The Game of You Blog

As The Wheel Turns

2011-07-08T10:57:00.000-07:00

Today’s card is all about Transition and I must say I have been going through some changes lately. Good changes. Exciting changes. But, changes.

Lately, I have not had any time to devote to this blog because I have been writing articles for so many other blogs and online magazines. I know…I have neglected you. Please forgive me.

It’s been a wild and wonderful writing journey and I look forward to it continuing! Ever since I was a teenager I wanted to creatively write and I am so thrilled and grateful to have the opportunity.

If you wish to read some of my recent posts you can check out some of my favorites:

Tiny Buddha is an amazing site that offers simple wisdom for complex lives. Lori Deschane the founder of Tiny Buddha pours her love and detailed attention to lively, light yet heart-felt posts.

I am thrilled to be an on-going contributor for this site and blown away by the responses. My latest articles can be seen here.

Bounceback is all about finding happiness after heartbreak. For the last several months I have been writing a weekly article with dating tips, marriage, divorce and relationship advice.

Bounceback also sends my articles to the Love & Sex section on YAHOO Shine. Every few weeks you can find new material from me there like my latest 10 Ways To Be Sexier for Summer

Kris Carr’s crazy sexy journey led her to blaze a new path and ignite a healthy revolution. After being diagnosed with Stage 4 cancer she started living life like she means it! Visit here for her daily dose of inspiration and education and see my latest article.

The Beauty Bean was nominated this month as Forbes Top 10 Lifestyle Website For Women. Find the beauty within and check out my articles here:

How To Give Yourself A Break No Matter How Much Time You Have
Feeling Emotional? 5 Loving Ways To Get Feelings Back On Track
Be Selfish: Why Being Selfish Isn’t (Necessarily) A Bad Thing

Conscious Divas is a website aimed at empowering conscious women to achieve success in all areas of their life while enjoying the journey and celebrating their gifts. I'll be writing for them quarterly. You can see my latest 5 and Wild Crazy Tools To Create What you Really Want here

To see a complete and on-going list of my writing life you can go here. In the meanwhile, I will continue to stay busy writing and painting and will stop by as often as time permits.

Thanks for understanding. And as the Buddha says, “As a mountain is unshaken by the wind, so the heart of a wise person is unmoved by all the changes on this earth.”

Wish I could be like him.

Sending happy creative wishes to all of you!

Love,
Lynn

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Finding Freedom From Our Roles

2011-06-12T15:21:00.000-07:00

Today’s Card: Enlightenment

Today’s Card Enlightenment is all about having a shift in consciousness and letting go of a part of our identity – what we thought we were – but realize now we are not.

Many times we grasp onto something because we have learned to identify with it. We think this is all of who I am or this is all I know how to do. We have become so accustomed to playing a role that the idea of letting it go makes us feel like we are actually losing ourselves.

When we loosen our grip to the roles we have become so used to playing, we allow the new to come in. In fact, it is here with an open hand where we come to know ourselves on a deeper level.

The “roles” I played for a large part of my life were taken literally. I started acting in school plays when I was five. As a teenager I attending summer acting academies and then, I went to an arts conservatory to get an undergraduate degree in theater.

By the time I graduated college, the mystique of acting began to fade. I was crippled by technique. My raw self-expression was lost in the breaking down of iambic petameter, focusing on “breathing through my anus” (as my insane voice teacher requested), writing out the phonology for the various dialects, and my script objectives.

My lack of self-esteem was blown-up by the rejection of not booking auditions. Because I had always played roles and didn’t know who I really was, my agents didn’t know who to cast me as.

All I knew was acting. My sense of self was tied up into wanting to be a famous actress, to take a bow and receive applause, to receive of course the anticipated and unrealistic Academy Award.

School had stripped the life out of the creative act for me. I felt abandoned by my true love, was left hardened and protected, unprepared for the plight of the out-of-work actress and stuck in my head.

What on earth would I do? Who would I be now? Who is this girl who loved acting all of her life but now felt no connection, no heart, no love?

Even then, I knew what I needed most was to let go of the roles. The roles I was typically cast in: The quirky best friend, the seducing secretary to the older boss, even the psychologist I played for our graduating showcase in Agnes of God.

It was then, I felt a new call: A dream to write. I had no training, no degree in that, but my hand wanted nothing more than to send ink across a page. I had things to say. And if I was tired of acting out another’s person’s lines, well then, I would find my own.

Today, I find myself dropping other roles I have played, more subtle roles that I have picked up over time and as I continue to de-layer and let go I feel more and more free!

What roles have you taken on and become attached to? What would happen if you let go of your attachment to only being in the mother role? What would happen if you let go of the trade you learned in college when you were 25? What would happen if you admitted you would rather quit your job as a lawyer and write a crime-thriller novel?

Imagine right now, you dropped your role. You don’t have to actually abandon your job. Just for a moment, a second, imagine you let it go. Do you feel a breath of fresh air? Is the pressure off?

Love,
Lynn

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Let's Create!

2011-05-31T19:50:00.000-07:00

Today’s Card: Best

Today’s card is all about happiness. It took me some time to realize that my happiness depends on me. It’s not something I do, or need, or exists outside of myself. It’s just a calling to be my best.

True happiness is a choice. When we put our attention on it we create it just like we create everything else.

Each year when I go on my long meditation retreat, I get closer and closer to the gem of my happiness. That place inside my heart that knows beyond meaning what makes my spirit ignite and gives me joy.

This past retreat, I had many insights. But as the insights cascaded like a waterfall over days at a time, I became more and more interested in discovering who I am NOT.

In the past, I grasped for the discovery of who I am, desired to be closer to the Lynn-who-knows-without-fail-what-gives-her-happiness and then, the insight to achieve that.

This retreat, it was a slight bit different. This time, I focused on my heart and what already exists there, has always existed with nothing to attain. In a moment’s awakening, I was free.

I knew exactly what gives me juice, what hooks me up, what makes me the happiest and that is the artist within me who wants nothing more than to create!

Creativity has always fueled me. I was the little girl who saw a box of crayons and marveled at their colors (and the colors’ names – what is sea-sky blue?) or listened to A Chorus Line on my record player and sung full voice in my room or created imaginary adventure stories for each of my stuffed animals, including Rootbeer the life-sized-stuffed-gorilla my brothers gave me and Orca the Sea-World whale.

My entrance into knowing more about myself began with a journey inward with acting, then creative writing and continued when I picked up a painting brush for the very first time.

Here, I touched (and continue to touch) many of my most profound life experiences because I meet the moment of my true creative nature again and again for the very first time.

It only seems fitting that after over 17 years of self-discovery that I would return to my origin. Psychology and spirituality have now taken a back seat and I realize now more than ever there is somethin’ ‘bout those old roots that held me and carried throughout time.

Wanna go on a journey with me?

Here’s what we can do:

1.) Think about what gives you juice. What makes you feel alive and full of passion? What’s your hook-up? What do you love most? Being a philanthropist and helping the world? Studying architecture and seeing insight turn into form? Collecting nostalgia from the 50’s? Get present. Tune In. Listen.

2.) Forget about how it may look or sound. Who cares what other people think about your crazy ideas or passions? Trust me, it was the world’s craziest idea to invent a card game. But what did I care? Did it matter if people would play it? In some ways, yes. In some ways, no. I did it because it fueled me. It gave me energy everyday for 4 years. Go to what calls you. Just. Do. It.

3.) Create time. You may feel the call towards something but have chosen to keep it in the closet in a box tied up in a bow for that day when you have the time, that day when you can re-arrange your house to find space, that day when the kids go off to college. Forget this story. Find time, even if it is 15 minutes a day to engage this call. (OK, how about once a week? Or even, once a month?)

However, whenever, but repeatedly engage, discover, explore, make it a practice, strengthen your muscles, connect.

When I am on retreat even on 15-minute breaks I find the time to paint. At the end of this last retreat collected 15-minutes produced 4 paintings!

4.) Let go of what it all means. Just because you feel connected to studying 19th century literature or are inspired to throw a pot on a wheel or want to start up a new small business doesn’t mean that you have to identify with this as your “new job”. You don’t have to go to a party and tell the person you just met this is what you “do”.

Funny enough, what gives you the most juice is really the most interesting party conversation… But, keep it to yourself right now. Let it be your joy, your love, all onto yourself.

........

This beginning place is what gives us freedom because we are really just beginning all of the time. You may be a banker, a salesman, a mother, a teacher by trade, but deep inside you may have other callings.

Go within and touch this. See what arises. And then meet the energy whole-heartedly. Just for yourself. Just because you can. Just because your dreams as private or hidden as they are may be what really matters.

Love,
Lynn

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10 Reasons Why I Sit On A Mountain To Meditate

2011-05-12T08:03:00.000-07:00

Today's Card: The Meditator

Well, I’m off for my 10-day meditation retreat today: High up on a mountain with no connection to the real world. No blogging, tweeting, Facebook, article posting, phone calls or TV – what is a girl to do? Instead, I experience a deep connection to my inner self.

Yes, I know, sitting in a dark room with only a few windows meditating all day in the height of spring is not everyone’s cup of tea.

I remember the first time a friend asked me to join her on a retreat. Are you crazy?!?!? was all I could say. It was the last thing I wanted to do.

Even though I knew meditation would be good for me I didn’t actively go seeking a meditation practice. In fact, for a long time, I poo-poo’d it. I had had amazing spiritual experiences on my own and didn’t believe I needed to sit in silence for days to experience them.

Little did my big ego know.

And as the old adage says, when the student is ready the teacher arrives. Starting with being taught a daily meditation practice, I saw how I was able to come more into balance day-by-day. Once I had a foundation I became curious… But mostly, I just needed to prove I could go on retreat (without kicking and screaming) to myself.

My first 10-day retreat was so challenging, I had a major temper tantrum when my teacher announced that the following year the retreat would be 14 days. Now with many years under my belt, I look forward to the next retreat all year.

But why? Here are my top 10 reasons:

1.) Endurance. Just like with exercise the more we meditate on a consistent basis the more our muscles strengthen. In the case of retreat with such a gift of a length of time, our focus becomes sharper, our intent more vivid. We find the balance between relaxation and concentration and then the rest follows with ease.

2.) I stop grasping. There are times when I become so concentrated that not only do I not want to get up from a sit, I can’t. On some days, I can sit for up to 6 hours without moving an inch. And on these days, I am so present, so in the now, that I am happy to spend the rest of my life exactly where I am. Everything “as it is” is perfect. In those hours, I am so content I want nothing more from life.

3.) I purify. On days that my sit is difficult or not as focused or time seems to pass like a snail, I am reminded of what Ayya Khema taught, Every moment of concentration is a moment of purification. So I amp myself up and remain determined to stay on the object of my attention. Like water gushing through a pipe, meditation pushes through the crud of my personal issues and empties me out. By the end of the retreat, I am refreshed and renewed.

4.) The structure of the retreat gives me energy. Everything is scheduled. I’m amazed when I am truly present how much I can get done in one minute. I always find myself getting clear about how I want to change and update my structure at home and make new changes in habits and behaviors.

5.) My heart opens. It’s as simple as that. Everything that is contracted gets expanded, opens and widens into every direction. I am soft, juicy and lovely when a retreat ends no matter what kind of retreat I have.

6.) I get “me” time: Space, time, quiet and introspection just for myself. I don’t have to worry about doing anything else. The daily stresses of life not only take a back seat, they leave the car. Plus, I eat light (important for meditation) and lose a few pounds. Extra bonus!

7.) This kind of work prepares us for our death. Intense, I know. But the whole reason why monks learned to meditate was to develop skills to better approach others and their own life’s end. There is no more important skill to learn. Mostly, everything we fear comes down to the root fear of dying. So, if we become comfortable with death, then there is no longer anything to fear.

8.) I like being in nature and rarely get to immerse myself in it. My companion on the retreat is the mountain. She grounds me. She gets me into my feet and body. The stars shine brightly above, the trees whisper and all of this I experience just by having to pee in the middle of the night in the outhouse a short hike from my cabin.

9.) My closest friends also go up there. There is something so powerful and profound in sitting in a dark room with like-minded people I love who have the intention to awake, be present and grow. Without saying a word to each other we bond on such deep levels. We feel what the other is going through. We are there to support and love.

10.) I experience spaciousness. When the going gets good meditation is better than any drug or artificial high you can get in life. Plus, there are no hangovers.

May’s Game of You newsletter is all about how to create your own retreat at home. Check it out here for some tips and support. Or find yourself a teacher if you are interested and climb the mountain with me. Regardless, Happy May! I’ll see you on the other side…

How might you create your own experience of retreat? Or what are some of your experiences with finding time and introspection on your own?

Love,
Lynn

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Happy Wedding Season!

2011-05-03T15:52:00.000-07:00

Today's Card: Values

Who didn’t see Prince William and Kate get married last Friday? (See my article on Yahoo here) The royal couple launched the wedding season for the rest of the excited and happy wives and husbands to-be.

With all the anticipation and excitement that comes with a wedding sometimes it’s hard to stay calm and present. A TV reporter reported that in person and close up Kate’s hands were shaking, yet she remained cool, elegant and poised for the cameras.

I was lucky. My husband and I had three weddings in a six-month period (spiritual, legal and Jewish) so I got a lot of a practice in how to be fully calm and present for all the nuptials.

Each ceremony was unique and special in it’s own right. Yet, with each wedding experience, I became more and more present, let go and received great lessons on how to fully embrace the act of making a commitment for life.

I often wonder what it would have been like if I had only one day to be in the whirlwind of family, details, anxieties and excitement that naturally comes with all that makes up a wedding.

Many of us get caught in focusing on all the details it takes to make our big day beautiful and a success. Sometimes, we lose track of what the day is really about – affirming and uniting our love with faith and mutual respect - and focus instead on choosing the right colors, planning our dream honeymoon destination, our favorite cake flavors, seating arrangements, flowers, etc. However, there is also opportunity to focus on some other key factors.

Here are 8 tips to make the most of your big day consciously awake and present:

1.) As much as you’d like it to be it’s not always about you.

Families can be difficult and can add stress to the big day. Mothers and mother in laws usually want something to go their own way. Sometimes, the day can become more about them, their needs and their dreams than about you. If you know this and can accept this before the big day, it will make it much more easier for you.

2.) Think about it as a party.

What is a wedding if it’s not fun for you? If you get caught up in the details and forget about the fact that this is a celebration in honor of the life you and your partner are about to embark together, you will only remember the day as stressful and not have a good time.

A key hint I learned from my mother: The music is the most important element to making a good party. So once the music begins let everything else go and dance away!

3.) Get support.

Don’t do it all on your own. Hire a wedding planner you trust to help you and once the day begins surrender the details to him or her. Ask for the help you need from your family and friends. To be the most present let go of the potentially overlooked or forgotten details that really don’t matter in the end.

4.) Remember you won’t remember much of it.

This may sound like a downer but it’s true. Ultimately, the wedding lasts only a few hours and it’s such a rush of incredible energy it’s over before you realize it. Videotape it so you and your honey can have the day to remember.

5.) Only take a ½ hour to an hour for pictures.

Enjoy the moment rather than using up a lot of your celebration time taking pictures. Make the most of your day by being in the now in order to keep the energy of it in your heart forever.

6.) Take a moment with your loved one directly after the ceremony.

Before greeting people, taking pictures or making your big entrance at dinner take some quality time to connect with the man that just became your husband. Find an area you can escape to as soon as you walk down the aisle just for the two of you. You won’t want to miss this time to acknowledge the power and magic of what just happened together.

7.) Quality over quantity.

We tend to want to invite everyone we know to celebrate our big day with us. But sometimes having a lot of people adds a lot of stress. The more people you have in attendance, the more people you have to speak to, thank, and connect with. This takes energy and it may be a challenge to be fully present. Do you really want to spend your time talking to your 2nd cousin once removed whom you haven’t seen in years and may not see for another 25? Invite who is most important to you and who you enjoy sharing your time.

8.) Don’t drink a lot.

If you like to imbibe, keep it to a minimum of 1-2 drinks over the course of the whole day. If you still have energy when the wedding is over, you and your hubbie can go back to your room and pop a bottle of champagne. The reward is remaining clear, awake and conscious, being more present as a whole and saving yourself from potential dramas you could possibly regret.

Most importantly, remember this day is about the life you have signed up together not one date on a calendar. Meditate on the kind of qualities and values you want to engage that will make this day special. In what ways would you like to be present, awake and conscious individually as well as with your partner? How might you desire to create this day as a spiritual experience?

And if you are already married, what do you remember about your wedding? What made it a spiritual experience for you?

Note: For everyone who is unable to be married and have a legal wedding, this is an abomination and brings me great sadness. It is astonishing to me that as I write this blog I am excluding so many women and men who should have the equal right to affirm and unite their love with another in a legal marriage. It is my wish that one day we, as a nation and a world, will wake up and stop being so closed minded, ignorant and afraid and instead embrace and accept all of humanity in our equality.

Love,
Lynn

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Be The Artist of Your Life

2011-04-24T19:41:00.000-07:00

We shall not cease from exploration. The end of all our exploring will be to arrive where we started and know the place for the first time. - T.S. Elliot

In this month’s Game of You Newsletter, I address the nature of creativity and offer tools to arouse creativity in all aspects of our life. More and more I realize who I am is an artist. Not necessarily a psychologist, nor a spiritual teacher but an explorer into the art of human nature and creative expression.

It really all began in 5th grade, when I did my first play as a Hobbit in a children’s version of The Lord of The Rings. What I loved about acting but couldn’t know then was that I had permission to have a voice, to touch the enormity of my feelings, express them openly, empowered to speak loudly and be heard.

My 5th grade English teacher, Father Taylor (who was also a Brit) passionately inspired us to learn language and poetry from the likes of Keats and Shakespeare. He equipped us with descriptive words such as dappled, crimson and variegated views. To this day, my favorite poem is William Wordsworth’s Daffodils and I can recite it delightfully from memory.

It wasn’t until I was 28 years old when I picked up my first brush to paint. My body stirred with electricity as I met color to paper. (Find out more about this experience here.) I found new ways to express myself through color and images, calming my mind without the use of languaging or words.

The creative arts encouraged me to explore how to be an artist of my own life. The natural flow led to becoming interested in spirituality and psychology, learning how the mind works, to heal myself and create the life I really wanted.

Everything connects to the other as I take my journey along my path. What these art forms give me is a deep connection to myself. I learn who I am and who I am not. Like water rushing rapidly though a pipe, pushing through the blocks within me, creativity's incredible power and energy, which is much bigger than me, purifies.

Just like with life, I come to the computer or take out my pen or hold my brush and bring mind and heart together in an intuitive dance. Where am I called? What is present for me right now? I jump in. I type. I move color. I meet whatever is here in this moment.

Here are 5 practical tools to be the artist of your own life and meet each creative moment:

1.) Get out of your way. Stop listening to the voice in your head that wants to define you, that cavils at your spirit and tries to box you in with a labeled identity. Drop the “nouns” and become a “verb”. For example,

I am not a writer. I write.
I am not an accountant. I manage people's money.
I am not a lawyer. I interpret the law.
I am not an activist. I act.
I am not a teacher. I learn.

And if you are called to do more than one thing, well then, be all of it. Forget about mental constructs, ideas, meaning and interpretation and instead be raw, honest, forthright and open.

2.) Let the story go. Our inner-critic likes to tell us stories as we try to create our lives the way we envision them to be. We hear:

“I can’t.”
“I should."
“There’s not enough money or time.”
“I’m too old”.
“My father would disapprove."

Our mind creates excuses to keep us in a safe, known container. We can be secure and not listen to these limiting voices in our head. Then, we are free to create with unlimited possibility.

3.) Meet resistance. As my painting teacher Michele Cassou said, Resistance is a bell ringing for change. In times of resistance acknowledge it, respect it, be kind with it, but show up anyway:

Put the chocolate down and pick up the brush to paint.
Get off Facebook and write.
Take the kids to school and find some time for yourself.
Stop talking on the phone and meditate.
Turn off the TV and take a walk in nature.

Keep meeting whatever arises and follow through. Dare to dream. And then make the dream come true.

4.) Create structure. Structure offers a stable foundation and a platform to grow. Without it, we can get lost, lose energy, distract ourselves and avoid.

When a person sits to meditate they have a structure: A straight spine, crossed legs, hands resting gently on thighs and follows the in and out breath. Now, they can meet spaciousness.

When a painter paints, they have a bowl filled with water, a canvas, brushes in place, paints nearby. Now, they can be wild.

When a mother raises her child, she has a schedule, meals to prepare, errands to run, kids to drive. Now she can parent wisely.

We need to calendar ourselves, schedule and create structure in order to build our lives.

5.) Meet the present. Show up and dive in. Don’t think about what you want to create in advance, plan the outcome, or get caught up in the final product. Ultimately, it’s about the journey not the deadline. Editing, analysis, organizing, making sense of it all can come later. Much later. Allow yourself to empty. Spend it all. Meet your insides.

As I dive deeper into the exploration of creativity, I am intuitively getting a sense that this will be what my next book is about. Perhaps, another card deck set? (Wouldn’t want to put the painting aside…) But for now, I will follow my own guidelines: I will stay out of my way, let my story go, meet resistance, keep my structure, and remain in the present. I will wait patiently to see how it will all majestically unfold.

In what way are you an artist creating your own life? How are you showing up and meeting your creation?

Love,
Lynn

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Slow Down To Make The Most Of The Time You Do Have

2011-04-13T17:05:00.000-07:00

Today’s Card: Be

Do you have the patience to wait till your mud settles and the water is clear? Can you remain unmoving till the right action arises by itself? - Lao Tzu

I got a much-needed break this week and went on vacation to the desert to spend time with my family. Away from home and connected to nature, I began to internally slow down. I still had some work things to do but felt relaxed as I went about it.

This reminds me of the card “Be”: When I focus on end results, I tend to feel overwhelmed. I can get caught in the drive for a certain “destination” that I want (and want NOW!). Reacting too swiftly to given situations, I push “send” on my emails without giving them time to breathe. I realize that if I slow down, really slow down, I make the most of the time I do have. I don’t have to do or get anywhere or resolve anything right away.

Here are 7 questions to ask yourself to create a sense of being in the present:

• How would I be if nothing needed to change about my present circumstances or me?
• What if I didn’t have to be right, enough, good, loved or seen to be a success?
• What if I was okay and safe exactly where I am?
• What if I didn’t need to apologize for myself or look to others for approval?
• What if there was nothing to fix about me or change in someone else?
• What if I could trust the unfolding process?

On vacation, the “shoulds” get a vacation too. “I should do this by this time to achieve this” gets dropped with the excuse of “Hey, the important people know I am out of town so I don’t HAVE to get to get it done.” Yet, in my own timing and applied attention I got a lot done. Without the heavy case of the “shoulds” I was able to be at peace.

But you might not be on vacation. And you might be thinking,“That’s great for you Lynn, if only I could get a vacation right now." Or you might be thinking, “When I go on vacation – I go on vacation so this is no help to me for the stresses of my daily life.”

Here are some ideas to get your own mini-vacation at home with very little time:

If you have 1 hour: Drop everything, turn off all technology and use this hour for some solid “me” time. Tell yourself for this hour you will do nothing except “be”. Spend it doing what you enjoy: Settle into the couch and read a good book. Go shopping and get yourself a new dress for spring. Get a massage or go to a yoga class. Whatever you choose to do, remember to ask yourself, “What if there was nothing else for me to do right now except enjoy and be?”

