Category: Food

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Making “orders” easier to follow!

Posted on by sue boardman

So, the “O” word really isn’t one of my favorites.

Flashbacks, I suspect, from when the scrub-clad people shouting orders were known as, Sir! and were all too happy to tell me I didn’t get paid to think, while trying to grab my butt.

Not all of them… but way too many for my comfort!

Through the years, though, I’ve found several different ways to deal with the orders my various orthopedic challenges keep putting in my path.

Take yesterday. Newly negotiated orders from my highly enlightened physical therapist, having more than a little to do with knees and feet. Moving, as you might suspect, was involved.

I’m not coordinated enough to paint while simultaneously doing the point and flex thing with my right ankle. And there’s a lot of painting to do!

There is also sunshine today. And flowers blooming! So, instead of following orders, I took myself on a stroll through the garden, camera in tow! My intention was appreciation and pleasure, which feels a lot more inviting than however many reps of the ankle thing! And, I even stood in the space between the sage and the roses and did some more official ankle stuff.

Then, I found more fiddleheads! They felt like magical, fairy tale surprises!!! Like Creator at play!

There really was a lot to appreciate out there! Including the hiking pole which helps me not – you know – fall down!

Here’s the big message, though…

I learned much of this shift in perception and strategy at my easel, in the magical land of Intentional Creativity® !!!

Would I kid you about this??? Not a chance!

And the counselor/coach part of me is thrilled!

Shaming and blaming people is no way to help them become who they long to be. Even when they are we!

All of which is a huge reminder that my old friend, Steve Glenn, was right! Here are his words from back in the mid ’80’s when I worked with him…

If a teenaged child has 5 adults who will listen to them, take them seriously, and not shame or blame them for their questions, that child is practically immune from ever attempting suicide.

I’ll bet my last nickel that, if Steve were with us today, he’d absolutely agree that the way to start doing that for others is to begin by doing it for ourselves!

So… a question!

What is YOUR version of a walk in the garden while the paint dries???

I really want to know! For this moment, though, I’m off to witness some fabulous artwork from my Red Madonna sisters. My Prophetess is still in the #wip Wednesday phase, but agreed to drop in to say hi. Squint and you might glimpse the beginnings of an owl and a tortoise who insisted on joining the party.

I’m okay with orders from The Muse!

ps… need a reminder that you matter??? This one holds tea or coffee or cacao!!! And it has lots of friends to check out! Take a break and wander through FierceArtWithHeart!

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Isn’t that blasphemy???

Posted on by sue boardman

This question from a dear friend, who continued with… bone broth in an Instant Pot???

The answer, of course, is that depends! Since I’m the one about to answer, it depends – as most questions do – on whom you’re asking and what you’re trying to accomplish!

Let’s do truth. As true as I know it.

First, the definition. Blasphemy… n. The act or offense of speaking sacrilegiously about God or sacred things: profane talk.

Bone broth is, clearly, not the Divine of my understanding. It is, in my world, sacred, in the sense that synonyms for sacred include hallowed, blessed, consecrated, sanctified, dedicated, venerated, and revered.

Or, to climb down out of the ivory tower, when I create bone broth I do it with care and prayer and intentions for healing and wholeness. Which is to say that I don’t pray to it. I pray over it! And, often, I offer it as a gift to those on healing journeys. So, not sacrilegious!!!

Though, definitely a Dangerous Old Woman thing!

Here’s the thing…

I used to do it the (relatively) old-fashioned way. Huge stock pot. The best ingredients I could find. Simmered with love for at least 8, and often 24, hours. Really!

Then Covid entered my context.

Our kitchen stove – the electric kind with a glass top perfect for simmering, even through the night – died. And we couldn’t get another like it for about 8 months.

Online shopping was in order. (More so, because restaurants were not!)

What we could get, with only a 4 week wait, was a gas range. And, as we already had gas heat in the house, that seemed like an option. (Now we have solar, too!)

You’ve already guessed the challenge! I just can’t leave the gas burner on overnight. No way. No time. No how. And I’m okay with the fact that that’s not a rational statement. It’s just true.

