Author: Jamie

Day 137: Liberty of the Mundane

Day 137: Liberty of the Mundane


There is certainly a monastic streak in me.
I’ve always been a bit of a hermit.
I like to go out into the world
and collect the sea shells strewn about the beach;
I like to hear the stories the old men tell
and the songs the lovely ladies sing,
but I always come home,
like oxygen,
like breath,
to care for little worlds
and observe them as they spin –
like I spin –
we, the weaver’s workers
in ceaseless centrifugal force.

 

Plant and food,
flora and fabric,
sweet scents of cinnamon baking and sweat from the brow,
a wet bang slapped to the side with a huff –
the flour erupts in a puff –
as I keep kneading away.

 

A little more tired than well-rested would be
and a little more task that needs doing,
but the sun keeps her schedule
and the moon keeps her call
and there’s music at night
to remember you by.

 

This is the vital importance of brainless task:

It is in the process of ordinary, daily chore that my intellect is freed to wander far enough away, that I might ponder great questions, figure strange puzzles, and laugh at mean ironies.

Profound thought percolates under the business of fingers.
Imagination unlocks at tinkering, trained muscles, traversing in memorized beats.
I am stirred by the monotonous movement of the mundane.

The simplicity of duty can be the most liberating thing when I do not marry the mind to task, but engage it, rather, to eternity.

 

And then,
at last,
I am home.

Day137_Liberty of the Mundane


#foldinglaundryisfertilesoil

Day 136: Migration

Day 136: Migration


Does a Monarch repent when migration begins?
Should the milkweed mourn it’s leaving?
Did the blossom not feed on the tips of her toes
though the bee buzzed on a breeze, and away?

There is a call in us all –
a pull to homeward poles –
and it echoes on crickets’ din.

The leaf that stirs in autumn’s sky
does quicken the blood within.

 

Sunflowers bow
back down to the ground
while bullfrogs sing high to the heavens.

Fat, yellow moons
cling close to horizons
and cast glowing shadow and path.

 

The bark brittles
but it’s green underneath.

 

The skin wrinkles
but it’s me underneath.

 

The heart hardens with lessons learned hard
but it beats –

ba

bum

– underneath.

 

Is it time?
Is it time to fly again?
A sitar song is strong on the wind
and the strings are stroking my wings.

Day136_Monarch's Migration


Day 135: Vive La Pork

Day 135: Vive La Pork


I’m not a huge fan of ham salad. It always seems too pink and too mushy to be real food. Also, it looks like brains.

BUT, when you have 4+ pounds of frozen ham in a freezer that needs defrosting (and you’re all out of split peas), what do you make?

Ham Salad.

 

My good thing today was creating a batch that I like. I liked it so much, in fact, I ate about a cup right out of the container before I could even get it on the bread. It’s good on crackers. It’s good on sourdough, it’s good on wheat. It’s ridiculous on buttered toast, with a  fried egg.

Ham salad is officially vindicated.


Ingredients:

Day135_HamSalad_a_Ingredients

  • 6 cups (1 lb, 9 oz.) cooked, real ham (no deli meat)
  • 1 Tablespoon spicy brown mustard
  • 1 Tablespoon yellow mustard
  • 2/3 cup of GOOD mayonnaise*
  • 1/4 cup diced dill pickles
  • 1/4 teaspoon pepper
  • 1/4 teaspoon onion powder
  • 1 teaspoon thyme**
  • 1/4 teaspoon rosemary**
  • (salt as needed to correct flavor, but the ham is usually pretty salty on it’s own)

To correct the “mush” factor, I started by boiling the ham in just enough water to cover the meat half way up the pot. This made a drier ham with a corned beef texture and leaves you with great broth to cook rice or pasta in. It also makes going straight from the freezer super snappy.

Day135_HamSalad_b_Frozen

When the ham is heated through and your broth is bubbling,

Day135_HamSalad_c_Boiled

strain it out of the liquid and set it aside until it’s cooled.

Day135_HamSalad_d_Remove

Shred it.

Day135_HamSalad_e_Chop

Throw it in a bowl with the remaining ingredients.

