Hollyhock Explosion

Two years ago I planted some hollyhock seeds in flats, not realizing that they are biennial. At the end of the season we emptied the flats that had soil in them into the veggie beds, totally forgetting the hollyhock seeds. This year what my inexperienced eye viewed as melon plants growing outside my kitchen window exploded into seven foot tall flowering hollyhocks!

I cut a stem from one of the plants and placed it in a vase on the windowsill, it promptly started to wither; but oh how morbidly delightful and sorrowfully peaceful. I left it there and before too long the top buds started to blossom even though the bottom ones were curling in on themselves like ancient hands. Life lives in unexpected places...

Father's Day Weekend for the World's Greatest Dad

DAY 1:

Dad and I kicked off the weekend on Saturday by biking to the trails and jogging 3.5 miles. Yes, I am proud of myself for that; though, my dad coulda easily kept going another 2 miles. Endurance - I hope that's one thing that get's better with age. After we cleaned up, we re-grouped at the Farmer's Market for crepes and fruit tarts under the shadey trees in the park, yummmm. Next on the itinerary, MOVIE NIGHT:

MOVIE: Action packed movie that dad's enjoy more than wives and during which daughters must view particular scenes through squinted eyes, we chose The Watchmen, good choice!

MEAL: Tailor made for the father of honor's ideal party food desires
1. Home-made pizza in a deep dish corn crust w/herbs from the garden
2. World's-best-daughter-made potato chips (well, an attempt at least)
3. World's-best-daughter-made walnut, chocolate chip cookies w/ mint chip hemp milk ice cream


DAY 2:

We had a delicious organic, vegetarian, non-gmo brunch at a local restaurant followed by a relaxing afternoon discussing alternative healing techniques and eating the leftover cookies from the night before.

For movie night number two, we went out and saw Toy Story 3 in 3D. Great flick, especially if you were a fan of the other two, which my family is wholeheartedly!!

Happy Father's Day!

Pep-Talk for Kitty

When I come home after dark my kitty cat waits for me on the side walk to make sure I'm ok. We walk inside and he meoooows and meoooooows until I pet him and brush him and scratch him and cuddle him, then I give him a mid-night snack (half a scoop of dry food) and he starts to get playful and energetic so, I let him outside to prowl the night away......

The Taste of Joy

It doesn't so much matter to me what brings you joy, as long as joy is somehow brought into your life.

There is something about making food that brings a palpable joy to my life. Over the weekend, I made raw chocolate coconut macaroons, baked pineapple-banana bread, and created raw Italian crackers with herbs from my garden. I have yet to taste the crackers, but the ground flaxseed, hemp seeds, tomato, bell pepper, garlic, thyme, oregano, and rosemary that make them up promise to taste fabulous. The under-done, dairy free, pineapple banana bread is deliciously moist; the bananas weren't ripe yet, so I added pineapple juice to make the dough more appropriately thick and squishy, and it added a delicious tropical tartness.The macaroons look like something a dung beetle would prize, but taste like the richest thing the jungle has to offer for human consumption.

Coconut Macaroon Recipe by Sarma of www.oneluckyduck.com

3 cups dried, unsweetened coconut flakes
1 1/2 cups cocoa powder
1 cup maple syrup
1/3 cup coconut butter
1 T vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon sea salt

1. In a large bowl, combine all the ingredients and stir well to combine.
2. Using a small ice cream scoop, your hands, or a big tablespoon, spoon rounds of the dough onto dehydrator screens.
3. Dehydrate for 12-24 hours at 115 degrees F…until crisp on the outside and chewy on the inside.

For Blonde Macaroons: Replace the cocoa powder in the recipe with an equal amount of fine almond flour (soak almonds for 6 hours, drain/rinse and dehydrate for 12 hours…pulse almonds in food processor for a fine consistency).

“The cure for anything is salt water - sweat, tears, or the sea.” - Isak Dinesen

After spending two days at the beautiful Moody Beach in Southern Maine, it's easy to understand why doctors used to prescribe their patients a season at the seaside to cure whatever ailed them. Taking one gulp of that tickling, crisp, lively air is enough to start re-patterning and re-enlivening the body's cells and systems.

For over 2,000 years humans have been utilizing the healing properties of salt. The Egyptians are said to have used it as a disinfectant in 1600 B.C. The Greeks drank salty/mineralized water to aid digestive ailments and breathed steam from salt water for respiratory problems in 460 B.C.; and the Romans expanded the repertoire of salt as medicine by using it as a laxative and to aid earaches in 100 A.D.

Ocean of Forms

by Rabindranath Tagore

I dive down into the depth of the ocean of forms,

hoping to gain the perfect pearl of the formless.

No more sailing from harbor to harbor with this my weather-beaten boat.

The days are long passed when my sport was to be tossed on waves.

And now I am eager to die into the deathless.

Into the audience hall by the fathomless abyss

where swells up the music of toneless strings

I shall take this harp of my life.

I shall tune it to the notes of forever,

and when it has sobbed out its last utterance,

lay down my silent harp at the feet of the silent