If you have 30 minutes: Take a brisk walk and find the nature that surrounds you. Nature connects us to the space of mind. Focus your attention on the beauty that surrounds you as you mindfully walk. Ask yourself without trying to change it or judge it, “How do I feel in nature? Do I feel more peace or not and why?”

If you have 15 minutes: Try meditating. Find an upright chair and sit with a straight spine, feet firmly on the ground with your palms resting on your thighs. Close your eyes and take 3 deep breaths. Focus on all that you are grateful for in your life. Then, send a wish for happiness to those closest to you, your parents, a mentor, a person you don’t know but passed in your day, a difficult person, the whole world and end with yourself.

If you have 10 minutes: Write in a stream-of-consciousness fashion. Get out your pen, start a timer and go! Don’t edit, don’t cross out, just get the pen moving. The point is to meet the present moment fully in you. Begin with these words: If I really let myself take a break and ease up on myself I would…

If you have 5 minutes: Play The Game of You! Go to www.gameofyou.com, click “Play”, draw cards and along with each card’s input you will receive a tool suggesting ways to positively create change in your life.

If you have 1 minute: Say this mantra to yourself when your mind is full of “shoulds”, when you feel extra pressure to get something done immediately or in a certain way or with a certain end result: So what, who cares, big deal, why not? Feel this deeply and receive the freedom it gives you.

Whether it’s an hour, a minute or a week’s vacation take some time just for yourself. What was a stand out mini-vacation or vacation you took where you felt the most relaxed, slowed down, and at ease? Looking back at it now why was this so?

Love,
Lynn

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Treat Your Life As Though It Were An Airplane Ride

2011-04-06T12:25:00.000-07:00

Today’s Card: Story

Each of us has a story to tell. Whether one from our past or created in the present, we have so much to share about ourselves.

My good friend, Adele Uddo started a blog a few a months ago, called “HAND JOBS: Tales of Hand Model – Don’t Judge A Girl From The Wrist Down”. Woven in with stories of Adele’s fascinating and humorous hand model career, Adele shares the story of her past combined with the most amazing amount of pictures collected from her childhood.

Born a descendant of Progresso’s Italian New Orleans family and upon her parents divorce at a young age, her mother took Adele and her brother from their rooted Southern family and boarded the kids onto a magic bus, moving them none-else than to a commune in Northern California. Just as colorful of a scene but the opposite extreme, Adele shares openly with heartfelt emotion about being caught between two very different worlds.

Each week Adele offers rich and striking stories of her journey as a young girl. Interwoven is a fascinating and sometimes, painful theme: From a Sicilian restaurant-owning family, connoisseurs of rich elaborate cuisine to a commune forced to eat only raw foods. Yet, within some stories of craving as a young child elaborate home-cooked meals, sweets and dairy (She was greeted at the airport in New Orleans when visiting her father with a carton of Yoplait!) Adele has re-written the difficult moments in her life’s stories into insightful, loving and funny ones today.

Adele, (who obviously has a beautiful petite figure) keeps a wonderfully healthy daily eating regime. At dinner parties I thoroughly enjoy watching Adele eat with wild abandon, taking utmost pleasure and delight in the food, blaming it on good genes.

(This is Adele’s famous hand holding my caramelized onion and Gorgonzola tart)

The stories of our past do etch into our psyches. Yet, our opportunity is to update them to meet us in present time. Particularly, those that bring us suffering. Although, Adele felt denied the nurturing sustenance of her New Orleans family fare, she also received a lesson in eating well and consciously. Today, she finds a balance. The story of her past is a lesson to remind herself that she is made of both worlds, both shaping the full beautiful essence of who she is today.

I know when my mind is telling me "a story" whenever I find myself unable to relax. When stressed, anxious or afraid, this is a red flag. It gives me lists of things to do, jutting way out into the future and stops me from being present with the task at hand. It tells me I am not enough or that I need to strive for more and on some days that I must be perfect. When I listen to this voice and keep my attention on it, I begin to believe the story.

The trick is to either:

1.) Not believe it
2.) Acknowledge it then put my attention on something else
3.) Re-write the story to fit present time.

Then, I can go about my business more relaxed.

I am reminded of when I travel. Whenever I go to an airport, I suddenly become very laid back. I know I will stand in lines, have to schlep luggage, perhaps have delays, but it’s out of my control. So I show up, hand security my driver’s license and ticket and wait to take the ride. There’s nothing more to do miles in the air anyway.

But if I go to the airport and worry about getting through the security lines, or worry about getting to the gate to make my plane, or when I am going to land then, I wouldn’t really be traveling. When I travel I anticipate changes, new routes, different views. I appreciate my life looking a tad bit different for the duration of time. Out of my day-to-day grind, I enjoy the ride.

Travel taught me to apply this attitude to my life. When I wake up in the morning to greet my to-do list, I treat it just as if I was headed off on an adventurous ride. I will show up and get there or I won’t on time. But as the old adage goes, life is a journey. Your own airplane ride.

Love,
Lynn

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Prickles and Goos - Which One Are You?

2011-03-28T14:54:00.000-07:00

Today’s Card: Sudden Change

In the second year of my Spiritual Psychology Masters program, part of the curriculum was to choose something you have always wanted to do in your life. Then, they supported you with a structure, a concrete plan, and a mentor to make your dream come to fruition by the end of the year. People can choose anything they want like flying solo, writing a novel, learning a foreign language, or climbing Kilimanjaro.

Besides this being a wonderful support system to help the students do something they have always wanted to do, there is another important challenging factor to it: When we do something new that is attached to a larger life calling and stretches us out of our normal routine, we create immediate change. By meeting ourselves in new ways and moving out of our comfort zone, our inner life wakes up and we get to see how we respond and react to our larger life path's calling. This gives us ample material to go deeper in our inner-work, to gain light and perspective into ourselves and raises the bar for how we want to live our lives.

When we push ourselves on any one level the remaining levels are forced to push forward as well. For example, when I published The Game of You, the mere act of it forced me to look deeper into myself. When we look more deeply we love more deeply. The more I do what is in alignment with my inner-calling the more I hear the inner-call. This is how we come into contact with our life's purpose: Each step we choose to make, while listening to our inner yearning, the more we step off the shore and join the current of the river. Rather than watch the river pass us by, we become a part of the river and the current carries us. Besides showing up, there is not much more we have to do. It’s almost like our “call” is no longer in our control and it works through us, for us and guides us on its own.

The challenge is to hear the call of our innate inner-selves. It may have been speaking to us for a long time but we chose not to hear it. Then one day, when we hear it, its almost as though we are struck by lighting. We realize we have been asleep and have been resisting the bell ringing for change. Sometimes, we are so busy forcing, pushing and manipulating the current, focusing only on end results, we don't really listen to the bell, which may have been ringing for some time. We forget that the current of life is asking us to not only meet it, but to swim in it, to immerse ourselves in it, to look deeply at how we respond in the face of change and what it has to teach us as a person.

When change happens we respond to it in a myriad of ways based on our innate reactive patterns. Some of us get vibrantly clear, amazingly alive and awake in the face of change. We know what we want and we are able to calmly and strategically meet what is being asked of us in a critical moment. Some of us go to sleep. We are unsure as to what we want, scared in the face of change and hold on to familiar patterns, keeping us positioned in a place of the past and remaining safe. Here, we have a simple choice: To strike the bell or to avoid, distract, and run from it.

Alan Watts touches on two common reactive patterns we have as humans in this video animated by the creators of South Park: One is prickly and one is goo - which one are you?

I’m a prickle on the outside but deep inside when change hits I can be a goo. A prickly-goo. That’s what I am. Which one are you?

Love,
Lynn

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Learning from my mistakes... Yep! I’m human.

2011-03-18T15:06:00.000-07:00

Today’s Card: Learning

This week, I wrote an article for Bounceback (click here to see article) about having loving boundaries, which was inspired by a friend of mine. When sharing about an issue she was having with her boyfriend, she said to me “But if I tell him “No”, he’ll think I am bitch”. I thought that statement would make for an interesting article title. After I wrote the article drawn from the teachings of the card “Boundaries” from The Game of You and re-read it, it struck a personal cord. In the past, my own inability to set boundaries with love may have caused harm.

I have learned that a call for self-love outweighs everything. When I love myself, truly love myself my heart softens and I am able to hold a more secure container for myself, be more respectful of others and myself and strengthen self-love. Admittingly, I have made mistakes. But to beat myself up only goes against the act of self-love. My opportunity is to accept my human failures and continue to learn without punishing myself.

There is a meditation that my meditation teacher created based on some major Buddhist principles. The object of the meditation is to contemplate on the nature of these four statements:

1.) May I accept my imperfection
2.) May I be patient with my weaknesses
3.) May I live life fully
4.) May I be at ease

When I do this meditation, I feel great relief! Ah…to be able to embrace these wishes in every moment of my life. To live a life of regret and remorse removes me from knowing the true nature of my being. From every teacher I have ever had, I realized that we teach what we most need to learn. I do not consider myself a teacher but a learner. I can only share what I am willing to learn and make every learning opportunity an opportunity to grow. Step-by-step, moment-to-moment, I learn from my mistakes and change over time. Learning about ourselves from our daily life experience and relationships is the greatest gift that life offers. It is my wish that I learn through the spaciousness of my heart to continually (and happily) grow.

So I ask you to join me in accepting our humanness and contemplate the nature of the above four questions. When we are able to embrace these qualities within us first we are then able to accept, have patience and be more at ease with others. What imperfection can you accept right now? What weakness do you have opportunity to be patient with? How might you live life fully? How might you create ease? Know in my heart-of-hearts I am wishing this for you as well as for myself.

Love,
Lynn

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The Books That Changed Our Lives

2011-03-09T17:44:00.000-08:00

This week I had lunch at a café on Melrose with a friend and had one of those “full circle” moments that hit me out of nowhere. The café sits across from the Bodhi Tree bookstore, which has been there for years yet changed hands many times. Before lunch, I dropped off a copy of The Game of You at the Bodhi Tree for review. In the middle of eating my shrimp and mango salad, I suddenly had a vision of sitting at the exact table in the exact same corner of the café when I was 18 years old.

One Saturday, my first year at Cal Arts, 45-minutes north of LA, I ventured off campus to visit the trendy street of Melrose on my own. When walking into the Bodhi Tree, I found myself in a strange land. Books and books stacked high on wooden shelves with titles and topics that were as foreign to me as California was to my native mid-western roots. I was curious (and honestly a bit scared) as I read the shelves’ labels: Astrology, paganism, shamanism, Buddhism, crystals, tarot... What was this bizarre stuff? None of it made sense to me. After awhile of wandering, I left the store with a random spontaneous purchase: A small book and card deck, called the The Medicine Woman Tarot. At lunch at the café, I chose a card and read its chapter. The feedback didn’t make since to me but there was something magic in it, something that fascinated me. I put the deck back into the paper bag and to this day, even though I never read it again, I still have it.

So this got me thinking as I was sitting at the café - now 23 years later with my friend: How fascinating are the dots that connect to each other to create the path of our lives? For me, these “dots” were actual books. I know the exact 5 books that sent me into new directions on my life path, each creating experiences that led me exactly to where I am today: A woman who just published a book and card deck set having lunch with a friend at a café.

What 5 books, fiction or non-fiction have you have read in your life that created experiences of significant life change? How have they molded, shaped and connected the dots to who you are today?

I'm going to try something right now and play a game. With each of my 5 life-changing books, I am randomly going to open to a page, write down the first line that comes to my attention from each and see if they may illuminate the lines to each dot that has led me to where I am right now:

1.) Medicine Woman Tarot Deck by Carol Bridges – 1st new age bookstore and purchase:

P.44 See yourself having already accomplished something you have wanted to do. Notice what you are wearing in the new role. Who is around you?

I SWEAR I SWEAR this was the line I opened up to! What a freakin’ trip!!!!!!!!!

2.) Wild Mind by Natalie Goldberg – This book was next to a cash register at the bookstore near the Bourgeois Pig Café. A week later I saw an ad in the paper that Natalie was teaching a creative writing seminar in LA. A few months later I moved to New Mexico to write with her.

p. 122: Who gave you permission? There’s someone further along the path, who gives you the nod, who says yes, who adores literature as much as you so gives you permission to love this odd thing all the way and to continue with it in the face of everything.

NOW I’M REALLY TRIPPING!!! OH MY GOD – THIS WAS NATALIE!

3.) Life Paint and Passion by Michele Cassou – Natalie gave this book to me as a birthday present. A few months later Michele came to teach in New Mexico and I took her workshop, which led to an 8-year stint of painting with her.

P.97: The experience of facing the unknown and allowing the world to arise from the void is an act of creation…. The painting is merely the vehicle that brings forward to creation. The discovered self is that indefinable presence that is veiled as you travel and encompass more and more of your inner-experience.

WOW! That’s defiantly what I was doing. I was traveling in the unknown and discovering myself!

4.) Beyond Fear by Miguel Ruiz – At a Michele Cassou workshop in Mill Valley, I sneaked away to hear Miguel Ruiz talk at The Open Secret bookstore in San Rafael. The following week (yes, I was very spontaneous then…) I went on a power journey to Teotihuacán, Mexico with him and a group of people.

P.114: The happiness we seek is illusory. We may feel happiness for a brief moment but it is not sustained because happiness is not from the outside.

YES! It was soon that I realized my happiness was my own to create and I stopped following teachers and doing workshops for a long time in order to become my own teacher to myself.

5.) Who Is My Self? By Ayya Khema – This book catapulted me into my meditation practice.

P.28: I want this; I want it badly. Any such longing should be dropped.

Thus, my longing went wayside and I stopped grasping, creating room to birth The Game of You and myself.

Whew! What a journey. Tell me about your five books! I'd love to hear...

Love,
Lynn

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This is your last day to re-subscribe to this blog! If you have not re-subscribed you will no longer receive The Game of You Blog

2011-03-05T14:46:00.000-08:00

Dear Friends,

For those of you who have been following The Game of You blog and receiving it into your email account - THIS IS YOUR LAST DAY TO RE-SUBSCRIBE IF YOU HAVEN'T ALREADY. The Feedblitz account will expire MONDAY MORNING so you need to re-enter your name on the right hand side of the blog (click here to go to blog) to subscribe to Feedburner, my new feed account.

Once you enter your email address you will receive a confirmation in your email box that you MUST VERIFY with a code. I have noticed some of you have re-subscribed but have not verified your account on the email sent to you. Be aware, that you will not receive blogs until you do this.

Sorry to be a pain. But this way is just so much better for us all in the long run.

If you choose not to re-subscribe, a big warm-hearted THANK YOU for reading over the past year.

Love,
Lynn
http://www.thegameofyou.blogspot.com
http://www.lynnzavaro.com

Happy Un-Birthday! Find out what your astrological sign has to say about celebrating yourself

2011-03-04T17:42:00.000-08:00

One of my standout memories from camp in northern Minnesota 9-15 years of age was the annual Un-Birthday Celebration. For the evening activity we met in the lodge and found the table’s sign for the month we were born. As a group we would decide how we wanted to decorate a vanilla sheet cake with colorful icings and cake decorations based on our birth month’s themes. Each group would go up to the front of the lodge to present their unbirthday cake competing for the winning award. But for me the real prize was eating it!

What really made this activity fun was that we had reason to celebrate ourselves for no reason at all. And that got me thinking… Why is that we only give ourselves one day in the year to celebrate us?

Here are suggestions based on your astrological sign and it’s companion Game of You card to find reasons to celebrate yourself today:

Aries/The Explorer: Aries is the first of the signs in the astrological 12-month cycle and The Explorer the first card on the Life Path. With The Explorer’s passionate ability to be the first to jump out into the world, Aries people tend to be fearless about exploring the new. You are willing to chart the uncharted and investigate new territory. So celebrate yourself by doing what you are good at: Open yourself to experience something daring and risky that will cause you to let go and jump into the new!

Taurus/The Teacher: Taurus is slow and patient which makes them really good teachers. They are committed to the community and their families. People feel comfortable around them and their easy-going nature gives them solid ground to be in the now. But they can also be resistant to change and hold on to what is familiar. So celebrate yourself by doing something that would create a major break-through, perhaps something that is creative that will stretch you or do something fun with your family and/or friends.

Gemini/The Mirror: Gemini loves people. They love to talk on the phone for hours and enjoy stimulating conversation. They have extraordinary gifts working with people of all ages and make people feel comfortable around them. Relationships are an important focal point for Gemini and their inner-work is to use relationships as their greatest teachers to grow, become aware of their projections and find inner-balance. So celebrate yourself by having a long lunch with a friend or a romantic evening with your lover and learn from them.

Cancer/Willingness: Cancers are great caretakers and are comfortable at home. They need change and variety yet sometimes it’s hard for them to make a decision. Celebrate yourself by having the willingness to initiate change, create movement or put a creative project into motion. Make a choice to do something totally new, different or creative. Take a different drive to work, try a new recipe, find a class or workshop in something that inspires you.

Leo/Inner-Strength: Leos roar out into life with passion, excitement and enthusiasm. They desire to express themselves creatively and openly. However, Leo may have a passion to create yet fear it at the same time. Use your inner-strength to conjure something you may creatively fear. Celebrate yourself by choosing something small and manageable that could be a step towards the fear and greet the other side of it a changed person.

Virgo/ Solitude: Virgo desires significant relationships but prefers to be alone rather than engage in anything superficial. Grounded with an appreciation for the body, Virgos have a deep love for beauty, harmony, and order. So celebrate yourself by admitting to yourself that one of the ways you enjoy celebrating is with some solid “me” alone time. Get a massage, take a walk in a nature, reorganize, meditate, or beautify yourself or your home.

Libra/Learning: Libra loves to learn and make the most of every learning opportunity. They have a desire to make the thoughts in their head perfectly formed and have a need to complete everything they begin. Libra wants things to be simple and clear yet, can vacillate between this and that. So celebrate yourself by not thinking too much about what you want to do or how you will do it and just jump into a new project so that you can learn. Enjoy stream-of-consciousness creative writing, complete a research project, or find a new how-to book on a subject that interests you.

Scorpio/Impermanence: Scorpio is one of the most spiritual of all the signs. They are committed to their inner-work, love change and are inspired by transformation. You are drawn to expand by removing obstacles or limitations and want to let go of anything that constricts you. So celebrate yourself by releasing something that no longer serves: Let an old belief about yourself go and realize that nothing stays the same so you don’t have to hold onto it anymore. Do something of a spiritual nature that sparks change or shake it up by going wild, getting out and play!

Sagittarius/Equanimity: Sagittarius is a born traveler. They have a great sense of humor and love to work with their hands. They have a love for truth and beauty, are powerful communicators and are assertive and direct. Their creative passions make them true artists. Yet, Sag can have a fiery temperament and have fits of anger. Thus, balance is important to their lives. So celebrate yourself by doing something that will support inner-balance like gardening, playing golf, snacking healthy foods, taking a drive into the country, do yoga or something else fun with your hands.

Capricorn/Shadow: Capricorns work hard and play hard. They are very stable and are more willing than others to look at their shadow. However, Capricorn may sometimes spend more time looking for the negative, dark, or bad and forget to shine a light on the positive within them that is hidden in their shadow too. So celebrate yourself by doing something that brings a sense of a “lightness” and positive energy to your life. Get your adrenaline moving and sweat, joke around, wake up to watch the sunrise, or watch a funny movie and laugh.

Aquarius/Faith: Aquarius is gifted with perception and has a keen sense of intuition. They rely on their emotions to guide them with sensitivity. However, sometimes Aquarius can lose faith in themselves. So to celebrate yourself do something that will strengthen your sense of faith and draw on your own inner-resources. Intuit what you need most to care for yourself right now. Choose something that brings calm, peace and strengthens confidence like taking a long bath, walking on the beach, committing to a new discipline or stretching yourself to do something you wouldn’t normally do.

Pisces/The Unknown: Pisces is a romantic and is committed to work through difficult situations and relationships. Yet, sometimes Pisces’ lack of clarity leaves them confused and uncertain as they resist being in the unknown. To celebrate yourself welcome the mysterious and allow yourself to rest in the spaciousness of the unknown. Do a vision board, find some time for introspection, keep a dream journal, do something spontaneous without thinking about it, or be creative like paint or write whatever you feel like in the now.

Love,
Lynn

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Be Your Own Oscar Winner!

2011-02-27T07:59:00.000-08:00

After doing my first play in fifth grade, I because obsessed with acting. More than anything I wanted to win an Oscar. On the day of the Academy’s, I started my on-going yearly ritual: a frozen pizza with sparkling apple juice alone. No one could interrupt me as I planted myself in front of the TV way before the first celebrity arrived on the red carpet. This was my super bowl - the most important night of the year on TV. Now that my acting obsession is over, I’m thinking, “Why can’t I still be my own Oscar winner?” So I devised a plan and thought you could join me.

Here are 5 steps to be your own Oscar winner (and hey, its not a bad plan for Natalie Portman either):

1.) Dress to Impress. Be your own stylist and put an outfit together that expresses your true inner beauty and authentic self-expression. Do something extra special for yourself like get your hair blown dry at the salon, your eyebrows shaped or lash extensions. For a week, eat super clean, drink tons of water and maybe drop a few pounds. Get beautiful and feel great about yourself as you go out and meet the world!

2.) Face the camera. OK. So you might not have a literal bandstand with crowds of people cheering your name, but there are many people out there who do cheer you on every day and that’s something to really appreciate. Even stars have to overcome their nerves, dig deep inside and find the inner-strength to walk that red carpet. So, choose to courageously conjure what you fear by invoking it and welcoming it toward you. Like a baseball player in practice, hit each ball as it is pitched to you to keep running the bases to become your winning self.

3,) Receive your reward. You are most likely receiving payoffs in your life that you either are or are not aware of. In this moment really receive the rewards that are happening for YOU. Perhaps something has improved. You may feel like you have grown in some way or the people around you may reflect your growth back to you. Receive this. Perhaps in the recent past, you intended to create change and let go of some things that no longer served you. Receive this. Welcome the good that you have created for yourself and allow yourself to receive the experience of what success and achievement feels like on an innermost level.

4.) Give your winning speech. Thank those who have supported you lately, appreciate your “fans”, tell your parents, a mentor and your children how much you love you them. From a place of expansive joy and appreciation, open your heart and express to others how grateful you are for them.

5.) PARTY! Because you are embracing your “wins”, this is a great reason to celebrate. Do something fun and special for yourself or with others. Go out dancing, have a special dinner, open a good bottle of wine. Enjoy and celebrate all that you have received lately. This is a great reason to party!

For more on being your winning self get your Game of You here

Love,
Lynn

http://www.thegameofyou.blogspot.com
http://www.lynnzavaro.com

My Spiritual Guru: My Mom

2011-02-13T18:20:00.000-08:00

Today’s Card: The Unknown (again!!)

I’m still thinking about the unknown. My mother, as some as you know, has been in the hospital the last five weeks. Every day she is getting stronger. Every day a magnificent step toward healing occurs. Yet, doctors are still trying to get the root of some problems and unfortunately, it’s a waiting game. Even though Mom spends most of the time in bed and the light high of oxycotin and Benadryl gives her sleepy head reason to rest, she spends a lot of the time waiting. Weekends are slow, with back-up doctors covering the primaries. And her docs seem to be looking for any medical convention they can travel to out of the weather beaten mid-west and to some sunshine.

I call my mother every day and I get the same unbelievable attitude. Waiting for news from the recent tests, she is always openly willing to surrender to the unknown.

