Giving With Joy

Posted on December 25, 2017 by Ann Lovejoy
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Making And Mending

The Seattle region got a white Christmas for the first time in years, making kids who were already excited about the holidays delirious with happiness. Last night, the island roads were hushed, usually upright trees hanging over with arching branches perfectly outlined in several inches of snow. There as no wind at all and no sound but the soft shushing of snow falling in fat fluffy feathers. It was a wet, heavy snow, the kind that makes great snowpersons but can be hard on young or fragile trees. I’ve spent many snowy days—and night—wandering the garden, broom in hand, knocking the snow off anything that seemed likely to break under the burden.

It’s also the kind of snow that can truly spell disaster should it freeze over when the icy winter winds blow through. Fortunately, it’s not really cold enough for that scenario and though it’s still in the 30’s, the snow is slowly melting, leaving snow sculptures sagging in puddles of slush. The delighted kids have all headed back indoors now to drink hot chocolate and eat holiday treats. It’s certainly a day for a fire in the wood stove or at least a quiet lie down with a snuggly blanket, a cup of tea, and a purring cat.

Snow No Go

Snow and icy roads in the colder regions made it a no go holidays for many folks, including mine. My kids will enjoy the holiday in their own homes, as I am, and we’ll all get together later in the week. There are some definite advantages to this, as most children (and probably many adults) vastly prefer to be at home playing with new toys, reading new books, listening to new music than to be heading off for Grandmother’s House. My grandkids come here all the time and they quite like it but I can’t help but feel that another day will be more mellow. What’s more, my modest gifts will have a better chance of being appreciated if they aren’t competing with cooler stuff!

Being on my own also necessitates a definite change of menu. Though it can be difficult to get inspired when cooking for one, it’s also a lot easier to make a small batch of something a little fussy, such as gnocchi or tortellini. I’m making myself some big round ravioli stuffed with goat cheese, roasted hazelnuts (chopped), and caramelized onions (made for the meal that isn’t happening). Instead of red sauce, I’m tossing these with a quick saute of mushrooms and leeks (a little wine wouldn’t hurt this one bit). A little salad of shredded savoy cabbage, sweet peppers, and cilantro should round things out nicely, right?

Making And Mending

In recent years, I’ve tried to make most of my gifts, an idea that sometimes meets with mixed reviews but definitely pleases me. That matters because joyfulness is important. I feel a lot more joyful about giving things I’ve made with the recipient in mind than when I overspend on stuff nobody really wants or needs. However, much of what I make is wearable. Little kids may like interesting colorful clothing but naturally enough, they are far more excited about toys and games. I try for a judicious blend of both; this year, it’s twin pirate ships plus big, puffy pillows, sweaters, hats, and so forth. One pillow features soft, furry critters cut off a disintegrating quilt made years ago for my youngest son. When his son asked me to fix it, we decided together to salvage just the critters that he liked best (a bunny with long floppy ears and a saucy squirrel). Now each adorns one side of a soft flannel pillow cover, with a few leaves and acorns to liven things up a bit.

My granddaughter loves cats, so she got a kitty pillow and a marvelous kitty apron made from half a tea towel sewed onto a grosgrain ribbon, then stitched onto a red stretchy cotton velveteen dress from a second hand shop. Grownups get socks and hats and thrummed mittens, or jars of seasoned salts and spicy roasted pumpkin seeds. The combination of making and mending feels like a good compromise between refusing to deal with the horrors of a commercial Christmas and playing Little House On The Prairie. Yesterday I made my annual tussiemussies, gathering a bag of gleanings from the garden to make into tiny bouquets for family and friends. No matter how cold, how much snow or ice has arrived, I can always find enough to make some small beauties to share.

