Hibernation (poem)

I wake up in

Blackness.

I have fallen

out with the world.

My body swaddled

In caves.

Yet the pace

Does not slacken.

Yet I'm starting to

freeze.

Light shocks

My face,

Heats the liquid

Of my eyes,

All this is overdone,

Overwrought.

Full of moves.

All I need is

A source of water,

High-roofed caverns,

Light reflected off

Marigolds.

No reaching.

No digging.

No linking.

No rumbling machines.

There is no need.

It's all here.

Sweet & Spicy Roasted Kabocha Squash and Tofu recipe

According to Wikipedia, the kabocha squash was introduced to Japan by Portuguese sailors in 1541, who brought it with them from Cambodia. The Portuguese name for the squash, Cambodia abóbora, was shortened by the Japanese to kabocha.

Sorry I didn't take a picture of the finished dish, on the other hand it wasn't super attractive, though tasty.

T=Tablespoon

t=teaspoon

1 small kabocha squash

medium or firm tofu cut into slabs at least 1/2" thick

3 T brown sugar

1/2 t ground cumin

1/4-1/2 t ground cayenne pepper

1/4 t cinnamon

1/4 t nutmeg

1/4 t salt

1-2 T soy sauce

Oil for drizzling

Preheat the oven to 400°F.

De-seed and cut the squash into slices about 1/4-1/2 inch thick. (After cutting the squash in half, it's easier to cut from the inside, on a stable surface, and be careful!)

Combine the dry ingredients in a big bowl. Toss the squash slices in this until coated thoroughly. Add the soy sauce and toss well again. Toss the tofu separately.

Spread the slices in a single layer on the baking sheet and drizzle with oil. Bake for 15 minutes, then turn over, drizzle again and bake for 10-15 more minutes.

Serve hot or at room temperature. You can eat the squash peel.

This is my version of this recipe:

http://www.justhungry.com/sweet-and-spicy-roasted-kabocha-squash

With leftovers, make pancakes:

These pancakes are yummy.

put in a blender:

1 c chopped roasted kabocha squash

2 eggs

1/2 tsp baking soda or powder

dash cinnamon

1 T milk

This recipe modified from

http://www.comfytummy.com/2009/08/05/kabocha-squash-pancakes/

The Bodhisattva's New Shoes (poem)

We had a great spoken word event the other night--Lit Crawl in a packed out meditation hall in the SF Buddhist Center. In one hour, six of us read poems and short fiction. If you're a Buddhist and would like to apply for next year, get on the email list of the Buddhist Center and we'll send you the call for entries when the time comes.

This is the last poem I read. Song was the second.

The Bodhisattva's New Shoes

Mark these words cabrones:

I will come back again and again

and loving dogs will chase me

yapping and jumping.

I’ll come not in a saffron robe

but in boots made from

car tires, recycled titanium

and a cowboy hat when

it’s raining.

Not clinging but singing

(a virtual Julie Andrews twirling on a hill)

straddling

a bike with leaking fork seals

(Europe and Asia’s waited-for

beginner mind)

(and loving dogs will chase me)

The occupants of this this this

world however it is will be my

lovers the pigs the birds

hedgehogs foxes bald

people in hospitals devas

Anonymous Sex and Love Addicts

whispering behind walls

Todo el mundo sera mi amante, señores

and I won’t try to teach it anything, ever,

(I will only love it)

(a howler monkey in Dolby)

(the vibrations of joy from my laughter

will soothe the psychoanalysts in the hell realms)

A gentle kiss

pure love steaming out the front end

of a vehicle

which is the unadorned body

the soft strong body

(think of loving dogs)

like this

like steam, like the sweet smoke of a

Cuban cigar, radiating up, sinking down,

in this this this world

returning again

coming back

forever