Essence of You-ness

I got myself an itty bitty mortar ‘n’ pestle,
a present for the hard stuff
to get to the sweet stuff inside
things like a vanilla bean
and a cardamom pod
and a restless, tired mind,
which I crushed and added to a sexy Bosc pear
sauteing it all on low flame
with a splash of barrel-aged balsamic
to tease the sweetness out.

Won’t you join me please? You:
who just called yourself a name. And you:
who bit your tongue not to. And you:
who had a drink too many. And you:
who had a drink too few. And you:
dreaming at your desk job. And you:
making a go of it alone. And you:
paired with the love of your life. And you:
out there on your own. And you:
who just flipped your monster the finger,
then hugged him to make up. And you:
who got out of bed anyway. And you:
who couldn’t. And you:
with all the hats. And you:
who can’t find yours. And you:
with the mammogram to get to. And you:
who haven’t had one yet. And you:
cowering in the closet. And you:
cleaning yours out. And you:

that’s right, you:

Won’t you come dip your finger
into this essence of goodness that is you?

Delish and Easy Peasy

Food. So necessary yet always a wee bit of an issue with me in some way. Much MUCH better than used to be but still–

Living alone I find that I often don’t plan meals and then end up eating pretty much the white and the brown food groups—those’d be bread and chocolate. And yes, those’d be the ones that aren’t very good friends with my intestines. Or they wear out their welcome pretty quickly. So there’s all that.

But today? JOY! And it was green. And easy.

I like broccoli but always find the little bitty tips annoying. Like they get stuck in my tonsils or something. But today: Problem sol-véd.

Enter Broccoli puree. Which could just as easily be called Sparkly Forest Satin. Or Green Velvet.

Here’s what I did:

  • I steamed fresh broccoli in a bit of water with salt.
  • I let it cool a bit (don’t throw away the water) and into the blender.
  • Added a pat of butter and a handful of fresh cilantro and salt. (And yes, that’s twice with the salt. I grew up in Chile. Cilantro and salt make everything better. But you could add another fresh herb, I’m sure. Basil might be fantastic. Or parsley).
  • Pureed, using water from cooking to adjust consistency.

Can I tell you it is the creamiest most delicious and beautiful thing I’ve eaten in days?

I’m posting this in case others, like me, need jolts of good food inspiration.

Mmmmmmmm….

xo
heidi

P.S. Would ADORE your ideas for simple, delicious and good-for-you. Especially with the vegetables.

P.P.S. My broccoli puree was inspired by my sister’s story of serving her kids mashed cauliflower with Parmesan, made in much the same way as my broccoli.