"Simplicity is the ultimate sophistication." ~Leonardo DaVinci
Wednesday, September 30, 2009
Tuesday, September 29, 2009
Harvest Time
"Listen! the wind is rising, and the air is wild with leaves,
We have had our summer evenings, now for October eves!"
- Humbert Wolfe
The beginning of Autumn is always marked by our favorite festival at the historic Chelberg Farm. It is one of our most looked forward to weekends to spend as a family enjoying the sights & smells that linger in the air.
Fall to me is...
A gentle reminder to live a simple life..
Milkweed pods..silky treasures..many of my own childhood memories involve playing with these...
The joys simple, old fashion games can bring to my children..
Listening to bluegrass music while sitting on hay bales..
Teaching my children a new craft for winter..
Making Corn husk dolls with my girly..
All of my plants & herbs going to seed for the season..
Time spent with my favorite Brown Cow..
Exploring the inside of the old Chelberg Farmhouse...
Hayrides & local honey sticks...
Learning how to live off the "grid"
Pumpkins..
And the crunch of autumn leaves.
We have had our summer evenings, now for October eves!"
- Humbert Wolfe
The beginning of Autumn is always marked by our favorite festival at the historic Chelberg Farm. It is one of our most looked forward to weekends to spend as a family enjoying the sights & smells that linger in the air.
Fall to me is...
A gentle reminder to live a simple life..
Milkweed pods..silky treasures..many of my own childhood memories involve playing with these...
The joys simple, old fashion games can bring to my children..
Listening to bluegrass music while sitting on hay bales..
Teaching my children a new craft for winter..
Making Corn husk dolls with my girly..
All of my plants & herbs going to seed for the season..
Time spent with my favorite Brown Cow..
Exploring the inside of the old Chelberg Farmhouse...
Hayrides & local honey sticks...
Learning how to live off the "grid"
Pumpkins..
And the crunch of autumn leaves.
Monday, September 28, 2009
Creamy Potato Soup
It's officially Autumn.
As the weather is shifting into cool gray days, I find myself looking forward to time spent indoors working on projects, cooking, baking & just snuggling with my kids on the couch.
I am a Summer girl through and through, but something about the energy this time of year allows me to slow down and savor the coziness of spending my days in tune with the season. Warm sweaters, collecting acorns & leaves, fuzzy socks, hats & scarves...ohh my heart could burst with excitement when I think of all the knitting to be done!
Around here, lots of soup gets made in the cooler months. Were big fans..throw it in the crock pot in the morning or on slower days, everyone lends a hand chopping and stirring in the evening. Cooking with my kids is not only good for them to learn math, measurement and about where there food came from, but it also fills me with great joy. There is nothing like a healthy, homegrown meal to pull the family together at the end of the day. It really tends to bring us to center after a long day apart.
The Blessing my children have been singing before meals has been with our family since River was one. I wanted a way to teach my children to acknowledge and appreciate all that goes into creating & preparing our meals, something so many seem to take for granted. We came up with this..
"Thank you for this food,
from the Earth,
& the Animals
& Minerals
that made it possible."
As they sing it, they always add in a few extra thank yous.. to the farmers or the Mama that made it, to the workers who made the stove we cooked it on...ect.. and because I always end my own prayers & blessings by putting my hands together and bowing in Namaste, my children as babies turned this into putting your hands together and stretching them over your head to "relax and make room for food in your belly." hehehe. Even at 9 & 7, they still end the blessing in this way. They clap there hands behind their heads and dig in. :) It's funny to type it out because it is a small moment that gets lost in the everyday motions since it has been done for almost 9 years now, but I feel deep gratitude for the sweetness of it.
The last few nights I have in a "soupy" mood. It's so gray, we need lamps on in the house during the day and a cool damp breeze floats through the windows. Geese have been flying over joyously honking all morning...Soup is in order.
I'm sharing my favorite Potato Soup Recipe with you today. I was inspired when I pulled my wonderful, well loved cookbook off the shelf in three pieces this morning, missing a cover & splattered with cooking stains & flour. Everyone needs this simple recipe in their collection.
Cream of Potato Soup
from The New Farm Vegetarian Cookbook
Scrub & cut 10 cups of white potatoes. Boil until soft in 6 cups of water and 2 tsp sea salt.
