November Update
As autumn comes, we wake in darkness.
It takes hours for the morning to arrive as winter whispers her way in. The cool air and bright sun tell the leaves it’s time to take center stage and shine all their brilliant color for us, then take their final bow. The winds and rain help the leaves break free. It feels hard to let go, yet, each day brings new shades of gold, crimson, peach and plum as the gifts of a long summer’s grow. So natural and so stunningly beautiful.
I was chatting with a friend a couple days ago about the work I had yet to do in all the gardens. I gather help, of course. Still, always more to cultivate and cull in preparation for the hearty winter and arrival of spring next year. We laughed when I said it was “so cold” at 50 degrees. In April, a 50-degree day is like a mid-summer heatwave and I will be out in shorts and a tank, if only for a sweet kiss of the sun on my dormant skin.
Oh how we adjust so well to the seasons.
If only we remembered this in a traffic jam, inconsequential tiff or looming deadline. . . Never hiding our flaws or ugly spots. Never apologizing for what we love. Never explaining ourselves so they can “understand”. Chasing a dream with everything we’ve got whether we get to celebrate it, or not. If we remembered to be never ending in our quest to live life just a bit more, to shine all our color until the wind and the rain set us free to dream some more.
May this love letter lift you high into the sky and support you as you float to the dreamiest of states possible. My heart to yours, forevermore.
At Home with Truitt Skye
The deep red, orange and golden foliage grew evermore vibrant as she moved closer to the front door. The crunch of her feet against the fallen leaves reverberated straight to her heart. She wiped the tears that instantly formed. More spilled out before she could stop them.
All the times she’d walked through fallen leaves on her way to and from school poured through her mind. A vision popped into her mind of Fig racing through the fallen leaves after his precious red ball. The smell of rain still on trees and fireplace-smoke filled her nose and mouth. The loud trills of crows—caw-caw-caw—haunted the cloudy, white sky. An autumn day so real and alive, it wasn’t a mere memory. It was a dream come true.
The front of the Tucker house trembled and shook to life before her. She wished, in full determination, to never leave her Milwaukee life behind her. She longed to stay in this memory forever. It was a good—no extraordinary. No. This was the best memory she had in her inventory. If she could remain here in this moment of time, she would remain without an iota of regret for her choice to never grow again. Forget evolution. And forget humanity. Forget it all.
Truitt lowered her gaze to her brown Converse sneakers on top of browning yellow and orange maple leaves. She lifted her toes. The white scuffed leather rose a quarter inch.
“Home.”
Truitt breathed it all in as she forced herself not to fade into Truvie Tucker just yet.
“A moment more, please. For me,” Truitt whispered as though someone could hear.
Excerpt from Becoming Truitt Skye 2: The Cave of Souls by Adrea L Peters.
Let’s Make Kale Things
Ever considered Kale as a base, like a pasta or rice? You may be over all the buzz about freaking kale. Enough already? Nooo! Please come backkkk to Kale. It’s so, so good for us!
Leafy Green and Leafy Purple Curly Kale. These are the bushy, bulky, seemingly unwieldy ones. And these are the TENDER ones. Once you add oil and vinegar (or, easier, a vinaigrette), it penetrates the structure quickly and marinates them to perfection.
Dino or Lacinato Kale. This is the uber dark one that is more manageable, and it is more tough, and a bit more bitter. So if this is the kale variety you’ve been using to little love and success, perhaps try the Curly? The great thing about either variety that it holds its structure when we cook it. Unlike spinach or arugula or chard, kale does not melt to mush when you cook it.
Here’s what I do each week: I cut up a few bundles of Kale and then make several things from it. I cut down the center of the thick stem. I like to keep the stem involved because that’s the shoot the nutrients travel through, and I want them vits in my body. Once I’ve halved them, I stack a few (usually 6 halves) and slice as thinly as I have patience to. An eighth of an inch is great! A quarter works too. That fills a giant bowl or two, depending how ambitious I am that day. I then put a large portion in a storage dish and douse it with a vinaigrette I have on hand (or make one), stir and store in the fridge. I use it as salad, or heat, for as long as it last, adding whatever I like to the top. I take another large portion, put it in a plastic bag and put it in the veg drawer for future use. And the last portion I cook and eat with something…
My fave go to… Quesadilla. I don’t eat much cheese, but I still call it a quesadilla. On a lazy day: cauliflower tortilla+kale+salsa. I may fry up some field roast (vegan sausage) or bacon or potatoes or other veggies i have on hand and then put them in the tortilla with the kale. I highly recommend you first cook the contents of the quesadilla, then put them in and brown the tortilla on both sides.
