We had our first frost last night. I was out at 9pm with a flashlight harvesting my peppers,
basil and dill. The basil is still
drying in the dehydrator while the dill waits patiently for a turn.
This morning the pepper plants were frozen and black like
much of the garden’s inhabitants.
But there standing proud and full of life was the Rosemary and Swiss
chard. I thought why is it that
some plants can endure the cold and others just shrivel up and die? It comes down to resilience. The ability to come back even stronger
after something challenging happens.
I want to be Rosemary.
Winter is coming and I can’t stop it. I want a new throw for the couch, a new sweater and new boots. I want a good book to read and some warm soup and hot tea. I want to sit and just be. I want to stop and slow down and get ready for winter. It’s a mindset, the cold thing, and I am dreading it. If I can just be, I can enjoy today and the transition to winter. I don’t have to stress about the holidays, or worry about electric bills; I can just be present today, with my book, my tea and my new warm throw.
Today I made lentil soup and veggie burgers from cooked
grains. I have been making these
recipes for over 30 years. They
still nourish and satisfy after all this time. Why? Because
they are made with real food and they instantly bring me back to the stories
that surround these recipes.
In Red Boiling Springs at the bottom of Bakerton Hill, we
lived on lentil soup and split pea soup.
It was cold the winter of 1977.
It was our first winter as homesteaders and the locals used to say,
“Don’t them Yankees know, you get your firewood in August?”
It was February and the snow was falling as we were trying
to fell trees on the side of the hill.
We stopped the traffic as we buzzed them into firebox sized pieces much
too green to be burned. Our pipes
froze that winter, too, for 6 weeks.
About as long as the schools were closed in Jackson County. We’d just bust the ice in the creek and
draw water to bath and clean with.
We had a gravity fed spring for drinking and cooking water.
It was a full days job staying warm, keeping the fire going
and getting water. Oh and of
course making soup and hot tea. In
Buffalo, NY they made T-shirts “I survived the winter of ‘77”. I became a
pioneer the winter of ‘77 and I loved every minute of it.
Lentil Soup
2-3 Tbls olive oil
1 cup diced onion
2 cloves garlic minced
1 cup diced celery
1 cup diced carrots
½ tsp thyme
½ tsp marjoram
1 tsp basil
1 tsp. oregano
1 28 oz can of crushed tomatoes (or fresh)
2 Tbls vegetarian soup blend dissolved in 2 quarts
of water
2 cups dry lentils rinsed and drained
Garnish with: (optional)
A squirt of soy sauce
2 tbsp Nutritional cheesy yeast
Heat the oil in a large soup pan.
Saute onion and garlic, add celery and carrots and
herbs.
Next add the tomatoes, water, lentils and soup
blend.
Simmer 45 minutes until the lentils are tender.
Split Pea Soup
2-3 TBLS olive oil
1 large onion chopped
2 cloves garlic minced
3-4 carrots diced
2-3 celery stalks diced
1 tsp dried rosemary, 1TBLS fresh
2 quart water
2 TBLS veggie soup blend
3 white potatoes diced
2 cups dried split peas rinsed and soaked
salt and pepper to taste
Saute onions and garlic on olive oil
Add carrots and celery
Add rosemary and sauté
Add soup blend to water and add to pot
Add potatoes and dried split peas
Bring to boil and simmer uncovered for 1 - 2 hours
until peas are tender
Garnish with nutritional yeast and Bragg’s liquid
aminos
Serve with corn bread and salad!