Meanwhile, saute 1 med onion (about 1 cup) in 1/4 cup of oil. Add 1/4 cup flour to onions to make a smooth paste. Stir constantly.
Drain Potatoes, saving water. Mash 2 cups potatoes and add to the potatoes in the pot, along with:
4 cups potato water
2 cups soy milk or organic milk
onion-flour paste
1 1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
1/4 tsp dill weed
1 tbsp butter or vegan expeller pressed margarine
Cook over low hear 10-15 minutes.
A Blessed Autumn to you & yours :)
As the weather is shifting into cool gray days, I find myself looking forward to time spent indoors working on projects, cooking, baking & just snuggling with my kids on the couch.
I am a Summer girl through and through, but something about the energy this time of year allows me to slow down and savor the coziness of spending my days in tune with the season. Warm sweaters, collecting acorns & leaves, fuzzy socks, hats & scarves...ohh my heart could burst with excitement when I think of all the knitting to be done!
Around here, lots of soup gets made in the cooler months. Were big fans..throw it in the crock pot in the morning or on slower days, everyone lends a hand chopping and stirring in the evening. Cooking with my kids is not only good for them to learn math, measurement and about where there food came from, but it also fills me with great joy. There is nothing like a healthy, homegrown meal to pull the family together at the end of the day. It really tends to bring us to center after a long day apart.
The Blessing my children have been singing before meals has been with our family since River was one. I wanted a way to teach my children to acknowledge and appreciate all that goes into creating & preparing our meals, something so many seem to take for granted. We came up with this..
"Thank you for this food,
from the Earth,
& the Animals
& Minerals
that made it possible."
As they sing it, they always add in a few extra thank yous.. to the farmers or the Mama that made it, to the workers who made the stove we cooked it on...ect.. and because I always end my own prayers & blessings by putting my hands together and bowing in Namaste, my children as babies turned this into putting your hands together and stretching them over your head to "relax and make room for food in your belly." hehehe. Even at 9 & 7, they still end the blessing in this way. They clap there hands behind their heads and dig in. :) It's funny to type it out because it is a small moment that gets lost in the everyday motions since it has been done for almost 9 years now, but I feel deep gratitude for the sweetness of it.
The last few nights I have in a "soupy" mood. It's so gray, we need lamps on in the house during the day and a cool damp breeze floats through the windows. Geese have been flying over joyously honking all morning...Soup is in order.
I'm sharing my favorite Potato Soup Recipe with you today. I was inspired when I pulled my wonderful, well loved cookbook off the shelf in three pieces this morning, missing a cover & splattered with cooking stains & flour. Everyone needs this simple recipe in their collection.
Cream of Potato Soup
from The New Farm Vegetarian Cookbook
Scrub & cut 10 cups of white potatoes. Boil until soft in 6 cups of water and 2 tsp sea salt.
Meanwhile, saute 1 med onion (about 1 cup) in 1/4 cup of oil. Add 1/4 cup flour to onions to make a smooth paste. Stir constantly.
Drain Potatoes, saving water. Mash 2 cups potatoes and add to the potatoes in the pot, along with:
4 cups potato water
2 cups soy milk or organic milk
onion-flour paste
1 1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
1/4 tsp dill weed
1 tbsp butter or vegan expeller pressed margarine
Cook over low hear 10-15 minutes.
A Blessed Autumn to you & yours :)
Wednesday, September 23, 2009
Autumn Blessings
September 22-23 (Northern Hemisphere)
The Autumnal Equinox is one of two days in the calendar year when day and night hours are almost equal to one another; it is also the first day of Autumn, or Fall (September 23-24), in the Gregorian calendar.
The Origin of Equinox Celebrations
The annual seasons happen because of two things: 1) a 23.5° tilt of the earth's axis, which makes the earth rotate like a gyroscope, so it points continuously in a fixed direction-toward the area of space near the North Star; and 2) the earth continuously revolves around the sun in an elliptical orbit-once every 365.25 of our solar days. As a result, for half of the year the Southern Hemisphere is more exposed to the sun than the Northern Hemisphere, and for the other half of the year the reverse is true. At noontime in the Northern Hemisphere the sun appears highest in the sky during summer and lowest in the sky during winter. The Autumnal Equinox is almost exactly halfway between the winter and summer solstices, and in the sky the sun appears about midway between its highest and lowest points. It is one of the two times during the year when day and night are almost exactly 12 hours long, and very close to being equal to each other. The other day is the Spring, or Vernal, Equinox, which usually falls on or near the first day of Spring in the Gregorian calendar.