So…

It’s not nearly as sexy. Or comforting. And it doesn’t make nearly as much at once.

It does work! And I’ve been practicing for long enough that I’m ready to share the process I use.

First… follow the directions for the pressure-machine you have! I (duh!) bought the book!

Then… really, really good ingredients! Let’s assume chicken. It’s a good place to start. (Beef, pork, even crab shells, all work!) Here’s what I put in last week’s batch:

Chicken… carcasses of 2 trusted rotisserie chickens, local, sustainably raised, and prepared by a chef friend who totally gets the REAL food thing. Leave whatever bits of skin or meat are attached!

Then, because I like a mix of cooked and raw bones, a couple of raw chicken necks. Ditto, the local, sustainable bit. (There’s a stash in the freezer!)

2 organic onions, quartered, with inner skins left on.

2 large bulbs of organic garlic, cut in half horizontally, papers still in place. (Whole bulbs – not cloves!)

A small bundle of fresh organic fennel stems & leaves, tied with cotton kitchen string. (Parsley stems, carrot tops, celery stalks… all organic, will work, too. Just use what you have for added vitamins & flavor.)

2 or 3 bay leaves, fresh if possible. Fresh (or dried) organic thyme or rosemary, if handy.

A slug – 2 or 3 ounces – of good Apple Cider Vinegar… like Bragg’s. (It helps draw the minerals out of the bones!)

Then, it’s time for liquid! There’s a fill line in the pot. It’s important!!! If I have a spare quart of broth around, I’ll start with that, thawed, and add cool room temp water, up to the line. It adds to the flavor. If no handy broth, just cool room temp water to the line.

Then, put the lid on carefully and it’s button pushing time. Switch the flippy thing on the top to seal. (Again, read the directions that came with your machine!) I set mine on soup/broth and set the time for 1 1/2 to 2 hours. (I turn keep warm off.)

When it’s done & beeps at you for attention, I unplug it. Then allow the pressure to come down. Don’t open it until the little pop-up thingy is all the way down and you’ve switched the flippy thing to venting! It will hiss like a grumpy cat.

When I remove the lid, I place a clean kitchen towel over the top of the pot so it can breathe & cool more quickly. (You may need to wait a bit before trying to remove the inner pot from the machine!) When you can comfortably hold your hand against the outside of the pot, it’s fridge time. I usually cool in fridge before I do all the obvious scooping and straining bit.

Congratulations! You’ve made magic!!! Quite possibly, the Inspired kind!

Freeze in BPA-free plastic containers, leaving about an inch of head space for expansion. Label and freeze.

To serve… sip from a mug. Make a big pot of veg soup. Use to cook veg, wild rice, etc. Give to struggling friends. It’s not God, but it is pretty close to heaven on earth!

ps… imagine my surprise when my broth pot appeared in my very first Legend painting… complete with a volunteer Phoenix!

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Alphabet soup! Really!!!

Posted on by sue boardman

A couple of hours, last night, were devoted to editing the manuscript for my word #wip… the portfolio I’m working on as the adventure known as Origins draws to a close.

Blessedly, I had help! My dear red thread sister, Natalie Moyes, is much better at pushing buttons and laying out things with photos than I am. (I’m the one who knows what I want when I see it!)

The fact that we’re having this adventure a couple thousand miles apart is both a miracle and a complication. Then there’s me, needing new glasses. On! Off! On! Off… you get the drift.

Picking the cover art was easy! The group of women – quite possibly grandmothers – gathered in the portal of HOPE that you see, above. (Maybe I should learn the Hebrew word for choice, too!)

Getting the Canva elves to see things my way was a bit more challenging!

By the time I encountered my pillow, my mind was busy quilting all the bits into something that will carry the energy of all I’m learning.

And that reminded me of some more things I need to share with the dear hearts engaged with me on the journey known as Oh, I See… Consciously! The path from “If only” to “I am!” Some of them have been painting for a while. Some of them are very new. And new journeys often make some of us feel anxious!

