Walking and Waking

After my three hour nap yesterday I walked Lily to the pond. She might be thirsty I thought and we went to the shoreline. I dunked a stick into the edge of the pond and Lily daintily stepped in and retrieved it. The water was ice cold. We kept walking with Lily carrying the stick. As I walked down the street I started to cry thinking about Armand's garden. I ran into a man with a tall German wire-haired Pointer puppy - a liver-colored terrier that looked like a wolf-hound. He was a sweet dog only 9 months old but already he's as big as Lily. We chatted about Armand and how we'll miss him. Then we said goodbye. As I approached Armand's garden--I stood at the gate. The raspberry bushes were trimmed and the beds were all perfect mounds of clean dirt, ready for planting. I sobbed. Lily was still carrying her wet stick. We resumed walking and turned the corner. B was sweeping the porch of the mashed potato house with a push broom. I told him about Armand's passing. He was shocked and he opened the front door and told his wife who was standing right there. Lily continued to shred the stick while we chatted. B's daughter came out with her pup, Spud the min pin. She sang me a song. Then her sister M poked her head out and said she's having her birthday party tonight! It cheered me up.

At 12:20AM I woke up to the sounds of Lily barfing on the floor on my side of the bed. Bill mumbled - I turned on the light. There's not much actually, I reported snapping the light back off-- Now she's licking it back up! I said. I was too tired to move. She's a self cleaning dog, I said, rolling over. I couldn't fall back to sleep. Finally I got up at 2:00 AM. I saw bits of stick on the floor. I'll sweep it up later I thought, grabbing my clothes and heading downstairs with Lily.

Soup and Sourdough

This has been a crazy week. We've been to two memorials - my Texas nephew and my neighbor. The juniper and cedar pollen count is through the roof. It wakes me up! I feel like a walking allergy indicator. My skin crawls my stomach is unhappy, and I have to take my inhaler but it's okay-- I am alive and glad to have a good mood after a long sad winter. I am making lentil soup. I've added chopped sweet potatoes, cabbage leaves, a whole bulb of garlic, red chilies, and black radish. I've got ten sourdough whole wheat boules rising. My office door is open so I can smell everything wafting up the stairs.

Making Yogurt

I'm making yogurt today--it was warm yesterday and I went out and raked and shoveled dirt-- it smelled good. I am always excited this time of year but I am unable to sustain my garden when the hot long days arrive. I hibernate in winter and summer and sometimes in spring and fall! I stay inside and bake on hot July and August days.

The manure from last spring has finally become predigested dried hay.

I made a smoothie this morning.
It's cold out again but the sun is exciting. We're back to the regular 53 degree house. I have an electric radiator for finger warming.

Tao of Willie

Let the jerks of the world serve as the perfect example of what you don't want to be. You'll be a heck of a lot happier, and in the long run, there's a chance that other person at work will end up asking what your secret is. Why are you the happy one? In other words, don't let your thoughts think you. Besides, if you're really gonna get pissed, don't waste it on your family, friends, or coworkers, save it for something that really matters.
Willie Nelson, The Tao of Willie: A Guide to the Happiness in Your Heart

God has blessed you richly, so get down on your knees and thank him. Don’t forget the less fortunate or God will personally kick your ass. I’d love to do it for him, but I can’t be everywhere.
-Willie Nelson

You will never find happiness until you stop looking for it.
-Willie Nelson, The Tao of Willie: A Guide to the Happiness in Your Heart

A lot of people make money off of fear and negativity and any way they can feed it to you is to their benefit in a lot of ways. You can't avoid it completely; you have to be open enough that shit doesn't stick on you, it goes through, because you are gonna be hit and bombarded all the time with negativity... You just let things go on through without trying to stop them or block them.
-Willie Nelson


As adults we try to relax from the never-ending quest for reason and order by drinking a little whiskey or smoking whatever works for us, but the wisdom isn't in the whiskey or the smoke. The wisdom is in the moments when the madness slips away and we remember the basics.
-Willie Nelson, The Tao of Willie: A Guide to the Happiness in Your Heart


When I started counting my blessings, my whole life turned around.
-Willie Nelson


Life and water are inseparable. Three quarters of the earth's surface is covered by water, just as three quarters of your body is made up of water. Even in the driest desert where rain may come just once every few years, the cycles of life are based on waiting for the arrival of water. Our bodies are not so patient.

