Alchemy of Clay

Someone's in the kitchen with Dinah
Someone's in the kitchen I know-oh-oh oh
Someone's in the kitchen with Dinah
Strumming on the old banjo.

Well, what have I been mixing and cooking these days?

 Here's the delicious banana pineapple bread.  It's super.

But here's something that I made and froze some, so I can have it later.





And it tis the season for sugary treats too...

These were pre-mixed, you only have to bake them...pecan and chocolate chips and something they call caramel, like Turtles...but not really.  And I did a batch of regular chocolate lovers cookies and took thenm to church to share last week.  I only ate one to make sure it was good!

Today's Quote:

Find it where you can, these days.

I turn off the news, the computer and Facebook, or at least "hide" the postings which are political or screaming at me in some way or another.  If you're my friend on Facebook, you may notice I share mainly pretty things and animals. I admit to having decided who I plan to vote for in November, and have published a few things about her, but I refrain from any of the criticism of the opponents, aka mud slinging.
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Food.  I start by thinking of how food is a source of serenity.  If I just cut back on caffeine, which I have been able to, I do have lower sense of stress. If I listen to my knowledge of nutrition rather than my tongue which loves sweets and salty things, I can merge the two in a balanced eating pattern.  Then when I step on the scale I am within my expected range, which sure makes me feel pretty good about myself...a bit of serene acceptance.


Activities. I can do things that make me feel good, or things that make me feel pretty bad.  Hanging out with people that I enjoy, who give as much as they take, and with whom I can truly be myself...oh yes!  A bad activity is like an addiction.  I leave it feeling worse than when I started it.  And I might keep doing it, but know that the outcome isn't really going to change if it's an addictive behavior.  And on the same note, the action of not doing a thing and being lazy is a choice which also gives the result of my not feeling particularly good when I do it.


Creativity.  If I can make something (usually in clay, or at least glazing some pottery) then I feel a sense of fulfillment.  When I don't, I know I'm not being the person I am capable of being.



Meditation? So far this is a good activity that I haven't quite gotten the habit of doing.  I have in the past, much as I have been a vegetarian in the past.  Perhaps it will come along again in my life.  In the meantime, I do spend time thinking about the Source of everything, and affirming my beliefs in my daily life.  One thing I remind myself of frequently is that


Scenery.  Since I look out my windows at mountains and trees, I tend to look at beautiful views all the time.  I am terrifically grateful for these views.  And I can drive or walk to other wonderful places which take my breath away.  Nature is surely the mother of us all, offering so much beauty that soothes the soul, and gives me a breath that is deep and cleansing.  I also look for beauty in small things.


Health. It all comes down to this, since I've reached elderhood.  I kind of like that term.  And having good health depends a lot on what I do and how I think, my own serenity level, as well as the genetic foundation I inherited from my parents and theirs.  I have to give my body a break every once in a while, where 10 years ago I would have pushed myself to continue activities when I didn't really feel like it.  Now I also have to pay attention to health professionals more often than I used to.  They are my health team.


Time management. When I worked, I had my hours pretty well mapped out, including what I did when I wasn't getting paid.  Now that I'm retired, I've gotten pretty loose about things, and don't want to have every hour committed to something every day.  So for me to feel "serene," I have maybe 2 things scheduled a day.  If there are 3, I make sure to have some alone time as a break between them.

This is what works for me. Is there anything important you'd like me to remember?

Oh rabbit, rabbit, for the first of the month!



Quote for today:

“Be who you are and say what you feel, because those who mind don’t matter and those who matter don’t mind.”

Hello.  I'm your Shoestring Chef for One...

I used what was on hand, but this recipe could certainly be extended for more than one person if you'd like.

I find making good meals for one is a challenge, and often I go ahead and make 2 or more servings and have the left overs heated up the next day.

Chicken and Cashews on Brown Rice with Green Beans

• $0.20   Brown Rice 1 pound for about $1.25 - use 1 serving out of 1 c rice cooked before with chicken broth (This is a time consuming thing to cook, so I usually made 1 cup dry with 2-1/2 cups of chicken broth cooked for an hour, which served about 10, and I put the left overs in the fridge and eat it for a week.)   
  
     

• $0.20    Frozen Green Beans - 1 serving out of 16 oz bag which costs around $2    
  

• $0.23    cashews -  1 oz out of 13 oz, at 2.99    (This was my best buy today to find cashews so cheap)
  

• $0.58    Chicken, 1/2 breast - frozen bag of 6 for $7 - this is left over from last night when I thawed and broiled the breast and only ate half of it       
  

• $0.05    Kikoman soy sauce, 3 dashes out of bottle     
  
    

• $1.26      TOTAL cost of balanced, nutritious meal.

     
Everything was cooked in the microwave oven, total time was about 5 minutes. (Remember the rice and chicken were left overs) I've not calculated the cost of the electricity for cooking anything here.

Of course other people would use different spices.  I like the blandness where I can taste the different flavors as I eat each bite,

Plate with raised edge and 2 glaze colors, made by this potter...$15