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A Gardener in New England - An Opera 12.202 3 tick tock, tick tock One heart tough as bone, two feet on the ground shuffle. One parcel of land relieved, one clump at a time. Two hands fold out a blanket of gold, one heap of decomposed meals cycloned with cracked eggshell and a dozen warm winter worms. tick tock, tick tock Sun spills softly through shades, and green sprouts dance to grow, whilst clapped by wings of bees. Patience is a slow grant for hunger. tick tock, tick tock Two feet on the ground shuffle. They’re wandering at a loss. Mountains of water are falling, and gold is turning to green moss. roar, roar We want greens, we want tomatoes, carrots, chives, and potatoes. We want greens, we want tomatoes, carrots, chives, and potatoes. … crunch, crunch Upon the sun and rain, carnation blisses, crocus bulbs crush in chipmunk hands, sweet lettuce folds between deer kisses, cherry tomatoes burst in rabbit cheeks. roar, roar We want greens, we want tomatoes, carrots, chives, and potatoes. We want greens, we want tomatoes, carrots, chives, and potatoes. crunch, slurp She swallows slowly, her tears tie, whilst pooh bear embraces the hive, one queen, two feet on the ground, liquid gold guarded by no hound. … swoosh, shhhh Wind swirls about and dries the colors out. She mourns the leaves but dries the herbs. Defaced, her garden rests, left for pests. Perennials tucked in underneath a windowsill. crunch, crunch Numbers pressed, plans and seeds sifted. Total cost to grow at home vs total eaten, No, stop, cannot measure labor for love, or lust for reproducing, for playing god in dirt. … crunch, crunch Two feet on the ground pack snow, one heart tough as bone, one parcel of land relieved, two hands hold one warm winter worm. roar, roar We want greens, we want tomatoes, carrots, chives, and potatoes. We want greens, we want tomatoes, carrots, chives, and potatoes. … tick tock, tick tock

MEATS & FISH T'baftë mirë Qofte (Beef Patties) Recipe yields 8-9 patties Ingredients 1 lb ground beef (85% lean 15% fat) ½ medium onion grated ½ cup of chives chopped Salt Black Pepper A sprinkling of cayenne pepper Smoked paprika powder Fresh parsley chopped ½ tsp baking soda 20 ml cold water ½ cup of white flour EVOO for frying Directions Add all ingredients but baking soda and water onto a large mixing bowl. Put the baking soda in with the water in a small dish and mix well and sprinkle into the mixing bowl. With your hands, mix the ingredients well with the meat. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and place in the fridge for 30 minutes to 1 hour (however, I have found that if you leave them overnight, the taste is even better!) Make into patties (1/4 inch thick and 4 inch diameter) You can use plastic wrap over a jar lid to shape the patties for consistency. Pan fry them in medium heat. Use enough oil to cover 1/4 of the patties. Pre-heat the oil before placing the patties in. Let cook for 3 minutes on each side. Use a fork to turn patties upside down and press down to let some of the liquid out. Take them out and let cool for 5 mins before serving. Best served with thick and plain yogurt. The yogurt cuts the taste just enough to enhance it. Or maybe that's just me. Try it anyway, at least once. Pro-tip: if you have a charcoal grill, grill them instead and you will immediately be taken back to the Balkans. If you haven't visited, you should :) Qëbapë (Beef long meatballs) Yields about 20 qëbapë Ingredients 2 lbs of high-quality ground beef (80%/20%) 1 teaspoon of salt 1 teaspoon of black pepper 1 teaspoon of baking soda 50 ml of cold water Directions In a bowl, mix the meat well with salt and pepper. On the side, in a cup combine the water and the baking soda until it is at one consistency. Then pour it into the meat bowl and mix well. Using a kitchen aid extension of sausage making, make the sausage. Make them about 6-8 inches long and place them on a tray or baking sheet. Cover with saran wrap, place in the fridge and let sit overnight, roughly for 24 hours. Cook them on a charcoal grill. Pork B elly Ingredients 1.5 lbs fresh pork belly 1 tbsp fresh rosemary (finely chopped) 1 tsp whole peppercorns 1 tsp fresh parsley (finely chopped) 1.5 cups red wine 1 tsp EVOO ½ cup of water ½ tsp garlic powder 1 small garlic clove Directions Score cut pork belly on fat side in 1”x1” cubes. Rub with all dry ingredients above. Then place in a large Zi plock bag and add the wet ingredients. Let marinade overnight in fridge. Roast in 400F covered in foil for 2 hours (skin side down). Then uncover, flip, and broil until crispy. Justin’s Beef Braise Ingredients Olive Oil Cumin Paprika Salt and pepper Onion Carrots Garlic Red Wine Beef cut of choice (Justin's preferred: boneless with marbled fat chuck roast) Directions Preheat oven to 350 F. On the stove, heat up oil in Dutch oven and leave it on high heat Brown all sides of beef Remove