mulberryshoots

May 15, 2015

“healthy” meets “foodie” . . .

Wow! Once you actually look around the grocery store, outside of the usual places we always go to, there are lots of new non-gluten, non-sugar foodstuffs to try out. One of my favorites is “Better Chip” spinach-kale corn chips. They were so full of flavor, crunchy and tasty with the homemade guacamole that I made for lunch today.

I followed the usual guacamole recipes and used two just-ripe avocados, three tiny ripe tomatoes, cut up, about 2 tablespoons of chopped red onion, a bunch of fresh cilantro leaves (makes all the difference); fresh lime juice and a scoop of asian hot chili sauce. I mixed it up into a rough chop mash and tasted it with one of the spinach/kale chips. Honestly, I could eat like this forever!

You know those volcanic rock mortars on legs that you can get to make guacamole? It’s called a “mocajete,” I think. I looked at one on the Williams-Sonoma website but in the back of my mind was thinking that I already had a bowl that would lend itself perfectly to serving guacamole. Sure enough, the bowl in the photo above that I’ve had for ages, was made from a thick slab of clay by Sandy Brown (an English potter) and has a deep well for a bowl that was perfect. It’s boosted my confidence that efforts to reduce glucose needn’t be dreary and/or boring.

On another note, even though I’m not really eating much fruit during the intensive part of this regimen (7 more weeks to go,) there were fresh strawberries and rhubarb on sale yesterday that I brought home to stew together into a compote. It took a little time because there were so many strawberries to rinse off, cut up and remove a lot of the white parts inside, cooked in a pot with the sliced rhubarb. No water was added, just heated up the berries and rhubarb over low and then medium heat. It cooked down incredibly quickly, and after it cooled, I added a tablespoon of agave nectar to sweeten it slightly. (Next time, I’ll use stevia instead.) I ate a small serving of it just like that and G. had the fruit spooned over Haagan Daz vanilla swiss almond ice cream.

Since nuts are both good for you and tasty, I happened upon a brand of cashew nut butter that is dry roasted and combined with safflower oil. I don’t know if it’s the dry roasting process or what, but “Crazy Charlie’s” cashew butter is satisfying for a one-spoonful snack because it’s so full of flavor. When I first opened it, there was some separation of oil and I stirred it up until it was thoroughly mixed. I read a tip online to store it in the refrigerator so that it doesn’t separate again. Perfect!

Rather than dipping it straight out of the jar, I found these “super seed” crackers, manufactured by “Mary’s Gone Crackers” that are made from: “organic whole grain brown rice, oranic whole grain quinoa, organic pumpkin seeds, organic sunflower seeds, organic brown flax seeds, organic brown sesame seeds, organic poppy seeds, filtered water, sea salt, organic seaweed, organic black pepper, organic herbs. Zero grams of sugar. I guess they’re really organic – as you can see from the way they listed the ingredients on the box.

So, eating differently is starting to feel a little lighter — which is also the way I walked this morning, not clomping my feet along but just stepping lightly without trying too hard. I’m unusually undisciplined so to do anything four days in a row is pushing it for me. Mentally, I didn’t feel like going for my walk this morning but I made myself do it and am glad I did. It does make a difference that I’m answering up at my physical which is scheduled for mid-July.

And so, I’m finding that alternative eating, and living, doesn’t have to be punishment. It doesn’t have to be laborious or a dirge of “should-haves” rather than being free to enjoy what we want. Our dinners are now two dishes, max. It used to be three or four dishes a night (protein, vegetable, carb (potato, sweet potato, rice, couscous) and a salad. Now, we have protein and either a cooked vegetable OR a large salad. The protein is a third of the size of the vegetables which easily takes care of portion control.

For sure, these fancy spinach/kale chips, super seed crackers and roasted cashew nut butters are pricey. Okay, expensive. They probably cost a third more than I might pay for ordinary goods. However, there are only a few of them in my pantry and they are exponentially more tasty, interesting and healthy to eat.

