We had a lovely long weekend on Prince Edward Island... then came home Monday to a sick dog.
Luna had been ill like this before. Her hips clearly hurt and her eyes were dull. She was eating and drinking,though, and managed to haul herself up the stairs and onto her favorite couch. She wagged her tail furiously when we said "good girl". She enjoyed her ear rubs.
But Tuesday morning she simply collapsed and that was the end.
I'm glad she didn't suffer long. I'm glad we didn't have to struggle with complicated care or the decision to put her down. But gosh, it was too quick.
And the house, now, is too quiet.
We had a dinner in her honor last night. I made this dish.
Remembrance Potatoes
Ingredients
Local new potatoes, freshly dug
Kosher salt
Unsalted butter
Rosemary to taste (ours comes from a pot on the back porch. Luna was always trying to eat it.)
Directions
Bring a suitably sized pot of water to a boil. Add 1 cup of kosher salt for every quart of water. Stir to dissolve, making a brine.
Add the potatoes, lid, and boil for 15-30 minutes or until soft to the fork. Drain but do not rinse.
Toss the potatoes with unsalted butter and rosemary. Eat with mindfulness and love.
Thursday, August 21, 2008
Tuesday, August 12, 2008
Check It, Santa
I've been oh-so-good. Please, won't you bring me a kachelofen this year and free us from our dependency on Big Oil?
Thursday, August 7, 2008
Yum Campy
Here's our vacation menu, to be enjoyed in between bouts of snorkeling in Seal Cove, Prince Edward Island:
Corrido Chile
Local, organic, grass-fed beef, ground, pan fried with lots of local garlic including some green garlic from the backyard, cumin, a trio of chiles, roasted peppers and onions, our own turtle beans from last year, and local tomatoes
Coconut Lime Chicken
With fresh grated zest, peanuts, and shredded coconut, served with an organic basmati rice
Mama's Crazy Yum Granola
All organic oats, nuts, maple syrup, and shredded coconut
Snacks
Baby carrots from the market
Stone fruits in season (cherries are off the hook right now)
Local strawberries we froze earlier in the season
Peapods for snacking
Mary's organic crackers
Laughing Whale espresso brewed with raw sugar in the Moka Pot to make Cuban cafecito
Aaaaaannnnnd we're going to drink us some fine local wine. Report when we return.
Corrido Chile
Local, organic, grass-fed beef, ground, pan fried with lots of local garlic including some green garlic from the backyard, cumin, a trio of chiles, roasted peppers and onions, our own turtle beans from last year, and local tomatoes
Coconut Lime Chicken
With fresh grated zest, peanuts, and shredded coconut, served with an organic basmati rice
Mama's Crazy Yum Granola
All organic oats, nuts, maple syrup, and shredded coconut
Snacks
Baby carrots from the market
Stone fruits in season (cherries are off the hook right now)
Local strawberries we froze earlier in the season
Peapods for snacking
Mary's organic crackers
Laughing Whale espresso brewed with raw sugar in the Moka Pot to make Cuban cafecito
Aaaaaannnnnd we're going to drink us some fine local wine. Report when we return.
Sunday, August 3, 2008
The Shit Trip
I wanted to figure out a few things, spiritually speaking.
So... I went to church. I signed up to teach Sunday school. I ran a church's religious education program.
I went to seminary for four years (seriously. I did that.)
It's come to this.
The Grand Theology of the Shit Triplicate (or "Shit Trip" for short)
1. Shit Happens
God doesn't do it to me. I don't (particularly)deserve it. I don't attract it. It simply happens. Into every life a little shit will probably fall, and there's no controlling how or how much or when. Being rich won't protect you. Being "white" won't protect you. Nothing will protect you.
Where meaning enters the picture is when you, after the fact, make some.
2. We don't know Shit
The universe is massively, stunningly, immesurably complex, interconnected, and delicately balanced. It works in ways that we do not fundamentally understand--and the more we learn, the more obvious this becomes. Messing around with life in a way that changes whole systems is usually a really, really bad idea--although people don't usually want to admit this until it's too late.
Uranium mining comes to mind.
3. It's all a big Cycle of Shit
Shit comes and shit goes. Sometimes it seems like a bad dream, and sometimes you're right in a huge pile of it. As my three-year-old would say, "and then the bacteria eats it and it turns into dirt and it isn't stinky any more. And then life starts over."
Again.
(This is, obviously, the Extreme Reader's Digest version. If you want to learn more, you can email me privately or just wait for the book.)
So... I went to church. I signed up to teach Sunday school. I ran a church's religious education program.
I went to seminary for four years (seriously. I did that.)
It's come to this.
The Grand Theology of the Shit Triplicate (or "Shit Trip" for short)
1. Shit Happens
God doesn't do it to me. I don't (particularly)deserve it. I don't attract it. It simply happens. Into every life a little shit will probably fall, and there's no controlling how or how much or when. Being rich won't protect you. Being "white" won't protect you. Nothing will protect you.
Where meaning enters the picture is when you, after the fact, make some.
2. We don't know Shit
The universe is massively, stunningly, immesurably complex, interconnected, and delicately balanced. It works in ways that we do not fundamentally understand--and the more we learn, the more obvious this becomes. Messing around with life in a way that changes whole systems is usually a really, really bad idea--although people don't usually want to admit this until it's too late.