Day135_HamSalad_f_Combine

Stir until well combined, but don’t pulverize it. (I like a drier salad, so my mayo quantity is low. Feel free to add more to your liking!)

Day135_HamSalad_g_Mixed

Correct with salt and pepper as needed and chill.

Day135_HamSalad_h_Chill

 

I served this on sourdough with a side of greens, dried tart cherries, and a sharp Irish Cheddar.

 

Day135_HamSalad_j_Sourdough

Mmmmmmm……

…brains.


 

* The taste of the mayo really comes through in this salad, so be sure to use a  quality spread that you like the taste of on it’s own. It should have a fresh, eggy tang.

**I also tried Herbs de Provence in a batch and that was delicious. Not everyone likes all the herbs in this blend, so I opted for thyme and rosemary to please more palates. If I were making it just for me though, I’d omit the thyme and rosemary and go with 1 1/4 teaspoon Herbs de Provence, all the way.

***If the salad dries out in the fridge after a day or two, refresh it with a Tablespoon of fresh mayo and a 1/4-1/2 teaspoon of yellow mustard.

Day 134: Cold Morning

Day 134: Cold Morning


I am a cold morning, calling
in squall and rustle and bright sunrise
and breathless gasp as I dive past the lip, and into the lung,
with clean and watery shock.

 

wake with me – into this very moment
of all that is real
though not really seen.

(so little can ever be seen)

 

The bee that stings, slows in me –
crisp wind from the north –
and I take last season

away.

 

The leaves that were letting go

release

and fly

without painful parting
or a pull at the stem.

 

They were barely holding on, anyway.

 

Can you feel the new season coming on?
Can you feel the shortening of days?

The earth is calling:

“go home. come in.”

 

Day134_Cold Morning


Day 133: One Day

Day 133: One Day


I used to work for a priest. He was an inspired man. He was passionate about leading and loving, he was injured and recovered and empathic to those still hurting, and he was horrid at keeping a schedule. When I left the church, he gave me a book, signed in love, that I put on a shelf and never read.

It’s a funny thing about resting on Islands, you dust off and look at things that’ve always been with you but haven’t been seen.

The book is one of poetry. It’s a collection of sacred voices from the East and West, calling out…

There is a woman whose writings are absolutely haunting me.

I guess that’s what good poetry does.

Her name is Rabia. She was an Islamic saint who lived in the 8th century. I like to think about that; she was born exactly 1300 years ago, in a time and religion and culture that are completely foreign to me, yet her words resonate as if they were my own.

It is said that she was separated from her parents at a young age, was stolen, and sold into slavery. A brothel bought her where she worked until she was 50 years old and was given her freedom by a rich patron. “The remaining years of her life were devoted to mediation and prayer, and she would often see visitors seeking guidance about their lives.”¹

There are a handful of poems here that I would consider my “good thing” today, but the one that gets me the most follows…

It’s brevity is magical. How can so few words fill up the entire sky with image, meaning, and knowing?

Take a breath,
clear your mind,
and hear:

 


ONE DAY

One day He did not leave after
kissing
me.


 

Day133_One Day

 


¹ From Love Poems from God by Daniel Ladinsky

Day 132: Missing

Day 132: Missing


The clouds have covered the moon, my love.

The mists have clouded my path.

The sun is blinding the road ahead

and I’m lost in this lovely, green strath.

 

And here I would stay

for eons of days

if I had you

along for the walk

But my songs,

they do echo

‘gainst walls of the trees

and birds in reply only mock.

 

Where did you go? My love? My lover?

When did you wander away?

My muse, she is with you, and I ache to recover

the stars that still shine in the day.

 

Day132_The Sun is Blinding


 

Day 131: Islands

Day 131: Islands


There are islands
in personal journey –

respite rocks in salted waters –

 

when gales calm to breezes
and bring cool, sun-stained air on their backs,

 

when the sand gives way only enough to slow your pace
but does not fall out from under you,

 

when you can hear the beach-bound waves,

shh,

shh,

shh,

here is a new tide I bring,

shh,

 

where a smile comes freely
without payment –
without pain –
and your brow is loose and milky.

