Everyday Life for Four Seasons

I've been adding some new recipes to my collection. Not all of them are easy, everyday recipes, but so far they've been delicious and have served the purpose of making me want to eat tasty food again.

This is what I made the other night, swapping out the green beans for turnips and the cilantro leaves for shredded cabbage (because that's what we have at the farmer's market). I toned down the amount of curry paste. This was a nice dish!

Fiery Tofu and Coconut Curry Soup

Ingredients
2 tablespoons canola oil
2 teaspoons minced garlic
1/4 cup red curry paste
1 tablespoon dark brown sugar
2 (13.5-ounce) cans light coconut milk
2 1/2 cups organic vegetable broth
1/4 cup fresh lime juice
1/4 cup thinly sliced peeled fresh ginger
2 tablespoons low-sodium soy sauce
2 cups thinly sliced carrot (about 4)
1 1/2 cups (1-inch) pieces green beans (8 ounces)
1 (14-ounce) package water-packed soft tofu, drained and cut into (1-inch) cubes
3/4 cup fresh cilantro leaves

Preparation
1. Heat oil in a large saucepan over medium-high heat. Add garlic to pan; sauté 30 seconds or until lightly browned. Add curry paste; sauté 1 minute, stirring constantly. Add brown sugar; cook 1 minute. Stir in coconut milk, broth, juice, ginger, and soy sauce. Reduce heat to low; cover and simmer 1 hour. Add carrot; cook for 6 minutes. Add beans, and cook 4 minutes or until vegetables are crisp-tender. Add tofu to pan, and cook 2 minutes. Garnish with cilantro leaves.


This is what I made last night, swapping out the chickpeas for cannellini beans (I eat tons of chickpeas but have a soft spot for cannellinis in soup). I left out the celery and parsley, again because I don't have any here. This soup surprised me with its richness. It tasted like a meal but went down like a soup. YUM.

Italian Chickpea Soup
From Vegetarian Times

Ingredients

4 cups low-sodium vegetable broth
1 medium onion, chopped (1 1/2 cups)
3 cloves garlic, minced (1 Tbs.)
1 small bay leaf
1 tsp. dried thyme
1 tsp. dried oregano
1/8-1/4 tsp. cayenne pepper
2 16-oz. cans chickpeas, rinsed and drained
2 large sweet potatoes, peeled and cut into 1/2-inch cubes (6 cups)
1 stalk celery, finely diced (1/2 cup)
1 Tbs. Dijon mustard
1/3 cup chopped fresh parsley, plus a few sprigs for garnish

1. Bring broth, onion, garlic, bay leaf, thyme, oregano, cayenne pepper, and 2 cups water to a boil in large saucepan over medium heat. Simmer 5 minutes. Add chickpeas, sweet potatoes, celery, and mustard, and simmer 10 to 12 minutes more, or until vegetables are very soft.

2. Mash vegetables and chickpeas to chunky purée with potato masher or large spoon. (Chickpeas will remain mostly whole.) Stir in parsley, and season with salt and pepper, if desired. Garnish each serving with parsley sprig.


Tonight I'm using all of the wonderful, soft, fluffy and tasty shiitake mushrooms I got at Jeremy Zehr's booth at the farmer's market on Saturday. I love them so much! He gets $10 for each box he sells but they are one of those delicacies that are just worth every penny. I'm going to sauté them in some broth, wine and caramelized onions, and add them to a hot plate of fettuccine. Alongside, I'll serve a salad of mixed greens (thanks to Michael, who grows our winter veggies, we have fresh greens a few times a week) with black eyed peas and balsamic dressing. It's a dinner of earthy, buttery goodness. I can't wait to eat.

Great day today.


One of the things we did as the day wrapped up was finalize plans for a family weekend trip to New York City. 'A' has been talking for a while about wanting to see the Statue of Liberty and ride the subway. So that's what we're going to do! We'll be going the day after 'A's birthday, so perhaps we'll be able to arrange a trip to a vegan bakery for a birthday cake. I'm excited.

What a wonderful weekend! We took our girls to my sister's home in Connecticut on Saturday and after dropping them off so that they could play, eat dinner, and go to bed, we continued on to Brooklyn. We went there to celebrate an old friend's birthday. Before the party (it was a bowling party, at a hipper-than-you've-ever-seen bowling alley), Jeff and I went to dinner at a Thai restaurant and were reminded how much we miss New York City food. YUM!


