Outside Beauty

 If you google "Beauty Children" expecting to find some inspiring quotes about the beautiful innocence of children, as I did just a minute ago, you will be disappointed. Instead you will find pages upon pages on children's beauty pageants, how France has recently banned those pageants, and essays on the hyper-sexualization of young children, particularly little girls. 

I have certain values for this blog.  I want it to be positive, life-affirming, and with photos and essays that anyone can read, even a child.  It is important to me that it not be vulgar, complaining, insulting, or judgmental. There is enough judging going on in the world without me adding to it, and when it comes to kids, I do not pretend that I know better than anyone else how to raise a child.  I also don't imagine that the problem with the far-too-soon-sexualization of girls is the whole fault of beauty pageants, but I do think we need to teach our girls that yes, of course they should be valued for their intelligence, wit, charm, kindness and all those good things on the "inside," but also that their outsides are beautiful, that their bodies are beautiful.  Not beautiful in spite of their flaws, or disabilities or crooked teeth or their height or weight.  Just regular old beautiful. 

I also wonder if we don't need to turn to our own behaviour and make some changes.  So, for instance, let's consider treating our own bodies with love, care, and respect.  Let's try telling each other how great we are and celebrate each other's successes instead of feeling threatened.  And here's another thought: let's teach our boys to treat their own bodies well and that all women deserve love, care, and respect - and maybe once in a while they will tell those women who are their friends/girlfriends/wives that they are "beautiful" instead of always telling them that they are "hot." Just thoughts.
 

Thoughts that caused me to reflect on yesterday, an exquisite fall day, a day to be spent outside.  Instead of driving, we walked to my daughter's piano lesson yesterday afternoon, and we played "I Spy" until we both saw a tree, heavy with its orange leaves, standing out amongst all the other autumnal trees.  My daughter said, "Please take a picture, mom.  It is the most beautiful thing I have ever seen!"

So I did.  And as I did, I said to her, "I agree.  And the leaves are quite beautiful too."

wishing you inside and outside beauty,
hk

Ducks

Do you ever find yourself filled with an irrational joy over something that perhaps seems small or even insignificant?  Your favourite song on the radio.  Pomegranates have arrived in the grocery store.  Or maybe it is how a little thing like a bouncing ball gives your dog complete and unreasonable joy.  You have had these moments, we all do – think back – what are they?

My daughter has a lot of moments like this, as most children do.  For instance, twice a week on our way to her karate school near one end of our city, we pass by water that has accumulated in the ditches on either side of the road that a dozen or so ducks have claimed as their summer/fall home. As soon as they come into view, she gasps with surprise and delight to see them and this happens every single time.  No matter that we’ve seen these ducks dozens of times now.  To her eyes, they are beautiful, brand new, fascinating, curious little creatures and seeing them fills her with total irrational joy. Pay attention today to what fills your heart with this unabashed happiness because the opportunity for these moments is absolutely everywhere.

Wishing you the joy and beauty of seeing your own ducks,

hk

Magic

Sometimes it is magical to really see a child, especially when if you spend a lot of time with him or her.  I like to call it "re-seeing," or in other words, putting your whole attention on that child and seeing her or him with new, fresh eyes.  Like the idea of moving the art/beautiful things around in your home from time to time in order to gain a new appreciation, re-seeing a child, or really anyone you love, can be an amazing thing, a fresh start, a new perspective, and a beautiful moment. 

