April

Honey Teriyaki Vegetables

2 tsp peanut oil
a bunch of radishes, trimmed, and halved
4 carrots, sliced diagonally
a bunch of scallions, halved crosswise
1 cup snowpeas, halved lengthwise
1 TBSP sesame seeds, toasted

Mix Dressing:
        1 TBSP honey
        2 TBSP teriyaki sauce
           freshly ground black pepper

Put the Oil in a wok and heat until hot.  Add the vegetables and 2 TBSP water and stir-fry for 3 minutes, until the veggies are just heated through but still crisp.  Transfer to a warming dish.  Reduce the heat in the wok and add the dressing until just warm.  Pour over the veggies and sprinkle with sesame seeds.  This is amazing with tofu, or a side of quinoa or couscous.  


Daffodils
by Mae Swenson

Yellow telephones
in a row in the garden
are ringing,
shrill with light.

Old-fashioned spring
brings earliest models out
each April the same,
naïve and classical.

Look into the yolk-
colored mouthpieces
alert with echoes.
Say hello to time.




It's funny that I post a poem about spring daffodils, when a big snowstorm is covering  northern Michigan!  My little girl was out in a spring dress this afternoon, biking around as the snowflakes began to fall.  She even had flip flops on!  I kindly, yet assertively, asked her to go get more clothes on.  She exclaimed with a big smile, But mom!  It is spring!  She made me think of how I should respond to the disappointments and struggles that can sometimes weigh me down.  There is a joy in me that should radiate outward,  despite what is going on around me.  And just like spring, the hope in my heart should burst forth.