Cinnamon-Cardamom Filled Whole Grain Scones

When I was in my late teens I began reading cookbooks like novels. It turns out I have something called synesthesia where a stimulus that comes in through one sense gets transferred to another sense. For me, it meant that when I read a recipe, I could smell it and taste it.

Why Self-Kindness Is Essential and Five Ways to Practice It

Why is it essential to be kind to ourselves? It’s astonishing that this question would even come up, but it’s more astonishing how many of us don’t think we deserve kindness — a tragic tribute to demeaning childhood programming and trauma.

Doin’ Life in Prison

If I had a single life sentence
I’d still be struggling though
Instead of seeking the Lord.
I’d be aiming for ‘dem milestones
Seeing what I could do for me, myself, and I
to get an out date soon.
Instead He gave me five
sentences well past my lifetime.

Free Food: A Place to Find Love

One of our volunteers, who comes in every week, is very observant. He watches. I asked him the other day why he comes, he said, “To come to a place where all people are accepted. It’s not like that in other places…”

More Free than Those in the Free World

Remember what we put in is what we get out. It’s up to us to do the work, and then to apply the work. Yes, we may be incarcerated, but we have the power to be more free than those in the free world.

Buoyancy

To praise the sun is to praise your own eyes.
Praise, the ocean. What we say, a little ship.

So—the sea-journey continues and who knows where?
Just to be held by the ocean is the best luck
we could have.

Coffee Meditation

This never would have been allowed at the center or in any formal meditation hall I have ever visited, but in my own home it was a no-brainer. Bring the coffee to the cushion — or was it bring the cushion to the coffee?

Asparagus Goat Cheese Spring Galette

We had a lot of fun developing this Spring Galette recipe. We looked up a ton of recipes to see the general technique before landing on an approach that fits with our style of cooking.

Spotlight on Free Food Volunteer

Our Free Food volunteer Margot shares her experience of volunteering at our sit-down restaurant for the homeless and those in need, as well as the profound impact it had on her.