Hey friends. I’m popping in real quick to share the recipe for this simple savory breakfast bowl and some existential thoughts on climate change, responsibility and action. I hope you’re all hanging in there during these terrible times…
My childhood home is just under two miles from the Eagle Creek Fire. On Saturday, a teenage boy, unable or unwilling to consider that his actions might have consequences beyond himself, threw a firecracker into a ravine and started a fire that is now burning over 30,000 acres of beloved scenic natural wonder. One article I recently read did a good job of explaining why this place is so special: “For many of us, the gorge is our temple, our sanctuary, our home. It’s a place we go to worship the land, to bask in the awe of nature – where the mightiest river in the west carves through the Cascade Mountains, water pouring toward it in towering falls.”
I’ve been oscillating between anger at the recklessness of humanity and compassion for a boy who’s life will be forever changed and burdened by guilt. It’s not just the threat this fire poses to my childhood home; a place of pastoral rolling hills, magical woodland trails, and awe inspiring views; a place that is inextricably tied to so many fond memories (games of make believe, forts in the woods, mud ball fights, foraging and wildcrafting, horseback riding through meadows, drinking from streams, community, song and imagination), it’s the fact that a single person can have such a devastating impact on the earth.
This natural disaster, and all the others currently ravaging the planet, are a wake up call. Our actions have consequences. Our choices matter. I know it all seems distant and intangible…until it hits close to home. Then you realize that we are all in this together and no one is immune. One boy’s actions have displaced thousands, destroyed natural treasures, and upset an entire ecosystem but my decisions, however small, also have consequences. Now more than ever, we all need to wake up and do our part to stop climate change. I’ve seen lots of collective prayer happening surrounding these natural disasters and that’s great at building solidarity and compassion, but I think we are all capable and obligated to do more than pray. We can all make better choices for the planet. Take the bus or bike to work tomorrow, forgo single use cups and plastic straws next time you get a coffee, give up meat, shop at goodwill, collect rainwater, buy organic… do whatever you can to change the course of things, because this shit is real, it is happening, and we are all responsible.
Savory Breakfast Bowl
INGREDIENTS
unsweetened coconut yogurt
ripe tomatoes, sliced into thick wedges
toasted sesame seeds
nigella seeds
fennel seeds
salt
pepper
cilantro leaves
chives, minced
nasturtium leaves
PROCEDURE
Spread a heaping spoonful of yogurt across a shallow bowl or plate. Arrange the tomato wedges on top of the yogurt. Sprinkle with the seeds, salt, pepper, and fresh herbs. Serve alone or with crusty bread.
So amazing breakfast! Vegetables…yummy..so nice photos! Thank you 🙂
This looks so delicious! Very on board the savory breakfast train… We’re sharing our favorite oatmeal recipes on our blog today, check it out for some more inspiration! https://areweadultsyetblog.wordpress.com/2017/09/26/its-all-about-the-oatmeal/
Love your intelligent thoughtful comments about the fire and the fire starter. Thank you.
Thanks Joanna. XO
This looks absolutely amazing, I will definitely have to try this! I love savory things for breakfast. BTW can I just point out, that your photography is beautiful. It looks very clean, chic and simply just nice.
My blog: https://karenwodstrup.wordpress.com/
Thank you so much! And I agree, savory breakfast is the best.
A. Your photography is stunning, simply amazing.
B. I live in Portland, I’m heartbroken over the Gorge inferno. However, I’m looking forward to hiking the trails once they reopen. I want to gaze upon the visual phoenixes that rose from the ashes.
C. Baller breakfast. I consume a lot of eggs and need to change it up. This breakfast looks amazing.
D. I’m getting irate at the 6 companies who own 90% of our media conglomerate who repeat the echo chamber bull(swear word) that climate change is a hoax. I wish people would stop voting these corrupt politicians into office who are bought and paid for by the very companies polluting our beautiful planet.
Thanks so much! I think many people in the area are devastated by the fire. Glad to hear that you’ll be out there hiking when they reopen the trails though. Hopefully others will join you and see this as a wake up call to change
Good recipe……loved it
Yay! So glad to hear it!
Great post. It has a kind and gentle, yet forceful feeling. The more people speak out on this massive issue, the better. And the recipe came at a perfect time, as I’m trying to think of as many ways as I can to use the loads of tomatoes coming out of my garden! I even joked to my partner about eating them for dessert instead of our traditional fruit salad, but you have a much better idea here. I also loooove nasturtiums, and if you and your readers are interested in learning about the nutritional benefits of nasturtiums, I talk about that in one of my recent blog posts (https://dailydozenmealplans.wordpress.com/2017/05/29/todays-health-morsel-nasturtium/). Just in case you haven’t tried them – the flowers are just as yummy as the leaves!
Thanks so much! I’ve been eating tomatoes on toast with salt and pepper a bunch too. Simple but perfect! I’ll definitely check out your post. Thank again!
Thanks for sharing this sad story. I really hope that your wake up call will reach lots of people in the world. So true words you’ve spoken. Okay, 1 president can change a lot but we are so much more people, we don’t have to wait for others. Everyone can make a change, every day😀
Daniela in Germany
I couldn’t agree more! Thank you! It is comments like these that inspire me to keep doing this work.
Here on the other side of the world – a land of droughts and fires and floods and natural disasters, I have been watching with sadness and trepidation the hammering from nature and the actions of humans in your land. I was saying to my 16 year old as we were talking about an issue she is facing at school that decisions have consequences and they can be good or bad, and sometimes neutral. But there are always consequences. I do hope that your home is safe and that you place of beauty can eventually recover from the ravages of fire. Thanks too for sharing your beautiful recipe. All the best, Margaret in Australia.
Thank you so much for these kind and thoughtful words. It is reassuring to know that there are parents like you out there raising thoughtful and compassionate children.
so true so true. we are all responsible and we all need to make changes before it is too late. though i have to admit at times i think it is already too late….
Maybe it is, maybe it isn’t, but personally I’d rather know that I did my best to have a positive impact than to give up. I feel you though…it can seem overwhelming and discouraging much of the time. But we have to keep our heads up and keep trying