“And above all, watch with glittering eyes the whole world around you because the greatest secrets are always hidden in the most unlikely places. Those who don't believe in magic will never find it.”
-Roald Dahl

wishing you magic,
hk

Chili Report

This blog, as you already know, is about uncovering beauty everyday, sometimes in the places you least expect to find it.  For me, that beauty pops up all over the place - at home, in my neighbourhood, in art, in the actions of strangers, or in music, just to name a few of those places.  With autumn officially here, I continually find beauty in warm comforts, like wearing a fuzzy wool sweater and holding a steamy cup of coffee in my hands on a chilly morning.  And there is little more beautiful on a busy weeknight than to know a big, warm pot of nutritious and happy food is sitting on the stove, ready to feed a bunch of hungry people.  I promised I'd let you know how that chili worked out, so here's the report:  the lentils added great body and texture, making it thick and rich and perfect for folding up into wraps for lunches today.  A successful risk taken!

wishing you a beautiful fall day,
hk

p.s.  I also made up Michael Smith's recipe for Whole Wheat Biscuits.  I agree with his method of grating the frozen butter into the dry ingredients. This made quick work of bringing the dough together and once baked, they were the flakiest I have ever made.  The only change I will make next time is using buttermilk - but never fear, Chef Smith encourages us to change up his recipes and make them our own. This is one of the things I like best about him.

Beautiful Pulses

Yesterday, I had the great pleasure of listening to Chef Michael Smith speak at Saskatoon's Word on the Street Book and Magazine Festival.  He had a lot of important and inspired things to say about food and cooking, some of the messages I will bring to this blog over the next while, and I was lucky to continue the conversation with him later on when he signed my copy of his latest cookbook, Back to Basics. 

Just one message he had for the audience is that Canada is the number 1 export of pulses in the world.  Working with Saskatchewan Pulse Growers, he explained that pulses - lentils, chickpeas, peas - are low fat and high fibre and they make up into delicious recipes.  The list of benefits is extensive.  According to the Saskatchewan Pulse Growers website (www.saskpulse.com), pulses lower blood cholesterol, making them heart healthy while regular consumption of pulses also helps manage blood sugar levels. The high fibre and protein found in pulses works to curb hunger, assisting with weight management.  They make other foods, like ground meat, stretch - a big consideration for families.  They are inexpensive, which is good for everyone.  The world loves our beautiful pulses, but how many of us are cooking with them?

Well, I am, or at least I am trying to.  This is my red lentil chili.  I am quite proud (read: vain) about my chili, so this is a departure for me, a bit of a risk.  I used an onion, some garlic, ground turkey, canned tomatoes (thanks, Mom!), a little leftover pumpkin that would have otherwise spoiled in the fridge, some vegetable stock, a bit of molasses (Ack! I'm giving away my secrets!), the usual chili spices (cumin, coriander, chili powder, etc.) and a cup of red lentils.  It's bubbling away and I have high expectations.  I will be feeding a house full of critics later, so I will let you know how it turns out.

wishing you the beauty of taking your own risks,
hk

On this Harvest Moon...

No words are needed to explain this beauty of the Harvest Moon, the full moon that falls closest to autumnal equinox.  This harvest moon was taken last evening by my friend, Elaine Shein, who is originally from Saskatchewan, now lives in Omaha, Nebraska.    I keep telling her she needs to publish a coffee table book of her images.  She is a very talented and beautiful woman.  Enjoy the image, beauty-seekers!

"But there's a full moon risin'
Let's go dancin' in the light
We know where the music's playin'
Let's go out and feel the night.

Because I'm still in love with you
I want to see you dance again
Because I'm still in love with you
On this harvest moon."

"Harvest Moon," by Neil Young

wishing you the beauty of "dancin' in the light,"
hk

Granola Bars

Having recently read Cooked, a great book by Michael Pollan, who argues that the single most significant thing we can do as a Western society to improve our health is to make our own meals and eat together, I have become more passionate than ever about nutrition and cooking.  With the ever-increasing tendency to eat out or eat easy (think frozen microwaved meals), coupled with increasing poor health, Pollan argues:  “The best way to recover the reality of food – to return it to its proper place in our lives – is to master the physical processes by which it has traditionally been made.”  I took many things away from Cooked, but the most important was: take the time, more often than not, to prepare meals with patience, practice, and presence.  We owe it to our loved ones and to our own bodies.