beef and set aside Deglaze Dutch oven with onion and carrot Add beef, spices, veg and garlic (bottom to top: start with the beef, then spices, then veg and garlic) Add red wine and water (3:1 fill) so 1/3 of beef is above liquid Cover and cook in oven for 2.5-3 hours flipping beef over every 30 mins Serve over rice Jackie's Poke Bowl Recipe yields poke bowls for 4 people Ingredients 1 lb of sushi-grade Salmon, preferably Alaskan A bunch of scallions 1 medium to large sweet white onion 1 ripe avocado 1 cup of soy sauce 1 tablespoon of toasted sesame oil A handful of black sesames 1 mango 2 small and crunch cucumbers 2 cups of sushi rice 2 cups of chopped spinach or butter lettuce or whatever you prefer Wasabi adds to the taste but not necessary as an ingredient if it’s not easy to find Directions Marinade: Start the process at least 8 hours before planning to eat Freeze the salmon so you may thaw it out enough where you can dice it in cubes without ripping it In a medium to large bowl, mix the diced salmon with the chopped sweet onion, 1 chopped scallion, toasted sesame oil and black sesames. Cover with plastic wrap and marinade in the fridge for 1-3 hours (3 hours preferred) Make the rice: Run cold water over the rice in a colander to wash out the starch Soak the sushi rice in a medium below filled with cold water at least 30 minutes before cooking to help soften it Place it gently in a pot and add more water than rice. It should be about 1.2 : 1 in favor of the water. That is 20% more water compared to the rice. Do not add more water or you will end up with dough instead of rice. Cook the rice on high heat at first, stirring every minute or two until the water boils (add a few sprinkles of salt). Then, lower the heat to low and cover the pot. After 6-8 minutes, check the water level – if there is no more water, only bigger grains of rice in the pot, the rice is ready. If not, check back every minute, making sure not to burn the rice at the bottom. Take it out of the pan and into a medium bowl to cool. Drizzle with EVOO and sprinkle a few black sesame seeds and mix with a wooden spoon. Chop up the garnish and put it all together: Chop of each garnish item and place them in their own bowl: Remaining scallions, spinach/green leaves of your preference, avocado, mango, cucumber Serve it in individual bowls by first adding the rice, then the salmon (including the marinade), then a handful of each garnish Optional: Add a bit of wasabi to the side of the bowl. If you do, let people know about it 😊 Mississippi R oast Ingredients 1 boneless chuck roast or top or bottom round roast, 3-4 lbs 2 tsp kosher salt, plus more to taste 1 ½ tsp freshly ground black pepper, plus more to taste ¼ cups all-purpose flour 3 tbsp neutral oil like Canola 4 tbsp unsalted butter 8-12 pepperoncini 2 tbsp mayonnaise 2 tsp apple cider vinegar ½ tsp dried dill ½ tsp sweet paprika 1 tsp buttermilk, optional Chopped parsley, for garnish Directions Place roast on a cutting board and rub the salt and pepper all over it. Sprinkle the flour all over the seasoned meat and massage it into the flesh. Heat the oil in a large sauté pan set over high heat until is shimmering and about to smoke. Place the roast in a pan and brown on all sides, 4-5 minutes a side, to create a crust. Remove roast from pan and place it in the bowl of a slow cooker. Add the butter and the pepperoncini to the meat. Put the lid on the slow cooker and set the machine to low. As the roast heats, make a ranch dressing. Combine the mayonnaise, vinegar, dill and paprika into a small bowl and whisk to emulsify. Add the buttermilk if using, then whisk again. Remove the lid from the slow cooker and add the dressing. Replace the top and allow to continue cooking, undisturbed, for 6-8 hours, or until you can shred the meat easing using 2 forks. Mix the meat with the gravy surrounding it. Garnish with parsley and serve. Dorina's Tasq ë bap ë (Beef Stew) Ingredients 1 medium onion 4 cloves of garlic Beef (Best is sirloin or veal/cut in 1 inch cubes) Black Pepper Salt Vinegar Tomato Paste Water EVOO Directions In a medium pot, in medium heat, sauté diced onions in a tablespoon of EVOO. Then add chopped garlic. Do not let the onions brown. When the onions are soft, add the cubed beef pieces and fry to medium. Add pepper, salt, a splash of vinegar and continued cooking until the meat is browned a bit. Add tomato paste and water. Cover and go up about an inch or two with water then as it cooks and the stew thickens, keep adding little bits of water at a time so it doesn't stick to the bottom. But do not overwater, the consistency must be of a stew, not soup. Best served with thick sourdough bread (toasted) or warm focaccia bread placed on the side of the bowl. But also rice compliments well. An Ode to Qofte Αναπαραγωγή βίντεο Facebook Twitter Pinterest Tumblr Αντιγραφή συνδέσμου Ο σύνδεσμος αντιγράφτηκε You've got special recipes to share? Please do!