“Mom, how do you do this?” I ask wanting to learn. “Isn’t it hard to wait like this… in the unknown?”

As if I asked a silly question she responded quickly, “That’s what WE ALL do Lynn. All the time. That’s what life is.”

“How did you get so wise?” I ask. “How can you be so patient?”

And Mom gently says with resounding accord, “Lynn that’s all you CAN do. We have no other choice. One day at a time.”

You would think my Mom had 20 years of sobriety and was a seasoned twelve-stepper. However funny and oddly bizarre, my 50’s born mother who missed the whole drug generation is now taking a liking to drugs. I don’t blame her. This is THE reason why drugs were invented and I am big advocate for their use in situations such as these. They take the edge off, lessons unnecessary pain, helps you to stay in that god-forsaken farshtukena bed for weeks at a time, and selfishly allows space for Mom to be my spiritual guru over the phone. Really, Mom was always this way. My largest life lessons always came from her – always having keen insight into life and how to live it right.

For her it’s more like “Don’t sweat the BIG stuff”. The small details are where you can gain some sort of control. She likes her coffee poured two inches into the cup and microwaved for 30 seconds. Her day planner, chapstick, and crossword puzzles are stacked neatly to the left on the hospital bedside table and the phone on the bed next to her. Bananas, crackers, and extra salsa packets are stacked on a bench under the table as to not get too much sun. It’s these things she can do something about. It’s these things when left in the uncertainty of the unknown that gives her power.

As I am working hard on The Game of You, waiting to hear how sales are doing, and wondering how my new career will unfold, everything is put into perspective. Each day I awake and remind myself to let go of the big stuff and focus on the small. What step or stretch can I make today? Cause the big stuff is totally out of my control. I think of my mom, stretching herself to build strength and endurance daily as she walks extra rounds on the hospital floor and I am humbly reminded that THIS is what life is all about. One step at a time, my wise mother says. Boy, aren’t our mothers are always right?

Love,
Lynn

http://www.thegameofyou.blogspot.com
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What Happened When I Met The Unknown - Who Would Have Thought?

2011-02-10T19:27:00.000-08:00

Today's Card: The Unknown (Again!)

As you all heard last week, I was ready to meet the unknown. My creative writing hand (and cooking hands) needed a bit of break, some space to explore new territory. It wasn’t an hour from writing the last blog that I was asked to be a weekly contributor for an online magazine called BounceBack – a place to go for support when heartbreak hits. The Game of You offers many tools to mend your heart and learn how to meet transition. And I have to admit, I am having loads of fun writing about relationships, dating and marriage. What girl doesn’t?

The truth is, although, I have had many failed relationships in the past, they all taught me something. Something significant that paved my road to my extraordinary husband. (Shlomi, are you reading this?). It took some time - the lessons learned certainly didn’t happen over night. And if any of you knew me in the past well, or kept up with the gossip, you know I could be a handful. Now, I’m just a pinch of a handful… or as my husband likes to call a kotzpitachat, pain in the ass, or Kotz for short in Hebrew.) Truly, when you are ready, the right man comes. And boy, am I lucky! I love that man so…

So I certainly didn’t think that the next blog I wrote would be about dating and relationships. But here we are – meeting the present and seeing what unfolds!
You can read my first article on Bounce Back here!

Now for more FUN NEWS: I am starting The Create Your Life Challenge!!!! Draw cards and post your thoughts, daily insight, or experience with your Tools on your FB status or tweet @LynnZavaro and at the end of two weeks (starting Valentine's Day!). I will draw your names out of a hat and randomly pick someone to receive a FREE 1 ½ hour private phone session with me and The Game of You Cards. Make sure if you post to tag The Game of You Page (if you haven’t joined – now’s the time: Join here!) I can’t wait to hear all about how you are enjoying the game and what you are learning from the tools and the cards!

Love,
Lynn

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What Will The Future Hold? Changes to The Game of You Blog

2011-02-05T10:57:00.000-08:00

Today's Card: The Unknown

When I paint, I experience the joy of meeting the blank white paper because this is where the power of the unknown lies. I go for a paintbrush, choose a color without thinking about it, and then intuit from my gut what the brush wants to do. A figure? An eye? A small dot? A huge line? When I meet the unknown I discover that this is where my true creativity lies, only I can’t realize it until I have the courage to experience it without any harness or bungee cords.

Over a year ago, I started this blog with the same kind of excitement to step into the mystery and explore. I wanted to learn how to cook better and thought it would be a blast pairing The Game of You teachings with my love of food. As an extra bonus, I would have a reason to make more delicious home cooked meals. I enjoyed finding creative ways to deliver The Game of You teachings, share personal stories and connecting them to cooking. I learned more about vegetables, Mediterranean food, Sephardic food from my-in-laws and new ways I found pleasure in eating.

But now I feel the urge to meet a blank canvas again. I feel the call to “start a new painting” and although, I am not entirely sure what it is yet, it’s time to stretch into new creative places! I'm sure, I will still want to write about food, my travels and my family. I would love it if you came on this journey with me as I discover and explore new territory.

Things are super busy with the release of The Game of You (Get your copy here) so I need to put my focus on that for right now. Thank you for your patience!

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Thank you for your continuous support. I am grateful. Here’s to the mystery of what may unfold!

Love,
Lynn

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The Game of You Launch Is Almost Here!

2011-01-14T09:24:00.000-08:00

I’m getting excited for The Game of You launch party on Jan 20th! I want to take this moment to thank all of you for your support: Clients, students, friends and family thank you all for being there, reading the weekly blog, opting in on the website and buying games. THANK YOU!

For those of you who have pre-ordered: The release date on Amazon, Barnes and Noble and Borders is Jan 28th! Thank you for your patience - you can expect your games the first week of Feb. YAY!

For those of you who haven’t pre-ordered yet you only have a short time to get The Game of You for a significant discount - so order now by clicking here:

Amazon
Barnes and Noble
Borders

For those of you who live in LA and would like to come to the launch – it promises to be a FUN event!! Come get pampered, have a glass of wine, shop the Big Red Sun stores, try out our favorite food trucks and mingle with new and familiar friends. Games will be on sale at a special discounted price at the launch. Please RSVP before the event – there will be a list at the door☺ It is an OPEN event so invite your friends!!

For those of you don’t live in LA – know that you will be missed! Book signings in various cities are being set up and I hope to come and see you in your town! (Tulsa locals – plan for a signing in March! Yipee!!)

You can find out about upcoming events and workshops, receive fun tips and special downloads by signing up for The Game of You monthly newsletter here and/or become a fan of The Game of You page on Facebook here.

The Premiere of The Game of You Cards Workshop is Feb 12th! Space is limited to reserve your spot now. Powerful, Fun and all about YOU. This 4 ½ hour course offers an experience of self-discovery and transformation. To find out more about the workshop click here.

Here’s to having FUN as you discover creative and new ways to know yourself and create the life you want!

Cheers,
Lynn

http://www.thegameofyou.blogspot.com
To play a free sample game of The Game of You go here: www.gameofyou.com

Let's Get This Great Year Started!!!!!

2011-01-03T16:55:00.000-08:00

Now that we have jumped started 2011, it's time to get productive! Here are some Game of You tips to make the most of your time and create the life you want THIS year:

Show up when you say you are going to show up Follow through on your word to others and yourself by continuing under all circumstances and showing up on time. Not only will it beget more productivity but it's also the #1 fastest way to decrease depression and increase confidence, self-esteem and respect for others and yourself.

Complete what you started before taking a next action step Incomplete action steps leaves us low on gas and creates added stress and tension to our daily lives. Discontinue Post-It management and have one running list divided into sections if needed to cross off each completed action one step at a time.

Know the power of a minute I met a woman for a meeting recently who talked for 5 minutes about how little time she had for our meeting. If she didn’t use those 5 minutes telling me how busy she was, we would have been finished 5 minutes earlier and she would have had 5 more minutes to do something else. When you are concentrated and focused for five minutes, it’s amazing how much you can get done.

Schedule your time reasonably Trust your intuition about the kind of time you have to reasonably meet your goals and let that guide you. Make your schedule doable, don’t over-commit yourself and make sure you include down time and space for yourself in your schedule.

Meet resistance head-on If for some reason you are resistant to sit down and start a new project make sure you don’t use your busy schedule as an excuse. Schedule a time you will start your new project and don’t let anything else stand in its way. If you schedule something at 9am, then all texts, phone calls, emails, status updates, tweets and other distractions should stop at 9am. End of story.

Choose your top 3-5 priorities of the week Each Sunday I assess the priorities of the week. I choose the top 3-5 things I want to accomplish by the end of the week and this becomes the driving force to make my week the most productive it can be. Say “no” if you need to the lesser priorities so you are sure to reach your goals. Having good boundaries keeps your top priorities THE priorities. You will feel great about yourself and what you accomplished at the end of each week. Then, you can fully enjoy your weekend and focus on FUN!

Create a structure for yourself that includes self-care Self care first. Work second. I don't mean indulgent spa days I mean the basics: healthy eating, exercise, plenty of water, vitamins, etc. An athlete will not complete a triathlon without proper self-care. A sturdy foundation for your body is mandatory to meet productivity with energy and strength.

Manage stress by taking the pressure off If you follow these tips then you can internally trust that you are applying yourself at your very best and can take any other extra pressures off yourself. Teach yourself how to get done what you need to get done with a sense of relaxation and ease, remaining focused on the present moment. Remember, its just the first week of 2011 - you have the whole rest of the year to reach your dreams!

For a stress-free quick dinner, here is a recipe for potatoes with wilted spinach. It’s a recipe for one of my last-minute-throw-together-stop-at-the-store-and-pick-something-up meal. Serve it with a roast chicken, grilled steak, or cooked salmon.

Potatoes with Wilted Spinach

Handful of red potatoes, skin on and cut into bite sized pieces
Bag of spinach
2 garlic cloves
1-2 tbsp butter
1-2 tbsp olive oil

Heat butter and olive oil in a saute pan. Saute potatoes until crispy and brown. Stir in garlic for last minute. Add spinach, toss until wilted.

Love,
Lynn

http://www.thegameofyou.blogspot.com
To play a free sample game of The Game of You click here

To Be Or Not To Be

2010-12-26T12:56:00.000-08:00

Today’s Card: Be

In the past, New Years Eve fell in the same category as Valentines Day, birthdays and anniversaries. There was an expectation that came with it, a youthful romantic point of view that desired the night bear a certain kind of experience to remember: It needs to be fun! It needs to be special! It needs to be the one I will never forget! With needing comes a quality of attachment, a grasping element as we grip to things, wanting them to unfold in a particular way with a particular outcome to feel fulfilled, happy and meet the vision of our dreams.

But what if we let go of our attachments to results? Better yet, rather than let go why don’t we just let things be? Letting go has a quality of action, there is something that we perceive we need to do to actually let go, which is why letting go is one of the hardest spiritual principles to achieve. But, what if we let be? Then, there is nothing we have to do – there are no shoulds, there are no complicated constructs to understand and follow through. Try it - rather than let go, let be.

I remember as a pre-teenager watching my parents go to sleep before the ball fell in Times Square. I thought, What party poopers! When I grow old I will do amazing adventurous things! For years, I planned special events, trips, and parties to insure a night of fun and frivolity on New Year’s Eve. Yet after all that trying to measure up – there is really only one night that stands out to me:

For our honeymoon, my husband and I were in Thailand on the tiny island of Koh Phi Phi staying at a small resort owned by a young, flamboyant, son-of-Bangkok-wealth, Thai man named Quaon Chai. Quaon Chai had just opened his hotel and invited people from Bangkok to fly down and boat across to his resort that was just devastated by the Tsunami during construction and rebuilt in time for New Years Eve. He was invested: Well known chefs and a band from Bangkok, tables strewn on the beach with twinkly white lights, fire torches and a surprise spectacular fireworks show over the beach.

On the day of New Year’s Eve, Quaon Chai checked several times with us that we would be in attendence, so at the last minute, we felt pressure to buy tickets. Dinner was at 10:00pm and before arriving my jet-lagged eyes were starting to fade. The mosquitoes were bad at night, really bad, so I dressed for practicality rather than to impress and wore a long Thai sarong with a long sleeve t-shirt down to my knuckles, my black hiking socks yanked up to my knees, and covered myself with Deet. At the table next to us a Hollywood actress with her fiancée and traveling companion friends wore evening dresses you might see in the Caribbean: knee length silk or chiffon, bare shoulders, plunging necklines, bare feet. I kept whispering to Shlomi, Don’t they know they are getting eaten ALIVE?!? After a glass of champagne even the Bangkok band couldn’t keep my eye lids open, so I asked Shlomi if we could go back to the room, take a short nap and return for the midnight festivities.

In a deep slumber, we were both jolted awake by enormous explosions. Our Thai hut was filled with smoke - coughing, I couldn’t see anything in front of my eyes. I hurled out of bed and saw rain streaming down over the eaves. Thai men like monkeys high up in the palm trees sprayed water from large fire hoses as the explosions deafened our ears. Continuously shouting, we grabbed our clothes and towels to cover our faces, and ran out of the room. Ends up: The big firework show was set up on the roof of our hut, the last hut on the property. Quaon Chai explained it all as he came running to us with waving hands, he assumed everyone would be at the party. And then I understood why it was so important to him that we attend.

Need-less-to-say, I will remember that evening for the rest of my life. If not for the fireworks on our rooftop as much for the ugly socks. And I realized that it was really OK to fall asleep before midnight on New Years Eve, except for in a Thai hut at Quoan Chai’s resort in the middle of the Andaman Sea. Now, after several trial and errors, I make it a point to not make any New Year’s plans and to spend the night, quiet, setting New Years’ intentions. My intention this year: To let things be.

If you are having friends over for a New Years Eve, here is a recipe for stuffed mushrooms with chevre cheese, toasted breadcrumbs and fried rosemary leaves. Serve them warm - it’s a perfect bite to go with a glass of bubbly. May you enjoy your New Year however you choose to celebrate. May your intentions for 2011 manifest with grace and ease.

Goat Cheese-Stuffed Mushrooms with Bread Crumbs
Food and Wine Magazine

24 large cremini mushrooms (1 ½ pounds, discarded)
¼ cup plus tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
1 tsp rosemary leaves, plus 1 3-inch sprig rosemary
Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper
3 tbsp fine breadcrumbs
6 ounces fresh goat cheese, torn into 24 pieces

1.) Pre-heat oven to 400 degrees. In a bowl toss the mushrooms with 3 tbsp oil and the chopped rosemary leaves and season with salt and pepper. Transfer mushrooms to a baking sheet, rounded side up. Roast for 30 minutes. Let cool to room temperature about 16 minutes.

2.) In a skillet heat the remaining 3 tbsp oil. Add the rosemary sprig and cook over moderately high heat until the leaves are crisp, 30 seconds. Drain on paper towels, then strip off leaves. Pour of all but 1 tsp of rosemary oil and reserve for other use.

3.) Add the breadcrumbs to the skillet and toast over moderate high heat until golden and crisp. 2 minutes. Stir in half of the fried rosemary leaves and season with salt and pepper.

4.) Gently press a piece of goat cheese into each center of mushroom, sprinkle with breadcrumbs, top with a rosemary leaf and serve.

Love,
Lynn

http://www.thegameofyou.blogspot.com

To play a free sample game of The Game of You click here

The Dinner Party That Happened

2010-12-18T15:36:00.000-08:00

Today’s Card: Intention

OK. Here's the deal: I think I have already confessed to you that I am not usually a relaxed person in the kitchen when I throw a dinner party. It still doesn’t come easy to me and cooking for a large get-together brings me a lot of anxiety. So much so, that last September I humbly shared in this blog that I canceled a birthday party dinner I was planning (and really looking forward to) because it overwhelmed me.

So to overcome a perceived limitation in myself, I set the intention to do an informal, casual and relaxed dinner party Friday night and got really clear about how I would go about it on an inner and outer level. I promised myself I would do the preparation in a calm, relaxed fashion and have fun while I did it. Keeping a laissez-faire attitude, I intended for it all to be “just easy”. I would remind myself of my intention as I went about the process to keep holding it that way.

When you develop a clear intention it supports you in truly understanding what you want and sets the energy in motion to create it. With intention you make a concrete choice to initiate the energy towards the direction you want to go. Intention can be the driving force to put into action what you really want in a life affirming direction.

I got smart. Rather than fix a whole bunch of complicated or new recipes I asked myself, what are you already skilled at? And my intuition responded right away: Soups! And how perfect for a blustering winter rainy night in LA… My intuition continued: Do several soups/stews so our 28 guests and their dietary restrictions would be covered, there would be plenty of food, everyone could just grab a bowl from the cupboard, choose one or taste them all as they pleased. I wanted to make the soups interesting and from different countries, so I decided on Beef Bourguignon, Turkish Peasant Soup, Egyptian Split Pea Stew and Italian Vegetable with Cheese Ravioli. Two big salads: One heavier, one light, some bread and two appetizers. And for desert: Fruit and cookies people could eat with their hands. Voila! No work for me once the party began…

I fixed one new recipe for an appetizer that seemed easy and I could prepare in advance and then bake right before the guests arrived: A caramelized onion tart with gorgonzola that was a huge hit and people seem to really love. Every thing went down without a hitch except for one thing: I forgot to take pictures of the tart before it was served. So before it was almost gone, my good friend, who is a writer and also a professional hand model by trade saved the day by offering to hold a serving of the tart. What fun and thanks Adele!!

Caramelized Onion Tart with Gorgonzola
From The Modern Baker

1 box frozen Puff Pastry (12 ounces)
4-5 large onions, about 2 pounds, chopped
2 tbsp olive oil
1 tbsp light brown sugar
2 tbsp balsamic vinegar
½ tsp salt
½ tsp freshly ground black pepper
8 ounces Gorgonzola crumbled with a fork
3 tbsp chopped tarragon

1 jellyroll pan lined with parchment or foil

1.) Defrost pastry for 40 minutes. On a lightly floured surface, roll the puff pastry out to fit the size of your jellyroll pan. Slide onto pan and press edges upward towards edge of pan. Put in refrigerator as you do the next step.

2.) Combine the onions and oil in a wide-open sautéed pan with a lid. Cook covered, over medium heat until the onions start to sizzle. Lower the heat and cook until the onions become tender and translucent about 15 minutes. Uncover the onions, increase the heat to med or med high, and add the sugar, vinegar, sat and pepper. Continue to cook, stirring occasionally, until they are richly caramelized (but not burning or turning black – if they are turn heat down) 20-25 minutes.

3.) Scrape onions into shallow bowl or pie plate and refrigerate.

4.) Remove dough from refrigerator and pierce with a fork in 1-inch intervals. Spread cooled onion mixture over dough. Scatter cheese on top and sprinkle with tarragon. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate it until 1 hour before you want to serve it. (You may assemble tart up to 24 hours before baking it.)

5.) About one hour before you want to serve the tart, set the rack in the middle of the over and preheat to 400 degrees. Bake the tart until the pastry is baked and crisp and the cheese is melted, about 20 minutes. Cool in the pan on the rack for 5 minutes, then cut into portions. Serve immediately.

Love,
Lynn

http://www.thegameofyou.blogspot.com
To play a free sample game of The Game of You click here

When A Relationship Ends

2010-12-09T23:14:00.000-08:00

Today's Card: Transition

At times, life transitions from something old to something new. Perhaps, this transition is obvious. You are moving, getting married, or discover you are pregnant. You are starting a new job or school or just got a raise. A relationship has ended and you are letting go of a loved one. Regardless of the circumstances, you may feel like you are in a state of flux. It is time to let go of the wheel and let it turn on its own.

In honor of Mercury Retrograde that entered Dec 8th and leaves Dec 21st, a time where technology can malfunction and wreak havoc on our lives, I post this letter here. And for those of you who have just ended a relationship of any kind, perhaps you may identify with my feelings here?

Dear Magic Chef Oven,

You have failed me. You have broken down several times, refused to heat up, leaked gas, your burners’ flames are inconsistent and your fan never ventilated, filling the kitchen with smoke. In the beginning I thought you were really magic but now after much attention, care and work I have learned your bright and shiny stainless steel appearance was only a positive projection that has burned out over time. The appliance man told me if you broke one more time I would need to replace you. And now, I have made the hard and difficult choice to let you go.

I have learned from my past relationships that the universe takes away what no longer serves. It is removed so that a new upgrade, more fitting, and better-serving version can greet me on the other side. So now it is time to find an oven that can meet my current needs, work appropriately, and overall be consistent in my daily life. In all relationships it is good to know our non-negotiables and I know mine: I choose an oven who rises at a temperature higher than 100 degrees, a stove top that burns with an even flame, and a hood with adequate ventilation that is more effective than a plastic fan. Being clear and steadfast with my non-negotiables will support me to manifest the relationship I really want and create my highest good. So like all relationships that no longer bring support, I bid you - with love fair oven – an adieu.

In the meanwhile, I will go shopping. I will test out new brands and compare prices. I will forgive mercury retrograde for testing me with malfunctions, use it as a learning opportunity to grow and not take it personally. I will make new choices, and stay focused on producing the results I want, yet remain surrendered to how the path unfolds. And until the time that a new stove enters into my life, I will experiment playfully with new ways of cooking without a stove. Today, I will make a delicious winter salad with roasted cherry tomatoes, but rather than roast them in you, I will grill my lovely tomatoes on the transitionary BBQ outside. I will remain in gratitude for all the wonderful meals you once brought me and think fondly of all our good celebratory times.

Love,
Lynn

Winter Salad with Roasted Cherry Tomatoes
(Living Magazine)

1 Pint cherry tomatoes
6 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
3 tbsp balsamic vinegar
Coarse salt and freshly ground pepper
1 step fresh rosemary
9 cups torn mixed red lettuce, such as red leaf, red Boston and red oak
2 heads Belgian endive, cut lengthwise into very thin strips
½ cup walnuts, toasted
Shaved pecorino Romano cheese

1.) Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Place tomatoes on rimmed baking sheet. Add 2 tbsp olive oil, 1 tbsp vinegar, ½ tsp salt, ¼ tsp of pepper, and the whole rosemary stem. Roast until tomatoes are soft and beginning to collapse, 20 to 25 minutes. Transfer all but 4 tomatoes to a salad bowl with other salad ingredients. Discard rosemary.

2.) Separate skin from pulp on remaining 4 tomatoes and place in a small bowl. Add remaining 2 tbsp vinegar. Add remaining ¼ cup olive oil in a slow steady stream, whisking until emulsified. Season with salt and pepper. Toss salad with dressing right before serving.

http://www.thegameofyou.blogspot.com

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All Good Things Come When We Wait

2010-12-03T13:20:00.000-08:00

Today’s Card: Nature

There is a natural timing for everything. If you feel like things are going too slow, too fast, or you aren’t really sure of where you are going in the first place, remember all the roads are taking you to the right place at the right time. Your life will overflow with abundance like a beautiful forest if you embrace the nature of life’s divine right timing.

It began like this: Twenty years ago I started my inner-journey. I studied with numerous teachers who affected my life and supported me in my inner-growth. I went to school. I got a Masters in counseling psychology to become a MFT. But all along what I really wanted to do was to create; to paint, to write, to teach, to have my own creation of support for self-discovery, a way to bring all of the things I love together out into the world.

