Last night I was given great quantities of zucchini; this morning I hurried up to Tacoma from Eatonville with less than an hour to make lunch: succatash. At least, a dish reminiscent of what we called succatash.
Succatash
One ample zucchini [1-2 lbs], diced
two slices onion, chopped
two medium fresh tomatoes, diced
one ear of corn, divested of the kernels [put in the kernels]
sliced mushrooms--I forgot to put these in, but they would have been good
one can beans such as pinto or kidney beans, drained & rinsed
Seasonings: about an ounce of grated turmeric root, two cloves garlic
A shake each of cumin, coriander, dill
leaves from a sprig of fresh basil
Place virgin olive oil in bottom of wok [I never mentioned this, but I make most dishes in the wok]
Saute seasonings in olive oil. Stir in zucchini, corn, tomatoes, mushrooms, onion & stir fry until beginning to soften. Before they brown, stir in one cup water, basil and beans, cover and simmer about ten minutes. Serve with slices of polenta sauteed in olive oil and seasonings of choice.
Yum!
Friday, July 24, 2009
Thursday, July 23, 2009
One Day Off
One day off is not enough.
I had my day sort of planned, had my rolled oats, ground up pecans and raisins soaking in soy milk ready to nuke for oatmeal, and was getting psyched up to exercise, when my husband called from downtown Tacoma, inviting me to lunch at the India Mahal buffet on Pacific and Ninth. I ate the oatmeal anyway, then headed down town, as that was an offer I couldn't refuse. [I never did get around to the exercise.]
My husband lives in Eatonville and I live in Tacoma, where my work and my house are, as I've never gotten around to moving, so we sort of see each other on dates.
We were sitting enjoying the vegetarian buffet food, talking about many things, and wound up on the subject of "All You Can Eat." I remembered a fictional cop show episode where a man was rolling on a stool up and down in front of an all-you-can-eat salad bar with a fork, rapidly eating directly from the bar, shoveling in astonishing amounts of food. I think this was before sneeze guards. The restaurant called the cops, and was told, "hey, it's all you can eat."
Enayat remembered a Hari Krishna buffet restaurant that said, "All You Care to Eat." That makes much more sense, putting your brain in between your mouth and your stomach. This American "eat all you can eat" thing can go too far. We started laughing about how the restaurants ought to make you pay up front in case, in the course of overeating, you expire!
Later I went to McLendon's Hardware for items to assemble a bricks-and-boards bookshelf. The pressed-board shelves were expensive, and there were no bricks per se. [I was thinking of these tall terra-cotta deals.] I ended up buying pairs of large flowerpots and about a 12-foot naturally purple board which I had them cut up; at home I stacked up the shelves by placing pots upside down in pairs and placing the boards on top. Weird but decorative. [I just didn't want to worry about assembling or transporting a conventional bookcase.]
Spent some time at the Thursday devotional meeting talking about [among many other things] fractals and spirals inherent in nature. That is, to me, mathematics and therefore the expression of mathematics in equations, [i.e. the equations giving rise to fractals and the Fibonacci Number System graphed as a spiral] as well as the physical form which those mathematical equations represent, and physical flora and fauna reflecting those shapes, are all a part of the natural world. I found that the new participant, Lee, and myself, were equally passionate and fascinated with this subject.
"How resplendent the luminaries of knowledge that shine in an atom, and how vast the oceans of wisdom that surge within a drop." ~~ Baha'u'llah
One day off is not enough.
I had my day sort of planned, had my rolled oats, ground up pecans and raisins soaking in soy milk ready to nuke for oatmeal, and was getting psyched up to exercise, when my husband called from downtown Tacoma, inviting me to lunch at the India Mahal buffet on Pacific and Ninth. I ate the oatmeal anyway, then headed down town, as that was an offer I couldn't refuse. [I never did get around to the exercise.]
My husband lives in Eatonville and I live in Tacoma, where my work and my house are, as I've never gotten around to moving, so we sort of see each other on dates.
We were sitting enjoying the vegetarian buffet food, talking about many things, and wound up on the subject of "All You Can Eat." I remembered a fictional cop show episode where a man was rolling on a stool up and down in front of an all-you-can-eat salad bar with a fork, rapidly eating directly from the bar, shoveling in astonishing amounts of food. I think this was before sneeze guards. The restaurant called the cops, and was told, "hey, it's all you can eat."
