EARTH LIFE!

~ Chambers Life! ~ Leave a comment

Not just Earth Day! I love the earth and I hate feeling guilty shopping at Trader Joe’s. It’s a conundrum. Here’s a few ideas. Just a teeny bit makes a difference. 

I helped launch the recycling program in Baltimore (decades ago). It was a huge undertaking but folks wanted to do the right thing and they’d drive up on their precious Saturday morning and fill the cargo containers. I am sure folks still want to help the earth BUT I believe the manufacturers really should step up. That means packaging changes. 

So ways you might consider and a bit of inspiration…

COMPOSTNOW https://compostnow.org/compostables/  My garbage goes out once a month now.  AND it doesn’t stink. My garden loves the compost – but you can donate it to a farmer too!

I love straight side ball jars. You can freeze in them! 

And take a real fork/spoon/knife and skip the plastic ones – why not? Straws – yeah that is a real convenience when you are driving.

BUT… maybe paper (compostable) ones or better yet reusable ones.  

Whole Foods has a terra cycling collection for potato chip bags etc etc. https://www.dwellsmart.com/pages/terracycle

Take the time to drop a note to your favorite organic company that packages their product in plastic or has a label that will last a million years.

Support the local farmers. Wrap your produce in a clean dish towel. https://farmtoforknc.com. https://triangleonthecheap.com/farmers-markets/

Shrink your meat consumption. 

And buy bulk. Take your own container. 

Letter to Trader Joes today…I love them BUT…

Be inspired right here in Raleigh!

P.S. Raleigh …Master Gardeners help relaunch the NCSU composting “farm” Raleigh is a center for folks worldwide to study composting and “worm” composting. https://composting.ces.ncsu.edu/nc-state-compost-learning-lab/

Raleigh …Joann Burkholder https://cals.ncsu.edu/plant-and-microbial-biology/people/jburk/ Animal Waste and Environmental impacts EXPERT   Wikipedia “She was responsible for identifying the cause, a dinoflagellate Pfiesteria piscicida and its toxins, of mass deaths of fish that posed a public health hazard. Her studies also helped in improving legislation to control pollution and eutrophication.”

AND… Just heard a bit about how NSCU has developed a way to use cola ash for concrete, eliminating its toxic impact.

pastedGraphic.png

Seasonal Seasoning

~ Chambers Life! ~ Leave a comment

Tis the season to think SEASONING!

Whether a turkey, dressing or a vegan winter squash this seasoning is worth gobbling. All ingredients are organic & dried. 

Thanks to Alice Waters for the suggestion of a Suribachi Mortar Bowl. Blends without pulverizing the herbs totally.

6 teaspoons sage
4 1/2 teaspoons thyme
1 teaspoon parsley
1/2 teaspoon lemon pepper blend
1/4 teaspoon celery salt
1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper
3 teaspoons marjoram
2 1/4 teaspoons rosemary
3/4 teaspoon black pepper
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg (freshly grated)
Dash of allspice (optional)8FANlHP7RP6PvhByJa0EUA

KARMA – Tuesday with Deepak Chopra’s Seven Spiritual Laws of Success

Image ~ ~ Chambers Life! ~ Leave a comment

Welcome to a bit of Deepak Chopra’s weekly guide to make your life more peaceful and joyful. Chopra’s Seven Spiritual Laws of Success shares how striving isn’t necessary, that effortless joy attracts your deepest desires.

Here’s how I came to love Deepak’s wisdom.

In 1998, I lived in Singapore. Deepak was coming to speak. My life was in absolute turmoil and chaos. I had left a career, daughters and life back in Baltimore to follow my darling husband to Asia-Pacific where the only identity I would be taking was my role as his wife. Because he would now be president of a certain power tool company there, I would be the president’s wife. It was exciting and frightening.

It became even more frightening when I discovered that he and my former employee, an art director for my marketing firm, were lovers. As I dumped our life photo collection onto our Queen Astrid Park bed, a little silver chest with a piece of her hair and a love note bounced out.

So after confronting my darling husband, I went from a size 12 to a size 4 and my scalp started crawling on itself. As my Singapore psychiatrist wrote my Prozac script, he said, “It’s called paresthesias or formication.”