On to other business: One Small Change. My small change for February relates to our tissue use. Our noses have been running lately and we have been using a lot of tissues. I don't buy ones made from the recycled paper, I buy the fancy lotion tissues. This cycle has to stop! We're moving to reusable, washable, cloth hankies. Now I have a few things to figure out:

What material will I use? Something soft and absorbent.

Where will we store the fresh ones?

Where will we store the used ones before they hit the washing machine?

How many will I need to make, and how often will they need to be washed?

First off, before I forget, above is a photo of my father's compost pile. I know, you really wanted to see that, didn't you? His pile is an open air, unstructured pile. It works for him. He adds to it regularly and will turn it over once in a while. Everything goes in there - food and yard waste.


Our trip to Rhode Island went really well. I picked up my camera in Schenectady and then headed out to the Ocean State. Before I left the camera shop, I asked to see some of the lenses that go with my camera, just to see. I love, love, love one of the macro lenses. Hmmm... a birthday present maybe?


The museum was wonderful, really wonderful. The building has so much natural light. The displays are well crafted and we learned so much. We started with the Ice Age, went on to learn how nomadic Native Americans followed the caribou, found out about the cultivation of maize, beans and squash (only 600 years ago!) and then entered a Pequot village with life-like figures posed in every day scenes.

No photos were allowed in the museum.


While we were there, 'A' had her first - and I hope last - anaphylactic allergy attack. We ate at the museum restaurant, where the menu featured hamburgers, french fries and chicken fingers, with french fries being one of the healthiest items on the menu. Everything had dairy in it, so I ordered 'A' a hot dog. It must have had some dairy in it that I didn't know about or there was butter or cheese on the grill. When she started to eat it, she chewed a bit and then wanted to spit it out and throw it up. I thought she was just being dramatic. Then she said something that the allergist said she would say in this situation. She said that it tasted bad and that her mouth felt funny. Her throat felt funny. That's when I knew. I gave her Benadryl and opted to not use the epi-pen because she could still talk and was breathing okay. After all of that happened, she broke out into red hives on her face. I am going to speak with her doctor to see if I handled it correctly and what I should do if it happens again.

Just when I thought things were going so well! This is a big reminder to me to never trust anyone else's cooking. It's another source of "static" that is eliminated by all the whole-food cooking I do at home. I know for sure that my home-cooked goodness doesn't contain the foods she is allergic to. I don't have to worry at home.

I don't often think that my children are better off being right by my side than anywhere else, but here is a case where it's true. I was right there with her, listening to her and hearing the key phrases that caused me to make the connection and take action. I don't know if anyone else would have reacted so quickly.


As far as the rest of our health goes, we're all on the mend. The girls and Jeff are fever-free; I never went down that road, thank goodness; our stuffy noses are on the way out. The pine needle tea we drank yesterday and today did wonders at clearing us up. I went back to the gym today after 10 days away and was so happy to be back. It's nice to exercise and feel wonderful about the benefits of doing it. It's nice to be back.


Swimming lessons and farmer's market tomorrow, followed by a birthday party for an old friend. It'll be a full, fun day. I'll see you later this weekend. I hope you enjoy the big, full moon as much as I will.

I'm back from visiting Dad and Marilyn in Rhode Island. The trip was short but wonderful and I'll tell you about it soon. Right now, I'll tell you that I'm the proud owner of this book, from which I learned about cutting up white pine needles and simmering them in water for 20 minutes to make a pine tea for treating congestion. Pine Needles are also an excellent source of Vitamins C and A. I'm in heaven. The book contains a number of recipes using parts of herbs and trees that grow right in our backyard. All of the recipes come with dosage amounts for children, which is exactly what I want. I love it! Life couldn't get much better.

I'm feeling great today, so we're hitting the road. Jeff is working from home as he continues to fight off the end of his cold. We're planning to go to the Mashantucket Pequot Museum and I'm excited about the trip. See you all soon.

:: Why does the sun rise and set? ::

We're doing quite well here. 'A' is just about done with her sickness - a good night's sleep should put her back on track. 'H' has another day or two to let it run its course. Jeff is getting better, although tonight he wondered aloud if he was getting strep throat. I am still healthy, I think. A little congestion, but nothing like the hit-by-a-truck, drop-dead-tired feeling my family members have had the past few days. I wouldn't worry about whether or not I am getting sick except that I am scheduled to pack up the girls tomorrow and head to my father's home for a few days and I am not planning to go if I'm sick. I told him I'll know in the morning if I'm coming or not.


