Like many churches across the country, a corporate fast began. On January 1 many people declared resolutions. For the Fast, I set goals. Goals that I expect to enrich my Black Soil.
First priority obviously was spiritual. The goal was to resume personal bible study aside from studies in Bible study groups.
Reset healthy vegan eating. Depression pushed eating out, fluctuating between pescaterian and vegan. I enjoy seafood but my health demands veganism. I win my blood pressure war when eating clean vegan. I must also lose weight to mitigate the pain in my degenerating L4-L5 vertabra.
Sew/knit one garment a month. I began to crochet a baby sweater. In progress. Practiced hand-knitting techniques. No sewing.
Hang a picture. Purchased but unhinged.
Organize my files and desktop. Still have a week in January. 😆
The first two were the highest priority and I got those done. I am now back in the habit of making my meals. This is not only healthier but economical. With food costs, actually all costs, rising, this helps.
I will continue working on these goals and replacing them with new goals as they become habits.
Who makes pineapple and lemon juice using the whole fruit? I’ve been reading that are benefits to the peel of pineapples and lemons. Usually, to make these juices, I peel them. Lately, I have juiced the whole thing.
You ask why and how? The how is simple. I have a Nama J2 juicer that handles everything quite well. If you don’t like pulp you may need to strain it but I love it all.
Now for the why.
There are benefits to both peels. We know grated lemon peels had flavor to dishes but is there anything else. Oh, so much more. And for the pineapple peel. I didn’t know it was edible.
Benefits of lemon peel.
Antioxidants
Vitamin C
Pectin
Boost immunity
Improve digestion
Support heart health
Benefit skin health by fighting free radicals
Promotes collagen
Reduce inflammation
Boost white blood cells production and fight infection
Aids in fat digestion
Flavanoids to support blood vessels and heart function
Reduces oxidative stress
Supports bone growth and maintenance
Benefits of Pineapple Peel
Anti-inflammatory enzyme bromelian
Improves digestion
Immunity support (Vitamin C)
Heart health (potassium)
Reduction of inflammation, swelling and pain
Gut health
Combat free radicals
WHEW!
All that goodness we normally trash. I am now juicing it all. This saves time. I don’t have to cut the pineapple peel off and I don’t have to peel lemons. But warning! Wash everything, thoroughly. Especially if non-organic. It will be thicker so strain if you don’t like pulp. Happy juicing! 😊
Sometimes you just want a sandwich. Sometimes you just want a salad topping. This jackfruit based offering gives me just that. It’s simple, quick and few ingredients.
Here is my final meal. It is jackfruit, celery, serrano pepper, avocado and salt to taste on a bed of spinach, arugula and tomatoes. The salad dressing is a homemade avocado/cashew milk dressing.
Last night I attended Praisesongs of the People curated by former poet laureate Amanda Johnston held at Kindred Stories Bookstore, Houston, TX. The event featured 6 of the poets in Ms. Johnston’s anthology of the same name. It was an uplifting and entertaining poetry collection of people of color on this MLK Day celebration: Asian, Black and Mexican, all Americans. There were 3 poet laureates in the house: Amanda Johnston and Lupé Mendez. TX state laureates and Deborah D.E.E.P. Mouton, Houston laureate.
The poems were also educational. One specific poem really hit me with a fact I suspected but had not given it much thought.
Lupe shared a poem that let us into a part of a conversation with his father. His shared some feelings about experiences growing and living in America as a man of Mexican heritage. What really hit was the similarity wisdom he shared with his son that happens in Black families. It was “The Talk.”
“The Talk” is instruction on how to survive as a black male when confronted by police or any other white person who believes he/she has the authority to control your life. It doesn’t matter if you have done or are doing something that provokes this confrontation. You’re black, therefore you are probably guilty of something. This is not paranoia. It’s fact. So “The Talk” gives wisdom that increases the probability that you will make it home safely.
I spoke with Lupé after the event about this and to get his permission to use his name and story. He told me :The Talk” was very definitely a part of his community’s conversation and life. My observation is that it is even more imperative now in this Age of I.C.E..
While forces try to divide us, this reminds me that we have more in common than we have differences. Let’s protect and support each other when it is right to do. Let’s work together.
Thank you Amanda for the duration. Thank you Kindred Stories for the hosting. Thank you Poets for sharing you life. Thank you Lupé for letting us into your reality.
Can you positive example of where you’ve felt loved?
I experienced a car accident that totaled my car. Some friends, a couple, helped me buy a brand new car. They paid the down payment, taxes and registration without my asking. Their action supported their statements of love.
For those who are not aware, I do not like to cook. Here is a quick recount of my entry into the lab. First thing was to change my attitude. I changed how I viewed my kitchen. It was no longer a place to cook food but a place to experiment with food. So it began.
The first thing that changed was my husband and I deciding to stop eating beef, pork, chicken, and dairy; but not all at the same time. We still ate turkey and seafood. I decided one day to stop buying ground turkey and sliced turkey for sandwiches. I thought why not break down the turkey and grind some, and cook the rest for different uses. I did and it was a fun, time consuming endeavor. Next experiment was bread. I did like to bake so I expected this to be a more enjoyable experience. I remembered when my children were young how much fun we had baking bread together. This is how they learned fractions. At the same time I began to grow peppers. I wanted to make my own hot sauce, mustard and ketchup. I was on a natural food kick. LOL.