Every cell in your body needs water to survive, and that means that drinking plenty of clean, fresh water can make you stronger healthier and smarter. Water carries oxygen and fuel to your cells, lubricates your joints, regulates your body temperature, and plays a key roll in just about every function of your body.

My number one roadie, POODIE, says, "You can't make a turd without grease."
-Willie Nelson, The Tao of Willie: A Guide to the Happiness in Your Heart


Fortunately, we are not in control.
-Willie Nelson


I believe in looseness.
-Willie Nelson


If you’re not crazy there’s something wrong with you.
-Willie Nelson

New Orleans Coffee

I am sipping New Orleans coffee - coffee with tiny bloop of molasses. Try it!

RIP Armand

Spring has hit this week along with Juniper and Cedar and Elm pollen! My gardener friend Armand just passed away Saturday. I found out yesterday from the neighbors, when I walked by. I am in shock. Feb 14th Armand raced out of his house when I walked by with Lily to give me rosemary and fresh basil from his kitchen flowerpots. He was only 64 and married 42 years. He lived a mile and a half a way--on the pond-- but I would see him almost daily when Lily and I would walk along the reservoir passing his house. He grew grapes raspberries potatoes tomatoes lemon balm oregano garlic you name it--all the herbs and vegetables. We became friends about ten years ago when I admired his plants one day when I was walking by with Honey. He was a wealth of knowledge wrapped in a crabby but very affectionate package. We would talk about making vats of soup--and canning with pressure cookers and our favorite wholesale places "on the hill" (Little Italy of Providence) He was surrounded by family - nieces nephews sons daughters all living next door on both sides etc--but they were not into baking and cooking like him. So this was what Armand and I shared - a love of making food and sharing it. He gave me white raspberry plants and sage and flowers--that are still in my garden! I will miss him terribly - I might have to walk a different road for a while. Who will tend the magnificent garden!!

Antonio Gaudí

Martinell also relates a story of how Gaudí often carried a raw egg around in his pocket, as an instant snack, boasting its shell was the strongest form nature had to offer. He gave up the practice when Mayor Alberto Bastardas slapped him jovially after celebrating Mass, leaving the egg’s contents to dribble down his leg.
-Wikipedia

Pollen Euphoria

Map

Morning Kitchen

Spring is coming! I woke at 3 AM and set up the sourdough to rise. The soaking beans plumped up overnight. The baking bread is mingling with the smell of fresh coffee and simmering kidney beans.

Helen Mirren

Whenever I see the queen, I always think, Oh, there I am!

I'm a get-a-dress-at-the-thrift-shop-but-open-a-bottle-of-champagne kind of person.

The first time you taste something spectacular, it's never quite the same again.

Being the daughter of a cabbie, I really do appreciate a good back route.

Patience can be a good thing — but not necessarily. Sometimes it's not so bad to be impatient. I'm a little bit too polite.

The best compliment? Right after winning the Oscar, when everyone was going home, they let these little gold Oscary shapes flutter down from the ceiling. Leonardo DiCaprio came over, bowed down, and kissed my hand. It was the most fabulous moment — such a lovely gesture. He didn't say anything.

Being directed by your husband is difficult. But it's fabulous to go home and sleep with the director.

I drink just as much tea when I'm in Los Angeles as I do when I'm in London. I take my tea bags with me wherever I go. PG Tips.

We're all idiots when we're young. We don't think we are, but we are. So we should be.

