Haiku ~ Jon Neiss
Shield: a Performance / Prayer ~ Julie Laffin
The Man Who Planted Hope and Grew Happiness review ~ Lucinda Hodges
Winter Solstice Astronomy ~ Comet Hunter
Paper, Plastic or Neither? ~ Mathew Tyler Funk
The Big Zit ~ Eric Schimek
Reflections on an Involuntary Misfit ~ Norie
Home Sweet Home ~ Julie Genser
Unintentional Spook House ~ Jackie Colson
The Value of Testing ~ Barb Rubin
Dr. Cathcart tribute ~ John Javilk
Hearty Winter Soups ~ Ann
Oriental Chicken Soup ~ Rachel Rogel
Snow Ice Cream ~ Kathy Fitzpatrick
Spiced Vegan Persimmon Bread ~ Norie
Diverse Communities - Common Cause ~ MM MacRaven
Winter Garden ~ Kathy Fitzpatrick
Angel DeFazio President of NTEF ~ Interview
Community Ad space for Blogs, Websites, and Support Groups
A World-Wide call to Intentional Healing of the Earth, Ourselves and All Others ~ Betty Kreeger
Recipes from the Root Cellar
Oriental Style Chicken Noodle Soup
by Ann
If
it's Sunday, you can find me slicing, dicing, and chopping in my little
country kitchen. These are two of my favorite recipes. They are easy
to prepare, vegan, and quite nutritious. And they are delicious! They
freeze exceptionally well. I freeze them in individual containers and
use them as a grab and go lunch for busy days at work or as a quick
dinner when I'm too tired to prepare something fresh. For best results,
use organic veggies whenever possible.
HEARTY SLOW COOKER SPLIT PEA SOUP
1 pound dry split peas
2 - 3 large onions, chopped
1 -2 cloves garlic, minced
3 - 4 carrots, thinly sliced
3 stalks celery, sliced
3 tops of the celery stalks with leaves on
2 large white (or orange) sweet potatoes, diced
6 cups water or organic
vegetable broth
salt and pepper to taste
Sort and rinse peas. In a ceramic crock pot combine all ingredients and
stir. Set crock pot to high and cover. Cook on high for approximately
2 hours (time will vary depending on your slow cooker). Reduce to low
setting and cook for approximately 8 hours. Stir occasionally. Add
additional water if needed. Sprinkle with grated carrots and serve with
two kinds of organic apple wedges (granny smith and gala) for an
additional treat.
EASY VEGAN CHILI
4 tsp. extra virgin olive oil
3 large onions, chopped
2 28-ounce cans of diced tomatoes 1 cup organic vegetable broth
1 - 19 ounce can of kidney beans, drained and rinsed
1 - 19 ounce can of black beans, drained and rinsed
2 cups fresh or frozen organic corn
1 green bell pepper, chopped
1-1/2 to 2 cups of cooked pearl barley or organic brown rice
4 tsp. chili powder
salt & pepper to taste
Add 1/4 tsp. cayenne pepper, if desired
Heat oil and sauté onions in large pot. Stir in the remainder of the
ingredients. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer covered for about
10 to 15 minutes. Serve with a green salad and an assortment of crunchy
fresh, organic veggies, and enjoy!
Ann is a social worker with CS who lives in New York and is
committed to social justice and environmental responsibility.
Oriental Style Chicken Noodle Soup
by Rachel Rogel
In my opinion, when it comes to rice pasta, the Chinese can't be beat.
They came up with the idea, after all. This is a very flexible recipe
that has become standard comfort food at my house. Feel free to
substitute whatever veggies you have on hand. In the summer I made this
with zucchini from my garden and frozen green beans. I'm not much of a
measurer, so please consider the amounts to be approximate.
1 onion, diced
1 cup carrots, on bite sized pieces
1 cup celery, sliced
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
1 inch fresh ginger, pealed and grated or diced small
1 jalapeño pepper, diced (remove seeds for less heat) OR a pinch of red
pepper flakes
2-3 cloves garlic, smashed and diced
2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts diced into bite sized pieces
4 cups chicken broth, plus 3-4 cups water
1 small head Nappa or crinkly green cabbage shredded
1-2 heads broccoli, cut into florets (cut stem into smaller pieces)
1 8 oz package rice sticks (vermicelli)
lemon juice and soy sauce to taste
1. Sauté onions, carrots and celery in oil until onions are soft and
starting to brown, stirring occasionally. Add ginger, pepper and garlic
and sauté for a few more minutes, stirring constantly.
