Thursday, May 12, 2011

Philosophy for Breakfast

I find that mornings are the best time for my brain to wander through the esoteric thought jungle. Not yet plagued by worries of the day, I turn over in bed and look out the old glass in the window - something about the way the light plays through the branches is so inspiring. 

I breakfasted on fresh melon, strawberries, and chocolate this morning - seemingly decadent yet effortless and refreshing. The way life should be I believe. And why not? What is stopping us each from living the lives we truly want? If you say Time - we all have the same amount of time. If you say Money - what brings happiness in life is not material which can be bought. If you say Fear of Change - that I believe. But that can also be addressed, and overcome.

When I find myself sad, I do the following: 
  • I sometimes have chocolate for breakfast. 
  • I wear my good jewelry.
  • I listen to the birds.
  • I practice Yoga.
  • I find meaning in my work.
  • I laugh.
  • I read things like If--, and What Constitutes Success
When you find your head swimming, or you've had scary dreams about zombies, or work is an overwhelming chore - have a little philosophy for breakfast. It's sure to set you on a happy course for the day!

Thursday, May 5, 2011

Gratitude, & some Southern cookin'

An often overlooked, though very necessary, step to achieving happiness is bringing your attention to everything you've go to be happy about!

I use the Gratitude Journal app from happytapper now as it is an easy reminder. Nothing beats paper...but I try not to fight progress.  :)

It is in the spirit of gratitude that I write about my most recent culinary adventure. I had two wonderful people over my house the other night and wanted to give them more than boxed pasta and a jar of sauce. Wracking my brains in the bulk beans aisle, I had a moment of enlightenment and decided to treat them to some good old fashioned Italian-American Southern home cooking.

The menu:

Cornbread (the rustic kind. no sugar. no corn chunks.)
1 ½ c yellow cornmeal 
1 c flour
1 tsp baking powder
1 scant tsp sea salt
1 egg lightly beaten
2 cups buttermilk (or soured regular milk, or just regular milk. any %.)
2 tbsp olive oil (or bacon drippings)

* Preheat oven to 425 degrees.
* Put the oil in a cast iron skillet and place it in the oven while it preheats.
* Mix together dry ingredients. Whisk egg and buttermilk together. Mix wet and dry ingredients together.
* Take cast iron skillet out of oven. Pour the hot oil into batter and mix.
* Pour batter into cast iron skillet, bake in oven for 20 minutes - or until cornbread is brown on top and pulling away from the sides of the skillet. 
*Serve warm, with real butter.

Beans n' Greens
This is both a traditional Italian, and Southern, dish. Any bean with any green works really - experiment! The foundation is always the same:

* In a heavy bottomed pot or skillet, warm a few tablespoons of olive oil over medium heat and cook 1 chopped onion and a few smashed and chopped garlic cloves until translucent and fragrant. 
* Add fresh or frozen greens, toss with the oil, and cook until crisp-tender and bright green.
* Add can or two of beans - only add the juices from one can (try to get NO Salt Added)
* Simmer gently until all the flavors combine- 5-10 minutes.

I used chopped leftover Easter ham in with the oil, onion and garlic, with kidney beans and a whole pot full of fresh kale.

Mac n' Cheese
A classic - prepared classically. Boiled macaroni noodles, into a casserole dish with about a cup of shredded cheddar and fresh parmesan-reggiano, with ½ cup buttermilk and a little powdered milk to help make the roux come together. Basil, oregano, black pepper, & a pinch of sea salt. Panko breadcrumbs on the top. Baked with the cornbread when the bread had about 10 minutes left.

(Trick: heat butter in a pan, add a spoon of flour and mix it together. Then slowly whisk in your milk. This should make a sort of gravy. Add your shredded cheeses to this and it'll all melt together into a cream sauce, rather than milk+cheese bits!)

All together - a success. Many thanks to my company and my cast iron skillets!

Love,
E

Tuesday, May 3, 2011

What makes You happy?

The greatest service we can each do ourselves is to bring life back to basics sometimes. It is so painfully easy to get caught up in the hustle and bustle of the day-to-day, and even easier to let our minds race and wander and fill until we wonder why the room is spinning. These past few weeks I've been working very hard to bring life back to it's foundation - concerns about the direction I'm going and whether or not I'm doing this for the right reasons have had me pretty uptight. I've had a tremendous unspoken fear of making decisions based on what I want to do versus what everyone else wants or thinks is a good idea. What if I'm wrong? What if I change my mind? Surely a consensus is better than a single vote! The more opinions the better! ....Wrong. In the end, I realized I'd rather do what I want, and maybe decide later I'd rather do something else but deal with that if it comes, than live my life for everyone (or anyone) else. No one is as invested in your life as you are. And no one else has to live it. Don't clog up your greatest tool with speculation and worry. Step back, try to see the mural instead of a single brick, and remember who it is you're trying to be and what you're working for.

I have known a great many troubles, but most of them never happened. - Mark Twain

We all have the exact same amount of time each day. What do you do with yours?


Cook a new recipe. Read a new book. Paint something. Build something. Play an instrument. Go for a walk (outside). Learn the names of sidewalk weeds. Watch the sun rise. Listen to your breath for five minutes. Call a friend you haven't talked to in a while. Write a letter. Contemplate a poem. Balance your budget. Pick wildflowers. Have a picnic. Play a boardgame. Play tag. Go to a yard sale. Visit a farm. Make waffles. Go to a library. Go to a store you've never been to. Have a movie night. Have a sleepover. Fly a kite. .......