Dyeing for Color

I've been thinking about color lately. Lots of color. The leaves are in full fall color. When I'm running through the forest I can see the entire rainbow in the fall foliage. I love looking for the rainbows in nature! Sunsets have every color of the rainbow in them. When I lived in Puerto Rico I thought it was only the ocean sunset that was so ablaze with rich color. Now that I'm in the mountains and watching the big flaming ball sink below the mountain tops in fiery displays of majestic glory I know there are beautiful sunsets around the world. We now have trees full of red, yellow, and orange reflecting the glorious sunsets.

Years ago I was an avid quilt artist. I designed and sold art quilts. My favorite fabrics to use were the ones I dyed myself. I would dye unbleached and bleached cottons in varying lengths using cold water fiber reactive dyes. One of my favorite ways to do this was a graduated rainbow in 24 mason jars. I ended up with yards of deep rich color in varying intensities. It was perfect for my particular style of quilting. I took peoples memories, dreams, and experiences and portrayed them in fiber. Some were pictures, some were geometric interpretations of one aspect of the memory. 

This week I've been thinking about yarn dyeing and how I could apply my experiences dyeing cotton fabrics and tie-dye t-shirts to wool dyeing. I've come up with a few ideas I want to play with. The first is mason jar dyeing and a graduated rainbow using 20-30 yard lengths of cream sock weight yarn. I measured off the yarn using my niddy noddy.

Then I soaked it in warm water while preparing the jars for dyeing.

The dye I used is food coloring. I know I could use powdered acid dye and have some very rich color combinations. I was after a simple rainbow and wanted to keep my supplies food safe. I used 6 jars and spread out my food dye in a manner that blended color from one jar to the next. Each jar had vinegar and food coloring in it before I added the boiling water to it. After I added the water I put yarn into each jar and waited for the color to be absorbed into the yarn. I had to repeat this process to dye 12 colors.

It only took minutes and then I was able to rinse each yarn under hot water. About the same temperature as the yarn was. I usually try to keep my temperature very close so I don't end up felting the wool. This wool is a superwash wool so there is no danger of it felting. That makes the process much easier. 

What I ended up with was about 400 yards of yarn in varying degrees of a rainbow. I'm planning to knit this up into a wide scarf, it will be so wide you might even call it a shawl. The colors are bright and happy. I'll wear it this winter to bring a fresh splash of color into my dark winter world.

With all this talk of color what am I fixing up for my dinner meal? Color of course! Butternut squash, red potatoes, red kale, and some purple eggplant. Not a super fancy meal. Just a meal filled with beautiful food, rich colors, both soluble and insoluble fiber, and flavor!

Another Soup

Though we woke to overcast skies and a chill in the air but the day turned sunny by mid-afternoon. The intense winds that blew away the clouds lingered. Leaves rustled across the lawn and trees swayed. It inspired me to make soup. I had two kinds of kale and a white sweet potato from my CSA box (Community Supported Agriculture). The big orange squash, yellow onion, garlic, and canned beans were lurking waiting to become something delish. 

While I've been lazy lately about peeling squash and sweet potatoes I decided this soup needed the extra attention. I diced up the onion and sauteed it in 2 tsp olive oil until it was clear. I added 4 cloves of minced garlic to it and cooked them a bit longer. I then added a gallon of water and started peeling and chopping. All the veggies were tossed into the pot along with 2 tsp sea salt. After an hour and a half of simmering I had a lovely stew like soup!

The Three Rs

Review, renew, revisit! Today is one of those kind of days for me. This morning I renewed my passport. It is a simple task but for some reason I drug my feet getting it accomplished. Now that it's done I feel freer and a bit silly for waiting so long. I'm ready to complete some other tasks that fall under the heading of  The Three Rs today.

First up is a sweater. I participate in a Ravelry group called Harry Potter Knit and Crochet House Cup. It is a game of sorts. The goal is to craft items you will use, give as gifts, or donate to charity and have them fit into "class prompts". The structure is fun and supportive of growth in the crafter. Since I started with the group two and a half years ago I have taken my knitting and spinning to new heights. One of my favorite opportunities for growth is with the OWL (Ordinary Wizarding Level). The goal here is to choose a project that will require steady work over the course of approximately 3 months.

This Fall I chose to knit a lace cardigan. It is beautiful! The yarn is exquisite! I know I'll love the completed project. However, as I began the project I quickly learned that I disliked the way the pattern was set up. The lace portions did not flow properly in my mind, and that prevented me from making any progress on it. I quietly set it aside and knit many other items. I realized last weekend, while reviewing my Fall knitting plans, that if I were to continue on the project some changes must be made. Since I'm participating in a challenge of sorts I had to ask for approval to make any changes. I waited for a few days and was approved. The changes require me to rip out all I'd knitted so far and start over. I'm happy to be doing this. To the non-knitter it may seem like more work since I have already knit 5 inches of the sweater body and will need to reknit it using my pattern alterations. I don't think it will feel like more work in the long run because I have chosen to make the lace flow in a way that makes sense to me. The project is ripped back and ready for speed knitting this weekend!

