Good Morning Gloucester

When I Visit The Docks at Night

When I visit the docks at night I enter a mystical realm;

what’s familiar in the daylight becomes a stage for a

pageant from another age –a reminder of what has been

and a plea from the past for us not to forget.

Work for the day has ended, the docks are empty.

The boats are all secured and the gulls are quiet.

It’s night and our vision is limited, but small sounds,

as from an unseen wind chime, render accompaniment.

The stage is set as the yellow glare from the tethered boats

is diffused in the mist that has descended across the harbor.

It offers a comforting aura to an audience of one

and a mellow atmosphere that softens the chill night air.

At night in the shadows cast by the pilings and the rigging

and the nearby buildings on the wharf, unseen and unheard,

I listen to the hubbub of the ancient crews as they gather

on these docks to lay in stores and ice and their very lives.

I see their dories nested on deck, the trawl tubs loaded

and the buoys and anchors assembled.

They await their voyage to the Banks and their

deployment at the proper time and place.

I see hope in those faces that their dories may

be filled with hundreds of thousands of pounds

of fish; that their payday is generous and their

return to this good port is swift and safe.

And, as I listen and watch this pageant unfold,

my wish is that all those whose voices I hear

and whose faces I see and whose hopes I feel, will return

to perform for me when I again visit the docks at night.

© Marty Luster 2012

Encore, first posted  June 3, 2012

Never before been so disappointed with the choices. But it’s done and it feels good to be part of it.

This is delicious, and a great alternative to regular rice if you are watching calories and/or carbs. There are 45g of carbs and 206 calories in a cup of rice vs. 5g carbs and 27 calories in a cup of cauliflower.

Also, there have been several dozen studies linking cauliflower-containing diets to cancer prevention, particularly with respect to bladder, breast, colon, prostate, and ovarian cancer. Cauliflower provides detoxifying support, has excellent antioxidant and anti-inflammatory benefits and is good for cardiovascular and digestive support, so adding more cauliflower to your diet is a healthy idea. Even if you don’t particularly like cauliflower, you can barely taste it in this recipe.  Also kids will probably like it and won’t know if you don’t tell them it is cauliflower.

This is a very easy recipe that you can alter to your own taste. Take a head of cauliflower (currently on sale 2 for $4 at MarketBasket), and run it through a food processor (or chop by hand, which is easy) until it is the size of rice grains.

Saute diced onion and garlic (or green onion if you prefer) in sesame oil and then add in the cauliflower and cook until the consistency of cooked rice (don’t overcook).  The quantity of onion and garlic/green onion is up to your taste.  I personally don’t think there is such a thing as too much of either.

Beat up two eggs and add into the mix until cooked (or you can scramble the eggs separately and add in).

Add in soy sauce and other seasoning to taste (I added pepper, dill and some Chia seed to mine).  If you are vegetarian, you can skip the eggs, and it still tastes great.  If you are a hardcore carnivore, like Joey, you can add in crumbled cooked bacon or diced pork.  I added black beans and corn to mine.

To your health!
E.J. Lefavour