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.

It’s about slow food this time…
Gather authentic ingredients on large plate, rinse and pat dry:
I am enough, next to, I can do anything, next to, I am so lucky, next to, I celebrate being of service every day, next to, I give and receive love, next to, I take care of myself and others, next to, I am awake and open to opportunity, next to, I create boundaries that support my creativity, time and health, next to, I do what I can to keep the earth healthy.

Add seasonings, start with a tiny pinch and add to taste.
This is very important. Making change, changing flavor, takes time.

You can take action and add a bit more.
Or you can change your opinion and adapt to the flavor.
Or you can accept it for what it is and leave it alone. Simmer. Stir. Cool.

Serve on a platter that’s red or seedling or baby blue. Vibrant colors add zest.

This is the time to savor what’s before you. Because you’ll keep it simmering, on a low heat, and eventually, it will evaporate or be gobbled up, whichever comes first.

For as long as space endures
And for as long as living beings remain,
Until then may I too abide
To dispel the misery of the world.
- His Holiness, the Dalai Lama

As of 1:50am, my Swirl Soup recipe looks like this:

Prep:
Trim the worry about the future, discard the frayed ends and worn tips, season with the most compassionate act you can do for anyone. “Stand by the truth of your own life and live it as fully and passionately as you are able*.”

Continue to make weekly visits to the library, take long daily walks, practice reduction of negative thinking, and continue to write gratitude and daily journals.

Set the table.

Steps:

1. Welcome houseguests from Germany. Our kind friends, Nandini and Thomas brought laughter, joy, and healing into our home and we are so grateful.
2. Open the lid and my heart to celestial guardians, memorize and actualize their triumphant message. Begin a daily conversation with my angels. Simmer.
3. Mix in one retreat by the lake with my exquisite boyfriend, enjoy the breathtaking natural beauty of Maine, and revel in the silence.
4. Add an eventful weekend trip to New York City, melt over high heat (what a heat wave!) and cool down in the airplane ride home.
5. Add a cup of supportive friends, stirring in conversations about everything under the sun; add a pinch of quality talk time with family members until tender.
6. Separate old beliefs and new beliefs, scrub them and gradually dice each one. All human beings are eternal spiritual beings…we exist before we enter this physical shell and continue when we die. It is marvelous to consider this: “everything that happens in life has its own unique and proper place, both in the ecology of a single life and in the pattern, the web, of the human race as a whole…This is a lofty and difficult conclusion to come to, and yet it brings with it a huge sigh of relief. After all, if this is so, it means that, in the end, everything – everything, is all right…all shall be well.” Add peace and healing energy into the pan (and out into the world). Cook gently, slowly, to soften.
7. Attend Britt Daniel’s funeral and listen to the comforting bells during the service. Send healing energy to his family and friends. Find support in the belief that we are eternal.
8. Practice listening skills and simmer gently uncovered while enjoying the 8/4/06 pod cast of Bill Moyers and Pema Chodron’s interview on Faith and Reason, stir occasionally.
9. Ask more questions about right livelihood…don’t expect answers. Sign up for “Positive Psychology in the Workplace” course and begin new job search. Do not boil.

Add seasoning to taste:
“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.”*

Nutritional Fact:
What is so and has always been so?

The reason I live is to love.

Serve at once.

*from Roger Housden’s Ten Poems to Change Your Life on loan from my dear friend, Victoria. Thank you Vicki!!!

“If any food seems inherently calming, and even consoling, it is soup…
It restores our spirit and our vigor.”
– The Joy of Cooking

Dear Reader:

This soup recipe was not passed down from generations. In fact, each person creates his or her signature Swirl Soup recipe. Improvisations, creativity, intuition, love and, most of all, passion, inspire the recipes. And like most recipes, too much of one ingredient may enhance the texture causing a bitter flavor while other ingredients sweeten the pot.

My blog is about what sweetens the pot.

Ally’s Swirl Soup Recipe – June 11, 2006, 9:45pm
Like yours, my recipe varies from year to year, day-to-day, and even minute-to-minute. But each soup is always robust, aromatic and a classic (with or without matzo balls).

Combine in a large soup pot:

• The swirling thoughts of a thirty-six year old woman who just stepped off the “work-world-merry-go-round.”
• A few cups of good stock.

Very slowly bring to a simmer without boiling, occasionally stirring and scraping the bottom of the pot to prevent burning.

• Slowly whisk in her desire to live an authentic and happier life.
• Stir in luxurious naps, long conversations with good friends, visits to museums, good movies, library books with interesting topics, and then add more naps.

• Add a measure of narrative therapy and a heaping tablespoon of journaling.

Skim the impurities from the surface.

• Add a sizable portion of daily walks and informational interviews.
• Mix thoroughly with visits to the beach and other beautiful places that sing to her soul. Puree until smooth and capture in a gratitude journal.
• Gently blend opportunities to enhance strengths and optimism.

Bring to a boil with the love of her kind and supportive boyfriend, family and friends, and then slow cook to allow natural talents to caramelize; this gives the soup its characteristic depth of flavor and rich colors.

Serve hot or cold, garnished with:

1. A finely chopped sense of humor.
2. Zest from an open and loving heart.
3. Dollop of tears or sour cream.
4. Fresh sprigs of laughter.
5. Hopes and dreams to taste.

Vary the ingredients, as desired.
Adjust the seasonings, ladle with care.
Swirl and serve.

p.s. What does your recipe look like?