So there's an article in the Huffington Post this morning, Vegetarian Protein Is Just As "Complete" As Meat, Despite What We've Been Taught, which is written by Kristen Aiken. Granted, it is written by a journalist, not a scientist, but it is certainly of interest to vegetarians. After dismissing "protein combining" as a '70s fad, Aiken goes on to quote a Dr. John McDougall as follows:
"A vegetarian diet based on any single one or combination of these unprocessed starches (eg, rice, corn, potatoes, beans), with the addition of vegetables and fruits, supplies all the protein, amino acids, essential fats, minerals, and vitamins (with the exception of vitamin B12) necessary for excellent health. "
The diet McDougall encourages is about what local vegan chef JL Fields advocates. She puts nutritional yeast, rich in B12, into many of her recipes, so living on a combination of her recipes for risottos, bean stews, soups, etc., would appear to meet all nutritional requirements.
Whether or not I'm getting every amino acid I'm suppopsed to have, I have so much more energy after going vegan and experimenting with JL Field's recipes in her book, Vegan Pressure Cooking. I was playing around with my new NutriPot this morning and made an adaptation of one of JL's recipes. It is "umami" flavored. "Umami" is apparently one of five basic tastes, along with sweet, sour, salty, and bitter. The taste comes from glutamates, which occur naturally in several foods, including mushrooms, soy sauce, and mature cheeses. Here goes:
Umami Adzuki Beans:
Ingredients:
1 cup dried adzuki beans
1 tablespoon olive oil
2 onions, diced
1 tablespoon sugar
1 cup mushrooms, diced
1 teaspoon sugar
2 tablespoons minced garlic
1/4 teaspoon liquid smoke
1 teaspoon paprika
2.5 cups of vegetable broth
2 tablespoons red miso
1 teaspoon tamari
Rinse the adzuki beans and soak for 12 hours (I do 8 hours on a countertop, followed by overnight in the fridge.) Set the electric pressure cooker to "Sear" ("Saute" on some devices) for 20 minutes. Add the olive oil and onions and fry, stirring occasionally, for 15 minutes. Then add the sugar and mushrooms, stir, and fry for an additional 5 minutes. In the last minute of the "Sear" stage, add the minced garlic and stir. Then add the liquid smoke, the paprika, the vegetable broth, and the soaked adzuki beans (drain first.) Cook at pressure for 25 minutes and allow for a natural release. Stir in the red miso and tamari and serve.
Wednesday, February 28, 2018
Tuesday, February 27, 2018
When Less Is More
“Don't own so much clutter that you will be relieved to see your house catch fire.” ---- Wendell Berry
So I've been thinking lately about decluttering and downsizing and the inanity of brandname products. I think I could live far more modestly and be just as happy and comfortable.
I was washing some fleecy jackets today, and it occured to me that my favorite of all is one that I bought on clearance at Walmart for the princely sum of $9. Forget the North Faces, the Marmots, and the Ralph Laurens, that $9 special is the cosiest, most comfortable, warmest, softest, easiest-to-take-care-of hoody I've ever owned. My second favorite is a green jacket, also bought at Walmart, for $5. Both are warmer and softer than my North Face, etc., jackets. I bought one of the kids a fleecy hoody for more than 20 times what I paid for my favorite jacket, and that sucker got its knickers in a knot during its first session in the dryer and now looks like it has mange.
We seem to accumulate so much "stuff." When the freezer compartment of our refrigerator broke down the other day, I threw out the entire contents. Most of the stuff had been there for too long and would never have been used. It's a relief to have it gone. I was able to clean out the freezer compartment properly for the first time in years, and it's now lightly stocked and the contents are easily accessible. I could probably dump 80% of my clothes, and the only difference I would notice is that it would be easier to find things in my walk-in closet. Affluenza is suffocating.
We tend to eat a lot of packaged foods. Lately I've been cooking healthy, nutritious, tasty, inexpensive vegan food from scratch. I could probably feed the entire family on $10 a day if they would accept steel-cut oats, rice, beans, water, and fresh produce, rather than insisting on expensive, over-processed meat analogs.
Perhaps we should get rid of everything we own and buy an inexpensive little cottage in Leadville, recently ranked the "cutest town in Colorado." To sustain our expensive lifestyle, Craig spends nearly every waking hour working and is out of town every other week. If we were to live more cheaply, he'd be able to retire earlier, and the quality of our lives would probably improve enormously. The simple life is calling.
Monday, February 26, 2018
Vegetarian High Tea
So tonight's dinner was a vegetarian high tea, which I served with Gaffer's pink and gold tea set.
Here are some of my recipes:
1) Scones
Mix 3 cups of self rising flower, 1 cup whipping cream, and 1 cup Squirt or Sprite until just mixed. With floured hands, form 10-12 balls, place on a greased cooking sheet, pat down, make a few indentations on the top of each with a fork, paint the top of each with milk, cream, or beaten egg, and bake at 390°F for about 15 minutes. Of all the scone recipes I have tried, this one produces the lightest and fluffiest scones. Serve warm with jam and whipped cream.
2) Vegetarian Sausage Rolls.
Take ten defrosted Morning Star breakfast sausages (one box) and a sheet of puff pastry. Spread the puff pastry a little, wrap each sausage in a rectangle of puff pastry, and use a knife to make markings along the top and seam. Bake at 425°F for 10 minutes.
3) Tempeh Mayonnaise (for sandwiches)
Use one block of organic tempeh. Remove from packaging, steam in the microwave for three or four minutes, and then boil on the stovetop in a pan of vegetable broth for about 12 minutes. Drain the tempeh and mash in a bowl with a little lemon juice. Add 1/4 cup each of diced red onion and celery. If desired, add more vegetables such as chopped scallions, capsicum, parsley, radishes, etc. Add mayonnaise to taste and stir well.
We tried these recipes this evening with a salad, cut fruit, cucumber and cream cheese sandwiches, and decaffeinated black Irish tea.
Because this was an evening meal as opposed to a traditional afternoon tea, I went for savory and rather "hearty" items over sweet and dainty ones. I think the best afternoon tea I have ever had was at The Teahouse at Abkhazi Garden in Victoria, British Columbia, where, among many other delicious foods, we enjoyed tiny ramekins of crème brûlée (these are not currently on the menu.) I plan to get some 1 oz. ramekins and demitasse spoons and make some of those for my next "fancy" afternoon tea, along with tiny chocolate eclairs and petits fours.
Here are some of my recipes:
1) Scones
Mix 3 cups of self rising flower, 1 cup whipping cream, and 1 cup Squirt or Sprite until just mixed. With floured hands, form 10-12 balls, place on a greased cooking sheet, pat down, make a few indentations on the top of each with a fork, paint the top of each with milk, cream, or beaten egg, and bake at 390°F for about 15 minutes. Of all the scone recipes I have tried, this one produces the lightest and fluffiest scones. Serve warm with jam and whipped cream.
2) Vegetarian Sausage Rolls.
Take ten defrosted Morning Star breakfast sausages (one box) and a sheet of puff pastry. Spread the puff pastry a little, wrap each sausage in a rectangle of puff pastry, and use a knife to make markings along the top and seam. Bake at 425°F for 10 minutes.
3) Tempeh Mayonnaise (for sandwiches)
Use one block of organic tempeh. Remove from packaging, steam in the microwave for three or four minutes, and then boil on the stovetop in a pan of vegetable broth for about 12 minutes. Drain the tempeh and mash in a bowl with a little lemon juice. Add 1/4 cup each of diced red onion and celery. If desired, add more vegetables such as chopped scallions, capsicum, parsley, radishes, etc. Add mayonnaise to taste and stir well.