All of which meant – to my personal dream weaver – that my alphabet soup letters were rainbow colored… which was a big surprise for me. I’m way more used to dreaming auditory words rather than visual ones.

(I strongly suspect that my more visual dreams have to do with the art waking up parts of my consciousness that got considerably less attention when I was a child!)

In any event, an impressionistic rainbow was required for the painting.

And a reminder about the magic of white paint. Because it’s opaque, it makes it easier to cover up things that once made sense but no longer do. Or things that didn’t work out as well as we might have hoped.

Black works, too!

Then, because I was working on eyes, a reminder. WE are not perfectly symmetrical!!! (And trying to make a painting perfectly symmetrical often leads to 4-letter alphabet soup words like hell!!!)

Time out, then, for art of a different sort. Eleven containers of our favorite delicious, healthy with-it choice for dinner, happily ensconced in the freezer! The Legendary Husband calls it Marry Me Dressing. And one for tonight!

First, though, another alphabet soup word!

Why?

(In my dreams, alphabet soup comes with punctuation marks!)

The obvious next question is Why what?

Clearly, there are an almost infinite number of possible answers. I’m going with this one…

Why create?

My answer is simple… because we can!

And, because – maybe, just maybe – it’s as close to knowing the Divine as we can get.

I’m stickin’ with it. These dots are for courage.

And, one more thought…

If it makes sense to your heart, your eyes will be thrilled!

ps… stay tuned. Marry Me Dressing recipe to follow soon.

pps… spring is the perfect time for new art leggings! Check out FierceArtWithHeart! Sizes from 2T to women’s 6X!

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Let’s talk alchemy!

Posted on by sue boardman

There’s an old saying I love…

The best way to learn something is to teach it!

My life feels a whole lot like that in this moment. Let’s begin with a peek into the dictionary…

al-che-my noun… the medieval forerunner of chemistry, based on the supposed transformation of matter. It was concerned particularly with attempts to convert base metals into gold or to find a universal elixir. A seemingly magical process of transformation, creation, or a combination.

As you might suspect, this was not a popular vocabulary word in nursing school or seminary. It is, however, a very useful one in this moment of chaos and uncertainty!

I’ve been learning about the things I’m teaching… about the tools in my Medicine Basket – literally and figuratively – for a long while, now. And I’ve often felt, along the way, like I’ve been handed a box full of jigsaw puzzle pieces with no edge pieces and no photo on the cover of what it’s supposed to look like.

This last week has felt a whole lot like that!

I have 4 paintings in progress at once. Still! And they’re all really opinionated! Or, perhaps, they’re committed to changing some of my opinions! (Ummm… alchemy!)

And, it seems to be pain flare time.

Which brings me, kind of surprisingly, to the place where my alchemical class, Oh, I See, Consciously! meets some Inspired learning about healing and a freezer way too low on broth!

The ah-hah! of this particular moment seems a whole lot like start right where you are… even when you need to change things up!

So, lots of fingerprint dots, which are way easier on my hand than the brush kind. (And a great way to “erase” when the paintings change their minds!) In this case, my Red Madonna Prophetess has hair!

Symbols that inspire me.

I’m so hoping you’ll stay tuned… the alchemy of Oh, I See, Consciously! will begin again, soon! With a sprinkling of Inspired for seasoning!

We’re probably not actually going to turn lead into gold but we really can bring light and hope and healing to some of the scary places!

Then, a question…

Are you ready to make some actual healing magic of your own??? Just click here to be transported to my very best recipe…

ps… the photo at the top is a glimpse of my first Alchemist painting, right there with a bowl of stardust soup!

pps… want a recipe for vegan broth? Leave me a note in the comments, below. For now, my Alchemist #wip is ready for the next right things! She wants to be bigger… to hold more space! And the transformation will happen on camera!!! This is me, all in!

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Dear hearts & gentle readers…

Posted on by sue boardman

Yep! You!!!

I am so grateful for your presence on this planet and in my consciousness. Really!!! And, today, we’re going to do a slightly different thing together.

