Green in the Grey

Clover

Today the sky is the color of slate and there is a slow and steady drizzle falling.  The leaves that have been hanging on tightly to the trees are now coming down in droves but it was this patch of green clover that caught my eye this morning.  It reminds me of my brief trip to Washington State  and how the grey skies there made the greenery even more intense.

A Public Service Announcement of Sorts

Graffiti Painting- Fifth Street Underpass

This image stopped me in my tracks the other day as I walking along the sidewalk.  It gave me pause and inspiration. 

“Find the love you seek, by first finding the love within yourself. Learn to rest in that place within you that is your true home.”
- Sri Sri Ravi Shankar

New Beginnings

The days have been filled with the golden light of fall, new sights from our little slice of the city we are moving to, trays and pails of fresh paint, decision fatigue, installing shelves and lighting and hooks and ceiling fans, exhausted evenings on an inflatable mattress that cause the last bits of the days energy to burst out in giggles, and a birthday to top it all off.

The photo is of my birthday card from Alan.  How appropriate for my birthday and as we are on the cusp of Halloween.  He said that he couldn't quite explain why but it made him think of me.  I smiled because I agree, I see it too though I can't quite put all of the pieces together.  Maybe it is the homemade and sweet mishmash nature of the costume, or the so-happy-you-could-burst grin.  I love capes and masks too so maybe that is what it is.  Perhaps it is just playing make believe and dress up and trying on the persona of who we want to be, in a moment, or for a day or even forever.  It is not quite a cape but I did receive a very much desired sweater poncho as a birthday gift and I plan to wear it as my magic cloak this fall and winter. 

Our move, my birthday, and the shift of seasons all bring with them change.  Our move will bring with it new discoveries in a new city and adjustments as well especially as we get used to not having a yard to call our own.  Birthdays are to me New Years; there is a pause and a chance to reflect as well as a chance to begin again.  And no matter how old I get, Fall still reminds me of going back to school.  I want fresh notebooks to fill and a new pair of shoes to wear and new thoughts to stretch my mind.

I hope you are finding magic in your fall days and just the right amount of change you need to keep things fresh but not chaotic.

A Recipe

Poblano and Serrano Peppers and the last of the Mexican Miniature Tomatoes

This week while I was mowing the yard these Poblano Peppers from our little garden caught my eye.  I kept waiting for them to get bigger but I think this may be their correct size.  I fretted that I may have waited to long  to pick them but thankfully they were just right. Come August I really lose my enthusiasm for the garden and everything that makes it is valiant and resilient in the truest since.  I have suckers on my pitiful tomato vines and overgrown okra the size of cucumbers.  Thankfully the chives and thyme take care of themselves.

This is my first time growing Poblano Peppers so I was eager to find a recipe to use them in. The thought of stuffing them full of cheese was very appealing (I love cheese) but I wanted something a little different than stuffed peppers.  I found a wonderful recipe and it was so easy to make too-Green Rice!  When you first taste the rice there is almost a smokiness from the peppers that suggests heat is to come but it never does.  In fact there is no burning sensation at all just yumminess and a desire to have another forkful and then another.  Feel free to add a little cheese on top too!  :)  This rice is the most lovely shade of green and makes a wonderful side dish or main course.  We had fish tacos and black beans with ours.

Green Poblano Rice

1 2/3 cups chicken broth or water
2 fresh poblano chiles, stems and seeds removed, and roughly chopped
12 sprigs cilantro, plus extra for garnish
Salt, about 1/2 teaspoon if using salted broth, 1 teaspoon if using unsalted or water
1 tablespoon vegetable or olive oil
1 cup rice, preferably medium grain
1 small white onion, cut into 1/4-inch dice
5 garlic cloves, peeled and finely chopped

The flavoring: In a 2-quart saucepan, combine the broth and chiles, bring to a boil, then partially cover and simmer gently over medium to medium-low heat for about 10 minutes, until the chiles are very soft. Pour the chile mixture into a food processor, add the cilantro (stems and all), and process to a smooth puree. Press through a medium-mesh strainer into a bowl and stir in the salt.

