by Krista | Nov 22, 2013 | Summer
“When you wake up in the morning, Pooh,” said Piglet at last, “what’s the first thing you say to yourself?”
“What’s for breakfast?” said Pooh. “What do you say, Piglet?”
“I say, I wonder what’s going to happen exciting today?” said Piglet.
Pooh nodded thoughtfully.
“It’s the same thing,” he said.
A.A. Milne
Here on the farm we usually get up at 4 a.m. Sometimes I’m up and at ’em right away but other times I linger awhile, sipping tea and reading as the sun rises and washes my bookcase in golden light.
My first job is to pull on jacket and boots and head out to the goat pen, but I usually get stopped in my tracks on the back porch by the sun rising beautifully over misty fields.
I lead the goats up to the front gate and turn them loose to graze their hearts out in the field.
I just love the light at this time of day. Even goats look like something out of a fairytale in ethereal morning light.
Once the goats are happily noshing, I let the geese out for a feed and a flutter.
Then, if it’s not too cold, I sit out in my kitchen garden with a fresh juice or smoothie. It’s mango season right now, so the markets are full of mangoes so ripe and fragrant they just beg to be turned into luscious smoothies. I’m happy to oblige, throwing in some plump, ripe strawberries while I’m at it.
I never thought I’d be happy to wake up at 4 a.m., but I love it now, and wouldn’t trade these mornings for anything.
What is your favorite time of day at your house?
by Krista | Nov 19, 2013 | Summer
Bear and I were sick with an awful, achy, fevered flu for the past week. We felt miserable, and by day five we were both going a bit stir-crazy. So we took our sick selves outside, Bear to potter away with his tractor and me to amble down our driveway to pick a big bouquet of the Queen Anne’s Lace I’d spotted the day before.
The cool wind felt heavenly on my fevered face and the walk did me good. With all the glorious rain we’ve had, our ditches are full to bursting with feathered grasses and wildflowers that dance in the wind.
Queen Anne’s Lace has been my favorite wildflower since I was a little girl. It grew abundantly in Canada too and was handy for tucking into a blonde braid or stirring into a made-up concoction consisting primarily of dirt, hose water, and weeds.
“Magic exists.
Who can doubt it, when there are rainbows and wildflowers,
the music of the wind and the silence of the stars?
Anyone who has loved has been touched by magic.
It is such a simple and such an extraordinary part of the lives we live.”
Nora Roberts
I love the look of wildflowers against old wood, don’t you? They seem to belong together.
I bet Bear never thought his old workbench would be such a perfect spot for a bunch of wildflowers to rest.
When I got back home, I tucked the unkempt and rowdy bouquet into my Russian teapot and it has provided endless delight to me ever since.
When I’m feeling crummy I want good, simple, easy food. Food that comforts and nourishes and doesn’t make me want to groan pityingly at the effort. Thai-Spiced Roasted Cauliflower fits the bill nicely.
Poor cauliflower is often neglected in the vast array of more beautiful and interesting vegetables, but it shouldn’t be! This cruciferous vegetable is full of vitamin B (6 different kinds!), K, and C, a powerful antioxidant and detoxifier, anti-inflammatory, and excellent for your digestion and cardiovascular health.
Roasting is a delicious way to eat cauliflower, especially when tossed with a Thai-inspired spice mix that is heady with lime zest.
What things comfort you when you’re ill?
PS – My November Newsletter is out today! “A Little Christmas Dreaming” Click here to read it and click here to subscribe and receive future newsletters. xo
Thai-Spiced Roasted Cauliflower
Ingredients:
Thai Spice Mix Recipe
Mix together the following:
1 tsp each of coriander powder, garlic powder, and onion powder
1/2 tsp each of sea salt, sugar, cumin, turmeric, dried mint, powdered ginger, and chili powder
zest of one lime
Roasted Cauliflower Recipe
Ingredients:
1 head cauliflower, trimmed and cut into florets
2 Tbsp grapeseed oil
1 Tbsp Thai seasoning (see above for recipe)
Directions:
- Preheat oven to 400 F (205 C).
- Place cauliflower pieces in large mixing bowl, drizzle with grape seed oil. Toss gently to coat.