The seed was planted but then I had to support it to grow, nurture it with care, create structure for it, walk my talk, work my own tools, teach, grow, learn and expand. I felt the result in front of me but it took years to create it – the tree kept blooming but the fruit wasn’t ready. I carried on step by step and then, one day, riding a bike on Abbot Kinney, my first bike ride in a very long time, I tried to pop a wheelie and fell off my bike, hitting the back of my head on asphalt and getting a severe concussion. Who would have thought that then, after the neurologist told me I had to lay low for three months that the fruit would ripen and fall off the tree. Sitting at the kitchen table I looked up at my husband and said, “You wouldn’t believe what just got came to me…” I realized the structure of The Game of You and saw all the teachings and tools I wanted to organize and synthesize together in one clear vision.

Thus, The Game of You was born. And now, almost 5 years later, after a lot of hard work, fun and creativity the book and card deck set that has fueled my passions and linked me to my purpose is now READY FOR PRE-ORDER!!! And will be released the first of the year.

Many of us have dreams, aspirations and creative ideas but do not trust in their ability to come to fruition. Or we do, but then after some time, we get frustrated with time and put our dreams in a box, tie it with a bow, and place it on a shelf in the closet, saving it for another time. But we never know, we never really know, how long it takes for a tree to grow, or a blossom to bud, or a crisp ripe apple to fall from the branch. For me it took awhile. I wished it could happen earlier or faster but nature has its course and I learned to trust it, even if kicking up against it over time.

It’s just a book for God sakes and a funny little card deck with my paintings in a bright colorful box, but what it represents to me is so much more. It is a cumulation of decades of growth, personal learning, faith and being patient and understanding of the time it takes for things to grow. It brings together everything that I love about creativity; my love for painting, for writing, for inner-growth but mostly, it is a way for me to be of service to help others realize their dreams, know the truth of their inherent nature and create the life they want.

You can pre-order The Game of You here:

Amazon (*34% off)
Barnes & Noble
Borders

If you opt into my site you will be invited to lots of fun, transforming workshops, release parties, book signings and great events in the New Year!

All good things come to us when we wait. And who knows? Sometimes those difficult things in life, like a head-concussion that keeps us flat for months will birth us into a new way of being and maybe, just maybe, birth the vision of our dreams.

Love,
Lynn

To play a free sample game of The Game of You go to www.gameofyou.com

In loving Tribute to Perlene, Winalee, and Esther

2010-11-19T17:07:00.000-08:00

Today’s Card: Permission

Give yourself permission right now to be present with the experience you are having without judgment, without making it wrong or bad, or trying to change it. What if you could feel whatever you are feeling without trying to be someone else or something else you are not? It takes courage to give ourselves permission to be who we are in the present moment.

Have I mentioned before that I have never cooked a Thanksgiving turkey? That even the sound of it makes me shiver with anxiety? To give it two days to defrost, to take the parts out of the body cavity, to rub spices under the skin, to tie back its wings, wait for an ungodly amount of hours for it to cook and then never knowing when it is tender and juicy? Have I mentioned that I have never made homemade gravy and wonder how much effort and time it would take to collect the giblets from the turkey, whisk with flour and slow cook? (If that’s even how you do it…) And truth be told, not to be a humbug here, but there is only one thing I like about a Thanksgiving meal, not those sour cranberries, nor the mashed potatoes that are clumpy and cold from sitting out too long, nor those extra sweet sweet potatoes with additional brown sugar and sugary marshmallows, nor the green bean casserole with canned Campbell’s mushroom soup, but the dressing. And let me clear, NOT the stuffing but the DRESSING – big difference where I come from!!

I used to wait with anticipation all year for dressing, the kind made with homemade cornbread and that real gravy that I don’t know how to make. I didn’t even care about the pies, not a fan … And the next morning, every year, no matter if I was hungry or not I would eat the dressing smothered in gravy for breakfast, and then make sure I ate the rest of it over the weekend every day until it was gone.

So, I guess I am giving myself permission to be however I am. Don’t get me wrong, Thanksgiving is still important to me. It’s just not about the food. It’s about my family. It’s about being filled with gratitude for our blessings, for the gift of being able to come together for one more year, the celebration of being able to go around the table and share our gratitude for each other and our lives. That’s all I care about. Oh yeah, and the memory of that dressing.

I wish I could post the recipe for the dressing here but I don’t have it. It belongs to an amazingly loving group of women that are no longer with us. In tribute to Ester, Winalee, and Perlene, I share my gratitude for you here.

Home is Steak and Potatoes

2010-10-29T21:32:00.000-07:00

Today’s Card: The Lover

“I am so small I can barely be seen. How can this great love be inside of me?”
-Rumi

The Child on the Emotional Level is ready and willing to love. He will reach out and give love whether or not the other will give love back in the same way. There is not a child out there who is not kind, compassionate, and sweet. Our opportunity is to develop a deeper relationship with this child aspect within us in order to deepen our relationship with our unconditional loving nature.

Growing up in Oklahoma, the typical meal as a child that stands out in my mind was steak, potatoes, and a salad made from iceberg lettuce. There was nothing I loved more! And my mother (when I was really little) would cut the whole steak into bite-sized pieces with a steak knife that I would drive into Heinz ketchup and catch a potato morsel along the way.

Recently, I have been thinking about home: What home means to me and where home is. Yes, I have become a Californian, but every time I go to Tulsa I think about the life I could be living there: 10 -15 minutes to run errands, a quite lifestyle, a home with an acre of big green Maple trees. Easy. And when we are in Israel (my husband is Israeli and his whole family lives there) we think of living in the Holy Land: Really good friends coming for Shabbat dinner, perhaps on a moshav with a garden, a ½ hour outside of Tel Aviv. We could grow vegetables and put our kids in a gun (kindergarten) in the neighborhood and I could FINALLY learn to speak Hebrew fluently. And California? Well it has its pros and cons. Where else can you smell the exquisite aroma of night blooming jasmine mixed with gasoline? With the sounds of whirling helicopters flying overhead, blaring sirens on the corner of Lincoln and Venice Blvd, and the clank of glass bottles in the rattle of a grocery cart from the homeless person collecting recyclables from the trash at 6 am?

After all this all inner-metaxy, I have come to a decision: LA, Tulsa, and Israel can all be my home and the make-up of my identity. Who says I have to be only one at a time? I can be it ALL! I can go home to Oklahoma and enjoy the peaceful quite streets, the ease of comfort, and the hug with a familiar face at the local café. I can spend lengthy time in Israel with the familial loud buzz of Hebrew backed up by the daily news, eating Mediterranean foods that delight me with warm conversation. And I can sit in my backyard in LA with the warm Santa Ana winds at the end of October, eating organic greens sautéed with shitake mushrooms, pan fried smashed red potatoes with a dash of Parmigiano and a good old hearty grass fed steak with a beautiful glass of Merlot and think of my childhood years, now expressed through contemporary Californian cuisine. I have it made! And I am eternally grateful that home can be wherever I choose it to be when I connect to the full expansion of The Lover in my heart.

Howdy, Shalom, and Ola! From the Okie, Heeb and Cali Lynn!

I offer two delicious recipes we had with our steak tonight for Shabbat dinner under our telephone wires and palm trees…

Pan-fried Smashed Potatoes

8 medium red potatoes
½ cup extra virgin olive oil
Parmigiano

1.) Generously cover potatoes with cold water in a 3-4 qt pot and add tbsp salt. Boil until almost tender 10-15 minutes. Drain potatoes. Transfer to a baking sheet and lightly crush with a potato masher, keeping potatoes intact as much as possible.

2.) Heat oil in 12-inch heavy skillet over medium high heat until it shimmers. Transfer potatoes with a spatula to a skillet, then lower heat to medium low and cook turning once until golden brown about 20 minutes. Sprinkle with cheese and pepper.

Sauté of Greens and Shitake Mushrooms

2 tbsp olive oil, divided
1/2 pound shitake mushrooms
2/3 cups chicken broth, divided
1 bunch red Swiss chard, rinsed, stems cut from center, leaves cut into 1-inch wide ribbons
1 bunch green Swiss chard, same as above
½ head escarole, rinsed, leaves cut into 1-inch ribbons
1 cup chopped onions
2 garlic cloves
A couple of dashes of red pepper

1.) Heat 2 tbsp oil in extra large skillet over high heat. Add mushrooms, sprinkle with salt and pepper and sauté until brown about 10 minutes. Transfer to bowl

2.) Pour ½ cup broth into same skillet. Add 1/3 green, sprinkle with coarse salt and pepper, toss until wilted, about 2 minutes. Repeat with remaining broth and greens in thirds. Transfer to bowl with mushrooms

3.) Heat 2 tbsp oil in same skillet over medium high heat. Add onions and sauté until beginning to color about 5 minutes. Add garlic and crushed red pepper. Add greens and mushrooms and heat through, 2 minutes. Transfer to serving plate.

Love,
Lynn

To play a free sample game of The Game of You go to: www.lynnzavaro.com

Rock My World

2010-10-18T09:04:00.000-07:00

Today’s Card: Enlightenment

Take life simply right now and ground by being present in your life’s magnificent energy. Embrace the enjoyment of simple, ordinary tasks as you do them with mindfulness.

My painting teacher, Michele Cassou, used to say to me when I got stuck while painting, (especially when you are a thinker like me and always want something BIG to happen, something dramatic to awake to the senses, or to shake my world, or to make me feel like a REAL painter) was to get some paint on my brush and do the easiest thing I could do on the painting.

I’m waiting for the book to come out and eagerly anticipating its arrival, (Just got word from the publisher – it will be available for purchase in mid-December!!!) but in the interim there is not much to write about to create a big story or to rock my world. My day-to-day is in flow, my workload seems balanced, and the light rain and cold mist coming off the Pacific is making me feel like a good ol’ rustic home meal.

Fall weather always makes me crave mushrooms. Cooked mushrooms - not raw cardboard, bitter mushrooms – but the warm kind that are cooked in a pan with a dash of wine or balsamic vinegar and topped on a beautiful cut of filet mignon or added at the end of a robust soup. Hearty, rustic, and flavor-full, these funny little brown hats give me so much pleasure. They comfort me for some odd reason, especially when it is cold.

So, I decided to go through my cookbooks to find a new recipe that focused on my little shroom friends. I went to my current favorite one, Plenty, - easiest thing to do - and I found this delicious looking meal. Perfect for a Sunday autumn dinner, I thought. I could go to my favorite mushroom vendor at our local farmer’s market on Sunday morning, and experiment with something different for me to cook. Funny, this mushroom ragout ended up being totally dramatic and awoke me to my senses; it shook my world, and topping the cooked mushrooms and bread croutons with a poached egg made me feel like a REAL chef in the end.

Mushroom Ragout with Poached Egg
Serves 2

1 tbsp dried porcini
2 cups water
3 cups mixed fresh mushrooms
2 cups hearty bread, crusts removed (I used a soft, whole wheat baguette)
7 tbsp olive oil
2 garlic cloves, crushed
1 medium onion, sliced
1 medium carrot, sliced
3 celery sticks, sliced
½ cup white wine
3 thyme sprigs
2 eggs
Vinegar for poaching
½ cup sour cream
2 tbsp chopped parsley
2 tbsp chopped tarragon
Olive oil for drizzling
Salt and pepper

1.) Soak the porcini mushrooms in ¾ cup of water for 30 minutes. Brush mushrooms to remove soil and cut up large ones and divide clusters so you have a selection of whole mushrooms and large chunks. Preheat the oven to 390.

2.) Cut the bread into 2.5cm cubes. Toss with 3 tbsp olive oil, garlic, and salt. Spread out on a baking sheet and toast for 15 minutes or until brown.

3.) Pour a tbsp of oil in a medium heavy pan and heat well. Add some fresh mushrooms and cook until browned. Make sure not to crowd the mushrooms. Remove from the pan when done. Pour in another tbsp of oil in the same pan and sauté the onion, carrot, and celery on medium heat for 5 minutes without browning. Add the wine and let bubble away for a minute.

4.) Take porcini out of liquid and squeeze out excess liquid. Add soaking liquid to the pan, leaving behind any grit in the bowl. Add 1 ¼ cup water, thyme, and a little salt and simmer gently for about 20 minutes or until you left with a third of the liquid. Strain the stock and discard vegetables; return stock to pan and set aside.

5.) To poach eggs, fill a small saucepan with enough water for a whole egg to cook in. Add a splash of vinegar and bring to a rapid boil. Carefully break an egg into a small cup and gently pour it into the boiling water. Immediately move the pan from the heat and set aside. After 6 minutes the egg should be poached to perfection. Lift it out of the pan and into a bowl of warm water. When the second egg is done, dry the two on paper towels.

6.) While you are poaching the final egg, heat up the stock and add all the mushrooms, the sour cream, chopped herbs (reserving some for garnish) and salt and pepper to taste. As soon as the mushrooms are hot, place some croutons on each serving dish and top with mushrooms. Add an egg, the remaining herbs, drizzle with oil, and a little salt and pepper.

Love,
Lynn

http://www.thegameofyou.blogspot.com
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The Truth of Our Inherent Nature

2010-10-10T09:08:00.000-07:00

This week I had the enormous pleasure of being interviewed by Tabby Biddle, a reporter specializing in amplifying the voices of women changemakers. Her work has been featured in The Huffington Post, The Los Angeles Times, USA Today and other national media and I was honored to be her Goddess of the Week! (See the article here) On her website Tabby offers a 3-day mini course to awaken your Goddess voice and on day one she encourages you to explore your truth: What are you feeling called to share with the world? What is the message deep in your soul that wants to come out? What do you know deep inside that you need to share with others? Her mantra for the day was: When one woman speaks her truth, it raises the vibration for ALL women.

I thought I would jump right in and do this empowering exercise inspired by Tabby. What I am feeling called to share with the world through my teachings and tools in The Game of You is to remember the truth of our inherent nature. Our inherent nature teaches us how to remember that we are good, and lovable, and just, and capable. Many times we can forget this so, it is the act of remembering that brings us back to our truth. When we look outside of ourselves to be recognized, validated, approved of, heard, understood and loved, when we base who we are from the outside, we will be left feeling inherently empty, tense, and frustrated on the inside. We will never feel like we can do enough, be enough, accomplish enough, receive enough - we question the meaning in our lives by constantly looking outside of ourselves to others, our careers, our level of success, etc. to fill something, which we believe we are “lacking within”. Ultimately, any fulfillment we receive from the outside is only temporary. It eventually fades away and then, habitually we desire it again. It’s an endless cycle of wanting, getting, having, and then, wanting more. But with practice and repetition, we can return to ourselves to validate our truth within. It is here, where we will feel replenished and full.

In this act of self-remembering, we learn how to monitor our reactive patterns and stop blaming what is outside of us for our experience within. Our relationships, our finances, our daily frustrations and issues are not the cause of our tensions or unhappiness – how we relate to them and hold them in our mind are. Self-remembering brings great awareness and wisdom and this gives us the strength, humility and courage to get clear on what our focus is so that we can know our truth, listen to our highest good, and take the next step to create the life we want.

So as long as we are on the subject of speaking our truths – ha! - the truth is right now my energy is not on taking the time to cook new recipes. My focus is on some other creative endeavors in my life right now. So I am posting a recipe that I made last month that stands out in my mind right now: Cauliflower and Cumin Fritters with Lime Yogurt. It’s a wonderful vegetarian recipe for the change of weather, hearty, full of flavor, and delights the senses. Make a light green salad to go along with it if you want (or my favorite celery root and apple salad) and you’ve got yourself a delicious autumn meal.

Cauliflower and Cumin Fritters with Lime Yogurt
From Ottolenghi - The Cookbook

1 small cauliflower
8 tbsp plain flour
3 tbsp chopped flat leaf parsley, plus a few extra leaves for garnish
1 garlic clove, crushed
2 shallots, finely chopped
4 free-range eggs
1 ½ tsp ground cumin
½ tsp ground turmeric
1 ½ tsp salt
1 tsp black pepper
Sunflower oil for frying

Lime Sauce
300 grams plain Greek yogurt
2 tbsp finely chopped cilantro
Grated zest of one lime
2 tbsp olive oil
Salt and pepper

1.)Put all the sauce ingredients in a bowl and whisk well. Taste – looking for a vibrant, tart, citrusy flavor – and adjust the seasoning. Chill or leave out for up to an hour.

2.)Wash and divide the cauliflower into florets. Add them to a large pan of boiling salted water and simmer for 15 minutes or until very soft. Drain in a colander.

3.)While the cauliflower is cooking, put the flour, chopped parsley, garlic, shallots, eggs, spices, salt and pepper in a bowl and whisk together to make a batter. When the mixture is smooth and homogenous, add the warm cauliflower. Mix to break the cauliflower down into the batter.

4.)Pour the oil into a wide pan to a depth of 1.5 cm and heat up. When it is very hot carefully spoon portions of the cauliflower mixture, 3 tbsp (or one large spoon-full). Make sure the fritters are not overcrowded. Fry in small batches – they should take 3-4 minutes each side.

5.)Remove from the pan and drain well on a few layers of paper towels. Serve with the sauce on the side.

Love,
Lynn

http://www.thegameofyou.blogspot.com
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5 Tools To Get On It and Create What You Want

2010-09-27T20:15:00.000-07:00

#1 Begin by getting clear on what you really want: For example, I’m down to the last seven pounds. I’m ready to put my mind to it and get the final stages of my weight loss project done! The September birthday celebrations and holidays are now over; sweet treats, sneaking in white bread and the splurges at weekend restaurants has to go. I’m ready for fish, wholesome grains, legumes, olive oils, and loads of vegetables to be back on fully in my repertoire.

#2 Set an intention: “It is my intention to eat healthy, self-nurturing and cleansing foods for the month of October to release the final seven pounds and feel great about myself, my body, and accomplishing my goals!” Because of this intention, I now feel energized, alive and enthusiastic about initiating change.

#3 Take a step: If I try to throw a basketball from one basket into the other across the length of the basketball court in one toss, it would be an almost impossible feat. But if I dribble the ball with each step I take towards the goal I will most likely be guaranteed success. So I chose and committed to taking a first specific, yet small action step on the Physical Level to make my goal: I will find a new healthy, lo-cal recipe to make for tonight’s dinner.

#4 Do your best: My mother used to say, “Do your best and always your best!” To discipline myself to be my best, I chose a healthy salad from this month’s Food & Wine magazine filled with omega-3 fatty acids, disease-fighting phytochemicals, anti-inflammatory properties, fiber, potassium and natural Vitamin C.

#5 Find balance: There are subtle dimensions within all of us that when we put our attention upon it, we can tune like knobs on a stereo. Feeling out of tune and off sync, I can turn the knob “just so,” so that it lands back onto the station I like. This is the process of finding equanimity, having a state of balance within and learning how to tune different parts of me to come back into alignment with my body, health and diet needs.

Warm Wheat Berries with Tuna, Fennel, and Olives
One serving: 289 cal, 13 gm fat, 1.7 gm sat fat, 30 gm carb, 6 gm fiber

3 tbsp olive oil
1 large carrot, thinly sliced
1 medium onion, thinly sliced
1 garlic clove minced
1 cup wheat berries
2 cups low-sodium chicken broth
2 cups water
2 tbsp fresh lemon juice
8 ounces imported tuna in olive oil, (I like the Italian kind) drained
½ cup green olives (the big bright green ones from Whole Foods are the best), chopped
1 large handful wild arugula
1 small fennel bulb, thinly sliced

1.) Cover the grains with water in a saucepan and bring to a boil. As soon at it boils remove from heat and let stand 1 hour, then drain.

2.) In a saucepan, heat 1 tbsp of olive oil. Add the carrot, onion and garlic and cook over moderate heat, stirring for 5 minutes. Add the wheat berries, chicken broth, and water and season with a little salt. Bring to a boil and cook over moderately high heat for 30 minutes. Drain well and return wheat berries and vegetables to the saucepan. Let cool for 10 minutes.

3.) Stir the remaining 2 tbsp of olive oil and the lemon juice into the wheat berries. Fold in the tuna, olives, arugula and fennel. Serve warm or at room temperature.

Love,
Lynn

http://www.thegameofyou.blogspot.com

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5 Tools To Encourage More Creativity

2010-09-20T20:32:00.000-07:00

Even though I love cooking, sometimes it just seems like too much work. Today I didn’t feel connected to my cooking creativity and really didn’t have the energy or want to take the time to cook, so I decided to draw on five Game of You tools to tackle dinner:

Tool #1: To get out of my humdrum, I decided to stretch out of my comfort zone and take a risk to make a new recipe that looked good and is unlike what I normally cook. I chose a Japanese soup with Udon and vegetables. I liked the fact that it was decomposed, highlighting the color and texture of each of the ingredients.

Tool #2: The recipe intimidated me, especially the kind of ingredients, like a seaweed used to add flavor called Kombu and using dried shitake mushrooms instead of fresh. But, I reminded myself to hold a wider perspective: I had nothing to lose – it was Monday night dinner after all.

Tool #3: Rather than feel pressure to produce or place any unnecessary judgment on myself, I gave my soup permission to not have to be good in order to cook with relaxation and ease. I told myself if it wasn’t any good I didn’t have to put it on the blog – it was an experiment – that’s all.

Tool #4: As I surrendered attachment to the result, I discovered that the act of cooking and the recipe wasn't nearly as difficult as I imagined it to be. In fact, as the broth simmered for a half hour, I had plenty of time to wash, prep and blanch the vegetables. Plus, the noodles were cooked in the same pot as the vegetables saving lots of time and dish washing.

Tool #5: Stepping into the unknown, the mystery unfolded into a delicate, fresh and delicious meal. We were pleased with the results and it’s definitely something I will cook again. In fact, at the end of the meal I felt tremendous energy not only from eating something full of flavor and with healthy vitamin and mineral-rich foods but because I felt good about myself for breaking through.

Japanese Udon Soup

Broth
10 cups Vegetable Broth
3 cups water
I bunch fresh cilantro, coarsely chopped
1 ½ ounces dried shitake mushrooms, rinsed
¾ cup thinly sliced fresh ginger
2 lemongrass stalks, outer dark layers removed, all but 4 inches of cut off and discarded, then chopped
2 6-inch strips dried Kombu (seaweed found in a package at Whole Foods)
2 tsp tamari
1 tsp rice vinegar

Garnishes
1 large yam, peeled and cut into ½ inch cubes
1 large handful of snow peas, trimmed
4 cups ½ inch wide crosswise slices of Napa cabbage
2 large carrots, peeled, and sliced on the diagonal
8 ounces Japanese-style Udon noodles
1 cup sliced green onions (2 bunches)
3 tbsp of matchstick-sized strips of peeled fresh ginger

1.) Bring vegetable broth and 3 cups water to a simmer in a large pot over medium heat. Add cilantro, mushrooms, sliced ginger, and lemongrass. Cover and simmer for 30 minutes.

2.) Bring a large pot (for pasta) of salted water to a boil. Cook yams for 5 minutes. Using a slotted spoon, transfer to a bowl. Repeat process for the following individual vegetables in the same boiling water using a slotted spoon and transfer to individual bowls: (Snow peas – 30 seconds, cabbage – 1 ½ minutes, carrots- 2 minutes)

3.) Bring cooking liquid back to a boil. Add Udon noodles and cook for 8-10 minutes. When the broth in the other pot is finished (after 30 minutes) add Kombu for one minute. Then, remove mushrooms and Kombu with slotted spoon. Discard Kombu. Wait for mushrooms to cool.

4.) When noodles are finished, drain and rinse. Remove stems off mushrooms and slice into thin slices. Put green onion and ginger strips into broth and bring broth back to a simmer.

