Organic Granny

                                                                                         It seems to me that Kunio Yamagishi may have decided upon a particularly deep emotional challenge for himself as a writer of historical fiction. What if instead of writing about a lonely man who undergoes extreme emotional deprivation and finds true love and/or personal happiness in spite of that deprivation I write about a person who-- like many humans we hear about-- only experiences blurry glimpses of personal happiness through the course of his life. Would those dim hopes be enough to sustain him into natural death in old age? What are the choices in life when all your dreams evaporate?   Yes,  The Return of A Shadow  is possibly the saddest book I have read, or at least in a long time. But beautiful writing, and a likeable protagonist kept me interested and hopeful in the outcome. I believe that older adults, perhaps the age of the protagonist himself, would be most apt to read this book. W

A dear friend had a huge Bosc pear harvest from her tree this year-- 700 pounds!  I was one of the lucky beneficiaries.  This vegan pear butter recipe is the result of a rave on Facebook by one of my friends.  So, looking at several recipes, I have chosen what I think works to produce a silky, yummy, pretty healthy pear spread.  The word "butter" does not mean that real dairy butter is involved (in fact, no fats!) INGREDIENTS: 5 pounds of fresh Bosc pears, peeled, split, cored, roughly chopped 1 teaspoon dried ground ginger* 2 tablespoons dried ground cinnamon** 1/2 cup water 1/4 cup orange juice 1/4 cup coconut sugar pinch of salt (optional)                                                           These are common BOSC pears.                                                           You can use this recipe for other                                                              pears, such as Barlett, as well.                                                            EASY M

Porridge made with barley is not familiar to everyone. This sweet porridge recipe comes from the Sacred Cookbook- Forgotten Healing Recipes of the Ancients . You will find other delicious, little-known old "ethnic" recipes from all over the world in this collection. Barley Porridge Serves 2-4 INGREDIENTS: 1 1/4 cups organic barley flour 4 cups almond milk, or other milk of choice sea salt 6 large medjool dates , pitted and chopped 2/3 cups chopped walnuts 4 tablespoons raw honey (other sweetener, like maple syrup, for children under 1 year) METHOD: 1. Whisk the barley flour in the almond milk over medium heat in a medium size pot. Be sure to bring all the flour into play and stir until smooth and beginning to bubble. 2. Turn the heat down as boil begins and allow the porridge to simmer gently for about 5 minutes. (Watch to prevent burning, whisk if needed) 3. Remove from heat, salt to taste, and spoon porridge into bowls. Add the dates, walnuts and honey

This delicious recipe for an Oriental dish, fried Garlic-Ginger Eggplant, is provided by my delightful Facebook friend, Rita Hinds . Here we go with Rita's recipe for Garlic-Ginger Eggplant : INGREDIENTS: 1 Eggplant 3 T. fresh ginger 3 T. Fresh garlic Green chili (I used red pepper flakes) Scallion onions 3 T. Non GMO Cornstarch 1 tsp. Organic Cane Sugar Soy sauce or Braggs Aminos Water INSTRUCTIONS: 1. Cut up eggplant in bite size pieces(put in bowl) sprinkle with salt and lemon juice. Let it sit for 15 minutes(this formula will draw out excess water) Pour out water/ rinse and pat dry with towel or paper towel. 2. Coat eggplant with cornstarch. This will depend on how much eggplant you have. 3. Fry eggplant until crispy(the cornstarch makes it crispy). Set aside. 4. Sauté onions, garlic, ginger 5. Add soy-sauce and sugar to the pan and then a little water (this will depend how much eggplant you have to cover with the sauce) then add water and some