We tried these recipes this evening with a salad, cut fruit, cucumber and cream cheese sandwiches, and decaffeinated black Irish tea.
Because this was an evening meal as opposed to a traditional afternoon tea, I went for savory and rather "hearty" items over sweet and dainty ones. I think the best afternoon tea I have ever had was at The Teahouse at Abkhazi Garden in Victoria, British Columbia, where, among many other delicious foods, we enjoyed tiny ramekins of crème brûlée (these are not currently on the menu.) I plan to get some 1 oz. ramekins and demitasse spoons and make some of those for my next "fancy" afternoon tea, along with tiny chocolate eclairs and petits fours.
Sunday, February 25, 2018
Gaffer's Tea Set
We used to call my paternal grandmother "Gaffer," a corruption of "Granny from Africa", which is what my English cousins called her. Gaffer was a gentle, kind, beautiful old lady with great blue eyes and soft white curls.
Her favorite tea service was a pink and gold Royal Tuscan set that I always adored. My Aunt Ann remembers, at the age of seven in 1947, buying it with Gaffer at Henshilwoods, a family owned department store in Claremont, Cape Town (I believe Henshilwoods closed in 1998.) Apparently Gaffer loved it and would always produce it with great pride when she served a formal tea.
To me, the service has always had a surreal, fairytale quality, although I know people who find it too chintzy, too gaudy, and too overdone. After my grandmother developed dementia, it came to my family and remained, unused, in a cabinet in our home. I would often go and look at it. I would take down a cup and stare at the soft baby pink and gold and at the beautiful daisies painted on it. When Craig and I married, my mother brought it over from South Africa and gave it to me as a wedding gift from Gaffer. I have always loved and treasured it. I feel Gaffer whispers to me through it. It conveys to me her kindness, her elegance, and her gentle nurturing spirit.
Initially, I had six cups and saucers, six little plates, a milk jug, a sugar basin, and a cake platter. Later, to my intense joy, I found more of the same pattern on eBay in the UK. This set contained a coffee pot or hot water holder, another six cups and saucers, six plates, a regular-sized sugar basin and milk jug, and six tiny and dainty demitasse cups and saucers. When Laura and Emma were little, we'd sometimes sit down to tea and scones, and they and their dolls would each get a demitasse cup of tea.
I was admiring the set last Friday when, to my horror, I dropped a cup and broke it. I felt I'd committed sacrilege. Thankfully, the cup was from the set I bought online, and not from Gaffer's original service, which has remained intact for over 70 years. It's very hard to find additional items for this pattern. Replacements.com has nothing. However, I looked on eBay, and, to my surprise, saw six cups and saucers for sale! I have ordered them, and now we should have enough that I won't feel the need to be so cautious about using this set.
My plan is to serve "high tea" with this service once a week from now on. Laura and I fell in love with cream teas when we were in British Columbia in 2016, and I want to revive that beautiful tradition in our home. To make the "tea" a full dinner, I plan to add a number of savory items such as finger sandwiches, tiny quiches, and other miniature hors d'oeuvres, such as miniature vegatarian sausage rolls (so easy to make with Morning Star breakfast sausages and puff pastry) and maybe even miniature pizzas, and then we'll have scones with jam and cream for dessert. I'll have to figure out some salad/veggie items that work with this meal, maybe salad wrapped up in a lettuce leaf and served as finger food.
Tuesday, February 20, 2018
The Unbearable Nuttiness of Gun Nuts
Since Parkland, there has been some excellent commentary about gun control. Some of it comes from Parkland's surviving students, who, through their conviction, courage, and poise, are showing why their generation is a lot more compassionate and solution-oriented than mine. A young man named Cameron Kasky, after spending part of last Wednesday hiding in a classroom with his little brother and wondering whether or not they'd survive, stated that, "My generation won't stand for this." The Washington Post published a factual article, which relates government policies to observed outcomes, about gun control in the US and abroad.
And then, there was ... (holding nose and keeping the article at arm's lenth) a dumbfoundingly illogical post, When Will the Shooting Stop?, by a John Horvat II of Crisis Magazine. I'm not sure whether this man is simply naive or whether he's the sort of politically scheming, diabolically nefarious manipulator who would run Russian bots if he had half a chance. Either way, Horvat claims to know exactly what causes school shootings, and the answer is ... liberalism! Not guns. Not mental health issues. Just liberalism!
Horvat opines that school shootings are a moral problem (no shit!), but not a gun problem. Dude, you do realize that 17 people were shot to death? With a military grade assault weapon? But the real problem, according to this dipshit, is that liberalism is causing social disintegration.
How? Because, apparently, liberalism:
1) Promotes extreme autonomy and freedom without acknowledging authority (so you mean, like, the Bundy brothers?), and
2) It erodes societal values and institutions that protect us from people who are inspired to shoot us because they have too much autonomy and freedom because liberalism.
He tries to develop this circular argument by claiming that the breakdown of stable, Christian families has led to the creation of "shooter-monsters" against whom society is defenseless.
True fact: Societies are not "defenseless" against "shooter-monsters". After horrific mass shootings in Dunblane, Scotland, and Port Arthur, Tasmania, both of which occurred in 1996, societies came together to demand change. As a result, the UK and Australia passed very strict gun control laws, and there hasn't been a school shooting in the UK since, while gun violence in Australia has gone way down.
We don't have to sit by helplessly and allow "shooter-monsters" to kill our children. There are proven solutions, starting with stricter gun controls, to this problem.
In another circular argument, Horvat goes on to claim liberalism deprives life of meaning because it breaks down meaningful social relations, leaving shooters so lonely that they apparently have no choice but to shoot. And then it's also because of God, or rather "not God". Because if you don't got God, then you gotta shoot people. And because liberalism sins against God. Or something.
And, finally, Horvat offers his solution to school shootings. They will stop when and only when "Christ is enthroned as King"!
So there would be no shootings in a Christian theocracy? I hate to be the one to point this out to him, but European Christendom was a depressingly violent and brutal time and place.
As Steven Pinker points out, societies are becoming increasingly ethical, kind, and civilized, and the likely reason for this is ... liberalism as it presents in Enlightenment values. Murder rates in the US have dropped precipitously over the past 30 years. That mass shooting deaths have increased, amidst an increasingly peaceful climate, is almost certainly because of the proliferation of assault weapons. Horvat's claims are entirely meritless. He presents a confused jumble of personal opinions and prejudices as facts, while entirely ignoring any real analysis of the situation.
Thank God for the rising generation! Because the "Enlightenment is working", we seem to turning out compassionate young people who can solve problems logically and have the self-confidence to challenge the prevailing wisdom (or lack thereof).
And then, there was ... (holding nose and keeping the article at arm's lenth) a dumbfoundingly illogical post, When Will the Shooting Stop?, by a John Horvat II of Crisis Magazine. I'm not sure whether this man is simply naive or whether he's the sort of politically scheming, diabolically nefarious manipulator who would run Russian bots if he had half a chance. Either way, Horvat claims to know exactly what causes school shootings, and the answer is ... liberalism! Not guns. Not mental health issues. Just liberalism!
Horvat opines that school shootings are a moral problem (no shit!), but not a gun problem. Dude, you do realize that 17 people were shot to death? With a military grade assault weapon? But the real problem, according to this dipshit, is that liberalism is causing social disintegration.