5.) Divide noodles, mushrooms, yams, snow peas, and cabbage among bowls, each in a separate mound. Ladle broth over and serve.

Love,
Lynn

http://www.thegameofyou.blogspot.com
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Choosing Sweetness

2010-09-13T19:33:00.000-07:00

Today’s Card: Patterns

This week is the Jewish High Holidays. Our rabbi, Rabbi Finely, teaches about the holidays from a spiritual psychology perspective:

…One of the messages of this (holiday) is that we live within a moral matrix, a framework for achieving goodness and virtue in our lives, each of which ultimately lead to the deepest kind of happiness. Moral reflection is an essential rational discipline. If one can reason well and honestly, one can find the way toward goodness and virtue… (This is a time) of looking deep within, metaphorically at the level of an archeological dig. The moral reflection of the High-Holidays causes us to look at patterns ensconced within our deepest being. When we address these deeper patterns, true transformation becomes possible.

In The Game of You, I address the importance of looking at our reactive patterns in conjunction with evaluating our own deeds:

If we have signed up to do our inner-work, and if we truly want to live a more abundant life full of joy, peace, and success then, becoming aware of how we react and the patterns associated with these reactions is a crucial next step. See what goodness can come from recognizing the reactive patterns associated with our issues while becoming aware of how they are playing out in our own lives.

Most reactive patterns stem from a judgment of sorts, a judgment placed on another or ourselves. When we become aware of these judgments we are aware that we are given a choice – a choice to create a higher standard of living or to choose reactivity instead. As George Moore, the great Irish Novelist says, “The difficulty in life is the choice.”

In embracing and choosing the goodness of our lives, those we have touched and those who have touched us, and by getting clear of the values that we hold dear, we open a window of opportunity to the sweetness of our lives. In honor of a sweet new year I offer you a recipe for a delicious sweet honey cake. The trick is to make this several days before so that the honey absorbs, getting sweeter and goo-ier as the days pass. Also, use a good quality clear honey and choose one that you really love because then, you will really love the cake.

Honey Cake
Jewish Traditions Cookbook

1½ cups flour
1/3 cup caster sugar
½ tsp ground ginger
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp apple pie spice
1 tsp baking soda
1 cup clear honey
4 tbsp vegetable oil or olive oil
grated rind of one orange
2 eggs
5 tbsp orange juice
2 tsp chopped fresh ginger root

1.) Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line a rectangular baking tin, 10x8x2, with baking parchment. In a large bowl, mix together the flour, sugar, ginger, cinnamon, apple pie spice, and baking soda.

2.) Make a well in the center of the flour mixture and pour in the clear honey, vegetable or olive oil, orange rind, and eggs. Using a wooden spoon or electric whisk, beat until smooth, then add the orange juice. Stir in the chopped ginger.

3.) Pour the cake mixture into the prepared tin, then bake for about 50 minutes or until firm to the touch. Leave the cake to cool in the tin, then turn out and wrap tightly in foil. Store at room temperature for 2-3 days before serving to allow the flavors of the cake to mature.

Love,
Lynn

http://www.thegameofyou.blogspot.com
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The Birthday Party That Isn't Going To Happen

2010-08-30T17:43:00.000-07:00

Today's Card: The Intuit

Last June, I thought about having a birthday dinner party combined in celebration of the first anniversary of The Game of You food blog and decided all the recipes I cooked for it would also be from the blog. I thought about the twenty-five wonderful friends I wanted to invite and knew I would have to rent a really long table to put in the backyard. Being an avid lover of cooking magazines, I have seen countless layouts of beautiful parties in people’s backyards. The table is always set perfectly, flowers are arranged with a color palette and style, food is plated gorgeously, and everyone looks like they are having such a good time. The hosts in the pictures always look so calm and relaxed as they toss a mixed green salad on their kitchen island and the guests stand around with a glass of wine in hand, laughing and talking as the hosts prepare.

I planned the party in my mind: I would serve small plates, tapas/ mezze style, and feature only vegetarian recipes since several friends I wanted to invite were vegetarian. I would serve wine with a plate of boreks and green grapes for cocktail hour - my first attempt at making the boreks since watching my mother-in-law make them several times.

For the table, I would make several dips: My favorite, the muhammara posted last year, the eggplant dip in honor of my father, and my best version of hummus with grilled pitas and zahatar in baskets on the side.

Then, I would make several salads: The fennel with pistachios and lemon slices, the carrot salad with roasted sunflower seeds, the eggplant with red pepper and pickle relish, and the traditional Israeli salad.

For something more substantial and to go with the Mediterranean theme, I would make the potato tortilla, and the zucchini and edamame pasta from last week's blog.

For desert and the champagne toast, I was planning to make my favorite thin cheesecake, a perfect light desert that isn’t too heavy or overwhelmingly sweet, and along with it, chocolate dipped strawberries on skewers arranged in a clear round flower vase filled with white sugar.

It was all carefully thought out, except one thing: How on earth would I do it all? How could I enjoy the party and not be exhausted when guests arrived? Could I pull off what I created in my mind with relaxation and ease? As I started to prepare for the party I felt myself get really anxious, and then I remembered something, something I have been aware in myself before, and something I promised myself I would remember when I found myself anxious again: Anxiety is a messenger for me to listen to my intuition and know that I am somehow pushing myself to do something I don’t have to do.

I realized that on Sept 2, I will be forty-one years old, and that this was as good a time as ever to make a mature even-keeled decision to choose relaxation and ease. So, in honor of the birthday party that isn’t going to happen, I am posting my birthday cheesecake recipe here. In my imagination, I am blowing the candles out with all the friends I love around me, and making a wish to continue following my intuition in all circumstances over the next year.

Sharon’s Cheesecake
Saveur Magazine

For the Crust:
2 cups finely crushed digestives (English whole-wheat biscuits)
1 tbsp sugar
4 tbsp unsalted butter, melted

For the Filling:
1 ½ cups cream cheese
½ cup plus 2 tbsp mascarpone
1 cup sugar
3 eggs

For the Topping:
1 cup plain yogurt
1 tbsp sugar
¼ tsp vanilla extract

1.) For the crust: Preheat the oven to 325 degrees. Mix crushed biscuits and sugar together in medium bowl. Add butter and stir until well combined. Transfer crumb mixture to a 10” springform pan. Using your hands, spread the mixture out in an even layer, then use your fingertips to press crumb mixture into bottom and side of the pan about 1 ½” to form an even crust. Transfer to a baking sheet and bake until crust is set and golden in places 15-20 minutes. Set crust aside to cool.

2.) For the filling: Beat cream cheese and mascarpone together in a mixing bowl with an electric mixer on medium speed until light and fluffy, about 1 minute. Reduce speed to medium-low and gradually add sugar, beating well, about 1 minute. Add eggs, one at a time, beating thoroughly after each addition. Pour filling into crust and bake until just set 40-45 minutes. Remove cheesecake from oven and set aside to cool for 5 minutes.

3.) For the topping: Combine yogurt, sugar, and vanilla in a medium bowl. Pour onto cheesecake, spreading it out to cover top of cheesecake completely. Set aside at room temperature at least 2 hours before serving.

Love,
Lynn

http://www.thegameofyou.blogspot.com

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Two Creative Cooks

2010-08-23T16:37:00.000-07:00

Today's Card: The Artist

I had a friend who loved tennis shoes so much that when he was a boy and got a new pair of shoes he slept in them. The other night, I fell asleep holding my new favorite cookbook and the funny thing is, I hadn’t even tried the recipes yet. I bought this book in Israel in Hebrew, only to find out later that the Israeli authors actually had their restaurant in London. So I gave the Hebrew version to a friend and went to Amazon only to find out these authors had TWO cookbooks!! Both Ottolenghi – The Cookbook and PLENTY are now my ultimate favorites.

Here’s their story: Yotam Ottolenghi grew up in the Jewish quarter in Jerusalem. He studied philosophy and literature at Tel Aviv University but his passion for food took him to London to study at Le Cordon Bleu. His first job was as a pastry chef. Sami Tamimi was born to Palestinian parents in the old Muslim quarter of Jerusalem in an “intimate and closed society”. He moved to London in 1997 when he was offered a job at Baker and Spice.

What was amazing was that these two men met in London in 1999: “Our paths might have crossed plenty of times – we had many more obvious opportunities to meet before – and yet it was only then, thousands of miles away from where we started that we got to know each other. We were both born in Jerusalem in 1968…we grew up a few kilometers away from each other in two separate societies, forced together by a fateful war just a year earlier. Looking back now, we realize how extremely different our childhood experiences were and yet how often they converged – physically, when venturing out to the ‘other side’, and spiritually, sharing sensations of a place and time. As young gay adults, we moved to Tel Aviv at the same time, looking for personal freedom and a sense of hope and normality that Jerusalem couldn’t offer. There, we first formed meaningful relationships and our first steps in our careers. Then in 1997, we both arrived in London with an aspiration to broaden our horizons further, possibly to find space again from a place we had grown out of. So, finally at the doorstep of Baker and Spice in west London, we chatted for thirty minutes before realizing that we shared a language and history. And it was there, over the next two years that we formed our bond of friendship and creativity.”

Yotam and Sami’s favorite tastes from home blend together in a beautiful and fresh arrangement of food. Their restaurant in London “Ottolenghi” is a food shop, patisserie, deli, restaurant and bakery. They both “adore the foods of their childhood”, creatively bringing together their strong, sometimes-controversial flavors from their childhood and I am in LOVE! So far I’ve tried five of their recipes, all of which were so delicious it was hard to choose. (See below for the final decision☺)

What inspires me the most is that these two men, drew on their own inner-artists that represents the part of their child selves that loves to play, use their unlimited imagination and has fun creating things. They are free to be out of control and wild. Draw on your own Inner-Artist, the child part of you that is creative, takes risks, and is playful without worrying about approval from others like these two inspiring men.

Pasta and Zucchini Salad
From Plenty

Sunflower oil
2 medium zucchini cut into 5mm thick slices
1 ½ tbsp red wine vinegar
100 grams frozen edamame
2 handfuls of basil
1 tbsp parsley leaves
5 tbsp olive oil
250 grams strozzapreti pasta
Grated zest of one lemon
1½ tsp capers
200 grams buffalo mozzarella, torn by hand into chunks
Salt and black pepper

1.) Heat up sunflower oil in a medium saucepan. Fry the zucchini slices in a few batches, making sure you don’t crowd them, for 3 minutes or until golden brown on each side; turn them over only once. As they are cooked transfer to a colander to drain. Tip the slices into a bowl, pour over the vinegar and stir, then set aside.

2.) Blanch the edamame for 3-5 minutes (read package) in boiling water; drain. Refresh under cold water and set aside to dry.

3.) Combine half the basil, all of the parsley and the olive oil in a small food processor, adding a bit of salt and pepper. Blitz to a smooth sauce.

4.) Cook the pasta in boiling water (read package) until al dente; drain. Return to pan in which it was cooked.

5.) Pour the zucchini and their juices over the pasta. Add the edamame, basil sauce, lemon zest, capers and mozzarella. Stir gently together, then taste and season with plenty of salt and pepper. Before serving, stir in the remaining basil.

Love,
Lynn

http://www.thegameofyou.blogspot.com

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Ode to Summer

2010-08-16T12:04:00.000-07:00

Today’s Card: Impermanence

Is it too early to say summer is coming to an end? That all that makes summer special like ripe peaches, sweet cherries, and juicy mangos have mostly been picked from the trees and sold? That the heat will soon begin to wane, and tank tops will be shelved, and soon, we will be shopping for leather boots, cashmere cardigans, and funky scarves? It’s only two weeks until September (my birthday falls near Labor Day) and just like school starts up again for the kiddos, September always represents the beginning of a new year for me.

For some reason every year, I mourn the end of summer, my favorite season of all. Yes, in Israel this summer, the sun burned so hot, the top of my scalp got burned (I know, I know, I should wear a hat at ALL times…) and the air was so thick, the only repose was near the sea. I couldn’t seem to get enough water to drink and the constant dry taste in my mouth, led me to drink ghastly amounts of diet coke and lemonana which is unusual for me. But what fun! A cold lemonade with a handful of fresh mint on ice at a café at the marina outside Tel Aviv. And then of course, I cannot forget the Yarden Chardonnay in the evening as the sun sets, washing off the intensity of the day to finally relax and breathe.

This is summer at its best: Light salads, a bit of fresh cheese, ripe juicy stone fruit, grilling on the BBQ. Craving salty foods like sour cream and onion potato chips after a day at the beach or a sweet cold chunk of red watermelon. Yes, sometimes the heat gets so strong; you just want summer to end. You can’t get enough air-conditioning, you tire of going outside, the excitement of fitting into an old bikini has worn off, your shoulders are worn from the sun. And then, you wish for the fall; the crisp, cool, night air when you can wrap yourself in a wool-cotton blend, read a good book and drink herbal tea.

But all things soon come to an end. And so it is with the lesson of impermanence: Everything around us changes all the time. In fact, every moment is going out of being. It is from this awesome place of acceptance and understanding where our true freedom lies. In my book The Game of YouTM, I speak of the fact that there is no opponent greater than the opponent of death. In each moment, this opponent comes when you say good-bye to a friend, when you come home from a vacation, in the night when it is time to sleep, in a release of a habit, the change of the season, or another birthday that has passed. When we know this opponent and deeply understand it, our lives become easier and we have less to fear. This being said, I cannot go without acknowledging the death of a dear family friend, Howard Raskin. All week, I have thought about the Raskin family and the terrible grief and loss they must feel. My heart goes out to them. When we lose a loved one, it is a terrible pain to bear.

Today’s recipe is one of my favorite summer salads. Ripe sweet peach slices layered with torn mozzarella, salty prosciutto, and dressed with a fresh peppery arugula and mint salad lightly thrown in at the end. Eat this one with your hands, getting a tender morsel of each ingredient between your fingers to create one hell of a tasty bite. Since peaches will soon be gone from our stores, I wanted to make sure I posted it now. I hope you enjoy these remaining sweet moments of summer to their fullest!

Summer Salad:
Inspired by Jamie Oliver

2-3 ripe peaches, peeled (sometimes you can just pinch with your fingers and peel the peel off)
1 big ball of Mozzarella cheese
2 slices of prosciutto
A sprinkle of chili flakes
2 big handfuls of fresh arugula, washed and dried
A small handful of thinly sliced mint
Olive oil
Lemon juice
Salt and ground pepper to taste

1.) Peel and slice the peaches into bite-sized pieces, rip the mozzarella and prosciutto into bite-sized bites and lay on top of the peaches. Sprinkle with chili flakes. Place arugula and mint on top and lightly drizzle whole platter with olive oil, squeezed lemon juice. Salt and pepper to taste.

Love,
Lynn

http://www.thegameofyou.blogspot.com

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The Value of Jewish Mother's Chicken Soup

2010-08-09T19:33:00.000-07:00

Today's Card: Values

As I was reflecting on last weeks blog about the food I ate in Israel, I became more aware of what I value most about food and how those values are beginning to form me as a person:

Value #1: Mediterranean/Middle Eastern food has now become my absolute favorite. It’s what my body most loves and craves. I am also aware that if I am going to be a true connoisseur of Mediterranean food I must learn to like fish. Something just doesn’t sit right if you don’t crave a nice whole fish with salad next to the Mediterranean Sea. In fact, I do crave the light, tender, flakey protein, but now I have to overcome my fear of fish bones.

Growing up in Oklahoma, a land-locked territory, fish was flown in and not always fresh, so I had no choice except to be a native carnivore. I still crave a good piece of filet mignon and a big, juicy hamburger now and then, but mostly I have become what they are describing now as a new vegetarian: Those that still like meat but are put off by the present sad state of the feeding and slaughtering practices of the cattle. If I eat chicken or red meat, I make sure it is organic, grass-fed or free range when I can. Plus, now that I live in California, there is a huge availability of old and new vegetables ethically grown, and once I began to learn how to prepare and cook vegetables in different delightful ways, I felt inspired by the creativity and health-fullness of the process. I have learned to value the quality, integrity, and ethics of the food I put in my mouth for my overall well being.

Value #2: Writing about food is a challenge. I remember hearing that what makes a good writer in any genre is that they are able to describe something that is common and ordinary from a new point of view. For example, how many writers have written about a sunset? The trick to be a good writer is to describe the sunset in a new and original way. Not an easy feat, especially when you are dealing with something as basic as a green olive, or a slice of yellow cheese, or a swirl of olive oil. I have a lot to learn. But there is something so grounded and simple about food that I love writing about it. And the more I try to write about it, the more I appreciate the food. Many times we can overlook what it takes to make the food that satiates our hunger, feeds our bodies, and gives us endless pleasure. So, when I write about food, I am reminded of the vitality and energy of each ingredient. I think about how, for example, one simple egg can be used in so many amazing ways to invoke and inspire creativity. I value how something so simple and ordinary can be so eggs-traordinary.

Value #3: I was always warned about “lists” as a writer. And when I re-read last weeks blog, I thought to myself how could I not include everyone who so lovingly cooked for me, how could I not mention every dish they put so much work and attention to without writing endless lists? I appreciated their kindness so much I wanted to pay homage to every person and the food they served. Even though lists are daunting, run-on, and you can lose a reader in all those descriptions, the list of ingredients that each person spent several hours to shop for at the market, schlepped home in heavy bags in cars or on buses, carried up stairs or handled in elevators, strained their back to bend forward to take out of the bags, put away into compartments in the frig, then brought out one-by-one, to prepare, wash, trim, peel, cut, dice, chop, de-fat…. And the time it takes to sauté, bake, broil, boil, stir, skim, watch over and add love, all of this energy (besides, of course, the incredible energy it took to farm and grow and ship, etc,) is given to each dish in every meal to come together and to make real magic. This I value, this I feel real gratitude for, and this I am in awe of.

Value #4: I was also taught as a writer that the “home” or the town in every story is actually the main character; the setting in which everything takes place is the most important to create and establish. And just like with food, what is as important as the food you eat is the environment in which you eat it, especially when eaten at home because the home is the major part of eating in any culture. In each home, you find the local ingredients, many native to the area, and learn how the people of each culture use what is available in their local grocery store or farmer’s market. So behind every dish is the home, place and culture in which it comes from, and behind that, the heart of the person who lives in that home and prepares the meal, and behind that the traditions of their ancestors and the generations before them who are carried on in their spirit and recipes. There is nothing I value more greatly.

For example, a Jewish mother’s chicken soup: For our last weekend in Israel, Shlomi’s mom made chicken soup especially for me. It took a half an hour for her, Shlomi and I to sit down and translate the recipe so that I could learn to make it at it home. She’s a real traditional cook, no recipes are written anywhere, only passed through the generations and she knows everything so much by heart - in her body - it is a difficult task to organize the steps of the recipe in a mental fashion. But we managed, and here are some of her tricks that make this soup special: First, she puts a whole tomato into the broth to add flavor as well as the leaves on the celery stock that she ties with a twine to infuse its herbal quality, removing both at the end. She uses boneless chicken thighs without the skin because that is the part of the chicken that has the most taste, and she adds a chicken powder to give the broth an extra kick. She also uses loads of root vegetables to ground the soup, including zucchini, sweet potato, potato, celery root and squash that cooks down and gives the soup a symphony of various flavor within the same family of texture.

What amazes me I guess in this entire process of exploring food is that no family recipe is necessarily better than the other and because what makes chicken soup most special is the mother who made it, her unique style that gives it originality, and the value of the tradition in which it upholds.

Ima’s Chicken Soup

1 leek
1 Russet potato
1 sweet potato
1 small orange squash
2 small zucchini
1 big white onion, diced
1 big tomato, whole
6 celery and leaves from the entire bunch, washed and tied together with twine
A handful of parsley, coarsely chopped
Dill, finely chopped
1 small celery root
2 carrots
½ - 1 cup white rice
4-5 chicken thighs, skinless, without bones
2 spoons of chicken powder, bouillon cubes or your choice of chicken soup flavoring
A little bit of salt
Sliced lemon on side

1.) Put chicken in a large pot and cover with water, leaving two inches at the top. (In this month’s Saveur Magazine they say you do not need to wash chicken before using, washing chicken can spread bacteria in the kitchen, its better to just skim the soup.) Add onion and bring to a boil. Then bring heat down and cook on medium for 20-30 minutes. Skim once or twice to remove impurities on the top with a big spoon.

2.) As chicken cooks, chop all the vegetables and herbs (leave the tomato whole) except the potato, sweet potato, and squash. All the vegetables just need to be in cut into bite-size sizes. When the chicken is finished, take the thighs out and place in a small bowl to cool. Leave the onion in the broth. Put all the ingredients except the potato, sweet potato, squash and rice into the pot. Cook until vegetables are cooked 15-20 minutes.

3.) As vegetables cook; shred the chicken into bite-size pieces. Cut the remaining potato, sweet potato and squash into cubes. When vegetables are finished, add the last group of vegetables and rice and cook on medium for 10 minutes. At the end, remove the whole tomato and celery leaves with a spoon. Serve soup in bowls with slices of lemon on the side to squeeze over the top to add extra flavor if someone wants.

Love,
Lynn

http://www.thegameofyou.blogspot.com
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Food, Family, Friends and More Food

2010-08-03T00:07:00.000-07:00

Today’s Card: The Director

The Director represents the part of you that directs the movie called,“Your Life”. He is the one who helps you to become the full essence of who you really are and to stand fully in your most creative and authentically empowered self. You are the creator of your life. With determination and with skillful effort, direct the scenes in your movie to be great. When you have the faith to be great then, you will live your life to become great.

Shlomo and my 5th wedding anniversary was this weekend. In many ways, the five years have flown by and in other ways it has been a deep, long, profound journey. My life changed dramatically when I got married. Shlomi’s friendship and love helped me to become a better person and out of a desire to create a full life together, we want to make the scenes in our movie great. He and I are able to draw on the best in ourselves and use our innate sense of creativity to manifest our dreams. We’re a good team together.

A big influence on my life that created lots of inner and outer change was the fact that Shlomi is Israeli and our few trips to Israel to see his family and friends shifted my view of the world. We just spent the month of July in Israel and I am still so inspired by how they come together and form a tight bond. Friends are family and family are friends.

The heartbeat of the coming together is over food and long meals. Traditionally, we wake up in the morning together and have breakfast, beginning with a coffee or tea and an oogiot (“cookie” in Hebrew, usually a dry homemade cookie like Shlomo’s mother’s hand rolled rugelach with a tad bit of homemade cherry or apricot jam) Then, about a half hour later after the face and body wakes up, the host or hostess of the home stands up and starts pulling lots of different delicious food from the frig: Sliced white goat cheese and a form of yellow cheese like kashkeval, black olives soaked for two days in water to remove the oil and salt, (Superstition says you cannot eat black olives on Shabbat so on Saturday mornings they serve green), boreks, chopped Israeli salad (See below), lachmanyot (sweet bread rolls), left over Challah from Shabbat dinner or other kinds of bread. And then usually an egg dish like a Turkish tradition of over-easy eggs cooked in a pan with a special sliced meat made from beef that is a cross of bacon and salami. Breakfast takes at least two hours, as we linger over conversation and leyat leyat (very slowly) digest small bites of yummy food.

