“I’ve written often about how we have to reach hard in the direction of the lives we want, even if it’s difficult to do so. I’ve advised people to set healthy boundaries and communicate mindfully and take risks and work hard on what actually matters and confront contradictory truths and trust the inner voice that speaks with love and shut out the inner voice that speaks with hate. But the thing is—the thing so many of us forget—is that those values and principles don’t only apply to our emotional lives. We’ve got to live them out in our bodies too...Real change happens on the level of the gesture. It’s one person doing one thing differently than he or she did before. It’s the man who opts not to invite his abusive mother to his wedding; the woman who decides to spend her Saturday mornings in a drawing class instead of scrubbing the toilets at home; the writer who won’t allow himself to be devoured by his envy; the parent who takes a deep breath instead of throwing a plate. The work is there. It’s our task. Doing it will give us strength and clarity. It will bring us closer to who we hope to be.”
A little inspiration for your Sunday. Watch this video...
I subscribe to Maria Popova's incredibly thoughtful weekly digest. You can read today's here and then subscribe for yourself.
If you've never been on Brain Pickings before, be sure to set aside some time to explore. I learn so much from her, especially book recommendations. The recent favorite being this one, Cry, Heart, But Never Break.
Speaking of books, I just finished Rebecca Solnit's Hope in the Dark. (Maria Popova happens to have a review of it here.) I'd also highly recommend listening to Rebecca's conversation with Krista Tippett.
On the flip-side of dark, I've added this bright and sunny hair-on Clare V clutch to my wishlist...
“We call ourselves homo sapiens sapiens. That’s the species name we’ve given ourselves. And that comes from the Latin sapere, which means “to taste” or “to know. “ The species that knows and knows that is knows. And now maybe we need to live ourselves into owning that name by cultivating awareness and awareness of awareness itself and let that be in some sense the guide as to what we’re going to invest in, how we’re going to make decisions about where we live, where we are going to send our kids to school, how we’re going to be at the dinner table. Whether we’re going to take our bodies and our children and our parents for granted, or whether we’re going to live life as if it really mattered moment by moment.
The more we can sort of learn these lessons, the more we will not be in some sense running towards our death, but opening to our lives. There’s a huge distinction between the two. And all the scientific evidence is suggesting that when you choose life in the way I’m talking about, your brain changes in both form and function, your immune system changes, your body changes. I mean, we start to really take care of what’s most important. And there are very, very tangible results at the level of the body, the mind, and the heart, and most importantly our relationships with the world and with our loved ones and with our own bodies.”
Ahh Friday. I am happy to see you. It's been a short week actually as we had an unexpected snow day on Monday. Much of that day was spent sitting at this table drinking coffee...
I also made a batch of Pamela's vegan chocolate chip cookies - one of our favorites, especially straight out of the freezer. I am embarrassed to admit that our small household devoured the entire batch in less than two days. I recently discovered that I have an egg sensitivity. Another stellar cookie recipe (that also happens to be egg-free) are these peanut butter ones from Heidi Swanson (again best enjoyed straight from the freezer).
It's been a quietly emotional week. The kind where a bit of melancholy sits below the surface and I can't quite put a finger on it. I am sure the weather is a contributing factor, as are current events but I realized the source is close to home. Kindergarten tours are going on right now so the realization that my son will be one of those little people come September is sinking in. I have this sweet photo of him posted on the inside of my closet at the studio that I've been spending a lot of time looking at...
Children have a profound way of showing you just how quickly time goes by. And while I find great joy in watching D grow and become a little person, at times it feels too fast. I'm feeling that right now. A mix of joy and sadness all at once.
I think a lot about what my favorite poet-philosopher David Whyte said in this conversation that one of the delusions we have is that we can "take a sincere path in life without having our heart broken. And you think about the path of parenting, there’s never been a mother or father since the beginning of time who hasn’t had their heart broken by their children. And nothing traumatic has to happen. All they have to do is grow up."
To combat the melancholy I've been spending a lot of time in the kitchen which has always been an excellent form of therapy for me. I've also been writing - lists and letters and just general thoughts which has been made even more enjoyable since I finally bought myself a proper pen. Two actually. Both are brass which I think will patina beautifully. This one for home...
Sorrow everywhere. Slaughter everywhere. If babies are not starving someplace, they are starving somewhere else. With flies in their nostrils. But we enjoy our lives because that's what God wants. Otherwise the mornings before summer dawn would not be made so fine. The Bengal tiger would not be fashioned so miraculously well. The poor women at the fountain are laughing together between the suffering they have known and the awfulness in their future, smiling and laughing while somebody in the village is very sick. There is laughter every day in the terrible streets of Calcutta, and the women laugh in the cages of Bombay. If we deny our happiness, resist our satisfaction, we lessen the importance of their deprivation. We must risk delight. We can do without pleasure, but not delight. Not enjoyment. We must have the stubbornness to accept our gladness in the ruthless furnace of this world. To make injustice the only measure of our attention is to praise the Devil. If the locomotive of the Lord runs us down, we should give thanks that the end had magnitude. We must admit there will be music despite everything. We stand at the prow again of a small ship anchored late at night in the tiny port looking over to the sleeping island: the waterfront is three shuttered cafés and one naked light burning. To hear the faint sound of oars in the silence as a rowboat comes slowly out and then goes back is truly worth all the years of sorrow that are to come.
As I've mentioned before, I have a cookbook problem. An addiction really. Cookbooks and Clare V bags (as demonstrated by my purchase of this beauty today that was an extra 25% off and is in army green suede)...
