I love beets.
Maybe I'm a bit weird, but this a vegetable I discovered in adulthood and loved straightaway. It's beautiful, sweet, and nutritious.
Now I know it is easy to grow too.
We've got heirloom "Bull's Blood" beets, which are growing mainly for their greens. I've just harvested some for today's lunch and am surfing for recipes. One of the most unusual ways I've eaten beets is in a smoothie called the "Vampiro" in Mexico. It was divine!
In the end we ate most of today's harvest chopped as a pizza topping. We made some wonderful homemade pizza with Gladys, her best friend Sabri and her mom. We also got the girls to harvest lettuce and spinach for a salad, along with edible flowers. It was a scrumptious salad! Best of all, these were painless ways to get them to eat their veggies.
Saturday, May 30, 2009
Health update
Gosh, it's been a long time since I gave a "health update." My foot is feeling a lot better, so there are many times when I forget I even had the surgery. I'll know I'm back to normal when that many turns into always.
I've been able to go for longer and faster walks than ever before, and my foot still hurts a fair amount. My doc adjusted the orthodic, and he says that will do the trick. I hope so. I've been taking dance, doing the treadmill and yoga...I appreciate everything much much more now. I do need to get back to doing my PT exercises. Not my favorite thing, but I know it is important.
My new shoes came in, and one worked, and the other pair didn't. It's a different experience to do this in a doctor's office, with the medical assistant and surgeon examining the shoes and your walking. It's definitely not about the beauty of the shoe anymore.
I've been able to go for longer and faster walks than ever before, and my foot still hurts a fair amount. My doc adjusted the orthodic, and he says that will do the trick. I hope so. I've been taking dance, doing the treadmill and yoga...I appreciate everything much much more now. I do need to get back to doing my PT exercises. Not my favorite thing, but I know it is important.
My new shoes came in, and one worked, and the other pair didn't. It's a different experience to do this in a doctor's office, with the medical assistant and surgeon examining the shoes and your walking. It's definitely not about the beauty of the shoe anymore.
Wednesday, May 27, 2009
Travails of a gardener
Having a garden requires a fair amount of slowing down and noticing what is happening. Sometimes it is not good, although most of the time it is lovely.
Right now I'm facing two dilemmas. The tomato starts are going yellow. It is not looking good, and I'm busy on the Net trying to find some explanations. That is almost like trying to self-diagnose an illness through Google, but hey, it's interesting. I think we might have over watered them, and hopefully they will pull through. I'll keep you all posted.
My other challenge is the attack of the rose aphids. It is an infestation of these little bugs that suck the life out of the beautiful rose buds. I went to the nursery and pumped the helpful lady at Garden Fever for advice. Rinse them off, crush them, and keep at it. If it doesn't take care of the problem, buy ladybugs. I also picked up fertilizer for roses (I now have a crazy variety of fertilizers...for citrus, for veggies, for bulbs, for roses....Lordy!).
Right now I'm facing two dilemmas. The tomato starts are going yellow. It is not looking good, and I'm busy on the Net trying to find some explanations. That is almost like trying to self-diagnose an illness through Google, but hey, it's interesting. I think we might have over watered them, and hopefully they will pull through. I'll keep you all posted.
My other challenge is the attack of the rose aphids. It is an infestation of these little bugs that suck the life out of the beautiful rose buds. I went to the nursery and pumped the helpful lady at Garden Fever for advice. Rinse them off, crush them, and keep at it. If it doesn't take care of the problem, buy ladybugs. I also picked up fertilizer for roses (I now have a crazy variety of fertilizers...for citrus, for veggies, for bulbs, for roses....Lordy!).
God on earth
I think that figuring out how to connect with the divine on earth is one of the primal activities of many humans.
While in Tucson I got to see how one photographer has gone about that task, through images of the sacred and the natural world, often in the same frame.
I was the only person wandering through the Center for Creative Photography's exhibit of Linda Connor's work, and it was like walking through a temple or forest...quiet, suitable for reflection....perfect. She's traveled around the world to capture moments of the sacred on earth....Above is one of my favorite shots. It looks very much like some trees I gazed at and sketched during my time in bed this past December. It was like a jolt of recognition looking at this picture.
Monday, May 25, 2009
More blooming
Can you tell what my favorite color is? This is the bed of dutch iris that just bloomed while I was out of town. You can see the "Gladiator" alliums sticking out of the sea of irises, plus that catmint on your right.
My garden update
Foxglove ready to bloom...I've got them replanted all over the garden.
"Don Juan" climbing rose is blooming!
Strawberries!
Habanero and cayenne chiles and basil
Tomatoes, chiles, basil, kale in rows....
So enough about the lovely gardens in DC, there is SO much going on in our garden right now. After being away a week I was stunned to see all the Dutch irises had bloomed. Wow. The new roses have buds opening, but we did lose one plant to some mysterious malady. Sniff. I take any plant failure personally. Still. The bearded irises are still flowering, and the veggies are taking off. While I was away, Fede and Gladys ate their way through the kale and chard, which makes me so happy. I am always in search of ways to get her to enjoy vegetables.
We spent a few hours working the garden together, weeding, watering, planting the tomato, chile and basil starts Debbie gave us a few weeks ago. I still need to get the pumpkins in the ground.
I got to meet a couple more friendly neighbors thanks to the garden. It is such fun to connect with people over plants and growing things. People who like to garden and approach us are always super friendly and complimentary (not all neighbors are like this, fyi...some of the dog-walkers are rather anti-social and distant). The nicest people like to garden. Smile.
