Gnosis Chocolate

Hello Readers,

Two people sent me this link for Gnosis Chocolate. I have yet to order any chocolate from Vanessa, but I will probably soon. The Mayan one looks particularly interesting!

Happy Chocolate!

In Serenity and Joy
Andrea

A New Twist to the Incredible Edible Egg

There was a time I thought I didn't enjoy cooking. But I find creating a dish for myself and my family to be a spiritual experience. It's also easier when I have time to cook, like I did this last weekend. Normally during the week I just grab whatever is available in the kitchen, maybe a peanut butter and jelly sandwich or a bowl of cereal. But during the weekends, I have a bit of time to create new dishes. And this morning I tried a new twist to the egg, which many of you have already done before. But this is my version.

A little side note: I never give measurements out, because I figure people have different tastes and tolerance for seasonings. So measure at your own discretion.

Ingredients:

Eggs (two per person)
Olive Oil
Green onions
Fresh Basil
Minced Garlic
Cheese
Oregano
Rosemary
Thyme
Basil
Marjoram
Salt
Pepper
Fresh Tomatoes

Procedure:

Cut green onions and fresh basil. Heat olive oil in the frying pay and sauté green onion, basil and garlic until succulent. Beat eggs. Turn down heat and put eggs in frying ban, add oregano, rosemary, thyme, basil flakes, marjoram, salt and pepper. Stir. Add grated cheese and fold into egg mixture. After eggs are cooked, place on plates and put fresh tomatoes on the side of the egg dish. You can serve this with salsa if desired. Enjoy.

If you have any egg dishes you'd like to share, please do so! I'd love to hear from you.

In Serenity and Joy
Andrea

Music Review: Brandi Carlile

I have a confession. As a child of the 1960's and 1970's I became fond of music that told a story. Jim Croce, Neil Diamond and John Denver were among my favorites. I also enjoyed Joni Mitchell and Carol King. All of these musicians had something in common, they were all storytellers. And you could understand the lyrics.

I may be a dinosaur where music is concerned, but I never really got into the heavy metal scene as a teenager and early adult. And I found the "alternative" music in the early 90's a little too cliche, although early Pearl Jam was good and I did like the Counting Crows along with Sheryl Crow. I guess I had a thing for crows back then in the 90's.

Today there is an artist that I really enjoy, Brandi Carlile. Her new CD, "The Story" is refreshing and the music is lovely. To me it's a mixture of folk, rock, ballad and country. She almost reminds me of a female Johnny Cash, another musician I am growing to appreciate. In her CD, Carlile is a storyteller. And I believe that's what has been missing in music lately, the ability to tell a story through song.

If you have any music you'd like to share, I'd like to hear your comments.

In Serenity and Joy
Andrea

Bread Salad

One of my favorite places for shopping is "Top of the Hill" in Renton. It's a market on 4th street with fresh produce, wonderful meats and poultry and a variety of pastas, breads and cheeses. If you're ever in Renton, check this place out. It's one of the best markets with good prices on the produce. The meats a little expensive, so I haven't bought any yet. But the quality looks fabulous. And the staff is very friendly and informative.

Last month there was a demonstration on "bread salad". I never thought of creating a salad out of bread, but I tried it and it was delicious. So I bought the ingredients for this recipe and served it the next day at a party. There was none left after the party, so I assumed people liked it. I experimented with the recipe a bit tonight, and here's what I came up with. So perhaps this can go into the "Gnostic Haggis Sophia" cookbook.

Bread Salad

Ingredients:
Bread (French Bread or an Artisan loaf is best)
Cherry tomatoes
Green Onion
Fresh Basil
Olive Oil
Balsamic or Red Wine Vinegar (optional)
Oregano
Thyme
Basil
Salt
Pepper

Cut up bread, tomatoes, fresh basil and green onion and combine them in a bowl.
In a separate bowl combine olive oil, balsamic, red wine vinegar, oregano, thyme basil salt and pepper and stir. Use your own judgement on how much you want added to the bread.

Pour the dressing over the bread salad, mix and serve. You can also let it marinate for about an hour before serving.

Tonight I combined both the balsamic and red wine vinegar together. I'll let you know how it turned out. I'm bringing this dish to a potluck tomorrow.

In Serenity and Joy
Andrea

The Beginnings of Transformation

My husband and I worked in the yard over the weekend. We ended up spending quite a bit of money at Molbacks in Woodinville, but it was worth it. For years we've had these boulders in our backyard that was over run by weeds. Throughout this last summer we've been planting herbs and flowers to make this section more pleasant. I've taken some photos of our new flowers.

This section of the backyard has a patio area where we have our social gatherings. To the east of the patio is where we'll plant the meditation/prayer garden. Right now my family is getting rid of unwanted and dead plants. Hopefully by spring of 2008 we'll have some beds to plant flowers in. During the fall and winter I plan on purchasing some pots when they are not so expensive to enhance the surroundings of both the social area and prayer garden. For now, this is our humble beginning towards beauty and peace in the suburbs.


The blue lobelia


Pink Flowers (I can't remember the name right now, but they look pretty)


Yellow Flowers (Again I can't remember the name)


Delphia, the blue reminds me of Sophia


And my very own "Rose of Sharon". I can take pictures of my own flowers and not borrow them from images on Google.