On a more personal note, I've reached a new place in my life. Last week I read a piece in the New York Times about people who enjoy living without heat. While I wouldn't want to live without heat, I find it to be an interesting concept, especially the way one woman sums it up to say: “The main reason why I do these winter trips is that when your house is 15 degrees, the only problem you have is getting warm. Focusing on survival is right up there with a Zen retreat when it comes to clearing the mind.”

I like the idea of living so authentically that things which might normally be considered problems or issues don't even show up on the map. When I told Jeff all of this, he reminded me that we do have one aspect of our life that is right in line with that philosophy. Over the past few years our family diet has changed bit by bit and at present, we are vegan locavores. It's a choice that Jeff and I have made after much discussion and it is a conscious choice we make week after week when we shop for food, and day after day when we prepare it. It's not an accident. It's a deliberate choice. On one hand, our diet is very limited. But that limitation means that so many other things we might grapple with are not issues for us. We don't wonder all that much about the chemicals that are in our food, because for the most part, there aren't any. We don't wonder about what to cook for dinner, because we don't have that many choices. We're limited, but it's good. We're not overwhelmed. The mental static is quieted, around the issue of food anyway.

The benefits of this limitation are plentiful. Every time we sit down to eat, we know where much of our food comes from, who grew it, and who sold it to us. We know that we're not only nourishing our bodies, we're nourishing the Earth. The act of eating has gone from something we just do because we have to eat everyday to a whole new level - it's a sort of spiritual experience.

So what does this have to do with finding myself in a new place? I'm ready to open up a new part of my life to this kind of authentic living, but I don't know what it is yet. It's not something I can find out on my own. I think I'm ready to do something I've never had any interest in ever doing - explore my spiritual path a little more. I've never cared to think about spirituality and where it fits into my life, but now that I've been going to the Unitarian Universalist services regularly, I've come to understand that I can ask questions and take some time to think about my journey, and I can sort it out in a way that makes sense to me. The guiding principle of Unitarianism is that we are all on our own journey and it's up to us to take some time to reflect on it and define it for ourselves.

I've spent well over a year listening to our minister each Sunday morning and I have come to feel comfortable with the idea of allowing her to help me explore my path. Every week, she pulls together lessons from the big religions (usually Judaism, Christianity and Buddhism, but many times she speaks about Taoism, Islam, and others too). I like that she approaches it from an intellectual and historical viewpoint rather than relying blindly on emotions or faith. I'm ready to listen more deeply to her and explore her questions.

I like this place.

Yesterday at the farmer's market I got:

arugula
baby bok choy/Asian greens salad mix
golden beets
yellow onions
rutabaga
butternut and carnival squash
white turnips with greens attached
honey
swiss chard

and this is what I made for dinner:

Get Better Quick Soup

This soup is so tasty and creamy. I love soup made with barley. The only thing that could make this soup better would be the addition of some white beans, but I didn't have any on hand last night. I hope you enjoy it.

1 yellow onion, diced
4 carrots, diced
1 medium rutabaga, peeled and diced
4 jerusalem artichokes, peeled and diced
1/2 cup pearl barley, uncooked
several cups of stock
shredded swiss chard (about 1 1/2 cups)

Saute the onions until translucent. Add the next five ingredients and cook for at least one hour, until the barley is tender, adding more water or stock if necessary. Before serving, add the swiss chard and stir to wilt. Serve and feel healthier!


All of the members of my little family are still sick. This cold and the accompanying fever really hang on! I'm still feeling great, so I'm going to scoot off to the UU (Unitarian Universalist) service soon to get some fresh air and work in the nursery.

Sending out healthy vibes to you and your family...

They're all sick with a cold - 'A', 'H' and Jeff. Jeff thinks my different blood type is what keeps me healthy when the three of them are sick. I'm O, they are A. I think my handwashing helps. When my kids get sick, my hands stay squeaky clean.

I don't think this situation will last. I'll get the sickness. I will. You just wait.

My camera, my camera! I just called the repair shop to check on it. It's well cared for. It'll be ready next week.

I got a lot of answers today at the pediatrician's office. Answers I wanted to hear, so that's even better. First of all, even though 'A' has green stuff coming out of her eyes, she doesn't have a sinus infection. Our doctor gave me some new information about the color of the goop. Essentially, the color doesn't matter as much as the duration of it. The goop coming out of their noses and eyes can be clear or green and anything in between, and any of those colors can signify an infection or nothing at all. What matters is how long it's there. Anything over 10 days is something to worry about.