 

In this reprieve

I breathe

and love, still.

 

 

The seas will rage again, I know
and in them I shall swim.
’Tis how I’ve been made –
to rudder, to row,
and navigate oceans within.

Day131_Island


Day 130: Pot Pie, Filling the Crust

Day 130: Pot Pie, Filling the Crust

Now we’re going to fill that wonderful crust you have chilling in the fridge.*

This is the first time I’ve ever actually written out a recipe for my pot pie. It’s always such a creative endeavor and rarely the same twice. In fact, a pot pie is intended to be a hodge podge of the meats and root vegetables you need to use up, but that may not be enough as a stand alone meal.

I say this to encourage you to branch out from what I’ve written here. Use turkey leftovers after thanksgiving. If you had a beef roast that no one wants to finish, substitute that for the chicken and use rutabagas rather than potatoes.

You get the idea. You are the pot pie artist.


My Ingredients:

Day130_PotPieFilling_a_Ingredients

  • 8 Tablespoons (1 stick) of salted butter
  • 1 medium onion
  • 2 medium or 3 small potatoes
  • 2 large carrots or a handful of babies
  • Rotisserie Chicken (minus the breast I used for my salad the day before…)
  • 1 can or box of condensed cream of mushroom soup**
  • 1 cup frozen peas
  • ½ teaspoon salt
  • ½ teaspoon pepper
  • 1 teaspoon poultry seasoning (not pictured)***
  • salt and pepper to taste
  • one recipe of the pie crust, divided into two, chilled clumps

 

Preheat your oven to 350°.

Melt your butter in a large pot over medium heat while you chop your onion

Day130_PotPieFilling_b_Onions

and add it to the butter, browning it while you chop the potatoes

Day130_PotPieFilling_c_Potatoes

and then the carrots.

Day130_PotPieFilling_e_Carrots

Let this simmer in the butter on medium heat for about 10 minutes while you debone your chicken. Turn down your heat if the butter starts to burn.

Day130_PotPieFilling_f_Cook

The butter and root vegetables will clear as they cook. They should be cooked, but still firm and not mushy.

Day130_PotPieFilling_g_ClearButter

Add the chicken

Day130_PotPieFilling_h_Chicken

and the condensed soup.

Day130_PotPieFilling_j_Soup

After that’s thoroughly heated through, add the peas and seasoning, folding gently without breaking the peas.

Day130_PotPieFilling_k_Peas

Do your taste testing here, and correct with salt and pepper, as needed.

Turn off the heat and let your filling cool a bit while you roll out the pie crust.

Grease and flour a deep dish pie plate.

Day130_PotPieFilling_l_Grease

Take one cold pie crust. When it comes out of the cling wrap it will look like this:

Day130_PotPieFilling_m_Cold

On a GENEROUSLY FLOURED counter surface, knead it two to three times until it looks like this:

Day130_PotPieFilling_n_Kneaded Crust

This should not take a long time, and you don’t want to over work it or the heat from your hands will melt the butter.

Roll it out to a 12”-14” circle, flouring and turning as you go so it doesn’t stick to the counter.

Day130_PotPieFilling_o_Rolled

Place it in your greased plate,

Day130_PotPieFilling_p_Bottom

and fill with your yummy filling.

Day130_PotPieFilling_q_Fill

Roll out the top crust as you did with the bottom and place on top of the filling:

Day130_PotPieFilling_r_Pinch

Now, pinch a seal by squeezing the top and bottom crusts together, all around your pie.

Day130_PotPieFilling_s_Sealed

The second seal is formed by turning the edges under,

Day130_PotPieFilling_t_Fold

and pinching again.

Day130_PotPieFilling_u_Pinch

It should look like this when you’re done:

Day130_PotPieFilling_v_Second

To create a decorative edge, pinch and twist between your left thumb and index finger,

Day130_PotPieFilling_w_Crust

and press down against your thumb with your right index finger.

Day130_PotPieFilling_x_Crust

Cut steam vents so you don’t create a chicken pot bomb in your oven…

Day130_PotPieFilling_z_Cut

and brush with a whisked egg wash to make your crust shine.

