High-Prana Food Cravings, and Burapa Pepper Rescue

There was some gardening action this weekend. Our Thai Burapa hot pepper plants, which I started from seed in June and kept in their original pot, have become so gigantic that they needed watering twice a day. Big plants in too-small pots are a bother: the root systems become packed, and the growing plants water needs are relentless, so you end up watering constantly, and that’s a pain. Another bad part of this is that if you do miss a watering, the plant goes thirsty and limp very quickly. Sure, you can reconstitute it with a deep watering, but the stress of going dry and limp before watering wears on a plants’ stamina, and its vitality – and productivity – will be affected. Plus, being thirsty is a terrible feeling.

So, we dragged the heavy pot to the garden, dug a deep hole, and carefully transferred the Burapa plants into the ground. Then, we did the same with our Thai basil, which has also grown to an impressive size and was drying out in its pot a lot. We gave both a dose of nitrogen and a deep watering.

We’re looking at warm temperatures for a least a few more weeks, maybe longer. The Burapas have tiny peppers on them, and I don’t want to lose those. And we’ve been using the Thai basil often, so the longer we can keep those plants going, the better.

Fantastic news – the Italian parsley, which my husband accidentally razed to the ground with his tractor while we were clearing the gardens a few weeks ago, is coming back! We have a big, beautiful bed of new, young parley emerging. I came across it while we were planting the Burapas and Thai basil. I love our Franchi Italian parsley. This is a windfall.

I’ve been craving high-Prana foods like organic oats and Chinese Jook lately. My body is telling me it wants to eat with the impending autumn: nourishing, warm, cool weather-type food. This weekend, I grabbed one of my standby cookbooks, The Book of Jook, from the bookcase, and put it in the kitchen. Last night, dinner was a big bowl of hot oats with lots of freshly-grated cinnamon and cardamom. I slept deeply afterward.

Last night I also started a new book: Dr. Michael Greger’s bestseller ‘How Not to Die’. Vegans everywhere are reading this one. No, it’s not about how to avoid death (the book title is misleading and I don’t care for that): it’s about making plant-based food choices to keep a body as strong and healthy as possible, avoiding the doctor treadmill, and making lifestyle choices that are smart, not trendy. 

It also goes deeply into the fictions of our completely corrupt, profit-driven, medical industrial complex ('health care') and the frauds and fallacies of ‘early detection’. I jumped ahead and first read the chapter on breast cancer and the multi-billion-dollar profit industry of breast cancer ‘treatments’. This book is a big one, with a lot to say, and it’s one I’m going to enjoy and grow from.

We celebrated my husband’s birthday over the weekend - went out to dinner, opened presents, hugged and kissed, cuddled with dogs, watched the Patriots win a football game, and napped. It’s going to reach 80 degrees today. I’m deep into Ayurvedic studies. Alma and Skikaki are doing amazing things to my hair. I have a tummy full of oatmeal. All is well here.

Much love,

Barbie