mmmmMedicine Noodle Soup (and healing mantras)

I must not be the first to have come up with this clever little moniker, I am sure someone must have referred to Chicken Noodle Soup as Medicine Noodle Soup before….But this vegan soup has nothing to do with that salt and fat-ladened concoction, with its starchy-glutenous-noodles and goodness-knows-what-else besides the sad chicken whose sole purpose in life was to suffer captivity only to end up suspended in a can of beige goo.

(unless, your mommy made it using only the very best of everything  around–then, its not all that bad....but, its not all that good either.)

My daughter is no longer hungry and unhappy.  She has spent the last 4 days struggling with an infection, but because we were gone to Vancouver for the last 3 days to go to the PNE it was untreated and really began taking its toll on her as we made the finally leg of the journey home.  Inspired to give her some relief (and possible cure) before we see the doctor tomorrow for the dreaded “ANTIBIOTICS” I devised a soup that I was sure I could get her to eat, with the broth being the most valuable & desired component.  This soup may or may not cure her, but its just got to be good for something…its got all the right stuff!!

And its pretty tasty too.

I regularly chant and try  to remain in grateful presence while preparing food, …Since this was for healing, I made it more spiritually involved that usual and I am recommending some mantras specific for healing…chant these mantras out loud, under your breath or in your head if you choose–However, my sense tells me, that blessing food should be done out-loud.

It will take about 30 minutes to serve this bowl of love to someone you love.


MEDICINE NOODLE SOUP

Listen to, and set intention with a Healing Mantra, some youtube examples are listed:

click for favorite Medicine Buddha Mantra,
click for Ra Ma Da Sa—the universal healing mantra

or simply:  inbreath=MA (universal love) //  outbreath=OM (universal light & harmony with life)

Soup Base:
simmer in fair amount coconut oil
fine minced organic garlic
fine minced organic ginger
fine minced organic onions
till softened (which I think may be overcooked for medicinal purposes…therefore we will augment with the same ingredients in the broth)

Main Medicine:

add cups of thanked & loved water
organic veggie broth cubes
large slices of fresh organic ginger root (can be remove before serving)
large slices of fresh organic turmeric (can be remove before serving)

(or add turmeric powder—go easy, its stronger than you think, Continue reading

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Curried Scalloped Potato & Kale // Easy Vegan ‘Butter’

Curried Scalloped Potato with Kale

I could say this dish is pretty-tasty, but its actually very ugly-delicious, and although

Isn’t very photogenic, its a “go back for more” dish, for sure.

It started with a worthy recipe on the internet, but I made it 3 times in short order and tweaked it to perfection—I had lots of kale to use & lots of people to feed.

Its exceptionally tasty with sweet potatoes, but good with just regular potatoes too.

ugly tasty curried scalloped potatoes with kale

ugly-delicious curried scalloped potatoes with kale

METHOD:

GREASE an oven-proof casserole dish.
Lightly TOAST CUMIN SEEDS and set them aside.
Lightly TOAST rough-CHOPPED ALMONDS and set them aside

fry lots of DICED ONIONS and
some MINCED GINGER and
lots of MINCEd GARLIC in
COCONUT OIL, add a fair amount of:
GROUND CUMIN
GARAM MASALA
TUMERIC
SALT
PEPPER
CAYENNE
simmer till transparent

meanwhile, thinly slice, on a mandolin, plenty of:
REGULAR POTATOES, and equal amount of
SWEET POTATOES (not yams—which are orange)
set them aside

in the hot pan, add LOTS OF CHOPPED KALE to the onions and simmer till kale wilts
(this part will taste rather bitter and not too pleasant, if its done right)

ASSEMBLY:
-place a thin layer of potatoes on the bottom of the greased pan, sprinkling lightly with toasted cumin seeds & salt, then a bit more potatoes
-layer on ½ the onion/kale mixture
-another thin layer of potatoes, and SHREDDED CARROTS, lightly sprinkled with toasted cumin seed & toasted almonds, salt and lightly drizzled with: MANGO or TAMARIND CHUTNEY
-another layer of potatoes, is followed by rest of kale mix, and the finishing layer of potatoes is drizzled with: melted BUTTER, OR COCONUT OIL, OR VEGAN ‘BUTTER’ (recipe below)

COVER LIGHTLY WITH FOIL OR COOKIE SHEET
AND BAKE UNTIL FORK TENDER—REMOVE COVER AND BROWN SURFACE.

