Day 6: Examine Your Words

Posted on January 21, 2012 by Highly Sensitive Girl

I spent most of today watching The Enchanted Island (Met Opera Live in HD), so haven’t had much time or energy for today’s Love Action . . . which asked us to examine how we use language: do we speak/write unlovingly/cruely to others (or ourselves)? how do we treat those close to us compared to strangers? what about online rhetoric? what might it mean to “Occupy Language”?

I’ll ‘fess up to snide comments about politicians . . . though I don’t think I even come close to the nastiness they are spewing at each other.

I’ll also admit I often find it much easier to be nice to total strangers than to myself and those I love . . . and that I have no trouble raising my voice in anger when I feel someone is in the wrong . . . okay I’m human (and not a native Minnesotan).

Anyway, too tired to do justice to today’s topic, so I’ll pass along the words of Alice Walker (included in today’s 30 Days of Love email):

Love is not concerned
with whom you pray
or where you slept
the night you ran away
from home.
Love is concerned
that the beating of your heart
should kill no one.

-Alice Walker

Day 5: Inspiring Others Through Our Own Stories

Posted on January 20, 2012 by Highly Sensitive Girl

Today’s “Love Action” (as I’m now calling them 🙂 ) involves “coming out” stories, broadly defined. If you’ve read the Alphabet Soup page of this blog, then you know some of my CFS “coming out” story. Because CFS is an “invisible illness/disability” I find it necessary to “come out” about it over and over and over again . . . often to the same people. I rarely interact with people when I’m feeling at my worst, which means most people only see me when I’m feeling relatively “good” (i.e., I look “normal” and “fine” on the outside). What they don’t see is the collapse when I get home, or the days of recovery after over-doing.

But that’s not what I wanted to write about today . . . I, like most of us, have more than one “coming out” story. My non-health-related “coming out” story is of the more traditional type. Thinking about it today, I realized that most of my friends know pieces of the story, but few, if any, of them have the broad overview. So, I’ll be skipping the gory details (apologies to those who wanted me to name names 🙂 ) and sketching the larger story . . . very briefly:

Unfortunately my coming out story isn’t of the inspirational/”It Gets Better” variety.

20 years of compulsory heterosexuality (i.e., didn’t know there was anything else)
10 years of questioning (boyfriends, girlfriends, crushes of various sorts)
20 years of identifying as a lesbian but getting very little support or acceptance, even from the LGBT community

My heartfelt thanks to those of you who have been supportive; my apologies to those I never had the discussion with (feel free to ask for more details, but those won’t be distributed via blogs or Facebook).

Time will tell what the next decade(s) of my life will look like . . .

Standing on the Side of Love—Thirty Days of Love

Posted on January 20, 2012 by Highly Sensitive Girl

Days 1 through 4

I’ve been participating in the Thirty Days of Love campaign over at Standing on the Side of Love. 30 Days began on January 16th (Martin Luther King Jr.’s Birthday, Observed) and continues though Valentine’s Day (February 14th). The idea is “to harness love’s power to stop oppression”. Thanks to the folks of the UUA—Unitarian Universalist Association—for coming up with this program and welcoming everyone, even Episcopalians 🙂 to participate!

Each day I get an email with a suggested action and/or thought project and/or links to helpful information. I’ve been sharing bits and pieces of my reactions to these emails on Facebook. Decided it would be easier to post them here. After all, love is a powerful healer (and healing is what this blog is about)!

For the record, here are Days 1-4:

Day 1: January 16, 2012, Celebration of Martin Luther King, Jr. I read his Letter from Birmingham Jail: “Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere. We are caught in an inescapable network of mutuality, tied in a single garment of destiny. Whatever affects one directly, affects all indirectly.”

Day 2: Ponder Love “Polish your heart for a day or two; make that mirror your book of contemplation.“—Rumi;
How is love part of your personal identity? I believe that “God is Love” (no exceptions). I take to heart Christ’s message to “Love God. Love Each Other.” It really all boils down to that. I’m not saying that it is always easy. I slip into resentment of other people’s successes. I let people annoy me. But in the end, only love and kindness matter. Peace to you.

Day 3: Embrace Silence and Listen Today’s action was inspired by a mother’s story of frustration with the tone of her children’s voices, only to be told that she talked the same way! That experience prompted her to listen carefully to her own tone. We’re invited to do the same. Could I speak more gently? Am I interrupting? And yes, I know I interrupt too much and talk to loud! I’m taking this one to heart. Read the full story here

Day 4: Ask Yourself: What Do You Struggle With? Oh, so many things: financial fears, health issues, loneliness, despair . . . . Today’s email included the following prayer:

Loving in Fear
Spirit of Life, God of Love, grant me the courage to love boldly in the face of my greatest fears. Grow me in your wisdom and let my actions speak when silence threatens justice and indifference disturbs peace. When gossip, hate, and cruelty arise among friends or in public places, help me bravely walk forward with love. When I defensively assert certainty in the presence of the unknown, grant me the courage to live comfortably in the unanswerable questions of life. Bless me with the eternal gift of not knowing and let it take root in me until it pushes forth shoots of understanding and branches of humility.
—From “Be the Change: Poems Prayers and Meditations for Peacemakers and Justice Seekers,” by Stephen Shick, Skinner House books.

(Note: You can sign up here to receive daily emails during the 30 Days of Love, beginning with the Celebration of Martin Luther King, Jr. on January 16, 2012 and continuing through Valentine’s Day. )

Day 5 and following will appear as separate posts at this blog.

