It's actually happening now for some crops. The last bales are being moved from the fields and carrots and onions have come up. The comfortable rhythm of the farm planting and reaping is a balm during a challenging summer. There has been lots of washing and chopping and mixing. Tomorrow, a recipe to go with these.
They cut well into the night to stay ahead of the weather. Tall stalks of wheat falling into neat rows waiting to be bailed. "It's dusty on the road tonight," she apologized while we visited. "We're combining." No problem for us. Everywhere the breath of wheat as Willa Cather described:
“Everywhere the grain stood ripe and the hot afternoon was full of the smell of the ripe wheat, like the smell of bread baking in an oven. The breath of the wheat and the sweet clover passed him like pleasant things in a dream.”
Evening has long been my favorite time of day. All the demands that stacked up in the morning trickling away. I lace my shoes and head out the door for sky and air. Actually in between the lacing and the heading out there is bargaining. Cajoling even. I am always recruiting a walking partner and my peeps are always begging off. In fact I posted this status on facebook the other night:
"Who is gonna walk Mom tonight? "
"I went with her last night."
"I have a cold."
"I think I do too…"
Honest to gosh you'd think I was 85 listening to this discussion…
So yeah lol. I walk a long way and have lingering issues about walking alone from living urban places. Sooner or later someone grabs their shoes and the other dog leash and comes along. Usually it works out that everyone walks with me once a week. A mom date. : ) We walk, we talk, we talk a lot. Most often we see something fabulous or do something awesome before the night is over. This night, both things happened…
“Instructions for living a life:
Pay attention.
Be astonished.
Tell about it.”
– Mary Oliver
The sun setting in his eyes? Astonishing. Alternate title, "How I Spend My Summer Vacation"
"We should stop considering that changing the world is impossible. It’s harder not to change the world. But while the world offers us “chaos theory,” we need to offer the world 'beauty theory….'” the rest of John Clark's thoughts about changing the world with small beautiful acts came in the mail today. You can read them here.
It is good to be reminded, "our are not the things of chaos." (1 Cor 14:33) Some days we just see all the moving parts and it can be difficult to see how they are working together for good.
It is too wonderful, isn't it? We came across this cottage while walking a larger estate last weekend. I loved every little thing about it from the geraniums to sheep grazing nearby to the quirky fence. The best part was around back however….
“I had rather be shut up in a very modest cottage with my books, my family and a few old friends, dining on simple bacon, and letting the world roll on as it liked, than to occupy the most splendid post, which any human power can give."
Thomas Jefferson
I am cooking my way through Well Fed Paleo and we were well fed tonight! Like, I am over the moon giddy happy because, frankly, food and I do not always play nice together. Since there was a bag of (cheap) frozen chicken tenderloins in the freezer and a head of cauliflower handy we made The Best Chicken You'll Ever Eat complete with the Moroccan dipping sauce and the basic faux rice.
It came together quickly which is important because I have an exceptionally short food prep attention span. (as in, natural and healthy food is important to me but goll' darn, let's not take all day with it 'cause we've got things to do!) Last night I had bagged up the chicken in the brine. Tonight I just had to toss it in the spice mix and sautee it (the grill is out of gas). Bonus was that the brine totally saved the cheapie chicken which tends to run on the tough side. Remember that part.
We had a little pre-dinner pep talk because not all my kids eat anything spicy. They were all cooperative tonight. Probably because at the end of this all natural dinner there was leftover birthday cookie cake Alannah brought home from work. Conflict of interest? Who cares.
In the end they gobbled the chicken down in no time. The faux rice I didn't have to fight anyone for but it was a pretty exciting for me because I do miss the nutty crunchy texture of pilaf. (I am not a diet fanatic – I truly can't eat starch)
Anyway, big surprise was that Abbie got a second piece of chicken. Abbie is the Mikey of our family if you are old enough to remember this. We were every bit as amazed when she reached for seconds.
Initial thoughts would be that this book reminds me of the more practical cookbooks I have had over the years. Less complicated staple dishes. In other words these are the types of recipes we will most likely use most often. Good practical food. With no canned soups or sugar. So far, so good.
We are celebrating first's and last's at every turn right now. Tomorrow, a new decade. She slipped right out of childhood gracefully, quietly.
Starry Sky Journal 