Something like living in The Upside Down right now – living in between is a particularly challenging place to be. For now, we wait. I focus on the Good Things that I can notice. Gratitude for the small things today:
Deep red mums from Trader Joe’s.
Wilting yellow mums from Trader Joe’s that I’m not ready to let go of.
A friend arriving to *Do The Thing this afternoon with a quilt to finish.
Another friend missing our weekly *Do The Thing today because she had to replace a painting at a gallery (because she had sold the one hanging there!)
A home sewn mask from Sondy.
Waking at first light, and sitting for an hour with a book.
The promise of a new hat, from a friend who knits.
A very large iced tea. Very large.
Prepping for new team members at Ompractice!
Emergency Pizza from my Farm Share.
My heated blanket from Target. (Bertram agrees.)
50 something degree weather after a few days dipped in the 30s.
The cover of the Invisible Life of Addie LaRue (and generally this season in book covers.)
Writing a “reading benefit” policy for my company.
Seeing one of my Wellesley sibs win her race! Go Shayla!
Finishing up my elections course at Rice this semester tonight – thankful for the opportunity to learn with Caroline and her whole family of lifelong learners.
Last night I took a great class with Michael Lee – Yoga as Therapy: A Phoenix Rising Yoga and Meditation class, and was joined by my friend Elyse and her partner Nick (who was sporting for his first yoga class on Ompractice.) The class is a little different than most on Ompractice, it’s divided into six phases, that start with movement and move into stillness, with the opportunity to find deeper wisdom at the end.
Our focus this class was on equanimity – “mental calmness, composure, and evenness of temper, especially in a difficult situation.” I always approach my mat with an open mind, but was particularly surprised at how much I found myself feeling at the end of class. It was a good one, and I’m focused on maintaining that approach throughout my day and week.
This morning I found myself waking a few hours earlier than normal, ready to start my day. Today I wanted to focus on fall – thinking about the traditions, rituals, and feelings for living in the season. I started by scratching out the things that I wanted to sit with this morning:
How do I harness the energy of the season: crisp, cool, maturity and wisdom?
What will I create this season?
Who do I want to re-connect with?
How do I harvest my bounty, and prepare for the next season?
How do I bring the colors of fall into my life – those that are most vivid – greens, gold, orange, red, and yellow?
Self Care: I was delighted to see some folks downloading my Fall Self Care Bingo back from the archives.
Food: on the shelf next to my office seat, I have a copy of Nigel Slater’s Greenfeast: Autumn, Winter, that I’ve been thumbing through for inspiration this week. A few years ago I sat down to write about some of my favorite Foods of Fall: lots of squash, apples, cider, chili, persimmons, pumpkin, and of course my favorite Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Bundt.
Movement: I really appreciate the cooler weather in the fall. (I say that as I’m avoiding my run tonight because the temperature has dropped several degrees and it’s now windy. Update: bundled up and it was fine!)
Connection: I know that most people are foregoing holiday cards because… 2020, but I’ve resolved to contribute to the USPS, so if you’d like a dog themed holiday card, feel free to send me an email with your address, or reach out on social media in my DMs.
I mentioned a few weeks ago in our Ompractice monthly teachers meeting that while I don’t currently intend to dive into a 200 hour teacher training for myself, I’d love to start reading my way through a YTT-esque reading list to further my own learning, and deepen my practice.
Jane, who teacher our awesome Sunday evening restorative class, was kind enough to send me an email with some of her favorites, and I intend to relish my way through them.
Classics: For those with a strong appetite for the various roots of yoga philosophy and practice.
Advaita Vedanta: Ashtavakra Gita – Classic Texts of Advaita Vedanta
Raja Yoga – Swami Vivekananda
Kashmiri Shaivism: The Shiva Sutras – Swami Lakshmanjoo
Bhakti: Bhakti – Lilian Silburn
Yoga:
Light on Pranayama – BKS Iyengar
Light on Life – BKS Iyengar
Light on Yoga – BKS Iyengar
The Yoga Sutras of Patanjali – Chip Hartman
Yoga Sutras – Swami Satchidananda
The Living Gita – Swami Satchidananda
How Yoga Works – Geshe Michael Roach
YogaBody: Anatomy, kinesiology and Asana Judith Hanson Lasater
The Key Poses of Hatha Yoga – Ray Long
The Key Muscles of Hathaway Yoga – Ray Long
Yoga Sequencing – Mark Stephens
Yoga Anatomy – Leslie Kaminoff
Meditation:
Who Am I? – Sri Ramana Maharshi
Be As You Are: The Teachings of Sri
Reflections on Talks with Sri Ramana Maharshi – Cohen, S.S Ramana Maharshi – David Godman
I Am That – Sri Nisargagatta Maharaj
Consciousness and the Absolute – Sri Nisargagatta Maharaj
The Ultimate Medicine – Sri Nisargagatta Maharaj
Be As You Are – Jean Klein
Ayurveda:
Everyday Cooking for a Calm Clear Mind: 100 Sattvic Recipes- Kate O’Donnell
The Everyday Ayurveda Cookbook- Kate O’Donnell
The New Ayurvedic Kitchen: What to eat for how you feel – Divya Alter
The Complete Book of Home Remedies – Dr. Vasant Lad
Textbook of Ayurvedic: Fundamental Principles -Dr. Vasant Lad
Ahoy! It snowed this week, in October, and I’m still shaking my head about it. Despite my side-eye, Bertram and I enjoyed our first walk out in the snow, accompanied by Sawyer, who is arguably much better suited to this kind of weather with her built in coat. My small droid was comfortable enough in a sweater, and I had a wardrobe failure with a lack of gloves.