Think of it like having a Medicine Basket full of individual quilt pieces. (Or crossword letters!) And the amazing truth that when you take your eyes off them for just a minute — when you close your eyes to sleep, perhaps, or stare at a tree — they all get busy making new things you never imagined!

This is what my world feels like in this moment. (Well, kind of a lot of the time, lately!) So… if you’re up for it, we’re going fishing in the Medicine Basket to look at a few of the pieces!

The house smells like healing and hope… the scent of a new pot of actual bone broth in the air and an eager collection of bowls waiting for their moment!

If we tiptoed down the hall, we might surprise the paintbrushes dancing! In a mere 24 hours, a painting was begun, one made huge progress – well, mentally! – and two others announced that they were complete!!!

The Legendary Husband and I early-voted!!! Because our voices matter. So does yours! It was cold and rainy, though not crowded! The poll workers were sincerely thrilled to help us and asked questions about my fav paint sweatshirt, covered in dots of Hope! (And, yes, I was delighted to answer questions!!!)

I claimed my Intention for healing in my Inspired journal. And on my canvas…

(Spelling doesn’t count when you’re in the flow! The Muse knows!!!)

My Crone Moon post is up in the land of Red Madonna... early!!! Here’s a peek…

And suddenly, while I was contemplating what to do with those leaves, I knew – with every cell in my body – exactly how the Great Emergent MA must feel about each of us!

And then I knew more…

(Which is a good thing, because my Prophetess painting, changed her mind – again! – last night.)

I – the recovering camera-phobe – made a video. Well, two of them! And, I’m going to do it two more times. And, not only did I live, I loved it! Huge thanks to my partner in CHOICE, Natalie Moyes!!!

Also, huge thanks to the enormous, hard to wrangle canvas on which I am literally painting my version of what the puzzle with which we began Origins feels like in my soul. Officially, she is Constellation of Being. No clue what comes after some much needed faces with this one, but I have faith! (And, clearly, more dreaming to do!) She insisted on waving again!

For this moment… a good bit of chalk erasing to do in Prophetess land!

ps… I’m off to follow up with someone interested in adopting a painting. There are more – originals and museum quality prints – longing for new homes. (Also cool gifts and great leggings!) Just click here to be magically transported…

pps… ready for next conscious steps on your path to choice and voice and sovereignty? Let’s talk! 45 min. My gift. Just ask the calendar elves to hook you up!

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Craving Comfort!

Posted on by sue boardman

Let’s talk about comfort. Really!!!

Some of us grew up thinking it was one of those words. Words bright, go-getter people on a mission didn’t have time for.

You know…

Get out of your comfort zone!

Don’t get too comfortable!

“The comfort zone is the great enemy of courage and confidence” -Brian Tracy

And my personal least-favorite…

Comfortable shoes are for wimps!

As it turns out, comfort is not an either/or issue. It’s both/and!

Here’s my best understanding of the bottom line:

We need to have experienced enough trust in our comfortable places to venture out into more risky ones.

I’m kind of standing with one foot on each side of that line.

New ideas. New things to try. New needs clamoring to be recognized.

Okay, maybe the needs aren’t really so new. Just louder!

So, yes to comfortable chairs. And shoes, when I put any on!

And, yes to putting the things I love and need most in the places most comfortable for me to reach… which does, in fact, resemble what I might once have called closet cleaning.

Yes to dots of prayer and intention.

Yes to listening – on many levels – to what feels real.

And yes to some powerful stories which connect me to both my deep past and my envisioned future.

And yes to my new favorite comfort snack to help me stay on the road when I need a boost.

It’s easy!

About a pound of organic walnut halves and pieces.

About 1/2 a pound of dried cranberries… as chemical-free as possible.

A good pinch or two of a natural flakey sea salt… like Maldon.

Mix in a suitable container and stash in the fridge. A small handful during that afternoon slump time will power the next right thing, without counterproductive guilt trips.

The Big Why? helps, too!

YOUR Big Why?

Still sorting that one out???

This will help!