EASY VEGAN ‘BUTTER’
coconut oil
nutritional yeast
Himalayan pink salt
add olive oil in the winter to keep it soft & spreadable

Festival Yoga; Where’s Wallydo? A People-Game; festival & camp food

OMG….AumMG, or ALLMG—I can’t believe I just lost all that writing…just when you think you got the best thing you ever wrote down, just when I was beginning to think, this is cool…zap. It just suddenly dissappears. Now I have to try to recreate it…2 hours later.uugh. must try…

This is about festival yoga, not to be mistaken with a yoga festival. This is about how festivals can be yogic. I often have wonderful yogic experiences at festivals and even though it wasn’t the best Canada Day I have ever attended, tonight I was moved to share…

Thankfully, I am still fairly energized, despite it being 3 am. (and despite the lack of sleep last night too), I am energized by being with so many souls who were sharing a certain level of shared or common consciousness at the Canada Day festivities on the lawn of the legislature tonight.

Shared consciousness is an interesting thing to contemplate at festivals. I have noticed that the degree of shared or common-consciousness seems to reveal itself in the way the vast majority acts. For instance and in particular, how they respect or accept others and respect personal space and property. People walk carefully around your blankets and belongings, and no matter who they are, if you talk to them, they are friendly, open and accepting. Fortunately this characterizes most festivals, it is what makes a festival–a festival. That’s why festivals can feel magical and are prime ground for some profound yogic insights and experiences.

On Canada Day, I particularly love the way the thousands of weird, wacky and unusual, red and white outfits cut strong contrast against the perfectly deep green of the meticulously trimmed legislature lawn; it is chaos against control, it is practically surreal and lends a rare, superficial “oneness” to a rather large and disparate body of individuals. This spontaneous, voluntary and positive form, is something we don’t experience everyday.

When I look at this mass of humanity, I like to think of them as various cells of single living organism, on Canada Day there are a few random coloured ones, but the majority are red/white cells…(ironically like red & white blood cells)
As with any living organism, all these cells are ultimately made of the same stuff: food & water (earthstuff); and are driven by the same energy: life, love & breath (pranastuff). But when you look closer you can clearly see via outer manifestations, that each cell has its own individualize and unique configuration of consciousness or soulstuff. While each one clearly a unique soul, they are all momentarily and obviously being connected by a certain level of shared conscious awareness, in this case awareness of Canadianhood and festivalhood.

Oftentimes when I attend a festival, I try to practice ultimate non-judgement, trying to see all the experiences and people around me as neutral, its hard not to judge people when they are wearing and doing “crazy” things (that’s judgement right there!) It is interesting how much of people’s egos and concomitant limitations become revealed to you, when you are not judging but just observing with heightened awareness and deep compassion–you can almost sense the issues they have faced and have shaped them. Once I see this clearly, I am moved to meditate, and to gather loving energy into my heart chakra and to send out blessings to the group en-masse. Usually I do this thru dancing and visualizing the loving energy being sent out thru my arms and hands

Furthermore, I like to imagine what it would take for everyone to find and operate from an even deeper level of common consciousness. What would that be like once it happened? What if everyone suddenly saw themselves as cells of the same living organism?

Sometimes I see that feeling arise in people. It happens more near the front of the stage where people are dancing altogether. When I dance with others who really dance (and I don’t mean “look good”, I mean “giv’er good”) I get a strong sense of our individual consciousnesses aligning. This often happens at festivals; by simply letting the rhythm and message of the song penetrate our soul we feel a closer resonance with each other within the field of consciousness; it brings us into a blissful and welcomed entrainment with each other. Tonight I found myself entrained to the amazing African dancers on the stage and boy did we dance–and when they spoke in french I felt french too! Energetically echoing their shout-out, “Oui! Merci Beaucoup Victoria!!”–and when I walked away and forgot my purse among the dancers; I was not panicked, sensing somehow that it would still be safe–and it was.

The other bands did not have me dancing so much–save for Trees & Towers–whose song “I have been released” is definitely going on my yoga dance playlist. So tonight I made up a game, a people-game. Actually I might not have been the first to make-up this game–I am making no claim, but I would like to suggest some rules for a game which is not only super fun but could enhance the shared consciousness experience at any festival.

First I want to say “Hat’s Off” to the creators of what we call “Where’s Waldo” and in Australia they call “Where’s Wally”; and since my first test-players were Australians I’ll call this game “Where’s Wallydo”–its very easy to play, for any age, and needs no equipment.

