Vegetable Stir Fry with Tahini Sauce

With an abundance of local produce coming soon, enjoy the bounty that is in your neighborhood, and maybe even in your backyard! All of the vegetables listed in this recipe can be replaced with something that is available to you, and the Tahini Sauce gives anything a finishing touch! We served the stir fry with French lentils, which cook in about 35 minutes. The finished meal is a mixture of flavors as the spice of the jalapeno is ever present along with the subtle flavors of the arame, parsley and Tahini sauce. Vegetable Stir Fry 2 T ghee butter or sesame oil ½ cup diced onion ½ jalapeno pepper, remove seeds and chop finely 1 zucchini or summer squash, cut lengthwise and slice into half moons 4 large Swiss chard stalks, separate stems from leaves, slice stems, chop leaves ½ bunch beet greens, stems removed and leaves chop lightly ½ cup chopped parley 1/3 cup arame, soaked 30 minutes, rinse and drain ¼ cup sesame seeds, lightly roast    Heat 1 T ghee in a wok or frying pan over medium high heat. When melted, add the onion. Toss for a minute or two, then add the jalapeno and zucchini. Stir to cook for about 4 minutes. Remove from the pan, add the remaining 1 T of ghee, and cook the sliced Swiss Chard stems, about 3 minutes. Add the lightly chopped greens, cook for 2 minutes. Toss in the parsley, drained arame, and the cooked onion/zucchini mixture. Serve the vegetables with the cooked French lentils (or another legume or protein based grain such as quinoa), drizzled with the Tahini Sauce (below) and sprinkle with sesame seeds.   Tahini Sauce 2 T tahini (ground sesame) 2 T warm water 1 T fresh lemon juice Salt, pepper Whisk together the above ingredients. Pour over lentils and vegetables. Enjoy! Start Earth Munching with the help of http://motheringmothernature.blogspot.com

It Doesn't Take Much

All I had to do was clean the screen on my computer, and the world looks different! Okay, the world as it comes through the computer... which for most of us is a good chunk of the world! Truly, everything on the screen feels lighter, cleaner, free of clutter and haziness.

This morning, when I started my yoga practice, I could feel several conversations running through my mind. These are conversations were ones that I had not yet had!!! The internal dialogue involved situations with two of our children, and I was letting the whole dialogue unfold, based on past experience.

Recognizing what was going on between my ears was the first major step. I did not want to give up my yoga time to a visualization of the day ahead of me. What have I been taught to do in these moments - to go to the breath first. Yes, the breath. Inhale, feel how this calms, exhale, let planning and strategizing go. Inhale, feel the beautiful freedom of being in my body, exhale, fall into my own Inner Peace.

By the end of the first Sun Salutation I had released the conversations. Staying focused on the immediate world around me, I moved through the yoga practice with presence and lightness.

And what followed? That is what everyone wants to know? Right. Well, not the conversations that I had been imagining and wasting my life concocting. One of the situations did not readily resolve itself, and the other situation never occurred! The behavior that I had anticipated did not surface!!!

With all of these boys there is rarely a dull emotional moment for the ever functioning mother!

May the lightness of our Inner Beauty be the voice that dominates throughout our day.

Shanthi

Kids & Kidneys Beans! Meatless Monday

As I am writing the blog for Meatless Monday, I am surrounded by the smell of bacon!!! How can this be happening in our Meatless Monday home?! Very easily - have you ever had a child come home from college for the summer? With his/her own ideas?

We have never been a vegan home, or a vegetarian home, so it is no surprise that there is meat in the home. Bacon is a new one, something I gave in on during his first week of adjustment.

Although I have wanted to be the perfect example of a 'plant based whole foods home', I am the only one in our home who does not consume flesh foods (read: meat, poultry, fish, eggs). We eat lots of vegan and some vegetarian meals, but the meat rears itself.

It is a huge shift and sacrifice to give up all meats. And it is a shift that often does not happen overnight! I have been on this journey for a long time, and at different stages and focuses along the way.  That is the gift of Meatless Monday, the gentle weekly reminder of awareness - whether your awareness and focus is your own health, the health of the planet, the welfare of the factory raised animals - whatever, find something that is meaningful for you today, and go with it.

One day out of the week, bring yourself and those around you some 'awareness' to munch upon. At the very least it will make for some interesting dinner conversation!

This recipe is super easy,.. And, there is a video to go with it.
Eat well, be well.

Kidney Bean Dip

Ingredients
2 cups cooked kidney beans (see video 'How To' Prepare, Cook & Store Beans)

1-2 T jalapeno pepper, finely chopped (optional, but gives a great kick!)

1 clove garlic, minced (see video 'How To' Mince Garlic)

1/4 t cinnamon

3/4 t ground coriander

3/4 t ground cumin

1 cup diced tomatoes

3/4 t salt

Juice of 1 lemon

Puree in blender or food processor. The dip is best served a few hours later, when the flavors have further developed. Eat with vegetable pieces or crackers. Enjoy!

Shanthi

Cost (Approximate Numbers)
Kidney Beans - $.75
Jalapeno, Garlic, Tomato & Lemon - $4.00
Spices, Seasonings - $.50