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I look at the weather station.
watch hot wind bend juniper, mesquite.
Off and on clicks electricity, then off.
15 minutes, 20 minutes, 25,30,35.
Slowly, interior temperature rises.
I find the coolest place, read, worry
about refrigerated food.
40 minutes, 45.
Switch flips, ceiling fans whir.
I think: how could anyone live
in this heat without air conditioning.
One happy plant resides outside,
from somewhere in East Africa.
Everything else–wilted.
When I was a child, we lived on a farm where it rains around 40 inches annually. On the Fourth of July, Dad always shot off a few Roman candles, and we had small firecrackers and sparklers, nothing fancy, just fun. Even then I knew about the Declaration of Independence, revered its message. Still do.
Now I live where it is hot and dry. The neighbor’s fireworks display rivaled those found in cities–beautiful but dangerous in brown grass country. I wonder if they give any thought to the history, to why anyone celebrates this day.
For the first time in the decades of my life, I did not celebrate Independence Day. Why?
Born decades ago, I originally went to college in Virginia where I experienced the shock of real segregation; I had not grown up where it was like that. I was horrified, lasted only one semester, then transferred. Later I attended a college which shut down in protest over the Viet Nam War, I supported The Civil Rights Movement, I helped create one of the first intercollegiate groups to advocate for abused women, and with an ethnically diverse group I taught diversity classes for teachers.
Now in 2020, I feel that even with all that hard, determined work, progress has been too limited. It is as if I have been transported back to 40 years ago. People need to learn from the history most do not even know:
-Cotton Mather, the leading intellectual and Puritan minister in the colonial era, actually helped butcher King Phillip (Metacomet) like an animal. What did he do to deserve this? He tried to save his Native people. Cotton Mather later writes about tearing Metacomet’s jaw from his skull.
-In 1676, when poor whites joined enslaved Africans to rebel for a better life and decent living conditions, fighting for justice against the wealthy planters, those rich planters realized they had to get poor whites to hate Blacks. They took land owned by Blacks and gave it to poor white people and then paid them to hunt down and abuse, even kill, people of African descent.
-Later, the same Cotton Mather mentioned above, learned from his slave that in Africa, Africans had been taking pus from a smallpox infected person and inoculating others with it to prevent smallpox from spreading. He refused to believe any African could be so smart even though he inoculated himself and his family after learning this. Later, he wrote this about his African slave who had told him the story that may have saved his life: “…brokenly and blunderingly and like Idiots they tell the Story.”
-Of course, we all know that the intellectual giant, Thomas Jefferson, held the deed to the woman who would later bear him numerous children while he proclaimed those famous words that all people are created equal.
The history of racial and ethnic hatred goes back to the inception of this country. It continues to poison progress and hope. It never seems to end. I am tired of it. Enough is enough.
Last eve a friend came over. Both of us have been careful during this difficult time and felt it was safe to see each other. I cooked a dish I ate every day when I visited Costa Rica, gallo pinto. Usually it is served with platanos fritos. I did not have platanos so served it with a mixed salad.
Poblano, red and yellow bell peppers, finely chopped, and ready to cook.
Finely chopped onions already sautéed and now the peppers are cooking.
The finished dish–left over rice, black beans, the pepper and onion mixture, and a little cumin–served with fresh salad. The recipe for this dish and the salad are in my upcoming book. As soon as I know the date to preorder, I will let everyone know. The book will also be available at Burrowing Owl in Canyon and Amarillo, Texas.
The Nap
He lays on his back on the cold, hard, blue linoleum floor after
the midday dinner of homegrown roast beef, potatoes, wilted
lettuce salad, hot coffee, coconut topped cake. His left arm
forms a right angle at the elbow as the back of his wrist rests
on his forehead, touching the slight curliness of his not quite
black hair. His left leg stretched out straight, right one drawn
up, knee jutting out. The sleeves of his worn, pale blue dress
shirt rolled up; his overalls show signs of wear and washing.
Every day after dinner he naps in the same spot in this same
position for exactly fifteen minutes before returning to the field.
My father.
Seventeen years after his death, one day as I napped, slowly
driving off, astonishment stuck. There I lay exactly as my
father used to so many years ago, my left arm forming a right
angle, wrist on my forehead, left leg stretched out straight, right
one drawn up, knee jutting out. I remember not just in heart
and mind.
The body always knows.
Taken at the top of Mt. Evans in Colorado when I was a child.
Thinking up new, healthy, creative dinners sometimes poses a challenge. Last night I stood in the pantry door, looked around, went to the refrigerator to see what I already had available. Although the vegetable combination is not unusual for me, I decided to use farro instead of pasta or rice. Farro, a staple in ancient Rome, has been called “the mother of all wheat”. I buy pearled, organic farro. It is chewy, a good source of fiber, and high in protein. I do not follow the directions on the bag. Here is how I cook farro for two servings:
1 cup farro
3 cups water
1 Tsp. Better Than Bouillon
Avocado oil
Cover the bottom of a sauce pan with the oil, pour in the farro. Turn heat on high, constantly stirring, saute the farro in the oil for a couple of minutes, then pour in the water. Add the bouillon and stir thoroughly. Turn the heat down but keep the farro boiling. Do not cover. Stir at regular intervals. Do not let it go dry. It should take about 1/2 hour for the farro to become tender. Test and if needed, add more water. Cook until the water is absorbed and farro is tender.
