Wednesday, January 12, 2022

 

Still life on a frigid January morning: coffee, tulips, dream journal, books, magazines, and a seed catalog. What more do I need?

It is supposed to warm up today, so maybe I can actually convince myself to go further than the recycling bin and the ash can.

It was not hard to stay home all day yesterday because in addition to avoiding the cold I fell into a syllabus frenzy and managed to get the entire advanced chapbook class planned, readings scanned for sharing, website created, and participants corralled. That means today I can shift my attention to looking through some student work and, I hope, making some updates on this blog as I prep for my book release. Looks like the publisher is aiming for a spring date, which doesn't give me much time to think.

I'm trying to keep my mind on my work and my home life, and away from the bumped-up Covid frenzy that's clattering through every public space. So many years we've spent existing inside this Age of Anxiety . . . first, the monster's election; then the plague . . . the weight and the weariness are hard to bear. And yet the small home-loves still tend me: Spinach and potatoes ready for the oven. A bouquet of parsley. A quiet light.


5 comments:

Carlene Gadapee said...

... I'm super excited about the book release! And, if you don't mind, how do you do spinach in the oven? I like spinach, but I'm running out of ideas about how to prepare it so it's not green slimy stuff.

Stay warm!!

Dawn Potter said...

Spinach Tian: Toss a couple of pounds of raw baby spinach with salt and pepper. Press tightly into a casserole dish. Drizzle with olive oil. Sprinkle with breadcrumbs. Bake at 375 for 45 min to 1 hour, or until the raw spinach has reduced into a tender mass. Super easy, and good as a bed for fish Florentine, as a side dish for meats, or on its own alongside fresh bread and baked feta. Also works with chard, as long as you remove the stems and thicker ribs.

Carlene Gadapee said...

OO! Nice!
I've been wilting it in olive oil, garlic, and lemon zest. This seems even easier!

Ruth said...

This would work with just about any greens or a combination of greens. Removing the stems, saving said stems to sauté or for making into vegetable broth is also an option.

Dawn Potter said...

Kale and collards don't become so velvety and might need longer cooking and/or a dab of liquid to keep them from burning.