One friend bows their head to count to 60 (or more) at the tens they should put a finger up–telling their buddies how far along they are…meanwhile their buddies scatter among the crowd and find new seats where they can clearly see the counter/finder-(on occasion, they may have to move to stay visible)-in other words, hide in plain sight.

They will likely find, that they need to ask permission to sit next to some strangers, or at least have to explain their presence to a fellow festivaller–sharing & promoting this friendly game even more. It is a good opportunity to have a nice little chat with an erstwhile stranger, while keeping your eye on the c/finder. When the c/finder sees you they raise their hand at you, and you rejoin them and also begin the silent search for those not yet found, each person gaining points for those they find first, or gaining a point for not being found.

If you are not found, you should raise your two hands until someone sees you, proving that you were in plain sight.

Ultimately the best hiders will likely be those who can integrate themselves the best with the strangers in the crowd, in other words; the more friendly you can become, the more camouflage you will gain.

It is important for conscious people to connect as much as possible with other people, ALL people, to build and grow a bigger web of consciousness. In time, this will be the only way to shift humanity into a new paradigm of living in consciousness; we know webs are stronger than they look.

A good Festival is one where people feel strong communitas. Communitas is a Latin noun commonly referring either to an unstructured community in which people are equal, or to the very spirit of community. It also has special significance as a loanword in cultural anthropology and the social sciences.
com·mu·ni·tas
[kuh-myoo-ni-tahs]
noun from Anthropology .
The sense of sharing and intimacy that develops among persons who experience liminality as a group

Liminalty, in terms of social structure and time, is an intermediate state of being “in between” in which individuals are striped from their usual identity and their constituting social differences while being on the verge of personal or social transformation.

A great Festival is positive and prime ground for liminalty and the bringing on of a strong sense of communitas. It can provide a good, living example of personal and social transformations. Great festivals can give us a benchmark of new rules and behaviour. Rules and behaviours we might want seek to emulate in wider and normal daily life.

Since our Hugelkulture garden is going-off like crazy, my Summer Festival & Camping Food, uses plenty of organic veggies: (sorry no pictures yet)

SIMPLE CURRY FRIED POTATO HASH
onion & garlic, made translucent by frying in
coconut oil, then add
curry paste & solid coconut cream
boiled potatoes, not stirred too much so that they brown, add
chopped chard
& basil

salt & pepper, to taste.

GOOD HOT OR COLD
with or without CHUTNEY

GRILLED PESTO VEGGIE PASTA SALAD

grill a variety of veg:
zucchini, onion, eggplant, mushroom, peppers–cool and chop, add to
cooked penne pasta, add
chopped chard
plenty of purslane (if you have it)
quartered canned or marinated artichoke hearts
black olives
minced basil
feta & parmesan (or similar)
almonds slivers or pumpkin seeds

dress with:
crushed garlic in salt, with olive oil & lemon juice
add salt & pepper to taste.

MY GOAL IN LIFE: to live in love & be a superhero

My ultimate goal in life?

I have but one passion in life now…to work towards spiritual evolution for humanity, to do my best to help fix this planet and set it on a course for good for the benefit of my daughter Ginger, her children, and and all of your children, and their children beyond them.

I am striving to be a real life superhero, knowing superheros really are but a conduit for the flow of supernatural power, of universal power, or universal love…and they become powerful not by strength of might and determination, but ultimately by surrender, by letting go of ego, trusting and riding the waves instead of intellectually letting gross, material senses guide them, with their wants disguised as needs.

They realize that challenges are blessings moving them toward the goal; even if they cannot see the goal at the moment, obscured as it is sometimes by the haze of residual unconsciousness, their own maya. When their supernatural powers fade practice is the charge up station, knowing that with regular practice eventually they will be Tickety-Boo & up-and-running on a full tank soon enough.

They are able to live a life confident that the energy they put out there, will be returned in kind, and therefore, at a level of fearlessness that solidifies total resolve to the goal. Moreover, the vacuum created by this fearlessness is immediately filled with Love, even though it began with Love too, like a perpetual motion machine.

This is living in Love. This, and to teach others and to raise my child to do the same…is my goal.

