Our son, Nigel had his eighth birthday on the new moon, Nov. 27. Our son, Jonas will have his fourteenth birthday on the full moon, Dec. 12. I don’t know if it is always this way, other years, it seems special, so maybe not always this way. I wanted to write something here in the news about the disorienting quality of the sun these days. Disorienting by its very presence this time of year, but also by its low, low, low trajectory across the sky. I knew that it was high noon by the clock, but the sun appeared to be at rise or set level, not noon level. In winter, or rather the waning bits of fall, it just sneaks across the southern stretch of sky, a little east in the morning, a little west at evening, but always just slinking along the southern side of it all. Normally it would just be all grey, all the time, and likely wet besides, no sun to notice above thick blankets of clouds and rain. But this year is special and lucky somehow, each day another blessing to be grateful for, and the kids’ birthdays fall on lunar holidays.

Green Jade Soup – Moosewood Restaurant Cooks at Home
4 dried shiitake mushrooms 1 1/2 cups thinly sliced leeks or onions
1 cup boiling water 4 cups firmly packed chopped spinach(substitute chard)
6 cups vegetable stock 1 cake tofu, cut into 1/2 inch cubes
1 1/2 tbsp. Grated fresh ginger root salt
1 1/2 cups thinly sliced carrot rounds chopped green onions
2 cups chopped bok choy several drops dark sesame oil, optional
Soak the mushrooms with boiling water 10 min. Add ginger, leeks, bok choy, and carrots to boiling stock and simmer 10 min. until tender. Drain mushrooms and add soaking liquid to soup. Thinly slice mushrooms and stir into soup with spinach and tofu, cook 5 minutes. Salt and garnish. Six servings.