Description: The subject of the painting is from Ovid's Metamorphoses (Book IV, 563-603). After Cadmus is changed into a serpent by Mars, his wife Harmonia begs for a similar fate, which is granted. Here we see Harmonia in the embrace of her transfigured husband. However, De Morgan deviates from Metamorphoses by depicting Harmonia as a statuesque young maiden and not the elderly woman of the original tale. The work was painted in 1877, shortly after De Morgan had returned from a trip to Italy. When it was exhibited for the first time it was accompanied by the following lines from Ovid’s Metamorphoses: With lambent tongue he kissed her patient face, Crept in her bosom as his dwelling place Entwined her neck, and shared the loved embrace. The figure of Harmonia protectively encompassed by her husband in snake form is reminiscent of the central figure in Botticelli’s The Birth of Venus, which Evelyn had copied as a student. Artist: Evelyn De Morgan (1855 – 1919) Date: 1877 Material: Oil on canvas Dimensions: Framed: H1485 x W895 x D104mm Inscriptions: Signature, 1877: EP 1877 About the artist: Evelyn De Morgan supported the suffrage movement, and she appears as a signatory on the Declaration in Favour of Women's Suffrage of 1889. She was also a pacifist and expressed her horror about the First World War and Boer War in over fifteen war paintings including The Red Cross and S.O.S. In 1916, she held a benefit exhibition of these works at her studio in Edith Grove in support of the Red Cross and Italian Croce Rossa. Download THE TALE of CADMUS & HARMONIA Cadmus In Greek mythology, Cadmus was of divine ancestry, the grandson of the sea god Poseidon and Libya on his father's side, and of Nilus (the River Nile) on his mother's side. He was son to king Agenor and queen Telephassa of Tyre. He was a prince of Phoenicia. He was brother to Phoenix, Cilix, and Europa. Cadmus was tasked with traveling to Samothrace (Greek Island in the Aegean Sea) to retrieve Europa and bring her back to Tyre (southern Lebanon in Mediterranean Sea) and although the journey was dangerous, he did it, never found his sister, followed a cow to now Thebes and founded Thebes (with permission from Athena) and in return Zeus offered him a wife, Harmonia. He was considered a member of the fifth generation of beings following the (mythological) creation of the world. With his wife, Harmonia, he was the father of 5 children, 1 son (Polydorus) and 4 daughters (Agave, Autonoë, Ino, and Semele). In rare account, the couple instead had 6 daughters which are called the Cadmiades: Ino, Agaue (spelled with a ‘u’), Semele, not Autonoë but three others Eurynome , Kleantho and Eurydike. According to Greek mythology, Cadmus lived in 2000 BC where he was the legendary Phoenician hero and founder and first king of Thebes (a powerful town in the ancient times, close to Athens), and was the greatest hero and slayer of monsters before the days of Heracles. Cadmus's descendants ruled at Thebes on and off for several generations, including the time of the Trojan War. He introduced the original Phoenician alphabet to the Greeks, who adapted it to form their Greek alphabet. He is also credited with the foundation of several cities in Illyria, like Bouthoe and Lychnidu and therefore is referred to as an ancestor of Illyrians. In Greek Baby Names the meaning of the name Cadmus is: He who excels; from the east. Cadmus was also known by a different name, Hermes. Harmonia Cadmus was sent by his royal parents to seek out and escort his sister Europa back to Tyre (mediterranean coast of southern Lebanon) after she was abducted from Phoenicia by Zeus and taken to Samonthrace (a Greek island in the northern Aegean Sea). He never found his sister. Perhaps because Zeus had turned her into a cow. After being unsuccessful in his quest, he consulted the Delphic oracle, which ordered him to give up his quest, follow a cow, and build a town on the spot where she lay down. The cow guided him to Boeotia (Cow Land), where he founded the city of Thebes after it was bestowed to him by Athena. At that time, Zeus offered him Harmonia. Harmonia is daughter of Venus [Aphrodite] and Mars [Ares]. All the gods honored Harmonia and Cadmus’ wedding with their presence. Cadmus presented the bride with a robe and necklace, which he had received either from Hephaestus or from Europa. Other traditions stated that Harmonia received this necklace (ὅρμος) from some of the gods, either from Aphrodite or Athena. But this necklace, commonly referred to as the necklace of Harmonia, brought misfortune to all who possessed it. Hyginus gives another