What do I value the most?
I value all things that help me reach that goal. Such as, in no particular order:

The freedom of expression, and access to knowledge, particularly knowledge of yoga
Good health—eyes that see, body that works, voice and mind that function, painlessness, happiness
The Intelligence and various capacities of my mind to serve me.
The vast potential power of the infinite to tap into
The support of others who share the goal, who have worked towards that goal, ie; gurus and guides
The financial and practical means, including time, space & peace of mind, that support that goal

What practical steps do I take to achieve my goal:
I meditate and work on my own spiritual development and my ability to convey it to others
I do whatever is necessary to support myself so long as it allows me to pursue my goal
I live/model my goal (the principals & practices)
I take care of my health so it doesn’t impede on progress towards my goal
I teach Ginger, and others the principals and bring them a spiritual perspective on life
I remind myself, by writing things like this & by publicly announcing it, that this is my ONLY GOAL.

Pomegranate Mandarin Quinoa Salad w/ Sesame Honey Lime vinaigrette & Potato Salad

Confusing? perhaps. But, this delicious quinoa salad goes great with sesame honey lime vinaigrette, and so does a very simple sweet & regular potato salad…so I included them both.

POMEGRANATE MANDARIN QUINOA SALAD
w /sesame honey lime vinaigrette

thin sliced & chopped sweet Spanish onion
thin sliced & chopped red peppers
drained can of mandarins (or chopped mango)
¼ cup pomegranate pods (or chopped strawberries)
¼ cup toasted almond slivers
¼ cup chopped feta cheese
1c cooked quinoa
toss altogether with a drizzle of Sesame Honey Lime Vinaigrette or serve dressing on the side
serve on bed of baby greens/or just spinach
endnov 094

SESAME HONEY LIME VINAIGRETTE
1 clove garlic crushed with salt
1tbs honey
1tbs mayo
1/4c Olive oil
+/- 1-2 tbs Lime juice
black, white and/or toasted sesame seeds

HONEY-LIME POTATO SALAD
Dice and boil 1 regular potato and 2 sweet potatoes (not yams…)

add optional: parsley, cilantro, black beans, corn, red peppers, green onions, jalepenos

TOSS in Sesame Honey Lime Vinaigrette

1001 ways to cook butternut squash (okay I exaggerate…quite a few)

garden 101
Yeah, I grew a few too many butternut squash this year….but what a lovely vegetable to work with, so many options from sweet to savory.
PASTA SAUCE, QUICHE, CAKE, LASAGNA, VEGAN BIRYANI….all so delicious!!
039

  • BUTTERNUT SQUASH PASTA SAUCE
    • –can be made vegan

      split and roast a good size squash…

      simmer ONIONS & GARLIC in 1/4 cup OLIVE OIL & 2tbs BUTTER
      when golden, add add 1cup QUINOA simmer for 5 minutes
      add ROASTED SQUASH, 1 cup of WATER & VEG BROTH CUBE
      add a little ALMOND MEAL, 1/2 cup PARMESAN CHEESE, FRESH BASIL, CURRANTS, a dash of NUTMEG SALT & PEPPER and ORANGE JUICE &/OR CREAM till smooth top with GOAT CHEESE OR MOZZARELLA CHEESE
      garden 081

      BUTTERNUT SQUASH QUICHE–makes TWO deep dish pie shells
      food pics 010

      • –this quiche has the same taste sensation as the lasagna further below, with lots of extra protein…
    • food pics 029
      2c roasted butternut squash, then cut up small
      2c chopped greens (spinach, chard, beet greens)
      4 2inch sprigs of sage–finely minced
      1/2 cup caramelized (fried crispy-brown edges) onions-thin sliced, fried in butter 2tbsp
      1/2 teaspoon of nutmeg
      1 cup of milk
      1/2c flour
      1/2 cup Parmesan
      fresh mozzarella (the soft ball/log kind–sliced into thin rounds)
      8 eggs
      salt & pepper
      ready made deep dish pie shells

      blend all ingredients (except fresh mozarella) in big bowl, divide between two pie shells, top with mozzarella rounds, salt & pepper the top
      cook for 45min at 350 or so…check for center firmness.
      food pics 031

      ORANGE POPPYSEED & BUTTERNUT CAKE
      001
      –this cake was so yummy, fruity, nutty & moist that it got snapped up, it didn’t even have icing!

