Comfort and Care

Last January, I made the commitment to go outside for a little while each day. I can't believe it has already been almost a whole year since that decision. This journey into solitude, by pretty much going nowhere (just to my own back yard), has been truly life-giving.

Of solitude, Ruth Haley Barton says...

In the quiet listening and noticing that solitude affords, I am able to monitor the ways I allow [my body] to become a bit run down so it is not quite up to the rigors of meeting with the living God. When I am able to open up to that reality in God's presence, it becomes an opportunity to work together with God on fashioning a life where the needs of the body are cared for as a part of my commitment to the spiritual journey. (p.67-68)

I have always been a person who's fairly attuned to my body and its needs, but I realize that Barton is right. In going outside almost daily, lying back and looking at the sky, I've become even more willing to take moments of rest, to seek silence, and to accept that caring for my body's needs are part of the spiritual journey.

Indeed, I recently started running again, after almost twenty years of being away from it. Somehow, the urge to run got all wrapped up in the new things I'd begun to feel in my spiritual journey in my own back yard. This too has been life-giving. A great comfort and another level of opening up. Often, after I run, I find myself writing in my journal or over at Love Notes to Yahweh.

So the running then became a way back to another part of my spirit and the Spirit, thus beginning a new experience of prayer and worship. Who knows where this will take me? Next January I'll be back here to think it through. In the meantime, I pray for you: a renewed sense of finding comfort and growth in taking care of your own body and spirit.

Oh, and for the road, here's a little comfort food. Simple and nutritious.




Cowboy Hotpot

Layer and bake about 1 hour or until tender, covered, at 400 degrees...

- a 1 to 1/2 inch layer of baked beans (your favorite canned, or using recipe below)
- Tofu pups (soy dogs) cut into rounds and put in baked beans
- a layer of parboiled sliced potatoes (parboil 4 or 5 potatoes about 10 minutes)
- salt and pepper to taste over top

Finish by broiling briefly, after adding...
- some cheddar, shredded, over potatoes
- bread crumbs over cheese, if desired
- a few pours olive oil

Serve with garlic bread, sauerkraut and a salad or broccoli.


Baked Beans

Cook stovetop, for about an hour or until tender...

- 2 to 2 1/2 cups soaked dry great northern beans in enough water to cover


Add and cook until thick...

- 1 TB Frontier brand "bacuns"
- 1/4 cup molasses
- 2 tsp dried mustard
- 1/2 cup ketchup
- 1/2 cup brown sugar
- salt to taste
- 2 TB worcestershire sauce

NEW LINKS TO THIS POST:

LL's Taking Care

Gift of a Meal Plan

Most of us would agree that one of the best gifts we can give ourselves is the gift of health. Creating a Meal Plan is a good way to ensure that our ideals translate into reality.

Though it can be useful to use someone else's meal plan, it's even better to create a plan of one's own. But where to begin?

Here are some tips on how to create a nutritionally-balanced vegetarian meal plan (a timely pursuit, if you consider this sobering article on cancer and meat consumption)...

1. Think of each meal as consisting of four basic parts: protein, whole grain, fruit, vegetable (or no fruit and two vegetables).

2. Plan each night with a different protein as the centerpiece, adding grains and fruits and veggies that are natural complements. Chickpeas. Black beans. Tofu. Eggs. Lentils. Kidney beans. And so on.

Some good grain matches are as follows: chickpeas with couscous, rice, or barley. Black beans with cornbread, rice or quinoa. Tofu with soba noodles or rice. Eggs with wheat tortillas, bread, or rice.

3. Alternately, plan each night with an ethnic theme. Greek on Monday. Mexican on Tuesday. Chinese on Wednesday. And so on. The meal plan here at Green Inventions uses a combination of these techniques and thus has variety in terms of both foodstuffs and cuisines.

4. Be dedicated to planning a variety of meals each week for one month, and write down what you do. At the end of the month, type it up. If some meals didn't go over well, drop them out and substitute some new possibilities.

5. Be flexible. And enjoy your meals!

Here's a recipe from the Green Inventions Meal Plan, for chickpea stew, with biscuits.

Chickpea Stew



Saute until golden...

- small onion, chopped
- 2 small celery sticks, chopped
- 1 tsp herbs de Provence (or substitute with 1/2 tsp. poultry seasoning)


Add and cook 40 minutes...

- about 6 cups vegetable stock (or chickpea water, if you cook chickpeas from dry stage)
- 1/3 cup pearl barley
- 3 cloves garlic, minced


Add and cook another 10 minutes...