In Serenity and Joy
Andrea

Gnostic Recipes

After mass today, we had conversation over coffee, wine and food. During the course of the conversation, we discussed compiling a Gnostic Cook Book. So I thought perhaps all of us out in the blogosphere could share our various recipes and come up with catchy names.

One title was Haggis Sophia. Though some of the congregation contemplated after the descent of Haggis, if there would be an ascent. I've had lutefisk, but have yet to try haggis.

Anyway, if you would like to share any recipes, please do so. I know I'd like to get Marsha+'s recipe for her lavendar oil.

In Serenity and Joy
Andrea

Blue Jay Haiku

As I sitting in my backyard and writing in my journal this morning, a flock of blue jays descended onto my pine tree. They were all squawking loudly about something or other, so I wrote a Haiku. Before I share, I believe words in form of poetry, prose, and stories are sacred spaces. Metaphors can take us to places of extreme peace in our minds. In other words a sacred space can be anything you want. It is the essence of the sacred, the material is only a reminder.

The Haiku has nothing to do with peace however, since blue jays, although beautiful, are very annoying noisy and pushy birds. Enjoy.

The blue jays squawking
Gather in their meeting place
Arguing with a passion

If you have a haiku you'd like to share, please do so on the comments.

In Serenity and Joy
Andrea

Walt Whitman Quote

"A morning-glory at my window satisfies me more than the metaphysics of books". Walt Whitman

The Last Blooms

Last night I went and cut flowers from my garden. Now that summer is coming to a close in about three weeks, I wanted to enjoy the flowers inside. This is the first summer I've been able to have both flowers inside and outside of my dwelling.

I made the mistake of putting cat mint into the bouquet. Since the cats leave the cat mint alone outside, I thought they wouldn't bother with it inside. As I was trying to take the picture, Dryad kept hopping up on the table trying to eat the flowers. I was finally able to take a fairly good picture, but during the course of the evening both cats kept trying to get at the cat mint, so I moved them over to my altar. Later Paul said he had to take Dryad off the altar. Silly me, I thought they would be safe on the altar.

Flowers bring me joy. And I can't explain why. For me the pedals are a reminder of perfect beauty that does not have to be altered. I am hoping that next year, I'll have a whole yard full of wild flowers, roses, lilies that border by lawn in the back. If you came to my yard, it doesn't look like I'd have enough flowers to make a bouquet, but I do. They are just spread out all over.

I admit, I'm making up this prayer garden thing as I go along. My dad's neighbor has this plant, Delphinia, that I had been admiring all summer long. She said she'd give me seeds from the pedals that have withered. Her Delphinia is tall with beautiful royal blue flowers, it almost looks like a foxglove, but the opening is smaller.

As summer comes to an end, I'll be able to enjoy the last blooms of the hibiscus and the dahlias. In the fall before the frost I'll plant some bulbs and clean out the flower beds for their winter rest. Then my husband and I (probably with my husband doing most of the work) will kill off our front lawn, which is mostly weeds and replant. I'd like an actual lawn to sit on a nice green small lawn when the weather gets nicer.

Meanwhile this gives me time to make a plan for the garden. Choosing the plants and flowers and the layout. During the fall and winter I can work on the inside or my home creating more sacred spaces and maybe learning to cook new recipes I hadn't tried before. The last of the blooms puts me in a reflective mood of what I can do during the fall and winter seasons.

In the meantime, does anyone have any advice on how to get rid of overgrown ivy?

In Serenity and Joy
Andrea

Meet the New Black Cat

Meet the new addition to our family, Dryad. My husband saw him on craigslist and called the family that could not keep him anymore. Suki (I spell Suki with an S Paul spells Suki with a T because Tsuki means moon in Japanese) and Rascal are having a really difficult time adjusting to the new family member.

Rascal seems to want to make friends with Dryad. He's constantly hanging around the new cat, wagging his tail, looking at Dryad with his big black eyes pleading with him to be his friend. All he gets in return is a hiss. Suki is busy letting Dryad know who is actually the boss and that most of the house is her territory. She allows him to stay in our room, but goes in there every once in a while to make certain he knows his place. Dryad seems to be taking it all in stride.

Dryad is beginning to venture out a bit more. He likes to hide in cupboards and on the shelf in the bathroom. I'm certain all three animals will get along in their own way soon.

Dryad has a quiet strength and is affectionate. Unfortunately we are his fourth home in his 3 1/2 years of life. And Dryad is his third name. He first began as Lester, then Q-ball and now Dryad. I think we'll do him a favor and not change his name again.

Our home seems to be the last stop for abandoned animals. Suki had two homes before she came to live with us. Rascal was put in the humane society in Tacoma and by some miracle he was transferred to PAWS in Lynnwood, where we adopted him. Twenty one years ago an alley cat we named Ebony decided that she would live with us. She stayed on our porch for two weeks until my husband let her in the house. She was with us for 17 years. And in 1995 we had Rex. He was a very sweet collie mix that had a multitude of health problems. We were his second home.

As much as I love animals, I think for now three is plenty. Animals, when they get along, add love and warmth to a home. Right now it's a little chaotic on the establishing of relationships. But as with all relationships, the animals will figure out a way to get along and set their boundary's. This should be interesting to observe.

In Serenity and Joy
Andrea