1642Autumn Equinox, maybe?

[evile]

Sep. 20, 2003

It's supposed to rain tomorrow, but I want to go out to the park
anyway. I also want to make stuff. Hm. Anyway...here's some recipes
I'd like to make: (I halved all the recipes except the grape leaves,
figure it'd just be me & Sweetie, anyway)

http://www.cooks.com/rec/doc/0,1743,145189-231205,00.html
BROCCOLI GRAPE SALAD

1 heads broccoli, cut into bite-size florets
1/2 lb. bacon, cooked & crumbled
1 sm. bunch red grapes
1/2 pkg. sliced almonds

DRESSING:
1/2 c. mayonnaise (can be light)
1/4 c. sugar
1/8 c. apple cider vinegar

Combine broccoli, bacon, grapes and almonds in a large bowl. Combine
dressing ingredients. Shake or stir until smooth. Pour dressing onto
salad. Toss. May use more or less dressing depending on amount of
salad and taste. Refrigerate. Toss again before serving.
==================

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-
/0890879958/qid=1064112032/sr=8-1/ref=sr_8_1/002-
8670509-5229624?v=glance&s=books&n=507846

Dionysian Stuffed Grape Leaves

1 jar grape leaves
1 lb ground beef
1 med onion, chopped
1 c. uncooked instant rice
1/2 tsp ground cayenne pepper
Handful of currants
1 lg egg
1/4 c. chopped fresh parsley
1/4 c. chopped fresh mint
handful of pine nuts
salt & pepper
1 15 oz. can whole tomatoes
2 1/4 c. beef broth
Splash of Chianti or other red wine
1/2 c. water

Remove grape leaves from jar & soak in cool water for 5-10 min.

Mix ground beef, onion, rice, ground cayenne pepper, currants, egg,
mint, parsley & pine nuts in a large
bowl. Salt & pepper to taste. Make sure the mixture sticks together
but is not too wet.

On a large cutting board, line up a few grape leaves at a time, shiny
side down. Pinch off the stem as you
go along. Place approx. 1 tbsp filling in the center of each leaf.
shape the filling into an oval, lying
horizontally across the surface of the leaf. Turn the side flaps
inward then roll them tightly upward towar
the pointy end. All filling should be covered within the leaf.

Using a large, heavy stew pot, arrange each leaf side by side in
layrers until they are neatly packed and
you have about 2" of headroom. As you are stacking, crush up tomatoes
in your hand and layer them
among the leaves. When pot is full, pour in remaining tomatoes &
juice, beef broth, wine ,and water. Add
liquid so that it reaches top layer of leaves but does not cover them
completely. Place a heavy plate on top
of the leaves to hold them in place while cooking.

Bring to a boil, cover, decrease heat & simmer. Cook for 45-50 min.
Do not lift cover as this is cooking.
Rice should be done, beef should be not-pink. Cool before serving.

==========

Luminous Crescents

3 tbsp butter, softened
1/2 pint small curd cottage cheese
1/4 tsp salt
1 c flour
1/4 c grated romano cheese
1/4 c. grated parmesan cheese

Cream butter, cottage cheese, and salt in a bowl. Add flour, mix
until well blended. Divide the dough into
2 flat balls. Refrigerate until cold enough to roll, approx 1 hour

Preheat oven to 400F. Lightly grease 3 baking sheets. on a floured
sheet of wax paper, roll out one ball at
a timeto a 9 or 10 inch round. Sprinkle each round with 1 1/2 tbsp of
parmesan & 1.5 tbsp of romano. Cut
each round into 8 pie shaped wedges. Beginning with the wide end of
each wedge, roll toward the point.
Place the wedges point-side down on the prepared baking sheets. Shape
into crescents. Sprinkle the tops
lightly with remaining cheese. Bake for 20-25 min until golden.
Immediately loosen from baking sheets &
place on wire rack to cool.

========

Sandalwood Soda

3 c water
3 whole cloves
3 green cardamom pods
1/2 c. honey
2 drops sandalwood oil
Freshly squeezed juice of 1 orange or 2 limes
1/2 c. plain yogurt
2 c. soda water

Boil water. Steep cloves and cardamom for 6 minutes. Add honey &
sandalwood. Boil until mixture becomes a thick syrup. Remove cardamom
pods. Remove from heat, stir in citrus juice & let mixture cool.
Place yogurt and cooled syrup in a blender. Puree until frothy. Pour
into a bowl and mix with soda water.

•  

Comments

1643Re: Autumn Equinox, maybe?

[evile]

Sep. 22, 2003


1. sandalwood oil is $37 for a little tiny bottle. I substituted a
cinnamon stick & a nutmeg pod. It turned out fine.