- 2 or 3 red potatoes, cut in 3/4 inch chunks
- 2 carrots, chopped
- 1 cup chickpeas (3/4 cup dry, cooked in advance, or half a can)


Add and cook another 5 minutes...

- 1 cup sugar snap peas (or half cup loose peas)
- 1/2 pack of white mushrooms, sliced thinly


Finish...

- salt and pepper to taste
- a few pours olive oil


Whole Wheat Biscuits

Sift together...

- 2 1/2 cups whole wheat pastry flour
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 TB baking powder


Cut in until crumbly...

- 1/2 cup room temperature butter


Add and mix with fingers until dough holds together...

- 1 cup buttermilk (or milk substitute)


Roll dough to about 1/2 inch thick. Cut circles with cookie cutter or mouth of a small cup. Bake at 400 degrees, about 12 minutes.

About chickpeas...About 15 grams protein in 1 cup. High in potassium, calcium and vitamin A. Among other legumes, this golden, nut-shaped legume stands tallest in iron. Some research has shown cholesterol reduction with increase in chickpea consumption.

Recipes adapted from Williams Sonoma Vegetarian

Chickpea Stew photo, by L.L. Barkat.

Wilderness and Swimming Zeepies

microscopic organisms


Christianne's Wilderness thoughts got me musing about the resilience of life.

Take the swimming zeepies, for instance. (That's what my daughter calls microscopic organisms.) Many of these little fellows will not die if their water dries up. They just enter a different mode of existence that can withstand extreme temperatures and total drought, until conditions change again.

In this altered existence, they will sometimes be carried by the wind, to new places, with new climates. Here, they open up, emerge into life again, and go on. Even if it takes a century.

As people, we may not have a century to make it through our wildernesses, but I believe that we too have remarkable resilience when we wait upon God. And He reminds us with tender loving care, "waters shall break forth in the wilderness, and streams in the desert; the burning sand shall become a pool...And the ransomed of the LORD shall return, and come to Zion with singing... sorrow and sighing shall flee away." (Isaiah 35:6, 10)

If you're in a wilderness today, here's some healthy comfort food to take along, while you wait for the wind and for the rain...


Potato and Broccoli Casserole



Saute lightly:

- 1 small onion, chopped
- 1 head broccoli, chopped
- 1/2 tsp fennel seed
- salt & pepper


Parboil 8 minutes, or until almost cooked:

- 4 to 5 potatoes, sliced about 1/4" thick


Layer in baking dish:

- pour olive oil
- potatoes, salt & peppered
- broccoli mix
- potatoes, salt & peppered
- pour olive oil


Bake all until tender, about 30 minutes covered. Top with grated cheddar if desired and bake until melted. Serve with Provencal Lentil Salad and crusty whole-grain bread laced with olive oil.


Provencal Lentil Salad



Boil 20-30 minutes, or until tender:

- 1 cup brown (green) lentils


Add & mix:

- carrot, chopped small
- a bit of scallion or onion, chopped fine
- small handful sage or parsley, chopped fine
- a few good pours olive oil
- a few small pours brown rice vinegar (or white wine vinegar)
- salt & pepper to taste

About Lentils and Potatoes.

Photos by L.L. Barkat.

Chameleon

pssst...can you find the squirrel?


Whenever it snows, my older daughter begins telling everybody what to do. "You can't walk here. Only step there." She wants to preserve the pristine look of gently rolling white.

The other day, as I walked to my secret spot, I understood her urgency in this matter. Every step I took felt like a violation. I so wanted an invisible footprint. Similarly, sometimes, when I lie under the pine tree, I imagine what it would be like to melt into the ivy in total camouflage, with my presence creating only negligible impact.

Of course, this is impossible, both in my yard and in the world in general. For instance, as an American, my "footprint" is rather large compared to what the world can support. As I recall from Radical Simplicity, there are about 4.5 acres for each person alive... that's what it takes to support a life. But the average American footprint is 24 acres. In other words, I am far from being a world chameleon. You might say I'm wearing red neon in the forest.

Still, one way I'm learning to live a little lighter is through my food choices. Some of us do other things like drive a gas-economical car. But food's my thing. It's one small way I'm trying to leave a little snow patch pristine, so to speak.

So here's an earth-light recipe. With the king-of-chameleon as its highlight: tofu. Tofu is bland, yes. That's its star quality. Because it melts into the background, it simply absorbs all the other flavors and showcases them. This makes it a great choice for dishes with rich or spicy flavors.