Yep. So back to cookbooks, I've only been allowing myself to check them out from the library as of late but then a friend gave me a gift card to the local cookshop and I walked straight to the back and picked up these two that have been on my wishlist...
And Julia Turshen's Small Victories which is crazy good for both a novice in the kitchen and the well-seasoned home cook. The recipes are delicious and simple and she also shares some really fantastic tips. Like the one to make a perfect margarita without a shaker which I utilized this evening...
"Whisk together the juice of one lime with 1 Tbsp agave nectar and 3 Tbsp good-quality tequila. Serve over plenty of ice."
Last night for dinner I made her Potluck Quinoa which was stellar - comprised only of quinoa, hazelnuts browned in a good amount of olive oil, lemon juice, arugula, dill and Maldon salt.
Image from On Being
I've been working my way through the On Being archives and just listened to Krista's conversation with Gwendolyn Zoharah Simmons and Lucas Johnson. It was recorded nearly two years ago but current as ever. Lucas's words on "revolutionary pacifism" stuck with me (especially the bit about the importance of "internal work")...
“Muste would talk about a revolutionary pacifism, right? That was his expression and that was his way of describing this notion of direct engagement. Pacifism was not about neutrality while injustice was around you but it was about finding the courage to respond in love. And I think that it begins with a commitment to love. I describe it as a spiritual discipline, right, as something that requires a lot of internal work in order to see others as opponents but not enemies, to see others a part of the social transformation that you’re seeking to create.”
I also bought these really fantastic pants from Kit & Ace for teaching at the studio. But they look so great and have a nice heavy drape, more like a trouser, that they'd make a great travel pant and are totally appropriate for wearing out on the town...
A few weeks ago we had a stretch of some pretty cold temps which had me searching for a pair of proper winter boots. If the cold returns I think I'd like to order these!
We just returned from four days together in San Diego. Four days of no iphones, no Instagram, no news. We took photographs with a point and shoot camera instead of our phones. We just enjoyed time together that looked like this...
And this...
It felt so good to create some space and limit the amount of "input" I was exposing myself to so I'm going to keep it going. I deleted Instagram from my phone so I wouldn't be tempted throughout the day to pick it up and just mindlessly flip through. Instead of NPR and the NY Times, I've been listening nonstop to On Being. I've been trying to write a post about Krista Tippett and On Being for several months (and I mentioned it back in September). I still can't find the right words, so again I'll just urge you to start listening.
“On Being opens up the animating questions at the center of human life: What does it mean to be human, and how do we want to live? We explore these questions in their richness and complexity in 21st-century lives and endeavors. We pursue wisdom and moral imagination as much as knowledge; we esteem nuance and poetry as much as fact.”
I am thrilled to be hosting Thanksgiving this year and am ready to put our new kitchen through its paces. At this very moment I have the house to myself and while I listen to the new Kings of Leon album, chicken stock is burbling next to me. By the way I'm head over heels for my Miele induction cooktop. One of these days I will give you a full report on the kitchen...
If you have never made homemade stock before, it is so easy and the reward is rich. You can always trust Pamela Salzman. Find her basic chicken stock recipe here. I love PCC which is where I do nearly all of my grocery shopping and in the freezer section in the meat department you can find organic chicken backs/bones and even chicken feet which are stellar for stock and all super affordable.
If you've made stock before, you know that as soon as it starts to boil a pretty unsightly foam appears on the surface which you are supposed to skim off. If you've never made stock it looks like this very un-Instagram worthy photo...
A cool trick I learned from a cooking class at The Pantry awhile back, is to put the bones in the pot, cover with water and bring to a boil and just let the bones boil for 10 minutes to bring out all the impurities. After 10 minutes, pour it all into a colander and rinse/clean the bones in cold water. Put the bones back in the pot and fill with clean water and begin your stock. Not only do you not have to fuss with trying to get all the foam out but it results in a beautifully clear looking (and tasting) broth. After it has cooled and I've skimmed the fat, I freeze my stock in these containers...
Next up on my to do list is pie dough.
I come from a line of epic pie bakers. My grandmother used to make her crust by feel, a scoop full of flour, some fat, a little salt, a little water. That sense was not passed down to me, but I took one of the very first Pie Ninja classes that Brandy taught when she opened The Pantry. She completely demystified the seemingly impossible feat for many of making a pie with a flaky butter crust. The world needs more pie. If you're intimidated, again you can trust Pamela Salzman. Find her apple pie recipe here. She'll even show you how to make the crust, roll it out and get it into the dish...
Also, it's good to know that flour goes rancid quite easily. Fresh flour pretty much has no smell. If you open up your bag of flour that has been sitting in your cupboard for several months and it has a distinct smell, it is bad. You might even think that that smell is what flour is supposed to smell like. Dump it. If you live locally, find Stone-Buhr flour from the good people of Shepherd's Grain at PCC. Also if you are like me and don't often use AP white flour, you might want to store it well sealed in the freezer to prolong its life.
With all that has gone on in the last few weeks, I am hopeful, and I am grateful. If anything I think many of us have replaced a sort of complacency with a new sense of ownership in our lives asking ourselves, "What can I do?" Where to begin? Open your mind and your heart and your eyes to others around you. When you are waiting in line for your coffee, or sitting alone at lunch, whatever it is, resist the urge to look down at the device in your hands and instead lift your head up and appreciate the humanity that surrounds you.
With immense gratitude, have a wonderful Thanksgiving.