My big experiment right now is propagating lavender! I have a row of beautiful healthy lavender plants (7 different varieties...all shades of purple) and want to grow both replacements and gifts for friends. I did some research on the Internet and found a couple of good sites, including one with fabulous step by step photos. Bought some perlite and had some rooting hormone already. I've got 8 starts in the kitchen, and they look ok (i.e. they are not dead). Fingers crossed that they make it! It is very exciting, and I'm determined to turn myself into an urban lavender grower. I adore that plant, and I think everyone needs one in their garden.
Saturday, May 23, 2009
Botanic Garden shots cont'd.
I love this combination of colors....the purples and blues are so amazing. I'm going to try to blend my catmint and roses next year like this.....Catmint is a total sleeper hit in my garden. Awesome color, medicinal use, lovely cut flower, bees adore it, smells nice, no maintenance, blooms from spring to fall. What more can you ask of a plant?
A neat combo of "love in a mist" and thyme. Would like to get "love" into the garden.
This was a teeny cool exhibit about the botany of chocolate or cacao. I wish they had samples to try.
Ok, so this is a very interesting looking tropical plant. Ahem. What does it remind you of?
Some garden highlights from DC visit
The beautiful new outdoor gardens at the US Botanic Garden in DC. This garden was positively loud with songbirds, which is so very noticable when you are in the heart of the city. They had a wetlands area that was buzzing with life, which is the far right corner of the photo. Beautiful!!! Shirley and I had fun walking around and enjoying the lush gardens inside and out. When I lived here I used to visit the garden on my lunch hour. Heavenly on a cold winter day.
Lush papaya fruit inside the Botanic Garden. I would have liked to take one home to eat!
Folger Shakespeare Theater/Library gardens. Pinks, boxwood, rosemary, newly planted lavender, and thyme. Rosemary for remembrance was used for both weddings and funerals, according to our most informative tour guide. People were buried with sprigs of rosemary in their coffins in Elizabethan England, a custom that continued in the U.S. colonies.
Lovely rose from same garden.
Linden tree.
Differing points of view
On the flight home I had an interesting conversation. Well actually it started out interesting and turned into something a bit more disturbing.
I started up a conversation with a friendly guy in the next seat, and we started off talking about books and then TV shows (which he was passionate about...shows like 24 and Prison Break, which I haven't watched or heard of). He didn't really seem to read much, so there wasn't much there. Then we drifted into talking about new media and the disappearance of newspapers. He claimed that they were going extinct because of their left-wing bias. I had to point out that Tucson just lost its conservative newspaper to leave the "left-wing" one standing on its own, in a state that is very conservative. Not exactly proving his point, but he didn't seem very interested in such a detail.
Then he started talking about how people in the US are moving far away from our Constitution and have a ridiculous sense of entitlement....for things like...health care. He said that we have great access to health care in the USA, but we do have to pay for it. That in Europe and Canada health care is rationed and terrible. I told him that I thought that health care was a human right, not something for those lucky enough to have sufficient resources to pay to see a doctor. He went on to say that he was opposed to Obama, who was moving the country toward socialism, and that we'd have to resist this movement. He kept going on about the incredible sense of entitlement people have nowadays, that the market should and could right itself.
I then asked him...."what about the TARP and the concept that some businesses were too big to fail?" He then went on to spew a lot of Fox Network rhetoric about the bad unions and bad management of the Big Three auto companies, completely obsessing with the union's sense of entitlement for things like...gasp...health care. He went on and on, and never got to the banking sector and Wall Street, where the really breathtaking thieving and sense of entitlement is going down.
When he came up for air, I asked him...."ok, so what do you think about the Bush years and running up trillions of dollars of deficits? How does that fit?" He then told me that Bush was not a conservative, but a liberal....i.e. somehow that he doesn't really count. Again, a brushing off of minor and inconvient truths.
The questions that remained somewhat unanswered (because he couldn't stop talking):
1. Has he ever listened to someone who has no health care or insufficient health care living through a health crisis? He talked about how it was all a question of cutting off cable to pay for a doctor's visit.
2. Has he ever talked to an average Canadian or European about their health care? What do they think of it?
When people create their mental maps only from the blogs or networks they listen to/read, and move in circles so rarefied that they don't encounter people who are different than them...it leaves them really limited in their perspective. It was painfully clear that he was not able to listen others, only talk and talk. Drunk on the sound of his own voice.
I could have shared my story...growing up amid the Big Three and seeing Detroit die (far more complicated than blaming the unions, I'm afraid), of having limited health care for a sick parent, of watching how my faith community organizes to get better health care access...because it is the human thing to do. Crazy sense of entitlement....for we believe that all humans should to be able to see a doctor whenever they need to. They could be a penniless soul or a migrant worker or a waitress. Whoever. Your bank account should not determine whether you live or die, whether you get treatment or not.
I decided not to share theses stories because he was clearly not interested or able to listen. A loss for him and me.
I started up a conversation with a friendly guy in the next seat, and we started off talking about books and then TV shows (which he was passionate about...shows like 24 and Prison Break, which I haven't watched or heard of). He didn't really seem to read much, so there wasn't much there. Then we drifted into talking about new media and the disappearance of newspapers. He claimed that they were going extinct because of their left-wing bias. I had to point out that Tucson just lost its conservative newspaper to leave the "left-wing" one standing on its own, in a state that is very conservative. Not exactly proving his point, but he didn't seem very interested in such a detail.
Then he started talking about how people in the US are moving far away from our Constitution and have a ridiculous sense of entitlement....for things like...health care. He said that we have great access to health care in the USA, but we do have to pay for it. That in Europe and Canada health care is rationed and terrible. I told him that I thought that health care was a human right, not something for those lucky enough to have sufficient resources to pay to see a doctor. He went on to say that he was opposed to Obama, who was moving the country toward socialism, and that we'd have to resist this movement. He kept going on about the incredible sense of entitlement people have nowadays, that the market should and could right itself.
