Slow Sunday, dreaming of warm times & a recipe

Mushroom pate

Winter still reigns in the UK but the lovely lilac is out in full bloom and the smell is, everything to get up for.

You can use the flowers to make custard, ice-cream, aromatic sugar, rice puddings, cakes, icings, scones; all sorts. I love to smell them and look at them, even on charcoal days when the air is colder than it should be and, like Narnia, winter is still in possession of our lands.

Last night I arrived home in a friends car to dark skies. Happy from a day of good things and people, filled to the brim with rich experiences; I wended my way home.

Along the dark and hushed back streets I went, then onto the main road dressed in lights and people, alcohol and music, take-aways falling in part to the ground amid laughter and frolicking; the food making friends with the pavement for birds to enjoy on tomorrows early morning half lit streets.

So many kinds of happiness, some momentary; or perhaps all.

On I went, into the bright lights, bouncy atmosphere, people jiving; weaving their end of week moments into weekend blankets to cosy themselves as, night crept towards early morning. I turned a corner, walked up the road and, to my amazement, as the sound of Saturday night partying disappeared, birds sang out from the tree on the corner the street. I couldn’t understand why they were awake. They sang my way home, as I passed the red post box old but still here. And walked along past gardens in darkness.

Then, a street full of silence. The smell of lilac thick in the air as I made my way up the garden path and wondered where the fox was. The street looked like a painting in semi darkness, the air crisp as shivers, my shoes squishing across wet earth to the sound of, absolutely nothing at all.

This morning, early, thick charcoal encased this little part of the planet; but later little patches of pale blue kept me and the tree out front company, as tiny birds flew in and out of newly green branches, and wild garlic flowered underneath. When I went in one of the tiny birds flew to my window and hovered there, singing. So lovely it was.

I am waiting, for spring to properly appear, while enjoying the smell of lilac and the songs of tiny birds.

Joy dots

Tiny birds

Lilac

Worms

Dark rich soil

Planting seeds

People

Humanity

Kindness

Taking time

Sunflowers

Meanwhile, I fill my mind with images of sunflowers and sunshine. I feast on memories of last summer in Spain and, I know, the season for these sunny times will come once more. Because, everything changes. And, because I know, that our brains don’t know the difference between real and imagined and so, I can feast on whatever I choose, and enjoy the benefits of that. And today I choose; lemon trees in blue skies, blue skies with palm trees, and bright orange calendula.

Recipe

Mushroom pate

The use of mushrooms in Ayurveda is very complicated! But most things can be a treat when you are well and in balance. I made this pate with chestnut mushrooms, roasted garlic, ground toasted hazelnuts, tamari, brandy, black pepper and thyme. It was a nice little snack on homemade bread.

Ayurveda

I have started to send out 2 minute reads about Ayurveda. This is my Ayurveda ‘shorts’ series – bite-sized pieces of Ayurveda that come to your inbox on Wednesdays and will build into ‘Ayurveda in a Nutshell’. I hope you enjoy them.

I need to go and plant some Coriander and read up on which Apple tree grows the sweetest fruit, and so…

Warmest wishes, until next week.

P.S. I’d love to know who you are and the things you love about life, please connect through the comments 😁

Lucy x