Uranium mining comes to mind.
3. It's all a big Cycle of Shit
Shit comes and shit goes. Sometimes it seems like a bad dream, and sometimes you're right in a huge pile of it. As my three-year-old would say, "and then the bacteria eats it and it turns into dirt and it isn't stinky any more. And then life starts over."
Again.
(This is, obviously, the Extreme Reader's Digest version. If you want to learn more, you can email me privately or just wait for the book.)
Monday, July 28, 2008
Another Year
I'm 36 today. Things are just starting to get interesting.
I'm writing for the Canadian Unitarian now. Everything is falling into place for Brine, my own little local foods magazine. And as I grow deeper and deeper into relational food, my own eating is undergoing a quiet revolution. From beans to berries to spinach to oats, I'm eating local foods that nourish and delight. The backyard offers worlds of herbs, and I accept.
Speaking of, both Mountain Top and Quebec are doing beautifully in the garlic garden. I sat on my hands to leave the scapes alone (ate BW's instead). I'm impatient to savour the bulbs. A couple weeks ago a clump of pumpkin seedlings popped out of the spinach patch, where Charlie dumped a packet of seeds in May. I successfully transplanted them to an empty bed. Now our pumpkin patch may be our biggest producer.
Time for a birthday Turkish coffee. Guess I'm not eating THAT locally. ;-)
I'm writing for the Canadian Unitarian now. Everything is falling into place for Brine, my own little local foods magazine. And as I grow deeper and deeper into relational food, my own eating is undergoing a quiet revolution. From beans to berries to spinach to oats, I'm eating local foods that nourish and delight. The backyard offers worlds of herbs, and I accept.
Speaking of, both Mountain Top and Quebec are doing beautifully in the garlic garden. I sat on my hands to leave the scapes alone (ate BW's instead). I'm impatient to savour the bulbs. A couple weeks ago a clump of pumpkin seedlings popped out of the spinach patch, where Charlie dumped a packet of seeds in May. I successfully transplanted them to an empty bed. Now our pumpkin patch may be our biggest producer.
Time for a birthday Turkish coffee. Guess I'm not eating THAT locally. ;-)
Sunday, July 13, 2008
Tending My Plots
Local horticulturalist Svenja Dee took one glance at my 'broccoli' from 20 feet away and said, "That's spinach. It's gone to seed. You can't eat it." But next spring we'll have an already-established patch. I think I'll see if we can build a raised bed around it.
In other news, the Citizens Against Uranium Mining blog is coming together nicely. Curses upon you, Triple Uranium!
In other news, the Citizens Against Uranium Mining blog is coming together nicely. Curses upon you, Triple Uranium!
Thursday, July 10, 2008
The UnWrap
My dear husband John is the Master of Leftovers. Which is great, since my cooking and grilling experiments generate so many of them. This is what we enjoyed for lunch yesterday:
Ingredients
Leftover fried chicken, chopped into tidbits
Tortillas
Olive oil (John used some Zatoun we got at the Mahone Bay organic farmer's market)
Shredded cheese (I'd like to say I made my queso blanco for this, but I was too lazy. We slummed with an organic cheddar from the market)
Chopped lettuce (We used BW's organic greens)
Taco sauce
Minced fresh oregano (also from BW's farm)
Directions
Warm the olive oil in a cast iron pan over low-medium heat. Toast the tortillas in the pan one at a time, 1-2 minutes per side. Set aside or in a tortilla warmer.
Toss the fried chicken tidbits in a light coating of taco sauce. Warm gently on the stovetop. Leave the taco sauce out for people to add to taste.
Plate the tortillas, one per plate. spoon the warm fried chicken down the middle, top with lettuce and cheese, and gently wrap into a burrito shape. Sprinkle the top with minced oregano, and voila!
Why do we call it an UnWrap? Because the soft, warm tortilla contains its ingredients loosely, leaving room for additions, subtractions, or other improvisations. As an unschooling family, it fits us to a T!
Ingredients
Leftover fried chicken, chopped into tidbits
Tortillas
Olive oil (John used some Zatoun we got at the Mahone Bay organic farmer's market)
Shredded cheese (I'd like to say I made my queso blanco for this, but I was too lazy. We slummed with an organic cheddar from the market)
Chopped lettuce (We used BW's organic greens)
Taco sauce
Minced fresh oregano (also from BW's farm)
Directions
Warm the olive oil in a cast iron pan over low-medium heat. Toast the tortillas in the pan one at a time, 1-2 minutes per side. Set aside or in a tortilla warmer.
Toss the fried chicken tidbits in a light coating of taco sauce. Warm gently on the stovetop. Leave the taco sauce out for people to add to taste.
Plate the tortillas, one per plate. spoon the warm fried chicken down the middle, top with lettuce and cheese, and gently wrap into a burrito shape. Sprinkle the top with minced oregano, and voila!
Why do we call it an UnWrap? Because the soft, warm tortilla contains its ingredients loosely, leaving room for additions, subtractions, or other improvisations. As an unschooling family, it fits us to a T!
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