Tofu Joes

Saute in olive oil 'til light brown:

-onion, chopped


Add & saute briefly:

- 2 garlic, minced
- 1 to 1 1/2 TB chili powder
- 1/2 tsp cumin powder
- 1/4 tsp fennel seed
- 1/2 tsp turmeric
- optional dash red pepper flakes


Add & simmer about 10 minutes:

- 2 TB shoyu or soy sauce
- 1 package firm or extra firm tofu, mashed
- 1/2 jar of spaghetti sauce
- 1/2 green bell pepper, chopped

Finish:

- pour of olive oil
- salt & pepper to taste
- chopped cilantro

Serve on wheat buns slathered in olive oil (raw olive oil is always good for us!). Add a side of fried potatoes and something green.

About tofu: HIgh in protein, calcium and iron. Can help control cholesterol.

Squirrel Chameleon photo and Tofu Joes photo by L.L. Barkat.

Myth & Meal

On vacation, I go to the Leu Garden in Orlando. My family and I pass by the starfruit tree. It is heavy with golden, liquid sweetness. Smashed fruits lie beneath the tree. The children ask, "Pick one! Please?!"

No signs forbid it.

So I pick.

A cry and laughter burst, "You picked the fruit! You are Eve!"

Later, I meet Christianne for dinner (a blessed privilege). I tell her my forbidden fruit story. And how my family and I decided that if we were the owners of the Leu, we'd put the fruit in baskets with signs that say, "Take. Eat. Enjoy."

"Good idea," says Christianne. "No one's going to eat it anyway."

"Yes," I say, biting into my Greek salad. Then a thought comes, "I bet Eve thought that in the garden— 'look at all that Tree-of-Knowledge fruit just falling to the ground. If I don't eat it, who will? What a waste!'"

Bite.

Today, as I write this, I'm reminded of the Greek Pandora myth. We humans open some boxes, eat some fruit, pillage some of creation's resources thinking, "If not us, then who?" Open. Take. Eat. And we become Eve of Eden, all over again.


On a different note, here's a delicious Greek meal. Nothing forbidden. Deliciously healthy. Make. Serve. Eat. Enjoy...




Potatoes & Olives



Add and saute briefly in large pot:

- small pour olive oil
- 5 red potatoes, unpeeled, washed and chopped into 1-inch chunks
- 2 garlic, minced
- 1/2 tsp. dried oregano

Add and boil for about 20 minutes or 'til potatoes are tender:

- 1 28-oz. can Muir Glen organic pureed tomatoes
- 1/2 to 1 cup pitted kalamata olives
- water to cover all

Finish:

Salt and pepper to taste, plus a few pours of olive oil. Serve with orzo, lentil salad, and something green.

About Potatoes: Full of fiber that lowers cholesterol, as well as potassium, potatoes are a heart-healthy food choice. (French fries don't count, but I knew you'd ask.)


Lentil & Feta Salad



Boil 'til tender, 20-35 minutes, depending on age of lentils:
- 1 to 1 1/2 cups lentils

Drain lentils, add & mix with:

- 1 cup or so roasted red peppers
- olive oil, generous amount
- 4 or more TB red wine vinegar
- large handfull dill, chopped fine
- 2 scallions, thinly sliced
- salt & pepper to taste

Garnish:

- olive oil
- feta cheese

About Lentils: These legumes were one of the first crops ever cultivated. At about 18 grams of protein per cup (compared to 15 in a 3 oz. beef patty), lentils hold their own in the health department. They also have an excellent balance of fat and carbohydrates. High in calcium, magnesium, vitamin A, and potassium, they're a great choice for both kids and adults!

Photos by L.L. Barkat. Original recipes, modified here, were taken from The Greek Vegetarian

Of Chickpeas & Chickadees

The authors of Redeeming Creation suggest that knowledge is the beginning of committed stewardship. They believe that if we know creation on a "first-name, right-name basis" (recognizing the difference between a chickpea and a chickadee, for instance), we may begin to love it and want to care for it. (p.98)

This reminds me of Jim Merkel's suggestion in Radical Simplicity— to go to the same outdoors secret spot every day for a year, to map the area... learn every plant and animal there... explore the soil...watch the insects...listen to the birds.

In both cases, the idea is to develop a rich and intimate knowledge of the world and its creatures, as a first step to caring.

So maybe you might spend some time outdoors this week (I've been doing this in below-freezing weather and loving it!) And maybe you'll see a chickadee (do they migrate? I don't even know.) In the meantime, I'll take care of bringing you the chickpeas...