Simple Snacks For Holiday Munching

Over the years, my ideas about holiday foods have undergone a sea change. If I’m honest, I no longer really enjoy endless amounts of ridiculously rich food and elaborate preparations. Instead, I prefer delicious, satisfying treats that aren’t dauntingly difficult but taste good enough that you get more credit for them than they truly deserve. I especially like these spiced pumpkin seeds, which are amazingly edible plus low in carbs and high in protein (for those who care, and there’s always someone).

Spicy Pumpkin Seeds

2 cups hulled pumpkin seeds
1 teaspoon avocado oil (or any you like)
1/4 teaspoon seasoned salt (I use my own, but whatever you like will work)
1 pinch smoked serrano chili powder (again, I use my own but try paprika or chipotle or whatever floats your boat)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Spread pumpkin seeds in a single layer on a rimed baking sheet and bake until crisp but not too brown (6-8 minutes). While seeds roast, combine remaining ingredients in a glass bowl. When seeds start popping and are lightly browned, dump them into the oil mixture and toss to coat. Makes about 2 cup and serves at least one.

The happiest of holidays to you and yours!

Posted in Nutrition, Recipes, Sustainable Gardening, Sustainable Living, Vegan Recipes, Winterizing | Tagged , | 5 Comments

Accepting Winter’s Gifts

Posted on December 18, 2017 by Ann Lovejoy
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The Power Of Posture

This year, I’m struck by the number of folks who are leaving “for the winter.” I can certainly understand the urge to leave the present political situation, but trading the mild Northwestern winter for a few months of sunshine would feel like a true loss for me. Yes, the days are often dim and grey, but that makes the sunbreaks all the more enjoyable, even precious. In my neighborhood, vividly colorful leaves still cling to a few trees and make bright mosaics on the paths. Each day I pick up a few and make a fluttering little bouquet held together with braided stems to decorate my doorway. Noticing their shifting patterns of shape and coloration as winter arrives brings as much pleasure as any flower in softer summertime.

Some say that winter is depressing, too quiet and barren. As I walk, my mental busyness gradually quiets until I can hear the scrunch of my feet in the roadside gravel and a sighing wind in the trees. All around me, birds and small creatures enliven the woods with the song and scrabble of their small, busy lives. Trees that have shed their autumn glory make a lovely tracery of bare branches against the sky or the subfusc backdrop of cedar and fir. Their uplifted arms remind me of the power of posture: When I am crumpled in on myself, head bowed in sorrow and grief, fists clenched in helpless frustration and fury, it’s almost impossible to feel hope. When I sit or stand upright, head back, eyes to the the sky, I immediately feel more open to possibilities I can’t find or fathom alone. When I raise my own arms, hands outstretched to receive, my implicit receptivity is rewarded with a heartening sense of both gratitude and hope.

The Posture Of Power

That posture, arms up and open, head back, is as ancient as humanity. Called variously orant, orante, or orans, it comes down to holding ourselves open to the holy, the sacred, the healing. It’s a very powerful tool, and not too surprisingly, in religious circles, there is a great deal of debate about whether just anyone can use this posture (right?), whether the arms should be more out at the side or upward (seriously), and if arm waving during prayer is acceptable or a possible offense against the holy. Would you be amazed to learn that virtually all this flapdoodle is created by OWGs? That’s Old White Guys, FYI, but I’m thinking the stuck of any description could be included. Powerful tools that just anyone can use are not always welcomed by those in power, especially when their own power is based largely on the stuckness of The People.

These days, and maybe always, stuckness is clearly a major social and cultural disorder if not an actual illness. When I steel myself to take the plunge into the news, I’m often reminded of an old childhood rhyme: When in danger, when in doubt, run in circles, scream and shout. Sound familiar? Part of my own stuckness definitely comes from a place of fear, a sense both of terrible danger to people and to the planet and profound doubt about what to do. I find myself saying (usually out loud and when nobody else is around), “I don’t know what to do!” pretty much daily, despite doing what are by now the auto-pilot phone calls, cards, letters, emails, and texts of protest and (sadly, less often but just as important) support and thanks. Do I really not know what to do? It isn’t given to most of us to change the world in big, sweeping ways, but we can certainly change our own small place in the world.