“Fornication, with an n,” I said, “not an m.”

However, he was correct. So was I.

Because at that moment, I really understood how a plea of “temporary insanity” could make sense, I also knew God decided, on purpose, to place me half way around the world from my former employee/friend. It was, obviously, time for me to reconnect with my soul.

Stripped of most of my professional and personal identity just by moving to Singapore, the best voice I had in my head was not my ego’s. I needed a higher more powerful source.

Chopra showed up in Singapore, having followed his own cosmic message. As I listened to his soothing voice sharing that we are never alone but single drops of water that form the ocean together, my heart settled. I went up to him after his talk and just looked into his eyes for two seconds and thanked him.

I thought to myself, “God, wouldn’t it be amazing and perfect to study with Deepak at The Chopra Center.”

In 2014, I began my yoga/meditation/Ayurveda training at The Chopra Center. There I studied with amazing life leaders, Deepak Chopra, Martha Beck, Andrew Weil, Suhas Kshirsagar, Claire Diab, to name just a few. In 2016, as I was performing my final test, Surya Namaskar (sun salutations) with the corresponding Sanskrit mantras, I remembered that wish I had made in Singapore almost two decades before.

It seemed effortless, but every moment of my life had to be orchestrated (by God) to make my Chopra Center experience possible. All I did was show up.

A Course in Miracles states: A miracle is simply a change in perception. 

 

First you have to encourage your mind to love the discipline it takes to be open to miracles. I am thankful for miracles. I believe by quieting my mind and letting God do what God does best, I attract miracles.

Mostly because, God made you a miracle, a part of me.

On Tuesdays, try practicing the Law of Karma.

 

My actions are aligned with cosmic law. 

  • Witness your choices today.
  • Consider the consequences of your choices.
  • Listen to your body.

The Sanskrit mantra is: Om Kriyam Namah and it is associated with the first Chakra called Muladhara, which is red &  is located at the base of your spine.

OM

 

A MUST READ – Please share!

~ Chambers Life! ~ Leave a comment

Ready for a good page turner that just might change your life? Galli’s story made me want to be more inspiring – to show up a bit more with passion and compassion. One of the inspiring things I would like to do is to tell you about her book, Rethinking Possible. Please read it and share it. Enjoy!

Rethinking Possible   (for her Book and website)

Rebecca Faye Smith Galli was born into a family that valued the power of having a plan. With a pastor father and a stay-at-home mother, her 1960s southern upbringing was bucolic―even enviable. But when her brother, only seventeen, died in a waterskiing accident, the slow unraveling of her perfect family began.

Though grief overwhelmed the family, twenty-year-old Galli forged onward with her life plans―marriage, career, and raising a family of her own―one she hoped would be as idyllic as the family she once knew.

But life had less than ideal plans in store.

 

Look for Thoughtful Thursdays on her website too. Sign up for once a week inspiration.

 

 

 

Phone Heaven Today

~ Chambers Life! ~ Leave a comment
IMG_5587_2
   I called my sister Mary last week. We talked of the rainbows she sends to me; how she loves pizza and she eats all she wants now; how it was her fault that Mom’s bird Penny died. Bob, her blue-eyed love, is golfing daily. We exchange some recipe. She rants, as always, about people who leave their grocery carts wild in the parking lots. We end with the agreement that, “At any given time, we all do our best.”
These days after I talk to my sister, knowing I have to hang up, I weep. This particular day after I talked to her, I tried to push my iphone’s red circle, the one with the white old timey phone handset, to hang up. Mary just started laughing out loud. From heaven.
 
A few days later on NPR I heard about this phone booth in Japan:
The Wind Phone in Japan  
I am certain Mary sent the Wind Phone info to me.
 
For all of you who have lost a loved one, maybe call them today. I believe they can answer.
They never hang up.
 

Something Big!

~ Chambers Life! ~ Leave a comment

For Tuesday — One of Chopra’s “Seven Spiritual Laws of Yoga: The Law of Cause and Effect.

My actions are aligned with cosmic law.

IMG_1709

Today: Witness your choices. Consider the consequences.Listen to your body.

My body says “YOGA!” and a hike in the woods with Lucy Dog.

Have a wonderful day.

