In the wild, male elephants stay with their mothers until adolescence (age 13--elephants live to 50 years old!) and females never leave. But Ringling Bros. takes babies away from their mothers at 18 months, before "training" them with physically and psychically painful methods. PETA has a very sweet Mother's Day card you can print out and mail to the USDA asking for regulations to stop these cruel practices. Imagine a deluge of pink cards with cartoon elephants at the USDA!
Circuses are cruel institutions that belong in the history books as outrageous examples of the exploitation of fellow animals for money. Let's all resolve to find more humane ways to entertain our children.
Thursday, April 29, 2010
Friday, April 9, 2010
Veganomicon mistakes
I had a less-than-stellar couple weeks in my Veganomicon cook-through, though that streak is broken with the Butternut Squash Rice Paper Rolls I will blog about shortly. Here are some notes about Double Pea Soup, Chickpea Cutlets, and the Grilled Yuca Tortillas.
I'm not sure why I try to make split pea soup as often as I do. I don't really like it. But I guess I have a feeling that there is a way to cook anything to make it taste good, so I just keep trying! So the odds were against Double Pea Soup with Roasted Red Peppers from the beginning. To be fair, it is the best split pea soup I've ever eaten...the tarragon, sweet peas and red peppers lent it a freshness it doesn't usually have.
On the other hand, the wheatberry dish I had on the side was awesome. I don't remember what I did exactly, but I had cooked wheatberries in the freezer and I heated those and added them to lots of sauteed mushrooms. It was flavored with red miso paste stirred into some hot veggie broth and probably a little fire oil.
Chickpea Cutlets are one of the signature recipes in Veganomicon, which is why I wanted to make them right away! There are many reasons I should have loved them...
...but I did not. It's possible I had the heat on too high while pan-frying them, because I didn't leave them on as long as the recipe recommended--they were getting too dark. But the texture in the middle was unpleasant to me--sort of gooey and stringy. I have used vital wheat gluten before to much better success (Vegan Dad's excellent Tempeh Burgers), though, and I think I will give this recipe another chance. I also made the Mustard Sauce from Veganomicon (I would thin it out more next time), and served it with green beans from the freezer.
I was also a little disappointed in the Grilled Yuca Tortillas, cheese-less quesadillas with root vegetable and garlic filling. I'm glad to know of a new-to-me vegetable, though--the yuca--but next time will take very seriously the warning to remove the fibrous core. My yuca was very thin, and I couldn't see it (I'm guessing it's more obvious in the thicker, older yuca), so I didn't worry about it, but I had to remove a piece from almost every bite...blech. That was my fault. But I also found them a little bland and dry, especially as leftovers, though they were pretty satisfying the first day.
On day 3 of the leftovers, I gave up on the yuca-dillas and made soup from the yuca mixture and salsa, and it was wonderful (though I was still removing those inedible fibers...). I had it for three more days!
I'm not sure why I try to make split pea soup as often as I do. I don't really like it. But I guess I have a feeling that there is a way to cook anything to make it taste good, so I just keep trying! So the odds were against Double Pea Soup with Roasted Red Peppers from the beginning. To be fair, it is the best split pea soup I've ever eaten...the tarragon, sweet peas and red peppers lent it a freshness it doesn't usually have.
On the other hand, the wheatberry dish I had on the side was awesome. I don't remember what I did exactly, but I had cooked wheatberries in the freezer and I heated those and added them to lots of sauteed mushrooms. It was flavored with red miso paste stirred into some hot veggie broth and probably a little fire oil.
Chickpea Cutlets are one of the signature recipes in Veganomicon, which is why I wanted to make them right away! There are many reasons I should have loved them...
...but I did not. It's possible I had the heat on too high while pan-frying them, because I didn't leave them on as long as the recipe recommended--they were getting too dark. But the texture in the middle was unpleasant to me--sort of gooey and stringy. I have used vital wheat gluten before to much better success (Vegan Dad's excellent Tempeh Burgers), though, and I think I will give this recipe another chance. I also made the Mustard Sauce from Veganomicon (I would thin it out more next time), and served it with green beans from the freezer.
