Happy Halloween!

My friend is dressing up for Halloween. She is bringing a 5 lb weight to work and whenever she remembers she is going to look at it.
Can you guess what she is?
That is the correct answer!
A weight watcher.

I'm planning to eat chocolate and do the moon salutations.

Walking in the woods we came upon this :)

We did a frog walk here last year......now no frogs were singing.....err....croaking.

 

Almond Muffins

These are grain-free gems!

2 1/2 cups firmly packed ground almonds
1/2 cup honey
1/2 cup melted butter
3 eggs
1 tsp baking soda
Pinch of salt
Grated orange peel (optional)

Mix dry and wet ingredients separately and then blend together. Pour into greased muffin tins and bake at 325 degrees for about 15 minutes.

It's best to buy store bought ground almonds because they are finer.

Wild Geese

You do not have to be good.
You do not have to walk on your knees
for a hundred miles through the desert, repenting.
You only have to let the soft animal of your body
love what it loves.
Tell me about despair, yours, and I will tell you mine.
Meanwhile the world goes on.
Meanwhile the sun and the clear pebbles of the rain
are moving across the landscapes,
over the prairies and the deep trees,
the mountains and the rivers.
Meanwhile the wild geese, high in the clean blue air,
are heading home again.
Whoever you are, no matter how lonely,
the world offers itself to your imagination,
calls to you the like the wild geese, harsh and exciting-
over and over announcing your place
in the family of things.

Mary Oliver (New and Selected Poems: Volume 1)
The first 4 lines of this poem always make me feel wonderfully okay. If I could live every moment of my life like everything was already okay then I would feel less constrained by my self.I remind my self often that everything is already okay.

Hookey anyone?

When was the last time you played hookey? Hookey as in truancy from your school or work. In Jamaica they call it skulling. In South Africa it's bunking, skipping, or jippo. In Australia it's wagging or ditching. In Ireland it might be called on the duck, or mitching and in Scotland it might be playing tickie or puggin. Whatever we call it, it's a really good thing once in awhile. It's like a sick day without having to be sick. Taking a whole day to stay at home in pajamas, and watching movies or reading a book. And of course drinking chicken soup from a bowl and not answering the phone or emails. It is much more rewarding and fun to do it before you actually get sick and tired. It's enervating and rejuvenating!

Here is a great recipe for your next Hookey Day.

Herbed Lentil and Rice Casserole

2 2/3 cups vegetable stock
3/4 cup dry lentils (brown or green)
3/4 cup chopped onions
1/2 cup dry brown rice
1/4 cup apple juice (or white wine)
1/2 tsp basil
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp oregano
1/4 tsp thyme
1 clove garlic, crushed
Pepper to taste
1/2 lb cheddar cheese, grated

Oven to 350 degrees.
Combine all ingredients except cheese in ungreased casserole dish. Stir in half of the cheese. Bake, covered for 1 1/2 to 2 hours or until rice and lentils are tender. Stirring twice during cooking time. Uncover and top with remaining cheese and bake for 3 to 5 minutes.

Now, I know you are thinking that the amount of cheese is extreme. Okay, reduce it just a little, very little and use extra old cheddar for more flavour. But you need the cheese. That's what makes it yummy.

I live close enough to walk to this sunrise every morning.

My dog is a Jack Russell terrier. He sleeps under the covers with us. Last night he was rummaging around inside the duvet cover. He couldn't get out. His frustration made it a hilarious moment! I have no idea how he got in there because I had to un-snap the cover to help him out. I think he is from another planet. He is always watching and staring at us and seemingly reporting back to his planet through the camera behind his eyes. He talks in a foreign language. He sits more like a human and can't usually sit like a dog. The photo is one of the rare moments that he is "dog-like". He meditates every morning with me under a blanket on the couch. He is pure muscle even though folks call him fat. :)

Today my breath is round. Full after an inhale and empty after an exhale. In fullness and then in emptiness. A ball of energy that fills and recedes all on it's own with no help from me. The pauses in between the inhales and exhales is where the fullness and emptiness resides. There is such peace and richness there. The essence of all movement is breath. And I don't have to do anything. Everything is already okay.

Today is this remarkable fall day!
Waiting for wood to arrive so I can stack it in the back yard. I love that job. It's like building a fort.

I made the all time simple soup this weekend

Roast a butternut squash (sliced in half, sprinkled with oil and a little salt and pepper in oven at 350 degrees until soft)
Cool enough to handle. Peel. Put into pot with one can of coconut milk. Puree. Heat. Eat.
Wow! It's like dessert for lunch. And very filling. Serves two.

Slightly adapted from a new cookbook by Brendan Brazier, Whole Foods to Thrive

Hi

Hi
Yippee! My very first post!
Stay tuned......
Love,
Mayama