Enlightening beings

Enlightening beings are like lotus flowers,
With roots of kindness, stems of peace,
Petals of wisdom,
Fragrance of conduct.

Enlightening beings turn the wheel of teaching
Just like what the Buddhas turn;
Conduct is its hub, concentration the spokes;
Knowledge is their adornment, wisdom is their sword.

- The Flower Ornament Scripture, trans. by Thomas Cleary From Everyday Mind, a Tricycle book edited by Jean Smith, Tricycle's Daily Dharma: September 14, 2007

A Chicken Marinade to Remember

I made a chicken marinade to die for tonight. Really, our grilled chicken was that good.

A big blob of TJ's sweet hot mustard
Some orange blossom honey
A whole lot of Penzey's Herbes de Provence
some olive oil
some white vinegar and some water
A little salt
a few drops of Louisiana hot sauce

When I do it again (there is no 'if' about it), I will add more mustard or stronger mustard or maybe try ground mustard instead of prepared, slightly less Herbes de Provence, and/or sub lemon juice for the vinegar, which I would have used tonight if I had had it on hand. The lavender was definitely the most front-and-center flavor.

The (non-dairy) creamed spinach I made and the leftover curried chickpeas were wonderful accompaniments, even if having hot Indian with mild French seems culinarily odd.

I almost cannot wait to make chicken salad out of the leftovers.