Cornbread!!!

I am a Texas Girl (yep, caps on both those). There are typical Southern/Texas things that I hate (sweet and iced tea – why would you do that to tea?!), things that I used to love but don’t eat anymore since I gave up meat (brisket, BBQ, fried chicken, etc.), things that I have learned to make vegetarian (COLLARDS!), and lastly, things that I LOVE that I have not and will not give up. Cornbread is one of those things. It’s so versatile. It can be sweet, savory, the part of a casserole, a great side, or whatever you can dream up! I had four ears of sweet corn and blueberries from my CSA, a recipe for blueberry corn muffins and a hankerin’ for some spicy cornbread. That is what I made. I got some cornmeal from Farmer Ground Flour, grabbed a can of chipotles and got to work.

No recipe for this one except: find a good cornbread recipe, buy some good ingredients, and start experimenting.

Talk to Those Who Will Listen

I just went through my google alerts on women’s and gay rights. Inevitably there is be a piece that makes me want to scream at the author and/or throw things. However, my cat hates it when I do this, so I’ve worked on controlling the outbursts. Continue reading “Talk to Those Who Will Listen”

Egg Pancake

Now I'm hungry again.

So that looks like a frittata, but it is not. I don’t have time for the oven in the morning. Also, lately the weather has been cooler, but the summer heat keeps the oven in the off and locked position. I needed a quick recipe for mornings that satisfied the following criteria (in the order that I think of them):
1. Uses some of the eggs in the fridge (I have a ridiculous amount sometimes thanx to my CSA!)
2. Is delicious
3. Takes relatively little time
4. Has some sort of breadish carb so that I’m not hungry 30 minutes later (I know that the eggs should take care of that with their protein and all, but for me it doesn’t seem to work that way)

What I came up with was the Egg Pancake!Continue reading “Egg Pancake”

Insomnia

I’ve been dealing with some slight insomnia lately. Mostly this means that I go to bed around 11PM but I’m lying awake until after 1AM. It wouldn’t be a problem, except that I get up at 7AM. Okay, my alarm goes off at 7AM. I get up by 8AM (Side note: I have a great alarm clock that lets me choose my snooze time – between 10 minutes and 1.5 hours. It’s definitely dangerous some days, but I love it). Continue reading “Insomnia”

Basil Chips

No pictures for this food item because, frankly, it didn’t look that great. It tasted amazing though. Here’s the story:

I had the basil from my CSA that had gone slightly off in the refrigerator. It wasn’t bad, but it didn’t look great and I didn’t have any recipe that I could use it in right then. So I thought: people make kale chips, I wonder if that would work for basil… Pulled off the leaves, washed them up, tossed them in olive oil and sea salt. Then I laid them out on a cookie sheet and baked at 350 degrees for 5 minutes.

Oh man they were good. The house smelled of basil, and the chips were crisp and basil-y and amazing.

We have some left over mint in the fridge. I might do the same thing but with maple syrup instead of olive oil.

What other chips have people made?

An Open Call to Continental

I’m originally from Houston, and my family still lives there. I fly to Houston several times a year, and since Continental has its hub in Houston, it is the airline I usually take to there. I have a been a vegetarian for almost a decade. When I first gave up meat, Continental served great food to people who have non-mainstream diets. I remember Amy’s burritos and other organic foods. Yes, they were all frozen, but they were higher quality frozen. Then they decided to do away with these meals to save money. But instead of altering all of the meals to at least match an ovo-lacto, kosher* diet, they serve the same food they did before to everyone. No choices except on cross-country or international flights. My fellow alternate dieters and I have to purchase other food or just wait until we get somewhere (like home) with food waiting for us. I can’t tell you how much more this irks me even more now that I also have to pay to check my bag.

So here is my call to Continental: Please serve food that a wider population will eat. (Or give us a discount on your other fees.) And so you don’t have to actually do any initial research on meals that would be appropriate (and delicious) for everyone, here is an off-the-top-of-my-head list:

  • Bean burritos/tacos
  • Cheese pizza (I have seen this on a few flights, but not in a couple of years)
  • Nachos
  • Falafel/Sabbich sandwich
  • Grilled veggie sandwich
  • Cheese sandwich
  • PB&J

I bet any other vegetarian or vegetarian-friendly omnivores could name others. These things are cheap and good. Total crowd pleasers. So Continental, change your meal policies; cover more of your clients; go veg!

*I’ve noticed that vegetarian food tends to be kosher (or at least pareve), but I am by no means fluent in this diet. If anyone wants to educate/correct me, leave a comment!

Finish Line Laziness

Have you ever been doing something and you get to nearly the end of it and all of your energy and focus around the task just leaves you? I remember this happening to me when writing creative fiction in elementary school. I would get through about 75% of the story that was in my head, in incredible detail, only to give up the ending in my head for a quick fix, totally contrived ending because I was SO over writing that story. I guess taking a break and coming back wasn’t really an option for me then. (Later in school, the phrase deus ex machina would have special meaning for me) This laziness happens when I am rearranging my room. I get everything undone and then lose motivation to redo it. (Where is my machina, world?!) Continue reading “Finish Line Laziness”

Pro-Choice and Proud

I am a pro-choice person. Being one completely changed my life. I had lost my direction and gotten lost in a bottle or two (or four). I started volunteering because I needed something in my life that made me feel good about myself, good about my life, just good. Because of taking that first step, I was able to get on the path that I wanted to be on, and I absolutely give full credit to my work as a pro-choice activist for getting back into school and getting my life back together they way I envisioned it. Small steps can make big changes.

Part of what I do is to escort patients into the clinic. Even though this is New York City, there are regular, anti-choice harassers outside of the clinic every weekend. I am used to them. We strangely have a silent agreement about what they are allowed to get away with, in the interest of keeping the area outside of the clinic as calm as possible. The people in the neighborhood are very supportive of the clinic. Several times during a shift, they will thank whoever is standing by the door or across the street. Escorting in New York City is mostly a job of Good Mornings and smiles. But there is a reason we are all trained to deal with anti-choice protesters. Continue reading “Pro-Choice and Proud”

2012 Ate My Brain!

I got home yesterday and my roommate was watching the movie 2012. I was not going to get sucked in to this, but I had a cobbler to make and the tv is right by the kitchen (hello, NYC apartment). So we’re watching. I am a sucker for cheesy action flicks with hardcore nice (usually) guys risking their lives for other people and human beings banding together to defeat a foe. So yeah, Independence Day gets me.

[TINY SPOILER ALERT]
Continue reading “2012 Ate My Brain!”

family and war

my brother is looking down the barrel of a tour in Afghanistan. he has already been to Iraq, which is actually why he’s going to Afghanistan. he signed up for a few more years while in Iraq. the army accepted this from him. at the time, he would tell me that he couldn’t imagine coming back to the US, that coming home was what scared him. the army capitalized on this fear, and now he is heading to Afghanistan soon.

i can’t think clearly about this because he is my brother and i am too mad. to me, he was clearly not in a state to be able to sign a new contract. but he’s not going to fight the contract. no, he’ll fight a war instead. my own fear and loyalty makes me want to fight this fight for him but i won’t because he is a grown man. what can i do?! i need steps to take.

i want him home and making those next plans and taking next steps in his life. i don’t want to worry or to remember to worry or to forget to worry enough. worry is where a lot of my personal superstitions manifest; you should see me on an airplane.

i don’t think my outrage is only personal. if someone else told this to me, i would have the benefit of being angry without the frustration of needing and being unable to do anything. the best i can do is tell him, “if you feel the need to re-up while on tour again, do us all a favor and at least wait until you get back home.” and hope and wait for him to return safely.