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The Wisdom of Letting Things Be
On Sunday morning, a flash at the window caught my attention, and I spotted a goldfinch arriving at the garden. Perched atop a coneflower, previously purple, it pecked at the dried center to find its seeds. The flowers appear bronze casts of what they were. This late in the growing season, dark florets invite the birds to feed. If I let them complete their full cycle, they will do so until the snow arrives. As I watched, more birds landed atop the sculptural shapes mostly disregarding the newer, vibrant blooms. I thought about the wisdom of letting things be. For the goldfinch, dried cones feed a growing nest. Had I…
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Mindful Living | Autumn
Summer heated us from without, decking us in sunlight when it wasn’t shaking the leaves in our garden with rain. Possibly you were barefoot more than usual in sand and picnic grass. Everything was alive, and it invited us to bask in what called to us most. Now that autumn is here, we are asked to light that fire from within. As the felt heat dissipates, we return to our inner spark. When the seasons change, we take what we loved and transform it to suit the new reality, this being earlier nightfall and cooler days ahead. It means learning to find beauty in the dark and discovering what warms…
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Mindful Living | Summer
There is a fullness to summer with its fiery extremes and the sheer abundance of everything we planned during spring coming to fruition. Flowers overflow in the garden and make their way to our tables. Tomatoes ripen on the vine and taste better than any other time of year. Light and heat, long days to linger over beautiful meals, and the general sense of life giving us deep moments of exposure characterize this time for me. Harmony with the seasons inspires the meals we make together in our cooking classes and the recipes shared here. When summer rushes in, we feel that burst, and it energizes us. Now that we…
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Living Well in the New Year
If you’ve taken one of my cooking classes, you know that I consider making beautiful food to be an essential part of loving ourselves and those around us. When I hear that one of my recipes has become part of your regular meal rotation, or a special indulgence, it fills me with joy to know that you have found a new way to enjoy time in the kitchen. Perhaps you find the time we spend together to be that moment of inspiration in the week that fuels your own creativity and helps you to approach meal making in a new way. Often I hear our time allows you to relax,…
