Wild Rice Soup Recipe From Our Ancestors

A while ago, we had friends over for a pot luck gathering.  I made several things.  However one of the favourite “eats” was this wild rice soup.  Several people said that they would serve it for Christmas, if I would share the recipe.  Some of us plan our Christmas menu ahead of time, and like to test the results before the big day.  Here is the Wild Rice Soup recipe.

  

Wild Rice Soup 

8-10 Servings 

Wild rice was, for hundreds of years, one of the -main food sources for the Indians of Minnesota. It is a large reed-like grass and grows in three to four feet of water. This grass, with its long sweeping flower cluster on top, sometimes grows eight to ten feet tall.

Ingrediants

1/2 cup wild rice ( I used ¾ of a cup of wild rice)
1 pound bacon (I left out all the bacon and drippings and added 2 tablespoons of virgin olive oil.)

3 tablespoons bacon drippings (Leave out for vegetarian soup)

1 cup finely chopped celery 
1 cup finely chopped onion 

¾ cup finely chopped red pepper
2 14¹/2-ounce cans (ready to serve) chicken broth (I used 7 cups of distilled water and a 2 vegetarian broth cubes)

2 white potatoes, cubed
2 10³/4-ounce cans cream of mushroom soup, undiluted 

Variations:

Add grated carrot, or green onions, or finely chopped leek, or finely chopped mushrooms.

Wash wild rice. Boil rice for 15 minutes and drain; set aside. If you use the bacon, fry bacon until crisp. Remove bacon and discard all but 3 tablespoons bacon drippings. Sauté celery, onion and green pepper or whatever veggies that you use either in the drippings, or in olive oil, until onion is transparent. Put in a large kettle and add rice, broth, mushrooms, soup and diced bacon. Cook on low heat for 1 to 3 hours.  (I find that 3 hours gives it the best flavour.)  Do not add salt.

Blessings,

Judy

Peacock and Seeing

When I am meditating, and an animal comes in to speak about life, I am always intrigued, and invite them in with enthusiasm.  This was how I felt with Peacock.

Peacock had a message around seeing things.  His message is:

• Peacocks are known for their prowess in killing snakes.  Watch for the snake in the grass – the one that has a big agenda that does not include you.  Protect yourself!
• Many say that the spots in my feathers represent the all-seeing eye.  In some cultures, the eye wards off evil or wards off curses.  My feathers do offer protection to me.  Whether they are part of your path and sacred to you is your journey.
• Beware anyone that tries to dazzle you with the extravagant because this is usually for show and does not have substance.  When you are in a business deal where this is happening, do ask “show me the money!”.
• In most cultures, the circle is the symbol of cycles, and of continuity.  This is why there are circles on my feathers, to remind you that you may have been in this place before.  If you did not like it, then now is the time to change -  career, life, relationships, beliefs  -  all can be changed.

I thanked Peacock for his wisdom and bid him good bye.

Blessings,

Judy

Buffalo Solidarity

 

Buffalo speaks…

“We say that the time of the Buffalo is coming once more.  Buffalo have kept the prairie savannahs healthy by the foraging and fertilizing that we do.  Buffalo has been the creator of much of the prairies and the sites that exist there.  “Buffalo grass, buffalo wallows, buffalo stones, buffalo shrubs, buffalo hallows, and buffalo haunt” are all phrases that come from the time the Buffalo shaped the vast spaces.  

Once, before white man, the best food in North America was the meat of Buffalo.  It is lean and nutritious.  Consuming the meat made Man more kin to the herd, and gave Man more reverence for life.  That changed with the introduction of cattle.  Wild cattle roamed the very southern plains, and, to us, a variation of antelope.

There is a time coming where the cattle will decline, and Buffalo will be needed for all that it can provide to you.  We are grateful to become part of the natural cycle again.”

Blessings,

Judy

Horse on Sleeping

 

I was getting ready to leave my meditation after having a Lion come in, when I heard the words, “Wait! Wait!  I have something to say!”