How? Because, apparently, liberalism:
1) Promotes extreme autonomy and freedom without acknowledging authority (so you mean, like, the Bundy brothers?), and
2) It erodes societal values and institutions that protect us from people who are inspired to shoot us because they have too much autonomy and freedom because liberalism.
He tries to develop this circular argument by claiming that the breakdown of stable, Christian families has led to the creation of "shooter-monsters" against whom society is defenseless.
True fact: Societies are not "defenseless" against "shooter-monsters". After horrific mass shootings in Dunblane, Scotland, and Port Arthur, Tasmania, both of which occurred in 1996, societies came together to demand change. As a result, the UK and Australia passed very strict gun control laws, and there hasn't been a school shooting in the UK since, while gun violence in Australia has gone way down.
We don't have to sit by helplessly and allow "shooter-monsters" to kill our children. There are proven solutions, starting with stricter gun controls, to this problem.
In another circular argument, Horvat goes on to claim liberalism deprives life of meaning because it breaks down meaningful social relations, leaving shooters so lonely that they apparently have no choice but to shoot. And then it's also because of God, or rather "not God". Because if you don't got God, then you gotta shoot people. And because liberalism sins against God. Or something.
And, finally, Horvat offers his solution to school shootings. They will stop when and only when "Christ is enthroned as King"!
So there would be no shootings in a Christian theocracy? I hate to be the one to point this out to him, but European Christendom was a depressingly violent and brutal time and place.
As Steven Pinker points out, societies are becoming increasingly ethical, kind, and civilized, and the likely reason for this is ... liberalism as it presents in Enlightenment values. Murder rates in the US have dropped precipitously over the past 30 years. That mass shooting deaths have increased, amidst an increasingly peaceful climate, is almost certainly because of the proliferation of assault weapons. Horvat's claims are entirely meritless. He presents a confused jumble of personal opinions and prejudices as facts, while entirely ignoring any real analysis of the situation.
Thank God for the rising generation! Because the "Enlightenment is working", we seem to turning out compassionate young people who can solve problems logically and have the self-confidence to challenge the prevailing wisdom (or lack thereof).
Monday, February 19, 2018
Santana's Vegan Grill
So that funny little structure that looks like a matchbox on its side with a red strip on top is Santana's Vegan Grill in Colorado Springs. It is a drive-through only, and customers are served from both sides of the tiny building.
We picked up vegan burgers, hot dogs, and fries yesterday, and they tasted deliciously authentic! The burgers are made with Beyond Burgers, a plant-based burger pattie that is so realistic that it even bleeds reddish juices (in the form of beet juice).
I didn't know Santana's existed until I took a vegan cooking class with JL Fields, who recommended it. It's apparently been there for years. It's not signposted, and it's not clear, from the displayed menu, that it's even vegan. Nevertheless, it seems to be well known through word of mouth, and we waited in a longish line of cars to order food. It was well worth the wait!
I'm hoping a veggie fast food restaurant will open a little nearer to us. A chain called Veggie Grill operates restaurants on the West Coast and in Chicago, and offers an exciting menu with a broad array of meat analogs. I hope they come to Colorado soon!
In the meantime, I plan to pick up some Beyond Burgers at Natural Grocers and make my own guilt-free burgers. I also plan to get an airfryer, which cooks French fries using hot air rather than oil. Who knew burgers and fries could be cholesterol-free? I hope to make them a weekly staple.
We picked up vegan burgers, hot dogs, and fries yesterday, and they tasted deliciously authentic! The burgers are made with Beyond Burgers, a plant-based burger pattie that is so realistic that it even bleeds reddish juices (in the form of beet juice).
I didn't know Santana's existed until I took a vegan cooking class with JL Fields, who recommended it. It's apparently been there for years. It's not signposted, and it's not clear, from the displayed menu, that it's even vegan. Nevertheless, it seems to be well known through word of mouth, and we waited in a longish line of cars to order food. It was well worth the wait!
I'm hoping a veggie fast food restaurant will open a little nearer to us. A chain called Veggie Grill operates restaurants on the West Coast and in Chicago, and offers an exciting menu with a broad array of meat analogs. I hope they come to Colorado soon!
In the meantime, I plan to pick up some Beyond Burgers at Natural Grocers and make my own guilt-free burgers. I also plan to get an airfryer, which cooks French fries using hot air rather than oil. Who knew burgers and fries could be cholesterol-free? I hope to make them a weekly staple.
Do What You Love!
Fellow Coloradan, 17-year-old Red Gerard from Silverthorne, just became the youngest male Olympic snowboarding champion ever. He didn't seem particularly daunted by his success. On the morning of his winning run, the ridiculous child overslept and then couldn't find his ski jacket, so he had to borrow his roommate's (anyone else ever had a teenager?). He staggered off to the slopes, put in an awesome run, was shocked out of his shoes to find he had won gold, and now apparently just wants to get back to doing what he loves most -- snowboarding. "I'm kind of excited for this media stuff to end so I can get back to snowboarding," he offered at a recent press conference.
While he was sufficiently thrilled with his medal to emit a very strong expletive and to indulge in some ebullient celebrations, it appears that, to him, the medals and trophies are secondary to having fun on the slopes.
Something I've always wanted for my children is that they "find their bliss." I hope they forge lives where they are able to do the things that provide them with deep, abiding happiness and joy. I want them to experience exuberant lives of creativity and playfulness that provide them with a deep sense of purpose.
Henry David Thoreau famously wrote, "The mass of men lead lives of quiet desperation. What is called resignation is confirmed desperation. From the desperate city you go into the desperate country, and have to console yourself with the bravery of minks and muskrats. A stereotyped but unconscious despair is concealed even under what are called the games and amusements of mankind. There is no play in them, for this comes after work. But it is a characteristic of wisdom not to do desperate things..”
No, no, no. Please, not that for my children. I hope they can always do what makes them feel alive and fulfilled and that constantly provides them with direction and purpose. Red Gerard is a ski bum first and foremost and a purely incidental Olympic gold medalist.
Do what you want to do, do it with love and joy, and the rest will take care of itself.
While he was sufficiently thrilled with his medal to emit a very strong expletive and to indulge in some ebullient celebrations, it appears that, to him, the medals and trophies are secondary to having fun on the slopes.
Something I've always wanted for my children is that they "find their bliss." I hope they forge lives where they are able to do the things that provide them with deep, abiding happiness and joy. I want them to experience exuberant lives of creativity and playfulness that provide them with a deep sense of purpose.
Henry David Thoreau famously wrote, "The mass of men lead lives of quiet desperation. What is called resignation is confirmed desperation. From the desperate city you go into the desperate country, and have to console yourself with the bravery of minks and muskrats. A stereotyped but unconscious despair is concealed even under what are called the games and amusements of mankind. There is no play in them, for this comes after work. But it is a characteristic of wisdom not to do desperate things..”
No, no, no. Please, not that for my children. I hope they can always do what makes them feel alive and fulfilled and that constantly provides them with direction and purpose. Red Gerard is a ski bum first and foremost and a purely incidental Olympic gold medalist.
Do what you want to do, do it with love and joy, and the rest will take care of itself.
Friday, February 16, 2018
Online Shopping
Whether you think Jeff Bezos is a Gilded Age robber baron or a philanthropist who helps Dreamers go to college, I am grateful for online shopping. Last Wednesday, my copies of When She Was White and Vegan Pressure Cooking, along with my Massel boiullon, arrived from Amazon.
