Although here in SoCal the heat is on its way out - I hope - I am still detecting little pockets of it, like little pieces of unpredictable, random, chaos in life. The pockets of heat, they grab me unaware and require my attention. 

What else could it be but heat; out of it tension arises, things are forced to the surface, and it lays quietly in wait, like magma beneath a mountain - a mountain that could very well be a volcano. Even in the coolest conditions, there are pockets of heat scattered about and expanding, or so I believe. 

Two days ago, I was walking in my hallway and noticed that there were two hot spots; one by the linen closet and one underneath our attic. I pressed the back of my hand against walls, listened for buzzing from electricity, and walked back and forth in the hallway for fifteen minutes worrying that something was imminently wrong in our home. Then just like that, the pockets of heat went away. The heat was so real that I could almost touch it. And then, nothing.

Yesterday morning, I walked outside expecting a cooler day, but the sun beat down on my shoulders. It warmed my skin so quickly that I mentally prepared myself for for a hotter-than-forecasted day. While leaving the gym, I bought myself a bottled water which I left in the car while Melia and I shopped for Halloween candy. When we returned to the car, I took a sip of the bottled water, which was still cool, but provided little sips of heat within the sweating bottle I held in my hand. More pockets of heat, invisible but I could taste them, the contrast of cool and hot playing off each other…smoothly. 

Sipping my water, at a stoplight, I looked outside my car window and notoced a bed of meticulously planted flowers on the divide…orange, red and yellow. Like a blooming fire, low to the Earth, wanting to get off the ground. Everywhere, little pieces of heat. Sometimes the pockets of heat are so nice to look at, you can’t take your eyes off of them.

I made stewed lentils in the slow cooker Thursday. Last week at Costco, Melia and I sampled Madras Lentils - so good, creamy and hearty - but with 900 mg of sodium per pouch. Badly as I wanted to buy the product, bring it home, re-heat it and exclaim to everyone “I got it at Costco, isn’t it good?” I set down the box, thanked the person sampling the food, and told her to have a good day. I’m going to make that at home, with less sodium, I thought to myself. So I did. I used two whole serrano peppers and today when I bit into one, I got more heat. But it wasn’t overpowering, it was flavorful. The pocket of heat withtin lended personality I found irresistible, though part of me said beware.

My son has been practicing pitching and hitting, hitting and pitching. When the fastball is called for, Alex places two fingers of his his still boyish looking hand over two seams of the baseball, hiding his pitch formation within his glove. He gets the heater ready. He winds up, his shape contorts, and in these few seconds I can see everything that got him to this moment and imagine clearly what is to come, because of his little pocket of heat.

Around 4pm yesterday, Melia looked flushed, so I felt her belly, and once again, used the back of my hand to detect heat, but this time placing it against her forehead where soft, stubby baby bangs hide beneath her ringlets. Since yesterday afternoon, Melia has been a 36-inch tall pocket of heat. The heat got to 104 degrees at 3:00 am this morning, even with children’s ibuprofen it only goes down to 102.2. In her breathy voice she asks me “Can I still go trick or treating Momma?” Getting sick on Halloween, random. Fever of 104 at 3am, chaos. A little body fighting infection, with heat.

Little pockets of heat everywhere, all the time. All you have to do is use the right senses, and the pockets of heat can stop you, hold you, feed you, and refine you. 
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(slow cooker) STEWED LENTILS
1 package of green lentils, rinsed
1-2 tbsp. extra virgin olive oil
1 can red kidney beans, undrained
1 jar tomato paste
64 oz. chicken broth
2 serrano chilies, whole (unsliced), stem removed
1 tbsp. honey
1 bay leaf
1 tsp. smoked paprika
1 tsp. ground coriander
1/2 tsp. chili powder
kosher salt
black pepper

Pour rinsed lentils into a slow cooker. Drizzle with olive oil. Add beans, tomato paste, broth, chilies, honey, bay leaf, paprika, coriander, chili powder, salt and pepper. Mix well. Cook on low setting for 6 hours, or until broth is absorbed (no more than 8 hours total!).
We top our lentils with everything from red wine vinegar to Tabsaco to Parmesan. This dish is perfect on it’s own, with a roasted chicken and green salad, or next to some grilled sausages.
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TOASTED PUMPKIN SEEDS A LA KARRIE
When in need of a recipe, ask another foodie. My amiga Karrie does her pumpkin seeds this way. Check out her blog, http://karriemcallister.blogspot.com.

Fresh pumpkin seeds, washed and patted dry
extra virgin olive oil
kosher salt
* Lawry’s Seasoning, too, that is what Karrie adds because her Dad always used it

Toss the seeds with enough olive oil to coat, and use a lot of salt. On a baking sheet (I’d imagine parchment paper or some canola oil spray would be good to place down first), spread out the seeds and roast between 250-275 for one hour, stirring every 15 minutes or so, she says. Remove when they are “done to your desired crispiness.”

I think I’ll toast mine with either Mrs. Dash - 0g trans fats, all natural ingredients, and really good stuff in there too! Or cumin+cayenne+paprika.