Places are Useful

Dear Children,

As I begin to lightly close the cover of my full-time mothering adventure, I am following my spirit as it wanders down old paths. Laurel (Baby Beth?!) is figuratively perched on the edge of the 1246 nest before swooping south to BYU, completing this family journey in a full, divinely traced circle to its 1981 beginnings there (well, more properly in Washington DC, where BYU sent two rather mismatched students that year).

On this June morning, I am looking back at our years together in the Craig and Lark Galli family through the three decades of my first and best "real job"--you. And like the British detective Maisie Dobbs, as I close my big case, I want to honor it by pausing to revisit some of our family's places in order to commemorate our times together there.

Places are useful that way: in one form or another they stay put (at least until the second coming, or an earthquake), often with their buildings intact, long after a cast of people has danced away and out of sight.

Some of our places I will revisit in reflection, but at others I will actually stand and listen for a while. (In the road, I'll stop and turn!)

I really want to do this, in tender thanksgiving, to give my heart some quiet time to say good-bye, and to understand, as the first time through some of those places, I was quite distracted! I know you'll encounter this need one day yourselves. Maybe like the birthing candles, it will become a family tradition.

Then I may fly off for a while with the man who is mine to keep (whenever I can find him!). But my mother-heart will wend its way behind and around each of you in the days ahead, with our new loved ones and those yet to come, in a joyful, eternal chain of Galli family love.

Thanks for being good bosses. I have learned a lot.

Mom

PS What are your favorite places on the list? Which would you add?
PPS My other baby, Helga's book, is being printed.  Off to college, too, I guess!

Our Galli Family Places

·      Salt Lake Temple

·      BYU

·      1038 So. 1200 E. and apartment

·      LDS Hospital

·      Garden Park Ward

·      Las Vegas and Grandmaland on Arville Street

·      The Cabins

·      St. George #8 and #23

·      Morningside Heights

·      Reldnas Hall on 122^nd Street

·      The shops on Amsterdam (including the Korean Fruit Stand and the Co-op)

·      Law School and Columbia Campus

·      V&Ts

·      Lincoln Center Church building and temple

·      NYC sights, including MOA and Natural History Museum

·      LaGuardia Airport

·      10207 Oldfield Dr.

·      Kensington Ward, Washington DC Temple

·      Giant

·      Butler’s Orchard

·      Libraries

·      Rock Creek Park

·      GW Parkway and DC museums, monuments, etc.

·      East Coast Vacation Sites: NC Beaches, Tri-cities, Williamsburg, Mt. Vernon, Assateague Island, Jug Bay, Sandy Point, Ocean City, Inner Harbor, etc.

·      KP and grounds

·      Continental Pizza and Subs

·      Hardware City

·      The Peterson home in Virginia

·      Holy Redeemer church and preschool

·      1246 Gilmer Dr.

·      Smiths and environs

·      Uintah

·      Beacon Heights

·      Clayton

·      East
    West

·      Lowell

·      Hawthorne

·      Elizabeth  Lund’s house

·      Linda Clark’s house

·      Fairmont Soccer Field

·      Other fields

·      Hannah’s tree

·      Tanner Dance Studio (Oops! It’s gone!)

·      Preschool building on President’s Circle

·      Utah hikes everywhere

·      Fayetteville, Georgia

·      Sicilia

·      Peru

·      Nauvoo

·      Bloomington

·      Zion, Bryce, Capitol Reef, Canyonlands and parts in between

·      Yellowstone and Quickwater Ranch

·      Oregon Coast, California, and other western vacation destinations

Marvelous Miso

My next new favorite soup to make is miso soup.  I've always loved it at Japanese restaurants and just discovered how easy and tasty it is to make!  The brand I like best from our local Asian market is Miso & Easy.  It looks like a ketchup bottle and doesn't need to be refrigerated until after opening, so I scowled at it and made my way to the tubbed misos in the refrigerated section.  Miso & Easy came out the winner over the fancy varieties, with no GMO soybeans or preservatives.  I know unpasteurized miso is ideal, and I can't tell if this is or not.  You can let me know if you come across a superior product.  Here's a basic recipe as I've adapted it from vegetarian.about.com:

Ingredients:

• 1 8oz package mushrooms, sliced (added by me and not in the nutrition facts)
• 4 cups water
• 1/3 cup miso
• 3 green onions (scallions), chopped
• 1 tbsp shredded nori or wakame seaweed
• 1/2 block soft or firm silken tofu, cut into 1 inch cubes
• dash soy sauce (optional)
• 1/2 tsp sesame oil (optional)

Preparation:

Saute sliced mushrooms in water or oil. When tender, add water to a slow simmer.  Add seaweed. Allow to simmer at least 5-6 minutes. The longer you simmer the seaweed, the less of a salty fishy flavor it will have.