Enayat remembered a Hari Krishna buffet restaurant that said, "All You Care to Eat." That makes much more sense, putting your brain in between your mouth and your stomach. This American "eat all you can eat" thing can go too far. We started laughing about how the restaurants ought to make you pay up front in case, in the course of overeating, you expire!
Later I went to McLendon's Hardware for items to assemble a bricks-and-boards bookshelf. The pressed-board shelves were expensive, and there were no bricks per se. [I was thinking of these tall terra-cotta deals.] I ended up buying pairs of large flowerpots and about a 12-foot naturally purple board which I had them cut up; at home I stacked up the shelves by placing pots upside down in pairs and placing the boards on top. Weird but decorative. [I just didn't want to worry about assembling or transporting a conventional bookcase.]
Spent some time at the Thursday devotional meeting talking about [among many other things] fractals and spirals inherent in nature. That is, to me, mathematics and therefore the expression of mathematics in equations, [i.e. the equations giving rise to fractals and the Fibonacci Number System graphed as a spiral] as well as the physical form which those mathematical equations represent, and physical flora and fauna reflecting those shapes, are all a part of the natural world. I found that the new participant, Lee, and myself, were equally passionate and fascinated with this subject.
"How resplendent the luminaries of knowledge that shine in an atom, and how vast the oceans of wisdom that surge within a drop." ~~ Baha'u'llah
One day off is not enough.
Tuesday, July 21, 2009
Cream of Spinach Soup
The other night I found some leftover soup with carrots and potatoes and a soy milk base in the fridge. Although it did not look familiar, I'd been away for a couple of days and thought I'd made it before and forgotten about it, so I heated it up and ate it. It was pretty good. Today Pearl told me that she'd made the soup, and regretted to inform me that there was beef broth in it. I said, oh, well, it won't kill me outright, and anyway, caveat emptor.
Pearl's friend Nick was over and informed me that by watching me, he's become inspired to cook with vegetables a lot more, and described some roasted vegetables he made. I need to get the recipe.
Today I had some oatmeal, exercised, showered, and decided to use up my two bags of spinach, since I haven't had leafy greens for a few days.
Cream of Spinach Soup
Grate up two large cloves of garlic, some turmeric root, and ginger root; chop up a couple slices of onion, and saute them in some extra virgin olive oil [on medium heat because of the olive oil.]
Throw in two bags fresh spinach leaves and a cup of water, cover and come back and stir it in about five minutes, after the spinach softens up. Stir in about a pint of soy milk, and add a healthy shake of nutmeg and another of coriander, simmer to blend flavors.
Pearl's friend Nick was over and informed me that by watching me, he's become inspired to cook with vegetables a lot more, and described some roasted vegetables he made. I need to get the recipe.
Today I had some oatmeal, exercised, showered, and decided to use up my two bags of spinach, since I haven't had leafy greens for a few days.
Cream of Spinach Soup
Grate up two large cloves of garlic, some turmeric root, and ginger root; chop up a couple slices of onion, and saute them in some extra virgin olive oil [on medium heat because of the olive oil.]
Throw in two bags fresh spinach leaves and a cup of water, cover and come back and stir it in about five minutes, after the spinach softens up. Stir in about a pint of soy milk, and add a healthy shake of nutmeg and another of coriander, simmer to blend flavors.
Belly Laugh
I've made it a goal to try to have at least one good belly-laugh a day, in the interest of better mental and physical health.
Last evening at work we were expecting one admission for sure, and another tentatively. So while I was assessing our first admission, and away from the desk, one of my medication nurses left me a note that the second admission was not coming in.
This morning I had a call from my supervisor asking if I was planning to come to work today? They had found a post-it note floating around the nurses station with the following scribbled on it:
Arlene
not coming today.
Last evening at work we were expecting one admission for sure, and another tentatively. So while I was assessing our first admission, and away from the desk, one of my medication nurses left me a note that the second admission was not coming in.
This morning I had a call from my supervisor asking if I was planning to come to work today? They had found a post-it note floating around the nurses station with the following scribbled on it:
Arlene
not coming today.
The New Moon
What were you doing on July 20, 1969?
I was watching TV for the first time in our house. My parents, born in 1919 and 1921, growing up in the country during the depression, saw no need for television. They didn't really talk about it much, but they probably just thought that with silly commercials and generally a lack of intellectual content, and their goals of teaching their children to read, who needed it?