Curried Chickpeas

Fry 'til quite brown:
- 1 medium onion

Add & saute quickly:
- a couple of garlic, minced
- about a 1-inch piece of ginger, peeled & minced, or smashed using mortar & pestle
- 3/4 tsp. turmeric
- 1/4 tsp. ground cumin
- 1/2 tsp. ground coriander
- 1/2 tsp. curry powder (Shan is a good brand)
- 1/4-1/2 tsp. cayenne pepper
- 1/4 tsp. onion seed (Indian name is "calonji")

Add & cook until very thick, like a reduction:

- 1/2 cup diced or pureed tomatoes
- water, about two inches high in pan

Mash above with potato masher, then add & cook about 15-20 min, or 'til thick:

- about 3 or 4 cups canned or cooked chickpeas
- water to cover
- salt & pepper to taste

Finish:
- 1/2 tsp. garam masala
- small handful chopped cilantro
- good pour of olive oil

Serve with sliced cucumbers, yogurt, spicy cabbage, and rice or flatbread.

About Chickpeas: These lovely golden legumes have been shown to lower cholesterol. They contain excellent amounts of protein, fiber, iron (more than any other legume), calcium, and the B vitamins thiamine and niacin.





Spicy Cabbage

Saute 'til soft in small bit of oil:

- 1/4 diced onion


Add & saute 'til limp:

- 1/3 of a green cabbage, chopped
- small sprinkle of mustard seeds

Add & let sit covered a few minutes:

- about 1/3 of a chili pepper, minced (red looks nice, green works though)
- small handful chopped cilantro
- quick pour of olive oil
- about 1 tsp. of sugar
- salt & fresh ground pepper to taste

All photos by L.L. Barkat.

30-Day Meals: Lentil Soup

In a post called Smallness of Scale over on Seedlings, I mentioned that I live with the "boundary" of a 30-day meal plan.

It's quite freeing to do this. I always know what we're eating on any given day. My shopping list is a no-brainer. We eat our favorites again and again, without repeating them too frequently. There's built-in variety, both taste-wise and health-wise. And now I can cook without recipes (after awhile, they become second nature).

Waste is minimized, as meals often use parts of the previous days' meals. For instance, if you double this Lentil Soup recipe today, you can thicken the leftovers tomorrow, add a dash of hot sauce and worcestershire sauce, and use it as a base for Shepherd's Pie. Just add a layer of mashed potatoes, top with a small bit of cheddar, and garnish with olive oil.

The complete meal plan is in the sidebar here on Green Inventions, but the recipes.... well, I need to post some. Others are in the books that are in the Raw and Veggie Book Lists (also in the sidebar).

Here's my first attempt to get the recipes out:

Sausage-Flavored (without the Sausage) Lentil Soup

Saute:
1 good pour olive oil
3 garlic, minced
1 onion, diced
2 sticks celery, diced

Add & saute quickly:
2 bay leaves
1/2 tsp basil
1/2 tsp oregano
1/2 tsp fennel seed
1 TB Frontier organic "Bac'uns"

Add & cook 35 min:
2 cups dry brown (green) lentils
1 cup or so tomato puree
water to cover

Add & cook 15 min:
2 potatoes, cut in chunks
2 carrots, sliced

Finish:
good pour soy sauce or liquid aminos
1 TB rice vinegar
salt to taste
fresh ground pepper
pour of olive oil

Cooking times may vary, due to lentil size and age.
Serve with crusty bread. Simple salad. Crisp-fried thin onion slices/mushrooms (makes a great garnish).

About Lentils: These legumes were one of the first crops ever cultivated. At about 18 grams of protein per cup (compared to 15 in a 3 oz. beef patty), lentils hold their own in the health department. They also have an excellent balance of fat and carbohydrates. High in calcium, magnesium, vitamin A, and potassium, they're a great choice for both kids and adults!


Simple Seasonal Salad



I like to buy ingredients in season. They're usually less expensive. After all, who needs to pay $3.50 for a cucumber? (That's the going rate at my local organic produce store.) This salad has escarole, apples, dried cranberries, walnuts, and gorgonzola. Substitute as you like!


Simple Dressing



Delectable food begins with the finest ingredients a cook can find or afford. I like to use these simple ingredients, poured and sprinkled directly over the whole salad, to taste. Olive oil, red wine vinegar, honey, oregano, garlic salt, fresh ground pepper.