The Goddess in me

“You may not know yourself as a Goddess; your feminine energy is out of balance and your divine essence has yet to awaken. But the time has come, right now, for you to know that being a woman is special, sacred, and divine. Every woman deserves to know herself in this way. Return to your ancient roots, learn the timeless wisdom of your mythic history, and discover how you are the embodiment of the highest feminine Essence of the world—The Divine Feminine. Understand why over many centuries, a woman’s relationship with Her has become increasingly lost to us, and why now is the right time to bring Her back into your life. Remember yourself into wholeness, reawaken to the sacredness of your Goddess body and begin to see it as beautiful in every way. Reacquaint yourself with the cyclical seasons of a woman’s life and with the Great Mother Moon who guides your lunar nature and your moontime blood.”

This is a summary of a book “You are a woman you are divine” my dearest friend gave me some time ago. Before I got this book, my friend created a safe space to show me and celebrate the Goddess in me. This experience has changed my life, I have become a different person, more aware of the gift everyone one of us- women is carrying inside, waiting to be discovered and cherished. Thank you for giving me this incredible gift of self-love!! “ You are woman: your body is sacred, and your essence is Divine. You are the embodiment of the divine feminine “ I spent a lot of time thinking how to discover the divine feminine in me. Sometimes I think of the Goddess as my real self, she’s the real me becoming balanced and whole. At times she’s all of nature. And then at times she’s just what I need when I don’t feel I’ve got a lot inside. I want to think of a symbol outside myself, and so I think of a Goddess outside of myself. So she’s outside and within and through the whole creation. That’s really how I see the Goddess.

There is no judgment, no reproach. There’s nobody telling you off and saying you haven’t done the right thing. I can feel silly and disappointed about what I’ve done or not done, but I don’t feel that I’m reproached. She’s always loving and caring and supportive and helping me to get back to a center of balance. Every woman is a spectacular creature and we are all beautifully built. We are specifically designed to be a creatress, the bearer of our species, and to be powerful in the most feminine of ways. We carry within the space of our womb the Light of the world. Our very existence makes the world lovelier. I definitely think of the Goddess as being within myself, within every woman whether she accesses that or not. But I also see the Goddess very much in the elements – they give me a physical, tangible sense of her being in the earth, air, water, and fire. I also get her spirit sense from the feeling I have of and “Other”, other than myself, and other than what I can see. I do very much feel her presence in this spirit sense, something that’s much bigger than me and than any of us, and yet something that resides in all of us. It’s that feeling very much that the Goddess ‘She’ is everywhere. I connect with her, and sometimes that will be getting in touch with the Goddess in myself, and sometimes she will be the inner child, and sometimes she will be my inner guide or wise woman or my mothering self. At other times I’ll be very much talking to her “out there”. Sometimes that will be in praise and delight, and other times it might be sheer desperation and despair. And then I feel very much like I’m talking to her when I go for walks on the beach or bike through Central Park, or go for a sail in a boat, or sit around a big fire, or any of those situations where I feel very much connected.

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For me, the Goddess is in me and in each one of us and in everything, in the sea and in the elements.  I pray to her a lot and meditate, and she’s like a friend to me or she’s whatever I happen to be needing, I know she’s not going to be anything other than exactly what I need. So if I need a friend, she’s a friend. If I’m desperate, she’s there then.  At times I can feel like getting in touch with different parts of myself. Sometimes I can feel like the Goddess resides in me. I don’t have a sense that I invited her to enter me, when I think about my feminine side I get the feeling that I am just acknowledging her, because her presence is already there. It’s just focusing that energy and increasing my awareness of something that already exists. 

When I recognized the power of the divine feminine in me and the joy of seeing myself as a Goddess fully restored to my spirit, I was released and discovered how to live a better, happier, more fulfilled life as a woman, I have been more confident (although I was never a shy person ), I have been more creative, more inspired and have had more energy, I love deeper and more authentically, I have been able to open up and share my life stories with my partners. The acceptance and integration of the feminine existence within me brought me back harmony and healing. Not to mention joy, power and success on the dating scene. 

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I hope my Goddess dressing will be a good beginning to start looking for the release of the feminine power and beauty within you.

Goddess dressing. 

1 cup canola mayo 

1 cup chopped scallions 

3/4 cup fresh basil 

1/4 lemon juice add more if needed. 

2 cloves garlic 

1 tsp anchovy paste 

21/2tsp salt 

1tsp black pepper 

1 cup sour cream 

2tbs chives 

1/4 tsp lemon zest

Blend everything together and enjoy. 

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Goddess dressing. 