Amazon is apparently exploring driverless technology as a way to deliver packages. I'm looking forward to the time when we have the infrastructure to safely, quickly, and efficiently transport people and products from one location to the next over a network of magrails. Imagine climbing into a cubicle in your home, entering the address of your destination, and being shipped there without further effort. The day will no doubt come when we can order groceries or books online and have them delivered to our homes within minutes. They'll scoot to us across the magrails (or whatever) in a cute little box within minutes of us ordering them. Restaurants will be able to send us hot, freshly-prepared meals. With advances in virtual reality (one day, we'll all be able to watch Wimbledon or the the Super Bowl from home,) we'll never need to go out.
Perhaps even traveling in virtual reality will become a possibility. One could scuba dive in the Maldives for an hour or two and then visit the surface of Mars, before making a quick stopover in London to watch the Wimbledon final😀 The visual virtual reality we have now will be extended to all five senses, so a quick swim at a beach in Tahiti will feel like the real thing. Hammacher Schlemmer already offers The Exotic Virtual Adventure Run, which allows one to run on an indoor treadmill while giving the visual impression that one is running through the Joshua Tree National Park, or some other exotic location. I suspect that device is quite crude relative to what we will have 15 years from now.
In more Earth-shattering news, our Mama Platy, which was almost spherical yesterday, is looking slim and svelte this morning. I suspect she gave birth to her fry last night. Since I can't see any in the tank this morning, I assume that most or all of the poor things have already been cannibalized😥
Amazon is apparently exploring driverless technology as a way to deliver packages. I'm looking forward to the time when we have the infrastructure to safely, quickly, and efficiently transport people and products from one location to the next over a network of magrails. Imagine climbing into a cubicle in your home, entering the address of your destination, and being shipped there without further effort. The day will no doubt come when we can order groceries or books online and have them delivered to our homes within minutes. They'll scoot to us across the magrails (or whatever) in a cute little box within minutes of us ordering them. Restaurants will be able to send us hot, freshly-prepared meals. With advances in virtual reality (one day, we'll all be able to watch Wimbledon or the the Super Bowl from home,) we'll never need to go out.
Perhaps even traveling in virtual reality will become a possibility. One could scuba dive in the Maldives for an hour or two and then visit the surface of Mars, before making a quick stopover in London to watch the Wimbledon final😀 The visual virtual reality we have now will be extended to all five senses, so a quick swim at a beach in Tahiti will feel like the real thing. Hammacher Schlemmer already offers The Exotic Virtual Adventure Run, which allows one to run on an indoor treadmill while giving the visual impression that one is running through the Joshua Tree National Park, or some other exotic location. I suspect that device is quite crude relative to what we will have 15 years from now.
In more Earth-shattering news, our Mama Platy, which was almost spherical yesterday, is looking slim and svelte this morning. I suspect she gave birth to her fry last night. Since I can't see any in the tank this morning, I assume that most or all of the poor things have already been cannibalized😥
Thursday, February 15, 2018
Happy Belated Valentine's Day!
Yesterday, Valentine's Day, was the 29th anniversary of Craig's and my engagement. We went to Paris for the occasion, and Craig got down on one knee and proposed to me on the banks of the Seine opposite Notre Dame Cathedral. We're sappy that way.
Yesterday, Craig used Google Maps to find the view we had that day:
We decided to eat in last night so I could cook vegan Italian food in my new toy. I made sweet potato and mushroom cannelloni, a risotto with lots of veggies, and a big salad. My new electric pressure cooker makes it easy to prepare soups, chilis, risotto, oatmeal, and stews.
We're going out for dinner tomorrow night for another celebration of the day.
So many cherished memories are floating in my consciousness of Valentine's Days over the years. They bubble up in a happy cloud of flowers, wine, chocolates, shades of pink (my favorite color), good food, fireside meals, wonderful travels, and, always, my adored and beloved Craig (well, usually my adored and beloved Craig -- sometimes he's away on business, but we still celebrate the day in the same way, just before or after.) I love you, Sweetie! 💗💗💗 And more every day!
Yesterday, Craig used Google Maps to find the view we had that day:
We decided to eat in last night so I could cook vegan Italian food in my new toy. I made sweet potato and mushroom cannelloni, a risotto with lots of veggies, and a big salad. My new electric pressure cooker makes it easy to prepare soups, chilis, risotto, oatmeal, and stews.
We're going out for dinner tomorrow night for another celebration of the day.
So many cherished memories are floating in my consciousness of Valentine's Days over the years. They bubble up in a happy cloud of flowers, wine, chocolates, shades of pink (my favorite color), good food, fireside meals, wonderful travels, and, always, my adored and beloved Craig (well, usually my adored and beloved Craig -- sometimes he's away on business, but we still celebrate the day in the same way, just before or after.) I love you, Sweetie! 💗💗💗 And more every day!
Wednesday, February 14, 2018
@&#! the NRA!
Another day in America. At least seventeen killed at a high school in Parkland, Florida, named Florida's safest city in 2016. This is the 18th school shooting of 2018. Ho-hum. The "price of freedom in America."
Friends of ours just moved to a new home a mile from that school. If it weren't for the fact that their daughter does online school to give herself time for tennis, she'd have been at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School today. And sweet, little Rachel may have become another sacrificial lamb to the NRA's interpretation of Second Amendment Rights.
The NRA thinks the solution to mass shootings is to arm everyone, because the only thing better than lots of shootings is even more of them. Can you imagine the situations that would arise? Someone opens fire in a crowded theater. Two hundred people draw their guns, and, through the smoke, try to identify the shooter. It must be one of the other couple of hundred people waving their guns around, so mow down whomever you think fired the first shot. Oh, too bad! First, you nailed the wrong person, and then someone assumed you were the original shooter and enthusiastically shot you. Oh, and let's prevent school shootings by arming all teachers, because 40 extra guns floating around a school is such a good idea. Of course, teachers never get careless and leave their guns lying around, would never have their guns taken from them by force, or would never themselves lose control and shoot that annoying kid who keeps challenging their authority (of course, they could always fall back on "stand your ground" if that were to happen.)
But it's so not cricket to talk about guns just because they're used to kill people. How unbecoming! How inappropriate to politicize a tragedy!
What happened to data driven policymaking? When an airplane crashes, we research the event and find out what could be done to prevent similar tragedies in the future. When a bunch of innocent people are mowed down by a killer with an AR-15, we're supposed to mutely accept the situation because Second Amendment rights???
Let's stop throwing around terms like "prolife" (you're not prolife if you support the gun lobby and oppose universal healthcare) and "party of death" (no, people who support gun control are not pro-death baby killers with blood on their hands; you're thinking of those who would pretend Sandy Hook was a hoax.)
Isn't supporting life and human flourishing kind of what we all want?
😡 and 😢
Friends of ours just moved to a new home a mile from that school. If it weren't for the fact that their daughter does online school to give herself time for tennis, she'd have been at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School today. And sweet, little Rachel may have become another sacrificial lamb to the NRA's interpretation of Second Amendment Rights.
The NRA thinks the solution to mass shootings is to arm everyone, because the only thing better than lots of shootings is even more of them. Can you imagine the situations that would arise? Someone opens fire in a crowded theater. Two hundred people draw their guns, and, through the smoke, try to identify the shooter. It must be one of the other couple of hundred people waving their guns around, so mow down whomever you think fired the first shot. Oh, too bad! First, you nailed the wrong person, and then someone assumed you were the original shooter and enthusiastically shot you. Oh, and let's prevent school shootings by arming all teachers, because 40 extra guns floating around a school is such a good idea. Of course, teachers never get careless and leave their guns lying around, would never have their guns taken from them by force, or would never themselves lose control and shoot that annoying kid who keeps challenging their authority (of course, they could always fall back on "stand your ground" if that were to happen.)
