Minced Garlic

Next week, garlic will be ready to harvest, and i have 35 heads of garlic from last year still in storage. What to do? Make minced garlic.

I put a quart of (peeled) garlic cloves into the food processor, added olive oil, and let it whir for 30 seconds.

So, yes, the thought of too much garlic was unpleasant.
The thought of peeling 35 heads of garlic (= 150 cloves) was unpleasant.
The thought of having minced garlic in a jar in the refrigerator throughout the winter was, however, pleasant.

Peeling garlic is one example of prioritizing intention over mood. My mood would almost never be right for peeling that much garlic. I have to galvanize my intention.

The same holds true in meditation. Just sitting down to meditation often requires privileging intention over mood. Mood might say, "Later." Intention says "Now."

This Sunday morning, while my sweetie was eating his leisurely breakfast, i gathered my intention and stood at the sink for half an hour and peeled and peeled. His company was pleasant. Listening to classical music was pleasant. And putting the final product of minced garlic into a glass quart jar was very pleasant. Mission accomplished!

Minced Garlic

The garlic harvest is in, and i still have 4 dozen heads of last year's garlic that are starting to sprout. I'm rich in garlic, but what to do with it all?

One evening, after turning off the computer at 9:00 p.m., i peel all that garlic and throw it into the food processor. That makes a quart of minced garlic, which i cover in olive oil and store in the refrigerator. This jar of minced garlic will keep longer than the raw garlic, some heads of which had already turned brown.

We, ourselves, don't last forever. One writer-friend tells me that, at 80, she's forgetting many of the names she wants to write about in her memoir about back-to-the-land in the 1960s.

Now is the time to sprout your meditation practice or your own creativity. Don't wait. Life doesn't last forever.