Sunday April 29, 2012
I finally watched War Horse last night, well kinda. I have to say, while the cinematography was amazing, i found it difficult to watch the slaughter of young men and fine horses. War is truly a detestable thing. The futility. The loss. I so wanted to stay until the end, well-knowing there was a "happy" ending. But was it? Self interest, war, killing, death. Are those happy themes? The bond between animal and man was clearly shown but reduced to a mere indulgence when war became the goal. The softer, loving side side of humans was bulldozed by the aggressive, hateful side.
I don't know why this hit me so hard. Maybe that was Speilberg's objective. I am personally avoiding the newspaper and netwrok news these days as I am sick of sensationalized bad news! If we all focused on the good, the beauty and the miraculous, we would all be at peace with oursleves and therefore with everyone else.
So as I watch my three horses enjoying themselves in the pasture, eating grass, drinking spring water, and being horses, wild and free, I feel happy. We don't put them in stalls, we allow them to be in nature as they would be naturally. They know us and come running when we go down to their pasture, they want affection and of course, treats! They are not afraid. They are my Peace Horses. And I am grateful.
Sunday April 29, 2012
Hope springs eternal and oh, so happy for those first green vegetables of spring - asparagus, watercress and artichokes. While not all are grown here in Massachusetts, they are the spring veggies that you can find in abundance in the grocery store. Over the last few days, I have enjoyed making watercress soup, asparagus polonaise and baby artichokes.
I hope you enjoy these and please share your concoctions and versions!
Thursday April 26, 2012
We just added all the books of our radio guests to our blog sidebar. Check them out!
Wednesday April 25, 2012
Listen in to Part 2 of Food Memory Lane with AnneMarie DeFreest as she illustrates the importance of paprika to her favorite Savory Hungarian recipes - Goulash and Chicken Paprikash and talks about the importance of knowing what kind of paprika(smoked, sweet, hot and more) and where it came from would go into different Hungarian recipes. She also tells us about her favorite Hungarian sweets – Kifli and Kalacs - whose recipes, techniques, and variations she learned as a child from her Aunt Betty.
Monday April 23, 2012
My best friend, AnneMarie DeFreest, joins me in Stockbridge for Part 1 of her 2 part show. While AnneMarie's most vivid food memories are passed to her from her father Jack Simko and his Hungarian heritage, the pleasure and importance of gathering at the table with cloth napkins and everyone in their specific seat, has left its own important set of memories and practices for her. As she and her siblings grew up and her father took over the cooking from her mother AnneMarie was able to experience again the smells and tastes she remembers of her Grandfather's cooking of recipes like Kifli and Kalacs and expose her own children to these recipes which had been so important to her upbringing. Listen in to hear her stories of growing up and savoring her paternal Hungarian food heritage in Part 1 and to Part 2 for more about the recipes she savors.
Friday April 20, 2012
Christine McLaughlin, author of The Complete Idiot's Guide to Small-Space Gardening
, The Complete Idiot's Guide to Composting
, and The Complete Idiot's Guide to Heirloom Vegetables
grew up on the edge of suburbia and farm country with an envious eye on the life of farmers. As a young girl and aspiring entrepreneur she nurtured her love for plants going up and down her street with replanted "volunteer" seedlings selling them to her neighbors for 10 cents a piece. This appreciation for plants evolved into an appreciation for preserving the rich heritage of heirloom and open-pollinated varieties and eventually realizing her dream of becoming a writer with her contributions to The Complete Idiot's series. Listen in as Christine tells her story and talks about the many reasons why preserving heirloom seeds is important (beyond genetic diversity).