But it's so not cricket to talk about guns just because they're used to kill people. How unbecoming! How inappropriate to politicize a tragedy!
What happened to data driven policymaking? When an airplane crashes, we research the event and find out what could be done to prevent similar tragedies in the future. When a bunch of innocent people are mowed down by a killer with an AR-15, we're supposed to mutely accept the situation because Second Amendment rights???
Let's stop throwing around terms like "prolife" (you're not prolife if you support the gun lobby and oppose universal healthcare) and "party of death" (no, people who support gun control are not pro-death baby killers with blood on their hands; you're thinking of those who would pretend Sandy Hook was a hoax.)
Isn't supporting life and human flourishing kind of what we all want?
😡 and 😢
Monday, February 12, 2018
Vegan Pressure Cooking
So last Saturday, I attended three short vegan cooking classes at the Colorado Springs Vegan Cooking Academy. They were taught by vegan chef JL Fields and her husband, who is a triathlete and sports coach. They taught us how to use the Instant Pot, an electric multicooker with a pressure cooking feature, and the air fryer. JL demonstrated some vegan recipes which we sampled (yum!), in both the Instant Pot and a GoWise air fryer, and her husband taught us about nutrition for the plant-fueled athlete. With Laura's running and Emma's tennis, I found his class very helpful. He made us a delicious "recovery" (or post-workout) smoothie, and some vegan power bars.
My favorite recipe was a lemony risotto with mushrooms cooked in the Instant Pot. JL added nutritional yeast, which gave it a cheesy, nutty flavor. The starchiness of the arborio rice added a creamy texture, and the mushrooms gave the dish a touch of "meatiness". It was so good, and my body craved more of it.
Yesterday, I bought an electric multicooker and started experimenting. My mashed potatoes were dismal. For some reason, they just don't seem to work well in pressure cookers. Then I made a vegetarian quinoa chili, which was to die for! This morning, I cooked steel cut oats. It was so easy -- I just threw some water and oats into the pot, pushed a few buttons, and without further effort had perfect oatmeal 30 minutes later.
Next on the agenda is Tempeh Tahine. I haven't had much success in the past in getting my family to eat tempeh, which is a pity as it is more protein-rich than tofu. JL suggests steaming tempeh for a few minutes before preparation to get rid of the bitter taste. I also want to make Lemon Veggie Risotto (I'll throw in a couple of tablespoons of nutritional yeast for added B12 and flavor).
I've ordered JL's book, Vegan Pressure Cooking and can't wait to try out some of her recipes. For vegan broth, JL recommends ordering Massel from Amazon. Although vegan, it comes in chicken and beef flavors, and it only costs about $20 for six cans of powder.
More vegan and vegetarian restaurants are opening in Colorado Springs. There is now a fast food drive-through, Santana's Vegan Grill, which serves up burgers, hot dogs, etc., using meat and cheese analogs. JL recommends the Willamette Market & Deli, The Burrowing Owl, Chaang Thai, Arabian Nights Cafe, and Switchback Roaster (which offers coffee and breakfast items) as good restaurants in Colorado Springs for vegans and vegetarians. She also recommends the local Mountain Mama Natural Foods for vegan produce.
I'm not vegan (yet), but I'm totally enjoying the nutritious and delicious vegan food I've been eating lately. I hope my family members, not known for being particularly adventurous about sampling new foods, will be willing guinea pigs in trying out my new recipes.
My favorite recipe was a lemony risotto with mushrooms cooked in the Instant Pot. JL added nutritional yeast, which gave it a cheesy, nutty flavor. The starchiness of the arborio rice added a creamy texture, and the mushrooms gave the dish a touch of "meatiness". It was so good, and my body craved more of it.
Yesterday, I bought an electric multicooker and started experimenting. My mashed potatoes were dismal. For some reason, they just don't seem to work well in pressure cookers. Then I made a vegetarian quinoa chili, which was to die for! This morning, I cooked steel cut oats. It was so easy -- I just threw some water and oats into the pot, pushed a few buttons, and without further effort had perfect oatmeal 30 minutes later.
Next on the agenda is Tempeh Tahine. I haven't had much success in the past in getting my family to eat tempeh, which is a pity as it is more protein-rich than tofu. JL suggests steaming tempeh for a few minutes before preparation to get rid of the bitter taste. I also want to make Lemon Veggie Risotto (I'll throw in a couple of tablespoons of nutritional yeast for added B12 and flavor).
I've ordered JL's book, Vegan Pressure Cooking and can't wait to try out some of her recipes. For vegan broth, JL recommends ordering Massel from Amazon. Although vegan, it comes in chicken and beef flavors, and it only costs about $20 for six cans of powder.
More vegan and vegetarian restaurants are opening in Colorado Springs. There is now a fast food drive-through, Santana's Vegan Grill, which serves up burgers, hot dogs, etc., using meat and cheese analogs. JL recommends the Willamette Market & Deli, The Burrowing Owl, Chaang Thai, Arabian Nights Cafe, and Switchback Roaster (which offers coffee and breakfast items) as good restaurants in Colorado Springs for vegans and vegetarians. She also recommends the local Mountain Mama Natural Foods for vegan produce.
I'm not vegan (yet), but I'm totally enjoying the nutritious and delicious vegan food I've been eating lately. I hope my family members, not known for being particularly adventurous about sampling new foods, will be willing guinea pigs in trying out my new recipes.
Saturday, February 10, 2018
"The Enlightenment is Working" vs Self-Righteous Religiosity
In a much-needed injection of optimism, Steven Pinker's article, "The Enlightenment is Working" was published today in the Wall Street Journal. As he does in his inspiring book, The Better Angels of Our Nature: Why Violence Has Declined, Pinker points out that, by several metrics, life is much better for most people today than it was in the past. He shows that homicide rates, poverty levels, and sulfur dioxide pollution have all dropped significantly in the US in the past 30 years, while, on a global scale, there are fewer wars, fewer war-related deaths, fewer nuclear weapons, and fewer oil spills. Even terrorist attacks are down in Western Europe -- although there were 238 terrorist-related deaths in the region in 2016, there were 440 in 1988. Poverty and child mortality rates are down, while literacy rates and life expectancy (now 71 across the globe) are up. Worldwide, wealth has increased a hundredfold in the past 200 years, and extreme poverty and famine have become rare. Although the wealth gap is rising in developed countries, the poor usually have at least sufficient food, clothing, and shelter and often a few luxury items as well, which was not the case in centuries past. Deaths caused by accidents have dropped precipitously, rates of infectious disease are in decline, over half of the world's countries have embraced democracy (as opposed to only 1% 200 years ago), and discrimination against racial and sexual minorities and women has lessened. The global literacy rate is up from just 12% 200 years ago to 85% today, and education for all, including girls, will soon be universal. People are doing much better on IQ tests than they did in the past. We, on average, work less than our ancestors. Young people are apparently happier, less likely to be suicidal or addicted to drugs, and less lonely than their baby boomer parents. So the world may be far from perfect and progress is by no means linear, but we appear to be on the right trajectory.😀
Pinker attributes this progress to the fact that "the Enlightenment is working". As he puts it, "Our ancestors replaced dogma, tradition and authority with reason, debate and institutions of truth-seeking." Science, education, and data-driven policymaking have enabled human flourishing, from improving crop production to reducing disease to improving safety regulations. Pinker stresses the need for accuracy in this process -- accuracy in diagnosing problems and accuracy in finding effective and workable solutions. When Pinker states that, "Secular liberal democracies are the happiest and healthiest places on earth, and the favorite destinations of people who vote with their feet," it is clear that he thinks Enlightenment values, as opposed to superstition and irrationality, have helped to create these states. It is interesting to note his inclusion of the word "secular", which leads me to wonder to what extent religion and Enlightenment values can coexist.