I then asked him...."what about the TARP and the concept that some businesses were too big to fail?" He then went on to spew a lot of Fox Network rhetoric about the bad unions and bad management of the Big Three auto companies, completely obsessing with the union's sense of entitlement for things like...gasp...health care. He went on and on, and never got to the banking sector and Wall Street, where the really breathtaking thieving and sense of entitlement is going down.
When he came up for air, I asked him...."ok, so what do you think about the Bush years and running up trillions of dollars of deficits? How does that fit?" He then told me that Bush was not a conservative, but a liberal....i.e. somehow that he doesn't really count. Again, a brushing off of minor and inconvient truths.
The questions that remained somewhat unanswered (because he couldn't stop talking):
1. Has he ever listened to someone who has no health care or insufficient health care living through a health crisis? He talked about how it was all a question of cutting off cable to pay for a doctor's visit.
2. Has he ever talked to an average Canadian or European about their health care? What do they think of it?
When people create their mental maps only from the blogs or networks they listen to/read, and move in circles so rarefied that they don't encounter people who are different than them...it leaves them really limited in their perspective. It was painfully clear that he was not able to listen others, only talk and talk. Drunk on the sound of his own voice.
I could have shared my story...growing up amid the Big Three and seeing Detroit die (far more complicated than blaming the unions, I'm afraid), of having limited health care for a sick parent, of watching how my faith community organizes to get better health care access...because it is the human thing to do. Crazy sense of entitlement....for we believe that all humans should to be able to see a doctor whenever they need to. They could be a penniless soul or a migrant worker or a waitress. Whoever. Your bank account should not determine whether you live or die, whether you get treatment or not.
I decided not to share theses stories because he was clearly not interested or able to listen. A loss for him and me.
Parents
Coming home to visit my family is a big ball of stuff. Some good and some not so great. One thing that I can say comes with time/age is appreciating your parents (or at least it has for me).
Not to say I don't get frustrated, because I do....but now I look at them with more compassionate and more understanding eyes. I love my Dad's goofy sense of humor now, whereas before I did a lot of eye-rolling. I find my mom inspirational (going through the photos of the kids she tutors is pretty amazing...).
I keep thinking that I don't know how long I'm going to have them, and it scares me silly to think of a time when I won't. I've learned too well that life is a fragile and temporary thing, and you need to savor the moment. You can't hang on to it or bottle it.
Not to say I don't get frustrated, because I do....but now I look at them with more compassionate and more understanding eyes. I love my Dad's goofy sense of humor now, whereas before I did a lot of eye-rolling. I find my mom inspirational (going through the photos of the kids she tutors is pretty amazing...).
I keep thinking that I don't know how long I'm going to have them, and it scares me silly to think of a time when I won't. I've learned too well that life is a fragile and temporary thing, and you need to savor the moment. You can't hang on to it or bottle it.
Thursday, May 21, 2009
Nursery trip
Dad and I made a trip to the Mesquite Valley nursery, which is their neighborhood plant heaven. It is huge, with multiple large greenhouses full of citrus and so many plants that can thrive in the sunny heat of AZ. Talk about a place for an Oregonian to indulge in both plant lust and zone envy.
I got my Dad his Father's Day gift a bit early, a lovely "Orange Jubilee peach bells" bush, plus some flower seeds that like hot dry weather....cosmos and Mexican sunflowers. He likes bright colors in his garden too. Had fun planting them all in a couple of beds and anticipating how much he will enjoy the flowers when they come up. If you love plants I can't think of a cooler gift that planting up beds with flower seeds as a delayed gratification/surprise gift.
I couldn't resist getting myself a plant, a Mexican oregano small enough to get in my backpack on the plane. I use dried Mexican oregano regularly in recipes (like pozole, other soups and beans). We have to buy it in the Latin stores, and I've been longing for a plant in the garden, to save the trouble and expense of buying it.
There is some interesting info (both botanical and cultural) on this plant native to the SW and Mexico.
http://www.texasbeyondhistory.net/ethnobot/images/mexican-oregano.html
http://www.freshcutherbs.com/herbofthemonth_mexicanoregano.htm
I got my Dad his Father's Day gift a bit early, a lovely "Orange Jubilee peach bells" bush, plus some flower seeds that like hot dry weather....cosmos and Mexican sunflowers. He likes bright colors in his garden too. Had fun planting them all in a couple of beds and anticipating how much he will enjoy the flowers when they come up. If you love plants I can't think of a cooler gift that planting up beds with flower seeds as a delayed gratification/surprise gift.
I couldn't resist getting myself a plant, a Mexican oregano small enough to get in my backpack on the plane. I use dried Mexican oregano regularly in recipes (like pozole, other soups and beans). We have to buy it in the Latin stores, and I've been longing for a plant in the garden, to save the trouble and expense of buying it.
There is some interesting info (both botanical and cultural) on this plant native to the SW and Mexico.
http://www.texasbeyondhistory.net/ethnobot/images/mexican-oregano.html
http://www.freshcutherbs.com/herbofthemonth_mexicanoregano.htm
Wednesday, May 20, 2009
Graduation
My wonderful nephew graduated from high school today....a milestone which he should be proud of accomplishing. I have all sorts of wishes and hopes for him, that he's happy, makes a difference in the world, is safe.....gosh, if those 3 things hold up I'll be a very contented and relieved aunt.
Movie nights
Yesterday we made a run to the video store to load up on DVDs for our evening entertainment. Last night was the first one, which was selected for being child-appropriate, "The Boy in Striped Pajamas," an adaptation of a young adult novel.