Last night’s vegetable sauce:
Cover the bottom of a pan with olive oil. Add five cloves garlic, coarsely chopped and one medium sized beet, cut into medium sized pieces. Saute until tender. Add five to six sliced Brussels sprouts. When Brussels sprouts are partially cooked, add one large poblano pepper, coarsely chopped, seeds removed. Saute until pepper is tender but still bright green. Last night I used berbere, an Ethiopian spice, to jazz up the sauce. Sometimes I use basil or other Italian spices. I vary the vegetables, sometimes using sliced carrots, broccoli, kale. Be creative. Use vegetables you like. If you want something non vegetarian, add chopped chicken or cod loins.
Above is a photo of the cooked vegetables ready to serve.
The vegetables served over the farro. If you are not vegan, you can grate asiago or parmesan cheese over the top.
Azure sky beckons
Bees hum
Birds carol
Peace pervades
Experimentation and creativity while cooking become really important when you are home and going out and about does not seem a very safe option. Here are some photos of two recent dishes I created for dinner.
Many people do not like certain vegetables, two of which are my favorites, beets and Brussels spouts. I remain convinced that people do not like them because no one has ever cooked them in a way they find palatable. These two vegetables keep well in the refrigerator so they are good for buying in this time when many do not want to go to the grocery often.
To create the above dish, I sautéed several chopped garlic cloves in olive oil with the chopped beets. Cook these until nearly done, then add the sliced Brussels sprouts. It takes longer to cook the beets and garlic than the Brussels sprouts. You want the Brussels spouts to be tender but do not over cook. This particular day I added basil essential oil to taste and served the dish over pasta from Italy. When I want something more spicy, I sprinkle berbere (Ethiopian spice) over the vegetables instead of using basil or other Italian spices. Sometimes I serve this over rice instead of pasta, e.g. when I use berbere. This provides a delicious vegan meal and is easy to prepare.
One of my favorite dishes includes cod loins. I create many different versions by changing the vegetables used and the spices. For this one, I first sautéed garlic in olive oil until golden, added chopped beets and sautéed until they were tender. Then I added the cod loin and chopped red bell pepper and chopped poblano pepper. At the last minute I added a handful of frozen green peas and sautéed only until they were hot. Once again I used basil and added lemon essential oil. The pasta is bucatini from Italy. If you like cheese, grate fresh parmesan or asiago over the dish.
Usually, my son sends me flowers for Mother’s Day even though he lives far away. He sometimes sends his sister in Amarillo flowers as well. Since none of us are participating in the flower rituals this year due to quarantining, I offer all of you mothers out there photos of my iris this year.
Happy Mother’s Day. Stay safe, be thankful, take a walk. Enjoy!
Nature ignores the stresses humans suffer these days, renews, brings beauty, joy. Luckily, I live in the country, can work online, and take walks to escape and renew. Recently, after feeding the horses in the morning, I took a walk and captured photos of all the wild flowers in bloom and some photos of the canyon where I live. Relax, observe, breathe deep, enjoy.
See if you can find the bee.
Chocolate flowers.
This is post number six as I continue to quarantine. I’ve lost tract of exactly when I last went to the grocery–not for at least three weeks. In an effort to avoid going unnecessarily, I’ve come up with all sorts of creative cooking by looking to see what I can find in the pantry and refrigerator and inventing recipes, using what I already have. Here are three of my inventions.
When I was in Italy last November, I ate pasta with lemon creme sauce in two different restaurants in two different cities. I have managed to duplicate it using bucatini from Italy, lemons, and heavy cream. For two servings, cook about 1/2 pound of pasta. While pasta is cooking, use a potato peeler to peel of strips of rind from one lemon. Chop these strips into smaller pieces. Cut the lemon into quarters. When pasta is al dente, drain. Turn down the heat and melt 1/4 stick butter in the pan, add drained pasta and lemon rind. Take the lemon quarters and squeeze the juice into the pasta, add cream to taste–do not add too much. If you do not have cream–this time I had none in the refrigerator, do not worry. It is yummy without it.
I was out of most salad ingredients so the above salad is chopped cilantro topped with feta cheese, various kinds of olives, and olive oil.
While scrounging around in the freezer compartment, I found half pound of hamburger. I defrosted that and found a can of kidney beans in the pantry. I sautéed the lean hamburger in olive oil, then added the kidney beans. I did not have any tomatoes or tomato sauce so I dumped in a little organic ketchup. After stirring this together, I added berbere, a complex and a little hot spice from Ethiopia. I served this on top of basmati rice from Pakistan–I buy this in ten pound bags at an international grocery.
The salad ingredients were a gift from a friend who had to harvest all his arugula and lettuce because of freezing weather. While both of us were outside, he handed me a bagful of these goodies. I added some red cabbage I already had. Finally, I grated asiago cheese all over the top of everything. Cheese is a favorite food so I always have lots on hand.
The other food I always keep in the freezer is fish, usually salmon and cod loins. For this recipe, I defrosted the salmon and marinated it in teriyaki sauce and chopped up some onions and crystallized ginger. I sautéed the onions in olive oil, then added the salmon and crystallized ginger. When the salmon was almost done, I added some chopped, frozen, poblano peppers (when I knew this stay-at-home order was likely, I bought a lot of poblano peppers and froze them) and arugula. I served the finished dish over basmati rice.
Sometime in the next month or so–no definite date yet–my memoir/cookbook will come out, “You’re Gonna Eat That!? Adventures with Food, Family, and Friends.” It is filled with recipes using ingredients and methods I have learned in travels and growing up with my mom. Many of the recipes are vegetarian and could be vegan with minor adjustments.
A Glimpse into My Life & Passions
Magoism, the Way of WE in S/HE (Limited in Some International Shipping, Check at Mago Bookstore)
ANCESTRAL FOOD. HERBAL WISDOM. MAGICAL COOKERY. SEASONAL CELEBRATION.
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