Emotional ConFusion

And suddenly, it’s December.

Mid-December actually and my intention was to post this last week. Yikes!

Messy, beautiful time-sprinting chaos percolating amid twinkling lights and pine boughs.

Do you ever wonder how your time spirals out of control so quickly when you start each day (week, month, year!) with the best of intentions? Yeah, me too.  Best laid plans, and all.

To very loosely paraphrase Proverbs 16:9, “we make our plans and God laughs”.

This week, I gave myself grace, along with gin and Pinot Grigio, and decided to believe that I am doing exactly what I am meant to be doing, exactly where I’m meant to be doing it, at this very moment.  Peace rode shotgun.

With so much constantly out of control, it makes good sense to learn to go with the flow, if for no reason but sanity and presence. Don’t blink. Each moment, each day is a gift and a choice. Life will always remind us of that in so many ways, some joyful, some heartbreaking.

If like me, you feel completely discombobulated and your foundation is being rocked, you are not alone.  I tend to marry these feelings with a glass of wine and bowl of pasta, for better or worse. My wine and pasta strategy is flawed at best, so a much better idea would be to connect  with a friend or loved one. Make the call. Breath deeply.  Exercise.  Pray or meditate. Give yourself grace.

My peace is normally found in my kitchen.  It’s my happy place, next to an airport bar, on a plane or at a lake in the Northwoods! My brain calms when I’m cooking and then rewarded with a pot of comforting goodness to warm my soul, created while sipping on wine and listening to my favorite tunes.  Bliss.

But, currently.

My house is a construction zone of remodeling madness so there has been little opportunity to slice or dice to my heart’s content, so we’ve been eating out a LOT, and I’ve been on a bit of an internal spiral.

While I do love eating out and the entertainingly endless pursuit of creating plant-based options from mainstream menus, I really miss my kitchen. I know it’s minor in the big picture of life, but it’s shaken my foundation to the core.

We spent Thanksgiving at our local meat-and-cheese laden Packer bar where we settled in to watch the game and I ordered a “brat-less” bratwurst, aka, a hot dog bun with sauerkraut and grilled onions, of course I added mushrooms. A veggie burger option would have been nice, but my “bun” was delicious but it made the bartender shake her head and laugh!

During the week of holiday excursions, my dining out options included both cheese-less and vegan cheese pizza, fajitas, bean burritos, LTA (lettuce, tomato and avocado) on rye bread,  pad Thai with tofu-no egg , spicy edamame and a PB&J veggie burger, hold the cheese and bacon! Eating plant-based in the wild is possible!

Like a crazed squirrel approaching winter, I embraced a few pre-construction food prep sessions and filled my freezer with cooked beans, homemade seitan, mixed whole grains and baked purple sweet potatoes, nestled among a variety of frozen vegetables. All have been lifesavers on the fly, thanks to the microwave I relocated to the living room!

Two minutes in the microwave takes those baked potatoes from frozen to piping hot, almost like they just came out of the oven! They also make a luscious bed for my slow cooker creations.

Until my kitchen emerges with its new facelift, I’m getting imaginative with slow cooker madness, in the moments between the demo-ing, tiling and painting, like Lentil Sloppy Joe’s and my Celtic Cantina Chili. This chili dish is my newest Zen concoction composed of “kitchen sink” ingredients, like frozen vegetables, canned pantry staples, a few fresh fridge finds, aromatics and loads of spices. Mix up your own unique brand of crazy tasty fusion.  Slow cookers turn everything into pure, delicious magic!

Peaceful culinary creation in the midst of messy, beautiful chaos, is also possible, when sanity is at stake. Find yours this season, wherever you’re able. 

Cheers, my friend!