Preserving the Bounty

What does food preservation have to do with peace? At least two things. First, I have long believed that one of the most important steps towards peace is to eliminate hunger. Hungry people are not peaceful (as those who have seen me when I need to eat can attest). Also, although my behavior this morning during the canning process was not peaceful (see note about hungry people) I do find that spending time looking for recipe ideas and, on rare occasions, preparing something special, helps to increase my inner peace.

Last night our neighbour Rachel gave me an armful of zucchini from her garden. I had been looking at a recipe for Prize Winning Zucchini Relish so I decided this was the perfect use for them. Sherry had brought home some onions from her sister Barbie’s garden, and we had a red pepper left over from last week’s market purchases. A trip to Sobey’s to pick up the canned green chilies and canning salt, and then a phone call to Janet, our spice supplier, for some turmeric, and we had all the ingredients ready to go. Charles did most of the chopping, with some help from me, and we finished off the canning this morning after market. We wound up with six bottles of relish and a delightful smelling kitchen.

Tonight I pickled some mushrooms using suggestions from The Nourished Kitchen’s Preserve the Bounty Challenge:

To Preserve in Vinegar:

• Clean your vegetables, herbs or fruits thoroughly and pat them dry.
• Pack the vegetables, fruits or herbs in a quart-sized jar.
• Bring vinegar and spices of your choice to a boil, pour this mixture over vegetables or fruits (but not herbs), cap and store.
• If preserving herbs, simply pack the clean herbs in a jar, cover with vinegar, cap and store.

I used fresh herbs from our garden (chives, rosemary, red basil, and oregano) plus 2 cloves of garlic. I filled 3 small jars with mushrooms, although after pouring in the vinegar, the mushrooms floated to the top and made it appear that they would have fit into 2 small jars, but as I was packing them in there didn’t seem to be that much space. I guess the heated vinegar made them shrink a bit. Right now I’m enjoying the smell of the herbs on my hands.

Tomorrow, I’d like to harvest a jar’s worth of chives and put them in vinegar, too. It would make a nice addition to my bean salad later on in the year.

Right now, though, I have a kitchen in need of cleaning.

Profits Over People

We live in a society that seems to be built on putting profits over people. Companies are always so worried about their bottom line, and keeping their share prices up, and being able to pay dividends to shareholders, but they lose sight of the needs of the people working for them. What is a company without employees? But they take their employees for granted. They say that sales are down, so the employees will have to have their hours cut. But then they turn around and report to their shareholders that sales are up, and they are paying out dividends. How many employees had to cut back a little, here and there, so that those shareholders could get their dividends? How much extra pressure are those employees under, trying to do the same amount of work in less time, or with fewer people, so that those shareholders could get their dividends?

When is the revolution coming? It seems like we've been waiting a long time for it, but the have's just keep getting stronger while the have-not's fight amongst themselves.

World Gratitude - Wave 8 Begins Today

Image by jmtimages via Flickr

A friend on Facebook (yes, I know, I called it an evil website just a few days ago) sent me an invite to a group there called World Gratitude. I quickly became a "fan", and then went exploring to see what exactly was going on. The main website, World Gratitude, asks, "What Will *Your* Life Be Like, 42 Days from now, after Enlightening the World with our Gifts of Gratitude and Connecting with our Growing Family of Gratitude?" If you sign up, as I did, for this 42 day program, you'll get an email message each day to guide you through this experiment. (It isn't necessary to start on March 15, you can join anytime.)

There was also a link, on the Facebook page, to a Blog titled Inner Space. I'm not entirely clear yet on how it ties in (I thought it was supposed to be where they're posting each day's entries, but there's nothing posted today, so I may be wrong about that) - regardless, there's some worthwhile articles there. On January 1, 2009, they posted Day 1 - Wake to Dream - enjoy!

It was a wonderful bit of synchronicity for me, hearing about this website and program today. Just last week I decided I needed to take up my gratitude journal again. Every night before I go to bed, I write out a list of 10 things I'm grateful for. As soon as I'd made the decision to start this, my heart felt lighter. Another time, I'll share a sample here. For now, I encourage you to check out World Gratitude.

Come Alive!

Image by tricky ™ via Flickr

A quote I'd like to share with you today:

Don't ask so much what the world needs. Go out and do what makes you come alive, because what the world needs most are people who have come alive

Howard Thurman, American philosopher, 1899-1981

Facebook is Evil!

That *may* be overstating it somewhat, but Facebook has become my favourite stress reliever. And this semester has been very, very stressful. I'm taking Poverty in Canada, which I was quite excited to be taking, at first. You thought you knew how bad poverty is in Canada? Me, too. But reading statistic after statistic, all saying, in their own way, "this is bad," gets very depressing after awhile. So, I'd study until I got overwhelmed, and then go beat up teddy bears on Facebook. (Yes, there's an app, called Teddy's Turf, where everyone is a bear, beating up other bears. It's fun, in a mindless sort of way. Not exactly peaceful, though.)

And then last night I realized, "Hey, when was the last time I posted to my blog?" Over two months ago, it turns out. Almost three. So, I'm going on a Facebook diet. No more beating up teddy bears for fun and relaxation. (There's Save The Planet for that. In moderation, of course.) I joined Facebook to connect with people. I started this blog for basically the same reason. I need to keep both connections going.

I'm back! Please, post a comment if you have a moment. I could use some encouragement. One of the reasons I haven't been writing here is that it's gotten quite lonely. I need to hear from you!

Today's Daily Thought

Image by L’Enfant Terrible via Flickr

I subscribe to "Your Daily Thought", a newsletter that sends me a quote every day, along with a poem once a week. Most of the quotes I've posted here came from it. I keep a file of the ones I like best.

Today's quote is from Deepak Chopra:

Our most important task is to transform our consciousness so that violence is no longer an option for us in our personal lives, that understanding that a world of peace is possible only if we relate to each other as peaceful beings, one individual at a time.

Wise words. Huge challenge. Are you up for it? Remember the last phrase: "one individual at a time." Repeat often.

"I'm thinking of you"

Image by -l.i.l.l.i.a.n- via Flickr

Today at work, a customer came up to the cash wanting my opinion on a card she had picked out. A friend of hers had a grandchild, 3 years old, who had recently suffered a brain injury and wasn't expected to recover. The card she had chosen was simple, and while I can't remember the exact text, the message was basically "I'm thinking of you". Fighting back tears, I told her I thought it was perfect.

It seems as if the more people you know, the more often you find yourself in a position such as this. A friend is in pain of some sort, and you want to reach out to them but you don't know what to say. I'm not advising that you should go out and buy them a card, unless that is what you want to do, but in whatever way works for you, a heartfelt "I'm thinking of you" goes a long way. It may not relieve their pain, but it will remind them that they are not alone and that there are friends who care about them.