The non-gluten, low sugar eating movement has triggered the development of new products that also appeal to “foodies” like me. Michio Kushi and his wife, Aveline, started natural food stores with Erewhon decades ago. But until recently, health food stores seemed medicinally oriented (no pun intended) and it sometimes felt like one was shopping for food in a pharmacy rather than browsing in a gourmet delicatessen.

Now, It feels like we have entered the dawn of an alternative era: healthy meets foodie! And it’s a good one!

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May 13, 2015

a secret to life . . .

Guess what? I had a medical diagnosis from the doctor I’ve been going to for over thirty years recently that has challenged me to get my health on to a better track. It’s been interesting to observe my process since then. I’ve taken out library books and purchased a few from Amazon plus reading online to get the lay of the land. It’s nothing new, perhaps, but it’s now urgent to eat better and lose weight. At first, I thought that a strict regimen for 6 weeks that would cut out sugar and glycemic foods such as bread, pasta, rice, potatoes, pasta, sweet potatoes, beets, fruit and fruit juice would be sufficient to lose about 5-8 pounds during that time. Apparently, that’s not enough, especially if you have high blood sugar readings (which I do.) Medication might help to reduce it too but that alone won’t be enough either. My doctor told me that 30 minutes of VIGOROUS exercise would make a big difference.

Disappointed, I began thinking about how to get vigorous exercise when my right ankle with 13 plates and screws in it from being broken last year was stiff most of the time and sore as well. I’d been avoiding exercising it because it seemed to resist whatever I did. Anyhow, I got off my duff, put on my jacket and walked out of the house before breakfast yesterday. I walked pretty slowly until a woman passed me, waving “hi” and walking at least twice as fast as I was. Today, I went out after breakfast and started walking rapidly, moving my arms in sync with my stride. I discovered a place to walk nearby that was level (unlike yesterday’s mountain climb up hills to get home from the post office) and broad – an empty parking lot ringed by flowering trees just a ways down from my house. I walked at the newer, rapid pace with arms moving (almost power-walking, I think) and felt good when I got home.

Afterwards, I drank two glasses of water and my mood was much better than it has been for awhile. My goal is to counter the conventional wisdom that it’s hard to lose 10 pounds in 6 weeks (why not?) and to show up for my physical scheduled on July 13th having accomplished that even though my doctor cautioned me not to be disappointed. My personality is such that having a finite goal and then being challenged that it’s not do-able, is the carrot that makes me determined to succeed. The “against all odds” bit that you see in movies and stuff.

The other thing I have focused on is how to reduce the stress in my life. And that is to find novel ways to clean up the relationships in my life that are either toxic, frustrating or disappointing. I guess all of us have some of these some of the time. But I am determined to reclaim what’s been good and to assuage what seems to be impossible to regain. Towards that end, I’ve decided to express myself to people about things that have been unspoken for some time. But at least, it’s a chance to do something (to act) rather than never to act. You might know what I mean. Some families NEVER talk or communicate about what’s really important. Then, people die, and there’s no opportunity to gain better understanding or emotional completion in some meaningful way.

So, the title of this post, “a secret to life” is simple: take the best care of yourself that you can. Only we can do it for ourselves. Only we can stop making excuses about how we hate exercise or have a broken ankle or enjoy cooking too much to MODIFY it and learn something new. It does take effort. Mostly, it requires taking the blinders off of denial, procrastination, prevarication, laziness and whatever is keeping us from dealing with it. The “it” is different for each of us. I let things go until my “it” was giving me symptoms that alarmed me and forced me to face the music.

I have found that the music is not that bad. I think of myself as having a pretty straightforward approach to things. Apparently that is not the case. Now, I am making corrections all over the place. It won’t happen overnight but I am at least hoping for some tangible changes in six weeks. The relationship stuff might never work out but it’s not because I haven’t tried my best. The other night, G. and I were supposed to go out for dinner to celebrate our anniversary. Instead, our new tenants were two hours late and I went out to the local Chinese take-out restaurant. The food was over-salty and not that great. Afterwards, I picked up my fortune cookie. Inside it was this message:

“An upward movement initiated in time can counteract fate.”