He looked at their medical history and pointed out that my kids don't get sick all that much with secondary infections such as ear or sinus infections. True. I think they have each been on antibiotics once in their life, maybe twice for 'A'. I know why they don't get sick all that much. I have no scientific evidence to back this up, but it's the one thing that has consistently separated my children from other children. They don't drink milk. I grew up the same way so many children do now - my mother brought those gallon jugs of milk home from the store and we drank it up because we were told that it was good for our bones and made us healthy. Was it good for us? I was the ear infection queen as a child. I had so many that I got to the point where I could feel one coming on before it even developed. Even as an adult I've had recurrent ear infections. Now that I don't drink milk, I don't get infections. And neither do my girls. There are so many questions that people ask about the milk they get: skim? whole? 1%? organic? pasteurized? ... and very few stop to ask, "why are we drinking this in the first place?"


The other answers all seem to indicate that my kids have some behavior issues but not physiological problems. 'A's issues with swallowing her food can probably be helped by a speech therapist who can teach her how to swallow the correct way. Most likely nothing is wrong with her mouth or throat. Whew!

And for 'H'... I am all done seeing her breath holding spells and her "constipation" as two separate issues. She's not truly constipated because she has a wonderful diet that keeps things loose. The problem is that things don't move along in a timely fashion. Are you following? She has trouble getting her poop to come out, but not because it's too hard. It's an issue for which there seems to be no answer. When I look at the two issues together, I see that her life force, her energy, is stagnant somewhere in her body. It's not flowing freely. It stops in her intestines and it also stops in her mouth and lungs when she gets upset. When I brought that up and put it in those terms, he wondered if she is having trouble breathing correctly. She could be swallowing too much air and that would result in a belly that is fat and full of air, one that doesn't allow the stool to move along. And it could mean that she's having trouble regulating her breathing when she gets upset. Ahhh! Two different issues could actually be one issue. To address her issue, she would need some behavioral therapy. My homework is to spend some time observing her and report back to him on this.

So, I left his office today feeling happy that my children don't get sick but wondering why they need so much behavioral modification!


My little ones are asleep now, sleeping away their viruses and getting their strength up so they can play some more this afternoon. I am taking a moment to feel peaceful and hope the virus doesn't decide to spend some time in my body too. We don't all need to be sick around here!

My camera is being professionally cleaned and I may not have it until Monday. Despite how I feel, I know I'll live. Right? Right. Here are some more photos from last weekend.

'A's saga continues... today she woke up with eyes that felt funny, and soon enough they started to drip. By lunchtime I was pretty sure it was a sinus infection. She's due to see her doctor tomorrow anyway, so I called and made sure we could wait until tomorrow to have her seen. She's uncomfortable, to be sure, but she'll live. Poor thing.

Despite all of that, her energy level is UP! She did her fair share of running around today and this afternoon she wanted to spend time with me solving some math problems. If I had a sinus infection, no way would I want to think about anything or run anywhere. Not her. It's really wonderful to watch 'A' learn more about numbers and math and see that she is starting to "get it." We sat with 12 buttons and I would give her a few and tell her to take away or add enough to get a certain result. We played it as a game, so we got a rhythm going and she liked going FAST. 7 buttons on the floor, take away enough to leave 4... 5 buttons on the floor, add enough to have 8... Then we did a bunch of "divide this set in half" games, where I would give her an even number of buttons and she would divide them into two equal groups. Then she would get enough to divide evenly into thirds, and then by 4. She loved it.


What's happening in Haiti makes me very sad.

I'm enjoying the One Small Change project. I like making things into a game for myself, and the way the challenge is set up, making one change each month, is perfect for me. It paces me so I don't get overwhelmed and do too many things at once, and overall it helps me to stay motivated and focused. I've got some thoughts about the things I'll do the next few months. Cloth hankerchiefs to cut down on our tissue use? Cloth produce and bulk grain bags for the store and farmer's market? The possibilities are limitless.

I do wish I had my camera to show you the little beds I made today for 'A's and 'H's kitty and bunny families. The girls each picked out a basket at the thrift store a few days ago and today I made mattresses and blankets for the animal families. We all loved giving the animals a place to snuggle for the night, and I loved the idea of the animals staying together, all in one place, so we can find them when we want them! Oh, to be organized and happy... I wish I could live this easily all the time. Don't you?

...so maybe the winter veggies are helping after all. When 'A' woke up from her nap, her little fever was gone and she felt energetic and happy again. I'm glad it was just a short-lived thing.