My garden: Amidst geopolitical fuckery, she is *living*!

Hi friends. There are a lot of reasons to be, as Eddie Izzard said in a standup recording I used to listen to in high school, “collapsing like a flan in a cupboard.” I’m not going to tell you not to collapse; sometimes that’s exactly what’s needed. And still…

I will instead invite you to look at these plants, vibrant and joyous in themselves, and remind you that according to Buddhist teachings, life’s 10,000 sorrows live directly alongside its 10,000 joys. My garden brings me into a state of awe and wonder that is antidotal to the horrors we’re currently witnessing (and for many of us, railing against) on global, regional, and local scales.

Also, if you don’t get the Monty Don reference, you are forgiven — and encouraged to see for yourself what I mean when I say that watching Monty talking about gardens is VERY SOOTHING.

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Vegan pesto recipe

I am allergic to measuring…these ratios are approximate. Go light if a flavor makes you nervous - you can always add more!

• Garlic leaves (~1 packed cup) - or, 2 cups of spinach & 3 cloves of garlic

• Arugula (~2 packed cups)

• Roasted walnuts (1-1.5 cups)

• Nutritional yeast (~1/3 cup)

• Olive oil (~4 tbs; unless abstaining for health reasons, I say go ham!)

• Lemon (the juice of 1/2 to a full lemon, depending on size & your love of lemon)

• Salt (to taste)

• Pepper (to taste)

Ideally, you’d add all of this to a food processor and mix. Hand chopping is the next best option.

We roasted veggies and mixed them in with pasta & this pesto…DELICIOUS. If you try it, I’d love to hear what you thought of the recipe!