Vegetarian Turkish Dolma (stuffed green peppers)

Posted on July 13, 2013 by Laurie Fraser

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Okay, I’ve seen the dolma recipes online that call for meat, cumin and other spices. I guess those are the fancy versions for guests or rich folk. When I lived in Turkey, my husband and I were very poor, and I was taught this simple recipe. It’s the easy and cheap family supper, I suppose. This dolma is a tasty nutritious meal, and I still cook it this way today.

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You will need:

4 medium-sized green peppers – hollowed out from the top

1 ½ cups cooked brown rice (see below, or use leftovers or substitute white)

2 heaping Tablespoons salce (see recipe in this blog)

1 bunch of parsley- chopped

2 cups garlic yogurt (2 c yogurt- Greek is nice- mixed with 1-2 crushed garlic cloves)

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1- Mix the rice, salce and parsley

2- Stuff the peppers about ¾ full

3- Stand the peppers in a pot so they stay upright. Put about an inch of cold water in the pot, around the peppers, so that when it boils it will not get the inside of the peppers wet. Add salt to the water. Cover the pot.

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4- Boil the water. The bottom of the peppers are boiled, the tops are steamed. About 5 – 10 minutes- you’re just heating it through and softening the peppers to your liking.

5- Serve dolma whole smothered in garlic yogurt.

Perfect brown rice:

1:2 rice & water. (For example 1 cup of rice and 2 cups water or ½ cup rice and 1 cup water)

1- Pick over the rice looking for hard husks. Rinse it several times in cold water.

2- Add about a Tablespoon of olive oil and cook on medium heat for about 3 minutes. When it starts sticking to the bottom of the pot, add the water.

3- Boil on high for a few moments, then cover the pot, reduce the heat to low and leave it until all the water has been absorbed (30 – 45 minutes)

Love Answers 1

Posted on July 9, 2013 by Laurie Fraser

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A woman, 45, wrote to say, “I gave up air conditioning (house and car) for the whole 6 years that I went out with an environmental activist. It gets really hot and humid here, so it was a real sacrifice. I also slept on the floor when I stayed at his place. (He’s minimalist too.)”

She adds: “I also stopped killing bugs, because it offended him to take any life. Yesterday I enjoyed a killing spree with a fly swatter in my house. A few years ago I would have captured them in a jar and released them to the outside.”

I received this answer from “Sharon” in Chicago. “I’m a chameleon. I give up whoever I am to become whoever he wants. I adopt my lovers’ hobbies and lifestyle. If he’s social, or a drinker, then so am I. If the next one is health-conscious, then so am I. I spent so much energy trying to make them happy. Now I think, after all this time, I don’t even know who I am or what I want.”

Check out “Love and You” and drop me a line at thewordnotspoken@gmail.com

Turkish Salce – a handy tomato sauce

Posted on July 8, 2013 by Laurie Fraser

Having salce (saljeh) on hand sure makes cooking Turkish easy. Keep a container in the freezer and just take out a spoonful as needed. Salce is used in recipes coming soon to this blog: dolma (green peppers stuffed with rice, parsley and salce), Turkish French fries (salce is so much better than ketchup!), mercimek (lentil soup), and easy chickpeas. Salce is full of cancer-fighting lycopene. It’s used a spice paste, so it’s very salty and spicy.

Most families I knew in Turkey dried their tomatoes in the sun on the roof of the house. But, we will use tomato paste.

You need: 1 small can tomato paste

1 teaspoon fresh chili sauce (or more) You can substitute with the chili you usually cook with- chili powder, blatt paprika or fresh green chili- adjust the amount but make it very hot.

1 teaspoon salt

Mint (optional) 2 teaspoons dried or 1/2 cup chopped fresh.

1- Heat: 2-3 Tablespoons olive oil in a pan (Tomato really picks up iron in a cast iron pan)

2- “Kill” the tomato paste by adding it to the hot oil and stir to mix.

3- Add chili and salt. When the tomato has absorbed most or all of the oil, add the mint.

It should taste very salty and spicy-hot.

What have you done for love?

Posted on July 2, 2013 by Laurie Fraser

I was getting my hair cut the first time it happened. When my hairdresser heard I was quitting my jobs and moving to Turkey to marry a man I’d spent only 3 weeks with, she said, “I wouldn’t do it.”

“Really?” I was genuinely surprised. “Wouldn’t you do it for love?”

“No.”

