It’s about thyme this time…

Asparagus. Mushrooms. Some white wine. Israeli cous cous. Some butter. Some vegetable broth. Some thyme.

18 months since my last post. What brings me back? Inspired after a lovely hour in the kitchen preparing a faux risotto based loosely on a recipe from Mark Bittman’s “How to Cook Everything Vegetarian.” It was mind alteringly delicious. Why? I had fun. I got lost in the creative process. Most important, I followed my intuition.

Mark writes that some people want to cook but say they don’t have the time. “Some people even use cooking as a creative expression or at the very least a relaxing break in their day…If you get into cooking, you’ll love it and find it meaningful work. And then you won’t question the time spent at all.”

Ingredients I Can’t Live Without

My Boyfriend’s Love: Sweet. Surprising Seasonings. Abundant Laughter.

My Intuition: I didn’t include the carrots or the artichokes. I cooked on a medium high heat, not medium low. I added a 1/4 cup cream, not a 1/2 cup. I added no salt. I let the broth take care of that. I stirred every thirty seconds not every minute. I added more pepper. In other words… I was selective. I increased the intensity. I enhanced. I reduced. I gave in. I let go. I delegated. I followed my own tempo. I didn’t do what the recipe said. I trusted and honored myself.

The BEach: We have spent more time by the ocean. We hike. We picnic. We take photos. We nap. We watch the dolphins. We breathe the clean air. We relax. We just “BE”.

Dancing: I crave it. I love being in the music. I love getting lost in the rhythm. Learning new steps. Being stronger – physically, mentally and spiritually.

The Not Knowingness: Like the final result of tonight’s meal…you just never know how it’s going to turn out. If you look back in time…odds are, life exceeds expectations.

I added more thyme…and here I am again.

“Kabir tells us to jump, to break the ropes, to plunge into the truth. This is all you can do when you have come to the end of your rope, to the end of your strategies, and don’t know what else to do. It is a surrender, a falling in, not an act or initiative, but a willing acquiescence to what is so and has always been so.”