Magic Moments

There are moments in life that make you grin from ear to ear. Magical. Funny. Heartwarming. 

I started writing some of them on paper. Just in case I have a day when I think that life is boring.

This one happened today.

I was in a smaller grocery store line up. Both the store and the line up were small.

The lady who came behind me was bouncy and smiling at me. She was wrinkly and crinkly, with fluffy hair, wearing a bright pink and purple jacket, and missing all her teeth. She showed me what she was going to buy and said, "I'm buying ice cream today!" She had a two litre chocolate ice cream brick tucked under her arm. I said something about it being a cold day for ice cream. She came a little closer and patted the top of my head as if to say there, there, of course she has a good reason. She whispered to me - loudly, so everyone heard and smiled, "I won $150.00 in bingo last night." I said, "Wow! That is cause for celebration!" The cashier congratulated her and said to me that they sell an awful lot of ice cream when the weather gets cold. I left feeling as if I had learned something. Perhaps wanting the innocence and the ice cream?

The lady with the 3 hairs

There was once a lady with three hairs on her head. When she woke up she looked in the mirror and wondered what she would do with her hair that day. Ah! She thought, "I will put a braid in my hair". She braided her hair and she had a wonderful day!

The next day when she woke up, she looked in the mirror and she had two hairs on her head. She thought what shall she do with her hair that day. "I think I will part it down the middle". She did and she had a wonderful day.

The next day she woke and she looked in the mirror and she had one hair on her head. She thought what shall I do with my hair. "I think I will put it in a ponytail". And she did. And she had a wonderful day.

The next day she woke up and she had no hairs on her head. She smiled. She didn't have to do anything with her hair. And she had a wonderful day!

Slut's Spaghetti

I've been making this dish a lot. Super fast for busy evenings, or late nights or afternoons.

It's a Nigella Lawson recipe that I've fiddled with a bit. I love her style!

This feeds two people well.

Start pasta pot to boil. while it's comimg to a boil, assemble the following ingredients:

4 anchovy fillets

2 or 3 squashed garlic cloves

pinch or 2 of dried pepper flakes

2 to 3 tablespoons of capers

1/2 can of any kind olives, chopped a bit

1 14 oz can fire roasted tomatoes (or any other kind)

When pasta water boils put in pasta. 

In fry pan or pot (I use an electric wok), put a bit of oil, and add ingredients in above order. 

Let simmer until pasta is done. Take out a cupful of pasta boiling water before you drain pasta. When pasta is drained add it to the sauce pot. Stir well and add some pasta water to help it stick together. Enjoy!

Why slut's spaghetti? No time to cook?

A perfect winter day

Here's McVicar creek at its finest.

It's wonderful to have sun and winter weather warm enough to walk. Just to walk for walking's sake. For the enjoyment of the fresh air. 

Gong report.: 

Barely made it yesterday. Every day I vow not to leave my practice until the end of the day. I start really eagerly and then think that there's lots of time in the afternoon. Well, you know the best laid plans....what happens to them. 

However, it's day 20, and I am enormously pleased with myself. 1/5th done!

Hang in there!

Popcorn for the road

I am going to Marathon, 3 1/2 hour drive away to teach meditation this weekend. Yahoo! A road trip. I'm not driving so I can sit back, chat, or knit, and have a snack. I made us this flavoured popcorn.

It's from the book Homemade - Winter by Yvette van Boven

1 scant cup (100g) popping corn (I used much less because I like it stickier)

Oil for popping corn

1/2 cup plus 2 tbsp pancake syrup ( I used maple syrup, but it worked well)

1/2 tsp cinnamon

1tsp red pepper flakes

1/2 tsp salt

1 tbsp butter

2 tbsp sesame seeds (I had black ones on hand)

Pop the corn with your method of choice. You might have to do it in 2 batches.

Heat the syrup with the spices in a small saucepan bring to a boil, boil softly for about 2 minutes, then stir in the butter. Be careful, it's hot.

Pour about half of the caramel over the popcorn in a big bowl, swiftly stirring the popcorn around so it's all coated. Sprinkle on the sesame seeds. Continue turning the popcorn, and pour the rest of the caramel over it.

You can eat as is, or spoon heaps of popcorn onto a large baking sheet lined with parchment paper and let cool.

Gong report

I think day 4 and 5 of a gong (the 100 day personal practice) are the most difficult.

Yesterday I finished my gong just before bedtime. Huiyh! I had to forgo sitting with a cup of tea and watching something on netflix. Ah, such a sad statement. And today I am super busy getting things ready for a weekend trip to nearby Marathon. I can find poor excuses and really good excuses but they are all excuses. I was in a sane state of mind when I set up what to do for my gong. At least I like to think so. Okay, I'll go right now and do it. Wish me luck.

Marinated beets

These are great beets for the winter season. Marinated rather than pickled. This recipe is from my new cookbook: At Home in the Whole Food Kitchen. By Amy Chaplin.

3 medium trimmed beets (about 1 pound)

1 tbsp unpasteurized apple cider vinegar

1 tbsp balsamic vinegar

1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil

1/4 tsp sea salt

Place beets in a pot, cover with water, and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low and simmer for 40 to 50 minutes until tender. Drain beets and slip off the skins under cold running water. Cut in half and cut each half into wedges.

Place beets in a bowl and add remaining ingredients. Toss well to combine and season to taste and serve immediately. Can be stored in fridge for up to five days. If you use golden beets use rice wine vinegar instead of balsamic so beets don't discolour.

Yum!