SKIPPER TALKS

By Roberta Walker - Purple & Gray

02.20.2010

Oh, here I am in my repose position again... I put in 18 hours a day (of repose) and it makes life so sweet -  so calm.

Cats, and I’m speaking about all of us, are masters of “vibes.” Actually everybody and everything is no more than “vibe,” but the human species generally isn’t aware of it. That’s why it’s such a good idea to have a cat around. When we’re happy we make good vibes and we make noise to prove it (purrr); and, what brings it on? Love, baby - scratches under the chin, circles drawn with a forefinger on the head between the ears, a nice shoulder massage... you get the idea. In exchange for all the good feels, we  purr and send the waves out all over the humans and the room.

I love to purr - I’ve never had an orgasm, having my huevos clipped early, but it could be like that - but more sustained and not as messy!

Lately, as spring starts to yawn from it’s slumber and put forth rays that illuminate my favorite window, I find myself inexorably drawn to the light, and the warmth. What bliss!  I turn over and do a spread-eagle to just soak it all in.

FENUGREEK: THE DELICIOUS MEDICINAL

By Courtney Wilson - Purple & Gray

02.07.2010

This month has been about fenugreek for me.  I put in a few too many fenugreek seeds in a curry several weeks ago and was picking them out individually - plumped by the moisture and spices - savoring each adorable, irregularly shaped seed.  Fenugreek seeds have a very special flavor - described by some as alkaline, phenolic, or bitter.  It’s a very distinguished flavor.  After my excessive fenugreek curry, I began adding too much fenugreek on purpose, until my partner caught me and asked me to stop…(he doesn’t always enjoy the bitter foods I indulge in.)  So I accidentally discovered sprouted fenugreek.  I wanted to plump up the seeds in water to sprinkle on top of my food, but left them too long and voila—baby sprouts.  Later I found out that these are a common (middle eastern) way to enjoy fenugreek fresh in salads!

your food more slowly, inhibit the transport of glucose, and slow carbohydrate absorption, which could assuage the blood sugar spikes and falls characteristic of someone with glucose regulation issues, like hypoglycemics and diabetics.  The number of insulin receptors in red blood cells have been thought to increase with fenugreek treatment, as well as improving glucose utilization in the extremities—something that could save our diabetic loved one’s toes and fingers from ulcers or amputation.

Many studies have been done in India on the effect of fenugreek seeds on diabetes and blood sugar levels.  The studies, though small, were positive, and a few also showed lowered cholesterol levels, triglycerides, and LDL levels in diabetic subjects. In European studies that have been conducted on fenugreek and diabetes, significant drops in fasting glucose levels (after an 8 to 10 hour fast) were observed in both type I and type II diabetics, from 272 to 196 in type I and from 151 to 112 in type II. These and other clinical tests have used between 50 and 100grams of fenugreek powder per day, though the recommended dosage is between 1 and 6 grams 3 times a day.

Fenugreek has obviously been around the block, from cattle to curries to cakes, and it didn’t take long for us to find medicinal uses for this potent herb as well.  My suggestion?  In honor of this great healing and flavorful herb, try the fenugreek cake if you’re shy on bitters, and if not, try a roasted fenugreek tea as a coffee substitute to get your liver working in the morning. If you happen to be unapologetically tame, we can all agree on curry.

A young woman from Jordan, Huda Abu Hamdia, shares her recipe for Helba on lifestylefood (.) com, which she explains is a cake historically given to new mothers after delivery, probably due to its ability to increase lactation.

Photo by G. Walker 2010

You may be familiar with fenugreek as a powdered seed for Indian curries, though it has been enjoyed in many other ways throughout history. It has been used as a warming winter tea in Egyptian coffee shops, (sweetened of course), a hair conditioner in India is made from mixing yoghurt and fenugreek seed powder,  and  even a traditional fenugreek cake called Helba.  There’s even a traditional fenugreek cake called Helba. It was at one time used as cattle fodder along with clover and vetch - which are all from the pea family.  The leaves and sprouts can be eaten in salads and to flavor other dishes.  In the United States, fenugreek is used to flavor imitation maple syrups. 

This special plant has been used medicinally for increasing milk flow for the new mother as well as for dyspepsia, gas, anorexia, diarrhea, chronic cough, bronchitis, fever, sore throat, mouth ulcers, skin irritations, and for more modern ailments such as diabetes and high cholesterol. 

Fenugreek seeds are high in the polysaccharide galactomannan, (similar to guar gum and used for improving textures of ice cream or cream cheese) saponins (substances that foam), and also contain mucilage, volatile oils, and alkaloids like gentianine, carpaine, and trigonelline.  They also contain fiber, 4-hydroxyisoleucine and fenugreekine, which is a constituent that may play a role in its hypoglycemic action.  How do these things make fenugreek the useful medicine that it is?  It is thought that these and other compounds found in the seeds of fenugreek help digest

By Walter Green - Purple & Gray

02.20.2010

Helba

2 tablespoons fenugreek seeds

3 cups semolina flour (smeed)

1½ cup flour

1 tablespoons anise (powder or crushed seeds)

2 teaspoons cinnamon powder

½ cup sugar

½ cup coconut flakes

4 teaspoons baking powder

¼ cup oil

¼ cup extra virgin olive oil

1 ½ teaspoons yeast, plus 1 teaspoon sugar, plus ½ cup warm water (37degree warm); mix, cover and set aside to froth

Sugar syrup (2 cups sugar, plus 1 cup hot water, plus 1 teaspoon lemon juice, plus 1 cinnamon stick)

EXCERPT FROM

“KYOTO EXPRESS”

By Charles Kalish - Purple & Gray

02.18.2010

“Slowmoving and black lines go ceaselessly over the earth…”

(“Slowmoving,” a line taken from Whitman’s “To Think of Time,”  a short poem)

“Slowmoving”. Indeed they are, though sometimes we may feel them moving faster than other times.  My friend says by the time you’re sixty the years flash by like lightning.  Nevertheless, night makes its way East to West, just as the day does, always and forever at the same pace, moving as the Earth rotates around the sun, spinning on its axle like a top.  This evening while walking back from the train station through the alleyways, back to Ryoko’s house, I looked up at the sky where I could make out the dark figures of clouds and vast expanses of space, studded with familiar constellations and the familiar moon shining.   I pulled Ryoko close to me, and gave her a kiss.  I told her that I had had a wonderful day, and thanked her.  She kissed me back.  My heart was beating, so was hers.  Life followed us as we walked up to the front door, which we opened and entered with night and the street and the alleys and the dark-dampened light of the street lamps  and the dog who sleeps on the neighbor’s steps but wasn’t there and the trains and the alley cats and the people riding their bicycles, all behind us.  The black lines continued to go ceaselessly over the earth, slowmoving and silent, but for now, night pours over us and great millenia bounding time moves with small steps.

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Life is great. I love the way that happens - the seasons - although spring and summer are my favorites (the heat). No one has to flip the switch - nature provides. Yes, the humans can and do screw with nature, but she just shakes herself like a wet dog: floods, quakes, bleeds, groans, and then goes back to business. She’s endured for a very long time and me and my other cat pals will stick around, right along with her.

Here’s a non-sequitur: did you know that back in ancient Egypt, if you killed a cat you were literally torn limb from limb by the populace? Mayhem is not something to mess around with.

This being a column of sorts, I think it would be sage to leave my readers with some of my “6 cents”... so here it is:  find a place in your house where the sun is coming in through the window. Get as much of your body into that space and close your eyes. Feel the warmth penetrating every cell. Expose your belly and smile. Listen carefully... the vibes... listen for the purr