See that funny looking stuff in the jar? It is a combination of collard greens from our community garden along with chunks of beets and beet juice and "other stuff" including something called miso ( pronounced MEE-SO) which has no taste. At least to my knowledge.
It is good soup. Believe me!
When my neighbor made a batch and brought it to me week before last, I was wary to say the least, but I took it in and actually wrote a little blurb about it. She brought more yesterday so I took a photo and decided to share it with many.
Nibbles In The Night
July 19 2010
" Drink It All Gone"
Hello My Friends
Last night my downstairs neighbor knocked and when I opened the door I saw that she was holding a mason jar through which I could see an ominous looking concoction and she was smiling like Ruth Gordon, the actress who played Mrs Castavet in the movie
"Rosemary's Baby". I smiled back and took a cautious look at the liquid in the jar. I
could detect roots and herbs floating in a mixture that was murky and strange. I gave
her a look and she just kept smiling with the jar extended to me. I kept my hands
and arms at half mast. I was thinking, "What the WHAT"?
Now, you have to know that my neighbor is one of those who helps me in the garden
and helps me figure out the "what next" of my planting and weeding and other stuff.
She is also a health nut, so I could only guess what might be floating around in that jar.
This woman experiments with herbs and roots and all sorts of healthy equivalents
to regular food and I am often one of her guinea pigs. Most of her stuff is good.
Others are deplorable. Right then, I was picturing her with a black outfit with a
pointy cap, and could almost hear her mumbling something about
"Bubble Bubble Toil and Trouble" but she was actually saying something to me about
the stuff in the jar...ummmm....is all that I could think at the time.
Her smile was genuine as she offered this soup made from her own collard greens with a little wild rice, this and that and something called miso. It is pronounced MEE-SO.
You can bet that as I took it from her and promised to try it, I was already looking it up in the encyclopedia of my mind. As soon as I closed the door, I went to the computer to
find out what it is. As nearly as I can tell, it is a soy product and plenty good for you! I had also gone straight to the fridge with the miso stuff and plunked it down on a shelf
where it looked back at me in a threatening manner. I checked out miso thoroughly...
You can too if you like...
WHFoods: Miso
However, I still had not tasted it. I kept going to the fridge and giving it the once over.
I even picked it up and shook it around like a jar filled pickled eggs or something I needed to shake well before use. I closed the fridge then re-opened it. I eye- balled the processed luncheon meat that really belongs to my grandson for his lunch. Wow! Just a sandwich with rich Miracle Whip and a glass of soda would hit the spot. The healthy part
would be the 12 grain bread, I surmised and was about to drag it out when I saw the
jar watching me ( I kid you not!) with it's healthy ingredients farely shouting!
The special soup glared at me but ( thankfully) said nothing! "Well FINE then, I guess if I promised to try you I better do it and get it over with" I said and snatched it off the shelf. It sloshed happily in response as I set it down hard on the counter.
I took out a shallow bowl ( so as not to waste too much or become greedy) and poured it in. It made a sound like "GLOP". You know, the jellied cranberry sauce sound, then it sat and shivered as if it was waiting for me to put it into the microwave. It was done in less than the three minutes I set it for and I removed it and got a spoon.
Somehow it had taken on a kind of glow..you know...less lethal and more food like.
I sniffed it again and discovered that miso was hidden and un-smell able. Beets, however have a life and smell of their own, so their aroma happily ran into my scent-zone as
the only recognizable odor in the bowl. I took a spoon to it and brought it to my lips.
a silly rhyme played in my head. "Past the lips and over the gums, look out stomach, here it comes"!! And I sipped and swallowed thinking of all the movies where people ate or drank something that jacked them up for good. I thought of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde and wondered if my neighbor had found some way to force me to work twice as hard in the garden...but only under a full moon. Perhaps I would fall into a deep sleep and lie someplace until the prince came to give me the magic kiss. I scrapped that idea.
You have to start out by living with seven little dudes and sing in a trembling soprano. I used to be a soprano, but early morning finds me sounding a little like Barry White...so another idea bit the dust). I thought briefly of the Nutty Professor and his potion but my thoughts were put on ice when I discovered that the concoction was actually good and there was no after shock.
In fact, I repeated the spoon-to-mouth rendition many times and then got seconds.
I waited for sudden changes. I saw no hair growing from my palms, and I could
not detect the sounds of little people singing, "Hi-Ho" as they came home from work
and I certainly knew that my neighbor was not trying to get me to join a coven of
witches. I thought about how hard it was to get my children to try new foods.
When they were small I used to say, "Drink ( or eat) it ALL GONE" and they would
announce this accomplishment with high and satisfied voices, happy to be done with
whatever wretched thing they didn't like but had to "try" in order to get to either
dessert or something they really liked. Sometimes, they had to admit that the liver
and onions or the brussel sprouts were not all that bad after all!
( Tomorrow I am adding tofu!) Stop making this face... I SEE YOU!
LOL LOL
BUT LOOK AT THIS....
I thought also about the way we stay away from God, for fear that the thing He will reveal to us will not be something that we want to or would like to hear. We try to avoid the chastisement or the reprimand, or even sometimes the "call" on our life. We run and hide from the very thing that is good for us. Oh, forget GOOD...what about the BEST thing for us! You know what? God is only GOOD. Even when we think the way is going to be hard...we must remember that He is GOOD!
Psalm 34:8 Taste and see that the LORD is good; blessed is the man who takes refuge in him. See that? That is GOD's TRUTH and cannot be denied!
Once you get a taste of the goodness of our Lord, you will want to keep drinking that living water until it's all gone, but the thing about that is...the well of God's goodness and GRACE...His LOVE and MERCY....never runs dry! Now, how about that?
Go ahead and praise Him for His GOODNESS! You know you want to!
Check out the Chicago Mass Choir ( My HOME TOWN FOLKS!)
You Tube - Chicago Mass Choir: Oh, Taste & See
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