The rice: Wipe the pan clean, add the oil and heat over medium. Add the rice and onion, and cook, stirring regularly, until the rice is chalky looking and the onion is soft, about 5 minutes. Stir in the garlic and cook a minute longer.

Add the warm (or reheated) chile liquid to the hot rice pan, stir once, scrape down any rice kernels clinging to the side of the pan, cover, and cook over medium-low heat for 15 minutes. Uncover and check a grain of rice: It should be nearly cooked through. If the rice is just about ready, turn off the heat, re-cover and let stand for 5 to 10 minutes longer to complete the cooking. If the rice seems far from done, continue cooking for 5 minutes or so, retest, then turn off the heat and let stand a few minutes longer. Fluff with a fork, scoop into a warm serving dish, decorate with cilantro sprigs and it's ready to serve.

Advance preparation: The rice can be made several days ahead; turn out the fluffed rice onto a baking sheet to cool, transfer to a storage container, then cover and refrigerate. Reheat the rice in a steamer basket set over boiling water.

Variations and improvisations: An obvious variation is to use 3 or 4 long green (Anaheim) chiles, or to mix poblanos and long greens with hotter chiles like jalapeño, manzano or habanero.

Twilight Time

Twilight, Muddy Creek Greenway, view from bench

She said, "Twilight is my favorite time.  The sounds and colors shift and signal the settling of the day."

Tuesday evening my Mother and I sat on a bench together at the Greenway and enjoyed the last bits of color dance across the sky as evening became night.  We held hands and reminisced and dreamed out loud.  We cried a little and laughed a little.  We listened and recognized each other like only we can.   We spoke aloud how much that moment, together on the bench, hand in hand, gazing at the sky amongst the wild things, meant to us.

Time feels so fleeting right now.  It is a mixture of the approaching fall and winter, the nearness of my birthday in the coming month, and the reality that we will close on a new home tomorrow.  All of these events signal that another cycle is coming to an end as another one begins.  There is much to be joyful for.  There is much to be thankful for.  There are tears and longing swirled amongst the joy and I will hold this memory of this twilight close to my heart forever. 

A Poem

Photo taken September 2010, Washington State

This poem struck me with its simple beauty of witnessing everyday life; the stories that take place in our lives in between the stories we tell.  I find it serendipitous that often, when I don't know how to tell my own story, I often find a poem to tell it for me. 

Telephone Repairman

By Joseph Millar

All morning in the February light
he has been mending cable, splicing the pairs of wires together
according to their colors,
white-blue to white-blue
violet-slate to violet-slate, in the warehouse attic by the river.

When he is finished
the messages will flow along the line:
thank you for the gift, please come to the baptism,
the bill is now past due:
voices that flicker and gleam back and forth
across the tracer-colored wires.

We live so much of our lives
without telling anyone, going out before dawn,
working all day by ourselves,
shaking our heads in silence
at the news on the radio.
He thinks of the many signals
flying in the air around him
the syllables fluttering,
saying please love me, from continent to continent
over the curve of the earth.

A Short Movie

This is a short shaky movie of a recent bike ride at the greenway near my house.  It had been years since I had ridden and I forgot the joy of having the wind rush at you as you fly down the path.  The path that I bike is thankfully flat and is flanked by a tree-lined creek on one side and meadows of wildflowers and brushy weeds on the other. 

This week during my bike ride I had several days where I felt absolutely wonderful (perfect really) and life felt as if I were in a movie.  The birds, crickets, and tree frogs were in synchronized symphony, the breeze was cool and gentle and tinged with the scent of cedar, the sky the most perfect shade of blue and dotted with zippity little clouds of fuzzy white, and my heart was somehow beating in rhythm with everything as I peddled my legs down the path before me.  There was a smile plastered wide across my face and  I smiled even deeper as I felt gratitude in my heart for this moment and savored it knowing how precious it is to feel this harmony.  This ride for me is like a moving meditation.  The sounds and smells center me and there is no past and no future, only now. 

I hope you are finding moments of harmony and joy in your September.