Good Things, where shall we begin? I’m going to embark on a NaBloPoMo attempt (blogging every day in November), which is usually something I go into with enthusiasm each year with varying results. Some years I *nail it*.
This weekend I put into place my election week self-care plan: namely a solid meal plan, food shop, workout plan – including Dawn’s 120 minute restorative workshop on Ompractice on 11/8 – and weekly intentions – all written out so that I have a plan and a path.
While I did go on a run last night for Halloween, I didn’t trick or treat, nor were there trick or treaters at my house, so I did the 2020 version of costume-ing which is spending 20 minutes at 11pm taking glamour selfies with filters. TBH, I am fabulous.
Bertram didn’t have a costume either this year (wasted opportunity, I know) but his fall seasonal attire is a proper orange, albeit camping themed.
Good Things this Week:
I was feeling a little morose about the snow and the season, so I broke out my emergency Elephantine Bakery ricotta danish from the freezer. If you ever have the opportunity to visit them in Portsmouth, NH, I highly highly recommend everything they make. My mother got a seasonally appropriate Fougasse last night for dinner from them.
Watching and Reading:
On Netflix I started watching My Octopus Teacher, a documentary about a man and and Octopus. It’s gorgeous footage. Also thoroughly enjoying
I devoured Susanna Clarke’s Piranesi in a weekend. Considering it took me months to get through Jonathan Strange & Mister Norell (although I loved it), this was a pleasure to rip through, a WILD ride, and I’m sorry it’s through.
Good Food: my meals have all been haphazard, simple, or weirdly mixed in a bowl. I’ve been playing with my new Air Fryer. I got this Ninja 4Qt. (Affiliate link) I reluctantly admit that I think it’s great. I made calamari from Red’s Best two weeks in a row now – this time with home made cocktail sauce, and Brooklyn Delhi Curry Mustard.
I made a wonderful omelette with portobello mushrooms and oaxaca cheese with green chiles from Mozzarella Co.
I almost never buy pre-made soups, because I usually find them too salty, but I splurged on a few meals worth of Red Hen Baking Curried Carrot Soup with a smidge of ginger. It was definitely worth it. Super creamy, a little kick. Someone was also interested.
A couple of other pre-made items of note: Cafe Spice, who makes the BEST chicken tikka masala has added a few good meals to their lineup. I had the Ghee Roasted Chicken and their new Persian! Pomegranate Walnut Chicken. Both were delicious.
Tonight I wrapped up my night with a Restorative Yoga class with Jane, where she finished with a Rumi poem as I melted into my mat. Dinner was Birdhous Pierogies “Popeye” which… I’m realizing at this moment are so named because they have greens in them. Delicious! Boiled and pan fried, and served with air fried bbq cedar salmon, and a crispy leaf lettuce salad with Bariani olive oil and lemon.
Here’s to a good week. Hang in there, friends. I’ll see you tomorrow.
This week a friend asked for a list of quick Trader Joe’s balanced meals with fresh or pre-packed components. (Hi, Jana!) She specified chicken, fish, and pork. I thought you might find these useful as well! (Yes, the picture has nothing to do with healthy dinners. But pick up one of these Trader Joe’s Corn Cookie mixes before they are gone!)
Chicken Ideas:
TJ’s Schwarma Chicken Thighs; frozen jasmine rice packet, arugula salad with part kit.
Marinate chicken thighs or tenders in half a bottle of their Honey Aleppo Sauce, roast the marinated chicken thighs ON zucchini slices in the same container. Serve with a frozen jasmine rice packet. Other things to marinate chicken: their gyoza sauce. Their Carolina gold bbq sauce.
I’m an “adult”: Chicken Drumellas, steamed broccoli, baked Alexia French fries. Dip in sriracha barbecue sauce.
Fish:
Argentinian frozen shrimp, cooked in their organic vodka sauce on the stovetop. Crumble on feta. Serve over rice or just as is. You can also use eggs as a cheat“shakshuka” this way.
Bake their BBQ Salmon on Cedar-y thing. Served over “sushi rice”: frozen rice packet, doctored with a little rice vinegar and sugar. With chopped cucumber, and if you feel fancy, some pickled ginger.
Take any of their frozen fish, slather in their garlic spread, and bake. Or you can do half-half with mustard. I just got the new Bronzino filets and plan on doing this.
Pork:
Marinate Pork Tenderloin (I’ve been loving that honey Aleppo.) Then bake in the oven. While that’s happening, take one of the boxes of cubed pancetta, crisp up in the pan, add a bag of the shredded Brussels sprouts. Cook until soft. You probably want a spoonful of some sort of vinegar to balance it out, or a bunch of lemon. Note: I marinate everything in a ziplock!
Trader Joe’s Quick Chili: sauté ground meat of your choice, a bunch of cumin and salt, a container of chopped onions, a jar of salsa (I like either their hatch chili or pepita) a can of fire roasted tomatoes. Simmer for thirty minutes while you finish up something else. Top with unexpected cheddar or pepper jack.
Hit me up if you have similar requests, and I’ll help you out.
The Second Lunch is a (mostly) food blog by Sam Tackeff about recipes, food writing, ingredient hunting, travel, healthy living, fitness, and everything in between.
Please do not steal! Email me at sam [at] thesecondlunch.com – if you’d like to use one of my photos, and I’d be happy to share my terms. Thanks!
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