- Sprinkle over seasoning and toss to coat.
- Place baking paper on cookie sheet and spread cauliflower evenly. Add more salt if necessary.
- Bake 25-30 minutes until cauliflower is browned and edges crispy.
- Serve warm.
by Krista | Nov 18, 2013 | Summer
“How much better is silence; the coffee cup, the table…
Let me sit here for ever with bare things,
this coffee cup, this knife, this fork, things in themselves,
myself being myself.”
Virginia Woolf
I love my Bear and our farm, my friends and loved ones, but for my own well-being I regularly need time alone.
I try to take myself out for coffee or breakfast once a week. Just me, my coffee cup, journal, pen, and a really good book. Or two.
Last week I was delighted to find that one of my favorite Warwick cafes – Lorraine’s – moved out to my tiny hometown of Allora!! It is such a lovely space with petite gold armchairs covered in scroll work that reminds me of my wood-burning. The owners don’t mind one bit if I snuggle into a chair and remain there for hours at a time. And I love them for that.
I’m especially grateful that they let me mess around with their menu to get a rather lovely gluten-free breakfast to go with my butterscotch latte (swoon!): creamy scrambled eggs, hashbrowns, and fresh avocado.
There’s something rather wonderful about sipping and eating delicious things that makes time alone especially lovely.
I continue to read through “Women Who Run With The Wolves”, taking time to focus on just one thought or question and write my way through it to peace or healing or understanding. Books are so powerful, aren’t they?
“But reading, and particularly the reading of fiction,
encourages us to view the world in new and challenging ways…
It allows us to inhabit the consciousness of another which is a precursor to empathy,
and empathy is, for me, one of the marks of a decent human being.”
John Connolly
Yes, reading, writing, resting, time to think through things, they all do much, much good.
What is your favorite way to recharge your spirits?
by Krista | Nov 15, 2013 | Summer
My soul needed storms this week.
Wild, unrestrained, and fiercely beautiful.
I needed madcap nights where the rain fell in sheets instead of drops and gales hurtled leaves through the air as if they were snowflakes in a blizzard.
I needed to be out in it, buffeted and drenched and gloriously alive.
My soul needed the soaking as earnestly as our parched and thirsty soil, and both were fed most lavishly this week as we got hit with one storm after another.
It is so good to see green grass hurtling up through the rich, brown earth, thriving now that their roots have had a good soaking.
The trees look wonderfully vibrant too, their dust-coated leaves washed clean.
Even the animals have perked up. I loved looking outside during the worst of the storms only to see the ducks and geese all over the yard, faces into the wind, luxuriating in the coolness of the tempest.
Last night, in the fine drizzle between two storms, I went outside and beheld the most wondrous skies I’ve ever seen. Brooding and purple, wild and magenta, simmering and blue, like magnificent paintings splashed from one horizon to the other.
Everywhere I looked was a different palette, changing with the light, slashed by bolts of lightning, muddied by sheets of rain.
This sky is one of my favorites: so ponderous and heavy and powerful and marvelous.
It made me smile to see how the colors of the storm were echoed in the dessert I made: Raw Dark Chocolate Cranberry Pudding. It may be gluten-free, dairy-free, and sugar-free but it is lusciously decadent and packed with so much goodness it’s like a jolt of health to the body. Not only that, it’s easy as can be. Five minutes from start to finish.
Simply dump all ingredients – raw cacao, coconut or other non-dairy milk, fresh or frozen cranberries, real maple syrup, and chia seeds – into a blender or food processor and blend 3-5 minutes until it reaches desired thickness. Spoon into glasses and chill until ready to serve.
What sort of weather is nourishing you this week?
Raw Dark Chocolate Cranberry Pudding
Serves 2-4
Ingredients:
1 can coconut milk
1 cup almond/rice milk
1 cup frozen cranberries
5 tbsp chia seeds
1/4 cup good quality, raw cacao
1-2 Tbsp real maple syrup
Directions:
- Pour all ingredients into blender and blend on high 3-5 minutes until mixture begins to thicken.
- Pour mixture into 5-6 dessert bowls or glasses.