Hmmm. Without spoiling the ending, a movie about two boys from Jewish and Nazi families, one in a camp and other whose father runs it, well, let's just say that I'm not so sure about the notion this movie is child-appropriate. I woke up thinking about those little boys, and I suspect my nephews did too. I barely think the Holocaust is adult-appropriate.
We're watching "The Reader" right now, which was a really excellent novel. The movie version takes some liberties with the text, which is ok. I'm sort of past thinking a film adaption needs to be a pristine replica of its book.
I'm ready for taking a break from the whole Nazi era with a comedy or something lighter than genocide.
I'm missing being home, seeing Federico, and working in the garden. I'm envisioning the seedlings happily growing away, weeds that need pulling, tomato and chile plants that need to be put into the ground. Oh, the fun stuff ahead!
Hmmm. Without spoiling the ending, a movie about two boys from Jewish and Nazi families, one in a camp and other whose father runs it, well, let's just say that I'm not so sure about the notion this movie is child-appropriate. I woke up thinking about those little boys, and I suspect my nephews did too. I barely think the Holocaust is adult-appropriate.
We're watching "The Reader" right now, which was a really excellent novel. The movie version takes some liberties with the text, which is ok. I'm sort of past thinking a film adaption needs to be a pristine replica of its book.
I'm ready for taking a break from the whole Nazi era with a comedy or something lighter than genocide.
I'm missing being home, seeing Federico, and working in the garden. I'm envisioning the seedlings happily growing away, weeds that need pulling, tomato and chile plants that need to be put into the ground. Oh, the fun stuff ahead!
Monday, May 18, 2009
DC visit
I had a whirlwind and fantastic visit to DC to see friends and enjoy the city for a few days. I can't say enough about my wonderful friends, whether it was picking me up at the airport late at night, meeting me early for breakfast and just plain accomodating my full schedule and short time in town. It felt like 2 years hadn't passed at all.
Had a chance to go to Eastern Market with Shirley for breakfast one morning. It is a beautiful old market that has stalls with local artists and veggies. I ate my first heirloom in season tomatoes years ago and still can remember how amazing that was....that was about 20 years ago!
Cindy and I walked the lovely C&O towpath in Georgetown and went out for an amazing Ethiopian meal at our favorite restaurant Dukem. It is the fasting season, so we ordered the special plate of vegetarian dishes that had about 14 different vegetarian dishes. Luckily we were hungry.
Jose and I took a long walk around Hains Point, catching up and then having breakfast at Whole Foods. Our weekend ritual that we both miss a whole lot.
Folger Shakespeare Library and garden, the beautifully remodeled Botanical Gardens, and the Museum of African Art exhibit on water goddesses. Culture.
I love the rich cultural life that DC offers, but I have to say that the pace, dirt, and crowds hold zero appeal. I really love and miss friendly and laid-back Portland.
Had a chance to go to Eastern Market with Shirley for breakfast one morning. It is a beautiful old market that has stalls with local artists and veggies. I ate my first heirloom in season tomatoes years ago and still can remember how amazing that was....that was about 20 years ago!
Cindy and I walked the lovely C&O towpath in Georgetown and went out for an amazing Ethiopian meal at our favorite restaurant Dukem. It is the fasting season, so we ordered the special plate of vegetarian dishes that had about 14 different vegetarian dishes. Luckily we were hungry.
Jose and I took a long walk around Hains Point, catching up and then having breakfast at Whole Foods. Our weekend ritual that we both miss a whole lot.
Folger Shakespeare Library and garden, the beautifully remodeled Botanical Gardens, and the Museum of African Art exhibit on water goddesses. Culture.
I love the rich cultural life that DC offers, but I have to say that the pace, dirt, and crowds hold zero appeal. I really love and miss friendly and laid-back Portland.
Friday, May 15, 2009
Thursday, May 14, 2009
Sunshine bound
I'm headed to Tucson in a few days (with a brief stopover in DC), and wow, the highs are already in the 100s, as I work on packing my bags.
I've got my bathing suit, sunglasses and sunscreen ready to roll.
Hallelujah!
I've got my bathing suit, sunglasses and sunscreen ready to roll.
Hallelujah!
Diets and such
I've known that the West's obsession with body image and thinness was a cultural trap to sap our energy and time away from more important things....like being happy and changing the world. However reading the book "Intuitive Eating" and taking this workshop/class has been a journey exploring the medical evidence that dieting is a total hoax, waste of time, doomed to failure, not to mention detrimental to our physical and emotional health.
There are times when noticing that while most of the planet struggles for the most elemental of things...safe shelter, enough drinkable water and food to sustain their families, gaining a living wage....US women navel gaze about our bodies and diets as if the world depended on our thin thighs and taut bellies. Sorry I'm being so harsh and disgusted, but I really want to say good bye to all this crap.
There are times when noticing that while most of the planet struggles for the most elemental of things...safe shelter, enough drinkable water and food to sustain their families, gaining a living wage....US women navel gaze about our bodies and diets as if the world depended on our thin thighs and taut bellies. Sorry I'm being so harsh and disgusted, but I really want to say good bye to all this crap.
Monday, May 11, 2009
Eat your cherries!
I am just loving Barbara Kingsolver's book right now. It's a bit uncanny how how much our thinking is aligned around gardening/farming/eating. I love her stories of plant starts everywhere, seed catalog browsing in January, getting kids to try new vegetables, etc. It makes me want to invite her over for tea and a tour of the garden.
Here is a snippet that I just love, maybe because as a Catholic we are taught to deny ourselves the things we long for/lust (oh, lust is a sin all on its own, no?). So the mantra to eat cherries sounds very good to my ears.
