was a joy to listen to her poems, a peek into a young woman's delightful life!

 

While we were all chatting Alden arrived from teaching at prison, he too had a nice dinner and after everyone left we talked and finished cleaning up before going to bed.

 

What a nice day, grateful for such wonderful friends, for Gregg finally coming to dig the pond, and for Alden -  a marvelous conscious man. 

Southern Cornbread

This morning while baking some cornbread I remembered that the first recipe I learned when I moved to Alabama came from Nancy; she taught me how to bake real southern cornbread. Unable to eat gluten this delicious cornbread hits the spot when I crave bread.

Preheat oven to 450° F

2 tsp baking soda

2 cups buttermilk or yogurt

2 eggs

2 Tbsp coconut oil or butter

2 cups cornmeal

1 tsp salt

Optional: sliced onion

Preheat the oven to 450° F

Melt the oil or butter in an iron cast skillet in the warm oven or on a Pyrex glass pan.

While stirring buttermilk with a fork add the baking soda and watch it bubble up; add the eggs and oil and continue to mix well. On a separate container mix dry ingredients and slowly stir into the wet mix. Then, if you like, add the sliced onion. Pour into greased cast iron skillet and bake at 450° F for 20-30 minutes until toothpick comes out clean.

To give southern cornbread a Mexican flare, try adding 1 cup of corn kernels, 1 sliced bell pepper, 2 Tbsp chopped green chilies, ½ tsp smoked paprika or cayenne pepper; when the cornbread is ready, turn off the oven and top with ½ cup shredded Cheddar or Monterrey Jack Cheese; let the cornbread stay in the oven an additional 10-15 minutes.

Serve with hot pepper jam or fresh tomato and parsley salsa, guacamole, Babaganoush, butter or fig jam…everything tastes so good when you spread it on southern cornbread.

Smoothie Recipe

What best way to start your day than by drinking, or eating with nuts and cereal, a healthy and delicious smoothie?

The following recipe can be adapted to the fruits and herbs that are in season,  that you grow in your garden or have at hand in your fridge. Change the fruit, the tea, the herbs, the spices to get a different flavor.

In a powerful blender such as a Ninja or Vitamix place the following ingredients:  

• 1 ½ cup tea: ginger, hibiscus, lemon grass, etc.
• 3 TBSP flax seeds
• 3 TBSP sesame seeds
• 3 TBSP sunflowers seeds
• 5-6 almonds

Soak the seeds in the tea overnight; if you prefer a very cold smoothie keep the blender in the fridge.

In the morning add:

• 1 organic orange or grapefruit (remove seeds and use the peel and all, if they are not organic then don’t use the skin)
• 2 bananas (make sure to rub the inside of the skin with a spoon)
• 1-2 organic carrots
• 2-3 kale, Swiss chard, turnip leaves or collard greens
• A bunch of one or two of the following fresh herbs: parsley, cilantro, lemon balm, mint, peppermint, rosemary or any other fresh herb available.
• A few fresh stevia leaves (or use the dry ones to sweeten the tea)
• 1 cup frozen berries (blueberries, blackberries, strawberries, raspberries)
• ½ cup frozen figs (fresh figs that are gently dried and then frozen are superb)
• 1 tsp alfalfa powder
• 1 tsp kelp powder
• ½ tsp ginger powder
• ½ tsp cinnamon
• ½ tsp turmeric
• ½ tsp nutmeg
• 1/8 tsp cayenne pepper

Blend and drink or serve over popcorn, cereal, nuts and raisins … healthy and yummy!

Notes:

We prefer using tea instead of store bought juices for several reasons, most importantly tea is freshly brewed and we don’t need to buy the juice plus the plastic container! We use any tea that we've made for the day - green tea,  mint, ginger, yogi tea, chamomile, Echinacea, elderberry, lemon grass, hibiscus, rose hip, etc. In the summer we use slices of watermelons and there is no need to add anyother liquid.  

We love to harvest or purchase fruits when they are in season; then we freeze them in gallon bags, which is something I learned to do when I came to live in Alabama, traditionally we don’t freeze fruits in Mexico; blueberries, blackberries, strawberries, raspberries, mulberries and even figs keep well up to a year.

We have several fig trees growing in the orchard, in August there are literally a thousand figs; we eat them fresh and the rest we dry in a solar dehydrator that Alden built; we dry them only enough to concentrate their sugars and then we freeze them… delicious! Figs and bananas  add sweetness to the smoothie.

Other fruits to include to vary the flavor:  apple, apricot, coconut, dates, guava, kiwi, lychee, kumquat, mamey, mango, melon, papaya, pawpaw, peach, pear, persimmon, pineapple, plum, pomegranate, Satsuma, sapote, tangerine, etc.

Awareness Heals!