Fiddlehead Feast

Here is a poem that I revised a bit on fiddlehead ferns, another group of plants that are harbingers of Spring. I included a recipe for Fiddlehead Quiche below the poem. Bon appetit!

photo from the front garden at my home

Fiddlehead Feast

Did you happen upon the fiddlehead fern

growing in the woodland mulch,

amidst the other springing buds

like skunk cabbage, crocus and such,

unfurling its primitive merit

with vitality richly designed?

Relentlessly, I search for the fiddlehead fern;

its presence seen, not much,

but then it boldly appears to me,

and I honorably prepare it to touch

my awaiting, salivating palate

that accepts its flavor divine!

What blissful company with which to dine:

this fiddlehead fern ~ a collation so fine!

 © Jeanne I. Lakatos  

YANKEE FIDDLEHEAD PIE (OR QUICHE)

Recipe by L.L. Bean Book of New England Cookery:

Serving Size : 8  

  4 Eggs

  1 c  Milk

  1 c  Fiddleheads, cooked, chopped

  2 Tbs Leeks -- chopped, cooked

  1 Tbs  Parsley, chopped -- or 2

  1 c  Cheddar cheese, mildly shredded

  Salt to taste

  1 Pie crust, partially baked, 9  or 10"

  8 Whole cooked fiddleheads

Beat the eggs with the milk until blended.  Fold in the chopped fiddleheads, leeks, and parsley, and half of the grated cheese. Season with salt to taste. Turn into the partially baked shell and sprinkle on the remaining cheese. Decorate the edge with whole fiddleheads.  Bake in a preheated 350 º oven for 40 minutes, or until set.  Let rest 10 minutes before serving.

Easter: Renewal

Pysanky eggs that I hand-painted... Whew! a tedious, but rewarding process.

Easter Tridiuum (Holy Thursday, Good Friday, Easter Sunday)

A Joyous Easter to You!

I took this photograph of a flower growing in the sidewalk on NUI campus, Galway, Ireland.

 Revolution

Awakened

moments conceived 
meiosis of human spirit

evolve 

into a vision of rebellion 

split

open a festering wound

bleed 

to hasten the quickening 
toward conscientious

 Awakening.

         © Jeanne I. Lakatos

Bluebell

                        

Bluebell

The Bluebell is a flower,

symbolizing Constancy and Helpfulness.

And I see bluebells lining the path

of a kind spirit traveling through this life

in the body of a noble person.

To this spirited traveler, 

dynamic coalescing of meditation and action

form the foundation of relevance.

Steadiness, calm, and a quick smile,

follow echoes of hearty laughs and wit.

Bluebells dance at the feet 

of this gentle, jovial spirit.

A vibrant energy and fragrance,

ever present in the serenity,

constant and helpful.

© Jeanne I. Lakatos

God's Peace

In this era of turbulence, it's time to sail away from the chaos. I choose peace... Peace with God. 

From this point, I am confident that He will move my heart in the direction of Infinite Love. Join me? 

May the Almighty's eternal Blessings be with you all.  

Ode to Skunk Cabbage

Today is the first day of Spring,  I just had to submit this little ode to one of the harbingers of Spring, the Skunk Cabbage, as an illustration of the connection between artist and nature. Unfortunately, we're expecting a fourth Nor'easter by Wednesday...5-9 inches of snow and blustery conditions. Oh well....soon it will be Spring...

photo of skunk cabbage from Google Images

                   

Ode to Skunk Cabbage

Bursting forth from its ruddy milieu,      

it erects from its hooded spathe.

This courageous prophet boldly faces

the chilly air with unique confidence, 

guided by a mighty force.

Radiating silently, as if to say,

“Come to me, for I offer

the nourishment you need now,”

his sweetness within calls upon

the daring creature to receive its warmth.

And she responds, and she comes:

the beetle, the spider, the queen bee,

warmed by the generosity 

of Spring’s first.

Odoriferous, proud, protective,

he inspires the fragrant flora

to engender beauty.

Now, Spring has arrived

with the burgeoning

of the exceptional skunk cabbage.

© Jeanne I. Lakatos

Revolutionary Thought Begins with Creative Emergence

'Equality Emerging' National University of Ireland, Galway, photo taken by me.

A revolutionary idea begins with a creative notion. In John Locke’s An Essay on Human Understanding, he states:

Wherever there is sense or perception, there some idea is, actually produced, and present in the understanding…we [have], as has been proved, no ideas at all, but what originally come either from sensible objects without, or what we feel within ourselves, from the inward workings of our own spirits, of which we are conscious to ourselves within. 

Below, is a poem I wrote a while ago to illustrate a similar consciousness that involves an appreciation of that which inspires:

A Creation   
With every minute

the mighty sculptor

molds, shapes me

into that which will

inevitably become

the fulfillment

of my dreams.

A Promise.

And I feel

the designated pliancy

of wondrous hands,

the angst

of sorrow and pain

blending

into sculpted reality

of laughter and joy,

I, the loving creation

of an almighty Artist.

© Jeanne I. Lakatos

The Song - An Amhran

Below, I've posted a small poem that I wrote having taken a few Irish Gaeilge classes. I'm still not sure if the grammar is correct, but I think you'll get the idea anyway. I took the photograph just as I was leaving a conference at NUI Galway. I didn't know just how gorgeous the beach was until I was on my way out of town and passed this view heading out on my way to Sligo. 

I took this photo of Galway Beach, Ireland

The Song                                          An Amhran

On the wind, the song sails              Ar na gaoth, an amhran ag sceoladh 

to another who will hear                   do an eile an té cloistrail

the sweet language that blesses.       an teanga binn ag beannú.

Gathering the creed of beauty,         Ag bailigh an creid d' álainn,

the song is forever,                           ta se an amhran go deo, 

sweet and praising.                           milis agus ag moladh.

© Jeanne I. Lakatos                          © Á Siobhán I. Glasadóir