“In Nikos Kazantzakis’s novel, Zorba the Greek, the pallid narrator frets a lot about his weaknesses of the flesh. He lies awake at night worrying about the infinite varieties of lust that call to him from this world; for example, cherries. He’s way too fond of cherries. Zorba tells him, Well then, I’m afraid what you must do is stand under the tree, collect as big a bowl full, and stuff yourself. Eat cherries like they’re going out of season.”
Here is a snippet that I just love, maybe because as a Catholic we are taught to deny ourselves the things we long for/lust (oh, lust is a sin all on its own, no?). So the mantra to eat cherries sounds very good to my ears.
“In Nikos Kazantzakis’s novel, Zorba the Greek, the pallid narrator frets a lot about his weaknesses of the flesh. He lies awake at night worrying about the infinite varieties of lust that call to him from this world; for example, cherries. He’s way too fond of cherries. Zorba tells him, Well then, I’m afraid what you must do is stand under the tree, collect as big a bowl full, and stuff yourself. Eat cherries like they’re going out of season.”
Sunday, May 10, 2009
Exhale
So shopping around for a yoga instructor/class/studio is very instructive.
I took a fabulous free yin yoga class at Exhale studio this evening, and what a totally different experience than the People's Yin Yoga class in almost every way.
I took a fabulous free yin yoga class at Exhale studio this evening, and what a totally different experience than the People's Yin Yoga class in almost every way.
- I was the only student vs. a sardine-can packed class.
- Anna, the instructor really connected, adjusted, and was very emphatic. She asked questions. She even laughed. The other teacher stayed up in the front pretty much the entire time.
- There were lots of great props, with once again the lovely eye-pillow treatment during the restorative pose.
It was a challenging long class of holding lots of poses, sometimes until I thought I was going to yell. But I kept coming back to the breath, and it did really help.
Will I be back?
You betcha.
Photo tip
I'm no professional when it comes to a digital camera, but I do have a tip if you want to see the blog's photos in a sharper and closer way. Click on the photo, and you get to see an individual photo in close-up, sharper detail, etc.
Gosh, you can see the tiny cilantro seedlings!
Gosh, you can see the tiny cilantro seedlings!
Guajillo roasted chicken coming
I'm always looking for new ways to prepare the workhorses of our diet, i.e. roasted chicken is one such dish. We make a lovely sage and garlic roast chicken which everyone loves, but after you've eaten a zillion times..... Since Federico goes through hot sauce like water, I'm looking for a way to incorporate chiles into a recipe, so he isn't dousing the food with hot sauce.
Today I'm making a homemade guajillo chile sauce adapted from Rick Bayless's Mexican Kitchen cookbook, as a marinade for a whole chicken that is thawing right now. I threw in a roasted ancho chile to put my own stamp on it. Traditional Mexican chile sauces involve quite a few steps, which are intimating for most novices. You've got to remove the stems and seeds, roast, soak, puree, strain and then cook/reduce. It is not as bad as it sounds. Really, truly.
Stay tuned for photos and feedback on how it turned out later.
Today I'm making a homemade guajillo chile sauce adapted from Rick Bayless's Mexican Kitchen cookbook, as a marinade for a whole chicken that is thawing right now. I threw in a roasted ancho chile to put my own stamp on it. Traditional Mexican chile sauces involve quite a few steps, which are intimating for most novices. You've got to remove the stems and seeds, roast, soak, puree, strain and then cook/reduce. It is not as bad as it sounds. Really, truly.
Stay tuned for photos and feedback on how it turned out later.
Happy Mother's Day
I started Mom's Day the perfect way....talking to my Mom.
Our relationships with our mothers are so darn complicated. My mom has struggled with her relationship with her mother her whole life, and even dead my abuelita and Mom are still in there.....or at least my mom is. I watch friends and co-workers each have their own dance with their Mother. A continuum from love to alienation and everything in between, sometimes in the same day.
Whatever angst and mistakes were made along the way, our mothers are remarkable people.
This post is to give a big public thank you to my Mom for the love, support, and ejemplo you gave me. I'll give you all the credit for my successes and exonerate for any blame for my mistakes (generally things you told me not to do in the first place!).
I think being a mother is the hardest job you'll ever love (and sometimes hate, let's be honest here), and there is really no class or school or training or support group provided. A set up for a lifetime of regret, perhaps. We children don't really begin to appreciate this until we are adults. The jobs our mothers' took on, often without knowing fully what was ahead.
Mother's Day is a day for appreciation and also one for grieving for me. Women who've had miscarriages are the invisible mothers, and it's hard to celebrate your motherhood when the children were never born. No one acknowledges our motherhood, since it is so tinged with loss, in a society where death is erased as much as possible. I'm not talking about the daily violent death glorified in the mass media and stripped of all the grief that should accompany such carnage.
So I'm going to celebrate and grieve in my way, on my terms today.
Our relationships with our mothers are so darn complicated. My mom has struggled with her relationship with her mother her whole life, and even dead my abuelita and Mom are still in there.....or at least my mom is. I watch friends and co-workers each have their own dance with their Mother. A continuum from love to alienation and everything in between, sometimes in the same day.
Whatever angst and mistakes were made along the way, our mothers are remarkable people.
This post is to give a big public thank you to my Mom for the love, support, and ejemplo you gave me. I'll give you all the credit for my successes and exonerate for any blame for my mistakes (generally things you told me not to do in the first place!).
I think being a mother is the hardest job you'll ever love (and sometimes hate, let's be honest here), and there is really no class or school or training or support group provided. A set up for a lifetime of regret, perhaps. We children don't really begin to appreciate this until we are adults. The jobs our mothers' took on, often without knowing fully what was ahead.
