Read Emily’s latest sermon, “Jason Segel is Wrong,” on her blog, Sit and Eat. There are muppets. The text is John 21:15-19. It all fits together somehow.
To lie back under the tallest
–Read at St. Lydia’s on May 6, 2012
The next volunteer hours at the St. Lydia’s Enough for Everyone Garden will be Saturday, May 12 from 10-3. We are hoping to get a good crowd together to build more raised beds and the two retaining walls for our terraces. Come out and enjoy the sunshine and the infectious can-do atmosphere!
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I have news! Our garden volunteer hours on May 6 were very productive, and when we arrived, we found that most of the seeds we planted in our burlap sacks last Saturday have sprouted! The radishes are doing the best, probably because they get the most sun. But most of the lettuces and the chard have sent up little green buddies too (some even found their way through the weave of the burlap where they got dislodged from their shelves in the bag that fell over), and there are two pea shoots. It was nice and wet last week, and we hope the sun we’ll be having this week will help the rest find their way out of the soil. So exciting! It was a beautiful day in the garden today, with lots of butterflies and bugs that weren’t there before. The creatures are starting to get interested in all the new life emerging on our lots, and it is a wonder to behold.
We also built two new raised beds today, our first non-sack structures. It was much easier than we thought it would be, and we used donated wood A Small Green Patch received as a from the owner of the middle lot. We are so grateful for all these gifts!
serves 4-6
Note from the cook: Nearly everything in this dish can be varied and adapted to taste or available ingredients. The only exception I’d say is to be careful with the amount of ginger because it can be overpowering. Likewise, don’t substitute anything in that has a really strong flavor. The main flavor in this dish, umami, is subtle. It comes primarily from the mix of mushroom and soy sauce; nutritional yeast is an old trick to add “umami” flavor to meatless dishes and umami is also in asian cabbage. So this dish is basically an umami overload, which is why it’s so yummy. -Phil
INGREDIENTS
Peanut or a flavorless cooking oil (do not use olive oil)
1/2 – 1 lb thin noodles (thin spaghetti or yakisoba noodles are best, but any noodles will work) — use less for vegetables to be dominant, more for a more filling pasta dish
1/2 lb firm tofu, pressed, then cut in cubes or triangles (or 1/2 lb chicken cut in small strips)
6oz shitake, crimini or white mushrooms, sliced very thin
1 medium to large onion, sliced very thin (or scallions or spring onions)
2+ garlic cloves, finely chopped
1-2T fresh ginger, finely chopped
1/2 t turmeric
1/4 t ground Szechuan pepper or black pepper
1/4 head of napa cabbage or 4 baby bok choy, shredded (or better yet, use a mixture of the two)
1-2 carrots, sliced thinly on the diagonal
1-2 handfuls of baby spinach
1-2T Soy sauce (if possible, use strongly flavored high quality soy sauce; this is the main flavoring)
1/2-1 c mushroom stock (you can use chicken stock but mushroom is better) — use less to just coat food, more to have broth
2t nutritional yeast (optional)
PREP
1. Press tofu.
2. Cook pasta al dente. (If using spaghetti, break in half or thirds when adding to water so strands are several inches long.) After draining, rinse with cold water, toss with a little
oil and set aside.
3. Slice mushrooms and onion thin.
4. Slice carrots thin on diagonal.
5. Mince garlic and ginger.
6. Shred cabbage or bok choy.
7. Drain tofu. For triangles, cut lengthwise in four then each piece in half diagonally lengthwise, then cut into triangles.
COOKING
1. In a large pan, heat oil over medium high heat, add mushrooms and sear for 5 minutes. Add garlic, ginger, onion, turmeric and pepper. Saute a few more minutes and move to
bowl.
