Yesterday was a good day. It was filled with small acts of kindness, a three hour long nap and best of all, a long, properly social distanced, visit from my dear friend, ess. We haven’t seen each other in over 2 months. We very seldom go more than a week without seeing each other. I didn’t realize exactly how starved I was for in person human contact until she showed up.
Ess brought me three dozen fresh from the chicken eggs. They are so pretty and I can’t wait to start using them. What a nice surprise. Ess is one of the few people in my life that gets my “cooking thing” as my family calls it.
The first thing on my agenda was to get ess some time with my cockatiel, Squeak. Ess loves Squeak and I think Squeak loves her right back. He puts up with ess doing things to him he doesn’t even put up with from me. I know of all my animals, Squeak is her favorite. Don’t worry, ess, I won’t tell.
I think Squeak has missed ess as much as I have. None of my birds like to be held much or sit with me for long. We interact with each other in different ways. However, when I brought Squeak out and handed him to ess, Squeak went to her shoulder and sat there the entire time we waited for our dinner to be delivered.
Then we sat out by the picnic table and ate and talked and ate and talked and then talked some more. It felt normal and that hasn’t happened in a long time.
Castaway Seed Blend
From The Made Whole Made Simple Cookbook
2 TBS cumin seeds
2 TBS garlic powder
2 TBS ground mustard powder
2 TBS white peppercorns
1 TBS onion powder
1 TBS sesame seeds
1 tsp dried minced lemon peel
Heat a small skillet over medium heat. Combine the spices in the skillet and toast until the seeds begin to sizzle and pop and the sesame seeds smell toasted, about 5 minutes. Stir frequently to prevent burning.
Immediately transfer seed blend to a spice grinder; let cool for a few minutes then grind to a fine powder. Store in an airtight container in a cool, dark place.