3.10.2013

Help!


March and April are months of deadlines for me. Deadlines for finishing projects and beginning new ones. While I'm super excited for the new projects, I'm feeling a tad bit overwhelmed about pulling everything together in order to move forward. My house feels like it's in a varying state of disaster, outside garden projects are looming (at home and at the General), fencing needs reworking, animals (inside and outside) need tending, and the list goes on. I need better organization I think. How do I manage that when I'm already feeling overwhelmed? My best strategy is dive in and tackle one project, usually early in the morning before I'm really awake enough to think. Action is the best antidote for overwhelm. That works great; but do you ever feel like you finish one thing, turn around and there are ten more?! You see where I'm going here. I'd love to hear your best strategies for tackling multiple projects at once, at home and work. Help!  :)
Here's to the season of change!


3.02.2013

Veggie Hash

What you'll need:

  1. vegetable peeler
  2. spatula
  3. griddle/skillet
Ingredients:
  1. 2-4 carrots, peeled/shredded
  2. 1-2 handfuls fresh spinach
  3. 1 T. coconut oil
  4. salt, red pepper flakes (optional)
What you'll do:
  1. heat griddle to medium-high heat, add coconut oil
  2. saute carrots, browning if desired
  3. turn heat off, add spinach and cover to wilt
  4. ENJOY as a side to eggs or Cereal Substitution 
  5. OR top with almonds for a complete breakfast dish
What mine looks like:


2.28.2013

Cereal Substitution

What you'll need:

  1. cereal bowl
  2. spoon
Ingredients:
  1. 1 banana
  2. sprinkle of walnut pieces (~3 T)
  3. sprinkle of dried cranberries (~2 T)
  4. 1 T flax or chia seed, finely ground
  5. coconut milk (~1/2 c)
What you'll do:
  1. using spoon, chunk banana into bowl
  2. sprinkle walnuts, cranberries and ground seed over banana bits
  3. add milk
What mine looks like:


2.27.2013

Truth Telling

It's all about truth. Telling the truth. 
I don't mean just saying the truth or hearing the truth, I mean how to tell what the real true-to-you truth is. Have you ever noticed when you discuss truth with someone in order to resolve a conflict, suddenly the discussion turns to a blame game. You go from talking about how you feel to sorting out who said what.

The blame can go wherever it needs to go, I am not concerned with that. What I am concerned with is knowing, feeling what is true. I'm not talking about what someone tells you is true, and then says they don't know how to make you believe it. Truth isn't something you believe, it's something you recognize. It's something your gut recognizes, your mind sees. It's not something that requires convincing, it requires knowing. How do you know? You already know, it's that feeling that something just isn't quite right no matter how convincing the circumstances may be. Need help? Use the tools I wrote about in Turn and Face the Change.

After recognizing and knowing, comes acknowledging and acting; that's where bravery comes in 'cause it is not easy. It's easier to put truth aside or bury it and go on about your way, but then that gets complicated too. Your body, mind, and spirit reside somewhere in conflict when you do that. 

Why does it even matter? For a body, mind, and spirit to reside in health, they must be in a state of ease. Conflict and ease don't live together well. So, the next time someone you love says "tell me the truth"  and you're tempted to tell them what they want to hear, think of the anxiety, regret, blame, and worry you'll save yourself in the long run. And the more you practice living by truth, the really true-to-you kind, the more at ease you will become.


2.24.2013

Community. Connection. Creativity.


"The cure for what ails us—both in our bodies and in our nation—can be found in the kitchen. It is a place to rebuild community and connection, strengthen bonds with family and friends, teach life-giving skills to our children, enrich and nourish our bodies and our souls.
In fact, real food can be inexpensive. Choosing simple ingredients, cooking from scratch, shopping at discount club stores, and getting produce from community supported agriculture associations (CSAs) [see BEM GENERAL'S CSA info below], community gardens, or co-ops all build health and community and save money.
I believe in the power of collective intelligence. Within my community are hundreds, if not thousands, of unheralded chefs experimenting with food and creating extraordinary meals and recipes." --Dr. Mark Hyman
[insert artisans, crafters, artists, creative workers] The creative work of my community BLOWS me away! It's one of my MOST favorite things about my work at BEM GENERAL. While I'm on the subject of creativity, doing something creative does not necessarily mean throwing caution to the wind, being impractical, focusing on whimsy and beauty over practicality and function.   To me being creative is often "doing with what is available" whether it's in cooking, home-keeping, farming, educating…whatever our life's work may be. Creatively useful things are often the most beautiful and inspiring to me. Some may call this more innovation than creation, but what we choose to call the process isn't important. What is important is that the process is intuitive and deeply fulfills our desire for self-reliance, for knowing that "by damn, I can make something" whether for fun, whimsy or necessity. Practice doing something intuitive, creative, innovative, see what happens.
"Within our individual and our national communities is the cure for what ails us. We are the answer. We are the revolutionaries who will change the face of food in America and around the world.
In this way—one by one, kitchen by kitchen, community by community—we will take back our health together!" --Dr. Mark Hyman
See the article "Why Cooking Can Save Your Life" by Dr. Mark Hyman from which these excerpts were taken.

{BEM GENERAL CSA 2013}

FULL SHARE:
1 whole pasture raised chicken from Stuart Farm, LLC
2 lbs grass fed, finished ground beef from Moon Dance Farm
1 dozen free range eggs from Riverbluff Farm and Hydrangea Hill Farm
pick up- Bem General front porch every Saturday 9 a.m. June-September                                         price- $464 due by March 1 (payment options available)
HALF SHARE:
1 whole pasture raised chicken from Stuart Farm
2 lbs grass fed, finished ground beef from Moon Dance Farm
1 dozen free range eggs from Riverbluff Farm and Hydrangea Hill Farm
pick up- Bem General front porch every other Sat. 9 a.m. June-September
price- $240 due by March 1 (payment options available)

fruits, veggies and other farm fresh goods available at the front porch market during pick up!
Full Share = 32 lbs. grass fed, finished ground beef, 75-80 lbs. pasture raised chicken, and 16 dozen eggs
Think that's more than you'll need for the summer? Stock your freezer for the winter with the excess!

Message or email me to sign up or answer payment questions. We can't wait to see you on the front porch this summer!


2.23.2013

Morning Sunshine

What you'll need:

  1. blender
  2. knife + cutting board
Ingredients:
  1. 4 large carrots
  2. 1 apple
  3. 2 lemons, juiced
  4. 2 T. coconut oil
  5. 2 c. water
  6. 1 c. ice
What you'll do:
  1. chop carrots + apple, place in blender
  2. add coconut oil
  3. add lemon juice and water
  4. blend until smooth
  5. add ice, blend until smooth
  6. pour it in a glass and drink it up, serves 2
What mine looks like: