Orion - The Hunter God

Today I want to tell the story of Orion. Orion is a star constellation. I can see him in the early night hours of a clear night, hanging out in the southern skies.

That's what he'd look like through a telescope.



Orion is the Hunter god in Greek mythology. Supposedly, he was a really good hunter and after a successful mission of killing some beasts on behalf of the King, he got a little carried away and boasted: "I will kill all the wild animals on the Earth!" Scary, eh?



----- * -----

Thankfully Gaia, the Mother Goddess, Goddess of the Natural World, understandably thought:" This Orion Guy. He shouldn't say things like that. I hear arrogance. If he does, what he says, it would be a catastrophe. I have to act fast."



Gaia sent one of her animal friends on a mission to kill Orion: Scorpius, the Scorpion. The mission was accomplished successfully. None of Orion's weapons proved to be useful. He was stung to death by Scorpius.



Gaia's reward to Scorpius' successful mission was a placement in the stars. The other gods, who were sad about Orion's death also dedicated a star constellation to him - far away on the other side of the skies though, to prevent another conflict.

A story that is thousands of years old.
But the situation sounds familiar....


Sources:
http://www.awitness.org/column/wrath_gaia_orion.html
http://www.windows.ucar.edu/tour/link=/mythology/orion.html

Do people ever laugh at you? You might be on the right path...

Image Credit: Bob Row

All truth passes through three stages:

First, it is ridiculed.

Second, it is violently opposed.

Third, it is accepted as being self-evident.

Arthur Schopenhauer, German philosopher (1788 - 1860)

winter shadows

winter shadows, originally uploaded by Wild R Annie.

Prairie Grass II

Prairie Grass II, originally uploaded by Wild R Annie.

by the Glenmore Reservoir

Fish Eye Lens of the Coffee Drinker

Nutloaf a la Marcie

I have had the honor or luck to be surrounded by great chefs lately. Marcie is one of them. And her nutloaf (which mysteriously doesn't contain any nuts) is one of my latest addition to the family of recipes I can make. Thank you for sharing the recipe, Marcie!

Marcie's variations are in brackets. I can also never stick exactly to the recipe (my variations also in brackets - like this (AW:...)). Especially now, that I know my food sensitivities after doing a muscle test:

cow dairy, soy, and vinegars are on the no-no list. Thankfully butter and apple cider vinegar are exempt. Annie-how, I have digressed, here is the recipe. Enjoy!

Voracious Vegan Pate aka Marcie's Nutloaf

• 1 cup onions, diced
• 5 mushrooms, diced (I add ~1/2 c more potato and skip these) (AW: I used sweet potato)
  
• 4 cloves garlic, diced
• Splash olive oil
• 1 c raw sunflower seeds, ground (food processor or blender)
• ½ c flour (AW: I used spelt flower)
  
• ½ c nutritional yeast (AW: I used kamut flower and 1 can of chickpeas)
  
• 2 tsp dried basil
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 tsp dried thyme
• ½ tsp dried sage
• ¼ c kelp powder (I have never used this) (AW: I used Nori Nori Seaweed)
  
• 1 ½ c water
• 3 Tbsp Braggs (I use soy sauce) (AW: I used sea salt)
  
• 1 c potatoes, grated (AW: I used sweet potatoe)
  
• 1/3 c olive oil
• 1 habanero pepper, seeded and minced (optional) (AW: I don't fool around! I used 1/2 a chipotle pepper WITH seeds)
  

Preheat oven to 350F. In a medium saucepan, sauté the onions, mushrooms, and garlic in oil on medium high. In a large bowl combine the ground sunflower seeds, flour, yeast, basil, salt, thyme, sage, and kelp. Add the water, Braggs, potatoes, and oil, and stir together. Stir in the sautéed vegetables and optional pepper and mix well. Spoon mixture into a lightly oiled 9” pie plate (or loaf pan, or small casserole dish). Bake 45 minutes or until centre is set and browned (for pate), a bit longer for loaf. Chill thoroughly before serving (for pate). Makes 4-6 servings of pate.

New York, New York

I briefly visited NY a few weeks ago. I did what most New Yorkers do: worked like a dog, stepped onto the streets and wave down taxis, and ate great deli food. A few photos are on flickr.