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Thursday, August 19, 2010

Kale, Kookieness and Kompassion...

When I returned from our recent bankruptcy trip to the grocery store, I realized that the bunch of kale I had purchased was the most beautiful, fresh, unblemished specimen I had EVER seen!  Here's a shot next to a half gallon of milk just to give you some perspective on the SIZE of this beauty!




The kale just dwarfs that half-gallon container of milk!  It was literally, larger than my head! I knew right then I would be making caldo verde, the famous Portuguese "green soup" with its thin, filament-like shreds and glorious taste. It is a snap to make, and is more of a method than an actual recipe. I saute garlic and onions in extra-virgin olive oil, add chorizo and brown for a little bit, then add broth, the thinly shredded kale and toward the end, some diced potato.  It is glorious, and much-needed throughout the year up here in nightmare-ish lovely chilly Alaska. Speaking of which, after a record THIRTY-TWO or so days of rain, the sun (what IS that big yellow thing, and that blue stuff all around it?) has finally, blessedly appeared. If you live in the rest of the good old U. S. of A., and you think that your co-workers get a little excited on a nice-weather day, let me tell you, you've not SEEN excited. Everyone gets this dreamy look on their faces, and you just know that you are not the only one who needs to get out into that vitamin D producer, and quickly!

On to the kookiness. My good friend HappyAly made me crazy happy and laughing with a faux-informational letter that she sent her husband. It read something like the following;

"Dear Husband,
Attached is a picture of the house I want. Make it Happen.
Love, conditionally,
Wife"

I cannot tell you how much giggle-time that single letter has given me. Could it be that it sort of  resonates with how I wish I could speak to people? I don't know, and am not in any mood for self-analysis on this miraculously sunny day.  It did spawn a new game which I shall call:

"POINTLESS LETTERS TO NO ONE IN PARTICULAR"

I then crafted my own version of the game, all about food, of course...mine went like this;

"Dear Mother Nature,
Please stop making arugula grow. I love it so much, that I eat waaaay too much of it, then funny things happen to my tummy. 
Thank you,
Allison"

Do you have a borderline-pointless letter to the world you would like to see here? Send it! Keep it clean, though, and try not to use real names, might save you some heartache in the long run...just sayin'

On to the Kompassion part of the story. I don't know why, as I get older that I am becoming less tolerant vs. more so. Things that would normally not even blow my hair back, almost enrage me nowadays. I am trying to deal with a situation in my personal life that is sort of stretching my admittedly low tolerance levels to the limit, and having difficulty. That would be my wish-o-the-week, to try to find that space in my heart to give a little room, for a short time, to a soul in need.

Do you have issues with control, or letting someone get on your last nerve? What do you do about it?

Eat well, my friends and ask for strength and sunshine in your own lives as well.


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