1 szklanka majonezu ( ja dodaje wiecej jogurtu niz majonezu ) 

1 szklanka pokrojonego szczypiorku 

3/4 szklanka swiezej bazylii 

1/4 soku z cytryny , lub wiecej do smaku

2 zabki czasnku

1 lyzka pasty z anchois 

21/2 lyzeczki soli  

1 lyzeczka pieprzu 

1 szklanka smietany lub jogurtu 

1/4 lyzeczki startej skorki z cytryny 

wszystkie skladniki zmikoswac w mikserze na gladka mase. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

white asparagus

Cooked in milk with soft fluffy slices of bread on top. White asparagus from Provence is a delicacy, which due to seasonally appearing is quite expensive and desirable. Although I grew up in Europe and have visited France several times, I had never eaten white asparagus from Provence until I came to the States, and what a huge difference it makes in taste and look to be grown in Provence. It is much bigger and fatter than regular size asparagus and you can buy it only in early spring until early summer, if you miss that short period you have to wait until next year. 

I have only heard wonders about white asparagus from others, because I couldn’t justify to pay few times more than for green asparagus. But once I tried it, I immediately knew it was worth every penny. Compared to green asparagus, the locally cultivated so-called "white gold" or "edible ivory" asparagus, also referred to as "the royal vegetable”, is sweeter and much more tender.

Harvesting white asparagus is part of the mystery. Because white asparagus needs to be dug up while it is still hidden underground. The shoots are covered with soil as they grow, without exposure to sunlight, so the shoots remain white in color. Every stalk has to be coaxed from the sand by hand. The key to successful harvesting is to bend over and thrust the long tool into the soil from the side, not from above. Then jiggle it until it finds the center of the hard stalk and gently, firmly, lift it straight up. This requires strength (the stalks can be as much as an inch and a half in diameter) and balance.

Freshness is very important, and the lower parts must be peeled before cooking, and the hard ends cut off.  I am sure there a plenty of recipes including white asparagus, but I like to keep it simple, steamed or cooked in milk married with home made mayonnaise, hollandaise sauce, vinaigrette, melted butter or parmesan and salt. Most recipes I found cook asparagus in water (heads sticking out of the water, stalks in a bundle). I cook mine in milk, I have learned this from a Per Se chef Jonathan, and after trying different ways of cooking this one is my favorite.

The asparagus season officially ends on June 24th so you still have few more weeks to enjoy this amazing vegetable.

Recipe 

1 lb of white asparagus from Provence

milk (enough to cover the asparagus)

few slices of white bread (I use challah or brioche)

Home made mayonnaise:

2 egg yolks

½ tsp. of whole grain mustard

½ tsp. of Dijon mustard

 ½   cup of grapeseed or canola oil

 1 tbl of sherry vinegar  

Clean the asparagus by peeling the skin off and cutting the ends.

In a wide pot (wide enough so the asparagus can be placed on the bottom without breaking the tips). Cover asparagus with milk; add a little bit of sugar and salt. Place slices of bread on top and cover with parchment paper. Boil for about 8-10 minutes.

Mayonnaise:

In a food processor, combine egg yolks, mustard, vinegar and process until very smooth. With the machine running, add the oil in a very thin stream until it is fully incorporated and the sauce is thick and creamy.  Add salt and pepper to taste.

Plate the asparagus; you can serve it warm or chilled with the sauce on the side.

 

Przepis :

Biale szparagi z Prowansji

Mleko

Kilka kromek bialego pszennego chleba

Sos: mozna uzyc vinaigrette ( oliwa z oliwek, ocet winny, musztarda, czosnek, przyprawy, sol, pieprz)

domowy majonez:

2 zoltka

½ lyzeczki muszardy francuskiej

½ lzyczeki musztardy Dijon

1 lyzka octu winnego ( najlepiej sherry )

½ szklanki oleju roslinnego.

Oczyscic szpragi – obrac z twardej skory I obciac twarde konce

W garnku o szerokim dnie ulozyc szparagi, uwazac aby nie polamac glowek. Zalac mlekiem, dodac sol I odrobine cukru. Na wierzchu ulozyc kromki chleba, I przykryc papierem do pieczenia. Gotowac przez 8-10 minut.

Majonez:

W robocie kuchenym zmiksowac wszystkie skladniki oprocz oleju, kiedy masa jest kremowa dodac olej , caly czas mieszajac, wlewac cienkim strumieniem do momentu kiedy wszystkie skladniki sa dokladnie wymieszane a majonez jest gesty I kremowy.

Ulozyc szpragi na talerzu, mozna podawac albo cieple albo zimne z sosem.