While I am agnostic, I was sufficiently marinated in Catholicism growing up that it soaked into my DNA, and I still see the world, to some extent, through a Catholic lens. I still refer to the Catechism to help me resolve moral dilemmas, and I read a number of Catholic websites. There is much that I find appealing in the religion, from the values of the Beatitudes to the universality of love to Catholic social justice teachings to the "fruit of the Spirit" (who could argue against "love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control"?). I also think Catholic teachings on contraception, sexuality, and the role of women are absurd and immoral, and I'm very familiar with the ways in which religion can be used to manipulate, exploit, and abuse. Racism, genocide, child abuse, slavery, discrimination against women, and rampant patriarchy are all justified by the flawed humans who wrote the books of the Bible and much Catholic literature. I cannot accept that any of that evil bigotry was divinely inspired.
Pinker does not allude to abortion rates and teen birth rates in his article, but, in a further testament to progress, these are also at their lowest recorded rates ever. The reasons why, as indicated in this Huffington Post article, are fairly straightforward. They have nothing at all to do with restricting access to abortion, which merely makes the procedure much more dangerous, or with shaming women's sexuality, or with forcing women to give birth. They have everything to do with providing comprehensive sex education and access to contraception. The following graphic shows how the Choice Project, which provided 9,000 women with free contraceptive counseling and contraceptives, helped to reduce pregnancies, births, and abortion rates:
As Mark Shea, a Catholic writer at Patheos, points out in this brief article, the prolife movement, for the most part, isn't really very prolife. It wants to kick nine million poor children off healthcare and deport 600,000 innocent children to "shithole countries", and "it whores itself out to a misogynistic bully and liar like Donald Trump," thus creating a culture that is hostile to life and human flourishing. Having destroyed its credibility, it then demands the right to abolish abortion by fiat.
The Enlightenment value of data-driven policymaking is what would truly reduce abortion rates. Those who claim moral ascendancy through their religious beliefs and demand that abortion be criminalized are very often also opposed to universal healthcare. Some would even like to make contraception illegal, or at least hard to obtain. These policies are exactly those that would increase abortions if they had their way. They would make abortions unsafe without saving a single life.
And yet these people are so sure they are right. They believe they are engaged in a battle of good versus evil, and they inexplicably consider themselves "good". Someone recently wrote in a combox on a Catholic site, "They [meaning liberals] hate us because we are good." What justified her self-satisfaction? She embraced a religiosity that is irrational, self-aggrandizing, and alienating. Like many, she believed she was following God, but in reality, as narcissistic autocrats do, she was merely identifying herself as and with God.
Our current administration, sadly, is regressive and harmful. It is not based on reality, actively rejects science, and is not oriented toward encouraging human flourishing. It's hard to understand how is it supported by so many highly religious people who see themselves as ethical. Religion is too often a form of superstition that allows people to easily mislead and be misled. Nazi soldiers simultaneously wore swastikas and inscriptions reading "Gott Mitt Uns". Claiming that God is on one's side is a cheap but effective deception.
I recently unfriended someone on Facebook over fake news. This person, throughout the months leading up to the 2016 election, posted the most absurd lies about Hillary, including the old "Clinton Body Bags" calumny (namely, that the Clintons had dozens of people killed off). I did some research and managed to show that several of the people on her "hit list" could not have been killed as described or did not exist or had no relation to the Clintons. Much of this information was easily verifiable. For example, one putative victim actually died years before the event that supposedly inspired the Clintons to have him murdered. Her response was that there remained a few people on the list whose murders I had not refuted, so those people must have been killed by the Clintons. She spewed out one bizarre conspiracy theory after the next, including the utterly despicable Pizzagate, and did not have the decency to retract after the claim was debunked. Many of her posts were overtly racist. The last straw was a racist, birtherist post claiming that Obama received financial aid as a foreign student from Indonesia. I don't know whether she herself is consciously dishonest or wheter she is just easily manipulated. I think she's too intelligent to be the latter. Surprisingly, she truly believes that, as a devout Christian, other people should aspire to her example! She says she wants to be that "light on a hill" that draws others to Christ!
Spreading lies, gossip, inuendo, and fake news is not a "victimless crime". Doing so certainly hurts the intended target. Hillary Clinton would undoubtedly be president if all Internet reports had been truthful and accurate. The people most likely to indulge in this deceit, like my former Facebook friend, are those most likely to support someone like Donald Trump, who is as abusive and bigoted as they are. They form a large contingent of the people who got him into the White House, and now we are all paying the price. The most vulnerable, such as Dreamers and poor people needing healthcare, are those most deeply hurt.
So, yes, I can see why Pinker concludes that secular culture rooted in "reason, debate, and institutions of truth-seeking" transcends "dogma, tradition and authority" and promotes progress. I am not convinced that all versions of religion are incompatible with progress. For example, despite holding some medieval views, Pope Francis and the two popes before him embrace(d) the science of climate change. They have spoken out emphatically on the issue and have attempted to reduce the Carbon footprint of the Vatican. Catholic social teaching is largely aligned with modern humanistic ideas. Unfortunately, however, religions attract more than their share of people who are irrational or manipulative or who are easily-manipulated authoritarian followers.
Pinker attributes this progress to the fact that "the Enlightenment is working". As he puts it, "Our ancestors replaced dogma, tradition and authority with reason, debate and institutions of truth-seeking." Science, education, and data-driven policymaking have enabled human flourishing, from improving crop production to reducing disease to improving safety regulations. Pinker stresses the need for accuracy in this process -- accuracy in diagnosing problems and accuracy in finding effective and workable solutions. When Pinker states that, "Secular liberal democracies are the happiest and healthiest places on earth, and the favorite destinations of people who vote with their feet," it is clear that he thinks Enlightenment values, as opposed to superstition and irrationality, have helped to create these states. It is interesting to note his inclusion of the word "secular", which leads me to wonder to what extent religion and Enlightenment values can coexist.
While I am agnostic, I was sufficiently marinated in Catholicism growing up that it soaked into my DNA, and I still see the world, to some extent, through a Catholic lens. I still refer to the Catechism to help me resolve moral dilemmas, and I read a number of Catholic websites. There is much that I find appealing in the religion, from the values of the Beatitudes to the universality of love to Catholic social justice teachings to the "fruit of the Spirit" (who could argue against "love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control"?). I also think Catholic teachings on contraception, sexuality, and the role of women are absurd and immoral, and I'm very familiar with the ways in which religion can be used to manipulate, exploit, and abuse. Racism, genocide, child abuse, slavery, discrimination against women, and rampant patriarchy are all justified by the flawed humans who wrote the books of the Bible and much Catholic literature. I cannot accept that any of that evil bigotry was divinely inspired.
