I love this Brooke as I’d never thought about an inner and outer slow before but it makes so much sense! Speaking from experience I left myself completely burnt out attempting to achieve all the outer slow activities. After 5 days at work my weekend to-do list was packed with gardening, bulk store, cooking, etc etc. It has only been during the recovery process that I’ve truely embraced the inner slow and it is this that has changed my life, in particular virtually zero social media and radically reducing my news intake. You’ve made me realise that in doing this my outlook has changed, my expectations reduced and my mental ‘space’ and clarity increased. Xx
I couldn’t love this more Carolyn! I’ve been in that situation before, and it’s why I have to regularly relearn the difference between inner and outer slow. It’s so good to hear how you’ve made room though - social media and news consumption are huge! 💚
I listened to an interview with Tricia Hersey on the We Can Do Hard Things podcast and it was so enjoyable and gave me so much food for thought. My husband and I both struggle with prioritizing rest in all its forms. We have been working on it ever since we read "Burnout", by Emily Nagoski, and it is amazing how difficult it can be to undo a lifetime of programming about work, rest, and self-worth!
Brooke, I loved these thoughts on "inner slow" and I am looking forward to thinking on "outer slow" as well!
In the American South, we (very unsurprisingly) fry green tomatoes! There are countless recipes online, but I prefer the ones that use flour or a flour/cornmeal mixture instead of a straight cornmeal breading. The tomatoes are sliced thin, dredged in a buttermilk/egg mixture, dunked in the breading, then shallow fried. They are great eaten with some relish or chutney as an appetizer, or put on a sandwich! I believe you can also find recipes for using green tomatoes in salsa, although I haven't tried that myself. Hope you find something amazing to try with your bounty!
Thanks so much Kelly 💚 I really like Tricia’s perspective on rest, but you’re right - it’s not easy to reprogram a life’s worth of learning. So glad for you guys that you’re prioritising rest though. It’s worth it! And thank you for the fried green tomatoes suggestion ! Ben’s VERY keen to try them out too
The non-monetary hobby resonates with me as I stand here (barefoot) cutting out pebble shapes from dried disposable painting palettes to make thank you cards for relos I’m about to visit. I’m doing this while listening to The Tortoise, and the ever present tumble of waves behind the shop. I am indeed multitasking slowly, and loving it. When they ask me how I found the time to make the cards, I’ll refer them to The Tortoise. . Now back to my enrichingly slow project before more customers meander in and need the counter space.
I love this Naomi! We made Christmas gift labels out of fallen eucalyptus leaves from our driveway last year and the ridiculous amount of joy I got from peoples reactions was reason enough to do it again. “Multitasking slowly” is so nice. 💚💚
What a beautiful post, Brooke! Reading it was like meditation. I feel calmer and less anxious. Thank you! Thank you 🧡
Everything you wrote reasonates with me a lot. I was the person who used to write New Year resolutions and always failed because there was no space or energy for them. It might sound obvious, but it took me a while to figure this out. Unfortunately, I'm the person who feels the need to monetise the hobbies. What a poisonous feeling! I tried to hide, run, argue with it. Nothing helped, inner and outer voices were always present. Yesterday I finally bought pencils and a coloring book. For the first time in who knows how long I'm doing something that doesn't help me to be more productive or integrate in a new country or develop self-growth or whatsoever.
Hi Brooke. Thank you again for another wonderful read. I did miss the sound of a dog barking or phone ringing. Oh well, maybe next time. ;-)
Many years ago, I cut my tomato vines before the temperatures dropped too low, brought them in - vine and all - and put them in my indoor laundry room. Most of them eventually ripened enough to eat =D
I’ve been listening to your podcasts the last few years and many of the themes really resonated. I was working full time to start with however my beautiful gorgeous kind son has a vomiting syndrome called cyclic vomiting syndrome and vomits every 7 days, sometimes more frequently in summer or for longer durations in winter with the winter bugs. We grow our own food, have our own hens so don’t need a lot of money so I went part time. This has worked alot better but the first job didn’t start off part time and was deadline driven so I changed jobs to a part time job that was advertised as a part time job. I worked for a micromanager who kept pushing for work outside of the part time hours and after 8 months and many stress related symptoms left with no job to go to. That was 3 months ago. And that’s where I find myself. I do need some of my own money so I do need a job, I’m looking but there’s not a-lot of part time jobs out there at the moment. My son on the other hand is loving being picked up from school at 3.15 and having so much mummy time so that is such a joy! Reading your post and your previous podcasts although not entirely related there seems a lot of my story in there and I feel I’m at a crossroads so I will continue to read your wise words and we’ll see where it takes us/me next.
A lovely green tomato recipe that I made last year with my glut and I think it is absolutely delicious is making green tomato ketchup. It’s winter here and I love having some taste of summer through the winter. Make some passata first by roasting your tomatoes with garlic and oregano. When that’s all squishy after about an hour push it through a sieve over the saucepan you’ll make your tomato ketchup in. When you’ve got all the mushed contents into the saucepan add vinegar and sugar (not sure of the quantities but it will be in a regular homemade tomato ketchup recipe or you can add it to your taste. I think 200ml vinegar and 200g sugar is a good place to start. And then heat it to a simmer and bottle up. It should be ok on the shelf until you open if you heated it sufficiently before you bottled up and then in the fridge once opened. It takes a long time to make but it’s really worth it and I think it tastes much yummier than green tomato chutney.