Mother's Day is a day for appreciation and also one for grieving for me. Women who've had miscarriages are the invisible mothers, and it's hard to celebrate your motherhood when the children were never born. No one acknowledges our motherhood, since it is so tinged with loss, in a society where death is erased as much as possible. I'm not talking about the daily violent death glorified in the mass media and stripped of all the grief that should accompany such carnage.
So I'm going to celebrate and grieve in my way, on my terms today.
Saturday, May 9, 2009
More blooming
Here is a rhodie under planted with heliotropes, which will get big and grow luscious scented purple flowers. These plants are on the side of the house, entry to the patio. I like the idea that you are always greeted with lovely aromas as you move around the garden. Especially when you are near the compost pile, which sometimes is a bit stinky.
I've moved some new lettuce seedlings (planted from seed) to a shadier spot on the side of the house. I hope that they will be producing lettuce without going to seed come the warmer months.
This is the sunny front bed where I planted lettuce and chard seeds and have garlic growing. This spot is really too sunny and hot for lettuce come July, hence I'm moving them out. This bushy little plant is rue, which will get very tall. Rue is widely used in Mexican traditional healing. It is an edible herb that tastes bitter, and I like it. A cilantro plant has self-seeded in this area last year, and I'm busy moving the little seedlings around the garden.
Rhodie and Negrita purple tulips, which are still going strong after more than a month of blooming, some heavy rain showers and winds. I love these guys. Tough as nails for tulips.
Lovely new bearded irises that I was gifted this year. Note the lovely row of lavender mulched with gravel behind them. They get huge. More purple. New dahlias are staked, and no sign of vegetation yet. More purple flowers and some orange ones to contrast. Oh yes. Did I mention I love purple?
This is the sunny front bed where I planted lettuce and chard seeds and have garlic growing. This spot is really too sunny and hot for lettuce come July, hence I'm moving them out. This bushy little plant is rue, which will get very tall. Rue is widely used in Mexican traditional healing. It is an edible herb that tastes bitter, and I like it. A cilantro plant has self-seeded in this area last year, and I'm busy moving the little seedlings around the garden.
Rhodie and Negrita purple tulips, which are still going strong after more than a month of blooming, some heavy rain showers and winds. I love these guys. Tough as nails for tulips.
Lovely new bearded irises that I was gifted this year. Note the lovely row of lavender mulched with gravel behind them. They get huge. More purple. New dahlias are staked, and no sign of vegetation yet. More purple flowers and some orange ones to contrast. Oh yes. Did I mention I love purple?
Parish retreat
Today we spent the day with fellow parishoners....getting to know new people, new ideas, and building community. It was a great day....my highlights were:
- Watching Federico share his story with the group
- Getting to dance, sing and be goofy with the liturgical dance group
- Spend some time getting to know and reconnect with parishoners I wouldn't have talked to otherwise...
- Eat some really amazing pozole
- Attending a workshop on non-violent communication
Friday, May 8, 2009
Blooming
I went for a brisk walk early this morning and took some snaps of the latest blooming and growing in the garden. The first photo is of some basil starts from Debbie, the potted Berris lime tree (if you look REALLY hard you can see a tiny lime), a foxglove and a piece of garden art that says "bless", the front bed in all its purpleness (can you see the giant allium?), and the chives....again, more purpleness.
I have to say I'm branching out into other colors. Many of the annuals I've planted...most aren't purple at all. The dahlias are a mix of purple and orange. The promise of things to come.....
What I'm reading
Growing up in Tucson, I had the pleasure of seeing Barbara Kingsolver emerge as a writer and become Famous. I remember reading the "Bean Trees" and getting her to sign my book at Antigone bookstore on 4th Avenue. Of hearing speak at cultural/political events that I attended at the U related to Latin America and human rights...how funny, smart and compassionate she was.True to both her Kentucky smarts and sense of humor, this book is a family memoir of gardening and getting "back to the land." I'm enjoying the audio-book, which she reads, along with bits read by her husband and daughter. Her familiar voice is a delight as a reader, but I already knew that....
Hearing her talk about "city people" who don't know where that a carrot is a root, or about kids that are repulsed that vegetables touch dirt makes me wince and smile at the same time. I have watched Gladys shift from squealing horror at worms to gratitude and a sense of stewardship, moving them around the garden beds as we dig. I think that gardening should be a mandatory activity for all school children, especially those in the city. That is why the First Lady's kitchen garden is so awesome in calling attention to gardening and kids. It has certainly given me a profound appreciation for the work of farmers and for my grandparents and great-grandparents...farmers all.
Thursday, May 7, 2009
Always something
I'm always learning and seeing new things thanks to the garden. Today I spent a precious few moments moving around some baby plants, putting down more flower seeds (how on earth can I fit any more in!?), and tidying up the beds.
In that short span an elderly neighbor on his morning walk told me that our garden was a "showcase" and very lovely how we mixed up flowers and veggies. It was very flattering and nice to get that feedback, but then he criticized the neighbors who had recently installed the raised beds as "ugly." I kinda winced, since every gardener is doing their best with the resources they've got to make things grow. One person's weed is another person's flower, that saying goes. I told him I'm thinking of raised beds, because they are the most productive way to farm/garden in a small space. He didn't say much to that comment, except to compliment the garden as it is right now. Then a realtor who had just sold a house on our block pulled over to appreciate the garden and ask me what was growing....It's a lot of fun to be chatting with perfect strangers, just because you have some plants in the front yard.
Interesting social experiment. Plants = human interactions.
The other new thing is a gigantic allium variety I planted last fall that is on the verge of blooming. I got them at Garden Fever, which is the equivalent of a candy store for me. They were very expensive, so I only got 2, which is plenty for the small bed. They are definitely eye-catching specimen plants....The chives are also on the verge of blooming, and the garlic is coming along.
