Button
by Jane Hirshfield
It likes both to enter and to leave,
actions it seems to feel as a kind of hide-and-seek.
It knows nothing of what the cloth believes
of its magus-like powers.
If fastening and unfastening are its nature,
it doesn’t care about its nature.
It likes the caress of two fingers
against its slightly thickened edges.
It likes the scent and heat of the proximate body.
The exhilaration of the washing is its wild pleasure.
Amoralist, sensualist, dependent of cotton thread,
its sleep is curled like a cat to a patch of sun,
calico and round.
Its understanding is the understanding
of honey and jasmine, of letting what happens come.
A button envies no neighboring button,
no snap, no knot, no polyester-braided toggle.
It rests on its red-checked shirt in serene disregard.
It is its own story, completed.
Brevity and longevity mean nothing to a button carved of horn.
Nor do old dreams of passion disturb it,
though once it wandered the ten thousand grasses
with the musk-fragrance caught in its nostrils;
though once it followed—it did, I tell you—that wind for miles.
*From Given Sugar, Given Salt
Einkorn & Star White Wheat Mama Bread
Einkorn is an ancient species of wheat, and one of our oldest domesticated plants. It’s been cultivated for about 10,000 years and has been found in several archeological sites in Turkey. Gentetically-speaking, it’s a simpler grain than the more recent wheat varieties, as it’s a diploid (like us!) and grows wild, especially in the Fertile Crescent, which is actually the birthplace of bread. I got some fresh-milled einkorn from Grist & Toll and the minute I opened the bag, I was captivated. The smell alone evokes so many different things—corn husks at the end of summer, a bowl of mixed nuts, a hint of fresh cut grass.
This is the first time I’ve worked with it and I was a little chicken about making a loaf with 100% einkorn. I decided, first, to mix it with another wheat variety that I’m well familiar with. This loaf is 40% einkorn and 60% Star white wheat. Both are from Grist & Toll. The miller, Nan, is involved in the cultivation of the Star, and she sources the einkorn from a responsible farmer in Pennsylvania.
Maris Widgeon Chocolate Cupcakes
I just had to see what would happen if I took my all-purpose chocolate cupcake and snuck in a little Maris Widgeon from Lonesome Whistle Farms. Actually, I swapped it out 100%. It turned out a little denser, which was to be expected. But, oh, the flavor! This basic recipe can be found in The Craft of Baking by Karen DeMasco.
Savor your week with delight and gratitude.
Xo,