To tell the truth, I grew up knowing there is no better entertainment than a book, and no better toy than a stick or a cardboard box. Add in a tree to climb, and we were rich. Even better: a long rope swing, with a seat of plywood cut in a circle, tied high above to the limb of a tree, so we could swing in great circles.
Anyway, my parents broke down and bought an eleven-inch black and white TV so my father, who had, not only numerous posters of rocket launches, but even a barometer in his room, could watch humans take their first steps on the moon. The reception was terrible, and in grainy black and white it was hard to discern the appearance of moon dust, or even the outline of the lunar module as it sat on the surface, but we were all thrilled.
I remember thinking that looking up at the romantic moon would never be the same, now that we had walked on it.
How strange it was in a college class circa 1990 when a young student piped up with the certain knowledge that the moon landings had all been elaborate fakes. I didn't know which was weirder: her opinion, or the fact that a child born since the moon landing was old enough to be in college.
I was watching TV for the first time in our house. My parents, born in 1919 and 1921, growing up in the country during the depression, saw no need for television. They didn't really talk about it much, but they probably just thought that with silly commercials and generally a lack of intellectual content, and their goals of teaching their children to read, who needed it?
To tell the truth, I grew up knowing there is no better entertainment than a book, and no better toy than a stick or a cardboard box. Add in a tree to climb, and we were rich. Even better: a long rope swing, with a seat of plywood cut in a circle, tied high above to the limb of a tree, so we could swing in great circles.
Anyway, my parents broke down and bought an eleven-inch black and white TV so my father, who had, not only numerous posters of rocket launches, but even a barometer in his room, could watch humans take their first steps on the moon. The reception was terrible, and in grainy black and white it was hard to discern the appearance of moon dust, or even the outline of the lunar module as it sat on the surface, but we were all thrilled.
I remember thinking that looking up at the romantic moon would never be the same, now that we had walked on it.
How strange it was in a college class circa 1990 when a young student piped up with the certain knowledge that the moon landings had all been elaborate fakes. I didn't know which was weirder: her opinion, or the fact that a child born since the moon landing was old enough to be in college.
Health Care For Caring People
I just have to say this. Leave behind political parties, stop pushing for one point of view to prevail. We're talking about taking care of people here:
Why is it okay to pay to educate our neighbors' children; why is it okay to pay to put out the fire in our neighbors' house; but it's not okay to pay for our neighbor to visit the doctor?
Why is it okay to pay to educate our neighbors' children; why is it okay to pay to put out the fire in our neighbors' house; but it's not okay to pay for our neighbor to visit the doctor?
Saturday, July 18, 2009
Moving On
I know, the Weanerpigmobile crashed, but actually I moved on down the road. Stress, heat, a chaotic day at work and the prolific abundance of foods I had stayed away from for quite awhile temporarily overcame my commitment to health. At work it isn't easy to find a calm place, or the time, to renew one's spiritual and emotional strength and center. Excellence, not perfection. So, onwards.
I'm still feeling tired and sluggish from whatever animal fat, sodium, nitrites and so on were in those hot dogs. I used to feel that way all the time. Now I don't have to. Yesterday I went back to rice and lentils; today I opened the day with an orange-flesh honeydew melon, supposed to be cleansing. Then I spent some time exercising.
I made a porridge with red lentils, a yam and oatmeal, plus the usual seasonings. It turned out thick and almost burned on the bottom, so I placed the ok part [most of the porridge] into another bowl, cleaned the burned part out of my wok where I cook most dishes, replaced the porridge and thinned it with soy milk.
Now to try to replace two hours of sleep I missed by waking early this morning.
I'm still feeling tired and sluggish from whatever animal fat, sodium, nitrites and so on were in those hot dogs. I used to feel that way all the time. Now I don't have to. Yesterday I went back to rice and lentils; today I opened the day with an orange-flesh honeydew melon, supposed to be cleansing. Then I spent some time exercising.
I made a porridge with red lentils, a yam and oatmeal, plus the usual seasonings. It turned out thick and almost burned on the bottom, so I placed the ok part [most of the porridge] into another bowl, cleaned the burned part out of my wok where I cook most dishes, replaced the porridge and thinned it with soy milk.
Now to try to replace two hours of sleep I missed by waking early this morning.
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