Summer Thoughts on a Winter’s Day
Brrrrr! It’s the kind of day that encourages me to have a pot of something yummy simmering on the back burner, filling the house with wonderful aromas. My back burner today is simmering homemade spaghetti sauce, the kind my mother use to make. 
As I prepared the sauce, which will be ladled over the last spaghetti squash from the garden, my thoughts turned to summer gardening.
I have always heard that wood heat warms you twice, once when you chop the wood, and again when it burns in the fireplace. Gardens are also multipurpose.
First you get the enjoyment of working the soil and tending the garden. Next you get to experience the magic of giving and receiving. Seeds, sun, soil, and water produce a living plant that in exchange for a little loving care will provide you with some fantastic fresh food. Produce like these squash enable you to enjoy the bounty long after putting the garden to sleep for the winter.
My simmering spaghetti sauce fills the house with amazing aromas, reminding me to plant more herbs in next years garden. Herbs are magical. They fill the house with the most tantalizing scents and make your food taste as good as it smells. Herbs are also magical because they provide a variety of health benefits. It isn’t necessary to study the medicinal properties of each herb, simply use them to flavor your food. Rotating though the flavors depending upon the dish being prepared will ensure that you are periodically exposed to the healthy benefits that work their magic unbeknownst to you.
Cooking with fresh herbs turns an ordinary meal into a gourmet delight. Growing herbs indoors during the winter months enables you to maintain your contact with the soil (Mother Earth), gives you access to inexpensive fresh herbs, and enables you to enjoy the benefit year round. Bon appétit