Pinker does not allude to abortion rates and teen birth rates in his article, but, in a further testament to progress, these are also at their lowest recorded rates ever. The reasons why, as indicated in this Huffington Post article, are fairly straightforward. They have nothing at all to do with restricting access to abortion, which merely makes the procedure much more dangerous, or with shaming women's sexuality, or with forcing women to give birth. They have everything to do with providing comprehensive sex education and access to contraception. The following graphic shows how the Choice Project, which provided 9,000 women with free contraceptive counseling and contraceptives, helped to reduce pregnancies, births, and abortion rates:
As Mark Shea, a Catholic writer at Patheos, points out in this brief article, the prolife movement, for the most part, isn't really very prolife. It wants to kick nine million poor children off healthcare and deport 600,000 innocent children to "shithole countries", and "it whores itself out to a misogynistic bully and liar like Donald Trump," thus creating a culture that is hostile to life and human flourishing. Having destroyed its credibility, it then demands the right to abolish abortion by fiat.
The Enlightenment value of data-driven policymaking is what would truly reduce abortion rates. Those who claim moral ascendancy through their religious beliefs and demand that abortion be criminalized are very often also opposed to universal healthcare. Some would even like to make contraception illegal, or at least hard to obtain. These policies are exactly those that would increase abortions if they had their way. They would make abortions unsafe without saving a single life.
And yet these people are so sure they are right. They believe they are engaged in a battle of good versus evil, and they inexplicably consider themselves "good". Someone recently wrote in a combox on a Catholic site, "They [meaning liberals] hate us because we are good." What justified her self-satisfaction? She embraced a religiosity that is irrational, self-aggrandizing, and alienating. Like many, she believed she was following God, but in reality, as narcissistic autocrats do, she was merely identifying herself as and with God.
Our current administration, sadly, is regressive and harmful. It is not based on reality, actively rejects science, and is not oriented toward encouraging human flourishing. It's hard to understand how is it supported by so many highly religious people who see themselves as ethical. Religion is too often a form of superstition that allows people to easily mislead and be misled. Nazi soldiers simultaneously wore swastikas and inscriptions reading "Gott Mitt Uns". Claiming that God is on one's side is a cheap but effective deception.
I recently unfriended someone on Facebook over fake news. This person, throughout the months leading up to the 2016 election, posted the most absurd lies about Hillary, including the old "Clinton Body Bags" calumny (namely, that the Clintons had dozens of people killed off). I did some research and managed to show that several of the people on her "hit list" could not have been killed as described or did not exist or had no relation to the Clintons. Much of this information was easily verifiable. For example, one putative victim actually died years before the event that supposedly inspired the Clintons to have him murdered. Her response was that there remained a few people on the list whose murders I had not refuted, so those people must have been killed by the Clintons. She spewed out one bizarre conspiracy theory after the next, including the utterly despicable Pizzagate, and did not have the decency to retract after the claim was debunked. Many of her posts were overtly racist. The last straw was a racist, birtherist post claiming that Obama received financial aid as a foreign student from Indonesia. I don't know whether she herself is consciously dishonest or wheter she is just easily manipulated. I think she's too intelligent to be the latter. Surprisingly, she truly believes that, as a devout Christian, other people should aspire to her example! She says she wants to be that "light on a hill" that draws others to Christ!
Spreading lies, gossip, inuendo, and fake news is not a "victimless crime". Doing so certainly hurts the intended target. Hillary Clinton would undoubtedly be president if all Internet reports had been truthful and accurate. The people most likely to indulge in this deceit, like my former Facebook friend, are those most likely to support someone like Donald Trump, who is as abusive and bigoted as they are. They form a large contingent of the people who got him into the White House, and now we are all paying the price. The most vulnerable, such as Dreamers and poor people needing healthcare, are those most deeply hurt.
So, yes, I can see why Pinker concludes that secular culture rooted in "reason, debate, and institutions of truth-seeking" transcends "dogma, tradition and authority" and promotes progress. I am not convinced that all versions of religion are incompatible with progress. For example, despite holding some medieval views, Pope Francis and the two popes before him embrace(d) the science of climate change. They have spoken out emphatically on the issue and have attempted to reduce the Carbon footprint of the Vatican. Catholic social teaching is largely aligned with modern humanistic ideas. Unfortunately, however, religions attract more than their share of people who are irrational or manipulative or who are easily-manipulated authoritarian followers.
Wednesday, February 7, 2018
Emma's Signing Day
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| Emma with Coach Paul |
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| About to sign her letter of intent |
Today was NLI (National Letter of Intent) signing day at Lewis Palmer High School, where Emma plays tennis. Emma signed a letter of intent stating that she intends to play tennis for Grinnell College, starting next fall. It was also the birthday of Emma's paternal grandfather, "Grandpa Bernie", which was fitting because he taught Emma to play tennis.
Several of Emma's friends attended the ceremony, and one of them brought flowers. Emma's massage therapist, Jen, surprised us all by being there. Jen has worked with Emma for some years, and she relates well to Emma's high school tennis experience as she has a daughter, currently playing soccer at a Div. 1 school, who is a few years older than Emma. She commented that she cannot believe she is talking to a 17-year-old when she meets with Emma, who she feels is far beyond her years in many ways. Jen sees her as a friend and peer. Emma has as many adult friends as teenaged ones.
I guess I need to update my paradigms once again. My "little one" is almost an adult (or "a dolt", as my kids used to say). I have to stop calling her "SmallEm", which is one of her childhood nicknames. I know I tend to baby her. When she complains, I sometimes respond tongue-in-cheek, "Well, it's your own fault for being the youngest! How many times do I have to tell you?" The recalibration of our relationship as she has grown has been a little complicated. Mourning the loss of the adored child and the compulsion to "parent" sometimes get in the way of embracing the emerging adult. I need to make a conscious choice to accept her as an adult. She handles life with such confidence, competence, and poise that she deserves that acknowledgment.
Sunday, February 4, 2018
Apartheid's "Immorality Act" and Other Absurdities
This morning, I dipped into a book that Emma is reading, Born a Crime, by Trevor Noah, host of The Daily Show. Noah was born during the apartheid era in South Africa to a black mother and a white father. Producing him was at that time a crime under the country's Immorality Act, a 1927 law that forbade "illicit carnal intercourse" between a "European" (or white) and a "native" (or black). In 1950, this anti-miscegenation law was expanded to outlaw sex between "Europeans" and all "non-Europeans". Because Noah was the result of a then-forbidden union, his mother had to hide him during his early childhood. If his parentage had become known, his mother could have been sent to prison and he could have been placed in an orphanage.
When I lived there, South Africa was a very bizarre place. During apartheid, it was deemed that there were four races: European, African (sometimes known as Bantu), Colored (mixed race), and Indian (people of South Asian descent). Each race had to live in designated areas, and "non-Europeans" required a "pass" (a legal document) in order to travel into the white areas, where most of them worked.
Some confusion arose as to what to do with the few people of Southeast Asian descent who were living in the country. Eventually it was decided that they would be classified as "Honorary Whites", meaning that they could live in white areas. However, the "Immorality Act" still applied. My brother, Robin, is married to a wonderful lady, Jackie, who is of Asian descent and whom he met in South Africa. Fortunately, by the time he met her, Mandela had been released from prison and some of the old laws had died away. However, during the apartheid era, Jackie's uncle, an "honorary white" living in Johannesburg, married a "real white" in the Catholic church. By law, they were denied a civil marriage and were prohibited from consummating their union.
After their church wedding, Jackie's uncle and his wife moved into an apartment in Hillbrow, which the local police repeatedly raided in the middle of the night in the hope of finding the couple violating the "Immorality Act". Fortunately, a sympathetic security guard would call up to their apartment every time the police arrived, which gave them time to jump out of bed and get dressed. If they had been caught in their pajamas, it would have meant that the law had been violated. If they were dressed when the police arrived, they could claim to be visiting, rather than to be living together.