2. In the same or a different pan, heat oil and sear tofu for 1 minute each side. Move to bowl and drain.
3. Saute carrots and cabbage for 2 minutes or more til soft but not mushy.
4. Return mushroom mix and tofu to pan with vegetables and add cooked noodles.
5. Add stock and soy sauce and simmer for no more than a couple of minutes.
6. Toss nutritional yeast into the liquid, stir, and cook for another few minutes.
7. Remove from heat, stir in baby spinach and serve.
VARIATION – a little less healthy but a little more yummy
1. In large flat pan, heat oil over medium low heat and add 1/4 of the cooked noodles in a layer.
2. When crisp and brown on bottom, flip frying noodles and cook other side.
3. Remove and drain crisped noodles.
4. Either place this disk on the plate or chop into chunks and scatter then serve over it.
–Prepared with our help by Phil on April 29, 2012
We could also use donations of the following items:
Last weekend we made these burlap sack gardens and planted radishes, peas, lettuces, and golden chard:
The most exciting part was opening the hydrant for water!
We hope to see you for more good times outdoors this Sunday!
Read Emily’s latest sermon, “The Net Will Not Tear,” on her blog, Sit and Eat.
This sermon was preached with love for Mark Miller and all who stand with him in the struggle for justice and equality for the GLBTQ community.
by Rabindranath Tagore
–Read at St. Lydia’s on April 29, 2012
source: Heather (and her Papa)
Ingredients
1–2 tablespoons olive oil
1 yellow onion, diced
4 cloves garlic, minced
2 bell peppers (a combo of colors), chopped medium (see note below)
1 can fire-roasted diced green chiles
1 can fire-roasted diced tomatoes
1 container salsa (I prefer fresh salsa, like pico de gallo, but you can use jarred salsa as well)
3 cans beans, rinsed and drained (any combo will do; I like to use black, pinto, pink, and maybe kidney if I’m doubling the recipe)
Chili powder
Cumin
Oregano
Black pepper
Green Tabasco
1.5 cups frozen corn (or 1 can sweet corn, drained)
1 cup vegetable broth (optional)
Minced cilantro (optional)
Garnishes (optional): shredded cheddar, sour cream, diced avocado, lime wedges, tortilla chips
Preparation
1. Heat oil in a large pot over medium. Sauté onion until translucent. Add garlic and cook 1 minute. Add bell peppers and chiles. Cook until soft, about 5 minutes. [NOTE: At Lydia’s, I used a food processor to chop the onion and peppers. The onion was mostly normally chopped, but the peppers turned into a sort of very chunky pepper puree. We diced a few to get the chunks I usually have, but I actually really liked the texture the pepper puree gave the soup. Your mileage may vary.]
2. Add tomatoes, salsa, and beans. Season with chili powder, cumin, oregano, black pepper, and green Tabasco to taste. (I’ve put them in descending order of quantity, but I never measure—just keep tasting till you like it.) Cook 15 minutes, stirring occasionally. If a thinner soup is desired, add vegetable broth.
3. Add corn and some cilantro (keep some for garnish), cook until corn is heated through.
4. Serve salsa soup topped with sour cream, shredded cheddar, avocado, and cilantro, with tortilla chips, lime wedges, and Green Tabasco on the side.
–Prepared with our help by Heather on April 22, 2012
I went by the Druid stone
by Mary Oliver
So heavy
is the long-necked, long-bodied heron,
always it is a surprise
when her smoke-colored wings
open
and she turns
from the thick water,
from the black sticks
of the summer pond,
and slowly
rises into the air
and is gone.
Then, not for the first or the last time,
I take the deep breath
of happiness, and I think
how unlikely it is
that death is a hole in the ground,
how improbable
that ascension is not possible,
though everything seems so inert, so nailed
back into itself–
the muskrat and his lumpy lodge,
the turtle,
the fallen gate.
And especially it is wonderful
that the summers are long
and the ponds so dark and so many,
and therefore it isn’t a miracle
but the common thing,
this decision,
this trailing of the long legs in the water,
this opening up of the heavy body
into a new life: see how the sudden
gray-blue sheets of her wings
strive toward the wind; see how the clasp of nothing
takes her in.
–Read at St. Lydia’s on April 15, 2012