Rotting Roses.
It's easy to forget that apples (along with many other fruits) are in the rose family. I have a weird segmentation in my mind: roses are formal and romantic... apples are casual and snackish.
Also, apples come up a lot in religion. And technology. Anyway, outside a train station, where all events are precisely scheduled to the minute, there stands this apple tree. This unregulated food source is not near any foot-paths, so its banquet is for the wild ones. In my few watching moments, I saw a squirrel, and circling bees dive in. They dove in to what had been provided for them. If you have forgotten how to let go and loosen up, watch a wild animal or insect eat. Let them remind you how to enjoy wholesome, primal pleasures and delights. Grounding Stew.
When you start seeing splashes of gold and orange...
in pumpkins... candy corn... deciduous trees... that is a good time to have a nice, grounding stew. Get your root veggies. Carrots. Beets. White and Sweet Potatoes. Onions. Parsnips. These storage organs hold energy -- that's their job -- to help the plant survive adverse conditions. They do the same for you, and that is how and why you feel their comfort when you eat them. Heat some oil in the bottom of a big pot. Let it get so hot, it pops. Let it hiss, like an angry cat, and demand that you feed it. Then, give it the sweetness of white onion and red pepper. It likes that. You can tell by the sizzle. And you notice as you cook, that you have caramelized your cares. In the heat that breaks down crispness it hurts, yes. That's the cost of becoming tender and good-tasting with other flavors. Use a slow simmer. Not the rapid boil of an expressway. Instead, the rhythmic rising of heat on a rural road, that does not rush. Add the spices and herbs you love most. Build your broth. Add your energy-holding veggies. Then stir, and walk away. Let heat and time do what only heat and time can do. When you eat, appreciate what happened, from ideation to burp. This is how stew is made. But, also, the next step of your life. And to complete our soulful meal, Alice Russell...
... serves up the most delicious call to action I've ever tasted: let us be loving.
And the dancing sista in the psychedelic romper, with the proud 'fro who is pulling Goodness in... you are all kinds of beautiful, Woman... in form, movement and in essence. This is what soul food sounds like. It nourishes you so much, you can't help but want to run out and feed others in your own way, too. HAS FOOD BEEN SPEAKING TO YOU LATELY? HOW SO?
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