What do you think about THAT?

Postscript:

My doctor’s office called after this post and rescheduled my physical to the beginning of September. Hallelujah! That gives me three full months to turn my blood glucose readings around (June, July & August.) I’ve been doing the “pre-prep” by gradually weaning myself off of sugar, gluten, dairy and minimizing protein. Three months may only be a quarter of a year. But these next three months will be a great chance to improve things little by little.

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May 12, 2015

blooming!

Apparently, eating better and less is not enough to get healthier, fast! Half an hour of “vigorous exercise” would do it, though, my doctor opines. The ankle I broke last year has 13 plates and screws in it which inhibits me from jumping around, running or even walking fast. But never fear. I decided to walk to the post office today and back. We live on top of a (very) high hill. So getting there (going downhill) was relatively easy. Getting back was another story.

The real benefit of walking during this mid-Springtime is that it’s easier to notice that the flowering trees are all in bloom and there are lots of flowers growing on the ground as I pass by.

On my trek to the post office, I saw: white johnny jump-ups, lilies of the valley, daffodils and narcissus, of course, lots of dandelions, azalea, dogwood, weeping cherry, crabapple blossoms, apple blossoms, pear blossoms, forsythia and a magnificent magnolia tree (white and so glorious!)

Purple and white lilacs are out, honeysuckle and this morning, I noticed that the wisteria in front of the barn is awash in lavender tendrils for the first time!

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May 5, 2015

crone . . .

Yesterday, someone gently described me as having entered the phase of my life known as “crone.” It’s not as bad as it sounds. In fact, definitions for the word, “crone” include:

“an old woman”

“an archetypal figure: a wise woman”

Furthermore, “Croning is a rite of passage into an era of wisdom, freedom, and personal power.”

She also mentioned that at this stage in life, that we don’t have to feel responsible for how our children turn out because they are on their own paths. And that we have all done the best we could raising them. I’m so relieved to hear that I don’t have to work on it anymore. For some reason, I had thought it was my job until the bitter end.

Thank God I can take a permanent vacation from it starting now. It’s not up to me anymore, it’s up to them. Now, I’m on easy street!

me as crone with groucho marx glasses on . . .

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May 3, 2015

“these are our days” . . .

Sometimes it’s hard to remember what we were like twenty years ago. Since then, we may have grown our hair out, gained weight, lost some but still weigh a little more than we did back then. Even more weighty is what our experience has been since then: how did we make out in our professional careers; what do we do and how do we spend our time now? Most importantly, what’s left that we would like to have out of our days while we are in what’s been called our “third chapter?”

G and I when we first met, >twenty years ago. . .

I’d been thinking about these questions when I came across an article about Carey Mulligan, the actor who appears to be more independent than most. On her dressing room mirror, written in eyebrow pencil are the words:

“These are our days.

Walk them.

Fear Nothing.”

How pure, I thought. No extra words or flourishes. No project management flavored goals, timelines or milestones. How refreshingly free of “shoulda, coulda, woulda” thoughts. No plans nor agendas. Walking is something we do everyday. Pace yourself.

“Fear nothing” is the best advice of all. Upload into the Universe what you can’t manage anymore. Sew them up with tiny stitches and put them away, Push them through the opening and zip the cover tight. Breathe naturally. Since doing that, I’ve found that nervous tics go away. So does a lot more.

Today is Sunday and the day is filled with sunlight and a light breeze that makes the trees sway. G. is tuning a piano downstairs before it is delivered to a new home this afternoon. (How lucky we are that he does what he does with pianos and that we live in this beautiful home!) I’m drinking the last of the coffee and reading my Sunday New York Times newspaper which I relish as one of the luxuries of my week.

our weeping cherry tree flowers every year around May 1st. . .