When my husband was treated by Dr. Baxter Montgomery for heart issues, a raw vegan dietary plan was the main prescription. This was a new challenge. We had moved to Texas and anticipated eating Cajun and creole dishes. I know it was not New Orleans but the influences are alive and well in Houston. That dream died. We became not only vegan but raw vegan. The lab was revived. Enough of that. You get the point.
In these past three years I have fluctuated between vegan and pescatarian. I have gained all the weight I had lost during the years we were raw vegan/vegan. We ate no processed food. (Side Note. When the doctor told me I didn’t have to prepare everything from scratch, I tried the closest to clean processed vegan food. Big mistake.) I began gaining weight and got lazy because of the convenience. Not only have I gained weight but joint pains, brain fog and fatigue have returned.
Like many churches in this country, my church began this new year with a corporate Daniel Fast. The dietary portion of this fast is much like I eat anyway, so there was no sacrifice for me in that area. My fast had to take a different form. My fast was eliminating convenience. If I purchased prepared food, it had to be strictly clean and vegan. This could only be done once a week at most. This requires me to prepare all the other meals. I am vegan . I have to cook or make raw preparations. This requires discipline and planning. This is my fast.
So now, I am back in the lab. To get started I decided to make a salad dressing that I enjoy at a salad restaurant I go to. It is jalapeno avocado dressing. They told me no dairy was used to make it but I am not sure.(I just checked. It does include dairy products.) My experiment uses no dairy. Mine is avocado, non-dairy milk, seasonings, vinegar and habenaro. It tasted okay but I have to adjust the flavor profile. Too mild.
Avocado & Habenaro Dressing and Hot Sauce
On my way to the lab to try a new burger recipe with lentils and quinoa.
I just took that step that requires commitment. I have just registered my domain name. It is blacksoilliving.com. So why is this a big deal? Well, it requires me to commit to consistant posts. It also allows me to upgrade my site. So stay tuned. This is the beginning of the Redefining.
For those who are former followers, I am renewing my presence in this digital world. For those who are and will be new, welcome.
My randomness has not changed. The “black soil” has just been seasoned and is richer than before. I have gone through a deep loss. I have gone through the grief that accompanied that loss. I discovered in that process that I was also grieving the loss of 45 year old identities.
I hear you saying, “What?” For 45 years my identity was somebodies’ something which consumed the original. I was my husband’s wife, my children’s mother, and the Pastor’s wife. I am still my children’s mother but they don’t need me the same way. The question, “who am I now?” popped into my mind and I grieved that loss.
I am now ready to find Pat; To redefine and to live the rest of my days as my New authentic self. What does that look like? We will find out together. My soil is getting richer.
One of the unexpected side affects of a raw vegan lifestyle was a drink I had never tried. It was included because of the probiotic contents. I liked it and made it a part of our regular meal plans. The only problem was the cost. When I first started drinking it, the cost was about $2.89 for a 16 oz. bottle. Now, it is $3.99. I buy about 5 bottles/wk. Food cost has gone up and the drink cost has made my grocery bill huge. I have wanted to try making my own, but the task seemed daunting. What did I know about brewing? Oh, wait a minute. Maybe some of you are thinking I’m talking about whiskey, wine or the like. Nope. It is kombucha. Kombucha may have an alcohol content. It depends on the brand. I drink GTs Synergy brand. It is raw and the alcohol content is negligible. I have had some that gave me a slight buzz. I don’t remember the brand because I stick to Synergy. Until, now. I read a lot about making my own. I joined groups on Facebook to learn from experienced brewers and could get questions asked rather quickly. I bought a book entitled The Big Book of Kombucha by Crum and LaGory. Finally, I was ready to begin.
Oh, I need a SCOBY or pellicle. This is and starter tea is needed to begin. Hesitantly, I ordered a kit from Amazon. The kit included black tea, sugar, a pellicle aka SCOBY, ph strips, a pipette, a cover and the all important rubber bend. There was enough product to make two batches. NOW, I’m ready.
Of course I couldn’t do it exactly according to instructions. Where is the fun in that. Rather than brewing my tea with boiling water, I chose to make Sun tea. I sat a quart of water with 6 tea bags out on the patio. After that I followed the instructions. Seven days later my brew looked like this. It was growing a new, healthy pellicle.
Fifteen days later it was time for the second fermentation. This is where you add flavor and create carbonation if you desire. I added ground ginger and cayenne to the bottles Three days later I drank my first batch of Home Brew aka my Kombucha.. My grocery bill will be reduced about $20 because I can make my own and flavor it any way I want or not.
I was sitting thinking about a sermon presented a few weeks ago. It was from the book of Judges about a guy named Gideon. Gideon was chosen by God to fight the enemy of His people. When Gideon was informed by the prophet, his response was, “My family is the least of families, and I am the least in my family.” There is much more to the story, but the thought of “the least” is what has captured my thoughts.
Have you ever thought of yourself as “the least?” Have you ever compared yourself to others? Did you decide you weren’t good enough based on that comparison? Well, listen to this. God loves choosing “the least” to do great things. David was the youngest son, a sherpard boy. Esther was a Hebrew girl in captivity who became Queen of Persia. Matthew was a tax collector hated by all, yet Jesus chose him. Mary Magneline was a prostitute but Jesus chose her. Peter was an uneducated fisherman. Jesus chose him, and he became a leader of the apostles. I am not great by man’s standards but He chose me. I could go on but I won’t. This is my point. God has a plan for you that will make you great for His purposes. It might not be on a grand scale. You might not even be recognized by those around you. But if you follow His plan, you will be great on His grand scale. Go in the strength you have and trust Him to give you what you need to do the job. You are not “the least” in His eyes.
"Black Soil" Living 