Reduce heat to the lowest setting and add the rest of the ingredients. Stir until miso is well dissolved. Its best not to boil the miso, as this will ruin some of it's healthy properties as well as change the flavor of the soup. Makes 4 servings.

Nutrition Facts (from Calorie Count):
One serving provides approximately:
Calories: 91, Calories from Fat: 32
Total Fat: 3.5g, 5%, Saturated Fat: 0.5g, 3%
Cholesterol: 0mg, 0%
Sodium: 882mg, 37%
Total Carbohydrates: 8.6g, 3%
Dietary Fiber: 1.6g, 6%
Sugars: 2.1g, Protein: 6.8g, Vitamin A 3%, Vitamin C 4%, Calcium 5%, Iron 8%, based on a 2000 calorie diet

You can add other vegetables if you like.  Spinach would be good.

Now here are some reasons to make this soup, other than the fact that it's oh so delicious:

Miso...

1. Contains all essential amino acids, making it a complete protein.

2. Stimulates the secretion of digestive fluids in the stomach.

3. Restores beneficial probiotics to the intestines.

4. Aids in the digestion and assimilation of other foods in the intestines.

5. Is a good vegetable-quality source of B vitamins (especially B12).

6. Strengthens the quality of blood and lymph fluid.

7. Reduces risk for breast, prostate, lung and colon cancers.

8. Protects against radiation due to dipilocolonic acid, an alkaloid that chelates heavy metals and discharges them from the body.

9. Strengthens the immune system and helps to lower LDL cholesterol.

10. High in antioxidants that protects against free radicals.

See this website for more history about miso and uses for it: http://www.care2.com/greenliving/10-benefits-and-uses-for-miso.html?page=1 . The dipping sauce, cheese, and salad dressing sound the most intriguing to me.  Pass on any good miso recipes my way!

Adaptable Carrot Soup

Recently I have been experimenting with soup, and carrot soup in particular.  I made three varieties and each has been a hit at our house. The basics:

Ingredients:

1 T olive oil

1 chopped onion

1 cup chopped celery

2 cups sliced carrots

About 1 quart of broth (veggie works fine, but some may prefer chicken)

1 cup of something creamy (milk, almond milk, coconut milk, etc.)

Salt and pepper to taste

Seasonings (see variations)

Procedure:

Sautee onion, celery, and carrots on medium high heat with a little olive oil until the onion is translucent.  Add 2 cups broth.  Heat until the veggies are as soft as you prefer to eat them.  Blend the soup in a processor or blender.  Add the creamy ingredient, and as much broth as you like to taste.  Add salt and seasonings to taste.

This soup actually tastes decent even in its most simple form, but it can get more exciting. This looks complicated, but it’s not.  These suggestions are to show you that there are so many ways this soup can be right, it’s nearly impossible to go wrong!  Each idea is meant to be implemented separately; use wise judgment when combining more than one in the same soup.

-          Don’t add anything creamy and don’t add as much broth so the soup will be thicker without being creamier.

-          Common variation: add Italian spices like basil and parsley.  The fresher, the better.

-          For spicier soup, use cayenne pepper.

-          Add other chopped vegetables, a can of diced tomatoes, and don’t blend the whole thing together for a more minestrone look.

-          Roast diced potatoes in olive oil and salt and add them after blending the soup.

-          Reserve a cup of the celery, carrot, and onion mix before blending and add to the soup after blending.

-          For thicker soup, use more creamy stuff in place of some of the broth or add a dallop of plain yogurt or sour cream when serving

-          For an Indian variation, add curry and use coconut milk for the creamy ingredient.

-          For an Asian version, use less broth or no broth, add water and miso, and don’t add anything creamy.  Add seaweed or spinach.