Power Tools For Positive Change

Back when, Al Gore presented a lengthy list of small, daily shifts in lifestyle and attitude that could result in significant change in terms of energy use and planet protection. Some of us tried all or most for a while and settled on a few to follow for life. Some folks chose instead to try to use Al Gore’s home energy usage to debunk the value of those suggestions. That dedication to destructive patterns of stuckness can seem like petty meanness or even deliberate evil, but it’s more likely that it comes from deep fear and doubt. Perhaps we don’t dare dream or try, for fear of failure and loss? I recently heard a proposal that for most adults, joyfulness triggers foreboding; if we treasure something, the idea of losing it can annihilate our pleasure in it. The ‘it’ might be a job, a friendship, our kids, our marriage, our social position, whatever. That fear underlies the emotional dampening that has so many of us in thrall these dark days; are we on the verge of ecological disaster? Of societal collapse? Of the end of democracy?

This dampening effect can be crippling, sapping hope and energy and leaving us less effective than ever. Unfortunately, there aren’t many large social forces to counter our despair and social media only makes it worse: posts about kindness to the homeless and lions playing with dachshunds are washed away under the tide of dreadful daily news. One solution is to restrict social media time, just as we might restrict screen time for our kids. Notice how you feel before you check in with your online pals and cruise the news, then evaluate how you feel when you put down the device. Do this for a week, then see what your heart is hungry for. Try having a media fast one day a week, or take a week off from screen time. Some people find limiting screen time to an hour a day allows them to savor their inner calm and make the most of their energy and intention. I make allowances for working screen time (like this) but feel a lot saner and safer in the world when I don’t dip into the media poison pot all day long.

The Practice of Gratitude

One of the best ways to counter despair and toxic info-overload is to develop a durable practice of gratitude. Gratitude is hot stuff these days, researched everyplace from Harvard to Berkeley. Practicing gratitude brings measurable improvements in health and well-being, in happiness and in generosity and altruism. What’s not to like? And why is it so hard to maintain a daily practice? Just as many of us tried out the daily changes that could help slow climate change but gradually drifted back to our old habits, creating a personal practice takes, well, practice. And persistence, something we are beginning to feel a little fondness for, thanks to the estimable Senator Warren.

It’s commonly estimated that most people need about three weeks of daily repetition before a new practice starts to feel normal. Turns out that’s not so; the average is around 66 days and some require closer to a year. Several studies seem to indicate that creating a new habit is easier than getting past an old one, though creating a replacement habit can help. Whichever way we’re trying to shift, towards or away, the bigger the change, the longer the adjustment period may be. Laying off the chocolate for a week may not be too tough, but try quitting smoking after decades and see how soon—or slooowwwllllyyyy-the longing dissipates. Try getting used to being a widow, or losing your job, or your home. Or your country. Or your culture. Adapting to changes like these require some serious effort, and it can feel fake or silly to try to be grateful in dark and dangerous circumstances. But. However. And yet.

Finding What Works And Doing It

Support groups for addicts of various stripes have a common saying: “Addiction is finding something that works and not doing it.” It can be hard to tell if we are actually willing to change or not quite ready, but that saying captures the essence. If we are really ready to give up stuckness and despair, then we will really commit to working for change, personally and publicly. To truly change on a personal level, we need to alter our brains, because entrenched behaviors create neural pathways that require multiple exposures to a desired new way of being. Practice. Persistence. And more practice.

My own shift from deeply fear- and scarcity-based thinking began during a very dark time, on a day when I found myself saying (out loud and when nobody else was around), “I am willing to do whatever it takes to not be here ever again.” My change mantra was “I am willing to exchange fear for faith,” and I said it thousands of times. Whenever I noticed the old negative crap rising in me, I would say some version of my phrase. I called my car’s steering wheel my prayer wheel; when driving, I repeated my chosen aphorisms over and over, in detail, talking out loud because that works for me. I also learned to write down my gratitudes, to speak them out loud as I wash dishes, bake bread, make the bed. I speak gratitudes as I walk; Look at those clouds, thank you! Gorgeous effect of sunlight in mist, thank you. Love the bird, thank you. Awesome clean hot water, thank you. The you you thank may not be the same as mine but that doesn’t matter. Thanking does. Let us persist together.