Day130_PotPieFilling_za_Egg

Bake at 350° for 45 minutes to 1 hour, checking to ensure your crust doesn’t burn, and turning to make sure it browns evenly around. The filling should be gently bubbling through the steam vents.

Day130_PotPieFilling_zb_Baked

This is just….

Day130_PotPieFilling_zc_Plated

oh, man….

Day130_PotPieFilling_zd_Nearly

you just gotta try it.

 

Day130_PotPieFilling_zz_Yummy


*If you have a frozen crust, thaw it in the fridge the night before.

**If you like a pie that has gravy oozing out, use one and a half to two cans of soup. Watch your sodium and salt as you increase soup, though. It gets salty quickly.

***A note on the poultry seasoning. I would highly recommend buying a quality organic seasoning. The “regular” seasoning is pulverized into a powder and you cannot see the individual herbs, and I don’t think the taste is as good. If you’re making a beef pot pie, try using steak seasoning (watch that it doesn’t get too salty) or just rosemary, salt and pepper.

Day 129: Pot Pie

Day 129: Pot Pie

’Tis the season for hearty fare and comfort food and ovens that emit intoxicating smells of bread and spice. I am kicking it off with my favorite fall dinner: Chicken Pot Pie.

We’re starting with the crust today. This crust is a slight variation on a Cook’s Test Kitchen recipe they used for a blueberry pie. I totally use this for sweet pies as well, and it works great. The only con is that it doesn’t hold a crisp shape like thinner, drier crusts do. It’s not ideal for lattice or detail work as it will puff up more like a pastry and lose design definition. The trade off, though, is moisture and an incredible flake that melts into butter in your mouth.


Ingredients:

Day129_PotPieCrust_a_Ingredients

  • 2 ½ cup Pastry flour
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 2 Tablespoons sugar
  • 12 Tablespoons COLD unsalted butter
  • ½ cup cold shortening
  • ¼ cup vodka (from the freezer)
  • ¼ cup ice cold water

 (note: I’m making a double batch in the pictures, so my quantities will seem higher)

 

Put the flour, salt, and sugar in a mixing bowl,

Day129_PotPieCrust_b_Dry

sift them together with a whisk or the paddle attachment until they’re combined.

 

Cut the butter into 1/2” cubes

Day129_PotPieCrust_c_CutButter

and add it to the flour mixture, along with the shortening. When you add the shortening, do so in clumps or cubes, just as you did with the butter.

 

Mix with a paddle attachment on a low/medium speed until the flour and fats cut into each other and get a cottage cheese looking crumb.

Day129_PotPieCrust_d_Combine

 

Turn the mixer on low and drizzle the vodka and water over the dough as it combines.

Day129_PotPieCrust_e_Mix

Stop as soon as it’s combined! You don’t want to over mix this or loosen the butter too much.

 

This dough will seem soft and “chunky” with butter, and that’s good – trust me.

 

Now divide the dough into two crusts. I lay out a piece of cling wrap on a scale for easier dividing, but if you don’t have a scale just eye ball it.

Day129_PotPieCrust_f_weigh

Plop a glob of dough into the wrap. (If you’re weighing, it should come out to 13.25 oz/ball)

 

Seal it up and refrigerate it for at least 3 hours before using. It can be refrigerated for up to three days, also, so you can make it well in advance of your meal.

Day129_PotPieCrust_g_pack

 

This is an easy recipe to double. I typically freeze one set of crusts and bake the other. They can be frozen up to 2 months.

 


 

…Stay tuned for the filling!
Oh, the filling…

Day 128: Framing Things, Part 2

Day 128: Framing Things, Part 2


Continuing the framing quest from Day 125, I found this beautiful card by artist Rick Allen. His Ken-Speckle Letterpress in Duluth, MN has been inspiring to me for years. Truly an “Axe & Loom” artist, he harkens back to the 19th century with engravings whose images comfort, call, and dare, all at the same time.

I picked this card up on Day 2 of my Road Trip, and am so grateful for the reminder.

It makes me readier for the waters…

 

Day128_CastOffEverything