Ahimsa Life
It won’t be long now before I stop or at least slow Foodstagramming
activities and start reporting on the progress of the food gardens, yay! Here’s
a couple of pics I posted on Instagram this week: we jarred up some amazing
homemade nam chim sate (Thai peanut sauce), and we’re making sprouts every week
to keep a steady supply of really fresh sprouts and microgreens on hand. This
is a jar of fresh broccoli sprouts that were sprinkled over the Thai peanut
noodles I made with the nam chim sate.
Today is March 25 and we are gearing up for spring at the
homestead. Yesterday, my husband cut a hole in the shrink wrap and climbed into
the boat to check things out. He was in there a long time and when I checked on
him he was sitting in the captain’s seat with his hands on the steering wheel,
dreaming of his first day of the season on the water. It was adorable.
It’s still too chilly to go to the garden and do any clean
up, but this past weekend, I felt like the house needed an energy shift now
that it’s spring. I burned white sage, emptied and cleaned out the fridge, and
moved his nautical décor and my Balinese décor around. A change of scenery, and
of consciousness. I painted some walls that had been scuffed by the dogs.
Repotted some plants and moved a few to different locations. Threw open windows
and let the air in.
In about two weeks, the garden beds will be tilled and the
greens seeds will be planted. We already have the seeds: Bionda Ortolani romaine
and Cavolo Nero kale will go in first. We’re going to move the compost bed
closer to the main house this year. After 6 years of traipsing to the wooded
area to compost we decided to be kinder to ourselves and relocate it right next
to the deck. Rather than moving all the compost we made this winter, we’re
going to spread it across the garden when we till. Family members are already
asking when the tomatoes go in. Not for a while yet.
I’ve been reading Will Tuttle’s ‘The World Peace Diet’ and
loving it. Tuttle makes all the powerful ethical arguments in support of a
plant-based, non-violent, ahimsa life. The book is chock-full of factual
information and intelligent, informed arguments in defense of animals. These facts on animal consciousness are no longer arguable by science or philosophy:
if we’re willing to face reality, there’s no choice but to stop eating animals.
Tonight’s dinner is a homemade yellow dahl with our own
coconut milk yogurt. We’re eating lighter in the evenings now: it just feels
right after a long winter of overeating and eating too late in the day. This
summer is going to be an active one with lots of traveling. It’s good to get
used to a light stomach. It’s good to be free of the physical and metaphysical
burden of animal products in the belly. When folks ask me if I’m on a ‘vegan
diet’, I let them know that in my world, it’s called the ‘freedom diet’. Truth
is, I hate the word ‘diet’ altogether. Veganism is not a diet: it’s a way of
living. It’s so much more than what we eat.
My next post will probably be about the first plantings in
the greens beds! You can’t possibly understand how happy I am about that. We
might get a rogue snowstorm still, but it’s looking a lot like spring wants to
settle in. I think the snow has gone away. This weekend, temperatures will be
in the 60s. We’re close.
Also, in case you didn’t know, I started a new blog. Check
it out at https:///strawberrypapaya.blogspot.com.
Thoughts on purpose and meaning, our lineage to the Earth, sustainability, spiritual
practice, eating prana, social justice, joy, compassion, truth, and love. A mission
statement is in the description.
Barbie xo