At night, after the sun sets and the end of the heat of the day gives us a much needed break, we stay up late at night talking over the TV, watching the news for a second just to stay abreast and then switching to the World Cup, a popular show of Israeli comediennes or the Israeli version of American Idol, eating refreshing sweet avatiach (watermelon) with cubes of goat cheese. Cakes are brought out, usually a poppy seed and a chocolate, thick heavy coffee or Nescafe and sometimes glida (ice cream) that’s supposed to be for the kids but the adults admittedly indulge. Conversations are full of laughter and real talk - as they say, Israel IS REAL.

Each day we would visit friends or family, there was not a home we went to that the custom of eating and the food of their ancestor's culture wasn’t the central part of it. At Eran and Hagit’s house, Eran’s Iraqi mother made us kubes (fried bulgar patties with meat stuffed inside). The red kubes were in a spicy soup made with baharat seasoning, and the yellow kubes were served individually with salad. Hagit’s Turkish mother made prassa with leeks and beef she grounded through a grinder herself, different but just as tasty as Shlomi’s Mom. On another visit to their home, Hagit brought out a bag of salty toasted watermelon seeds. I had never seen these before. You crack the shell with your teeth just like you would with a sunflower seed, yet the meaty kernel is more substantial than a sunflower seed and bursts with flavor.

At Meirav’s and Uri’s, Meirav’s mother worked all day to make a huge assortment of tapas, tasty hand made rolled dough concoctions filled with meat or topped with vegetables for all that were invited. Her friend Ilana made a homemade chocolate cake which was served for dessert with watermelon, cookies, and assorted nuts. And of course, there was the traditional Shabbot BBQ that Meirav organizes for us with 20 or so friends and their kids. This time it was at Aviel's in the refugee camp for the Gaza deportees. The gang, who gets together almost every other Shabbat for picnics and BBQs have the system down pat. Everyone automatically knows what they are in charge of. Meats and salads are prepared before hand and brought in coolers. The men BBQ the kebabs, shishlick, and kosher hot dogs for the kids, the women prepare the table and put hummus, red cabbage slaw, and pita out. The parents serve the kids around a small table first and then the adults indulge.

At Shlomi’s brother and sister-on-law’s house we ate Sabich for breakfast, an Arabic tradition now extended into Israeli culture: Warmed pita stuffed with baked eggplant, sliced hard-boiled egg, humus, and Israeli salad. Staying over at our friend's Kobi and Shlomit’s, because it was the week of Tish B’Av, a Jewish Holiday commemorating the fall of the Jewish temple and the tragedies of the Jewish people, everything was vegetarian. For dinner, her outstanding mushroom and leek pie stood out to me (the crust also rolled by hand - clearly, a way to show love in Israel is to make everything from scratch...) and in the morning a stellar breakfast with glorious cheeses, their Moroccan background reflected in the Moroccan sliced yellow cheese with caraway seeds (which was my favorite) and an outstanding mushroom and onion omelet, perfectly flat and thin with fresh squeezed orange juice. With a small knife, Shlomit peeled the top layer of skin off of each of the white mushrooms before slicing, making them very tender and flavorful.

What love! What kindness! And of course, I cannot fail to mention Shlomo’s mother’s cooking for Shabbat. Each week she cooked for 2 days in the 95 or more degree heat with only a small fan on a small stove in a small kitchen (a most impressive and miraculous feat I must say) to fill the Shabbat dinner table of 15 or more people with everyone’s favorite delicacies. So much food there wasn’t room on the table to put it all; her famous prassa, meat, chicken and fish for every meal, various salads, rice, bulgar, cooked vegetables, fried sardines, chicken soup (of course from scratch), the list goes on and on…

Obviously, when describing a trip to Israel, I cannot fail to mention the food I ate (even if this wasn’t a food blog) and my heart fills with gratitude for the time and love put into the preparation of the food and the heartfelt desire of friends and family who shared their culture and food traditions with me. I personally want to thank everyone who graciously had us to their house and helped make Israel feel like home.

No matter where you are in Israel, at someone's home or at a restaurant, at every meal, breakfast, lunch, or dinner, usually there is an Israeli salad. The simple basic foundation is small diced cucumbers and tomatoes. Sometimes, carefully washed finely sliced romaine is added too. Many times the cucumbers and tomatoes are so fresh and flavorful dressing is not needed, but it is common to add a touch of lemon juice, olive oil and a dash of salt just before serving. It may seem silly to post such a basic recipe here, but when you are in Israel it is such a part of the custom that without mentioning it, it would be like speaking of a hamburger without mentioning the fries, or a hot dog without the Lay's potato chips, or a pastrami on rye without the pickle. The trick to making the salad really good is to chop the cucumber and tomato as small as you can and equal to size. There's something really special about the symphony of crunch in your mouth and it's a refreshing side to any meal.

Israeli Salad

2 Persian Cucumbers, diced very small (These small cucumbers called Persian in the States have the most flavor. If you can't find them, then scrub and English cucumber really well, and dice super small)
2 large, red, ripe tomatoes, diced very small
A squeeze of fresh lemon juice
A dash of olive oil
A pinch of salt
optional: finely sliced romaine (I prefer without it)

1.) Cut the Persian cucumber down its length into 3-4 strips. Place each strip face up and slice down the length 3-4 times to make 1/4- 1/8 inch batons. Gather the batons together and slice across the width to make an 1/8 inch dice.

2.) Lay the tomato on its side. Slice off the top of the tomato where the green stem is with a serrated knife. Slice the tomatoes on its side into thin round slices. Individually, lie each tomato round flat facing up. With your knife cut a "checkerboard" of 1/4-1/8 inch dices. Remove dices from the white, hard center that have less flavor. Place tomato when finished into a strainer and let set for a few minutes to discard juices. Do not shake strainer for this will make the tomato mealy.

3.) Combine tomato and cucumber lightly with a fork. (It is best to make the salad right before serving) Add lemon juice, olive oil and salt immediately before putting on the table.

Love,
Lynn

www.thegameofyou.blogspot.com

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The Sweetness of Paris

2010-07-27T16:35:00.000-07:00

Today's Card: The Romantic

My husband, Shlomi, and I just got back from a month of traveling. First up was Paris. When I hear the word “Paris” emotion is always invoked in me. I think of it as a city I have always wanted to know deeply, yet it has stayed just outside my reach. I have been to Paris several times, and yet, until this last trip I hadn’t found my peace with it. It’s always been a mix bag of yearning for romance and desiring friendship. These feelings for Paris remind me of the teachings from the card The Romantic:

Movies, television and books portray in their stories a romantic love that at one time or another we buy into believing this is how our reality should be. We feel our lives have less if we do not experience this kind of a fairy-tale relationship. We desire this kind of romantic love because we have yet to fully love ourselves at the level that feels secure and whole within. The archetype of The Romantic is here to teach us what the true quality of loving really means.

I first started learning French in 4th grade from a whimsical and theatrical teacher named Madame Thomas. She made Paris seem so magical, that I wanted to learn French fluently and go there, even at such a young age. In fifth grade, Madame Benarrous, a kind but strict teacher, stressed grammar so much that by the time I was 13, I believed I learned enough French to go to France and converse. I convinced my mother to let me go to a summer school for teens at a university near the Cote D’Azur. (OK. I never convinced her, she just got tired of the fight, I think…) and to my dismay, I wasn’t prepared. After that trip, France became a country and language I felt the need to conquer.

During the trips I took there as a young adult, I forced Paris to meet my expectations. I did everything I thought a romantic in Paris should do from the movies I had seen and the books I had read; I walked Rodin’s gardens and visited Camille Claudel’s statue (inspired by the movie Camille Claudel, starring Gerard Depardieu), thinking she was huge in size from the film, only to discover she could almost fit in your arms. At Willi’s Wine Bar, when it first opened, the actress Catherine Deneuve sat two seats from me and I felt as though I was a part of one of her many French films. I drank café au lait and wrote my cathartic coming-of-age memoir in the cafes Hemingway would write in, Aux Deux Magots and Café de Flore, pretending to be a novelist who could handle large doses of caffeine.

I ate dindon and fromage sandwiches in the Jardin du Luxembourg, reading “The Lover” by Marguerite Duras that I bought at The Village Voice bookshop on the Rue de Princess nearby, wishing a beautiful French man with a red scarf and beret would walk up to my bench and strike up conversation. A lot of the time, walking the cobblestone streets in St Germain des Pres, I escaped my loneliness by acting as though I was Juliette Binoche’s character from the Polish director Krzysztof Kieslowski's "three colors" trilogy: Blue, Rouge and Blanc. Still, I was unfulfilled, and it wasn’t until years later that I realized that the idea of romance would never replace the actuality of the moment: I was alone and trying to use Paris like a one-night stand.

Even French food disappointed me. No matter how much I tried to research the best restaurants, bistros, or cafes, I found French food to be too rich for my system. Too much meat, butter and cheese, I guess, and my stomach churned. But I kept trying, trying to make Paris fit my ideal dream. It would work one day, I hoped. My last trip exploring Paris on my own, I dreamed of going back with my husband one day. That is, if I ever met the man who was the perfect right fit for me.

Now I am the wiser. It took years of learning how to discover myself and know myself on my own. It took years to learn that there is a big difference between loneliness and aloneness and to learn the pleasure of being on my own. It took years to realize life is not a movie but reality, a life where there are ups and downs and that I don’t always have to cling to pleasure to have happiness. Adversity and neutrality are a part of the bag to find inner-balance. True relationship is not about how to find romance and having the other complete me, but to see the other as a mirror to learn more about how to be whole.

Going back to Paris with my husband this month, we ate at the same cafes, walked the same streets, visited the same museums and the pressure was off. Paris gets to be who she is, my husband gets to be who he is and I get to be who I am. I forgot most of my French, searched for cafes that serve salads instead of pate brisee, canard confit, boeuf en croute, and coq au vin, and haven’t seen a French movie I have loved in years. I feel inherently blessed and grateful for all that this city has taught me.

Love,
Lynn
http://www.thegameofyou.blogspot.com
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The Manifestors

2010-06-19T21:57:00.000-07:00

Today's Card: The Manifestor

My mother and father always enjoyed their homes together over the course of their lives. Mom put careful detail into the interior design and loved her backyards with trees. About 20 years ago, my father wanted to lesson the upkeep of the garden and they moved into a home with a smaller backyard. Although, Mom learned to love the house this particular home was really Dad’s. At one point, a house came on the market that Mom really wanted: A mid-century contemporary home with small bedrooms but a backyard with a view. Dad wasn’t ready for the design’s limitations or the downsize. So, when Dad passed away a few years ago, it came to little surprise when Mom’s favorite house suddenly came on the market - special delivery from Dad.

During the last two years Mom spent her time creating her new dream by renovating the mid-century home and making it her own. Next week my mother is starting to move into her new home and when I was visiting last weekend I got to see the new house finally finished after a lot of hard work and impeccable attention to detail. Her landscaping and view is incredible. Mom’s trees, squirrels, rabbits and even a fox I hear, skip across the horizon offering playful companionship. All of her kids and grandkids are happy for her but there is no one else happier for Mom than Dad.

When I think of what Mom did to create this dream, I think of the card The Manifestor. In fact, when I wrote about this card I modeled it after a life lesson instilled in me by both of my parents that with determination we can achieve anything we dream:

The Manifestor archetype represents the part within you that has the ability to manifest all that you want to create. You can make whatever you want of your life with your willingness to be responsible, reliable, and committed with integrity. With The Manifestor along your side, envision how you would like a specific life-dream to unfold. Watch your life be filled with joy and ease as you stay on purpose with each action step to achieve your dreams!

My father was also a Manifestor: He manifested a life of generosity, kindness, and success. He manifested smiles on every person’s face he met, he manifested a life of fun, play and abundance, and he manifested, like he said to me on his deathbed, “A life of no regrets”. I aspire to be like my Dad every day and to shine a light as fiercely bright as he did. When I left home last Sunday, I knew it would be my last time visiting this house before Mom moved. So, as my brother was putting our luggage in the car, I ran to Dad’s closet, the closest place to Dad in the house. “Where are you going?” my mother shouted after me as ran down the hall…But then she knew and her eyes filled with tears. I kissed my fingers and pressed them against the closet door’s frame as though there was a mezuzah there, blessing my father, his life, and the gifts he brought us all and ran back to hug my mother good-bye, get into the car, and fly home to continue my life’s journey and create my own dreams.

My father liked all kinds of food, and after EVERYTHING he ate he would declare to the table that it was “really tasty”. He loved to eat, especially, sweet breads, BBQ ribs, bread pudding, and butterscotch pie. Although, vegetables weren’t on the top of his list, his favorite was eggplant. The recipe that follows is an eggplant dip with homemade pita crackers and I imagine my Dad would have loved it before dinner with an Amstel Light beer. So, Dad on Father’s Day, I send this message to you: Know you are always loved and cherished and that I am damn proud to be your daughter.

Roasted Eggplant Dip

2 medium sized Japanese eggplants
1/2 cup store-bought tahini
4 tbsp parsley, chopped
4 tbsp fresh lemon juice
2 cloves of garlic, crushed
Salt and Pepper

1.) Roast the eggplants by putting them straight on the stove top, turning as you go until the skins turn black and cracks and skin flesh gets soft. Lay on a cutting board until cool. Cut lengthwise in half and spoon out meat, discard skins, and place in a medium bowl.

2.) Add tahini, parsley, lemon juice, garlic and season with salt and pepper. Mix together.

Pita Chips

Pita bread
Olive oil
Zahatar Mix (go here for recipe or buy in middle-eastern grocery store)

1.) Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Cut whole pitas in half with a sharp knife. Drizzle olive oil on top and with a brush, spread oil over each half. Shake Zahatar evenly over each half. Cut into triangles and place on a baking sheet. Bake for about 10 minutes or until light brown. Cool on a wire wrack and store in a Ziploc bag until ready to serve.

Love,
Lynn

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Divine Mother

2010-06-14T17:32:00.000-07:00

Today’s Card: Divine Mother

I was at home visiting my mother this weekend and on her desk was a framed picture I had not seen before. It’s a black and white photograph of my mother as an infant cradled in her great-grandmother’s arms. My great-great grandmother, Basho is sitting on a chair and sitting confidently on the chair's arm is my great grandmother, Rose. Behind her is my grandmother, Jean. In each of these woman’s eyes I see such strength and such beauty. I thought to myself, “This is my lineage as a woman” and privately, I cried.

I was fortunate as a child to know my great-grandmother. We ate Shabbos dinner at her house every Friday night and when she passed away the tradition was carried to my grandmother’s house, who died one year before my Bat Mitzvah. It was then, of course my mother carried the tradition of cooking and preparing each week and now, just recently my sister-in-law Gail has enthusiastically taken on this ritual. As a teenager, I rarely attended the Friday night football game on time. But, it was never a problem for me. This traditional Friday night dinner was the heartbeat of my family. It was these women that drew us together and where I gained the strength to be the best woman I can be.

Just this weekend, I was in remarkable awe of my mother - of who she is at 72, after losing her husband (my father) two years ago. Even with the vulnerability of such an incredible loss of a fifty-year partnership, I witness my mother showing up fully to her life, making the most of it, embracing with openness the challenges that come and keeping an amazingly positive spirit. I am proud to be her daughter and proud to be a part of the generation of women who made her who she is today.

If I had a recipe from my great-great grandmother’s files, I most certainly would post it here. Perhaps, a cabbage roll from Russia or a deep red Borscht soup, a reminder of the far and difficult journey they made as immigrants to the middle of the USA. Unfortunately, these recipes have been lost along with the Yiddish I heard around the Shabbos table of my childhood where my great-uncle Joe would tell dirty jokes, so that us kids would not understand. What I can offer is a recipe I fixed earlier this week of Pan Roasted Salmon-and-Bread. I imagine this may be a recipe they would enjoy. It smells of a warm kitchen on a Friday night where family comes together to eat and break bread.

Pan Roasted Salmon-and-Bread
Food & Wine Magazine, Oct. 2009

Serves 4

10-12 oz loaf of ciabatta, cut into 1-inch slices and then into large chunks
5 tbsp, (plus more to drizzle at end) extra virgin olive oil
2 pints grape tomatoes, halved (that’s 2 green baskets full)
2 large garlic cloves, minced
2 tbsp salted capers, rinsed and coarsely chopped
1 lemon, halved lengthwise and very thinly sliced across the short end with rind
1/4 cup chopped flat-leaf parsley
1/2 tsp crushed red pepper
kosher salt and freshly ground pepper
2 pounds center cut skinless salmon fillet, cut into 2-inch chunks

1.) Preheat over to 450 degrees. In a large roasting pan or rimmed cookie sheet, toss the ciabatta chunks with 2 tbsp of the olive oil. Roast for about 5 minutes, until the bread is lightly toasted.

2.) In a large bowl, toss the tomato halves with the garlic, capers, lemon, parsley, crushed red pepper, and 2 tbsp of olive oil; season with salt and pepper. Stir the tomatoes into the toasted bread. Roast for 10-12 minutes, until the tomatoes begin to soften and break down.

3.) Meanwhile, in the same bowl, toss the salmon with the remaining 1 tbsp olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Nestle the salmon into the bread and tomatoes, spooning some of the tomatoes on top. Roast for about 6 minutes and drizzle on more olive oil as needed so that it is not dry. Roast for about 6 minutes, until the salmon is just cooked through. Serve right away.

Love,Lynn

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With Love for My Husband's Family Traditions

2010-06-03T13:51:00.000-07:00

Recently, my husband’s cousins brought up the blog I wrote several months ago about their family’s recipe, prassa. For them and in my-mother-in-law's honor, I wanted to post it again here:

Today’s Card: Surrender

When I drew the card for today, I knew the appropriate recipe to go with the quality of surrender would undoubtedly be the Turkish delicacy of Prassa. As I imagine the time and commitment it would take for the Chinese to make dumplings or the Vietnamese to make spring rolls, or the Indians to make samosas, the equivalent of this time and commitment for the Sephardic Turks would be Prassa.

When I first went to Israel after Shlomi and I were married, his mother prepared an extraordinarily large meal for our celebratory arrival on the eve of Shabbat. Typically the older generation of women in Israel shop on Tuesday and Wednesday of each week and cook all day on Thursday and Friday for their extended family who come together each Friday night. Then, they share the leftovers for the rest of the week. The stand-out dish she made that night were these small, oblong, greenish, fried flat patties. I had never tasted anything like it before and when I asked what they were made of nobody knew how to translate it in English. It took almost a year before I found out the primary ingredient was leeks. I gobbled those savory patties up not realizing what a prize possession they really were.

I never knowingly ate any food that featured leeks before having Prassa. Now, that I am familiar with the lovely, subtle onion taste of these over grown, large scallions, I cook with them all the time, especially in soups. They are also one of the foods my Chinese doctor recommends for good health. Ester prefers to use ground turkey to bind the leeks before frying the patties, but matzo meal can be used instead for a vegetarian version, giving the leek a more prominent flavor.

What I didn’t know as I selfishly devoured the Prassa on the plate that first Shabbat in Israel is that Prassa is an extra special recipe only prepared for holidays, mainly Passover and Rosh Hashana, and on special occasions because of the amount of work it takes. My mother-in-law explained to me that the most difficult part of the process is cleaning the leeks, which hold a lot of dirt and sand in between each of its layers. She washes each part of the leek one-by-one by hand, soaks them in water and refresh several times to assure the grit won’t damage the tender flavor.The last thing you want when biting into this delicate morsel is the crunch of sand.

After the leeks are cleaned, they are boiled in water, put through a meat grinder, squeezed by hand to remove any excess water, then formed into patties and fried. Shlomi remembers as a child, he would complain because his mother gave him the hard job of wringing out the water from the cooked leeks in small bunches with his hands. When I asked Ester to take a day and show me how to cook her ancestor’s recipe for Prassa, I showed her that it is easier to drain the water from the leeks by putting them into a clean dish towel and twisting it into a tight ball. She was impressed by this technique and I think secretly wondered why after all these years she never knew of it, but opted instead to stay true to the conditioned traditional way of using her hands.

Over the years, I have discovered that Prassa is so loved and popular that when the serving plate is passed around the dinner table, everyone takes at least two right at the start because they know most likely once it completes the cycle, there will be none left. Although I know probably no one reading this blog will make this for themselves, (hopefully one person will be a sport - its well worth it!) I want to fully honor Ester's recipe by posting it here.

Prassa

6 leeks
1/2 pound of ground turkey
1 potato
2 tsp pepper
1 tbsp of salt
4 eggs
Flour
1/2 cup canola oil

1.) Wash and clean each leek layer individually. Soak in a bowl for 1/2 hour, and refresh several times as needed until there is no more grit in the bottom of the bowl.

2.) Cut potato into quarters and put in 4-5 cups of boiling water. Add leeks, stir and cover with water as needed to keep them immersed. Keep at a boil until leeks get soft.

3.) Put leeks and potato in a strainer and let cool. Shake the strainer to help let heat release. Separate potato out. Then, in small bunches twist water completely out of leeks with your hands (or twist each bunch in a clean dish towel) until you feel all the moisture release.

4.) Process leeks in a food processor (Ester uses a meat grinder) until it becomes mushy. Take the leeks out, put in a mixing bowl and then, process potato until mashed, only a few seconds. Put potato with the leeks in the bowl, add 2 tsp of pepper, 1 tbsp of salt, 2 eggs, and ground turkey. Mix well with your hands.

5.) In a small bowl, beat 2 eggs with 1/4 cup of water. Spread flour out on a plate or cutting board. Roll leek mixture in your hands to form small egg-shape balls and press gently to flatten. Shape all the patties first and press each side in the flour before frying. Then, dip each patty into the beaten egg and fry in the oil on medium heat. Let cool and serve.

Love,
Lynn

http://www.thegameofyou.blogspot.com
http://www.lynnzavaro.com

Productive Broccoli

2010-05-30T20:55:00.000-07:00

Today’s Card: Productivity

I’ve been very busy editing The Game of You book for my editor this week. I am really enjoying the process and am super excited about the book and card deck set coming out on its release date (November, 28th 2010 if China produces on time!) It’s a dream come true. The accumulation of a lot of hard work and a load of creative fun over the last four years is finally coming into fruition!

People have been asking me how The Game of You came about. We never know why something happens in the way it does and this is one of those stories that still surprises me… I intuitively knew I needed a structure in which to organize the many teachings and tools I had learned over the years, but was unsure for some time what my teaching system would be. Then, one day, I was bike riding with my husband on Venice Beach, tried to jump a curve thinking I was still 12 years old, and fell off my bike, hitting the back of my head against a car bumper and then, the asphalt. I had a pretty severe concussion and the doctor said I would need to lay low for a few months. During this down time, I remembered a fun project I started almost a decade ago to learn the Tarot. Even though the Tarot has a strange connotation connected to it like a woman in a headdress, staring over a crystal ball in a dark room, I had fun using it here-and-there as a method to receive insight and feedback on my present circumstances. So, after the bike accident, all I wanted to do was to study the Tarot and see how, after much more life experience it resonated with me. I thought it was a strange way to spend my time but something larger than me was guiding me. And one day, out of the blue – I got it – I could use its basic structure yet, apply it to a more modern, and contemporary approach in order to support people to know themselves and create the life they want in present time! Plus, the game aspect of the cards added fun, it was a good way to break down the teachings and I could paint the cards!! Thus, The Game of You was born, and I was off on a creative journey that continues to fill my heart and give me joy every day.