Next up is my cardio. Since I've already had a busy morning of appointments and have a full schedule of clients this afternoon I'm planning to hold off on my cardio until after work. It is Friday. I'll be finished seeing clients at 6:30 pm today. Plenty of time for evening cardio! The plan is to come home and do an hour of cardio-knitting. I'm feeling quite content with this. I might even go so far as to watch a movie instead of listening to a book while I ride and knit. Things could get wild!

Finally, in the kitchen today I'm choosing to revisit the Spaghetti Squash. I've cooked with it before. It is a simple squash to make. I've not been tremendously pleased with the results. It tastes like squash to me and not pasta. I have tossed it with sauteed onion, garlic, and chicken breast and then served it with a salad. That seemed OK. I'm going for the spaghetti pasta experiment today. I had a client ask me this week if I ever use it. I had another client raving about how enjoyable spaghetti squash is. Neither of these people know each other. I took it as a sign. I'm revisiting it. I'm giving it another chance. I'm going to make a simple sauce with ground turkey, fire roasted tomatoes, fresh garlic, and what is left of the basil in my garden. We'll see how starting fresh works here.

To cook spaghetti squash you cut it long wise and scoop the seeds out just like all other hard squash. Bake it cut side down in 3/4 of an inch of water at 375 degrees for an hour or until the meat is soft. To serve it you scrape it out long wise with a fork, often will come out in pasta-like strands. Serve it on a plate and top with sauce or butter.

Simple Tomato Sauce

1 sweet onion, coarsely chopped

2 cloves of garlic, diced

1/3 cup chopped fresh basil

2 tsp olive oil

2 cans fire roasted diced tomatoes

1 pound ground turkey (optional)

Saute the onions and garlic in the olive oil until the onions are clear. Add the basil and tomatoes and heat through. In a separate pan brown the turkey and drain off any fat. Add the cooked turkey to the tomato sauce and serve over the baked squash. I added a side of steamed Swiss Chard for a low glycemic impact meal. 

Mario Brothers, Turban Squash, and Running?

Have you noticed how much fun the Turban Squash is? I picked one up this morning. I've cooked them before. This one just tickled me. Stores usually have them displayed with their knobby parts up. Something made me put the knobby part down. It made me think of the original Mario Brothers game. I know, silly. Mario Brothers was a big deal when my children were young. When I see Mario anything it makes me think of my oldest son, Bengi, when he was 10. Very happy memories!

Bengi works for me in the gym, and I am fortunate to see him everyday. I'm even more fortunate that he is a runner. He began running before I did; now races are family events! On November 11th we are running the Outer Banks Marathon. He will be running his first full marathon, 26.2 miles, and I'm running my fourth half marathon of the year, 13.1 miles. I'm excited we are down to 31 days until race day. At the same event my partner is planning to qualify for the Boston Marathon, by running the distance in under 4 hours. WOW! Big goals for one short weekend!

In preparation for that event today's cardio was running. I did an easy 5 mile run in a flat park area. It was a crisp morning here in the mountains, 45 degrees, when I left home for the run. I broke out my winter running pants and hoodie. After the first mile I had to shed the hoodie. I was grateful I'd chosen to wear a tank top under it. I find the extended cardio sessions exhilarating.

I haven't always enjoyed exercise. I've actually had a good stretch of time that I was anti-exercise. I just wanted to go through life not moving. I'm so grateful that I'm no longer in that phase of my life and I have compassion for those who are. I don't feel they should stay there. Movement, no matter how gentle, helps the body and the spirit to heal in many ways. Are you just getting started? Think about setting a "marathon" goal like walking one mile for 26 days. Are you already walking and feel the need to push harder? Try to double your walk distance in 26 days. Are you running? Do you want to run? Check out the Couch to 5K program. There are many couch to 5K apps for smart phones you might try one of those too.

So how do you cook that turban squash anyway? It is much like all the other hard winter squashes. Cut it in half, scoop the seeds out, place it cut side down in a shallow baking pan with 3/4 of an inch of water and bake at 375 for 45-75 minutes. The length of time is dependent on how thick the squash is. It needs to cook until soft. At that point the options are pretty open. You can mash it with a small amount of butter. This is one has a nuttier flavor than other squash. You might not want to go with cinnamon or nutmeg. You may be happier with a savory flavor. The squash has a large cavity when the seeds are removed. After baking you could fill it with a multitude of other veggies. Try steamed broccoli, sauteed onion and garlic, and chopped nuts or seeds tossed together. This is also one of those squashes that has a super hard outer shell. Imagine scooping out all the baked squash and using the shell to serve soup or stew. Wouldn't that be fun?  Just look how open the squash cavity is!