I was also a little disappointed in the Grilled Yuca Tortillas, cheese-less quesadillas with root vegetable and garlic filling. I'm glad to know of a new-to-me vegetable, though--the yuca--but next time will take very seriously the warning to remove the fibrous core. My yuca was very thin, and I couldn't see it (I'm guessing it's more obvious in the thicker, older yuca), so I didn't worry about it, but I had to remove a piece from almost every bite...blech. That was my fault. But I also found them a little bland and dry, especially as leftovers, though they were pretty satisfying the first day.
On day 3 of the leftovers, I gave up on the yuca-dillas and made soup from the yuca mixture and salsa, and it was wonderful (though I was still removing those inedible fibers...). I had it for three more days!
Wednesday, April 7, 2010
Quest Cigarettes discontinued!
Today is the second anniversary of the day I quit smoking! One of the best things I've ever done. Without that extra $150 a month, I doubt I'd be able to afford Parsley and Milo, and I'm not so sure about my ongoing bathroom renovation, either.
I quit - believe it or not - the easy way: with Quest Cigarettes. Haven't heard of them? Of course not, no one else has, either, and now they're gone for lack of demand. I blame several groups of people with varying degrees of vehemence:
I quit - believe it or not - the easy way: with Quest Cigarettes. Haven't heard of them? Of course not, no one else has, either, and now they're gone for lack of demand. I blame several groups of people with varying degrees of vehemence:
- People who think that smoking cigarettes while you're quitting is cheating! Seriously. A friend of mine wanted to quit right away, for all the right reasons, so she rushed through the steps, against my advice. And now (do I need to say it?)...she's still smoking. I spent two weeks at Level 1, Low Nicotine, two weeks at Level 2, Ultra-Low Nicotine, and two weeks at Level 3, Nicotine Free. I noticed each decrease for the first day--I felt like I wanted to pull harder. But I just got used it. Then, eventually, I smoked the last pack of Level 3, and I was done. None of those panicky cravings, no rationalizations for buying one more pack rattling around in my head all day; it was practically a non-event.
- Ligget Vector Brands, the manufacturer of Quest Cigarettes, for an extremely poor naming choice. Do an internet search for "quit smoking with quest cigarettes" and you get one million blog posts named "My quest to quit smoking." There is literally no way to get any information about using Quest to quit. Why isn't there anything on the subject on the Ligget Vector website? That brings me to the group of people for whom I reserve my greatest ire...
- Big Pharma. Yes, their lobbyists prevented Ligget from advertising Quest as a stop smoking aid. They wouldn't want anyone getting the impression that anything other than more drugs could be the solution to anything. Need to wean yourself off drugs? Don't try less drugs, try more drugs!
Tuesday, April 6, 2010
Inspiration
Last November I drove from Michigan to the West Coast and back, stopping to see friends along the way. Going west, I took the shortest path, along I70, through the plains and Colorado. On the way back, I stopped in Phoenix, so I took a more southerly route home.
The farms in the middle of the country are mostly corn, something I'm used to seeing in Michigan. But Texas and Oklahoma are full of cows. Brown cows, spotted cows, and black cows. They didn't seem as unhappy as I had been expecting: stuffed together, standing in rivers of their own excrement. Though maybe they keep some pretty by the freeways for the benefit of those driving by.
But those big, beautiful black cows with their sad, thoughtful brown eyes reminded me so much of my driving companion:
The farms in the middle of the country are mostly corn, something I'm used to seeing in Michigan. But Texas and Oklahoma are full of cows. Brown cows, spotted cows, and black cows. They didn't seem as unhappy as I had been expecting: stuffed together, standing in rivers of their own excrement. Though maybe they keep some pretty by the freeways for the benefit of those driving by.
But those big, beautiful black cows with their sad, thoughtful brown eyes reminded me so much of my driving companion:
My Parsley is so sweet and innocent and trusting, I couldn't help but attribute those qualities to those pretty, calm cows. And now I can't justify being a party to their inhumane treatment. So no more burgers for me.
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