Since, I have been so busy there hasn’t been a lot of time to cook. I recently bought a new cookbook called, The Cancer Fighting Kitchen, because I liked the healthy and easy recipes in it. I’m always looking for recipes that are simple, fresh and support vitality and health. So, I tried this fast and easy broccoli recipe the other night and it came out quite tasty. It gives the broccoli (as the book advertises) a nourishing, big-flavor taste and would make a good side dish or even a light meal with brown rice. The author, Rebecca Katz, writes that many broccoli dishes have no chemistry but that this is a “sprightly” crowd that is full of anti-inflammatories and other anti-cancer properties. She says, that broccoli and tomatoes in tandem can have a synergistic effect, pumping up each others ability to fight cancer. When researchers combined tomato and broccoli, they discovered that their cancer-fighting capabilities were more powerful because their active compounds work together to accomplish more than what each could do on its own. This recipe is supposed to be beneficial during chemo treatments as well.

Basil Broccoli

1 bunch of broccoli
(slows or inhibits cancer growth)

Sea salt
(appetite stimulant, contains numerous essential minerals like calcium, magnesium, and potassium, unlike table salt which is stripped of minerals – helps if things taste like cardboard during chemo)

2 tbsp olive oil
(anti-inflammatory, antibacterial)

1 tbsp chopped garlic
(anti-inflammatory, antimicrobial, antibacterial)

Pinch of red pepper flakes
(appetite stimulant, digestion aid, anti-inflammatory, antibacterial – omit if you have mouth sores))

1/2 cup diced tomatoes
(contains lycopene, combined with olive oil it reduces risk of cancer)

1 Tbsp lemon juice
(anti-inflammatory, antimicrobial, promotes cell death in cancer cells – helps if things taste too sweet, if you have a metallic taste or things taste too salty during chemo)

1/4 cup chopped basil
(digestion aid, anti-inflammatory, antimicrobial, antibacterial, NF-kB regulator, protect from oxygen damage from free radicals)

1.) Bring large pot of water to boil. Cut the broccoli florets off the stalk, peel the stems, and cut into bite sized pieces. Add a pinch of salt and the broccoli to the pot of water and blanch for 30 seconds to a minute. Drain the broccoli, run it under cold water to stop the cooking process and help retain its lush color.

2.) Heat the olive oil in a sauté pan over medium heat, then add garlic and red pepper flakes and sauté for 30 seconds, just until aromatic. Add the tomatoes and a pinch of salt for an additional minute. Stir in the broccoli florets and 1/4 tsp of salt and sauté for 2 minutes, the broccoli should still be firm. Gently stir in the lemon juice at the last minute (or the lemon will dampen the color of the broccoli), add the lemon zest, and basil and serve immediately.

Love,Lynn

http://www.thegameofyou.blogspot.com

http://www.lynnzavaro.com

Oy! Said The Mother

2010-05-23T20:44:00.000-07:00

Today’s Card: Earthly Mother

The Earthly Mother card is about offering yourself the love, protection and nourishment you deserve. Self-loving is really what this card is all about. And although, most of us have a solid foundation of self-loving, there are always ways we can go deeper into our hearts and be more gentle and patient with ourselves, to perhaps be a bit more aware of our needs, and to pay extra attention to how we may better support ourselves. The Tool for this card is about choosing a person in your life that you would like to nurture or if you feel you may need a bit of extra attention right now, the person you choose to nurture could be you.

This week, I started my own self-nurturing project. And since this blog is also about food, I have to admit that my nurturing project is focused on getting into better shape and losing weight. I know… it’s not nice manners to talk about our weight. God knows I heard my mother say that to my father many times. During meals, he would bring the subject of calories up and it drove my mother crazy. I think the real reason my father liked to talk about them was because he enjoyed taking care of himself, staying fit, thin, and healthy. He was very disciplined in taking care of his body, worked out consistently, and he carefully watched what he ate. So, I believe he liked talking about it because he was proud of his accomplishments. Regardless, I have learned from my mother that this subject is an inappropriate one and God only knows what she is thinking as she is reading this blog: “Oy!” I can hear her say out loud, “She’s not writing about her weight?!?”But the Earthly Mother is guiding me right now to be upfront and honest about how I can take better care of myself and love myself more. I will definitely feel better when I get into better shape and lose a few extra pounds. And perhaps, announcing this will give me the extra push I need.

The tricky part about going on a diet is continuing to cook interesting food. At this moment, my diet consists of a basic protein, vegetables, and brown rice and that could make for a boring blog. (Or maybe not because I actually have a lot of delicious healthy recipes under my belt.) We’ll see what happens…Today’s recipe may look tasteless and boring in the picture but in all actuality it’s full of flavor and has become my favorite comfort food. My mother-in-law cooks these great koftes (small meat patties made with turkey meat) that she fries in oil. They get crispy on the outside and are tender and juicy on the inside. They are SO scrumptious. I first tried this recipe hoping it would taste something like hers even though I didn’t fry them and they still turned out swell. The secret to this recipe is a spoon full of sugar… Shhhh… Don’t tell anyone. It takes the bitterness out of the vegetables and makes them super yummy. I’ll still lose the weight, I am sure.

Chicken Patties with Swiss Chard, Leeks, and Celery
Fresh Flavors From Israel cookbook

The Sauce:
3 Tbsp olive oil
2 leeks (white part only), cut into large chunks
1 bunch celery (stalks and leaves), cut coarsely
1 bunch Swiss chard (stalks and leaves), cut coarsely
1 Tbsp sugar
1/2 cup fresh lemon juice
2 cups clear organic chicken stock
Salt and pepper

The Patties:
1lb of ground organic chicken
1 egg yolk
2 Tbsp breadcrumbs
Salt and pepper
1 Tsp dried coriander (optional)

Serve over brown rice if you desire or on its own

1.) Prepare the sauce: Heat the oil in a large wide saucepan and sauté leeks for 5 minutes, stirring frequently. Add the celery and Swiss chard and continue sautéing for 5 minutes more. Add sugar, lemon juice, and chicken broth, season with salt and pepper, and cook on low heat until the vegetables are tender, about 15 minutes.

2.) Prepare the patties: While the sauce is cooking, mix the ingredients for the patties and knead well. Form small patties (half the size of the palm of your hand), slide into the sauce, and cook over low heat for about 30 minutes. Turn off the heat and wait 10 minutes before serving.

Love,Lynn

http://www.thegameofyou.blogspot.com

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Easy and Enjoyable

2010-05-17T19:30:00.000-07:00

Today’s Card: Integrate

It’s been a few weeks since my meditation retreat and as always it takes time for me to integrate. I try to not spend too much time reviewing the details when I get home and just allow the energy of the experience to download into my body over a period of time. I am never sure exactly what it is that creates a shift in me, which insight out of the many I receive that my mind and body incorporate, but there is always a shift, a purification of some sorts, a deep let go towards balance. This retreat came easy for me this year for some reason and for that I am grateful. Sometimes, after a retreat there is a moment of contraction, or a reaction pattern grows bigger before my consciousness allows it to “pop”, but the last two weeks I have remained even. In reflection this morning, I looked through my notebook from the retreat and found this note to myself:

“When you are stuck or fixated in the mind: Stay light; keep a sense of humor; see the good and goodness in everyone; focus on what you are grateful for right now; see how much deeper you can love; forgive; move on; let up; take it easy; don’t be so serious; get things done but do it gently, easily, sweetly, kindly, magnificently; skip; shake it out; take a brisk walk; move the energy; get out in the sun for a bit; giggle; wink; let it out; give it up; give it away; drop it for now; open to all the senses; go outside and open your view to include the entire expanse of the sky; let your body relax, and let the moment that just was move through you.”

The tool for the card Integrate is to relax and enjoy. During a time of integration it is best not to do anything big, make any huge moves or enforce any major decisions. It is entirely possible to go about our day calm, content and happy. So, today’s recipe is about doing something relaxed and easy. These fast, tasty chicken tostadas inspired by a recipe in Bon Appetit magazine, use fresh, healthy store bought ingredients. They are fun to eat and I think, beautiful on a platter - a nice and easy way to offer lunch or a light dinner for friends to be enjoyed by all.

Chicken Tostadas
4 servings

1 1/3 cups leftover Organic rotisserie chicken, shredded
1 cup Amy’s organic black beans
4 purchased corn tostada shells
1 cup
1 cup sliced romaine
1/2 cup chopped seeded tomatoes
12 avocado slices
1/2 cup crumbled feta cheese
Hot sauce, olive oil, and red wine vinegar for drizzling
Lime wedges

1.) Warm up beans and spread over tostada shells. Top with chicken, tomato, avocado, and cheese, dividing equally. Drizzle lightly with hot sauce, olive oil, and vinegar; serve with lime wedges.

Love,
Lynn

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A Happiness List

2010-05-08T20:30:00.000-07:00

Today’s Card: The Intellect

I’m a Virgo and a list person. If you are a Virgo you probably know what I am talking about. Most Virgo’s are list people. There’s something so satisfying and complete about writing an organized list that sometimes just the act of writing the list makes me feel like I completed each of the action steps on the list before actually doing them. So, when I was on my meditation retreat I decided to write a list of easy step-by-step guidelines for me to shift into happiness in a potential future moment of sadness, stuckness or frustration. It was my hope that I could remember the connection of happiness I was feeling on the retreat and how I got there by referring to this list. Ah… if it was only so simple. But actually, in all honesty, it is. These things on this list are so easy, so simple, so subtle that they can get overlooked, especially by me who has the habit at times of getting so caught up in my mood I can’t stop - as my Southern friend, Jane used to say - “Starin’ at my own belly button.”

The Intellect represents the archetype within you that uses the intelligence of your mind as if you are a scientist examining your own life. You can use your mind as a tool to bring mindfulness to what you do, sharpening your attention to its fullest in order to create happiness. Some of these items on this list if looked at briefly seem so obvious and mundane that you might not give them their due. Or maybe you give them a good ol’ try but realize you are half-hazardly faking it or being a hypocrite. I guess many of the items on this list just clicked for me in a new way over the retreat and I “got it” – it took me years – but hey what’s a kid to do who likes to spend her free time sitting in a darkened room meditating?

10 Ways To Achieve Happiness

1.) Relax & Drop Tension: Come to know relaxation by choosing to relax and drop your own tension. Drop your shoulders. Just let your body ease let the tension drop out.

2.) Be Generous: Wish for the well-being and happiness for others, those closest to you, those in your farthest circle, those who are neutral to you and even, if you can, those that are difficult to you.

3.) Smile: Learn to appreciate other’s joy and practice smiling for others, not only does it make you feel good, they feel appreciated.

4.) Concentrate: Learn the power of applied attention on a task and develop full concentration on the object you are focused on. This gives you a strong foundation to stand on and to grow outwards in unlimited energy.

5.) Accept Suffering and Pain: Have the willingness to accept your suffering in order to know your happiness. By knowing the root of your pain and why it is there you will open the doorway to being happy.

6.) Know Your Values: Once you know your values and stand by them feelings are no longer more important that these values.

7.) Be Gentle, Warm and Patient: Be patient with your weaknesses, place any self-judgment, fear, guilt, regret, etc. into your heart and surround it with gentle, warm, loving light.

8.)Understand Freedom Comes With Responsibility: Come to understand the principle that freedom is found in responsibility. This responsibility is the container to hold you securely. Within this structure you will then have the freedom to let go, without it you will be flailing.

9.) See Life and Its Ups and Downs as Fleeting: Everything is leaving, always ceasing, always going out, and always ending. See life as an adventure as you learn in each moment to let go of the moment that just happened.

10.) Let Go Of Having To Get What You Want Right Now: Recognize that suffering comes with the need to get what you want when you want it. Know that preference is OK because you are human but suffering is relieved when you are detached from having to receive what you want right now.

Here’s a recipe that's called Green Soup. It has a long list of yummy, healthy ingredients and when blended together makes green happiness soup. It’s hearty and robust with a smoky hint from the mushrooms, chalk full of healthy greens, and is perfect in my opinion for a lovely happy-filled spring night.

Green Soup
Love Soup by Anna Thomas

1 bunch chard or kale
1 bunch spinach
1 potato
1 1/2 tsp sea salt, plus more to taste
3 tbsp olive oil
2 yellow onions, chopped
1 large leek, white and light green parts sliced
8 oz portobello or other brown mushroom
2-3 garlic cloves, minced
1/4 tsp dried thyme
2 tbsp Marsala or dry sherry
3 cups Swanson canned broth diluted with one cup water
1-2 tbsp fresh lemon juice
freshly ground pepper
cayenne

1.) Wash the chard or kale and spinach well and cut the chard or kale off its thick stems. Coarsely shop greens and combine with diced potato in a large soup pot with 4 cups water and a tsp of salt. Bring to a boil, lower heat, and simmer.

2.) Meanwhile, heat 2 tbsp oil in a nonstick pan and add the chopped onions with a big pinch of salt. Cook over medium to low heat until they soften, about 10 minutes. Add leek and continue cooking until the onions and leek are golden brown, about a half hour.

3.) Clean and chop mushrooms. Heat remaining 1 tbsp olive oil in pan, throw garlic in for one minute, add mushrooms, with a dash of salt and thyme and saute stirring often until mushrooms are sizzling and browning. Figure around 15 minutes. Sprinkle the Marsala or Sherry over the mushrooms and stir until it cooks away.

4.) Add mushrooms and onions and leek to the soup after deglazing the pans with a little broth. Simmer for 10 minutes. Add vegetable broth (for a thicker broth add half) and then puree in a blender or with an immersion blender. Add lemon juice, salt and pepper as desired.

Love
Lynn

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Makes-Me-Happy Dessert

2010-04-21T23:41:00.000-07:00

Today’s Card: Solitude

Each year for the past many years, I attend a two-week meditation retreat with my Tibetan Buddhist teacher at the Zen Mountain Center on the top of Mt. Baldy. This year’s retreat begins tonight and I have been looking forward to all year. Really. It may sound crazy or weird that I actually look forward to it and count the days, but I do, and not because it’s always an easy, blissful time – on some days it’s very difficult - but because I always grow to a deeper level in myself, I always have profound insight, I always have layers within me that are ready to uplift and leave and this makes me happy.

Each retreat is different, so I go in without expectation. There are some things I can expect however, like the structure of the day: The bell wakes us every morning at 5:30 to sit. I change into fresh clothes the night before, so that I can bear the cold morning and go straight to the darkened Zendo to meditate as the sun rises. At 8:00 we eat breakfast, and do karma yoga, which entails some sort of clean up work on the property or help in the kitchen (I always hope I will get the latter) We have a dharma talk at 9:30 and then sit again from 10:30 to 1:00. Then, we have lunch and an hour free to shower (Hopefully in warmth! The bathrooms are outside and it is snowing up there now) before meditating again at 3-5:30ish. We eat a light dinner and begin sitting again at 7:00 ending our night at 9:00 to get a good night’s rest for the following morning. This structure gives me the support system I need to let go of having to do anything or think of anything else, because I know how my day will unfold, I am supported, and I can give-in to the meditation practice.

Sometimes, there is a time when we all need to retreat, to pull ourselves out of the commotion and stress of the everyday world and go within. Solitude is a powerful and profound time to deeply develop a relationship with our inner-selves. There are many opportunities now in Western culture to go on spiritual retreat. The tool for the Solitude card is to plan one for yourself. If you feel it is not possible to plan a retreat right now, then create one at home. Perhaps, for the weekend turn off the phones and tv, don’t write e-mails; let people know you are taking some time off. Do what you need to do to have the experience of retreat and meet yourself within. Retreats like these give you energy and self-awareness to continue with your busy and hectic life. Sometimes, retreats may be forced upon us. Our bodies or health may ask us to stop “doing” and to learn how to let ourselves “be”.

In honor of the retreat I am offering a simple, yet delightful desert to serve for a special occasion that takes very little effort yet, produces awesome smiles and bliss. Today’s recipe is something that always makes others and me happy and just like the retreat, I always look forward to it.

Chocolate Covered Strawberries

Big, fresh, strawberries
55% Valharona chocolate chopped or in small pieces
Bamboo or wood skewers
Short jar or vase

1.) Wash and dry strawberries very well on paper towels. (Chocolate will not adhere unless the strawberries are super dry) Fill a short jar or vase with sugar. Put a skewer through the top of each strawberry (through green stem) and stop right before it comes out the other end. Place skewers in jar or vase with the sugar to hold the strawberries upright before dipping. (This is to insure the strawberries won’t bump each other after dipping.)

2.) Heat a double broiler (a pot with a few inches of water boiling in it with a metal bowl on top of the pot). When water is boiling, place half the chocolate into the metal bowl and stir slowly until melted. Then, add remaining half of chocolate. Pick strawberries up by their skewers and dip into chocolate, placing carefully back into the sugar vase. When finished, put in the refrigerator to cool before serving.

Love,
Lynn

http://www.thegameofyou.blogspot.com
http://www.lynnzavaro.com

Lombard, Love, and Lemon Cucumbers

2010-04-16T10:26:00.000-07:00

Today’s Card: Earthly Mother

Spring is in full bloom in California and it tickles me to see the Japanese maples spread to expansion and the red, pink and yellow roses opening in our garden. It’s not too hot but not too cold and the summer haze has yet to set in, leaving us with clear blue skies for the next two months before June gloom. (Usually in June near the Pacific, a marine layer moves in, causing overcast and cold mornings, burning off by mid-day.) Spring signifies re-birth, a time of renewal and I feel inspired, positive and enthusiastic for what is to come.

As I was flipping through my Red Book, (where I keep the recipes I tear from magazines that entice me), looking for something to take for hors d’ouerves to a party, I realized that I like to collect recipes for dips. There is something so fun about picking up healthy, feel good ingredients with my fingers and scooping up something creamy and delicious into it. As I was thinking about the inspiration of spring, I was called to make a Green Goddess Dip with Crudités. This creamy, herby dip is a take-off of the dressing invented at the historic Palace Hotel in San Francisco in the 1920's in honor of William Archer's hit play The Green Goddess. This dressing is very popular, especially in California and I thought this take-off would be appropriate to celebrate spring in California with friends. How perfect it was with a glass of white wine as we watched the sun set over the Malibu coast together.

I remember my very first trip to San Francisco as a child in the 70’s. We visited our cousins who lived there and they offered the whole Northern California experience. Cousin Ron took us on a speedy one-way ride in his green VW van with the sliding side door open as he masterfully turned the curvy corners down Lombard Street. Like a fun amusement park ride, I feared for my life, thinking I was going to fly out the opened door. I remember being in their kitchen that overlooked the Golden State Bridge and Cousin Ron taking out a lemon cucumber from their basket of vegetables and fruits they got at the farmer’s market that day, slicing it raw and handing me a piece to eat with my fingers. It was described to me as a cucumber in the shape of a lemon and for some reason I loved its weirdness and never forgot it. I have yet to see a lemon cucumber in person again, but finally after all this time of wondering if they existed or if they were a figment of my childhood imagination, I researched them today. Evidently they have been in the markets in San Francisco (as well as in Israel oddly enough) in late summer since 1894 and evidently is a cucumber that resembles a lemon but is slightly sweeter than other cucumbers. (Go here for more) The trip to Northern California as well as the lemon cucumber was completely alien to me as a Native Oklahoman, but I was completely in awe of it as a child. I have spent a lot of time up there painting in workshops the last fifteen years and every time I paint, for some reason, I think of our delightful cousins, my childhood trip there, and when in the future I will taste a lemon cucumber again.

The Earthly Mother is the archetype that represents the earth, fertility, nature and physical health. Her femininity is ripe, full, and ready to give birth to all things. So, in celebration of spring, I ask: What are you ready to give birth to? What new, fun, and creative thing is ripe within you and ready to bloom? The Earthly Mother teaches us how to love with a wide expansive heart, feet rooted to the earth. What is it that you love? Even if small or ordinary, ask yourself, “What is one thing I could do today that I love?”

Crudités with Green Goddess Dip
(Ingredients inspired by a recipe in Bon Appetite magazine, but it’s important to add and taste as you go)

4 tbsp fresh lemon juice
6 anchovy fillets
2 medium shallots, coarsely chopped
1 tbsp champagne vinegar (or white wine vinegar)
1 garlic clove, peeled
1 large ripe avocado, peeled, pitted, and quartered
1/2 cup + 2 tbsp sour cream
1/4 cup fresh Italian parsley
3 tbsp chopped fresh tarragon
1/4 cup fresh basil
1/2 cup olive oil
Salt and pepper

Crudités: (your pick)
30 cooked shrimp, peeled, tails left in tact
Heads of green, white or red Belgian endive, trimmed and leaves separated
Easter egg radishes, trimmed, with some tops still attached
Heirloom baby carrots, peeled, trimmed, with some tops attached
Persian or Japanese cucumbers cut into 1/2 spears
Sugar snap peas, trimmed
Red, yellow, and orange bell peppers, cut into 1/2 strips
Fennel, halved, and sliced thinly

1.) Combine lemon juice, anchovies, shallots, vinegar, and garlic in a processor. Blend until shallot and garlic are finely chopped. Add avocado, sour cream, parsley, tarragon, and basil, blend until smooth.

2.) With machine running, add olive oil through feed tube in thin stream. Transfer dip to a small bowl; season to taste with salt and pepper. Place bowl of dip on large platter. Surround with vegetables. Can be made 1 day ahead. Cover and chill.

Love,
Lynn

http://www.thegameofyou.blogspot.com
http://www.lynnzavaro.com

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Fry Fanatic

2010-04-09T13:55:00.000-07:00

Today’s Card: Judgment

There were so many times over the course of my “cooking life” when I looked at a recipe and thought I couldn’t do it or that it was too hard to do. Sometimes it was warranted. The recipe just seemed too complicated yet I would judge myself for not being apt enough in the kitchen before even trying. I have friends who feel very resistant towards cooking and I have a lot of compassion for them. I understand their plight. And at the same time, I want to say to them: Don’t judge - just cook! Just show up and cook and slowly you will gain mastery over your favorite dishes.

Judgment is a mental process that typically comes into being to protect feelings of vulnerability, hurt or fear. It is a great gift to become aware of our judgments because our judgments help us to see ourselves in new light and grow. I’m not sure why cooking is such a vulnerable thing, which is why it fascinates me so much to use it as the focus of my blog in conjunction with The Game of You teachings. There are so many ways our minds judge. We worry about how the food will turn out, if it will be successful or not, if the ones we are cooking for will enjoy it. We have performance anxiety at times, asking our guests to taste the pot on the stove before serving. We question our seasoning, we fret at the store, we are unsure as to what meals to plan, and re-write shopping lists all with the hope that our guests will find their meal inviting and good. I often wonder if other people experience the cooking process differently than this and desire to know of them, watch them and learn.

One of my favorite foods is French fries. I wouldn’t fry them at home because the idea of cleaning up all the grease turns me off and somehow if I don’t physically see the vat of oil that they are frying in, I feel better eating them. I tried baking them once or twice before and they turned into dry little sticks with no flavor. Once, I resorted to buying Orieda Tater Tots in the freezer section, my favorite potatoes as a kid, only to discover that now as an adult they are tasteless little things and disappointed my husband whose mother had no fear frying fries all the time when he was a child. But last weekend, we had a BBQ for friends and made kebabs, and even though delicious, kebabs are just lonely little meat turds without fries next to them. So, I found a recipe I clipped out some time ago for baked fries and attempted to make them again. They were ridiculously easy to do and I was very relaxed in the doing of it. In fact, 20 minutes through the cooking process I realized that I had put them in too early, so I used a trick I learned from my sister-in-law the weekend before, took them out half-way through, covered them with foil and put them back into the oven to finish 20 minutes before we sat down. (For a moment I judged myself for not knowing that one could do this, and am somewhat embarrassed to admit to that here - ha!) They came out hot, and fresh, fluffy in the center, and fantastically crunchy on the edges. They were the star of the meal. And at the end of the BBQ, when everyone was having their coffee, I managed to finish the remaining fries in the bowl all by myself, so proud of my endeavors.

