kale with mushrooms and walnuts

The Hermit asked me this morning if we still had some kale in the garden. I didn't use a lot of kale this summer so I still had about half a row of White Russian kale. He wanted some for breakfast, sauteed with mushrooms and walnuts. I added bacon, onion, garlic, Parmesan cheese, and a little red wine, and the results were delicious. I also cooked fried homegrown potatoes, which I wrote about on this blog a year ago. Simple, satisfying, and largely homegrown. Here's the approximate recipe:

Fry 3-4 strips bacon. Pour off some of the grease, and add about 2 tablespoons butter to the pan (you could substitute olive oil). Chop one small to medium onion and saute in pan until slightly golden brown. Add mushrooms and one large clove of garlic, minced. Saute over low heat; you don't want the garlic to brown. Add about 1/2 cup chopped walnuts to the pan, and pour in about 1/4 cup red wine (it doesn't matter what kind; lately I like cooking with Pinot Noir but today I used Zinfandel because that's what I had). Add kale and cook until wilted. Sprinkle with shredded Parmesan cheese and enjoy!

I'm back!

I went away from the lights of Fourteenth Street
and into my personal haze
But now that I'm back at the lights of Fourteenth Street
Tomorrow will be brighter than the good old days!


-"Hello, Dolly"

This week I have undergone a revelation of sorts. It started the morning after election night, when my US House of Representatives candidate, who had had a comfortable lead when I went to bed with 13% of precincts reporting, was upset by his challenger, whose doctrine is unmistakably Tea Party and religious right. That, with the news that our gubernatorial race is on hold while a recount is conducted, even though "my" candidate is ahead by over eight thousand votes, sent me into a haze of depression and anxiety about the future of our nation and the general ignorance of people. I aired my frustrations on Facebook, and received some comments that lifted me up and may have changed my life. I re-posted them on Sand Creek Almanac.

The gist of the comments was that the government will never make the changes necessary to move our nation where it needs to be. Those changes will have to be made at the local level. In order to overcome diminishing oil supplies, climate change, and a food system that is contributing to diseases of humans and the environment, people need to look at their own lives. Is our lifestyle sustainable economically, environmentally, and socially? Although the economic crisis seems to be over, what can we do to prepare for more instability in the future?

It will take nothing short of a revolution. And I believe that peaceful revolution can take place, one household at a time. And my renewed purpose in life is to make sure my own household is doing what it can to live a joyful life while preparing for a sustainable future. Living simply, acting deliberately, striving towards a practice of domestic permaculture (where have I heard that before?) And I will share that story here on this blog.


One of my excuses for not blogging has been, of course, time. But I've had another revelation over the last six weeks. My daughter and I are in a school/community theater production of "Hello, Dolly". I never thought I'd have the time to rehearse for 3-4 hours, five evenings a week. But I've managed to do it, and I'm having fun meeting some arts-oriented people in the community. So what am I going to do with all that time after November 21st, our last show? I have made a commitment to myself: I am not going to go back into my evening "personal haze". If I have the time and energy to do theater in the evening, I have the time and energy to play music. And write. And learn! It would be a shame to waste that time on trivial things. Life is too precious to waste even a moment, especially when that moment can be the essential one of discovery.

I'm not making any promises as to posting frequency. But my goal is to make this blog into a vital part of the discussion on sustainability. Whether it reaches only a few people, or hundreds, my hope is that my experiences and experiments can encourage people to take the path of living more simply, acting more deliberately. I'll begin tomorrow by sharing a recipe I came up with this morning that incorporates homegrown food, including some November-harvested kale.