      Here is a picture of the apx. size squash to use–cube, steam & mash 3 cups of raw-diced squash
      051

      052

      DRY bowl:
      054
      2c whole wheat flour
      1/2c oats/flax
      1c +2-3tbsp brown sugar
      2tsp cinnamon
      1tsp nutmeg
      1c combination of: almond slivers/hazel nuts/chia seeds/pumpkin seeds
      3+tbsp poppyseeds
      1/2 cup minimal process cranberries
      rind of 2 large navel oranges done on cheese grater for long strips
      2tsp baking soda

      WET bowl:

      4 large eggs
      2tbs vanilla
      1c grapeseed oil
      3c raw-cubed butternut squash, steamed & mashed
      juice & chopped pulp from 2 large navel oranges (pith excluded–as in photo)

      058

      blend without over-mixing and bake for 45-50 minutes at 350degrees in a greased rectangle cake pan…or until firm in center and stick comes out clean.
      Great alone, as a breakfast cake with coffee or tea…or iced with orange-cream cheese icing

    • BUTTERNUT SQUASH LASAGNA
      040
      Continue reading
    • Rich Chanterelle Soup

      food pics 020
      You don’t come across a good load of Chanterelle Mushrooms that often, so when you do–you’ve just got to indulge!! The delicate & delicious taste of chanterelles combined with saffron, sherry, cream & parmesan makes this soup a true treat!

      You will have to adjust the volume, depending on how many mushrooms you have–I got lucky with a treasure trove and made a large pot to share with the picker…

      In a soup pot, sweat some CHOPPED GARLIC & MINCED SWEET ONION in some OLIVE OIL & BUTTER, a VEG BROTH CUBE, SALT & PEPPER

      lightly brown your CHOPPED CHANTERELL MUSHROOMS in a few tbsps of BUTTER in separate frying pan…add this to the stock pot (include the butter drippings)

      Add a pinch or two of SAFFRON

      shake a jar with MILK & FLOUR (eg: cup of milk + 4tbsp of flour) add it to the soup pot,
      Add HEAVY CREAM
      Add WATER (this will make the soup cool and allow for the eggs to be introduced)
      Add WISKED EGGS with PARMESAN CHEESE
      Blend well with immersion blender
      finish with SHERRY to taste
      adjust seasoning

      eat up, don’t count calories…this is forest gold!!

      God is “IT” & atheists don’t Exist

      My mom finds it offensive to refer to God as IT, correction–she thinks God is probably offended by being called an IT.

      I think being “offended” is a state of our fragile human egos–rooted in our insecurities and egoic needs, something which I am sure most people would say GOD is way beyond–even if they see God as a superhuman-like character!

      The universe and what lies beyond, is an “IT”.
      Time, destiny, the past, the future, all objects and concepts, concrete and intangible, manifested and unmanifested are “IT”s.

      Humans are small, puny, fragile, relatively insignificant & unconscious, tightly defined He’s and She’s…while the whole of Humanity is a diverse, multifaceted force and is an “IT”

      What is a “HE”? Simply a male human, (or animal)…subject to ego, time, wants, needs, desires, pain, death…a mere male-puppet in the play of life on earth…very limited indeed!! Even a “She” or a “Woman” can contain a “he” or a “man” within herself, and therefore is a somewhat more complex vessel of humanity.

      “He” is for many, a very off-putting/alienating/and restrictive term to refer to GOD. It immediately conjures up patriarchal, social, psychological factors deeply rooted in a specific culture which is itself rooted in a particular time frame of human history.

      I cannot relate to someone’s concept of GOD when they refer to it as HIM…

      Most believers of GOD would freely admit that GOD is far more complex than the human mind can imagine–yet will have little trouble giving you a list of GOD’s traits, likes and dislikes, demands, expectations, and predicted behaviors. Why is that? It often has to do with believing in the BIBLE or some other holy book, as an exact description of GOD. Relying on someone’s understanding and limited way of describing GOD; rather than meditating themselves and coming to their own understanding of GOD.

      The bible was created between the second & fourth century AD, from a multitude of selected spiritual writings, some of which were rejected (and destroyed) by the Roman Catholic Church–along with the people who supported them. In 1945 some old writings were newly discovered. The Gnostic texts were found safely buried in the Nile valley and give us just a glimpse at how divergent the interpretations of Christianity were and how slanted the existing “bible” might be. A main theme of the the Gnostic central belief was that “divinity is not an external force but an inherent internal capacity available to every human being” How’s that for different? (sounds quite yogic) We can easily see why the Catholics didn’t want that kind of understanding to prevail…how would they get and keep control of people and their money?

