The last remnants of the kale this winter
Tomato-based kale, garbanzo, carrot stew
Gigande bean comfort dish sauteed onions and fennel
cooked Gigande beans
tomato paste or pasta sauce
add kale and cook a few minutes
olive oil drizzle, salt and pepper
Hi Winnie and Steve,
I thought you would get a kick out of the photo today. Yes, I do have seeds beginning to germinate right now, and I have much more thoughtful plans laid out for the garden this year compared to last year. But, I wanted you to also see the reality of how I get through winter and not run to the store all the time. I told you that I almost always think about "what greens" I am going to toss into the meal. My spindly little kale patch might actually see me through the winter season as I now have some new kale, spinach and chard germinating. I cut off these poor things every day, and right now they look like little Dr. Seuss trees. Yet they sure add a wonderful element to a soup or stew or sautee.
Your fellow Mainer (if that is a word?), Bill Coperthwaite, continues to inspire me with his thoughts about lifestyle and meaning and self-reliance and education. I turn to his book, A Handmade Life, so many times. I think especially now with the problems we are facing as a nation and globally, I like the challenge and excitement about learning new ways to design a model of life. In fact, Coperthwaite makes an interesting comment about design. He says, "Nothing is too small or insignificant to be well designed...And good design need not stop with tools, dishes, and houses -- it can also include our selection of food, of friends, and of those who teach our children. We need to consider good design in relation to family, community, and school." I think this a provocative part of what is happening right now in our nation with the economy and governance -- a chance to re-examine how we might design a realistic model to live by.
We'll enjoy chewing on that thought won't we. Wish I could talk to you in person. Love, Donna
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