Go Green Soup for Winter!

 

Local and homegrown garden fare can be a rich source of flavor and nutrition all year long if stored properly. But coming up with fresh ideas and getting past the same old standard preparations we are in the habit of making can become a drag.

Last year we had a beautiful bumper crop of asparagus, so we blanched and froze generous portions for 2 to use over the winter.  Because the spears or cuts are a little mushy when thawed, I generally do a simple heating in salt water or milk on the stovetop, or braise with olive oil, fresh mushrooms, garlic and seasoning.

But it has been a long winter. Tonight when I got home from the office I found a simple, tasty way to freshen up a winter meal.

I used the rest of last night's asparagus heated in milk and added it to a can of cream of chicken soup,  heated through, then pureed with my soup wand.  Added a little salt and pepper and a splash of cream.  YUM, EASY and pretty in the bowl.  Great with an omelette and salad. And won't break the bank.

ONE BREATH, a little Earth Mama music to cook by from Pay Attention CD

                                                                 (click to play)

Hmmmmm, just right for St Paddy Day dinner next month.

All That's Gold, A Sense of Place, track 5

Three of the songs on A Sense of Place were recorded at Watershed Recording in Nashville and feature a cast of mighty fine pickers I don't get to work with often. Right is Bryan Sutton, IBMA multiyear best guitar winner. Below, are
Wanda and Mark Burchfield, gifted players and studio owners.

All That's Gold, Heaven Down Below and Ribbon of Stone  all carry the sound of rural southern Appalachian music. This is the place I have called home for many years.  Though I am a child of the prairie, I am now deeply rooted here, in the Blue Ridge mountains, where the local music scene is rich with the heritage and culture of the region.  These three songs reflect the musical sound of southern Appalachia.

 All That's Gold Does Not Glitter—who said that first? Probably some Biblical sage or perhaps Shakespeare.  I remember reading it on a Christmas card quoting Tolkien back in high school.  It nagged at me as a song title until my buddy and frequent co-writer, Lindy Gravelle and I decided to tackle it as a song. Our hope was to make it sound like an old gospel chestnut.  Note the stunning background vocal (with bluegrass swoop) by Kim Parent, fiddle embraces by Wanda Burchfield,
steady bass by Mark Burchfield and fit-like-a-glove guitar and mando by Bryan Sutton.

Sound clip, listentrack 5

WHY is there a Reggae song for kids about Local Foods and Local Economy on A Sense of Place?

Lettering by Todd Price

A Sense of Place, by Earth Mama

1.  Because Kids are our future and our responsibility. (And they are fun to sing with and make great volunteers at my shows!)













 2. Cause kids are so danged cute, smart and fascinating that they deserve to be part of this whole Local Foods and Local Economy movement. Who better to carry the message of Live Local and Love Where You Are Planted!

This baby crawled up the aisle at St Catharine's College (KY) chapel while I sang The Compost Song (Let It Rot). He jumped into my arms and cooed and gurgled along on the last 2 verses.
What a show stealer!







 3. Because THAT song— If You Need a Chair—whined and complained like a child begging to go to the circus to be on THIS CD, not wait until the next  youthful release.

4. Because it is soon to be a Picture Book, illustrated and hand lettered by noted artist, Todd Price.

Wait til you see the page with the Tamaleologist!

Peace and all good things, Joyce

Buy Local Music, Song of Community!

Another way to Buy Local...

Ten to twenty thousand dollars to produce, record, and manufacture a CD.  Yup, your favorite local band or singer-songwriter finds a way to scrape together the money for studio time or very expensive equipment, hire a graphic designer, and order a thousand units, just so their fans can buy a CD, to play in the car, at a party, on their computer.

Buy their CD, you get the songs, liner notes and musician credits, artwork, the songs playing in an order designed to build for your enjoyment. All this for $15!

The musician gets to use the proceeds from the sale to pay for the project and to keep making music for you. Or you can buy a song by download on iTunes or Amazon and the artist will get paid anywhere between 4¢ and 65¢.  Hear it via a streaming service and musicians get paid  .000007.  Burn a copy of the music for yourself or a friend and you break a musician’s heart.  Creators of music have come to refer to services such as Spotify or Pandora as “digital parasites”  because the service makes millions, artists and musicians now make —this is
 really the term on our statements—micro-pennies.

So, if you want to hear music in your community, and support local economies, please support your local musicians.  If you like their songs, please buy the CD.  If they are using social media, connect and share them in your network. If they are connected to a rising indie label, check out the other artists on the label. The photo in this post is my dear friend, Jim Stoltz, or Walkin' Jim as he is often called. He walked thousands of miles across the United States, performing and supporting environmental activism in communities where people came together to raise money AND for music!

We all have these generous souls in our communities.These are the same musicians and bands that show up and donate their time and talent (and equipment and gas) for every good cause and fund raiser in the community.  Please show them a little love and appreciation and buy their CD.  For yourself, or for a friend.

Music, the universal language. Support it locally. Thank you.