      A little know fact which has completely upended any belief in the current version of the bible is that the ancient Hebrew in which the first 2/3rds of the bible was written, had no real NOUNS–really NO NOUNS…everything was expressed as verbs. Can you imagine, God as a verb?? As a doing, or a being… (and I don’t mean like the noun “human-being”) I mean like the intransitive verb “being still, being good, being everything…

      In fact, in ancient Hebrew, there aren’t really any nouns, either. In languages like English, nouns are the masters and verbs are their slaves, with adjectives and associated forms dancing about to serve them. In Hebrew, verbs rule. Big, little, wise, foolish, king, priest, eye, ear–all of these sound like things, but in Hebrew they are forms of verbs. In fact, according to Rabbi Yeshayahu Horowitz (1560?-1630), author of the classic Shnei Luchot HaBrit, everything in Hebrew is really a verb. Everything is an event, a happening, a process –flowing, moving, never static. Just like when you were a small child.

      In Hebrew, there is not even a present-tense. There are participles, but the idea of a present tense only arose later. In real Hebrew, nothing ever IS–all IS movement.

      click on the quote to read more…

      Its very difficult to share a notion of GOD with others and in my extremely humble opinion, it is impossible to be a true Atheist. It seems to me to do so, a person must presupposes some definition–no matter how loose, of ‘God’; which they, then can deny exists.  But any so-called ‘Atheist’ is aware of their own consciousness, they believe in themselves (and in their own opinions); therefore, they believe in my definition of GOD, and hence un-define (making up my own verb here…) themselves as atheists. If you believe in anything at all–you believe in your own opinion, your own consciousness–then you believe in God.  Call IT whatever you like. Atheists dont exist.

      Chocolate-Peanut-Granola vegan-indulgence

      chocolate-peanut-granola-vegan indulgence

      sinfully good, with some goodness added…

      This no-bake square is so sinfully tasty, not light on calories…but hey, it doesn’t hurt any living beings (if you buy fair-trade) and I added some goodness so you dont have to feel incredibly bad about it….just cut it up into little portions and only eat 10!

      melt 1 cup of COCONUT OIL in saucepan http://www.coconutresearchcenter.org/
      1/2 tsp SALT
      2+1/2 cup ROLLED OATS (any kind)
      1/2 cup of BROWN SUGAR
      2tsp of VANILLA
      1/2 cup (ore more) of a combination of chopped HAZELNUTS, ALMONDS, SHREDDED COCONUT, GROUND FLAX, CHIA, HEMP, SESAME or POPPY SEEDS
      1/4 cup DRIED CRANBERRIES (minimally processed are the best!–supertart!)

      Press half this mixture into the bottom of square cake pan

      In another saucepan,
      Melt 1 cup DARK CHOCOLATE CHIPS (or milk chocolate if you prefer)
      add 1/2 cup of NATURAL PEANUTBUTTER or ALMONDBUTTER (might be nice with tahina too!)

      if it doesn’t seem smooth enough to pour on the base, add a little touch of coconut oil…

      Pour and spread over the granola base, top with the rest of the granola & press

      Refrigerate for as long as you can stand it….at least an hour I think.

      INDULGE!!!

      Fattouch–my favorite traditional lebanese salad

      fatouch 001

      This salad requires several ingredients including “SUMAC”–which is a spice you might find at a middle-eastern store. The quantities are not essential, however the taste is really enhanced with lots of good-sweet tomatoes & fair amount of parsley & mint.

      If you have left over, don’t toss it, it tastes great the next day. Don’t let the marinated croutons turn you off…it’s still so tasty!

      GENTLY TOAST A FEW SMALL PITA BREAD UNTIL CRISPY BROWN (eg:toaster oven at 300 for 15 minutes)

      CHOPPED CRISP ROMAINE
      SEVERAL DICED SWEET TOMATOES
      1/2C THIN SLICED SWEET SPANISH ONIONS
      1C CHOPPED ENGLISH CUCUMBER (OR OTHER KIND)
      1/2 BUNCH OF CHOPPED RED RADISHES
      1 THIN SLICED OR CHOPPED RED PEPPER
      1C OF CHOPPED PARSLEY
      1/2C CHOPPED FRESH MINT
      TOP WITH BROKEN TOASTED-PITA CHIPS
      SPRINKLE WITH SEVERAL TABLESPOONS OF SUMAC (2-4 OR MORE)
      SPRINKLE WITH PLENTY OF SALT & SOME PEPPER
      TOSS WITH 2:1 OLIVE OIL/LEMON JUICE
      ADJUST SEASONING