We've finally made it! Now, at this point of balance between the longest nights and the longest days, we find our hours of light and darkness are equal. Nature stands on the threshold between the months of rest and gathering and the months of fertility and creativity. The birds are singing, the spring flowers are blooming and there are lambs in the fields. So, to celebrate, here's an Earth Heart Holistic guided meditation to mark today's Vernal Equinox. It's designed to help you feel grounded and earthed so you can drop into seeking balance and equanimity, whatever that means for you.
In leading the meditation, I've taken inspiration from a traditional Buddhist meditation, the Uppekha Bhavana but don't follow the formal stages. You can find a full introduction and guide through by my own teacher following the link above.

As well as the baking plans, we're also very excited by our new (second hand) greenhouse, which was gifted to us last year and is now paying dividends! We might not have any veg for sale by the first weekend in April but we'll certainly have a selection of organically grown veg plugs; broad beans, peas, marvel lettuce (a type of butterhead and very popular last year!), coriander and calabrese all ready to plant out in your garden for a burgeoning growing season!

We'll also have a selection of hand made crafts and local greetings cards for sale, which continue to be available in the shop on our new website in case you can't wait!
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If all that joy didn't make the first week in April exciting enough for Earth Heart, just today we also fixed a date to meet with the design team who will be supporting us through the planning application process for (what we hope to be) the Earth Heart yurt and eco glamp site... Seeing that to fruition feels like a very long way off right now, but that's probably just time doing it's long and short thing again!

There will be more to follow on all the above in just a few weeks and I'm very much looking forward to updating you!

​Last October, I shared a post on the delights of the Uchiki Kuri squash (otherwise known as the red onion squash), which as well as being delicious roasted also makes a fantastic base for a (questionably eggy) scrambled tofu. That was on the old blog site and I'll probably repost it here come October but in the meantime I've been continuing to discover an increasing range of yummy things to do with our not inconsiderable crop and though it's not a fresh harvest, since they store so well it doesn't seem unseasonable to share this recipe for Squash and Celeriac Soup. I invented this shortly after Christmas, when I was looking for ways to use up celeriac mash; it's hearty, tangy, smooth yet chunky and with the inclusion of semi-covert red lentils is a pretty good all rounder when covering your macro nutrient bases. We harvested the squash in early autumn to keep them safe from frosts but the hardy celeriac is still in the ground and coming in as we need it, as are the leeks and kale, which also have bit parts in this dish.
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It's true that you could also cobble together a quicker version of this soup by simply peeling and boiling the veg... But quite frankly everything tastes better roasted (fat carries flavour, roasting allows more time than frying for the flavours to develop) so for the best outcome, I'd highly recommend peeling and then roasting the veg before adding it to the pulses. ​

When the soup has had some time to gather itself and the vegetables an opportunity to get to know the lentils, you're ready to consider texture. If you like a chunky soup, this might be good for you just as it is. I have recently  spurned my stick blender in favour of the humble potato masher, which I find just enough to break it down into an actual soup rather than merely a broth with lumps, yet preserve the interest of different textures. I've realised I'm not a fan of super smooth soup. My teeth get bored. However you approach it, when you're ready to serve, turn off the heat, and stir in the lemon juice before ladling into bowls and garnishing with the kale crisps. 
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​They will be available for sale in Dragons Craft Shop in Llanrhaeadr, as well as at various craft stalls, markets and car boot sales that Earth Heart will be adventuring to in coming months. However; in a further flurry of novelty, they're available for sale right now over on the equally newborn Earth Heart shop in case you just can't wait that long or prefer the convenience of delivery! Here's the blurb: 

This time last year I had just moved on from six years in the residential community of the buddhist retreat centre Taraloka and I needed even more rest and rejuvenation time than usual, so I allowed myself a fallow year as I gathered my energies for what was to come... and what a year was to come! Navigating a leaving process, and arriving into a new domestic project were not least of the opportunities that unfurled for me in 2024, I also became officially self employed for the first time, started a new business and facilitated the end of my mother's life. Busy as I was, there was plenty in there to inspire new poems and so this year, feeling back on form, I've had plenty to choose from! I was completely delighted today that the first proof of my new collection arrived through the door a week earlier than expected and happily, there were no further edits needed! I'll be sending off an order for the first batch in the next week or two and they will soon be available for sale  but in the meantime, I'm very excited to share these images of my new collection: A Year of Death and Life in the Tanat Valley!