version. According to him, the thing which brought ill fate to the descendants of Harmonia is not a necklace, but a robe "dipped in crime", given to Harmonia by Hephestus and Hera. Cadmus and Harmonia Cadmus (and Harmonia) ruled as King in the region of Thebes but also he ruled the Enchelei ancient peoples, an Illyrian tribe that lived around the River Drin and the region of Lake Shkodra and Lake Ohrid, in modern-day Albania, Montenegro, and North Macedonia. Enchelei derived from ngjalë (eel). As protector of the area, Cadmus killed a dragon who was the guard of a swatter spring near Thebes (the fountain of Castalia). The story goes that Cadmus went to fetch water for a ritual from a nearby spring, but the spring belonged to a dragon, the offspring of Ares, god of savagery and war, and it refused Cadmus’s request. So, Cadmus killed the dragon and took the water anyway and made the sacrifice. With this, he, of course, offended Mars, Harmonia’s father, to whom the dragon (some call it a serpent) is sacred because it’s his son. And in return, Mars [Ares] curses the house of Cadmus [his daughter’s Harmonia’s house, too]. As a result, all of their children live and die tragically, including one of the grandson’s Pentheus, son of Agave. By most accounts, Cadmus and Harmonia had 5 children, 1 son (Polydorus) and 4 daughters (Agave, Autonoë, Ino, and Semele). In rare account, the couple instead had 6 daughters which are called the Cadmiades: Ino, Agaue (spelled with a ‘u’), Semele, not Autonoë but three others Eurynome , Kleantho and Eurydike. According to some sources, Cadmus and Harmonia pleaded with the gods to be transformed into black serpents after suffering immense misfortunes and were sent by Zeus to the Islands of the Blessed (Elysian Fields) where they spent eternity in a blissful afterlife. In other traditions, Cadmus and Harmonia were transformed into serpents after their deaths, and the serpents watched over their tombs while their souls were sent to the Elysian Fields (an afterlife place where only mortals related to gods and other heroes could be admitted, to live a blessed and happy afterlife, and indulge in whatever enjoyment they had enjoyed in life). Hence, the story that when Cadmus was the first to be turned into a serpent, Harmonia, in her grief stripped herself, then begged Cadmus to come to her. As she was embraced by the serpent Cadmus in a pool of wine, the gods then turned her into a serpent, too, unable to stand watching her in her dazed state. Read more about Europa and other characters in the Iliad and Odyssey.

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This is the jungle D F 0 9 . 1 1 . 2 0 1 9 This is the jumbo jungle where I see an educated savage Boasting, berating, babbling, belittling causing chaos and demanding damage This is the jumbo jungle It’s an electric forest, a beehive A bed made of thorns and flowers A river flowing long and deep along ravenous and redundant powers This is the jumbo jungle Where the fog reveals suffering of a penniless barefoot girl who impressed a money man And their son who knew too less to take care of his orange tan This is the jumbo jungle In which I live and breathe An immigrant with opinions I am both scared and strong I care for water, the earth, and you I am conflicted, I am relentless and I long for the simpler world I knew

Relieved DF 12.2022 Snap! With each passing moment, I leave behind the one place I knew I am looking up as I am falling down, becoming resistibly aware of separation, of the glue that bound while I sprouted and grew Then slightly changed and dew soaked, I am suddenly scintillating away Swoosh! I tumble through air waves from a butterfly’s flapping wings And re-find my balance on the crown of a golden rod, now gray Delicately rebloomed into a patch of puff balls on top of browning twigs I am looking down as I see their leaves fall, becoming resistibly aware of nature’s cycle, of the glue that bound while we sprouted and grew Then slightly changed and sun soaked, we are suddenly scintillating away Sway! Seed heads scattering, up then down, like falling stars, separating and falling like me. We sway together but apart, and the ground is near With every sway, my first encounter of separating and falling keeps fading In my journey of tumbling, I found others, and I found me, but not fear I am looking down as I near the sweet leaves of grass, becoming resistibly aware of the ignorance I once had, of the everlasting glue that bound them and me Then slightly changed and out of time, I am on the ground and of the ground, I am in peace. But I am only a leaf.

