Curly Kale

It’s January 3rd, “do you know where your children are”, yes one back in Portland and one off for a mini vacation to San Francisco before she returns to school. It’s January 3rd, my pants are too tight, I’m worn to a nub as my mom used to say, I still have sugar plums dancing and a few chocolates left over from the holidays. The black-eyed peas are tucked away in the freezer, the sweet jalapenos in the fridge, the cornbread waiting for a new batch of soup. It occurs to me that maybe I will wait till next week to start the fat flush/liver cleansing diet that gets me back on track; leaving carbs, sugar, alcohol in the dust as I blaze down the road to my new thin vibrant amazingly strong self.  Sigh…..I will be inspired to do all those heroic things, but not today. Today I am going to enjoy a chocolate with my coffee, possibly start my goal list for the new year, savor the fun holiday, give thanks for my warm comfortable home, my family, my old friends and my new friends too. I feel truly blessed in every way and optimistic about 2012, today I am letting go and relaxing, breathing in and breathing out, feeling the love that is all around and saying a prayer that I may be somehow be an “instrument of peace” in the world, starting with myself. Just be, stay still, think of what really matters when the day is done.

Garden News: We are picking pepper cress, parsley and mustard greens to use in our sandwiches and salads and have been since early autumn.

KALE: We made a massaged kale salad last week when my daughter was craving a salad and nobody wanted to run to the market. I just plucked a few hardy kale leaves from the garden, removed the tough stems and tore the dark green curly kale into bite size pieces. Then squeezed some fresh lemon juice on top, added a bit of salt, a drizzle of olive oil and gently massaged the leaves for three minutes. Caitlin added chopped apples, carrots and sweet peppers that had been left over from a vege tray the day before. A  little dressing with honey, olive oil and a bit of lemon juice  sweetened the deal. It was delicious if we do say so ourselves. I found a recipe online that added mangos but we just made do with what we could scrounge out of the fridge.

PS: Now is the time to start planning your spring garden. Kale, collards, spinach, broccoli, cabbage, mustards, lettuce, peas and more can be planted in March in the Seattle area, weather permitting of course. No pressure, but if you want to start easy, just get ready to plant a pot of lettuces by the back door and I believe you will find it well worth the effort. Dream of seeds, roots, sprouting life, rich soil, health, abundance, harvest the sweet rhythm of life.

Love,

Lilly, Coyote and Mabel too