- Chill until ready to serve.
by Krista | Nov 12, 2013 | Summer
A dear friend of mine regularly shares soul-strengthening mantras with me. I especially love the one she shared with me last week.
Be Kind.
Be Brave.
Be Well.
I’ve thought of it often the last few days, observing how nearly every situation I face can be bettered by focusing on one or all of those things. It was the impetus for taking some much-needed quiet time to read, rest, write, process, think, face, let go, embrace.
This time of renewal took place as storm clouds rolled in and poured down luscious rain. After months of withering, parching dryness, it was glorious to see the skies darken and hear thunder booming in the distance as the storm drew closer. It was night as I stood out in the tempest, barefoot in the dirt, head tilted back to feel the winds whipping through the yard and watch the massive clouds scudding across the glowing face of the moon. It was fierce and wild and I felt my whole being open up to it, swaying with the wind, letting the cold and wet wash away the thirst and dust and sense of withering that had taken hold of the the countryside. I stayed out there for ages, speaking aloud the truths my soul needed to hear and believe, no one but the wind and trees to hear me.
It’s amazing to me how easy it is to forget the things that help us thrive and heal. They’re so easily overshadowed by expectations and demands and too many responsibilities. After being sick for so long, I’d let my life fill up to bursting with good things that were too, too much. I had no time left for soul work and that is never a good thing.
So over the last week I’ve been making good changes, letting go of demands on myself and my time and focusing on the things that are really, truly vital: Exercising every day, reading good things, writing out my thoughts and feelings so they don’t get stuffed down and left to fester, making healthy food taste scrumptious and nourishing, sitting or walking outside where I can touch and feel the nature around me, spending time with dear friends either through face to face interaction or over the phone, email, Skype, or texting, having fun with Bear by going out for coffee and exploring our favorite second hand shops for treasures.
It’s only been a week but I feel so much better, so much more peaceful and centered and good. A frazzled state is dreadful. 🙂
One of my favorite healthy recipes this week is raw gazpacho. I love this chilled vegetable soup bursting with flavor from garlic and fresh dill, but I don’t have the time or desire to roast and peel tomatoes, bell peppers and cucumbers. Thankfully you don’t have to. Just throw everything in the blender and puree until smooth then chill until you’re ready to eat it. It’s a delicious and easy way to feed your body good things.
Do you have a favorite mantra that keeps you grounded? I’d love to hear it. 🙂 xo
Raw Gazpacho
Serves 2 (large bowls) or 4 (small bowls)
Ingredients:
6 Roma tomatoes, cored and halved
1 red bell pepper, seeded and cored, cut in chunks
1 large Lebanese cucumber, cut in chunks
2 cloves garlic, peeled
2 green onions, trimmed
1 Tbsp organic unfiltered apple cider vinegar
1/2 tsp sea salt
1 Tbsp fresh dill weed
1 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil
Directions:
- Place all ingredients in blender and blend 1-2 minutes until smooth. Taste for seasoning.
- Chill until ready to serve.
by Krista | Aug 4, 2010 | Summer
The last rays of the setting sun still glimmered through the porch doors as we gathered for CEC (Culinary Experimentation Club) Monday night.
Perched on twirly stools at the bar we waited like little kids for Deborah and Jenny to serve us Avocado Shakes – our starter for a meal of Indian delights. In spite of their green hue and incongruous list of ingredients they were creamy, cool and utterly delicious.
In what happens to be a minor miracle at CEC, we actually had a complete meal of starter, salad, main course and dessert all ready on time and before the sun went down. We were duly impressed and eagerly piled our plates with an assortment of marvy dishes.
Kat made Raita, a divine summery dish of cucumber, onions, and herbs swimming in tangy plain yogurt. It was so good scooped up with…
…Ed’s garlicky herbed naan, toasty warm and chewy right out of the oven.
The naan also proved an excellent scoop for my Cilantro Green Chili Chicken and Jon’s fabulous purple basmati rice.
Jenny’s scrumptiously minty Lassi – a lovely yogurty drink – was the perfect thing to transition to…
…Darren’s moist and flavorful Tandoori Chicken hot off the grill.