Isn’t it glorious to be part of such a big plan but only be responsible for your part of it?

LEEKS VINAIGRETTE NESTS

~ Chambers Life! ~ Leave a comment
FullSizeRender-3Photo – Merci, Kathy Thompson!

ORGANIC INGREDIENTS, PLEASE.
Serves 12

LEEKS
2 large 1.5″ diameter leeks
Cut off roots and trim leaves leaving 3″ of dark green.
Halve them lengthwise and wash thoroughly.
Cut into ribbons about 1/2″ wide.
Leeks are banked with earth as they grow to create the
delicate white root ends. You can plant the trimmed root and it will grow a new leek. Save the tops for a soup or a stir fry.

You can prepare the vinaigrette as the leeks cook.

Bring 1 quart of water to a boil.
Add 1/2 t. sea salt.
Add leeks and simmer for 15 minutes until they are just translucent and tender. You’ll need to tend these as they cook. If you overcook they will be mush. If you overcook them then save them for something other than Leeks Vinaigrette. Maybe a leek puree topped with tiny carrots.

Have a bowl of ice and water ready to chill the leeks once they are done. Drain the tender leeks reserving the liquid to drink now or later. It’s delicious hot and cold! Place the drained leeks into the ice water and let chill thoroughly. Drain but leave them moist as the water helps to dilute the vinaigrette a bit.

VINAIGRETTE
Vinegary things’ sourness is influenced by the vinegar type and is a personal preference so before you add the leeks to the vinaigrette, taste it.

In a bowl large enough to hold the leeks, mix together:
1/4 c. olive oil
2 T. champagne or white wine vinegar
1/4 t. garlic salt or a tiny clove of fresh garlic and a dash of salt
1 dash of freshly ground or FRESH white pepper (or more to your taste – it’s powerful if it’s fresh)

OPTIONAL
1/2 t. Dijon mustard – I do not add as I think it masks the delicate leek flavor.

Add the drained leeks and toss gently. Place in a GLASS or CERAMIC covered dish and refrigerate for at least four hours and up to 8 hours. No metals or plastics please as they influence the flavors. A Ball jar with an enamel lid works too.

QUAIL EGGS
Place eggs in saucepan and cover with cold water. Add 1 T vinegar. Bring to a gentle simmer. Simmer for 45 seconds then plunge into cold water to stop the cooking. These are tricky to keep a gooey yellow so you might just let them cool to room temperature and be happy with whatever the yolk decides to do. The shells are so beautiful – so I just clip off the top of the egg and set it into the nest.

THE FUN PART – ASSEMBLY

Select lovely little dishes. I like square dark dishes for the contrast. <$2 at World Market. In each dish swirl a nest of leeks, top with a clipped quail egg, a few capers, a bit of sunflower seeds for crunch.

I think they’d be delightful in petit cupcake liners and then placed in one of those ceramic egg cartons. I will try to get a photo of that next time!

Let rest at room temperature for at least 30 minutes and up to an hour before serving.

