Blogging from the Dentist's Office

Wow, two blogs so close together! I haven't done that in a while. Okay, so Annalee had an impacted wisdom tooth that had a pretty bad infection and the dentist wanted it out fast—like within 24 hours fast—before the infection hit her bloodstream. It was scheduled for 2:00 p.m., but the oral surgeon called at 9:00 a.m. asking how fast we could get there since they had a cancellation. Annalee and I had just finished breakfast, but we were still in our jammies. She jumped into the shower, and I ran around gathering things to do while sitting in the lobby waiting. I took crocheting, a book, my laptop, a magazine, a sudoku, and some income tax stuff to sort through. I was set. It was a 45-minute drive in the rain, which made it seem longer, but we made it there by 10:15. I spent the first ten or fifteen minutes looking through the gossip magazines, but decided to finally finish reading Chasing Chiles, Hot Spots Along the Pepper Trail instead. Once I finished, I went on to the next thing on my list: calling my mom and Rick's mom to see how they were. I thought this was a good opportunity. I managed to talk with my mom for about 5 minutes, but she was on her way to church for a meeting. Next, I called Rick to let him know what was up, but he was riding the exercycle, so the call was short. I did confirm that we had pastina and farina for Annalee to eat, though. Then I called Rick's mom. No sooner had she answered when the receptionist yelled, "no cell phones allowed in here, can't you read?" Oops. I missed the tiny sign by the window, and since I am new to cell phones, I didn't realize it was an issue. After profuse apologizing, I opened my laptop. With no internet reception, I stared at it for a bit and then saw an e-mail, already opened so no internet connection was needed, from Rick about the printing of his banjo book and a reference to a cookbook. Well, okay, then—I'll write a blog!

In preparation for the banjo workshop he will be leading at the end of the month, Rick began compiling information to make a small handout for the workshop attendees. Since I'm so nice (ha, I had no clue what I was in for!), I volunteered to help design and lay the pamphlet out. Only problem is, it turned into a 40-page book, and more work than either of us anticipated. I think the final product is pretty awesome, though. Okay, I'm prejudiced because most of the time I think Rick is pretty darn awesome. Of course, now that it's done, Rick has thought of a zillion more things he could add. Hmmm, maybe some day he'll write a much longer, more in-depth, book on the banjo. Although I teasingly tell folks that I ought to teach him how to use InDesign first, it was actually kind of fun to work with him, and I think we managed to do a good job together. Check it out: Ragged but Right: the Ungentle Art of Clawhammer Banjo.

With the arrival of his proof, though, Rick mentioned that I should post something more on the cookbook I designed for the Quaker meeting, Conscience Bay Monthly Meeting, that we attend. Conscience Bay had its fiftieth anniversary last May, and held a celebration open to the wider community, with music (us—the Homegrown String Band), craft booths, food, labyrinth walks, and talks on Quakerism. And, of course, the cookbook, Recipes from the Quaker Garden. Included is a no-knead spicy bread recipe by Rick, a red bean and rice recipe by Annalee, a few recipes by me, and pumpkin soup by Erica, not to mention many other recipes from Friends (Quakers). At the Christmas potluck at the meetinghouse, the pumpkin soup was a huge hit. Luckily, Erica brought a huge crockpot of it, because people were going back for seconds and thirds. The spicy bread recipe and the pumpkin soup make a great cold weather dinner. (Annalee's red beans and rice is pretty darn tasty, too!) And I just happened to have all the info on my laptop as I sat and sat and sat and waited.

See those hot pepper flakes? Spicy!

Rick's Spicy Sandwich Bread

For more complete directions on how to make this no-knead bread, please visit my June 25, 2011 post. Rick made slight variations in the ingredient amounts, and added the red and black peppers, but the rest of the process is the same. Remember, you need to start this the night before you intend to eat it!

3¼ cups unbleached white flour

¼ cup whole wheat flour

1 tablespoon crushed red pepper flakes

1 teaspoon coarsely ground black pepper

1½ teaspoons sea salt

¼ teaspoon instant yeast

1½ cups filtered (unchlorinated) water

(chlorine will inhibit fermentation)

Hard to photograph, but yummy!

Erica's Pumpkin Soup

30 oz. pumpkin puree

1 cup light cream

1 onion, minced

2 celery stalks, minced

½ carrot, minced

28 oz. chicken broth

1 tablespoon brown sugar

½ teaspoon curry powder

¼ teaspoon cumin powder

¼ teaspoon ground coriander

½ lb. prosciutto, cut to ¼" dice

2 tablespoons butter

• Sauté onion, celery, carrot, and prosciutto in butter until soft.

