Saturday, August 2, 2014

Luscious Summer dishes

The tomatoes are reaching their peak.  The aroma of melons surrounds fruit stands and the tree ripened peaches reach out to me from each bin along my path. 

The stimulation of these smells and sights brings visions of gazpacho made with those yellow tomatoes and Persian cucumbers and the red onions.  Maybe a peach ice cream or even a plum tart - this is that time of year when walking through the farmers market is the adventure of August's bounty. 

Last December I took cooking classes in Vietnam.  My first Wednesday back in LA I went to the farmers market in Santa Monica and found ingredients I had used in Saigon and Hoian and Hanoi!  What a delight to learn that I could reproduce those dishes right here in LA.

Sunday's exploration of my neighborhood market brings me back to the richness of California farms and triggers pictures of the lovely dishes I've cooked in other parts of this world.


Surviving Summer Heat

All the thoughts of the easy, sunny days at the beach or hiking in the mountains are just lovely images for self-employed people.  Additionally the idea that woring for myself offers flexible time for vacation or even a massage is another myth with which I have been living this season.

I am teaching on-line from 10 am until 3:30 on Tuesdays (Pacific) then on Wednesday and Thursday I am in my private practice office while on Friday I am back on-line.  On Saturday I'm back in my office.  Busy is something of an understatement.  So what am I doing to get through this summer with a bit of sanity in place???

Mindfulness.  Yes.  Everyone can benefit from a bit of quiet breathing.  It may be boring to hear the same idea so often AND it works.  Sadly I don't have time to do the above described hiking or laying in the sun.  On the other hand, I am making time to sit five and six times a week. 

Here's a powerful and quick tool to help you get through your own impending Fall stress: 
S-T-O-P 
Stop what you are doing (fixing breakfast, changing a diaper).
Take a deep, gentle breath, take another
Observe how you feel, your thoughts, just observe.
Proceed with what you are doing and hold the refreshed state of mind.