2. Add chicken, broth and water to the pan. Bring to a boil and
simmer until chicken is white. Add cabbage and broccoli and boil for
five minutes.
3. Add noodles, adding more water if necessary for the noodles to be
covered by liquid. Follow package directions for cooking time. Noodles
should be tender but firm. (I find this usually takes more time than
the package indicates.
4. Add lemon juice and soy sauce to taste.
5. Serve in bowls with forks for the noodles and spoons for the
broth. The noodles absorb much of the broth. Leftovers can often be
eaten on plates.
Notes: - If using whole chicken breasts, I would recommend removing
the skin, cooking the breasts whole in the broth, then removing them and
shredding the meat.
- For a vegetarian version, sauté firm tofu (that has been drained by
placing it under a heavy board for 20 minutes) with the first seven
ingredients. Remove tofu from pan before adding broth and other
vegetables and add back after the noodles have cooked. Substitute
vegetable broth for chicken broth.
Rachel Rogel lives in Ohio where she enjoys expressing herself through art, gardening, cooking and getting together with friends from her local support group.
By Kathy Fitzpatrick
As i
child i loved the winter season so much, even shoveling was fun! It was
a time for catching snow flakes on our tongues and steaming cups of hot
chocolate with marshmallows and cookies right out of the oven. A time
for snow angels, snow men, ice skating and sledding down our favorite
hill. It was also time for my favorite winter treat, snow ice cream.
Nothing was more exciting than being asked by Mom to go out with her
biggest bowl to collect only the purest of the freshly fallen snow. Once
inside we watched with childish delight as she prepared our favorite
wintertime treat. The following is a revision of her recipe;
Approximately one gallon of freshly fallen snow
1 organic egg or EnerG for those wishing to avoid raw eggs [makes it
richer but not necessary]
1 cup of organic sugar [or stevia to taste]
1 tablespoon of vanilla
2 cups organic milk [any kind]
Optional
1/2 organic banana, mashed [for a creamier version]
Bring in the snow and add the egg, sugar and vanilla. Next slowly pour
in the milk stirring until you get the desired consistency.
NOTE: To ensure the snow is clean and as contaminate free as it can be,
please wait to collect the snow until it's been falling quite a while.
Kathy Fitzpatrick is a writer, activist, intuitive and naturalist who loves to dig in the dirt, eat weeds and grows her own organic herbs and veggies.
By Norie
This season, even after all the
leaves have fallen, the Japanese countryside is dotted with bright red
persimmons hanging from trees, often offering enough to share with
starlings and crows…Besides adding brightness to an overcast winter day,
persimmons are very nutritious, they tonify the Yin and by moistening
dryness in the body are healing to the skin, throat and lungs and also
sooth mucous membranes in the digestive tract. There are many ways to
eat persimmon—my dad's favorite is to let them go completely ripe, cut
off the top and just scoop out the pulp with a spoon—but the following
is my favorite way to eat them. (Source: Healing with Whole Foods by
Paul Pitchford)
Spiced Vegan Persimmon Bread
3 cups unrefined flour (I use a 1:2 ratio of whole wheat to kamut flour)
1 tsp. sea salt
2.5 tsp. baking powder
2 tsp. baking soda
1.5 tsp ground cinnamon
1 tsp. ground nutmeg
1 tsp. ground cloves
1 cup unrefined sugar (I use 1/2 rakanqua and 1/2 beet sugar – though if
the persimmon are sweet enough, you may want to try to eliminate the
sugar completely…)
2 Tbs. kudzu powder (as substitute for 1 egg)
10oz. prune puree (or 2 dried persimmon or 5 dates/5 prunes pureed)
1 tsp vanilla
1/2 c vegetable oil (I use organic rapeseed oil)
2 cups persimmon pulp (don't forget to remove the skin and seeds!)
1 c chopped walnuts
1/2 c raisins (optional)
------
1. Preset oven to 350 degrees
2. Mix dry ingredients
3. Mix in liquid ingredients and add to dry mix
4. Add nuts and raisins
5. Pour into 8 x 4 x 2 1/2 loaf pan
6. Bake for 45 mins. to 1 hour. Test with a toothpick – its ready when
it comes out clean!
7. Get ready for the moistest, most scrumptiously delicious taste!!
Norie is a seed collector and experimental organic gardener in southwest Tokyo who dabbles in Japanese herbal medicine, organic rice farming, natural plant dyeing and the art of living slowly.
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