• Add cumin, curry, and coriander. Stir for a minute a two, so vegetables absorb the flavor.

• Add pumpkin, chicken broth, and brown sugar. Bring to a boil, then lower & simmer for 15 minutes.

• Add cream. Simmer until warmed through.

Serves 4 

I hope you enjoy the bread and the pumpkin soup! As for Annalee . . . well, she came through the oral surgery like a trooper. She iced on and off every twenty minutes all day, took some Advil, and surprised everyone including herself. She was all set to be in pain and whimpering in bed, ringing a bell to summon us, and ready to write requests out. Instead, she's starving and bored and managing to chatter (or maybe mumble) up a storm.

Mindfulness

“Waking up this morning, I smile. Twenty-four brand new hours are before me. I vow to live fully in each moment and to look at all beings with eyes of compassion.”  ― Thich Nhat Hanh

Although I have been a convinced Quaker for 20 years now, I was raised Catholic and am still drawn to observing (in my own way) the various seasons of the liturgical calendar. Which is why I've been searching for what I should "give up" during this season of Lent. When I was younger, I gave up anything I could think of that would have as little impact on my life as possible. Although, I have to say, giving up candy can be difficult for a kid! I think peas were on the list one year also. The word Lent, though, comes from the Anglo-Saxon word lengcten and means spring or springtime. The concept of spring-cleaning is also said to have emerged from the practice of Lent. This was the time of year when folks cleaned house—physically and spiritually. I'm almost inclined to ignore the spiritual cleaning (too hard) and focus instead on just the house cleaning (not much fun), but just as New Year's is the so-called designated time for making resolutions, Lent is a good time for self reflection. I tend to ignore making a New Year's resolution, but I went ahead this year and decided to be less lazy: Lazy about exercising, lazy about getting things done, lazy about watching how much junk (i.e. cookies & ice cream) I ate, lazy about taking care of myself. I've been going to bed earlier so I can wake up earlier and get more done during "normal business hours" (we tended to go to bed at 2 a.m.). I've tried to do something with my hair first thing, instead of looking in the mirror at 4pm and thinking, oh, my gosh, what socket did I plug my finger into!? I've tried to be more focused and driven, setting schedules and goals so I don't constantly go to bed each night wondering what I accomplished that day. I'm doing a (hard for me) exercise video designed to make me look like I did when I was 25 (I wish!). But this new attempt (notice I said attempt) at organization and structure is creating a busyness that isn't exactly getting more done—although I have to admit I haven't quite got it under control yet—but is making any much needed quiet time nearly impossible. I'm tired. My mind is constantly whirring. Thich Nhat Hanh says to make everything you do a prayer—even washing the dishes. But I don't think he means to substitute quiet meditation for praying on the run or only with your hands in a sink of soapy water. Instead, he meant to make every act a prayer. That sentiment was one of the reasons we got rid of most electrical appliances all those years ago. Rick felt that if I was going to make bread, then I should be kneading the dough by hand so I could really be in the moment, kneading all my love into it, creating a physical prayer (the bread) for my family. When I washed the dishes it should be with gratitude that I had fed my family a good meal, not grumbling about it being a distasteful chore and taking up too much time. In mindfulness, everything is sacred. Easier said than done, though. Grumbling is what I do best.

So Lent is really a good time to take a look at ourselves and see if there's something we need to give up in order to live a more conscious life. Of course, that can be done at any old time, but sometimes we all need a reminder. Personally, I needed to find the middle ground between my resolution to be less lazy (lose that weight, get more gigs, remember to brush my hair, practice more, turn down that ice cream cone, quit procrastinating, etc.) and the feeling that it was all being done against my will. After a week of trying to think this through, I came to the conclusion that I need to give up the feeling that all those "less lazy" things were distasteful. After all, I was the one who thought they needed getting done. Maybe, just maybe, if I did them more mindfully I'd enjoy them and wouldn't feel so overwhelmed. Unfortunately, that means I still have to do exercise and enjoy it, too. And continue to watch Rick eat ice cream cones and be happy that I can't. Or won't. Or however that decision should be worded.

(Mindfully, I hope) making pasta dough
photo by Erica Jackofsky

Okay, so how do I get around to the issue of food? Well, I grabbed Vianna La Place's cookbook, Unplugged Kitchen: A Return to the Simple, Authentic Joys of Cooking, off the shelf this morning. Right in the beginning of the book she says "Cooking is a living, breathing act that defies codification or regimentation . . . Cooking, above all, requires responsiveness and being in the moment." I took that as a sign I was on the right track. As Ram Dass says, be here now.