Bon Appétit

From Iceland with love

~ Chambers Life! ~ Leave a comment
img_9350
Enjoy this Risallamande recipe. It has a lovely story.
Substitute coconut cream and any kind of nut milk if you like.
Hiking with REI in December the young guide, Pokey, was away from his family for the first time over Christmas. When I asked him what he missed it was Risallamande. (Rice with Almonds and Cherry Sauce). The chef at the Inn (www.hotelborealis.is) where we stayed lovingly made it for him on Christmas night. His family usually has a huge portion for Christmas Eve dinner and then has the rest for dessert on Christmas.
Well, I have been eating it every day since I got back home. That’s like three weeks or so. I know, I have to stop at some point! Anyhow, it is delicious. Here’s my adaptation and a website for more fun reading…http://nordicfoodliving.com/risalamande-danish-rice-dessert/
Risallamande
Recipe for Homemade Risalamande - Danish Rice Dessert for Christmas
Prepare Rice Pudding, Cherry Sauce, Almonds and Whipped Cream
Rice Pudding
1 c  Organic short grain rice (Arborio)
4 c WHOLE Organic milk
1/8 t sea salt +/-
5 T Organic sugar
1 T Organic butter
1 vanilla bean
1 t vanilla (I use Penzey’s double strength)
Place rice, salt, sugar, and scrapings from vanilla bean and the bean in a saucepan. Add 2 cups of the milk and bring to a low simmer. DO NOT BOIL fully or the milk will scald. The trick here is to stir every 3 minutes or so to be sure it’s not sticking to the bottom. Add the additional milk as the rice absorbs the first liquids. Cook for about 35 minutes, Remove vanilla bean hull. Add butter and vanilla. Place plastic wrap directly over the top of the pudding and let cool to room temperature. The plastic wrap keeps a “skin” from forming on the top. (You can put in a shallow container to do this if you wish to cool faster.) This can be made up to a day ahead and refrigerated.
Cherry Sauce
2 c frozen Bing/Sweet cherries – I like Whole Foods brand – Organic or what you can find
4 T filtered water in 2 equal portions
2 T Organic butter
1/8 t sea salt +/-
2 T sugar
2 t cornstarch
1/4 t almond extract
While you stir the rice pudding, make the sauce. In small saucepan, place all ingredients (2 T of the water) except cornstarch and extract. Bring to simmer. In a small bowl, mix the cornstarch with 2 T water. Add to saucepan and stir to thicken and cook through. remove from heat; add almond extract. Serve barely warm over pudding.
Almonds
1 c +/- Organic almonds
Place almonds in ceramic bowl; cover with boiling water. Let sit 1 minute., Pour off water and recover with boiling water. Let sit 1 minute. Run cool water over and pop off the almond skins. (You can buy blanched almonds if you like.) Coarsely chop the almonds and set aside.
Whipped Cream
2 c Organic Whipping cream
2 T confectioners Sugar – I skip this added sugar but you might want to add according to the rice pudding sweetness and your own taste preference.
Whip cream until firm peaks form.
Assembly
Fold whipped cream into cool rice pudding.
I literally take the rice pudding in my hands and break it into smaller chunks so the whipped cream stays fluffier as you fold it in.
Traditionally the almonds are stirred into the pudding and one whole almond is included. Whomever gets the whole almond wins…you know that Christmas/King Cake/3 Kings Cake/Hide It tradition.
I like to place the pudding in a dish, top with cherry sauce and then add almonds on top according to my guests’ preference for nuts or not.
So pretty! It’s lovely in tiny little single Asian spoons or crystal shot glasses.
It will be a new holiday tradition – and well maybe a weekly tradition — at our home!
Enjoy!
Oh and Iceland is SOOOO worth a visit. Iceland Air offers free stopovers on the way to Europe.
Gleðileg jól

PLASTIC MATTERS?

~ Chambers Life! ~ Leave a comment

Okay so this is “save my plastic week.” It also is Christmas Gift wrapping week. It is so interesting because on one side of my personality I want less and on the other side I really want PAPER — the French pink glitter wrap and the one with the poodles and…. More news to come concerning the fight between my wants and my needs. Meanwhile, a few easy old habits I reinstated — THIS WEEK – I take my own drink container with me – that can be one for both hot and cold (Target has some lovely colors on an end cap of these.) or two. (One of mine is an outmoded plastic one and one is a ceramic Starbucks cup.) I am taking my own FORK, SPOON and KNIFE or SPORK. If I forget my fabric shopping bags, I carry my items out to the car in the cart and transfer them into a bag there. Pretty soon I WILL stop forgetting.

I have a real entitlement bug in my personality that says,”You deserve it fast, now and easy.” I think it is the same bug that just encouraged me to eat the ENTIRE chocolate mousse (that was in a plastic cup with a plastic lid). And so, I am meditating and taking an extra hike around the block. I love that stuff too – the healthy stuff.

In my own personal melt down of my plastic addiction I hope to inspire you to be a little inconvenienced to better preserve the world for the amazing bright-eyed children. For the creatures who are humbled into fenced animal preserves and pastures and contaminated seas by our extreme greed for more. They show up trusting that we invited them to enjoy a world that is healthy and safe. The tiniest thought before you toss might save a breath of air or even a life.

My entitled personality is thinking, ” Oh pooh. It makes no difference!” My good heart, the angel one, replies, “Let’s just see. One piece of plastic at a time.”