First of all, wow it's been a really weird two weeks in America.

In light of the election of a certain orange, tiny-fingered person I am feeling a complex of emotions. At first it was shock: stark and empty.

Although I wasn't surprised that he won.

Many well-educated, impassioned people in my family voted for him. And many well-educated, impassioned Dem people I know refused to vote Hillary -- either by casting ballots for others or refusing to cast a vote at all.

And here we are. We have a super fun four years ahead of us, and it looks like the ultimate con man has already started enacting his plan for personal gain.

It's a goddam shame. Actually there really aren't words in the English lexicon to express the gut-twisting, anxiety-pulsing, teeth-grinding feeling of disappointment.

But in lieu of sulking or feeling sorry for myself, I have found an immense, fiery energy welling up inside of me.

It's time to get our butts in gear, people.

No more sitting on the sidelines of our timeline.

No more trusting that our government will take care of the underserved, the voiceless and womankind. Our future is truly in our hands, and if you believe in progressive ideals as I do, we have to become more civically engaged.

So, here is a list of actionable resources for all of us woke folks.

I know you guys don't come here to think about politics or whatever -- in fact, you probably come here to escape it. So I'll just leave this right here and be on my merry way.

This is essentially the same list of resources Ashlae of Oh Ladycakes posted earlier this week. It's so good I had to share it again. I've added some of my own links as well.

A crowdsourced list of "proactive things to do to not be defeated by the next 4 years."

How to make your congressperson listen to you. Hint: twitter is useless.

Here is the public list of your reps telephone numbers. ALL OF THEM.

Sixteen writers on the aftermath of the election and Trump's America.

Senator Elizabeth Warren on the Swamp People D. Trump is slopping into the White House.

You know what's important? Not being a sheeple. Read the articles you share and don't share ish that doesn't have credible sources for its facts, graphs and data.

Read and understand what The Donald plans to do in his first 100 days in office.

A Thanksgiving discussion guide from SURJ on how to have substantial conversations about racism this holiday (I am super nervous about holiday talks this year, so I'll definitely be using this guide).

Here's everywhere you can protest President-elect little fingers.

Self Care for Woke Folks. Hint: it involves getting off of the internet.

Resources for processing the election and empowering yourself as we move forward.

"Let's Give Our New Overlord Voldemort a Chance: An Open Letter From Harry Potter"

*** And now on to our regular scheduled programming. ***

Persimmon Apple Chia Drink

I have a fuyu persimmon tree in my backyard. The previous owners planted it about 3 feet from the house, alongside jujube date and heirloom pomegranate trees.

You can often see the greenery of the persimmon from the kitchen window featured in so many of my photos.

A frost came -- a late frost -- and the leaves fell in a slump all at once. I watched the foliage drop to the earth in a matter of hours, leaving a few dangling orange fruits behind.

There's an old wives tale that says you should wait for a frost before picking persimmons. That might actually be true for American varietals, with their mouth-puckering tannins. But for fuyu -- the squashed, firm-fleshed Asian variety -- not so true. I've been picking mine since mid-October, successfully finding sweet-enough fruits right off the branch. Luckily they ripen on the counter, so it was no problem to pick them a bit early.

As an experiment, I left about 5 fruits on the tree until last Monday, when we got that frost.

The fruits still on the branches were speckled from exposure to the elements. They were a deep, ruddy orange -- the flesh sweet as candy, with that juicy floral flavor -- jasmine, vanilla, asian pear.

I have a whole crisper drawer full of these beauties, some of which I've already baked into pies or cooked into buttery oatmeal. But there's something sparkling and delicate about raw fuyu persimmon. You know I'm always looking for ways to stay hydrated and eat raw colorful things. So I took a note from my friend Lily and blitzed some raw fruit together with water to make a no-juicer-necessary sipper.

The result: a creamy, tangy, sweet and refreshing persimmon drink swirled with chia seeds! Bright, crisp and smooth.

Persimmon flesh is both dense and soft. If you've never had it before, imagine a cantaloupe's texture crossed with a slightly unripe mango. When persimmons are really ripe and soft, the flesh is almost pudding-like. So this drink is pleasantly thick, a cross between a smoothie and juice. I like it cool, although if you want it ice-cold add a couple cubes of ice to the blender along with the fruit and water.

I find the flavor and texture really soothing on the tummy. It's been keeping me happy during the doldrums of my work day.

I'll be making a big jar of this Persimmon Chia Soother to sip on during my Thanksgiving cook-a-thon next week. It'll keep me energized and quell my fiery appetite until our early-afternoon feast!

Persimmon Chia Soother

Created by Renee on November 18, 2016

Note: You want to use fuyu persimmons for this, the firm variety that looks like a stocky orange apple. If you use the oblong American variety, make sure it’s completely squishy and remove the peel and seeds before blending.

• Prep Time: 12m

• Yield: 2 servings or one large serving

Ingredients

• 2 medium sized fuyu persimmons, green tops removed and chopped roughly
• 1 small green apple (I used albemarle pippins), chopped roughly
• 1/2 lemon, skin removed (use the whole fruit)
• 2 cups filtered water
• 2 teaspoons maple syrup + more, to taste
• 1 teaspoon chia seeds

Instructions

1. Add all of the ingredients except for the chia to a blender. Whizz on high until the mixture is smooth.
2. Strain the mixture through a fine mesh sieve into a bowl, pressing the juice through the strainer with a spoon and scraping off all of that good fruit juice from the bottom of the sieve into the bowl.
3. Pour the juice into a large mason jar and add the chia seeds. Set aside for 10 minutes to allow the chia to hydrate. Sip and enjoy! Makes 2 servings or one large serving.