My best friend, Oscar With you, I don’t walk but I dance across meadows And traverse the forest w ith ease Even today you are here with me I jump from one rock to another to avoid the mud that may be lingering in between the soft looking patches of grass Oh, the rocks, even boulders, that you stepped on and over like lily pads when you were little No obstacle existed, and no pool of water was too small for a belly dip lock and step together, you made me happy No time with you was ever lonely or dull But old age came for you much faster than for me my dear friend Your paws are now resting gently on the floor that you used to wipe clean with your tail And I’m here meandering on my own Following in your footsteps, practicing curiosity and thrill I’m trusting you, like you always did me My tears fall and I walk up the waterfall, looking for that time with you, that togetherness you taught me with grace, I walk and I look, and I made it to the top, higher than ever before. Because of you. Without you.

Three Generations DF 01. 19. 2019 Somewhere, everywhere, anywhere Lives a story of women and their paths of a better life they were obliged to dare The first, locked her five in a room, to spare them And gave birth to her sixth in a shallow pail With five mountains crowning the home at the hem Her husband, not dead-beat but beat nearly dead Icy wind whipping across his herd of hungry sheep Later, he would weep at the sight of six in his bed Maybe this is what broke the present from the past He no longer fetched ice from the peaks for treats 45 km south, this summer was different from the last Nineteen summers later, she served rose water to me After I plucked the newly planted flowers From her quarter hectare garden that became my identity The second, spent her greatest youth in that family garden With grapevine covered terraces, justly unfit for patriarchy But if my feet were bare, on cement, he did not pardon To bear someone’s sacrifice that was bigger than their dream And to gracefully redeem the wrongs of the past for new ones In this fantastic new life, she chose to leave, to adapt, and to lean Perhaps she did not carry grace and he never drove for peace Leaving her three for a plane, at night, with her breasts barely dry from the milk of her third, to find him job searching in the streets Oh, but what a wonderful new world she found for her three to be In a fantastic life, one in which a lady finds her own glass slipper, and Liberty is represented by a woman, shipped across the sea, like me The third, did indeed embrace the luxury to enjoy life Between worlds, biases, chances, ladders, and ceilings With no harsh births, no patriarchal spouse, no strife She wept quietly when she could spare the time to see The fantastic person he wanted, she wanted, they wanted The woman she is, was, and the one she should be To bear someone’s sacrifice that was bigger than their dream And to gracefully redeem the wrongs of the past for new ones In this fantastic new life, she chose to question, to love, to glean And she reaps new memories, now in her acre garden With cucumbers plucked by her pet white Labrador Whose presence and delight became her new tartan The third spent her greatest years, weaving old flora in with the new With the muscle memory of the second, it unforgivably resembled The Nirvana of the first, where these new roots grew

NEW YORK, NEW YORK DF 05. 01. 2020 NEW YORK, NEW YORK CARS WHOOSHING BY AND ACROSS LIKE BLOOD IN A RUNNER’S VEINS WHEELS TURNING AND HORNS BURSTING LIKE A MELODY FROM ROOSTERS WITH CANES POP. AND THERE’S A MAN FINGERING A CHAMPAGNE CORK HE IS A DIRTY HIPSTER AND A BOSS BUT THOSE THREE WOMEN HOLD THE REIGNS LOCK, THEM UP. THEY KNOW OF DORKS AND OF THEIR STAINS. BUT. THEIR OWN GLOSS IS OVER TEETH IN ALL SORTS OF PAINS THEY DO NOT FLOSS EVEN FROM PORK ON A FORK OH! AT THE TOP OF THE ROCK OF NEW YORK, NEW YORK

🐾 About Along the Road in New England and the Series Along the Road in New England marks the beginning of a whimsical children's series following Jack and Oscar, two adventurous Labrador puppies with itchy paws and bold hearts. Tired of the quiet monotony of home, they dream of distant places, thrilling escapades, and the freedom to explore. After months of scheming, they hatch a brilliant plan—steal their parents' jeep and leap into a magical wishing well. On the other side, they tumble into a world of delightful chaos, meeting quirky characters and visiting fantastical landscapes. From one mischievous adventure to the next, Jack and Oscar journey farther and farther from home—until they discover that the place they left behind holds the kind of magic they didn’t know they were chasing. This coming-of-age tale celebrates curiosity, courage, and the power of kindness. As Jack and Oscar explore new environments and cultures, they learn to see the world through compassionate eyes, embracing differences and forming lasting bonds. Their story is one of self-discovery, where home isn’t just a place—it’s a feeling. Follow their journey from New England to California, New York, D.C., Florida, and onward to South America, Asia, Africa, Europe, and the Middle East. Currently looking for the right publishing house... Jack & Oscar In the flesh In the flesh