Fresh and Refreshing...Growing Season
garden herb spread • mason jar sprouts • Richard Rohr's "just this"
If you have parsley growing like crazy in your garden or you can purchase some pretty greens, make this nutritious and delicious (and very versatile) garden herb spread. Enjoy it as a dip for rice crackers, spread it on crostini or sandwiches (regular or hot and melty chicken paninis), swoosh a spoonful onto dinner plates and top with grilled fish or white beans, melt it into hot pasta for the easiest sauce ever, or whisk a tablespoon into a vinaigrette to make it green goddessy.
Ingredients: soaked pepitas, lots of parsley, cilantro, and basil plus a lemon and salt; use a Vitamix to get it super creamy.
Mason Jar Sprouts
Mason jar sprouts are clean and easy to grow, especially if you use a mesh sprouting lid. (I like the plastic ones better than steel, as the ring and screen I tested began to rust during the sprouting process.) Use 2 tablespoons of seeds for a big batch of sprouts (they will grow to fill a quart-sized jar; 4 cups), 1 tablespoon for a half-batch.
Some seeds are better than others for mason jar sprouting. My current favorite is the "Sandwich Booster" from High Mowing Organic Seeds, which is a mix of radish, mustard greens, clover, and alfalfa. Broccoli sprouts are also great; consult your local co-op or heathy food retailer.
Soak the seeds in cool water for 6–8 hours in a wide-mouth quart-sized canning jar. For the complete how-to, please click over to my site, ripefoodandwine.com. Enjoy sprouts on tacos or quesadillas, sandwiches, and salads.
Richard Rohr’s Just This
A friend and I connected over the writing of modern mystic and Franciscan priest, Richard Rohr, then she asked if I had read, Just This, which I hadn’t yet, so I ordered it. If you’ve ever wondered about Christianity and what it would be like to follow Jesus, this book provides practical applications of the “different thinking cap” that gets us beyond our distractions, discontent, blockages, and distorted way of seeing things. 5 stars from me! (I like this pocket-sized edition, available from The Center for Action and Contemplation.)
The spiritual journey is a constant interplay between moments of awe followed by a general process of surrender to that moment. We must first allow ourselves to be captured by the goodness, truth, or beauty of something beyond and outside ourselves. Then we universalize from that moment to the goodness, truth, and beauty of the rest of reality, until our realization eventually ricochets back to include ourselves! p.10
Smooth Sailing, Fix Your Food Relationship in 2025!
So this is week 21 of Smooth Sailing, after a week break for Memorial Day. We’ve covered the 10 Principles of Intuitive Eating, and I post every Monday to share my perspective on how to set yourself free from diet-thinking and live a more connected life. Please subscribe and share. Thank you so much for being here.
Please see my About Love & Cookies site on Substack for access to my writing.
Have a great week!