“But what if you were head over heels? What if it was the great love of your life?”

“No. I would never take a risk like that.”

I was shocked to learn that many people thought I was mad or silly, even irresponsible and self-destructive. My refrain became, “But wouldn’t you do it for love?” And the majority answered, “Nope.”

At times I felt judged, and I became a little quieter with my joy and my excitement. Protective of it, really. What made people think they could infuse fear into me? They tried- I heard plenty of frightening portrayals of Muslim men in Islamic countries.

So when I wrote The Word Not Spoken I had to make the main character, Leigh, believable. The reader needs to like Leigh, not think she’s crazy or irresponsible. I gave her doubts and time to think. I left her with nothing at home except a job she hated. I gave her a reason to need space from her family. But in truth, I personally did not struggle with the decision. For me, there was no decision at all. I loved him. He loved me. I didn’t need much else.

Why was it so easy for me, I wondered while I wrote. Was it because I’m easily bored? Or because I’m Aries? An adventurer? No…I think I just knew in my gut. And I felt so Alive!

I know I’m not alone. Plenty of people follow their hearts, regardless of the risk. I want to hear from them…from you. I want to know- What have you done for love? Yes, the grand gestures, the sacrifices, the courageous acts of faith…

I want to know if it was worth it. I suspect it’s always worth it- even when we’re disappointed, at least we followed our hearts and learned the outcome- isn’t it worth it to know? Maybe you disagree. Did you give up too much to ever fully recover?

Do we sometimes do too much for love? Where did you draw the line?

Please email me at thewordnotspoken@gmail.com and share:

What have you done for love?
Was it worth it?
Your gender

I am reporting results and interesting stories in this blog as they come in (but only if I have your permission in writing).

Seriously, isn’t the desire to love and be loved the primary motivation for most of our actions? I am 20 years older now, less healthy and strong, but even today, especially today, I would get on that plane.

Answers to Flowers in the Sky – Culture & Art blog

(match the paintings with the artist’s country of birth):

Iran 2. Congo 3. China 4. Nepal 5. Canada 6. India

Manifesting with Fulgurite

Posted on June 18, 2013 by Laurie Fraser

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Fulgurite or “petrified lightning” is what happens when sand is hit by lightning- the temperature is so hot that the sand melts. It fuses as it cools, usually into a tubular shape. I was gratified to find one at the Fairy Festival in Perth this year, as I know they are powerful manifestation tools. Some say the tube is a direct connection with the Divine.

I am a healer as well as a writer, and I am clairvoyant. Online, I see directions to hold the fulgurite in hand while meditating, but my personal guidance was far more specific this morning. (I was also guided to share this information here.)

Ground yourself and breathe deeply. Become aware of your pranic tube (like a fluorescent tube around your spine). Pull energy or light up from your tailbone while simultaneously pulling energy down from your crown. Intend for these energies to meet at your throat chakra (concerned with your will). This is a way of accessing the 5^th dimension- a powerful place to manifest. So much so that you must keep focused here, don’t let any negative thoughts in.

As the energies mingle at your throat, hold the fulgurite up to your throat, the largest opening facing the throat. Picture clearly what you want to manifest. Draw a big breath in, and then force it out quickly. This pushes the intention through the fulgurite and out into the universe.

I intended success with my novel- that it travel throughout the world. I saw the novel fly high into the sky and then float down by parachute. One parachute became millions, and they filled the sky, gracefully dropping to earth.

Menemen for Two (Turkish breakfast or midnight snack)

Posted on June 15, 2013 by Laurie Fraser

Finely chop an onion and sauté in olive oil in a fry pan.

Add one finely chopped clove of garlic

Then add one finely chopped long green pepper Or substitute ½ green pepper.

Continuing stirring and frying. As it softens, mush it together with your utensil.

Add one finely chopped ripe tomato.

When it has become a soft mush and most of the liquid is cooked out, break an egg or two into it and quickly scramble. Season with salt and red pepper flakes (Blatt paprika). Or substitute with black pepper. As soon as the egg is cooked, it’s ready.

Serve with crusty bread. Use small ripped pieces of the bread to pick up a bite of menemen.

Couchsurfing: a great option for solo travellers

Posted on June 15, 2013 by Laurie Fraser

Anne has travelled throughout Europe and northern Africa without paying for accommodation. She couch surfs! What a great way to travel!

To learn more about couchsurfing watch this short interview where Anne claims “Couches are everywhere,” in a house that has no couch. We are sitting on Turkish floor cushions.