But wait, there’s more!

https://ggsc.berkeley.edu/what_we_do/major_initiatives/expanding_gratitude

https://www.wired.com/2016/05/wired-al-gore-climate-change/

https://www.sciencealert.com/here-s-how-long-it-takes-to-break-a-habit-according-to-science

 

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Stress-Free Seasonal Fun And Food

Posted on December 11, 2017 by Ann Lovejoy
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Playing Through The Holidays

As the holiday season rolls along, I’m noticing friends getting worried and weary instead of cheery. Some of that is definitely due to our abusive political climate but some is caused by societal expectations. Sadly, it’s very easy to get overwhelmed in a whirlwind of extra activities just when the year is winding down and nature is sinking into slumber. To keep social events simple, choose menus that involve either working ahead or lots of extra hands. That sounds contradictory, yet most of us enjoy making and doing things together and it’s a great way to get a mixed group to bond.

As a society, we’ve lost a lot of the small connections that once bound neighbor to neighbor and built sturdy communities. When family and friends get together, it’s more often to chat over coffee at a cafe or a restaurant meal than to engage in a shared activity. For me at least, it’s way more fun to be given the opportunity to help out with making a meal that will be shared. I’m relearning some of that sense of fun from my grandkids, who at not-quite-two and four-and-a-half are decidedly interested in helping. Lately, we’ve been making gifts for their family and friends who help care for them. It’s often amazingly messy (and wrapping requires an astonishing amount of tape) but their delight in creating something they think others will like is delicious and the seriousness with which they guard their secrets from grownups is adorable.

A Few Of My Favorite Things

Last week, we made sachets of fragrant herbs (cedar and eucalyptus) to put in closets and sock drawers, then made bags of herbal tea as well. For the tea, we filled small, muslin drawstring bags with blends of dried lemon balm, rosebuds, peppermint and lavender that we dried this summer. We set their low table with bowls of ingredients and each kid got a larger bowl and a big mixing spoon. The toddler ended up mixing all the bowls up and stirring with measuring spoons while her brother did some extremely vigorous blending and mixing in one big bowl. They played with the herbs for over an hour before getting restless and although quite a lot of the mix ended up on the floor, there was plenty left over to fill our bags. Swaddled in tissue paper and miles of ribbon, they fill a big bag that rustles mysteriously when prodded by small hands.

Today, we’re making gingerbread cookies to decorate as presents, and next week, we’ll fill pinecones with suet and roll them in birdseed. As we do all this, I’m relearning the valuable parenting skill of leaving well enough alone; if they are happily engaged, it doesn’t matter if my goals are not met right away or even at all. The cookies we end up with might not look elegant but they’ll taste good and doting adults will find them enchanting. Because the baby can’t process dairy, our icing will be made with fresh orange juice and icing sugar and the gingerbread is lightly spiced with orange rind as well as ginger. I even found my rolling pin (after two moves in six months, that’s fairly amazing)!

Simply Festive Food

Enliven a holiday breakfast, brunch or tea party with fragrant, gilded Cherry Ginger Rolls. Let everybody take turns kneading, or use a food processor with a dough blade to do the mixing and kneading for you. The unbaked rolls can spend the day (or overnight) in the fridge if you prefer and be baked off at mealtime.

