the world laughs in flowers - emerson

shine on brother!
we could have a party
you bring the food
and i'll bring the people

shine on brother!
we could be friends
you bring the beer
and i'll bring the steins

shine on brother!
we could have a dance
you bring the band
and i'll bring the may pole

shine on brother!
we could be lovers
you bring the kisses
and i'll bring the smiles

sometimes i miss exits
sometimes i take wrong turns
sometimes i get lost
sometimes i make surprise u-turns
sometimes i turn the tunes up way too loud
sometimes i'm too fast
sometimes i'm too slow
sometimes i stop dead in the middle of the street
sometimes i'm all over the road
sometimes i pee in really dirty gas station bathrooms
sometimes i find a really good cup of coffee along the way

okay okay - i realize that moderating a bookkeeping tribe is not everyone's idea of excitement - certainly it does not compare with some of the other tribes out there - but this is my happy profession and i love it! given that there are no other bookkeeper tribes that i could find i thought i would start one.

ps: I DO NOT DO TAXES!

In a little café just the other side of the border
She was just sitting there givin' me looks that made my mouth water
So I started walking her way
She belonged to that man, José
And I knew, yes I knew I should leave
When I heard her say, yeah

Come a little bit closer
You're my kind of man
So big and so strong
Come a little bit closer
I'm all alone
And the night is so long

So we started to dance
In my arms, she felt so inviting
That I just couldn't resist
Just one little kiss so exciting
Then I heard the guitar player say
"Vamoose, José's on his way"
Then I knew, yes I knew I should run
But then I heard her say, yeah

Come a little bit closer
You're my kind of man
So big and so strong
Come a little bit closer
I'm all alone
And the night is so long

Then the music stopped
When I looked the café was empty
Then I heard José say
"Man you know you're in trouble plenty"
So I dropped my drink from my hand
And through the window I ran
And as I rode away
I could hear her say to José, yeah

Come a little bit closer
You're my kind of man
So big and so strong
Come a little bit closer
I'm all alone
And the night is so long

thanks to Jay & The Americans

squash (known or not)
potato
apple
onion
apple juice
veggie stock
ginger
cilanto
salt and pepper

i haven't included any quantities. you should be able to figure them out on your own - just use what you like. saute the onions first, toss in the stock, squash, potato, apple, juice and ginger. cook till it is all done and soft. puree. season. serve with cilantro and yogurt (with or without lime). i always find this soup gives me a good energy boost at work for lunch or mid-week. everything save the ginger and salt and pepper comes from the farm. it's good and yummy especially when it is cold outside.

soup is one of my favourite meals. it works well for both lunch and dinner. this is a recipe for french onion soup with a few elemental thoughts.

i start off frying up some onions in olive oil. onions represent courage and healing, among other powers. onions are masculine and of the fire element. i generally use sweet onions such as vidalia and when the onions near caramelization i add a bit of brown sugar to help things along. once the onions are well caramelized, i add a good quality stock: beef, chicken or veggie. sometimes a combination of what i happen to have on hand. bring it all to a simmer, adding some black pepper.

after the soup has simmered for a while, i add in some fresh thyme. thyme, too, represents courage and healing, again with other powers. in contrast to the onions, however, thyme is considered feminine and of the water element.

i think that it is interesting that two gifts from gaia representing courage and healing are "married" in a way - either through the dichotomy of the masculine and feminine or through the elements of water and fire (which i view as being west and east respectively).

i season the soup with a bit of salt and ladle into oven proof bowls. i top the soup with sherry, well toasted bread and a variety of cheeses. this evening i used gruyere, smoked gouda and asiago. toss the bowls under the broiler and get the cheese a lovely brown.

in my mind, the salt represents the earth element and the smoked gouda represents the air element (through the smoking process). the process of preparing and cooking the soup is my elemental contribution - spirit.

this soup is a wonderful example of how you can bring the elements all together in a tasty bowl, warming souls on a cold winters night and providing courage for the night or day to come.

enjoy!

post-script: after writing this i realized that the smoking process applied to the gouda may not be what i think it is. it is possible to use "liquid smoke" or some other treatment that would "smoke" the cheese. i'll have to do a little research into this.