(We can’t watch this without laughing our heads off- our first taped interview- so please forgive our mistakes. She’d given me the ring to wear as a joke, but no, the ring didn’t cause the bruise, and no, I didn’t just wake up- I was ready to go and sing at a Shout Sister performance!)

Travelling by Rickshaw in India

Posted on May 30, 2013 by Laurie Fraser

The elephant stands at a crossroads
in this town at the edge of the desert.
The people and their vehicles sputter hotly.
My driver is resigned.
His accent sings
“This is the only road.
When the elephant allows us
we will move again.”
In the choking wind he lights a cigarette.
Possibly delirious,
I walk into the crowd
to admire the working elephant
who remembered at a crossroads
he is the biggest.

Laurie Fraser
Udaipur, India

photo credit

Facade Healing

Posted on May 14, 2013 by Laurie Fraser

Facade healing by Laurie Fraser

Published by Tone Magazine, February 2013

Facade healing is really a prayer that calls in a Divine teacher to clear a certain facade from around the client’s body. I am clairvoyant and I see the facade as a grey body cast extending about two feet around the body.

I use muscle-testing (kinesiology) to communicate with the client’s energy and the energy leads the way, making all decisions. If the energy chooses facade healing out of the options available with me, it will then choose the Divine teacher and lead me through lists of emotions until I find the emotional facade to be healed. For example, I will be led to “fear of not having enough” and the Divine teacher “Jesus” by muscle-testing through menus.

Many times, I feel the presence of the teacher before I find out who it is. It is a feeling a profound love and it gives me chills, a full heart. Sometimes I feel a gentle hand on my left cheek.

I start the procedure by calling in the teacher and naming the emotional facade in a prayer. Then I move my hands to crack the facade open and I stand back. The teacher does the healing. I see tremendous amounts of light and feel a great love when the teacher is doing the work.

When it is finished, the client and I give our thanks, “drain” the old energy, and the teacher usually leaves right then.

A few examples from the past two months:

Divine teacher/ master cleared the facade of

Archangel Remiel resistance to transformation

Archangel Michael fear

Jesus sadness (depressed client)

Panther archetype lack of appetite (cat)

Maat pessimism (depressed cat)

Jesus incompetence (for me, learning new healing technique)

Jesus unworthiness

Sai Baba fatigue (client follows this guru)

Archangel Michael susceptibility to infection

Hathors (2 came together) loneliness

Mother Mary unloved

Facade healing is often very emotional for the client- it’s a great relief to feel Divine love. The client often feels hot or cold, teary and relaxed. Sometimes their body twitches or jumps around a bit. Afterwards, of course, they experience a lessening or elimination of the targeted emotion.

I also do B.O.S. (Bio Operating System), Reconnective healing and holographic healing. The client does not consciously choose what method will be the most effective for their particular issue- how can the client or I know? We are led by the client’s energy (some call this the Higher Self or Spirit or Soul) and that’s why it works.

Facade healing has become a more popular choice in the last few months than ever before. I don’t know why- I’m just grateful for the blessings and miracles in our lives.

photo credit

I give thanks to my teachers and guides.

As of 2020, I am no longer working with visiting entities. I think that a human such as myself is limited when it comes to detecting corruption in some of these beings. Unless it’s your Grandpa, of course. I’m fine with passing on messages with those visitors. I mean beings who want to help with healings. I didn’t have any bad experiences, I just think there’s a risk.

Flowers in the Sky: Culture and Art

Posted on May 10, 2013 by Laurie Fraser

Match the painting to the artist’s country:
Nepal – China – Canada – Congo – Iran – India

Painting and drawing are common activities at the Tulip Festival in Ottawa. Artists set up easels beside a giant tulip bed; some of them are quite talented. My school of 100 adult immigrants went down to see the flowers, and some of the students tried their hand at painting with watercolours. It was a hot day- we set up blankets in the shade.

I love the way they paint from their culture. I noticed that different cultures have different styles. Many Nepalese and Indian students drew colourful leaves and flowers with many petals- sometimes the flowers were in the sky- and they didn’t look like tulips at all. The Chinese often chose the thin brushes and painted with delicate strokes. The Africans almost always put roots on their flowers, and no one from any other culture did that.

Try matching the painting to the artist’s country. Check your answers in the “What have you done for love?” blog. Do you need a hint? Number 1 is reminiscent of Persian carpet designs.