PUMPKIN PIE PANCAKES.

* 2 cups all-purpose flour
* 2 ½ teaspoons baking powder
* 1 ½ teaspoon baking soda
* 2 teaspoons sugar
* 1 teaspoon salt
* 1 teaspoon cinnamon and a little more for garnish*
* ½ teaspoon nutmeg and a little more for garnish*
* 1 ½ cups buttermilk
* 1 cup nonfat milk
* 2 large eggs
* 4 tablespoons canola oil
* 1 15 ounce can pumpkin pie filling
* or
* 2 cups fresh roasted pumpkin puree**
* a little butter or nonstick cooking spray, for preparing the griddle

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Mark Bittman's Autumn Millet Bake Recipe

I screwed up a bit and used dried cranberries. If you are referencing the photo, you'll notice the shrivel factor. Still good. You can make this vegan, vegetarian, I used a bit of cream* - but you can use just stock or water. The real trick is getting the millet to cook all the way though, so don't over toast it, and keep adding liquids if you need to.

1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil, plus oil for the dish
3/4 cup millet
1 medium butternut or other winter squash or 1 small pumpkin, peeled seeded and cut into 1-inch cubes
1 cup fresh cranberries
Salt and freshly ground pepper
1 tablespoon minced sage leaves or 1 teaspoon dried
2 tablespoons maple syrup or honey
1 cup vegetable stock or water, warmed*
1/4 cup pumpkin seeds or coarsely chopped hazelnuts

You can run, but you can't hide: The proverbial umbilical cord called LIFE

You can run. You can cry. You can kick. You can scream. You can put yourself in an insane asylum and lock yourself up and throw away the key. Hey, go ahead, eat the key. But what will any of these things ever do for your soul? Maybe momentarily release you from your inner demons, but will this cure you of your ills?
Probably NOT. Probably no no no, I'm sorry, definitely not, unless you enjoy being sedated and withdrawn. Most of us last time I checked really, really want to live.

It's funny how this week has come and gone, just like all of the rest. Each of us must find our true worth in this world or we will shrivel into shells of our former aspirations and fantasies. Use your talents or lose your talents. That is the rule of life. If you take it for granted, as it begins to deteriorate we will recognize just how good we had it.
Take the example a man with seeds and an empty field. If the man plants all his seeds and cares for them he could out with some really tasty awesome fruits, veggies, and trees. Or, this man could only plant some and produce half of what he would if he planted it all. Or, this man could produce, nothing. He who puts forth nothing, gets nothing in return. The more effort you plant, the more likely you are to harvest great results.

I don't ever want to lose my talents, do you?

Don't forget that little kid that used to say what s/he wanted to be when s/he grew up.
You're grown, almost. You're getting too big to call yourself a dependent on someone's taxes. It's time to face Uncle Sam, your parents, and the financial deficiencies of inadequate income. Pay check to pay check, loan by loan, scholarship by scholarship, dollar by hour, and so forth.

It is increasingly difficult in a society of many evils--diversions--sublevels of reality. We can find ourselves in predicaments we never quite dreamed of wishing we thought more and acted less. Pure state of nature action (action with minimal thought)= lust, greed, sloth, jealously/covetousness, rage, etc. Or we can know these things can come from becoming a bitter fullgrown brat.

I don't even have all the time in the world to explain these concepts.

But fruit for thought yeah?
If we pretend we are alright with where we are, we are lying to ourselves. If our happiness is fully dependent on those things I listed above, we can never truly attain happiness.

True joy lies in the ability to create, to protect, to love,to give of yourself to (an)other, freely, without guilt or regret. It is freeing of one's soul. How do you free the soul?

Well, that is a process, and another essay entirely.

If only or society was not birthed out of corruption, it would be so much easier...*heavy sigh*

Thoughts to share, as usual. I meant to post our actual discussion.

My body was shaking. I have a paper to write. Tonight I had to say it to him, and I saved it to post, because I couldn't believe I wrote that. I know that many people don't care what happens to this world, or how anything is run. I'm not one to consider myself super religious, just very informed. I'm not one that runs around screaming, "God is beautiful," at the top of my lungs. I'm just the one that wants to know something about this great spirit that exists and why things are the way they are at present. It's interesting, the reasons people concoct and find to believe in what they believe. You cannot fault them. You can only hope that someday they open their eyes and seek a deeper understanding, rather than their own opinions. The mainstream media does not want religion to exist, and if it does exist, they want it to be hypocritical. They want it to cause wars. And this is all people see today. This is very unfortunate.

Visualization, practice.

Yeo Valley is Getting Mad Props from Lys Kiss.

This is what we live for. Sustain. Maintain. Change the game. I love the United Kingdom. They ain't scurred to get a lil hood. Mmmhmm. It's expensive though. O Lord, I wish Yeo valley was here.

Quick sneak post

On the tip of the tongue thoughts are melded;
Into out realm of existence they step.
Into the endless chambers of the echoing universe they chime.
<(((Sound wave)))((( to whisper)))((( to ripple)))((( to brain wave)))((( to speech)))((( to action))) (((to reaction)))>.
It's nice to know how you feel, but don't you think you should be more careful about what passes through your lips?
In this counterculture of the individual mind, so many are lonely. So many are afraid.
So many are too proud to say, your words hurt me. So many lock themselves in a cubbyhole.
So many don't know where to start, and where to finish.
When they purse their lips, lubricated, prepared to utter the unthinkable, the unmentionable, the hurtful, they don't realize the boomerang effect they have undoubtedly unlocked. It is the silencing of ourselves to think before we react that emulates strength, character, and most importantly, love.



Thank Jah for the wisdom that exists here.
Enjoy the sunlight today. We never know when our time will come to pass.

Oolong Tea Marinade in My Life.

I must make this! AHHH!

WHAT'S UP with the pictures on blogger today? broken?


COMPLIMENTS OF Daily Digress:

Oolong Tea Marinade for Fish

Mix in a small sauce pan:

2 cups Oolong Tea (Brew it right in the sauce pan. Use two tea bags and remove them before you add the rest of the ingredients.)

2/3 cup reduced sodium Tamari Soy Sauce.

1/2 cup light brown sugar. You can use less, but the marinade won't stick as well. You can use more and it'll stick better, but be less healthy. It's a tough call. Sugar isn't healthy anyway, so you might as well rock out, just this once. Maybe use more if it's a dinner party, less if you're just hanging with the family.

A small spoonful each of minced garlic and fresh ginger.

Bring the mixture to a boil, lower the heat and let it simmer for a few minutes. You want to make sure the sugar is dissolved and let it reduce a little bit to make the flavor stronger. Take it off the heat entirely and let it cool. When it's cool, strain the ginger and garlic out. Cheese cloth works well for straining.

Use just enough marinade for your fish (we had Salmon the other night and it was great, but any fish will do!) To reduce the amount of marinade you need, use a zip-loc bag. If you squeeze the air out before sealing, you'll only need a small amount of marinade to surround the fish. If you marinate in a bowl, you have to use a lot to cover the fish.

Freeze the leftover marinade to use another day. You could even double (or triple! or quadruple! or hex...never mind) the recipe and freeze the leftover in smaller portions.

Let the fish marinate all day. I broiled the salmon for about ten minutes, which was good, because we like it on the rare side. As a side, I wilted some fresh spinach in the marinade that I poured off the cooked fish. The whole family gave it a thumbs up.