Hot Cherry Ginger Rolls

3 tablespoons butter, at room temperature
1/2 cup dark brown sugar, firmly packed
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1 cup buttermilk or any milk
3 tablespoons honey
1 package (1/4 ounce) baking yeast
1 cup whole wheat pastry flour
1 1/2 cups unbleached white flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons avocado or safflower oil
1/4 cup dried tart pie cherries
1/4 cup chopped candied ginger

Lightly butter a muffin tin, set aside. In a bowl, cream remaining butter with brown sugar, ginger, and nutmeg, set aside. Heat milk to 120-125 degrees F. Pour into a food processor with a dough blade or mixing bowl, stir in honey, then add yeast, flour, salt, and oil. Pulse to blend, then hand knead to a soft dough; set aside for 15 minutes. Roll dough into a 10 x 12 inch rectangle, spread top with butter mixture. Sprinkle on cherries and ginger, roll dough into a 12 inch long cylinder and cut into 12 equal slices. Place them cut side down into the pan, cover with a damp towel and let rise until doubled in bulk (about 30 minutes). Bake at 350 degrees until golden brown (about 20-25 minutes). Cool for 5 minutes before serving. Makes 12 rolls.

Hearty Seasonal Soups

I’ve learned that few adults really enjoy heavy evening meals, but tasty, fragrant hot soups are universally welcome. Vividly colorful, deliciously scented, and tasty to boot, Festive Winter Soup combines red cabbage, shredded carrots, and sweet red bell peppers in a savory melange that cooks up quickly. Many hands make the chopping and slicing go fast, and everybody has fun helping. Garnish with pomegranate seeds for a little extra sparkle!

Festive Winter Soup

1 tablespoon fruity olive oil
1 tablespoon butter (optional)
2 cloves garlic, chopped
1 large red onion, chopped
2 stalks celery, finely chopped
1/4 teaspoon smoked paprika
2 cups shredded gold skinned potatoes
2 large carrots, shredded
4 cups shredded red cabbage
3 red bell peppers, seeded and thinly sliced
6 cups vegetable or chicken broth
1/4 cup pomegranate seeds

In a soup pan, heat oil and butter over medium high heat until butter melts. Add garlic, onion, celery and paprika and cook, stirring, until soft (3-5 minutes). Add potatoes and carrots and cook, covered, until tender (10-12 minutes). Add cabbage and red peppers and cook, covered, until barely tender (3-5 minutes). Add broth and heat through. Garnish with pomegranate seeds and serve. Serves 4.

Hot And Sour And Spunky

Lively and satisfying, Cranberry Chicken Soup balances tart cranberries and lemons with rich chicken broth and whisked eggs, making a creamy, spunky soup that hits the spot on a chilly night. There’s also a great vegetarian version for those who prefer meatless options. Both are perfect for chasing away (or treating) colds or flu.

Cranberry Chicken Soup

1 tablespoon fruity olive oil
4 cloves garlic, chopped
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 large organic lemon, juiced, rind grated
4 cups chopped, skinned and boned chicken thighs
1 large white or yellow onion, chopped
2 stalks celery, chopped
1 carrot, chopped
1 cup raw cranberries
8 cups chicken broth
1/4 cup jasmine rice
4 cups finely chopped Napa cabbage
3 eggs, at room temperature
1/4 cup stemmed cilantro or flat Italian parsley

In a soup pan, heat oil, garlic, salt and lemon rind over medium heat and cook, stirring, until golden (2-3 minutes). Add chicken, cover and cook until barely opaque (3-5 minutes). Add onion, celery, and carrots and cook, covered, until soft (3-5 minutes). Add broth, bring to a boil over high heat, add salt and rice, return to the boil, then reduce heat to low, cover pan and simmer until rice is tender (about 20 minutes). Stir in cranberries and Napa cabbage and bring to a simmer. Thoroughly beat eggs with lemon juice, then slowly stir in 2 cups hot broth, whisking constantly. Slowly pour lemon mixture into the soup, whisking constantly. Heat through (do not boil) and serve hot, garnished with cilantro or parsley. Serves 4-6.