In that short span an elderly neighbor on his morning walk told me that our garden was a "showcase" and very lovely how we mixed up flowers and veggies. It was very flattering and nice to get that feedback, but then he criticized the neighbors who had recently installed the raised beds as "ugly." I kinda winced, since every gardener is doing their best with the resources they've got to make things grow. One person's weed is another person's flower, that saying goes. I told him I'm thinking of raised beds, because they are the most productive way to farm/garden in a small space. He didn't say much to that comment, except to compliment the garden as it is right now. Then a realtor who had just sold a house on our block pulled over to appreciate the garden and ask me what was growing....It's a lot of fun to be chatting with perfect strangers, just because you have some plants in the front yard.
Interesting social experiment. Plants = human interactions.
The other new thing is a gigantic allium variety I planted last fall that is on the verge of blooming. I got them at Garden Fever, which is the equivalent of a candy store for me. They were very expensive, so I only got 2, which is plenty for the small bed. They are definitely eye-catching specimen plants....The chives are also on the verge of blooming, and the garlic is coming along.
Wednesday, May 6, 2009
Fix you
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eZ4SIe5rVUM
This is a clip from a fantastic documentary - Young at Heart.
This is a clip from a fantastic documentary - Young at Heart.
Garden news
Today my girlfriend Debbie heads out of town, and she gifted me a bunch of starts as she head out the door....tomatoes, basil, pumpkin....I can hardly wait to get planting my next round of veggies.
I also stopped at Portland Nursery to get (more) flowers. Fragrant heliotrope and roman chamomile were 2 of my favorites last year. They perfumed the garden.....I stick the roman chamomile in between the stepping stones, and they take over and create a lush soft ground cover that smells sweet when you step on it. The purple heliotrope has this sweet vanilla scent, and it is a gorgeous purple that screams...you must be in my purple garden!
The funny thing is I wonder how the combined fragrances are going to work....jasmine, roses, heliotrope, sweet pea? Too much? Just right? I do kinda of go over the top when I like something. Perfumer of living things.
I forgot to mention something cool/interesting. I started coming down with a cold on Wednesday, and Friday I was feeling pretty icky....lot of sneezing, runny nose, throat a bit sore, low energy. I had accupuncture on Friday evening, and by Sunday I was 100%. No sneezing. Nada. It was one of those situations where I have to say I think it was the needles.
I also stopped at Portland Nursery to get (more) flowers. Fragrant heliotrope and roman chamomile were 2 of my favorites last year. They perfumed the garden.....I stick the roman chamomile in between the stepping stones, and they take over and create a lush soft ground cover that smells sweet when you step on it. The purple heliotrope has this sweet vanilla scent, and it is a gorgeous purple that screams...you must be in my purple garden!
The funny thing is I wonder how the combined fragrances are going to work....jasmine, roses, heliotrope, sweet pea? Too much? Just right? I do kinda of go over the top when I like something. Perfumer of living things.
I forgot to mention something cool/interesting. I started coming down with a cold on Wednesday, and Friday I was feeling pretty icky....lot of sneezing, runny nose, throat a bit sore, low energy. I had accupuncture on Friday evening, and by Sunday I was 100%. No sneezing. Nada. It was one of those situations where I have to say I think it was the needles.
Monday, May 4, 2009
Mellow on a Monday
I just returned from a really excellent restorative yoga class at Exhale yoga studio. http://www.exhalepdx.com/index.html. Actually it was 1/2 hatha (and it was definitely challenging, God help me if I take a vinyasa class here), and 1/2 restorative or very mellow yoga.
I've been trying out all the neighborhood yoga studios, seeing what the studio is like, the teachers, the vibe. This is a really great space....quiet street, nicely decorated, candles burning....The teacher was good. The one odd thing was that when I mentioned I had foot surgery she didn't seem very curious or ask lots of questions. Maybe that is her yogi attitude, but my other experiences is that yoga teachers perk right up and start asking questions about the surgery. My other wish is that she adjusted each person more and noticed if someone needed a bit of help with a pose (like me). There was one pose where you stand on one foot, stick out the other leg and straighten. As if. My super-tight hamstrings and impaired balance post-surgery made this near impossible on one leg and quite tough on the other. She didn't offer up any alternate pose. I figured it out on my own. She did do a lot of balance poses, which I really need post-surgery....even if they are tough.
She clearly knows a lot, has really good comments about poses and how to make them better....that all worked for me. Really liked that she covered each of us with a blankie and gave us lavender eye pillows during the restorative part.....Sweet. I was so so relaxed.
I will be back to try out their Community Yin class and other classes. They offer a discount for people who walk or bike, and since this is so close I can imagine that on sunny evenings or summer mornings I walk over for yoga.
My other highlight was planting up more cosmos seeds in the garden and weeding. The bed that planted with xeriscape seeds is germinating, and so I was over there checking out the tiny weeny seedlings peeking up. I think/hope this bed is going to be a lovely one full of flowers.
I've been trying out all the neighborhood yoga studios, seeing what the studio is like, the teachers, the vibe. This is a really great space....quiet street, nicely decorated, candles burning....The teacher was good. The one odd thing was that when I mentioned I had foot surgery she didn't seem very curious or ask lots of questions. Maybe that is her yogi attitude, but my other experiences is that yoga teachers perk right up and start asking questions about the surgery. My other wish is that she adjusted each person more and noticed if someone needed a bit of help with a pose (like me). There was one pose where you stand on one foot, stick out the other leg and straighten. As if. My super-tight hamstrings and impaired balance post-surgery made this near impossible on one leg and quite tough on the other. She didn't offer up any alternate pose. I figured it out on my own. She did do a lot of balance poses, which I really need post-surgery....even if they are tough.