Tomorrow, our new tenants for the front apartment will be coming by for supper. I thought I’d make a vegetarian dish called “Buddha’s Delight” and we’ll make scallion pancakes together. They’ve said that they love dumplings so we’ll make them later on in the Fall after they’ve moved in and things settle down. Earlier in the afternoon, I’ll make some homemade dashi broth with kombu seaweed and bonito flakes; strain it and add some white miso, tofu and green onions for our soup. A good new start to living here in the “piano house.” I hope things work out and that we’ll have a good time.

The spring ceramic planters I bought at Lowe’s are filled with dramatically colorful heuchera plants whose leaves contrast with each other against the green of the pots. Coral bells have always been some of my favorite kinds of plants because of the unusual colors the leaves are (chartreuse, light orange and deep maroon) their stems of tiny coral flowers swaying in the breeze.

My idea is to let them grow for awhile in the planters, then place them in the ground. That will allow the pots to change their look and contents with other plantings that catch my eye as the growing season progresses: knee high cosmos plants during the summer, or statuesque foxgloves for example; bright, deep-colored chrysanthemums in the Fall. It will be fun to rotate what’s in the planters outside and mostly, it will be fun to anticipate, fearing nothing.

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April 29, 2015

curve ball . . .

Sometimes when you’re tootling along, life throws you a curve ball and it makes you stop in your tracks. That happened to me yesterday and I was momentarily disoriented. I’ve been reading lots of stuff by people like Byron Katie who has a process called “the work” posing a number of questions you’re supposed to ask yourself about an idea or thought you have, like “is it true,” and “is it really true?”

Well, I didn’t have to think long and hard about those questions which are meant to illustrate to the questioner that what you think might be true is actually nothing but a projection on your part and that what you’re upset about doesn’t really exist. That’s handy some of the time because I do agree that we go around projecting a lot, manifesting our hopes and frustrations in ways that fool us into thinking we’re upset about one thing when it’s actually ourselves we’re upset at.

But it’s not always the case either. There have been times when I’ve felt like giving up a struggle or two because it’s not my job, necessarily, to try to tie things up in a nice bow with the people in my life. That’s the Uber-project manager in me, striving to make sure that there’s enough time and opportunity to allow for the most positive outcome in one’s family before it’s too late.

Of course, saying “it’s too late” is just an easier way of saying “before we die.”. And it seems most people may not care about that and at least, are too busy living their lives right now to think about anything else. So, maybe it would be a good idea to just live my life and enjoy each day instead.

My canary is singing his head off these days and it’s really sweet to hear him splashing away in his water cup, taking a refreshing break from just sitting around in his cage. It’s almost the end of April and it feels like a good day to “break out the barbie” as they like to say in Australia.

So, I went out on the back deck and cleaned off the grate of our cast iron hibachi (I don’t believe in gas grills which feel to me like we’ve just moved the stove outside and turned on the gas.) Wood-smoked charcoal, slowly turning grey as it heats up is what grilling means to me. So tonight, we’ll christen the grill with marinated, boned chicken thighs which cook evenly and more quickly than those that still have the bone in.

I’m impressed with Bobby Flay’s cookbooks like “Grill It” and look forward to using some of his marinades that are a littler more piquant than what we’re used to, using chilis and fresh lime juice. After grilling the chicken tonight, might also look for a recipe for grilling a nice piece of flank steak that I brought home from the grocery store today.

Anyhow, grounding oneself in mundane things like what to cook for dinner and looking forward to making a charcoal fire in the hibachi is a good way to counteract curve balls that land in one’s lap. I’m not doing it – that is, obsessing about it (“is it true?”) or anything like that.

Just cutting a handful of daffodils and budding twigs from our weeping cherry tree to enjoy indoors and to share with George’s family across the street.

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April 18, 2015

clarity . . .

Some of us, as time goes by, care less and less about appearances, schedules and bypass things that annoy us. Why bother? Others, like me, have been working on coming to some kind of understanding about what has made me tick, or at least what has accounted for the movie script of my life.