Does this mean I will never again rip open another bag of potato chips?  Of course I will; don’t be ridiculous.  I love potato chips. 

However, I have figured out a method to make your own beautiful granola bars.  It’s easy.  Depending on what you choose to put in them will determine how nutritious they are, but I guarantee they will be better for your body than nearly anything you can buy in a box, and in making them, your house will smell incredible and your people will love you even more than they already do.

This is not a recipe, but more of a guideline. 

To about 6 cups of grains: (real large flake oats, quinoa, a mix of porridge-type grain cereal), add a little melted butter and/or oil of your choice (I often use coconut) and stir until the grains are lightly coated.  Put them on a baking sheet and toast in a 350 oven for 15-20 minutes. It is also nice to add a handful of shredded coconut to the toasting process.

In the meantime, get your add-ins ready.  In this batch, mine are handfuls of dark chocolate chips, hemp seeds, dried cranberries, sunflower seeds, some Smarties (my Dad would approve) and raisins. I made a different batch recently using hulled pumpkin seeds, hemp seeds, and chopped apricots. Use your beautiful imagination.

Next, make all the sticky stuff to make your mixture stay together.  You will need about 2 cups worth in total.  I used 1 cup of brown sugar, approximately ¼ cup each coconut oil, maple syrup, molasses, and a handful of marshmallows.  You could use any nut butter, but I did not because I want to safely send these in school lunches. I brought it just to a boil, took it off the heat and added a good glug of vanilla.

Take the oats from the oven, let cool.  Put them in a big bowl with a teaspoon of salt (I used sea salt), some cinnamon (if you are into that – we are), a heaping cup of rice krispie cereal and a good ½ cup of each ground flaxseed and wheat germ.  Again, you can improvise here with whatever grains you like.  

Pour the sticky stuff over your dry ingredients, mix, then add your add-ins.  Put a sheet of parchment on your baking sheet and grease it really well.  Press the mixture onto the sheet, making it as even on top as you can with the greased back of a spoon.   

Bake at 325 for 18 minutes.  Do not over bake.  Let them cool in the pan. I find the parchment paper is key to bar removal later on.

Peel off the parchment and cut into bars, or get your kid to do it since he/she should be able to use a knife.  I think Michael Pollan would approve.  Probably.

Wishing you the beauty of making something from scratch, 

hk

Sparklingly beautiful

Sometimes beauty doesn't have to be something old and scratched up, like my dining room table.  Once in a while it can be something new and sparkly, like these earrings from Stella and Dot that I bought for myself for no particular reason from my friend and stylist, Jacki Andre.  I am typically a jeans and t-shirt kind of woman, but when I wear these I feel a little dressed up, and dare I say a little more beautiful.

In case you are interested, Jacki's facebook page is:  https://www.facebook.com/JackiAndreIndependentStylist?fref=ts

Jacki's website: http://www.stelladot.com/sites/jackiandre

wishing you a day where you treat yourself to a little bit of beauty for no particular reason,
hk

Sharpies

"Don't get Sharpie on the table okay?"

My seven-year-old is sick with the inevitable cold school aged kids get in September.  She is away from school this morning and is instead working at the dining room table on a project she calls "customizing ponies," which means she is taking one of the My Little Ponies (that I paid $8.99 for, ahem) and applying various shades of colour to it.  I will try to get her to put some newspaper down to protect the table which may or may not work, but the truth is this table already has its share of Sharpie marks, coffee cup burns, and scratches...so many scratches. In as much as the kitchen is the heart of the home for many of us, in our house the dining room table is the heart of projects - from pony customization to Halloween costume making to homework to Lego creations to art projects to Halo helmets made from card stock, hot glue, body filler, and spray paint (this last one is a long story).