She clearly knows a lot, has really good comments about poses and how to make them better....that all worked for me. Really liked that she covered each of us with a blankie and gave us lavender eye pillows during the restorative part.....Sweet. I was so so relaxed.
I will be back to try out their Community Yin class and other classes. They offer a discount for people who walk or bike, and since this is so close I can imagine that on sunny evenings or summer mornings I walk over for yoga.
My other highlight was planting up more cosmos seeds in the garden and weeding. The bed that planted with xeriscape seeds is germinating, and so I was over there checking out the tiny weeny seedlings peeking up. I think/hope this bed is going to be a lovely one full of flowers.
Sunday, May 3, 2009
A bit zonked
I kinda wonder why I do the things I do, right before I do them. Like having people over on my day off??.....The lamb is baking, the potatoes cooked, the spinach ready to be braised/steamed, salsa done.....
I'm going to put my feet up for a quick minute.
Maybe will take some photos before the guests arrive.
Zzzzzzz
I'm going to put my feet up for a quick minute.
Maybe will take some photos before the guests arrive.
Zzzzzzz
Big meal prep underway
Today we are hosting the parish priests and some friends from church for a post-Mass meal. After much deliberating on the menu I settled on some of my fave recipes that are relatively easy to make. While I was on the verge of making some of my Mexican favorites I decided to save myself the work of trying to make labor-intensive recipes for 9. Araceli is bringing the dessert....which is a big help.
- Pumpkin hummus, pita, and assorted nuts to start (done)
- Wrapped lamb shanks (veggies prepped)
- Garlicly mashed potatoes (potatoes scrubbed)
- Spinach
- Oaxacan roasted chile salsa
- Homemade agua fresca de jamaica (my own special recipe - done!)
Herbs and potions
Even before getting into gardening I was interested in herbalism and traditions around using plants for healing. However now that I have a garden I've really taken off in learning about and growing herbs for healing.....As much as I love plants for their own sake I really like USING them, whether for a tea, potion or a dish to eat.
Yesterday I took another great class from herbalist Jo Powell at PCC. This one was herbal first aid, and we made a healing salve, a burn spray, and a liniment for open wounds. It was a really small class (the economy?), which was nice. I got to ask a lot of questions without slowing the class down. She brought lots of things to sample, plus I learned more about making herbal oil, which is one of the few herbalist recipes I find a bit intimidating. Maybe this summer I will just plunge in and try to make an oil. I'm thinking rosemary oil could be great. Rosemary is awesome for your hair, and swimming really dries mine out. I don't like the commercial conditioners, since they are loaded with chemicals (and chlorine is bad enough).
I've also taken Jo's Powell Butte Spring Herb Walk and her aromatherapy class. I've also taken a couple of classes from the herbalist Michelle Eccleston of Purple Garden....I highly recommend them both. Very hands on, fun, and you always leave with stuff to take home and use.
http://www.nwherbs.com/
http://www.thepurplegarden.com/
Yesterday I took another great class from herbalist Jo Powell at PCC. This one was herbal first aid, and we made a healing salve, a burn spray, and a liniment for open wounds. It was a really small class (the economy?), which was nice. I got to ask a lot of questions without slowing the class down. She brought lots of things to sample, plus I learned more about making herbal oil, which is one of the few herbalist recipes I find a bit intimidating. Maybe this summer I will just plunge in and try to make an oil. I'm thinking rosemary oil could be great. Rosemary is awesome for your hair, and swimming really dries mine out. I don't like the commercial conditioners, since they are loaded with chemicals (and chlorine is bad enough).
I've also taken Jo's Powell Butte Spring Herb Walk and her aromatherapy class. I've also taken a couple of classes from the herbalist Michelle Eccleston of Purple Garden....I highly recommend them both. Very hands on, fun, and you always leave with stuff to take home and use.
http://www.nwherbs.com/
http://www.thepurplegarden.com/
Saturday, May 2, 2009
Food and nourishment
Next week I'm starting an 8 week class titled: Intuitive Eating. I started exploring the whole idea of conscious eating (and not dieting) last year in a 4 week workshop led by the same people, and it was pretty radical stuff (at least for a woman who has dieted off and on for about 30+ years). Here are the basic principles:
- Dieting does not work. It is counterintuitive to how our biology is wired. Denying ourselves food creates cravings, preocupation with food, and doesn't actually result in sustainable weight loss.
- The key is to tune into to our body's cues around hunger and satisfaction. For chronic dieters, these cues are often...shall we say...pretty messed up.
The book that lays all this out is titled...Intuitive Eating, and I've found it a hard read, since I feel like I'm reading my own story of struggle around food. A love/hate relationship that was nutured by diets and a society that is obsessed with thinness.
I'll be sharing what I'm learning and thinking during the course of the 8 weeks. Here is the link to the folks who are offering these workshops: http://www.benourished.org/
Friday, May 1, 2009
What I'm reading
"The Reader" is a novel written by German author Bernhard Schlink and catapulted to American pop fame by Oprah's Book Club and a movie starring Kate Winslet. I've just started the audio-book, so I'm not going to make any big pronoucements on how good it is or not yet. Too soon to tell. I can tell you that "The Elegance of the Hedgehog" and "The Secret River" were awesome books....both in the quality of the stories, characters and language. Of equal importance to me are the messages embedded in the texts and questions they raise.
Justicia
This print was designed by Shepard Fairey and Ernesto Yerena originated from photographs taken during the historic 2006 may day march and reflect some of that determination and dignity that is driving this most important assertion of workers rights in recent history.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