2. Weekly Forecast: September 22 - 28
This week is the Fall Equinox. Wherever you are unbalanced or off-
center will seek to come into balance now. If you give too much, you
need to take more now. If you take too much, you may be asked to give
more. You may have to make some adjustments to work effectively with
others while not losing your individuality or personal style.

Don't expect this to be a *normal* Fall. At this time of Equinox, or
EQUAL day and night, finding and maintaining your equilibrium can be
a true balancing act. As the Sun enters Libra this year, it is
quincunx Uranus and Mars, while Libra's ruler Venus is at the center
of a tense t-square, highlighting (and squaring) the current Saturn-
Chiron opposition. Everyone is irritating and everyone thinks
everyone else is irritating. Anyone who seems to be independent or
original can be fascinating yet irritating for their freedom and open
mind. And anyone who upholds the status quo can be irritating for
their refusal to open their minds. So don't expect your friends,
clients, or colleagues to support you consistently this Fall-- unless
you want to be consistently disappointed! Slowing down may not seem
like an option, but charging ahead at full speed can make your pace
hectic while you become a nervous wreck. Friends and colleagues may
want to partner with you one minute, and change their minds the next.
Plans can be altered without notice, even if you thought they were
written in stone.

To make a positive change now you need to ask yourself: is freedom
just rebelling, or does your desire for more freedom have a purpose?
If you're just being different or difficult to stand out or make life
harder for others, you may start to realize that you're wasting your
precious energy and not making any progress anyway. Perhaps you feel
that others expect you to be stable while they seem to be more free.
Or maybe you are putting too much into a shaky relationship. But
BEFORE making an impulsive move to gratify a de-stabilized ego---
think it through. After you proudly walk into the sunset, what's
next? If you're going somewhere, where are you going? If you arrive
in a new place, there will be a new set of adjustments and
challenges. But this Fall can find you restless and frustrated with
the past and just starting to realize you need to make changes for a
positive future.

Don't hate others for being independent or having an open mind. What
you're realizing is that everyone has a need for freedom. This can be
an Autumn to awaken, to make positive changes, to reinvent yourself
in a way that better expresses who YOU are. And to start to MOVE in
that direction.

Equally important this week, Venus t-squares the current Chiron-
Saturn opposition, which all perfects just before the New Moon on
Thursday, September 25. Love and money may be stalled, delayed, or
withheld now. Tradition and an open mind seem to be at odds. It's a
bad time for investments and financial progress in general as
everyone seems to have economy jitters. Relationships can be more
cool than affectionate and even if you're friendly, you may get the
cold shoulder. Conflicts will probably not be out in the open, but
their influence can still be felt. Having to work too hard for
anything, whether it's love or money, can feel like an imposition,
and as long as you have everything you want and can indulge your
tastes, supporting others emotionally or financially may feel at
cross purposes to your own need for more freedom.


*Fall Equinox 2003: your Fall forecast
Fall Equinox is on September 23, 2003 at 6:47 AM EDT/3:47 AM
PDT/10:47 AM GMT

If not much has made a lot of sense recently, don't expect things to
change much. Although the Sun is at exactly at the Equator at 0
declination, giving us equal day and night, not everything will be
fair or make sense. The Fall Equinox is literally a time for new
starts and friendships, but this year, things from the past can
unexpectedly trip you up or otherwise surprise you, even after you
make a new start.

This Autumn promises to be anything BUT normal. As the Sun enters
Libra, it quincunxes Uranus (just before) and then Mars (just after)--
surprising deceptions are uncovered in unlikely ways or through
unlikely partnerships. Despite erratic energy and unstable feelings,
you may want to live life in the fast lane this Fall. If someone
tells you NO, it will only make you that much more certain that you
are correct and that much more competitive about achieving your
goals. But pursuing an independent path can increase the tension,
even physically. Just because you feel ready for action doesn't mean
you will make the right decisions and the more frustrated you feel,
the more likely you are to jump to a conclusion or make an impulsive
decision or investment, especially if a decision is based on an
illusion, impression, or half-baked idea. As things change around you
at unprecedented speed this Fall, you may also have to reinvent
yourself.

The major astrological events that will influence life on Earth are
the Chiron-Saturn opposition (see Saturn in September article below),
the Saturn Retrorgrade station (which is at the same time as the
Neptune Direct station in late October), and the coming Eclipses in
the late Fall -- Lunar Eclipse on November 8/9 and Solar Eclipse on
November 23.

The Chiron-Saturn opposition will influence economics not only this
Fall 2003, but for the next 4 years!!! This is truly a long-term
aspect and therefore will have more power and influence than if it
just lasted a few weeks. This is a problem that will not go away
until it is understood, dealt with, and changed.