Gravity

Gravity is really the most amazing thing, the most amazing presence. We can use it - always! Just where you are right now, feel the parts of your body that touch the floor or/and the chair. Let gravity be felt. Let it pull you down into the earth, through all the layers of the building. Let go into it........and let go into it. Abandon everything else. Free the breath this way. Free tension this way. Experience gravity internally. Feel like you are growing from the ground, steady, and at ease. Do this with every movement, every position your body goes through or stays in. This is not slumping, not collapse, but an endless unfolding, sinking, lengthening, reaching through the roots upward into space. A body happy and content.

Finally!

It's finally time to sit down. I have been cleaning and organizing and creating for fall yoga classes. And emptying my house of superfluous stuff (that's been happening for two weeks already)......it is never ending. That's just the way it is. It's never done. So, I just have to decide to sit down, drink some tea....a wonderful brew of chamomile, lemon balm, and nettles.......and relax in my chair!

Cabbage and beef casserole

This picture doesn't tell the tale of this food. It is really good! And super easy though it does take time hanging around the kitchen.

You need:

I cabbage
500 gr. ground beef
salt

Slice the cabbage thinly. In a heavy bottomed pot cook the cabbage in a little oil on medium low heat. Stirring occasionally. The cabbage needs to cook slow and long for it to brown slightly. Depending on the size of the pot it can take more than half an hour. Don't rush this part. Then cook the beef in a fry pan until just brown. Stir cabbage and beef together with salt to taste. Pour into casserole and bake in oven for about 1 1/2 hours, 325 degrees. Depending on shape and size of casserole it could be ready sooner. Wait for it to be nicely browned.

I served this today with the perfect condiment, a delicious beet relish that a friend gave me. You need something like that to go with it - lingonberry preserves are particularly good.

Mouse stories

We have mice living with us - again!

I didn't know anything about living with mice until 11 years ago when I bought this old house. The house has a rear entry and the back wall is all wood with lots of cracks for mice to come in. I would never have believed that mice could make themselves so skinny. They can squash their bones and go through the tiniest of openings.

I remember the first time I ever heard of mice in a house. My neighbours out in the country had them. They had three cats. We had a dog. We never saw or heard a mouse except once a year when we dug out our barbeque from the shed. The mice had been living in it and made the cutest little nest in one corner and the toilet in the other. Very neat mice we thought. And cute too. We oohed and aahed. How wonderful!

When, Tiina, my youngest daughter, went away to school, she shared a part of a house with roommates. As winter settled in so did a mouse in their house. It came to sit on top of the stove. They thought he was really cute with his little paws and super big ears. They named him Jackson. One day, they had a friend come over, who obviously knew more about mice than they did. He said you better get rid of it or it will soon be Jackson Five. And it was. My daughter had never dealt with such cruelty before. Her roommate got a trap. Jackson or one of his offspring landed in it. But didn't die. It was just caught in the trap, shouting for mercy, and dragging and bouncing the trap all over the kitchen. It was around midnight that night and I received a phone call from Tiina. She was crying so loudly I thought someone had died. Nope. Just her mouse in the trap who didn't. Every suggestion I gave of what to do, put it outside, kill it, etc., was met with dismay. So she put a heavy bowl over it so it wouldn't drag the trap all over the house and keep them up. Well, didn't that little bugger live even the next morning. I can't remember what finally happened to it. All in all it was traumatic. For everyone. It is a dilemma. It was a life that ended by violence.

So, here I am in my cute little house with mice ~ every year! We have tried keeping them out with steel wool jammed in the cracks, mint planted in pots around the foundation. We've tried scaring them out by banging on the floor and ceiling or wherever we heard them chewing. And chew they do. And it's really loud. It sounds like a dog munching kibble. We've tried trapping them live so we could send them off to the neighbours house to live. Impossible to get them in the trap. Or maybe they know how to go back and forth and only pick up the deposit of fresh food. We even put a little of that poison seed out. I stopped using straw as mulch. I've done a special ceremony asking them not to step into my house. All to no avail. So we set out traps. The new plastic kind that kill instantly. That works. It's their karma. I've told them to stay out.

Last year, Felix (now I know why we gave our dog a cat's name) caught two of them while we were out. They lay side by side on the floor near the entrance and when we came home Felix solemnly carried them to the back yard. Good boy!

This morning I heard a mouse somewhere in the bedroom. Near the closet. Probably the mama getting good bedding for her soon-to-be babies. The movie, The Mouse Hunt, used to make me laugh. It's all too real now. :)

Here is our mouser on duty.

Raw Asian Noodle Bowl

Hey!
I am hooked on eating raw at the moment and loving it!

Here is another great recipe.....though I cooked noodles instead - just because I had them.

Asian Noodle Bowl with Kelp Noodles and Almond Chili Sauce from Whole Foods to Thrive by B. Brazier (from a restaurant called Cru, Los Angeles)

Prep time 10 minutes.

Almond Chili Sauce:
1/2 cup raw almond butter
1/4 cup tamari (I used Bragg's)
1/4 cup olive oil
1/8 cup lemon juice
1/8 cup water
1/4 cup agave nectar
1 tsp salt (i didn't use any salt)
1 pinch chipotle powder
1 1/2 tbsp chili flakes

Mix everything together in a bowl until well combined.

The Noodles:
1/2 cup shredded cabbage
1/2 cup sliced cucumbers
1 cup kelp noodles (I've never seen these so I used bean vermicelli and heated them in boiling water and used them hot).

Toss noodles and sauce and garnish with cilantro, chilies or cashews or whatever sprouts you have. I didn't have anything......and we ate the whole thing before I thought of taking a picture :) This recipe is a keeper!

An Old Irish saying

Take time to work ~ it the price of success.
Take time to meditate ~ it is the source of power.
Take time to play ~ it is the secret of perpetual youth.
Take time to read ~ it is the way to knowledge.
Take time to be friendly ~ it is the road to happiness.
Take time to laugh ~ it is the music of the soul.
Take time to love and be loved.

Zucchini noodles

This is a raw food dish that is great for your bumper crop of zucchini. You can also heat up the sauce just to warm or hot, if you wish.

Zucchini Pasta with Chunky Tomato Sauce (from the book Whole Foods to Thrive by Brendan Brazier)

4 medium zucchini
1 tsp & 1/2 tsp salt
20 sundried tomatoes, soaked in warm water until soft (about 30 minutes)
1/2 cup soak water
2 roma tomatoes, chopped
1 medium garlic clove, chopped
2 heaping tbsp chopped fresh basil
1 heaping tbsp chopped fresh oregano
1 tbsp raisins
1 tbsp hemp oil
1/2 cup chopped walnuts or brazil nuts
pinch red pepper flakes

Trim the ends off zucchini and using a hand held vegetable peeler strip the zucchini into long strips like noodles and place into a colander (discard inner core and seeds) and toss with 1 tsp salt and let excess moisture drain for 30 minutes. Then wash squash to remove excess salt and let drain for 5 more minutes.

In a food processor, blend together the sundried tomatoes, 1/2 cup soak water, tomatoes, garlic, basil, oregano, oil, raisins and 1/2 tsp salt into chunky mixture. Add the nuts and pulse a few times to chop the nuts finely (but do not blend).

Toss the sauce with the zucchini noodles. You can serve immediately or warm the whole thing for 1 to 2 minutes.

I loved this dish cold on a hot summer day.