We ended our evening lounging about the living room nibbling on ginger biscuits and swapping outrageous tales of beautiful places and interesting people. I do love hearing and telling good stories. Twas a grand night.
Do you like Indian food? What is your favorite dish?
Deb and Jenny’s Avocado Shakes
(From The Good Stuff Cookbook)
Serves 4
Ingredients:
4 ripe avocados
1 14-ounce can sweetened condensed milk
2 cups creamy vanilla ice cream
1/2 cup whole milk
whipping cream
Directions:
- Halve avocados, remove pit, and scoop out meat. Blend in blender about 1 minute until finely chopped.
- Add remaining ingredients and blend until smooth.
- Pour into four glasses, top with whipped cream.
Kat’s Cucumber Raita
Ingredients:
2 cucumbers, sliced into small triangles
1 8 oz container of plain organic yogurt
a small onion or 2 large shallots, minced or sliced thinly
2 cloves garlice, minced
a drizzle of olive oil
a pinch of salt
a quarter of lime, juiced
seven 4 inch long sprigs of mint (about 25 leaves), minced
Directions:
- Combine to taste in a large bowl.
- Enjoy with crispy naan or fresh pita bread.
Darren’s Tandoori Chicken
(From AllRecipes)
Ingredients:
2 (6 ounce) containers plain yogurt
2 teaspoons kosher salt
1 teaspoon black pepper
1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
2 tablespoons freshly grated ginger
3 cloves garlic, minced
4 teaspoons paprika
2 teaspoons ground cumin
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
2 teaspoons ground coriander
16 chicken thighs
olive oil spray
Directions:
- In a medium bowl, stir together yogurt, salt, pepper, cloves, and ginger. Mix in garlic, paprika, cumin, cinnamon, and coriander. Set aside.
- Rinse chicken under cold water, and pat dry with paper towels. Place chicken in a large resealable plastic bag. Pour yogurt mixture over chicken, press air out of bag, and seal. Turn the bag over several times to distribute marinade. Place bag in a bowl, and refrigerate 8 hours, or overnight, turning bag occasionally.
- Preheat an outdoor grill for direct medium heat.
- Remove chicken from bag, and discard marinade. With paper towels, wipe off excess marinade. Spray chicken pieces with olive oil spray.
- Place chicken on the grill, and cook about 2 minutes. Turn, and cook 2 minutes more. Then arrange the chicken to receive indirect heat, and cook approximately 35 to 40 minutes, to an internal temperature of 180 degrees F.
Green Chili Cilantro Chicken
4 inch piece of ginger, peeled and coarsely chunked
6 large garlic cloves, peeled and coarsely chunked
1 tsp salt
2 tsp fresh lemon juice
4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut in two
2/3 cup fire-roasted diced tomatoes (or 1 medium tomato, diced)
3 cups fresh cilantro leaves and small stems
1 small can diced mild chilies (or 2-3 fresh hot chilies, chopped)
1 tsp tomato paste
3 Tbsp olive oil
1 cup plain yogurt
Directions:
- Puree ginger, garlic, 1/2 tsp salt, lemon juice and 2 Tbsp water in blender or food processor.
- Place chicken in glass bowl, pour over ginger mixture and stir to coat. Let sit covered in refrigerator for 1-24 hours.
- Puree tomato, cilantro, chilies, tomato paste, remaining salt, and 2 Tbsp water.
- Heat oil in pot over high heat. When hot, add chicken and marinade and cook, stirring often, about 10 minutes or until chicken is browned.
- Add tomato mixture and cook, stirring often, another 10 minutes.
- Add yogurt and cook, stirring often, about 5 minutes.
- Serve over rice or with whole-grain naan.
Jenny’s Banana Lassi
(From IndianFoodForever)
Ingredients:
1 cup plain non-fat Yogurt
1 peeled and sliced ripe Banana
2 Tbsp Sugar
1/4 tsp Cardamom Powder
Few Ice-cubes
1/4 cup fresh mint leaves, chopped
Directions:
- Combine all ingredients and blend until smooth in a blender.
- Pour in glasses, garnish with chopped mint leaves and serve chilled.
