Focussing on the Essential

Doing my marketing last November 1st,

I saw people selling these bags

called "Survival Kits".

Each bag contained a minimum number of simple ingredients

to make a soup: potatoes, carrots, one leek and an onion

with a vegetable broth cube.

I replaced the onion with a few sticks of celery that I had in my fridge.

The soup was simple and economical and tasty.

The next day, I added 3 tablespoons of red lentils and it became even more nourishing.

Each Survival Kit bag cost 5.- Swiss francs

and the money goes to an association which is very active

in feeding hot meals to those who are homeless

or in serious financial difficulties.

This made we think about what was really essential in life.

For me, it would be having enough food to satisfy my hunger

and having a roof over my head.

It is good to remember this when we think we want or need

certain things which are not essential to our well-being or our happiness.

On the contrary, many of these things encumber our minds and our homes.

In the same line of thinking,

I would like to show you a book I bought a while ago:

It's a reprint which was composed by Marguerite Patten

for helping women to prepare nourishing and healthy meals

for their families during times of food scarcity during the war.

The recipes are inventive and original and I really enjoy trying them out.

I am wearing a crocheted poppy today in remembrance of

Armistice Day on November 11th.

Remembering these events

brings us back to the essential.