Happiness. Do you have it?

I was chatting with Kam this morning about happiness. Not anything in particular just being happy in life. It is remarkable how many people are not happy in life. Yes, the world has many tragic events. Yes, we have diseases that are killing people daily. We were not talking of the catastrophic events. We were talking of general daily happiness. That happiness that is not dependent on other people or events. So many people are waiting for something to happen to make them happy. I'll be happy if...I win the lottery...drop 50 pounds...meet the love of my life...move to another city/state/country.

In this chat we thought perhaps people need to practice being happy. There are so many life experiences we practice for and feel quite normal in doing so. All musicians practice before a performance and throughout their career to get better. Athletes practice before an event. Even a simple workout is a practice. Students are practicing by studying before an exam. Why not practice being happy?

I feel happy most of my day. There are mornings that I wake up grumpy, sick, tired, or not wanting to face the world. Everyone, even the happiest person has those moments. In pondering this general happiness I dug deeper. I wanted to realize what effects my daily happy in a positive way and how that could be translated into a happiness practice. I start my morning with puppy snuggles. My dogs make me smile first thing in the morning. One of them wants to be pet and played with the other wants to curl up and be cozy with me. I like this. Not everyone would and that is OK. I enjoy checking in with my friends while I drink my morning hot beverage, tea right now but sometimes coffee. I check email and I check with my friends on Ravelry and on Facebook. I might post about my day or not it all depends on the morning.

Most mornings I spend an hour or two with my online coaching. This brings me great joy. I love assisting others in their process. I love being there to help someone make a change that can turn their day or life around. Nutritional coaching is one aspect of my job. Fitness coaching is another. I coach both of these at a distance. The growth and changes these clients and friends experience is tremendously rewarding. The clients I see in person bring me great joy too. I love watching a client reach new heights in their awareness of themselves. It is a beautiful process.

Another source of joy for me is to cook. I love making meals that taste good and are good for the body. It makes me so happy to cook for my family and have them enjoy the meal. I often think about how they will like the different tastes in the food. I try to know and remember everyone's favorite foods and bring something to the table that satisfies those desires. Today I made a stuffed squash. I had quite a variety of tastes in this squash. My goal was to have all these flavors blend yet hold their own distinction. It was a challenge. I'm proud of the result.

Stuffed "Acorn-ish" Squash

3 acorn (or similar size) squash (I used dumpling squash. They have flat bottoms.)
1 small onion, chopped small
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 pound asparagus
1 package baby spinach
1/4 cup chopped fresh basil OR 2 tsp dried basil
1/4 cup dried cranberries

Top and seed the squash. This is quite a lot like making a jack-o-lantern in miniature. Cook upside down in 1/2-3/4 inch of water for 35-45 minutes or until soft.

Seam saute the onion and garlic. This is done by heating a fry pan and adding a few tablespoons of water with the onion and garlic. When the onion is soft add the asparagus. Cook for 5-8 minutes until the asparagus is just beginning to soften. Add the spinach and steam to wilt. Add in the basil and cranberries and remove from heat. Fill each squash and return to the oven for 15-20 minutes.

 

I hope that everyone finds a way to practice happiness in their day. Pick something simple if you are feeling low or down. Find a small activity to be happy about. Look out your window. Is there a tree that might have a bird to watch? Is there a city street below that might have a mother or father laughing with a child? Can you say hello to someone you don't know while grocery shopping? What do you enjoy doing and how can you raise the happiness bar just a little?

But I don't want to!!!

Really. Today I'm feeling the "I don't want to" of the detox. I'm feeling the "I don't want to" of exercise. I'm even feeling the "I don't want to" of writing.

Therefore I stayed on track with my detox eating. I was super strict with myself. I may have lacked a few calories. I may have needed to add a meal to get myself into a happier frame of mind. I did however stick to the plan. For that I'm proud of myself.

Exercise? Well, I did lead others through exercise. Today was a lower energy day for me. Day two of detox can be that way. Tomorrow I'll be back at it. Tomorrow I'll go for a run. I know it will all work out fine. I know there are more days filled with awesome weight training ahead for me.

Writing! Yup. I'm here. I'm sticking with it. I set a goal of 90 days and I'm going for it. Today's dish is vegan and super easy.

Curry Roasted Acorn Squash

1-2 acorn squash, seeded and sliced
2 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp curry powder
1 tsp ginger powder

Combine the spices in a dish. Place the squash slices in a large bowl and sprinkle with spices. Toss to coat all sides. Lay on a baking sheet or roasting pan. Bake at 425 for 35 minutes or until the squash is soft. Simple and tasty!