Under certain circumstances, a person's race could be reclassified. In 1966, 10-year-old Sandra Laing was expelled from her all-white school and escorted home by two police officers after her schoolmates' parents complained that she was unacceptably dark-skinned. Sandra was born in 1955 to white parents, Abraham and Sannie Lang, in the small farming town of Piet Retief near the Swaziland border. Although her parents were considered (and looked) white, Sandra looked "colored". She was hauled into court, where the judge complained that he did not see a white child, only a child with a "flat nose and frizzy hair". A "pencil test" was performed, which required a pencil to be inserted into her hair. If it fell out, she was white; if it stayed in place, she was colored. Her hair was curly, and it stayed in place. Sandra was classified colored. Not long thereafter, rudimentary tests indicated that she was indeed the child of Abraham and Sannie, and she was reclassified white, but several schools for white children refused to take her. Eventually she was sent to a boarding school for colored children and became immersed in black culture. At 16, she eloped to Swaziland with a black man. As a result, her family cut contact with her. Because her children were of mixed race, she had to get herself classified "colored" once again in order for them to be allowed to stay with her. She had a difficult life. She eventually reconnected with her mother, Sannie, who by then was in a nursing home, and they reconciled prior to her mother's death in 2001. However, her father, who died in 2009, never spoke to her again, and her brothers, Leon and Adriaan, want nothing to do with her. I just ordered a copy of her biography, When She Was White, by Judith Stone. A movie, Skin, which is based on the book, is available on DVD.
When I lived there, South Africa was a very bizarre place. During apartheid, it was deemed that there were four races: European, African (sometimes known as Bantu), Colored (mixed race), and Indian (people of South Asian descent). Each race had to live in designated areas, and "non-Europeans" required a "pass" (a legal document) in order to travel into the white areas, where most of them worked.
Some confusion arose as to what to do with the few people of Southeast Asian descent who were living in the country. Eventually it was decided that they would be classified as "Honorary Whites", meaning that they could live in white areas. However, the "Immorality Act" still applied. My brother, Robin, is married to a wonderful lady, Jackie, who is of Asian descent and whom he met in South Africa. Fortunately, by the time he met her, Mandela had been released from prison and some of the old laws had died away. However, during the apartheid era, Jackie's uncle, an "honorary white" living in Johannesburg, married a "real white" in the Catholic church. By law, they were denied a civil marriage and were prohibited from consummating their union.
After their church wedding, Jackie's uncle and his wife moved into an apartment in Hillbrow, which the local police repeatedly raided in the middle of the night in the hope of finding the couple violating the "Immorality Act". Fortunately, a sympathetic security guard would call up to their apartment every time the police arrived, which gave them time to jump out of bed and get dressed. If they had been caught in their pajamas, it would have meant that the law had been violated. If they were dressed when the police arrived, they could claim to be visiting, rather than to be living together.
Under certain circumstances, a person's race could be reclassified. In 1966, 10-year-old Sandra Laing was expelled from her all-white school and escorted home by two police officers after her schoolmates' parents complained that she was unacceptably dark-skinned. Sandra was born in 1955 to white parents, Abraham and Sannie Lang, in the small farming town of Piet Retief near the Swaziland border. Although her parents were considered (and looked) white, Sandra looked "colored". She was hauled into court, where the judge complained that he did not see a white child, only a child with a "flat nose and frizzy hair". A "pencil test" was performed, which required a pencil to be inserted into her hair. If it fell out, she was white; if it stayed in place, she was colored. Her hair was curly, and it stayed in place. Sandra was classified colored. Not long thereafter, rudimentary tests indicated that she was indeed the child of Abraham and Sannie, and she was reclassified white, but several schools for white children refused to take her. Eventually she was sent to a boarding school for colored children and became immersed in black culture. At 16, she eloped to Swaziland with a black man. As a result, her family cut contact with her. Because her children were of mixed race, she had to get herself classified "colored" once again in order for them to be allowed to stay with her. She had a difficult life. She eventually reconnected with her mother, Sannie, who by then was in a nursing home, and they reconciled prior to her mother's death in 2001. However, her father, who died in 2009, never spoke to her again, and her brothers, Leon and Adriaan, want nothing to do with her. I just ordered a copy of her biography, When She Was White, by Judith Stone. A movie, Skin, which is based on the book, is available on DVD.
Thursday, February 1, 2018
Veganism and Vegetarianism
Since 2012, my husband and children have been vegetarians. I am mostly vegetarian (I occasionally "cheat"). I agree with my family members that being vegetarian is an ethical choice, given that animals in the meat industry often suffer and that animal agriculture contributes to global warming. For the most part, vegetarianism appears to be a healthy choice. Vegetarians on average live six to nine years longer than meat eaters, tend to be leaner, have lower cardiovascular risk factors, and are at lower risk for hypertension and Type 2 diabetes. However, a recent study suggests that vegetarians are at greater risk than meat eaters for cancer, allergies, and mental health disorders, and may lack essential nutrients. At the very least, a vegetarian (and especially a vegan) diet requires careful planning and some supplementation.
There are seven nutrients that are difficult or impossible to get from plant sources: Vitamin B12, creatine, carnosine, Vitamin D3, DHA, heme-iron, and taurine.
Dairy products and eggs (my family members are all lacto-ovo vegetarians) can provide adequate amounts of B12, D3, and taurine. Creatine is non-essential in the diet since it can be produced by the liver, but vegetarians tend to have lower amounts of creatine in their muscles than meat eaters. Supplementation in vegetarians can lead to significant benefits in physical performance and brain function. Vegetarians tend to lack carnosine, which is linked to muscle endurance and performance. The body can create its own carnosine by combining the amino acids histidine and beta-alanine. Vegetarians tend to lack the latter, but supplements are available. DHA is important for normal brain development and function. It is mainly found in fatty fish and fish oil, but also in certain types of microalgae, so algal oil supplements are helpful. DHA can be manufactured in the body from the Omega-3 fatty acid ALA, found in chia seeds, walnuts, and flaxseed. However, the conversion is rather inefficient. Heme-iron is only found in meat and is much better absorbed than the non-heme iron found in plant-based sources. Vegetarians are often anemic.
I should probably try to find some creatine, beta-alanine, and DHA supplements for my family. I also think that eating humanely-sourced meat occasionally would be good for them. Alas, passionately idealistic young people are not easily convinced to change their minds.
I have always loved recipe books that offer full menus, rather than individual recipes, partly because I enjoy creating multi-course "feasts" and serving them with beautiful china, silver, crystal, and linens. We have these sit-down meals less often than I would like since it's rare for the whole family to be present at dinner time. Usually, people are running hither and yon to classes, work, volunteering, or various activities, especially sporting activities.
For vegetarians and vegans, a planned menu is particularly important. The menu is not just the main meat dish with some sides. To get a nutritious meal as a vegetarian, one often depends on the side dishes for nutrients. For example, one may get more protein from a bean soup, a salad with nuts, or a dessert made from eggs or even tofu (silken tofu and chocolate syrup can be blended to form a mousse) than from the main meal, which might be a protein-light pasta dish.
I have three wonderful "menu" recipe books for vegetarians/vegans:
1) An Act of Love, Gourmet Vegetarian Feasts, by Karen Ann. Unfortunately, this one is out of print. The desserts, mostly (relatively) healthy cakes, are particularly good.
2) The Vegan Table, by Colleen Patrick-Goudreau. This one offers an incredible array of holiday menus.
3) Vegetarian Celebrations, by Nava Atlas. My current favorite. Includes lots of healthy and imaginative recipes.
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