Vegan Hot and Sour Cranberry Soup

1 tablespoon avocado oil
3 cloves garlic, chopped
1 large organic lemon, juiced, rind grated
1 white or yellow onion, chopped
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 stalks celery, chopped
1 carrot, chopped
1 cup raw cranberries
1/4 cup stemmed flat Italian parsley
6 cups vegetable broth
1 cup cooked short grain brown rice
4 cups Napa cabbage, shredded
1/4 cup stemmed cilantro or flat Italian parsley

In a soup pan, heat oil, garlic, lemon rind, onion and salt over medium heat and cook, stirring, until golden (2-3 minutes). Add celery, carrots, cranberries and parsley and cook, stirring, until soft (3-5 minutes). Add broth, bring to a boil over high heat, add rice, return to the boil, stir in Napa cabbage and heat through (2-3 minutes). Add lemon juice to taste and serve hot, garnished with cilantro or parsley. Serves 4-6.

Posted in Health & Wellbeing, Nutrition, Recipes, Sustainable Living, Vegan Recipes | Tagged , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Finding Light In A Dim Season

Posted on December 4, 2017 by Ann Lovejoy
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Refusing To Fold

Last night’s super moon rose in a golden haze and sank in a silvery one. Fog at both ends of the night made for dramatic beauty and also accented the darkness at both ends of the day. These are indeed dark times for our country and the world, and I’m not the only one who feels like I’m stumbling through a dense grey fog. Though I can’t always see my way clear, I’ve read enough history to know that such backward swings as we’re experiencing now usually follow and are followed by forward swings. However, there have never been so many of us before, and we humans have never had as great a capacity for lasting, pervasive harm. Thus, I teeter on the edge of panic and despair, knowing in my bones that’s exactly what is intended by all the malicious nastiness oozing from the current regime. The daily smoke and mirrors are meant to keep us off balance and the relentless, aggressive destruction is carefully planned to make us despair. So I refuse. The despair of good people is the goal of evil people. So. I. Just. Refuse.

Instead, I am keeping close track of every scrap of good, every positive action, every kindness, every joyful effusion, every moment of sweetness that comes my way. I’m even carrying file cards around so I can make notes. My goal is to notice ten Good Things every hour, all day long. It can be a bird on a branch, my granddaughter running to me with open arms, my cat purring beside me as I knit little fish for my grandson’s game. It can be calling my senators and congress people and hearing cheerful thanks from their aides, no matter how often I call. It can be seasonal music, an enchanting book, or helping my grandkids make small gifts for their family and friends. It can be the scent of my birthday lilies, baking bread, folding tiny laundry (grandkids again), reading a story from YES Magazine, making my five calls (5calls.org). It can be meeting friends, watching the clouds roll, seeing a burst of sunlight along with a scatter of rain. It can also be comfort food.

Just A Little Lift

Comfort food can definitely have its drawbacks, especially after this insane year when every day required some comfort. I’ve been working on recipes that deliver the soothing impact of classic comfort foods without the overburden of excessive dairy or sugar or etc. I’ll keep offering these recipes to you as the new year unfolds, along with some that have no redeeming nutritional virtue except that of bliss. Surely bliss nourishes us as much as protein or vitamins? For example, this extremely lemony lemon pie, my usual birthday choice, was a major hit at a recent pie day event (true, much of the competition was pumpkin, but still…). Ginger K., this one’s for you!

There’s also a heartening soup that can be vegetarian or not, depending on your mood and/or dietary choices. I find this palate pleasing, lemon-infused Greek peasant soup highly comforting, and it’s ideal for those recuperating from any illness; just add chopped cooked chicken, nutritional yeast, or tofu for additional protein. The seasoned salt blend is my go-to; sprinkle a little in the pan when you start things off with a little oil or butter or what have you, bring it to the fragrance point, and whatever else you add will taste subtly more delicious. It’s even lovely on pasta with just a bit of warm olive oil and pepper, or sprinkled on avocado toast, or scrambled eggs, or a baked potato, or a plain soup, or a sandwich. It’s super simple to make and I use some form of it every day. See what you think and let me know.