Oven Fries with Coriander
From Bon Appetit Magazine

Nonstick olive oil spray
2 pounds unpeeled russet potatoes (about 3 large) scrubbed, cut lengthwise into 1/2-inch sticks
2 tbsp olive oil
1 1/2 tbsp coriander
1 tsp dried thyme
coarse kosher salt and pepper

1.) Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Spray large rimmed baking sheet with non-stick spray. Toss potatoes with olive oil, coriander, and thyme in a large bowl.

2.) Transfer to prepared sheet, spreading in a single layer. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Place in third top of the oven and bake until golden, occasionally turning with spatula, about 40 minutes. Season to taste with salt and pepper and serve.

Love,
Lynn

http://www.thegameofyou.blogspot.com
http://www.lynnzavaro.com

To play a free sample game go to: www.gameofyou.com

Freedom to Fail

2010-04-05T15:41:00.000-07:00

Today’s Card: Perspective

This last week I wanted to make to make my first Passover cake, but I was intimidated by the cookbook author’s opening paragraph for the recipe: “Baking delicious Passover cakes is a challenge. The traditional solution is to use a combination of nuts and a small amount of matzo meal and/or cornstarch. The following cake has no flour substitutes at all, only finely ground almonds and coarsely ground pistachio nuts for extra crunch, and flavor.”

I wanted to make this cake in honor of Passover but also for a dinner party with friends last Saturday night because the group was mostly non-gluten eaters. Admittedly, I was resistant and a bit scared to make the recipe, especially because I am not a seasoned baker. Putting it off for the last minute, I feared failure. In a rush between social obligations, I went to the grocery store to buy the ingredients on Saturday afternoon, which took a half hour just to check out because of Easter shoppers. Then, our standing mixer was broken so Shlomi suggested we use our new hand-held infusion blender instead to mix the sugar and eggs into stiff peeks. In true fashion, we sprayed sticky white paste all over the walls and appliances on the counter. We started all over with new eggs and sugar this time on the other counter to avoid the appliances, and of course, sprayed it all over us and the opposite wall again. Short for time, I could have panicked, but instead I remembered the teaching of the Perspective card:

Ask yourself these open-ended questions to experience the freedom of your creative nature: “What if I could be free?” or “What if there was nothing to lose?” or “What if it didn’t matter if I failed or not?” By asking open-ended questions like these you initiate new perspectives and have a 360-degree view.

So we kept a sense of humor and tried yet another batch of eggs and sugar. On the third time, we handled the mixer with utmost care, and formed peeks, still questioning if it was in fact the “right” stiffness. Together, we followed the recipe as best as we could, poured the batter into the well-greased loaf pan and baked for 40 minutes. When the buzzer went off, the cake still jiggled at the top, so I let it bake 20 minutes more. When I put a toothpick in, it came out dry with a few crumbs adhering. We let it cool some, and when we turned it upside down, the cake fell apart into globs of chocolaty cake mess.

I remembered in my high school yearbook, under my senior picture I wrote the quote, “Dare to fail brilliantly.” I loved this quote back then and love it just as much now. To follow my inner-teenager’s guidance, I confidently dumped the “cake” into a large bowl. Shlomi and I tasted it with a spoon and thought it would be wonderfully delicious warm with vanilla ice cream, regardless of its form. He suggested the blog should be entitled “Freedom to Fail” in honor of Passover, since the holiday of Passover remembers the story of the Jews who were released from slavery in Egypt and walked for many days through the parting of the Red Sea to Israel. Jews ate matzo, or unleavened bread, because there was not enough time for the bread to rise as they escaped to freedom. Appropriately to tradition, my Passover cake did not rise. Today, we can apply these biblical teachings to freeing ourselves from inner-slavery. The slavery that our mind imposes that tells us we shouldn’t do something because we might fail, or the slavery of our mind that creates resistance because it fears what we desire to attempt might not be good enough, or the slavery of the mind’s incessant need to strive for perfection. In true freedom, we find space in our mind and open to new perspectives.

In the end, we managed to come to the party without being empty handed, and it seemed the warm cake-mess topped with vanilla ice cream was still really enjoyed by our friends.

(In hindsight, I think I didn’t use enough eggs, which may have been the reason for it falling apart, but I still don’t know. Here is the recipe if you would like to try it and if it comes out all in one piece, I would love to know how you did it.)

Flourless Chocolate and Pistachio Cake
From The Book of New Israeli Food

For one loaf pan:
2 eggs
2 egg yolks
1/2 cup + 1 tablespoon sugar
1 1/2 cups pistachios, coarsely ground
1 tbsp cocoa powder
3/4 cup almonds, finely ground
3/4 cup chocolate chips
2 egg whites
1 1/2 tbsp melted butter

1.) Preheat oven to 310 degrees. Beat the eggs and the egg yolks in a mixer with 3 oz of the sugar to a thick and fluffy cream.

2.) Add the pistachio nuts, almonds, cocoa powder, and chocolate chips, and mix to a smooth batter.

3.) Beat the 2 egg whites with the remaining sugar to soft peaks and fold in the nut and egg mixture. Stir in the melted butter.

4.) Pour the batter into a well-greased pan and bake for about 40 minutes, until a toothpick comes out dry with a few crumbs adhering. Serve at room temperature.

Love,
Lynn

http://www.thegameofyou.blogspot.com
http://www.lynnzavaro.com

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A Walk In Nature

2010-03-23T13:33:00.000-07:00

Today's Card: Nature

Spring is here! I know in many areas of the country there is still snow on the ground. I can only wonder how strange it is to have daylight savings time when it still feels like winter. But here in Los Angeles, we are getting spring full throttle. When the weather is like this it makes living in Los Angeles all worthwhile.

The tool that comes with the card “Nature” in The Game of You is to take a walk in nature. As you walk slowly and respectfully, look at all of the nature - really see it. Ask yourself, “Can I see new plants growing with the old? How long do I think it took for the nature to grow here?” Observe yourself as you witness nature and appreciate its growth and timing. How can you compare this natural experience to your life? How are you just like the flower that is growing on the path?

I remember Natalie Goldberg, my first writing teacher, stressing how important it is to take walks for our creativity. She and Julie Cameron, author of The Artist’s Way (I believe there was a period of time when they both took walks together) say that mindful walks support our creativity by relieving the mind, giving it space as we connect to nature, and gets our feet moving.

In my mid-20’s I was going through a big transition, having just given up acting, I had no idea of what I wanted, and no direction. But I was creative, and my creativity kept me going, kept a part of me awake. One of the things I loved to do back then was journal. One day, after journaling at the cafe, The Bourgeois Pig in Los Angeles, I stopped by a small bookstore that was next door. Next to the cash register I found Natalie Goldberg’s book, Wild Mind. Within 48 hours I had finished it, and fell in love with Natalie’s personal stories, her loving encouragement of her readers to write, and her beloved tool of writing practice. That weekend, as fate would have it, I saw an ad in the Los Angeles Times: Natalie was joining a panel of writers (including beat poet, Allen Ginsberg) at a day conference in Santa Monica the following week. When she spoke at the conference, I sensed I knew her some how; I experienced a familiarity, a feeling of coming home. At the conference she advertised her next workshop in Taos, New Mexico and I signed up.

After my first five-day workshop in Taos with her, I visited Santa Fe. Totally unexpectedly, Natalie phoned me and asked if I was available to meet her at Downtown Subscriptions, a local coffee shop near Canyon Road. We didn’t know each other personally and I was touched by the offer. She suggested we take a walk following the Acequia Madre, an irrigation creek that ran parallel to Canyon Road.

“Do you know what these trees are called?” Natalie asked me.

“No.” I shook my head. The high New Mexican desert was as foreign to me as Mars.

“These are pinions, chimayos, sage brush … that’s the smell of cedar burning in the air and the white pollen is falling from the cottonwood. If you want to be a writer, it’s important to know the names of things.”

I listened attentively but was still curious as to why she reached out to me, why we were taking this walk in the first place, why she was telling me the names of trees.

“I was thinking you might want to come to New Mexico. Move here to live and write. Take my workshops. Join my writing group I’m starting at my home. I was thinking you might even want to come now in time for my workshop next month.”

This took me aback. Why would she ask me to do this? Did she notice my sense of feeling lost in my writing? She was clearly offering me a direction: A crazy leap of faith.

I flew back to LA, packed up my apartment, and moved to Santa Fe. I rented an adobe on a small dirt road right off that Acequia Madre. I attended all of Natalie’s workshops, driving the one and a half hours to Taos once a week for writing groups in her Earthship sustainable home on the mesa north of town. We would write, read, and do walking meditation. What I didn’t know then, but is so acutely obvious to me now, is that I was beginning my spiritual journey - a journey that is still continuing and is filled with personal transformation, growth, and expansion. It was also the beginning of my learning tools to help others and myself to use our creativity to create exactly the life we want.

For many years, Natalie’s tool of writing practice became a way of life for me. I wrote and wrote every day as much as I could. I didn’t realize at the time that I was beginning to take the steps to develop mindfulness; and I didn’t know then that Natalie (who is now an ordained Zen practitioner) was teaching the Buddhist dharma through her creative writing practice.

Today’s recipe is a Simple Spring Slaw, inspired from a recipe from the cookbook, Tomato Blessings and Radish Teachings. I have used a recipe once from this author before. Edward Espe Brown is a Zen monk and also uses cooking as a tool for mindfulness. He uses simple, fresh ingredients and through them we can practice to discover the extraordinary in the ordinary.

Simple Spring Slaw

1/2 head large Napa cabbage or 1 small
1/2 tsp to 1 tsp Salt
3 navel oranges
1/4 cup fresh mint, chopped

1.) Cut the cabbage in half and cut out the core. Cut crosswise on the diagonal into fairly thin slices. Put in a bowl, and sprinkle on a bit of salt, 1/4 tsp. at a time Work it into the cabbage, wait a few minutes then toss it in a salad spinner to get rid of excess water.

2.) Cut the peel off the oranges, section them and remove the membranes. (To see how to do this go to this blog)

3.) Mix together the cabbage, oranges, and mint.

Love,
Lynn

http://www.thegameofyou.blogspot.com
http://www.lynnzavaro.com

To get a *free* Game of You reading go to: www.gameofyou.com

A Good Honest Try

2010-03-18T18:41:00.001-07:00

Today’s Card: Learning

If you saw my library, you wouldn’t believe how many books on self-help, spirituality, creativity, and psychology I have collected over the last 20 years. It’s kind of funny, but they are organized into sections like in a bookstore: A section on Buddhism, on creative writing, my masters program psychology text books, yoga, shamanism, astrology, and the sections go on and on… My process of buying a book is usually an intuitive one and it always astonishes me how perfectly it meets the moment I am in; when an “aha” of clarity jumps off the page, and a new found sense of momentary self-awareness presents itself to me. And several times in some very important transitions on my life path, a book that inspired me led me remarkably to it’s author with whom I was fortunate enough to meet in person, study with, and befriend. I outline the books as I read, filling in the sides and back pages with notes, many times I re-read sections during the week, and on occasion, take a book off the shelf to re-read in later years. Although, I cannot prove how these books actually helped me with my own personal growth and healing, they must have. They carry a wealth of information, offer knowledge, and hold insight, but ultimately they remain words on a page outside of my own life learning experience.

The thousands of books available to us to assist in our understanding the core spiritual, creative, and psychological principles taught by the great teachers of the world are an incredibly valuable assistance to one’s growth and discovery. Yet, there is also another large percentage that supports one to grow and that is the application of the teachings. Without application of the teachings, the knowledge and learning from these books collects dust on the shelves. This is why when I was choosing the core spiritual, creative and psychological teaching principles that I wanted to include in The Game of You, it was of utmost importance to me to include with each teaching an experiential, practical tool to apply personally to one’s life. Otherwise, one can read and read and read as much as they want but how much growth and change can we actually create from a head full of knowledge?

It’s no different than the selection of cookbooks I also have on my shelves. I love cookbooks. I love the photographs of the food that are colorfully and artistically displayed, as well as studying the art and science of putting ingredients together that make a recipe. However, if I don’t end up cooking any of them, the process of reading the cookbooks (except for being educating and fun) is a temporary fix and inherently empty. I will never learn how to cook or even enjoy the result of the recipes without the actual act of cooking. So when I can, I try to stretch myself to cook something new. I randomly pick a book that draws me, open to a recipe that sounds good, and whether I believe I can make the recipe successfully or not, I give it a good honest try.

Today’s random recipe is Cauliflower Bisque with Buttered Bread Crumbs from the book "Love Soup" by Anna Thomas. In the past, I avoided making a pureed soup because the process of putting hot liquid into a blender intimidated me. I tried it once and it resulted in catastrophe. Steaming hot, green soup sprayed out all over my walls, my counter, and my hair. I felt like I was on Nickelodeon’s award show when buckets of green slime wallop the celebrity guest presenters. But this Cauliflower Bisque called me, so I decided to get a hand held immersion blender. It was fun to use and the soup was splendid. (If you don’t have an immersion blender make sure your blender’s lid fits tightly, cover it with a towel well, keep your hand firmly in place before you turn it on and don’t lift your hand until you turn it off.) It feels good to put yourself out there, take a risk, and try something new. So, if this recipe doesn’t entice you, go to your own bookshelf and intuitively choose what you are called to try!

Cauliflower Bisque with Buttered Bread Crumbs

1 large white cauliflower
4 cups vegetable stock (Swanson’s is the best)
1 lemon plus more of needed
1 1/2 tsp sea salt, plus more to taste
2 medium carrots
2 medium stalks of celery
1 large yellow onion
3 tbsp olive oil
5 cloves of garlic, chopped
1 tsp herbs de Provence
2 oz of fresh creamy goat cheese or cream cheese

Garnish, Buttered Bread crumbs (technique follows)

1.) Trim the cauliflower, cut the florets into small pieces, put them in a soup pot with 2 cups water and the vegetable broth. Scrub the lemon and slice off a 1-inch long strip of the zest, making sure you don’t have any of the white pith, as that turns bitter. Juice the lemon. Add 2 tbsp of the juice and the strip of zest to the pot, along with a tablespoon of salt. Bring the liquid to a boil.

2.) Meanwhile, peel, trim, and chop the carrots, celery and the onion. Heat 2 tbsp olive oil in a skillet and add the chopped vegetables, along with the garlic and half of a tsp of salt. Sauté on a medium flame, stirring often, until they are soft and beginning to color, about 20 minutes. Add the herbs de Provence and keep stirring over medium heat for a few minutes longer,

3.) Add the sautéed vegetables to the cauliflower, cover the pot again and simmer another 15 minutes, or until the cauliflower is very tender. Remove from the heat and allow the soup to cool slightly.

4.) Puree the soup to a creamy, silky consistency, either in batches in a blender or with an immersion blender. Return the soup to the pot, bring it back to a simmer, taste and add salt or lemon juice if needed, and add the cheese and the last tablespoon of olive oil, stirring gently until the cheese melts. Sprinkle a heaping spoonful of buttered breadcrumbs over each serving of soup at the last minute, just as you serving it.

Buttered Breadcrumbs

1 cup coarse, soft breadcrumbs (Crumble soft bread with your fingers)
2 tbsp unsalted butter

1.) Melt the butter in a non-stick skillet, add the breadcrumbs, and stir over medium heat for several minutes. As soon as the breadcrumbs begin to take on a toasty golden color, remove them from the heat. Use them warm from the pan or spread them on a plate or cookie sheet to cool.

Love,
Lynn

www.thegameofyou.blogspot.com
To play a *free* sample game go to: www.gameofyou.com

Adventure in a Kosher Market

2010-03-12T15:02:00.000-08:00

Today’s Card: The Adventurer

A major part of my initiation into my husband’s family was learning about their foods, and for some of the ingredients for their food you have to go to a Kosher market, which is in many ways an initiation rite all in itself. My first time going to the one on Pico was so amazingly intense, I save my energy now by going to a smaller version of one in Santa Monica, even though it’s just as crowded and crazy, especially on Friday when all of the women are shopping for Shabbat dinner. (So crazy in fact, this hole-in-the-wall market in a strip center has valet because it’s the only way they could control all the traffic). I was excited to go my first time to the one on Pico because it represented one of the greatest things about LA: No matter how long you live here and what you think you know about the city, you will always discover something new; a new market with specialty foods, a new neighborhood to explore, a new something.

The Kosher market is owned by Jewish Persians, but they carry many of the same items you find in Israel: Elite chocolate bars with Lentils (like M&M’s), Milky (packaged chocolate pudding with whipped cream), Bamba (peanut butter flavored Cheetos that every Israeli parent gives their babies to keep them occupied -strollers are usually always packing a couple packages for emergencies) Kosher rugulach blessed by the Rabbi, pitas and lavosh fresh from the oven that morning, bulgarit (a creamier and more tasty Feta cheese), lebane (another cheese product), Shlomi’s favorite brand of pickles in a can, and the list goes on and on. Many of the items and brands are the same as the ones you get in Israel. What a blessing, right? When Shlomi has a craving for home his favorite food is not far away!

On my first excursion to the market on Pico, I was nervous. I heard what it was like: Grocery carts packed into narrow aisles, large breasted older women fighting the crowds, pushing their way through with their chests, shoving their hands between bodies to grab at the produce, and no one speaking English to try to communicate nicely what they want. I was sure this was an exaggeration but Shlomi promised me it was not. I called him right before entering, “I’m going in – wish me luck!” I treated it like I would treat any new experience in a foreign country I chose to travel in with openness, patience, curiosity and care. I was off on an adventure! In this way of holding it, nothing could upset me in the experience.

I parked my cart as best as I could away from the gridlock, (but in the end it didn’t matter, it took me forever to find a way out) and cautiously moved my way into the produce section. You can’t get mint, or other herbs, or Persian cucumbers any other place like this, or as cheap. It’s piled high, in big crates and beats those silly little plastic packages that you buy at Whole Foods or Ralph’s with 5 mint leaves in them and costing $5.00. Here you can get a whole bag worth for the same. I was continuously getting bumped, shoved, and brushed by protruding breasts. “If you can’t beat em’ join em ,’” I thought, so I pushed my way through just like a good Israeli’s wife. After grabbing my mint, I was in a lockdown. There was no way out through the mass of women pressing up against the produce wall, and in a wave of bodies I found myself being pushed so hard I was tilting into the crowd of women, and my feet actually lifted off the ground. I got tremendous pleasure out of the images of these hoards of Jewish women fighting to prepare their Shabbat dinners for their growing daughters and sons. No wonder why they force them all to “Eat! Eat! Eat!” They went to war for it.

After I gathered all my ingredients one by one, and did my best to read with broken Hebrew the labels to bring home the right products Shlomi requested, and was congratulated by the check out girl who said to me as they were bagging me up, “This your first time?” I walked out to my car and realized that my car keys that I had in my jeans pocket had fallen out somewhere in the crowd. I would have to go back in and pray to God I wouldn’t get trampled as I searched the floors between the women’s heels. This time, instead of reaching my arm between the women’s breasts it was my head between their legs. All I could do was laugh! After about 15 minutes of searching, one of the men working there found my keys and the two of us cheered.

When I have any friends or family over to our house that are Israeli, I do my best to honor their traditional customs. One of them is after dinner you offer various kinds of coffees (Coffee is very important – this is Shlomi’s department – and he offers anything from Turkish coffee stirred in a librik on the stove, Nescafe, a latte from our espresso machine, or depending if any of my family is included American decaf must be offered) and fresh mint tea. You will find this tea in this kind of glass in every restaurant and home in Israel and it’s my favorite. You can put a sugar cube or two in the glass or drink it only on its own. It’s fresh and delightful and yummy and I have no idea why we don’t drink it like this all the time. Except, of course, for the hard amount of work it takes to actually redeem the mint, it's all worth it in the end.

Fresh Mint Tea:

In a bowl in the sink, wash mint in water, rinsing several times. Boil a teapot of water. Place a sprig or two in a clear glass. Pour. Offer white or brown sugar cubes.

Love,
Lynn

http://www.thegameofyou.blogspot.com
http://www.lynnzavaro.com

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Workshop Scones

2010-03-09T09:43:00.000-08:00

Today’s Card: The Student

This past weekend, a group of friends gathered at our home for a Game of You workshop. I have begun putting together The Game of You Companion Guide – A Workbook and was testing out some of the spreads and worksheets with the cards. I was so appreciative for those who came and for their constant loving, support of The Game of You. Whenever I teach, I feel I am truly the student in the room. There is so much to learn through teaching about the lens in which I view the world and myself. Each participant in a workshop is a mirror to show me how to be my best self, how to best communicate and how to see things within me that may be unresolved to bring the utmost of my learning and growth. When someone decides to be a teacher, they have not arrived at some completed place rather they have just begun. Besides, public speaking I find teaching one of the hardest things I have ever done. I do it because it’s good for me to stretch beyond my normal, safe confines and because I want to be of service to others.

The morning of the workshop I made homemade blueberry oatmeal scones for everyone. It seemed they enjoyed them because a few stayed afterwards to chat and devoured the remaining as we stood around the kitchen. I am normally not a scone person, but I like the recipe because it was light on sugar and it was Molly Wizenberg’s recipe from Bon Appetit magazine that I wanted to try. Shlomi said he felt like we lived on a farm when I got up at 6 am on a Saturday morning to meditate as the sun rose and then baked homemade blueberry scones hot and ready out of the oven for breakfast. I liked that dream. More and more I think about living on a farm, and growing our own organic vegetables, and having kids, and the amazing gift of them being able to run around freely outside. And I have a particular place in mind where that dream resides, but I will keep it a secret for now.

So thanks to everyone who came on Saturday. I love you all and hope it was a worthwhile day for you.

Blueberry Oat Scones

3 cups all purpose flour
1/3 cup (packed) golden brown sugar
1 Tbsp plus 1 tsp baking powder
1 1/2 tsp baking soda
3/4 tsp coarse kosher salt
11 tbsp (1 stick plus 3 tbsp) chilled unsalted butter, cut into 1/2-inch cubes
1 cup plus 3 tbsp old-fashioned oats
1 cup fresh organic blueberries
1 3/4 cups chilled half and half
1 tsp vanilla extract
5 tsp raw sugar

1.) Position one rack in top third of oven and 1 rack in bottom third of oven and preheat to 350 degrees. Line 2 rimmed baking sheets with parchment paper.

2.) Combine flour, brown sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and coarse salt in processor; blend 5 seconds. Add butter. Using on/off turns, blend until mixture resembles coarse meal. Transfer mixture to a large bowl. Add 1 cup oats and blueberries, stir to blend evenly.

3.) Stir half and half and vanilla in small bowl. Gradually add to flour mixture, tossing until dough just comes together (dough will be very moist). Using 1/2-cup measuring cup for each scone, drop dough in mounds onto prepared baking sheets, spacing 3 inches a part. Sprinkle tops with remaining 3 tbsp oats, then raw sugar.

4.) Bake 15 minutes. Reverse sheets and continue baking until scones are golden and tester inserted into center from side comes out clean, about 12 minutes longer. Transfer scones to rack and cool slightly. Serve warm or at room temperature.

Love,
Lynn

http://www.thegameofyou.blogspot.com
http://www.lynnzavaro.com

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