My winter botanical effort has been
growing herbs in the window. I’m feeling pleased to have
accomplished this because these herbs had a rough start. They were
leftovers from my volunteer gig where I give away produce. The food
we give is often close to expiration date so the herbs were a little tired to
begin with. On top of that, they’d been outside for hours in the
freezing cold. I decided to root them in water even though they
looked pretty sad, and despite the odds, the herbs are thriving. They
make me happy when I see the snow outside. Sometimes I brush the mint or
rosemary with my hand for the cheerful scent.
I’ve discovered the majority of people
who get free food from my volunteer gig don’t know what to do with
herbs. I find this rather befuddling since food without herbs can be
dull, or at least I think it’s dull. Put basil on a pizza and the
pizza is better. Make pesto and put it on pasta. Make tea with
mint. The list of ideas is only limited by imagination.
When I was a kid, I wanted to branch
out from recipes, but I didn’t know how. I opened all the herb and
spice jars and smelled them. Tasting the spices didn’t really give
me a good idea of their qualities, but the aroma was very telling. I
experimented until I found the combinations I liked best.
For example, I made a couple of apple
cakes the other day. This was also courtesy of the food giveaway
leftovers because there were some sad looking apples left in the
box. I made one cake for a friend who appreciates apple
cake. His cake had the proscribed amount of cinnamon and no other
spices since I don’t know his feelings about experimentation. For my
own cake, I added ginger and cumin. I think it’s yummy.
We had a lot of people at our last food
giveaway even though it was really, really cold outside. I don’t
know if this has anything to do with the US government shutdown or the usual
poverty. Keep in mind we give the food away in a middle class
area. The poverty is invisible around here, but it still exists. It
warmed my heart when many people went out of their way to say how much they
appreciate our efforts. It’s nice of them to say so. It
makes me feel happy about freezing in a parking lot.
I looked for a long time for a
volunteer effort that I felt drawn to helping. Handing out
vegetables makes me happy. I’m happy talking about
cooking. I’m happy to talk with friendly volunteers and food
recipients. I figure I’m getting quite a few positives out of the
experience so it feels kind of too much to also get thanked for my own
happiness. It’s an abundance of riches and I get to
take home free food too. Even freezing outside feels like a
positive. I’m getting exercise and burning calories.
At the same time, I’m concerned there
are so many hungry people. It shouldn’t be that way. If
some of these people are hungry because of the government shutdown, that’s even
worse. Trump needs to forget about his
wall and deal with his legal nightmares instead. Good people are hurting.
Smile at someone today. It will make both of you happier!