I settled back down on the grass in my favourite spot, and waited, as I had been asked.   A large white horse walked into my space, and settled in.  It was clear that she was a spirit animal.

“I heard your discussion with Lion about sleeping, and I thought that I would like to say something on that topic.”

“Go ahead,” I said.  

The white Horse had some good things to say.

• Make sure that you get all your harness off before you go to sleep.  You will be far more comfortable.
• It is good to pray before you sleep.  (I piped in that I did not know that horses did prayers.  White Horse informed me that all animals pray.)
• In nature, horses and all animals must find a safe place to sleep, or, they must have someone stand watch.  It is good to have a secure place to sleep.
• If you cannot sleep, meditate on the wonderful life that you have.  All of us have abundance and we can meditate on abundance.  I like to think about grass, and how grass becomes hay, and as I meditate on this, I just seem to fall asleep.
• If you have a guide or several guides (we horses have guides that will lead us to different places), then ask your guide to lead you to that place of sleep, and to stand guard.  This will keep you safe from all things.
• If sleep doesn’t come, think about Oneness.  Oneness means that we are all part of the same pasture (eco system) and that we must all share and help each other.

I was quite amazed at the variety of ideas that Horse had, and said so.  White Horse got this very shy look on her face and dipped her head, and wandered off.

I came out of my meditation feeling like I had been greatly blessed.

Blessings to you,

Judy

Hippopotamus Has Rules - Spirit Animal

 

Picture from junglephotos.com 

Hippopotamus lives a very  peaceful life.  That is because she has a set of guidelines or rules, to govern her life.  She encourages us to adapt her rules because they have kept the hippopotamus alive for sixty thousand years, and these rules have allowed her to evolve.

1. Pick your environment, and know it well.  Our environment is a gift from our cousins, the Whale family.  This allows us to be in mostly a freshwater marine environment. We are always watchful about who or what enters our territory, and we defend our area vehemently.  You, who harass us, call us vicious.  Perhaps when you invade someone else’s country, you would call their reaction vicious as well.
2. Water is necessary for life.  It is how we live.  Water protects us from predators, from sunburn, from dehydration, from fear of drowning or flooding, and from famine.  All that we need comes from water.  We share our water with other animals as long as they are not invasive.
3. We eat greens – all kinds, but mostly grass.  We have one food that is particularly good for us and we stick to it.  Too much variety in the diet leads to discomfort, which is stressful, and which causes aggressive behaviour. It may be that you need to eat less variety and more of the healthy greens like we do.
4. We band together to keep one another safe.  Yet, we do not form close attachments because there is no need.  Therefore, there is little drama in the pod.  We each do our own thing, together.  Perhaps you get too caught up on one another’s lives, which is why your life does not seem peaceful.
5. Our life is peaceful.  We have oneness in our pod.  We move together.  We have little to fight about.  Life is good.

Many Blessings,

Judy

Mallard Duck Visitors - Spirit Animals

Picture of mama and papa mallard on our deck in May through July 2021 taken from an upstairs window.

I was very blessed the summer of 2021 to have two mallard ducks come and share our yard from May to into August on a daily basis.  Before the hatching season, mama and papa duck would come and sit on our deck in the evening and often come and peer through the patio doors to see what we were doing.  The loved the grass, the bird seed, and the peace in our yard.  We were surprised at how the Mallards accepted our big yellow dog (Labrador retriever) and were content to snuggle in the grass close to where he lay in the shade. 

Mallard as a spirit animal shows many blessings to those that they frequent.  This time, my teachings from the Mallards included:

1. Abundance comes in many forms and from unexpected places.
2. All animals and birds and aqua beings need your protection.
3. Find places and do activities that make you feel comfortable.
4. Be accepting of others even with their differences.
5. Enjoy your deck at any time of the day.

Blessings.

Judy