Shakespeare was writing at a time of great censorship. You couldn't say certain things or you'd literally have your head chopped off. But within those parameters he found great freedom.

The whole thing of clothes is insane. You can spend a dollar on a jacket in a thrift store. And you can spend a thousand dollars on a jacket in a shop. And if you saw those two jackets walking down the street, you probably wouldn't know which was which.

I don't throw a lot of parties. I find throwing parties a bit intimidating. What makes a good one? Loads and loads of drink, I suppose. But that can be a disaster as well.

While you're doing it, it's utterly, utterly, obsessively absorbing. Nothing is more important to you at that time and you can't believe anyone could be interested in anything else. I used to come out of the theater and wonder: How can the world be going on? The only thing that matters is this play.

Chemistry is an absolute mystery. People who really don't like each other can have fantastic chemistry onscreen. And people who adore each other can have absolutely no chemistry onscreen. It's totally weird — lightning in a bottle.

There's no good way to waste your time. Wasting time is just wasting time.

Time accelerates, doesn't it?

The hardest period in life is one's twenties. It's a shame because you're your most gorgeous and you're physically in peak condition. But it's actually when you're most insecure and full of self-doubt. When you don't know what's going to happen, it's frightening.

It would be wrong to think that you're always right and correct and perfect and brilliant. Self-doubt is the thing that drives you to try to improve yourself.

The world of politics never spoke to me because it always seemed to be a world of compromise and pragmatism. That didn't fit in with my rather soppy idealism.

Very often I've done the unexpected just to shake things up a bit. That's been a good way to work.

I am quite spiritual. I believed in the fairies when I was a child. I still do sort of believe in the fairies. And the leprechauns. But I don't believe in God.

It's such a crapshoot, and very often the talented people get lost by the wayside and the people with less talent are successful, and you don't know why. It's all such a mysterious random thing, so it's very hard to give people advice.

You don't want to mislead people. They'll say, "Oh, it's my dream. I just have to believe in myself and it'll happen." It's just not true. Some people throw away their lives following a dream and a dream is all it was. On the other hand, you do have to believe in yourself for anything to happen.

I'm in London watching the wind blow through a tree, and it's a wonderful thing to see.

Some people are brilliant at dying. It's hard to stop breathing, and inevitably you get an itchy nose or something. The trick of dying onstage is to make sure you do it behind the sofa or in a dark corner.

-Helen Mirren

Pavlovian Time

Woke up at 3:45- Pavlovian time
reading in the flea market style--of world wide web - biographical blurbs on Balthus, Botero, Roald Dahl, Italo Calvino, Edith Piaf
special day! snow day!!
oven preheating
sourdough boules the size of Mae West's breasts--are rising

Alimentary Canal

my mother called in national guard
with helicopters
and suppository snipers
air lifting crates of mineral oil
and milk of magnesia and prune juice,
to my summer camp
soapy enema bags sent from the enemy
in college
angry english teachers
demanding paragraphs about Willy Lowman
screamed at me,
what are you, constipated?
demanding results
from my ailimentary canal

Black and White

My tongue has gone flat and dull. This happens occasionally. This morning I put espresso in my coffee, so it has taste.

I love the snow. A black and white day!

Applesauce + Yogurt

Last night Bill made applesauce from all of the wonky apples at the bottom of the fridge drawer. It came out so good. We didn't need to add any sugar, just a dash of cinnamon. I like to add a dollop of yogurt and a few raisins too. This is a favorite comfort food.

Joyce Carol Oates

If you are a writer you locate yourself behind a wall of silence and no matter what you are doing, driving a car or walking or doing housework you can still be writing, because you have that space.
-Joyce Carol Oates

Cooks Valley Farm

Cooks Valley Farm has winter produce! View here.

Sweet Scents

My neighbors down the street, the ones with chickens, are tapping their trees for maple sugar. The metal buckets are hanging and I saw the sap dripping out when I walked by with Lily.