Yesterday, I had a deep-tissue massage and both my massage therapist and I were surprised at how many knots she came across and worked out. I felt sore but really good afterwards. Then, I read some stuff online that I had been thinking about while drinking lots of water to work out all that lactic acid released from the fascia lining my muscles.

Then I went to bed.

This morning, I woke up with clarity. All the moving parts of the puzzle that have been my life clicked together at once. The Theme. Variations. Repeats. and finally, the Coda. It all made so much sense. Understanding, for me at least, has provided clairvoyance in 3-D, no longer 2-dimensional facts or events in my life.

Clarity has helped me to finally turn the page and breathe a sigh of relief.

It’s complex. It all fits. Now, I really get it.

Time to move forward and enjoy my life!

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March 30, 2015

bunnies! . . .

Well, I think I’ve finally seen it all – as far as baking goes. Months ago, I was browsing through Williams Sonoma’s Easter catalog and came across a 6-bunny “cakelet” bundt pan. I laughed out loud when I saw it and was still chuckling to myself when I clicked the “buy” button. When it arrived, sure enough, there were six little bunny molds in various poses formed in one solid bundt cake pan by Nordic Ware.

The other day, I thought I’d do a trial run and make a box of yellow cake mix and experiment with food coloring to make different colored bunny cakes. They turned out all right but the biggest lesson learned was that I had filled up the batter too high which resulted in towering humps of cake that I trimmed off and around before harvesting the bunny cakes. They went out to neighboring family, all of whom enjoyed these little cakes.

Fortified with experience, I looked online for a chocolate cake recipe that had body and richness. After all, if these were meant to be enjoyed for Easter, why use a box cake mix? I came upon a chocolate sour cream bundt cake recipe that promised to be very rich and full of flavor. It also didn’t require using a mixer either which is a godsend because the portable mixer I have is extraordinarily awkward to use, even though it’s manufactured by Kitchenaid, the emperor of mixer manufacturers.

This recipe just calls for melting butter (kerrygold unsalted); unsweetened cocoa (Ghirardelli), water and salt. Let cool. Mix together dry ingredients: flour, organic sugar and baking soda. Add wet to dry ingredients and whisk together. Whisk in two extra-large eggs, one at a time. Whisk in a container of sour cream. Then add a teaspoon of vanilla.

That’s it. I filled up each opening three-fourths of the way to the top. Baked for 25 minutes until toothpick came out clean. They had still puffed up above the top of the pan but I thought they would settle down by the time they cooled. Fifteen minutes later, I put them upside down on a rack, whacked each one sharply with a stainless strainer spoon and holding my breath, I lifted the pan. They came out perfectly – shiny brown and as cute as could be!

My plan was to let them cool completely at room temperature and then to place them in heavy-duty freezer bags, two coved together in a bag. Then freeze them until they’re hard. Wrap them in bubble wrap and priority mail them to family in MPLS along with Easter basket for granddaughter, Josie. Ditto for my son-in-law to take down to his family on Easter. When they are defrosted, whip up some fresh cream and serve with a bowl of raspberries. Yum!

Ain’t that the berries? Er, ah, bunnies, I mean?

Footnote:

Before mailing the cakelets this morning, I made the bitter chocolate glaze that’s included in the recipe above. Heated up heavy cream, sugar until almost boiling; chopped up a bar of Lindt’s bittersweet chocolate, added light corn syrup and stirred the hot cream mixture into the chocolate to mix altogether. I confess I’m not that much of a chocolate aficionado but this glaze was out of this world! – very chocolatey but not too sweet. I packed a portion of it with each of the cakelet shipments to be warmed and drizzled over the cakes before serving. Hope it all travels well!

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March 22, 2015

“teaching a kitten to bark” . . .

“Teaching a kitten to bark. . . ” That’s how futile it is to try to change reality, I’m told.

What is, just is.