Whereas the first day of Spring is treated as a time of birth and rebirth, the first day of Autumn is the time when things begin to shed, and the growth which was young in the springtime has now reached maturity. Animals begin preparing for winter, tree leaves turn colors, and the air takes on a chill. Most cultures consider this a time for harvesting crops and taking stock of life's fragility. It is also a time when people begin noticing the waning hours of daylight in anticipation for the Winter Solstice. Since this time of year is one of the most temperate, it is also considered a good time for reflection on the meaning of life.
In every culture the Autumnal Equinox signals the return of weather that favors slowing down, introspection, and conservation.
The old Switcharoo
Well..it took me a bit of time today BUT I managed to get most of my old posts and advertising set up on my new blog site. I'm pretty happy with it so far except that the posts I moved over are out of order and it is driving me crazy! But not crazy enough to go back a redo it all! So bear with me folks..more good things to come...
Little Drops of Sunshine
The Marsh Marigolds are in bloom everywhere I look. All along the trails at the Dunes...in the wetlands near my house...along the road on the way to the beach...and yet until this year I never knew what they were called or even noticed them for that matter. This year, their radiant yellow glow has caught my eyes and filled me with hope. After a long winter, the sunshine returns...after a failed relationship...joy will grow once more.
Leaves rounded, heart, or kidney-shaped, dark green
...heart shaped leaves..glorious!
Stems hollow, 8"-24" tall, mostly arising from the base
...hollow like I strive to be..empty so that Gods energy may fill me from my crown chakra down to where my feet meet the sweet earth....open up and let the light shine through..
Roots deep, tangled
...deeply grounded..oh the lessons learned from this amazing green spirit!
Marsh marigold
he more research I did the more I found this flowering plant truly is a healer...
Early physicians used Caltha palustris to treat dropsy, anemia, coughs and convulsions. Warts were treated with a drop a day of the plant's juice until the wart disappeared. Native Americans used various preparations of the roots to treat colds and open sores, as an aid in childbirth and to induce vomiting, and as a protection against love charms; infusions of leaves were taken for constipation. Leaves gathered from the plant before it bloomed in the spring were cooked thoroughly to destroy a toxic alkaloid they contain and used as greens by many tribes of the northern US. Early settlers often pickled the flower buds; in fact that particular dish was quite a delicacy in restaurants on the east coast. The blossoms of Marsh Marigolds have also been used to make wine and were the source of a brilliant yellow dye.
These amazing little drops of sunshine were blossoming everywhere I looked and appeared to be a sign..a message..someone somewhere was telling me that everything was going to be alright. If these bright yellow flowers could make there way up through the mud and into the light of Spring, surely I could too.
Bright Blessings!
Love,
Sara
This a picture I took while hiking April 22, 2008 at the Dunes State Park.
29 Trips Around the Sun
Today marks the 29th anniversary of my birth.
Today is MY day.
That one day a year that symbolizes a new beginning for me.
My first breath was taken moments
after my birth on this very day.
April 23rd.
Brisk air. Sunshine.
Daffodils. New green grass.
Life.
This has always been a day of hope for me.
New goals created…dreams met…
the beginning of the rest of my life.
On this April 23rd I was joyfully pulled
from slumber by the laughter of my two
amazing babies singing a birthday song.
As I rose to my feet,
I said a silent, but mighty prayer:
Thank you God for another year.
And so it goes…another trip around the sun.
The lake is in motion today.
Waves crashing against the shore…
never idle since it's beginnings…
always changing yet staying constant…
evolving with every ripple.
The tide goes in and out so carelessly…
so harmoniously.
Mother lake is a great teacher.
To her I give thanks and praise.
All the times she has been here to catch my tears and feel my joy.
This April 23rd is mixed with both.
But I still thank the Gods for this day.
This opportunity to start fresh..
to look out to the future..
let go of the past and remain here cradled in the sand
and rocked by the waves
as my children's laughter
mingles with the sounds of the shore.
I AM FREE.
That is my birthday present to me.
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