It is also the table where many more dinners have been spent, almost all of which have included the people I love best in the world. It is the table many hard conversations have taken place, and where both sad and joyful announcements have been made.  It is where I sit when I call my mom every evening.  It is where I wrote a good chunk of my first book.  It is where I write this blog.  It is solid and strong enough to handle many elbows leaning on it, spilled glasses of wine, platters of turducken, and cast iron pots full of ribs.  And yes, you guessed it folks, I still think it is beautiful.

wishing you a day as colourful as a Sharpie,
hk

10 Ways to Avoid Beauty Today

10 Ways to Avoid Beauty Today

On Tuesday I made a list of 10 ways to find beauty, so it seemed only fitting that I should make a list of 10 ways to avoid it too. 

1. Look Down – this way, you will miss a lot of good stuff and you will also probably bump into people and things

2. Avoid eye contact

3. Breathe shallow, or not at all, which is rarely advisable

4. Slam the junk drawer and pretend it doesn’t exist

5. Curse every time you open the junk drawer

6. Scowl

7. Complain about all the stuff that irritates you, like the driver who cut you off or who doesn’t know how to merge yet

8. Sit on the couch and complain about all the commercials on t.v.

9. Wait for someone to tell you that you’re great

10. Judge everyone and believe you know best how they should all be living their lives

I don't know anyone who doesn't do any or all of these things on a regular basis, including me of course.  I guess the trick is to try to be aware that we are looking down or scowling or judging and then do something else. Caught up in a difficult day or a negative perspective, it can be really difficult to do/see something else.  But nobody said uncovering beauty was easy.

wishing you a beautiful day,
hk

Pause

September 11, 2013
Although it is a beautiful, blue-skied, and sunny day in many places around the world, it is a difficult day for many, as today marks the 12th anniversary of the September 11th attacks on the United States of America when thousands died.  While there are many stories of hope and light that surround this devastating day, I instead want to think about the idea that there is beauty in pausing our busy lives to reflect, remember, and respect the anniversary.  Many of us are just moving too fast most of the time, consumed by the small but important details of our lives, and once in a while it is critical that we stop, pause, and breathe in order to find some peace, create some balance, and feel grounded.

This image was borrowed from: http://cdn.sheknows.com/articles/2012/09/sarah_parenting/sept-11-memorial.jpg

wishing you a day of to pause, reflect, and remember,
hk

Pause

Although it is a beautiful, blue-skied, and sunny day in many places around the world, it is a difficult day for many, as today marks the 12th anniversary of the September 11th attacks on the United States of America when thousands died.  While there are many stories of hope and light that surround this devastating day, I instead want to think about the idea that there is beauty in pausing our busy lives to reflect, remember, and respect the anniversary.  Many of us are just moving too fast most of the time, consumed by the small but important details of our lives, and once in a while it is critical that we stop, pause, and breathe in order to find some peace, create some balance, and feel grounded.

This image was borrowed from: http://cdn.sheknows.com/articles/2012/09/sarah_parenting/sept-11-memorial.jpg

wishing you a day of to pause, reflect, and remember,
hk

10 Ways to Find Beauty Today

10 Ways To Find Beauty Today

1. Look Up - there are few better blues than those of an autumn sky
2. Smile at a stranger, or better yet, say hello with a smile
3. Breathe deeply
4. Clean out a drawer- you never know what you will find
5. Be thankful that you have a drawer to clean out
6. Laugh or make someone else laugh
7. Take a moment to be grateful, say thank you for all that you have been given and worked hard for
8. Go for a walk - see #1
9. Give something away - a compliment, a book, a reference, a recipe
10. Avoid ending a sentence with a preposition and try not to judge when someone else does it (for example, do not look back at #7).  While this may not have anything to do with beauty, I felt I had to say something about that "for" that is just hanging there.

A snapshot of my own drawer that needs cleaning out.  Please do not judge.  :)

wishing you a day where you find your own ways of finding beauty (and please share when you do),
hk

Beautiful Harvest

There is little more beautiful than picking a vine-ripened tomato.  It is a delight for the senses: the deep red colour with an undertone of orange, the warm weight of the fruit in your hand, and the perfume of sunshine, green leaves, and slight earthiness. The taste, too, can not be beat.  The orange ones (heirloom varieties) in the below picture, are the sweetest I have ever tasted.  They resemble more of a peach than a traditional red tomato. The red ones are a Roma variety called "Mama Mia" if you can believe it.