And, for me, in this moment, a bit of chair hanging. (Grandmother Moon got chatty early this morning!)

What feels like brave, empowering comfort for you?

ps… quilts help, too!

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Life in the Real World!

Posted on by sue boardman

Can you spell D-E-N-T-I-S-T???

Fortunately, I can. And I have a good one to call!

It started slowly, late last week, the discomfort in the right side of my mouth. Kinda lower jaw. With some interference by an upper tooth that seemed to be taking up more space than usual.

And it grew, as these things have a tendency to do.

So, Tuesday – very early – an appointment with the new guy in my recently retired, much appreciated, dentist’s office.

Before I bring you up to speed, I should probably mention that I’m not the world’s optimal dental patient.

I’m allergic to everything and have a super-sensitive gag reflex. The new guy – bless him – was very supportive. And, after a bit of studying the x-rays, dispatched me to an oral surgeon. (Joy, rapture, and bliss… not!)

Let’s just say that there has been a whole lot of electronic form filing to do! And calendar juggling. And pondering of Filters! Really!!!

We’ll begin with naming the all-important context. One word… Tooth!!!

I know… there’s still news happening. And painting to do. And that pot of bone broth, ready for the freezer. And a book hatching in my dreams.

Then there’s Stephen Covey whispering, as he has a tendency to do, his really helpful strategy for determining what’s next. It goes kinda like this…

Any given thing on my list, or yours, or the world’s, is two of these four things…

Urgent – Important – Not Urgent – Not Important

You, clever soul, have already realized that Not Urgent – Not Important things don’t make it to the top of the list very often.

The pain, however, rapidly climbed to Urgent – Important!

At least on my list! Then came explaining it to the people with the schedules…

Which brought up another Filter for me. The deep, old, familiar kind that sounds like… brave girls don’t complain. Followed rapidly by… don’t nag!

Blessedly, there are some other Filters inside. Memories of major allergies to pain meds and antibiotics. My allergies. And the fact that the epi-pen bit really isn’t much fun.

Oh! And the fact that nothing about Christmas with the kids gets better if I’m in lots of pain and can’t eat what the the girls love to cook.

And, then, the one that surprised me…

What I need matters!

Not more than what others need. And not less!!!

What really, really matters, though, is that I can model this for my girls!

So, I told my story, several times, and explained why dealing with all this as soon as possible would be really helpful. (Determined, I think, is the best way to say it.)

By the time you read this, there will be an actual plan. And, I suspect, more calendar issues to juggle. And, logistics. And, frankly, I’m not imagining I’m going to enjoy the next steps too much.

Here’s the thing, though… dental issues aren’t fun. Especially the sneaky kind. But coping with adventures like this just goes better when we can do it from a position of aligned intention and voice!

There’s another Filter that’s feeling handy about now… An edited one!!! My Mom believed, on some deep level, that the way to stay safe was to do everything the way Granny did. Including the massive holiday dinner with the very same menu, every time. It was delicious!

What Granny really wanted, though, was for us to all feel loved and safe.

And the way for me to do that, in this context is to deal with this health issue as soon as possible, even if that does mean two days before Thanksgiving… which it does! I’m quite sure Granny is fine with that. And that helps!

Dental insurance helps a whole lot, too… which feels like a huge reminder in our world just now.

In this moment, I’m curious…

What might things be like for you if you added this story to your Medicine Basket, just in case it came in handy??? What doors might open??? I really want to know! Leave a comment, below, or email me. Be brave!!! suesvoice@gmail.com

Oh! The art, above, is my digital teddy bear, if you will, for this adventure! In my heart, at least, the very brave figure, who may well represent some of my Cathar ancestors, was kind enough to volunteer!

ps… curious about the Filters! thing??? I can help! Here are some possibilities…

pps… just for you! My favorite recipe for Key Lime Pie… with a gluten-free nut crust variation! It’s really good… even if it’s not on the Filter list of the way we’ve always done it!

ppps… the print-on-demand elves are making woobies! Here’s Daphne with hers, under the painting which inspired it. And, here’s more info!