Soup Time!

I've been trying to make lots of different soups for Mr. Dragon. I'll try to remember to post the recipes for you -- only if they are good! We are trying to stick to mostly vegetarian eating while we wait for surgery. Build him up! Here's the lentil soup recipe I used, with my notes. You know I never make anything exactly as the recipe is written! I hope you enjoy.


Lentil Soup

1 package (16 ounces) dry lentils (do not soak lentils in water)
1 ham bone with meat
2 medium onions chopped
1 cup diced celery
1 cup diced carrots
1 large clove garlic, minced (we like garlic so I added more)
1/4 cup tomato paste (I used one small can. We like spicy and I added one can of Rotel tomatoes and green chile.)
2 tablespoons wine vinegar (I didn’t have wine vinegar. I suppose you could add a 1/4 cup of wine!)
1 bay leaf
7 cups water (I used 3 cups of vegetable stock that I had leftover and 4 cups of water.)
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper

1. Cook onions, celery, carrots and garlic in large 5-quart Dutch oven in a couple of tablespoons of olive oil.

2. Add lentils, water, and remaining ingredients. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low. Simmer until done. Remove ham bone and let cool. Remove meat and add to soup. Discard bay leaf before serving.

This makes a huge amount. Lots of delicious leftovers. Watch the liquid. You may have to add more depending upon how soupy you like your soup! Also, I don’t salt or pepper. The ham bone usually adds enough seasoning.

Enjoy!

Camera Critters

Misty is our wonderful hostess for Camera Critters.
Be sure to go and visit.

Today I want to show you the portrait of the animal I fell in love with many years ago on my very
first visit to the Houston Zoo-
the beautiful and shy Okapi.

The okapi (pronounced oh-COP-ee) is an unusual animal. With its white-and-black striped hindquarters and front legs, it looks like it must be related to zebras! But take a look at an okapi’s head and you’ll notice a resemblance to giraffes.

The okapi is indeed the only living relative of the giraffe. Like giraffes, okapis have very large, upright ears, which catch even slight sounds, helping them to avoid trouble. They also have long, dark prehensile tongues, just like a giraffe’s, to help them strip the buds and young leaves from the understory brush of their rain forest home.

Okapis are hard to find in the wild. Their natural habitat is the Ituri Forest, a dense rain forest in central Africa (northeast region of Democratic Republic of Congo - formerly Zaire). Okapis are very wary, and their highly developed hearing alerts them to run when they hear humans in the distance. In fact, while natives of the Ituri Forest knew of okapis and would occasionally catch one in their pit traps, scientists did not know of the animal until 1900. The secretive nature of okapis and the difficulty most humans have of traveling in their habitat have made okapis hard to observe in the wild. Therefore, researchers can only estimate how many okapis live there. It is believed that there are currently about 25,000 okapis in the wild.

The okapi’s dark purplish or reddish brown fur feels like velvet. It’s also oily, so water slides right off, keeping the okapi dry on rainy days. Only the males have horns, which are covered by skin and are short so they won’t get tangled in forest branches.

The changing politics of central Africa and the continued loss of habitat threaten the beautiful okapi. Fortunately, in 1952, one-fifth of okapi habitat in Africa’s Ituri Forest was set aside as a wildlife reserve. The Okapi Wildlife Reserve, with support from zoos and conservation organizations, and the local people, continues to protect and to support study of this rare and unusual forest dweller.

Happy Camera Critters!

(Information about the Okapi from the San Diego Zoo.)

Postcard Friendship Friday

The lovely postmistress, Marie, is our hostess for Postcard Friendship Friday. Marie has had an interest in Arkansas lately. I didn't have a card from Arkansas so I visited the New York Public Library again for the postcard below. I like trains!

"Near Lancaster Arkansas on the St. Louis - Texas Line of the Frisco" Fred Harvey"

Happy PFF!

I Love Calendars

I love calendars. I seem to have one in every room. I guess I need lots of help knowing what day of the week it is! Most come from organizations I belong to -- a thank you for a donation and, of course, wanting another. Then there are the few that I am fascinated by in some way -- beautiful photos, wonderful words.



This is the one that has gotten my attention and seems to want to teach me something. It is an engagement calendar designed to bring the wisdom and vitality of the Buddha's teachings into everyday life. The theme of this year's calendar is kindness and compassion, which are fundamental expressions of a Buddhist way of life. Each month begins with a teaching, a poem, or a Zen story and suggests practices to manifest the teaching.

The teaching for the month of January was a celebration of the bodhisattva Never Despise, who appears in chapter 20 of the Lotus Sutra. This remarkable being does not criticize anyone. He/she realizes that everyone will be a Buddha one day. Well, easier said than done! I was warned by the calendar that I shouldn't be discouraged doing this practice. That it is difficult and if I could do it for a short time I might feel an incredible buoyancy and if I found myself judging, not to add a criticism on top of a criticism! Wow!

I found myself getting irritated with a checkout clerk at the grocery ... not paying attention to what she was doing with my stuff and talking to a customer in another line. I didn't say anything out loud, and finally, when I was outside the building, I started laughing and found myself saying over and over -- don't be critical!!!!!! And, I laughed out loud some more. I don't know if laughing and buoyancy are the same thing -- but it sure took the sting out of my irritation.

Another reason why I'm enjoying this calendar -- the beautiful art work!

I wonder what the lesson for February will be?

(I am posting this as my Thursday post. I'm sure I won't have time to post tomorrow morning. We will be at Anderson again. Mr. Dragon is having a stress test done as part of his workup for surgery. Keep those thoughts, prayers, wishes, white light, juju et al coming!)

Wordless Wednesday