Brownies! Sometimes healing requires comfort food . . .

Posted on January 16, 2012 by Highly Sensitive Girl

Baked some gluten-free, dairy-free brownies to take to book group tomorrow.

Those of you who know my previous “before-gluten-free” blog will recognize this recipe, but I wanted to repost it here anyway.

Katharine Hepburn’s Brownies

redux:the gluten-free, corn-free, dairy-free edition

I learned of this recipe in Laurie Colwin’s lovely literary cookbook More Home Cooking: A Writer Returns to the Kitchen and have used and adapted it for years. Now that I’ve tried a version without gluten, corn, or dairy products, I figure I’ve altered it enough to post here. BTW, technically there’s a bit of corn in the alcohol in the vanilla extract (but I’m already researching recipes for homemade vanilla to get around that in the future!).

Ingredients

1 stick (1/2 cup) butter or shortening [I used Spectrum’s Organic Shortening which is made from palm oil, thus dairy-free]
2 squares (2 oz.) unsweetened baking chocolate
1 cup sugar
2 eggs
1/2 tsp vanilla extract [corn-free if you can find it or make it]
1/2 cup GF flour blend [I used Food Philosopher’s Brown Rice Blend]
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp guar gum or xanthan gum
1 cup chopped walnuts (optional) [I left these out]

Directions

Preheat oven to 325°F.
Grease and flour the bottom and sides of an 8-inch square pan. [For easier brownie removal, especially when making gluten-free brownies, grease the pan and then line with parchment paper wide enough to cover the bottom of the pan and long enough to come up above two sides of the pan. Once the brownies are cool, you can just lift by the paper handles and remove the whole thing to a board for cutting.]
In the top of a double-boiler (or over very low heat) melt together the butter/shortening and the chocolate. Once both are completely melted, remove the pan from the heat.
Stir in the sugar and vanilla. Mix well.
Stir in the eggs. Mix well.
Stir in the flour, guar gum, and salt. Mix well.
Add nuts if using.
Spread the batter into the prepared pan. Bake for 40-45 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Allow to cool completely before removing, cutting and eating.

Enjoy!

* If you are going corn-free, you are probably aware of the debate surrounding xanthan gum (a thickener made from mold grown on corn which companies using it claim does not contain any corn but which some corn-sensitive folks react to anyway). If you are concerned use guar gum or omit.

Beets, Yes Beets!!

Posted on January 10, 2012 by Highly Sensitive Girl

I know . . . most people HATE beets! So did I. When I was growing up, mom would serve them (out of a can, or fresh, boiled and then peeled) . . . the only thing I hated more than beets was lima beans!

Well, I’ve seen the error of my ways. I also found a couple of recipes that make even beets taste great! Now I have them every couple of months or so . . . (so, still not my favorite food, but a great way to add some color to your plate).

First, a few notes on preparation . . .

(1) I always peel my beets with a vegetable peeler. I know other folks recommend other ways (e.g., bake and then rub off the skin) but I’ve never been able to get those to work satisfactorily.

(2) When I work with red beets I wear gloves (either rubber dish gloves or the thin clear vinyl gloves sold at pharmacies), and an apron. The red juice WILL wash off . . . but it is easier not to get it on you in the first place.

Okay, here are the recipes:

The original Moosewood Cookbook by Mollie Katzen contained what became my regular Thanksgiving meal—”Comprehensively-stuffed Squash” and “A Colorful Accompaniment.” The “Colorful Accompaniment” was grated beets cooked in orange juice.

Quick Stovetop Beets

2 good-sized (fill your hand) red beets (or several smaller ones)
1 medium carrot
1 Tbls oil (canola or olive)
1 clove garlic, crushed
3/4 cup orange juice
salt and pepper to taste

Peel the beets and the carrot (see note on preparation above). Grate/shred the beets and the carrot (use either the side of your box-grater with the 1/4″ holes or a food processor with a grating attachment). Heat the oil in a small frying pan over medium heat. Add the garlic and sauté for a couple of minutes (be careful not to burn it, if you do, start over). Add the grated beets and carrots. Sauté for a few more minutes. Add the orange juice; cook gently 5-10 minutes or until everything is heated through. Season to taste. Serve.

Makes 4 servings.

Roasted Beets and Shallots

from the Penzey’s Spices catalog (date unknown)

4-6 beets, peeled and cut into large chunks (use red or gold or a combination)
4-6 shallots, peeled (if small, leave whole after peeling, if very large, cut into chunks)
2 tsp. olive oil
2 cloves garlic, minced or crushed
1/2-1 tsp. cracked rosemary
1/4-1/2 tsp. salt, to taste
1/4-1/2 tsp. fresh ground black pepper, or to taste

Preheat oven to 375°F. Place the beets in a cast iron skillet or heavy metal roasting pan. Add the shallots, olive oil, garlic, rosemary, salt and pepper. Toss it all together. Cover the pan tightly with foil. Bake at 375°F for 45 minutes or more. (To test the beets for doneness, poke with a knife or fork. When they offer little resistance, they’re done.) Remove the beets from the oven and place in a serving dish. Pour any juices over the beets and serve.

Makes 4 servings.

Note: I remove the foil and check the beets after about 30 minutes, if the pan seems dry, I add a few tablespoons of hot water. Most of the time the beets and shallots make enough juice of their own, but if the foil seal is loose the moisture can escape and the pan can get dry.