Including everything in the past that you wish hadn’t happened. In fact, if you believe in the Universe guiding our lives as I do, it turns out that there aren’t any “should haves” or “should not haves.” Everything that’s happened did and we can’t do anything about it. Karma translates to a “meant to be” that includes not only the good–but the bad and sometimes the very ugly. In Byron Katie’s words, it lies in “God’s Country.”

Sorry about that.

Apparently, the only thing we can do about it is to stop obsessing about it, feeling bad and wanting to “make things right.” All waste of time and energy. Nobody has that power so it’s no use waiting around for something like that to happen. How about that? What an amazing amount of time and spirit energy we could save, right? Too bad it took so long to really get this.

All we have power over is “our country” — that which is under our power to live out.

The other part of “what is, is” requires acknowledging that people are also the way that they just are, Including their values and how they behave. That’s their country, not ours.

Time to live large or go home!

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March 14, 2015

newspaper delivery saga . . .

Every morning, my husband G. and I have a breakfast ritual. He takes out his cinnamon and raisin bread from Crown Bakery, makes a big pot of coffee, does his stretching exercises downstairs with his orange juice and brings upstairs the Telegram & Gazette newspaper (for him) and the New York Times newspaper (for me.) I, on my part, have a half glass of orange juice, make a bowl of oatmeal or cook two soft-boiled eggs that I eat with a dab of Chinese oyster sauce (like my Dad had for his breakfast.) Our breakfast ritual is characterized by contented silence eating our breakfasts, rustling the pages of our individual newspapers and drinking cups of hot coffee.

Everything was fine until a few months before the holidays. More often than not, G. returned upstairs empty-handed. Sometimes the newspaper (which was guaranteed to be delivered by 7:30 a.m.) didn’t arrive until after eight o’clock, or sometimes not at all. I don’t know about you, but a half an hour is a long time to wait before putting slices of cinnamon raisin bread into the toaster just so you could eat and read at the same time.

It was obvious that we had a new delivery person who just didn’t care much about delivering the paper on time. For over two months and despite entreaties in person to get better service, nothing much happened to get back to a schedule that allowed us to have our breakfast and read the newspaper together. Then, a new delivery person came on board and things improved a little, even managing to get by the snow plows and deliver the paper on snowy mornings in this almost-record snowfall winter of 2014-15 here in New England. Then things started getting erratic again and yesterday, no papers arrived at all. G. called the T&G circulation line only to be put on hold for ten minutes and then spoke to someone with a foreign accent, blase as could be and not caring at all about either the wait time for being put on hold, nor G.’s complaint about missing papers. It was frustrating.

So, mid-morning, sans newspapers, I looked online and perused the “Contact Us” page of the Telegram and Gazette website. I wrote to the Director of Circulation, copying three managers working under him, describing the history of spotty deliveries and voiced a final “cri de coeur” asking for help to restore our equanimity at breakfast with papers delivered on time.

At eight p.m. last night, G.’s phone rang and it was the Director of Circulation at the T & G., a fellow with the initials A.S. They spoke for a brief time, I could hear the word, “Manila,” in response to where the complaint-line operator originated from. He gave G. his phone number in case we had future problems and offered up a two-week free extension to G.’s subscription.

This morning as I walked into the kitchen, I asked G. if the papers had come. Silence. Then, he said that there were copies of the paper that weren’t delivered yesterday, today’s paper and an extra one of the Telegram and Gazette. Plus, yesterday’s copy of the New York Times newspaper that wasn’t delivered plus today’s copy. Five newspapers in all had landed on our doorstep and lay on our breakfast table this morning.

Later, I wrote a thank-you note to A.S. for calling G. last night and for the newspapers delivered this a.m. His reply arrived immediately saying it was great to hear good news and to offer up his help if we needed it in the future.

This might seem like a long post to read about something as mundane as newspaper delivery problems. But if you enjoy the sound of newspaper pages being turned in the silence of a shared morning breakfast ritual to start the day, you’ll understand.

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