Leaning Into The Lemon

Yes, this pie filling is seriously tart, so you can adjust the flavor at then end of the cooking while the filling is still hot; just add sugar and/or butter to taste, but don’t eat it all, unless you really need to. Then it’s fine. The crust can be graham cracker, toasted nut crust, gluten free or regular dough or you may prefer the filling as a pudding, with roasted pistachios, toasted coconut, or candied ginger for garnish. Grate the zest for the seasoned salt below!

Zingy Lemon Pie

1-1/2 cups cane sugar
1/3 cup cornstarch
1/4 teaspoon sea salt
1 cup fresh lemon juice
1 cup water
grated zest from 2-3 organic lemons
4 large egg yolks, well beaten
3 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut in piece
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 baked pie crust
1/2 cup chopped roasted pistachios

Sift together 1-1/4 cup sugar, the cornstarch and salt into a heavy bottomed sauce pan. Stir in the lemon juice, water, and lemon zest, then add egg yolks and blend well. Bring mixture to a simmer over medium heat, stirring frequently (especially pan edges). When mixture thickens, stir constantly for a minute, then remove from heat and stir in butter until completely incorporated. Taste and add more sugar if needed, stirring until dissolved. Stir in vanilla and pour filing into the baked pie crust. Top with merengue (see below) if you like it or sprinkle top with pistachios. Serves at least one.

Sturdy Meringue

Weepy, floppy meringue toppings are kinda icky but this one, based on lightly coddled egg whites, holds its own for several days in the fridge if need be.

Meringue Pie Topping

4 egg whites, at room temperature
1/3 cup cane sugar
1/4 teaspoon sea salt
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

Combine egg whites and sugar in a bowl over very hot water and stir until egg whites warm up (around 80 degrees F). Remove bowl from the water bath, stir in salt and vanilla, and whip until stiff and glossy (an electric mixer works best, stick bender not so much). Preheat oven to broil. Spread meringue over hot pie filling, making sure it’s anchored to the pie crust edge all the way around. Broil until golden brown, about a minute (watch it, it goes fast!). Serve at once or refrigerate for up to 2 days.

Avgolemono Soup

6 cups vegetable or chicken broth
1 cup cooked short grain brown rice
2 organic lemons, juiced, rind grated
(1/3-1/2 cup lemon juice)
2 eggs, lightly beaten
1/4 teaspoon kosher or sea salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
2 tablespoons flat Italian parsley, stemmed

In a soup pot, bring broth to a simmer over medium high heat. Add rice and lemon zest and simmer for five minutes. Whisk lemon juice into eggs, then add to hot broth while stirring constantly over lowest heat. Add salt and pepper to taste and serve, garnished with parsley. Serves 4.

Seasoned Sea Salt Blends

Seasoned sea salt makes a lovely small gift, useful enough to have some meaning without triggering any need to reciprocate. Play around with the proportions and ingredients to find your own favorites: lavender and rosemary is lovely, as is thyme and lemon, or basil and garlic. I save spice bottles (especially the kind with holes in the inner lid) and tiny canning jars for this stuff, which I can hand out freely during the holidays.

Italian Rosemary, Lemon And Garlic Salt Blend

1/4 cup chopped garlic cloves
1/4 cup stemmed and chopped rosemary
Grated zest of 2 organic lemons
2 cups medium flake sea salt

Preheat oven to 225 degrees F. In a food processor, grind garlic, rosemary, and lemon zest with 2 tablespoons salt to a coarse puree. Add remaining salt and process a few seconds until evenly distributed. Spread evenly on a rimmed baking sheet and bake at 225 F until slightly crispy (15-20 minutes). Break up any clumps with the back of a spatula and spoon into small jars with tightly sealing lids. Store in a tightly sealed jar. Makes about 2 cups.

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