The week after our yellow violet discovery at the Bryant Homestead, we returned to another favorite place; The Steepletop Preserve in New Marlborough, MA. It was a beautiful spring day with bright sunshine overhead and gentle cool breezes. Fiddlehead ferns were just starting to unfurl on their graceful stems.
And wouldn’t you know it; as we walked down a gently sloping path towards a marsh, we happened upon a whole family of yellow violets; right in front of our noses!
They lined the path on both sides and a lone yellow violet was even intermingling with purple violets!
A tune for an improvisation came to me; I made a mental note of their location and we decided to return the following day with my alto recorder in hand.
On our return, we found the violets and as I played, the sound reverberated around me like being in a small chapel. A strong sense of joy washed over me!
This was our first visit to the trail since last fall and it was as peaceful and inspiring as we remembered it. We followed the path down a small slope to a marsh where the reflection of the sky and clouds on the water was breathtaking and birds were singing their intricate melodies.
Continuing on the 2 mile loop of the trail, we saw mayflowers that decorated the forest floor with their tiny delicate flowers.
We passed a gently gurgling stream………
…….. then made our way back up the hill, looking forward to returning again soon!
And, then of course it was time to think of what to make for dinner! I had just bought some fresh organic collard greens at our local food coop and was trying to think of a way to get a large amount of the greens into us and also into a delicious dish! I came up with an idea for a spicy stew using kidney beans and here is the result. Served with brown rice, blue corn tortillas, salsa and guacamole, it was very tasty. This evening we will have the leftovers with cornbread!
Spicy Kidney Beans with Collard Greens
Ingredients:
2 cans kidney beans, rinsed and drained
1 medium onion finely chopped
2 cloves garlic minced
1 small can fire roasted diced tomatoes
1 teaspoon dried thyme
1 teaspoon dried oregano
2 teaspoons ground cumin
1 bay leaf
1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
2 teaspoons smoked red paprika
1 teaspoon or more to taste red pepper flakes
salt and freshly ground pepper to taste
4 or 5 large collard green leaves- center rib removed, rolled up like a cigar and sliced thinly into ribbons.
To make Spicy Kidney Beans:
In a large soup pot or Dutch oven, heat the olive oil. Saute the onions until they soften and then add the garlic. Cook a minute or 2 more.
Add rest of ingredients and about a can of water. You can always add more if the mixture is too thick.
Cook about 1 hour- the mixture will thicken slightly and the collard greens should be very tender.
ENJOY!!
For many of my recent posts, I have had great fun anthromorphosizing trees. A few weeks ago I traveled to NYC for our first rehearsal with my group Hevreh Ensemble and it was Paul’s turn to go on a solo walk. I was overjoyed when he came back from his hike and told me that he had found a great tree! My job is done! AND, here it is- He did ask that I make up the caption!!
STAY SAFE!
A Musician's Travels 