I love this Brooke as I’d never thought about an inner and outer slow before but it makes so much sense! Speaking from experience I left myself completely burnt out attempting to achieve all the outer slow activities. After 5 days at work my weekend to-do list was packed with gardening, bulk store, cooking, etc etc. It has only been during the recovery process that I’ve truely embraced the inner slow and it is this that has changed my life, in particular virtually zero social media and radically reducing my news intake. You’ve made me realise that in doing this my outlook has changed, my expectations reduced and my mental ‘space’ and clarity increased. Xx
I couldn’t love this more Carolyn! I’ve been in that situation before, and it’s why I have to regularly relearn the difference between inner and outer slow. It’s so good to hear how you’ve made room though - social media and news consumption are huge! 💚
I love the voice recording Brooke, thank you. you kept me company while got ready for work and made a cup of tea this morning 😀
Oh I love picturing that Cally! 💚
I listened to an interview with Tricia Hersey on the We Can Do Hard Things podcast and it was so enjoyable and gave me so much food for thought. My husband and I both struggle with prioritizing rest in all its forms. We have been working on it ever since we read "Burnout", by Emily Nagoski, and it is amazing how difficult it can be to undo a lifetime of programming about work, rest, and self-worth!
Brooke, I loved these thoughts on "inner slow" and I am looking forward to thinking on "outer slow" as well!
In the American South, we (very unsurprisingly) fry green tomatoes! There are countless recipes online, but I prefer the ones that use flour or a flour/cornmeal mixture instead of a straight cornmeal breading. The tomatoes are sliced thin, dredged in a buttermilk/egg mixture, dunked in the breading, then shallow fried. They are great eaten with some relish or chutney as an appetizer, or put on a sandwich! I believe you can also find recipes for using green tomatoes in salsa, although I haven't tried that myself. Hope you find something amazing to try with your bounty!
Off topic but your post so reminded me of ‘Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistle Stop cafe’ - I loved that movie! 😀
Thanks so much Kelly 💚 I really like Tricia’s perspective on rest, but you’re right - it’s not easy to reprogram a life’s worth of learning. So glad for you guys that you’re prioritising rest though. It’s worth it! And thank you for the fried green tomatoes suggestion ! Ben’s VERY keen to try them out too
The non-monetary hobby resonates with me as I stand here (barefoot) cutting out pebble shapes from dried disposable painting palettes to make thank you cards for relos I’m about to visit. I’m doing this while listening to The Tortoise, and the ever present tumble of waves behind the shop. I am indeed multitasking slowly, and loving it. When they ask me how I found the time to make the cards, I’ll refer them to The Tortoise. . Now back to my enrichingly slow project before more customers meander in and need the counter space.
I love this Naomi! We made Christmas gift labels out of fallen eucalyptus leaves from our driveway last year and the ridiculous amount of joy I got from peoples reactions was reason enough to do it again. “Multitasking slowly” is so nice. 💚💚
You can hang your green tomatoes and they will continue to ripen! https://www.milkwood.net/2015/03/04/hanging-green-tomatoes-upside-down-to-ripen/
What a beautiful post, Brooke! Reading it was like meditation. I feel calmer and less anxious. Thank you! Thank you 🧡
Everything you wrote reasonates with me a lot. I was the person who used to write New Year resolutions and always failed because there was no space or energy for them. It might sound obvious, but it took me a while to figure this out. Unfortunately, I'm the person who feels the need to monetise the hobbies. What a poisonous feeling! I tried to hide, run, argue with it. Nothing helped, inner and outer voices were always present. Yesterday I finally bought pencils and a coloring book. For the first time in who knows how long I'm doing something that doesn't help me to be more productive or integrate in a new country or develop self-growth or whatsoever.
I also really enjoy the voice recordings. Thank you!
Hi Brooke. Thank you again for another wonderful read. I did miss the sound of a dog barking or phone ringing. Oh well, maybe next time. ;-)
Many years ago, I cut my tomato vines before the temperatures dropped too low, brought them in - vine and all - and put them in my indoor laundry room. Most of them eventually ripened enough to eat =D
Make Green Tomato Chutney, it's amazing, I promise! I try to get green tomatoes at the end of each summer from our CSA just to make this.
https://lovelygreens.com/spicy-green-tomato-chutney/
I’ve been listening to your podcasts the last few years and many of the themes really resonated. I was working full time to start with however my beautiful gorgeous kind son has a vomiting syndrome called cyclic vomiting syndrome and vomits every 7 days, sometimes more frequently in summer or for longer durations in winter with the winter bugs. We grow our own food, have our own hens so don’t need a lot of money so I went part time. This has worked alot better but the first job didn’t start off part time and was deadline driven so I changed jobs to a part time job that was advertised as a part time job. I worked for a micromanager who kept pushing for work outside of the part time hours and after 8 months and many stress related symptoms left with no job to go to. That was 3 months ago. And that’s where I find myself. I do need some of my own money so I do need a job, I’m looking but there’s not a-lot of part time jobs out there at the moment. My son on the other hand is loving being picked up from school at 3.15 and having so much mummy time so that is such a joy! Reading your post and your previous podcasts although not entirely related there seems a lot of my story in there and I feel I’m at a crossroads so I will continue to read your wise words and we’ll see where it takes us/me next.
A lovely green tomato recipe that I made last year with my glut and I think it is absolutely delicious is making green tomato ketchup. It’s winter here and I love having some taste of summer through the winter. Make some passata first by roasting your tomatoes with garlic and oregano. When that’s all squishy after about an hour push it through a sieve over the saucepan you’ll make your tomato ketchup in. When you’ve got all the mushed contents into the saucepan add vinegar and sugar (not sure of the quantities but it will be in a regular homemade tomato ketchup recipe or you can add it to your taste. I think 200ml vinegar and 200g sugar is a good place to start. And then heat it to a simmer and bottle up. It should be ok on the shelf until you open if you heated it sufficiently before you bottled up and then in the fridge once opened. It takes a long time to make but it’s really worth it and I think it tastes much yummier than green tomato chutney.