Blazing Light, Love's Song

Brunch today: bollita beans with sweet potato and ham pieces (from pigs raised with thoughtfulness and not factory-torture raised), home sprouted peas, avocado with pepitas, and a little gf, sf, banana bread.

Here are a few things that make any kitchen cooking easier, especially for:

• those with a time crunch or little ones needing attention
• those who tire easily, cannot stand long, or have balance issues
• those whose hands can’t cut things easily.

1. Rather than abandon lemon or lime in a recipe because hands can’t safely cut a round object, go for a good quality frozen lemonade or limeade concentrate. I use both regularly. Plus, during summer, a bit of either is added to fruit sun tea for deepening of flavor.
2. Since one is cutting and chopping, make any meat item bite size at that time. Then, cutting is done!
3. Forget about dicing. Cut the items as best and safely as one can. Cooking will soften all ingredients and render them fork-able if an item is still a little big for safe swallowing.
4. Soups, stews, pots of legumes all with lots of veggies. Serve in a small bowl with a warmed tortilla. Done! Excellent, healthy full meal.
5. Add some rice or quinoa to any pot-cooked meal. That way, again, it’s done. No second pot, no waiting for rice to cook. I use about 1/3C of grain with a 1 gal. pot – which is 5-6 meals for me. It’s enough rice or quinoa to complete the protein and carbohydrate profile, but not a pile of starch in the bowl or plate. Remember that adding this water-absorbing item will require more water or stock in the pot.
6. Freeze left-overs in small containers, one or two portions max. Then, on a low energy day or one when cooking is not on the agenda, there is healthy food waiting. Thaw in a bowl of cold water – not hot.
7. Eggs! Forget the marketing b.s. . How many times in my lifetime, alone, the rap about white or yokes or eat them/don’t eat them has changed? Humanity has been eating eggs forever! With a veggie, this is an easy and healthy meal unless your medical profile or medications determine otherwise. Of course, pasture-raised, truly cage-free. Keep in mind that “grain-fed” is a marketing ploy. Chickens are omnivores who, when pastured or yard-roaming, eat more insects than grass or greens. Grain-fed chickens are not being fed properly and their eggs will not have a full spectrum of Omegas, Vit. E, or Vit. K which would be in the eggs from happy chickens. Spend the money: for the chickens’ well-being, yours, and your family’s. Doing so promotes beneficial agriculture: regenerative and the raising of animals with their biological natures accommodated.
8. Tortillas. When I lived in Massachusetts, tortillas were not much of a consideration. Move to the southwest, and wow! how did I do without this simple meal completing item? Finding organic corn tortillas can be a challenge, which is a bummer because corn is a GMO crop, monocultured, and pesticide raised. So, try to find a good quality tortilla. We’re talking about the small, taco size, here. One warmed in a dry pan with a sprinkle of your favorite cheese served with a bowl of soup or stew, complete meal. (no American made cheese is in my home. Too many antibiotics, unkindly raised or aggressively milked with machines, etc.) Go for imported cheeses or make a farmer’s cheddar. Gruyere is my favorite. Shred it at home for freshness.