My bread is baking with my sweet potatoes. My studio door is open so I can catch the aroma. I love good smells. I am willing to wash dishes by hand for hours when the washing soap is a scent I like.

Sugar

Read

Jacques Pépin

I saw Jacques Pépin making this on TV and was captivated. I made it tonight from memory. I realize now that I forgot the onion and the sausage and I had only regular broccoli but it was still good. Also Jaques also added a small can of clams with the liquid and I did too. Now I want to make it again with fresh clams and home made beans.

Ragout of Broccolini, Beans, and Sausage

White beans, sausage, and broccoli are a classic Mediterranean combination. Instead of broccoli, I use broccolini, because it is more tender and the stems don't need peeling. Preparing the dish with canned cannellini beans makes it a cinch.

4 servings

2 tablespoons good olive oil, plus more for drizzling (optional)
1/2 cup chopped onion
6 ounces hot Italian sausage meat
1 can (15.5 ounces) cannellini beans
1 small bunch (8–10 ounces) broccolini
2 teaspoons chopped garlic
1/4 teaspoon salt, plus more if needed
1/8 teaspoon red pepper flakes
Grated Parmesan cheese (optional)

Pour the oil into a large skillet or saucepan and add the onion and sausage. Cook over high heat for 2 to 3 minutes, breaking the sausage meat into small pieces with a fork or spoon. Add the liquid from the can of beans and bring to a boil.

Meanwhile, wash and cut the broccolini tops into 1-inch pieces and the stems into 1/2-inch pieces. Add to the pan with the garlic, salt, and red pepper flakes and return to a boil. Cover and boil gently for 4 to 5 minutes, or until the broccolini is tender but still a little crunchy.

Add the beans, mix well, and return to a boil. Boil, uncovered, for 2 to 3 minutes to blend the flavors together. Taste and add more salt if needed. Serve as is, or sprinkle with the Parmesan cheese and extra oil.

Honoré de Balzac

This coffee falls into your stomach, and straightway there is a general commotion. Ideas begin to move like the battalions of the Grand Army of the battlefield, and the battle takes place. Things remembered arrive at full gallop, ensuing to the wind. The light cavalry of comparisons deliver a magnificent deploying charge, the artillery of logic hurry up with their train and ammunition, the shafts of with start up like sharpshooters. Similes arise, the paper is covered with ink; for the struggle commences and is concluded with torrents of black water, just as a battle with powder.
-Honoré de Balzac

Snow Moon

February's full Moon is traditionally called the Snow Moon because usually the heaviest snows fall in February.

Hunting becomes very difficult, and so some Native American tribes called this the Hunger Moon.

Other Native American tribes called this Moon the "Shoulder to Shoulder Around the Fire Moon" (Wishram Native Americans), the "No Snow in the Trails Moon" (Zuni Native Americans), and the "Bone Moon" (Cherokee Native Americans). The Bone Moon meant that there was so little food that people gnawed on bones and ate bone marrow soup.
source

John Muir

Bread without butter or coffee without milk is an awful calamity, as if everything before being put in our mouth must first be held under a cow.
-John Muir

Banana Dilemma

Our local market often has bananas that are so green it is hard to know when they are ripe. It becomes a gamble in a peel. I have discovered a trick for the under-ripe banana:
peel it and zap it in the microwave. The slight cooking of it sweetens and ripens it.

Peanut Butter and Chili

Today I sprinkled red chili flakes on my peanut butter sandwich. It was delicious. I was curious if others have tried this and I found a more involved recipe here.

Simple Spaghetti Supper

As soon as I hit the cold air I knew what to make for supper tonight: spaghetti with spicy garlic broccoli and grated Parmesan cheese. It was so good but I steamed the broccoli first and ate a bunch of it while waiting for the spaghetti water to boil.

Ingredients: broccoli, spaghetti, fresh garlic, olive oil, kosher salt, red chili flakes, Parmesan cheese, black pepper.