the elixer

Teach me, my God and King,
In all things Thee to see,
And what I do in any thing
To do it as for Thee.

Not rudely, as a beast,
To runne into an action
But still to make Thee prepossest,
And give it his perfection.

A man that looks on glasse,
On it may stay his eye;
Or if he pleaseth, through it passe,
And then the heav'n espie.

All may of Thee partake:
Nothing can be so mean
Which with this tincture, 'for Thy sake,'
Will not grow bright and clean.

A servant with this clause
Makes drudgerie divine;
Who sweeps a room as for Thy law
Makes that and th' action fine.

This is the famous stone
That turneth all to gold;
For that which God doth touch and own
Cannot for lesse be told.
--George Herbert

Crunchy Besan Noodles

These noodles, aka "Chudy Noodles" were found in the old Hare Krishna cookbook, now available on Prabhupada's folio CD.

INGREDIENTS:

• 1 c besan (chickpea flour)
• 1 t cayenne pepper (or as desired)
• 1 t turmeric
• 1 t salt 
• ghee for deep frying
• a few tablespoons of hot water

PREPARATION:

1. Mix together in a bowl the besan and spices and salt.
2. Add the hot water to make a semi firm dough, moist enough to squeeze through a ricer. *
3.  Fill the ricer with the mixture and squeeze into a pot or wok of hot ghee. Make noodles as long or short as you wish.
4.  Deep fry until lightly browned and crispy.
5. Offer to Krishna when slightly cooled.

*Amazon. com sells these to use for this purpose. There are cheaper products than this, but this ricer really does the job, is easy to clean and stainless steel.

Finding Joy in Every Day Life

With Krishna consciousness, everything- housekeeping, relationships, cooking, nature study...becomes intensely interesting because the soul is naturally joyful in connection with Krsna, the Supreme Personality of Godhead and the source of everything. There's no need to travel far.

I have found such joy in simple things;
A plain, clean room, a nut-brown loaf of bread,
A cup of milk, a kettle as it sings,
The shelter of a roof above my head,
And in a leaf-laced square along the floor,
Where yellow sunlight glimmers through a door.

I have found such joy in things that fill
My quiet days; a curtain's blowing grace,
A potted plant upon my windowsill,
A rose, fresh-cut and placed within a vase;
A table cleared, a lamp beside a chair,
And books I long have loved beside me there.

Oh, I have found such joys I wish I might
Tell every woman who goes seeking far
For some elusive, feverish delight,
That very close to home the great joys are:
The elemental things--old as the race,
Yet never, through the ages, commonplace.
~ Grace Noll Crowell

More Homey Touches

This is late posting, some photos that were taken a couple months back:

This years wreathe was made from dried vines from the back yard and leaves. The leaves were painted with gold, copper, and silver paint (at Dick Blick) and then glued to the vines which had been twisted into a wreathe shape and held together with wire.  Some saved ribbon and a splash of white paint for faux snow gave a final touch. 

From India came this collection of skeleton keys that wound up as a tinkling wind chime on the front porch. Same paint as was added to the leaves above. A top coat of varnish can help keep the paint on. The contraption they are hanging from is a busted computer part. That got painted, too. Both these projects kept the grandchildren busy.

Here, nature came indoors as cut spring branches in a vase, supported with pretty stones inside.

OK, this has got to be a best discovery yet. Not wanting to throw anything out without considering how it may be reused, these amazing rags were born. They come from cotton thermal leggings that were too worn to pass on. The fabric is absorbent and has a texture that makes any cleaning easier.

 

They are cut into useable pieces and kept handy.

beet raita

Found this recipe online.  I steamed my beets the first time and got lots of positive feedback. Steamed or raw the recipe is a good one.  I also used more salt than the original recipe called for.

INGREDIENTS:

• 1 c raw beets, peeled, grated
• 2 T ghee
• 1/2 t bl mustard seeds
• 1/2 t cumin
•  1/2 small green chili, chopped
•  5 curry leaves
• 1 pinch hing
• 1 c yogurt
•  1 T cilantro
• salt, as desired

PREPARATION:

1. In hot ghee,  fry the mustard seeds and cumin, chili and curry leaves. 
2. When the mustard seeds stop popping, add the hing. Pour this into the yogurt. 
3. Add the beets and cilantro and then salt. 
4. Stir to mix nicely before offering to Krishna.