Multiple that beauty many times when you harvest 20 pounds of vine-ripened tomatoes from just one picking.  It is a "tomato year" as they say. 

This photo is just a section of our tomato harvest.  I have dealing with another shoulder injury, so my daughter, Chelsea, helped me pick them and then she chopped them all to make a roasted tomato and balsamic vinegar sauce that was inspired, although not exactly followed, by a recipe we found on Pinterest.  You can find it on a board of mine called "My Fall Kitchen."
http://pinterest.com/hkuttai/my-fall-kitchen/

Shoulder injury or not, I know there are many people who would frown, or perhaps call social services, to know that I let my seven year old use a knife.  In my defense, I taught her how to use it properly and she is always supervised.  Plus, she needs to know how to use a knife.  Everyone does.  It is a parenting goal of mine to give my children the tools they need to live well and because living well includes cooking your own meals, they need to know how to chop.  If he were here, my Dad would back me up on this.  He and my mom taught me to cultivate many of the skills and tools necessary to be able to solve my own problems and live well and happily, so I can, among other things, grow my own vegetables, fix a flat tire on my wheelchair, use a compass, forage for wild mushrooms, find North without a compass if I get lost foraging for mushrooms, filet a fish, bake bread, and make fresh sausages and even link them.  He has been gone for three years, but somehow he is with me every time I do any of these things.

And although I know that once my kids are on their own they might not have the space in their home or even in their lives for a big vegetable garden, I suspect there will be at least one little cherry tomato plant growing on their balcony or in their windowsill, and a sharp knife (that they know how to use) in their kitchen.  And I hope they will think of me a little when they use it.

wishing you a beautiful harvest,
hk

Love Your Tree

I am reading In The Body In The World by Eve Ensler.  I have not been so transformed by a memoir since The Breast Cancer Journals by Audre Lorde.  An author (she wrote The Vagina Monologues), playwright, activist, feminist, and speaker, Eve Ensler is an inspiration.  She is extremely quotable, but one of her more famous statements is, “Stop fixing your body and start fixing the world.” 

She’s right. It made me think.  At what point exactly did my body become unacceptable, something that needs fixing?  When did yours?  And it might be that I am approaching my 44^th birthday and have lived with a body with disabilities for most of that time, but I have grown tired of thinking of my body as a problem, or parts of it as problems that need fixing.  I am done with that.  This idea has gotten me absolutely nowhere.  There are so many more things in this world that need fixing and it is time to put my energies into far more useful endeavours.  It is time for a re-frame, a change, a new way of being in the world.  So, instead I am going with this: This is the only body I will ever have and it is just fine.  It is beautiful.  And I promise you:  so is yours.  Your body is beautiful.  Not “your body is beautiful flaws and all.” Just, “Your body is beautiful.”

Yes it is.  Don’t argue with me. 

Let me leave you with this, from Eve Ensler’s The Good Body: “Do you say that tree isn't pretty cause it doesn't look like that tree? We're all trees. You're a tree. I'm a tree. You've got to love your body, Eve. You've got to love your tree. Love your tree. (Leah)”

Wishing you a day with beautiful transformations of your own,

hk

Enough

In the library in my house that I wrote about earlier this week is an entire section of Toni Morrison novels.  I have been a fan since the early 90's when I was a University student reading Beloved (often in the dark by the light of a candle because I was creepily dramatic that way).  While The Bluest Eye is my favourite Morrison book, I want to share this quote from Morrison's Tar Baby with you as the principal message of my blog entry today:

 

At some point in life the world's beauty becomes enough. You don't need to photograph, paint or even remember it. It is enough. No record of it needs to be kept and you don't need someone to share it with or tell it to. When that happens — that letting go — you let go because you can.

wishing you a day where, at least once, you take an opportunity to breathe deeply and appreciate the beauty of a present moment because it is (and always has been) enough,

hk

Beautiful Kale

Let me tell you about another beautiful thing, readers.  It’s Kale.  Yes that capital K is intentional.