Add kale to eggs+sour cream (and any other goodies, more veggies, meats, cheese) for a yummy Frittata. For this beautifulness, grab a big bowl. Crack a dozen or more eggs into it. Season it with at least salt and pepper. Everything Bagel spice is great. Or dried garlic and onions. Add in a dairy/dairy-free dairy product, like sour cream or cottage cheese. Cream cheese works too or plain yogurt. Stir/whip vigorously until mixed. Then add in some fun! Shredded or cubed cheese, chopped up chicken, beef, bacon, sausage, or any vegan version. And add an acid, like tomatoes or salsa. Lastly fold in the kale, cooked or raw, up to you. I usually do raw so the structure holds up a bit more. Cook at 350 until golden brown and bubbling.
As spaghetti noodles. Make or de-jar a sauce, any sauce, that you would normally eat with pasta and use your friend, kale, instead. So so sooo good! Add veggies and pesto and viola, Healthy YUM!
Want to share a recipe with me? I would LOVE that! (and it doesn’t have to be kale or healthy! xoxo)
For The Love of These…
This. Book. These. Recipes.
OMG! If you have a baker in your life, or that is gorgeous you, please get this book! Cookies by Jesse Szewczyk is wonderfully written and the contents are ridiculously good! Need a magazine for baking? Look no more. Bake from Scratch is the answer/best gift ever!
Best. Hoodie. Ever!
You may have to hunt a little for this, but the adventure is worth it! Get this hoodie. Seriously. It’s the best! Lululemon Scuba.
Favorite Clothing Company On The Planet
Easily my favorite clothing company on the planet, OuterKnown, founded by surf giant, Kelly Slater, is about comfort, classic styles, durability and sustainability. I cannot say enough good about this company or its excellent offerings. I’m wearing this shirt right now as I write this!
Happy Feet
Do I have a couple pairs of boots already? Yessss! There is no such thing as too many boots. Well, there may be, but not for slip on’s as awesome as these! Happy feet make happy peeps!
The Written Life
Sunrise. Sunset. Everything in the between. When is the right time to dream?
What are you waiting for?
Seriously.
What do you need to know in order to carry on with your dreams?
Might you write them down? Would that help or hurt? How close are you to your dreams?
Are your dreams a distant friend or an intimate lover?
I write because it is my dream to be an author. A successful one. A generous one. One whose books are bought, and read, and shared. My love for books and the written word compels me to be in the world I have created and continue to create for myself.
I dream about my dream of all the time. I want my dream to be my world. I infuse it into every cell of my being. All day. Everyday.
I want to awaken and reawaken the dream constantly. Not because I fear I will forget it exists. Fear is not a factor in my dream. Elation is.
I share this, of course, in hopes that you will take your dreams seriously. And think and dream and plan and plan some more and awaken and re-awaken your dreams all through out your day. Sunrise to sunset. And all the in between time as well.
We become what we think and talk about. We know this. I know we know this. Lest we not forget that talking about things that don’t matter, bring forth things that don’t matter.
Dreams matter. They are the best of us.
Settle for More
Things are certainly looking up for all of us, aren’t they?
I feel it. Can you? Ohhh, I hope you can!
Imagine yourself smiling and spinning round the grass, feet bare, hands open to the sky, playful and alive. Ready. Relaxed. Resistance-free. Close your eyes and take in the moment with a breath or two.
‘Tis the season to be inspired by your ability to feel damn good. Yes, I just made that season up! But it feels so right, doesn’t it?
We get to breathe and feel air on our skin and tickling our nose hairs! We get to sweat and hurt during a work out. We get to feel hot water pour all over us as we cleanse. We get to smell scrumptious food cooking. We get to laugh and cry with our best friends. And then do it again the next day.
So much good is always happening all around us. Sure, there’s a little junk we gotta deal with to keep everything in balance. We have endured a massive load these past couple years and now as we step into the wrap-up of 2021, I for one, am ready to soak in the good to make room for more good. I am ready to Settle for More.
Are you with me? YES! So happy to hear that!
Until next time, please take exquisite care of yourself.