I know what you are thinking.  Kale, schmale.  Why do we keep hearing about kale (small k)?  Let me tell you why. 

It’s delicious.  It is easy to grow.  It is one of the “healthiest foods of all time,” according to Time magazine (What to Eat Now issue, 2013).  “Kale is a cruciferous vegetable, a cancer fighter that is full of fiber and antioxidants.  It is rich in vitamin K, which aids in blood clotting and cell growth.”  And did I mention it is delicious?  You can barbecue it with a little olive oil and salt; prepared this way and roasted, you can it like chips; you can add it to a salad.  And even if you don’t think it is delicious (although it is, really), here’s the thing: you can hide it in stuff!  It disappears and the health benefits remain!

Proof:

Yes, that's about 3/4 cup of kale in my delicious smoothie, (just before I whizzed it), right alongside the raspberries from my mother's garden, some canned peaches (she helped me can those peaches - a good mom), carrots, greek yogurt, and although you can't see it, ground flaxseed.  A very happy smoothie.  Sweet.  Delicious. Beautiful. 

More proof, and made in the same day:

I put some kale in my (award-winning) chili.  Yes, I sure did.  It's the green flecks you see that make this chili look especially pretty.  Chili that made my family happy yesterday.  Delicious.  Beautiful.

Kale.  With a capital K.

wishing you happy taste buds and delicious, beautiful health,
hk

Beautiful Books

I know.  It's been awhile.  Thanks for being patient with me.

I don't know about you folks but the summer is always busier than I expect it will be.  For our family, there were camps to attend, vegetables to grow, company to feed, books to read, home projects to start and finish, and people to visit.  For me, I did some writing on my next book and some reflecting and planning about where I want this blog to go.  You see, when I started this blog, I did it on a bit of a whim.  I was looking for two things: a means to push myself to write more often, and as a means to work through some difficult times I was having.  Finding perspective on how precious and beautiful life truly is helped pull me back towards the light.  I did not expect to have readers from all over the world, or such a demand for the stories I told. Thank you, dear readers, you humble me.

Beauty, I decided this summer, is still an important theme to me.  In a process that is not unlike a marriage vow renewal, I have re-committed to Uncovering Beauty in the every day.  That beauty, however, may come out in different forms in this blog than just my stories - possibly a recipe, a song, or a photograph - but the stories will still come too, I promise.  It is just that Beauty is everywhere!

That said, today I am compelled to write about my new library.  We installed IKEA Billy Bookcases into our living space, and we are adding trim and molding to make them look "built in."  This cost a fraction of having them built, my husband installed them in a few hours, and it was painless enough that the divorce papers did not come out even once.  Staring at it now, it is a dream come true for me, someone who has always loved to read.  What I did not expect though, was how organizing our collection of books would inspire me.  With every book I touched and categorized (classics, non-fiction, spirituality, young adult, kid's literature, disability, cooking, First Nations, history, sport, etc.) I re-visited the influence it made on me, and where and who I was when I first read it.  When I was finished (this took much longer than the actual installation of the shelves), I reflected again on what these books say about each of my family members individually, and what they say about us as a collective.  It was a happy, affirming project that left me feeling more grounded and secure in myself than I have in some time.

You will see some empty spaces.  That means we are not finished of course.  None of us ever really are, right?  Aren't our homes and we supposed to be continual works of art, beautiful projects that need continual overhauling or pruning or smoothing?  Just like aspects of ourselves, this library will see parts discarded, recycled, re-purposed, and added to when the time is right.

Wishing you the beauty of an on-going project,
hk