2011 Learn Go Do - February Reflection

So, it's the last day of the month, so I wanted to take a moment to reflect on my 2011 Learn Go Do List (otherwise known as my New Year's goals). Click here for the entire list.

Learn:

One of my goals was to learn how to knit lace. I am knitting a sweater that involves the "Gull Lace pattern", which looks like this:

I didn't knit that, though, because so far, I have started, and re-started, and re-started the lace portion. It's not that I don't know what to do - I know all the stitches, I just keep getting messed up. I am going to conquer the Gull Lace pattern! It will just take a little more concentration that knitting usually does for me.

Go:

One of my goals is to visit at least one new restaurant a month, because I've gotten into a rut of always going to the same favorite places. This month I tried two new places.

The first was Huynh, a traditional Vietnamese restaurant with lots of vegetarian options. I had rice vermicelli with chicken, which is what I always have when I go out for Vietnamese. A couple of friends had tofu dishes and said they were amazing.

The second place I tried was the Queen Vic, a British pub with lots of British-Indian fusion cuisine. They had a lot of small plates perfect for sharing. We tried a saag paneer pizza, some frites (delish!), some curried paneer, and veggie samosas. They had a nice drink menu, but I had hot tea and it came in the sweetest little individual pot.

Houstonites, I highly recommend both of these places.

Do:

I've been concentrating on my goal of increasing the amount of exercise I get. Originally, I had the goal of starting with three times a week, but I'm actually finding it easier to try to start a daily habit. Because I'm trying to get some exercise every day, I haven't really worked on having that exercise be very strenuous. I've been walking to places in my neighborhood, doing some yoga, and trying to do short lunchtime walks. The latter method has the added benefit of making me more productive in the afternoons.

Coming up:

In March, I'm going to Spain! I'm trying to brush up on some of the common Spanish phrases that a traveler needs. Most of my Spanish vocabulary has to do with teaching (from observing in bilingual classrooms) so I have a very strange mishmash of words at my disposal. Que palabra (what word? said while pointing to a child's paper) probably won't get me too far.

Sunday Morning

The best Sunday mornings are the ones that feel both relaxing and productive.

Today, I ate this:

To make: crack an (cage-free!) egg into a bowl and whisk with a generous pinch of sea salt. Add a good-sized handful of chopped organic spinach (so the ratio is about 50/50). Cook as you would a scrambled egg. Serve over a Morningstar sausage patty.

Then I made these:

Yummy chocolate chip bran muffins for this week's snacks. Click here for the recipe.

Then I walked here:

Why yes. That is Houston, TX.

What's your ideal Sunday morning?

I wanted to write something today...

... so I'm just going to tell you that Fish Tank is now available in the US on DVD and Netflix streaming.

It is one of my favorite movies and I have mentioned it several times. But you couldn't see it all of those other times ... and now you can.

And yes, Mark, it is depressing. But it's also about finding the hazy loveliness of life and trying to grab onto it when you can. Also, it's about a white horse, hip-hop dancing, and having a slatternly mom with a hot boyfriend.

Oh, just watch it.

What do you need?

I just read an article about the director Tom Shadyac, who directed such high-brow fare as Ace Ventura: Pet Detective and Evan Almighty (I couldn't find the actual article online, but here's a similar one). Shadyac once lived in a 17,000 foot mansion, but now lives in a trailer park in Malibu.

Another Hollywood cautionary tale?

No. Shadyac gave up his excess possessions by choice.

As someone who chooses to live a pretty modest life (small apartment, few possessions) I still often feel that I have too much stuff. Like Lucinda in Peter Carey's stunning novel Oscar and Lucinda, I feel lighter when I can give stuff away. (READ IT, if you haven't!)

When I see huge mansions, I wonder, what's the point? After you have a living room and office, playroom and bedroom for each of your family members (even that list seems excessive) why would you need more?

I sponsor two children, one in Mexico and one in Zambia. They are delightful children, and survive on much less than we do (obviously). As I drive through the River Oaks area of Houston, I think ... how much could these people give away to children like Bexaide and Barley? How much could they reduce their carbon footprint? Why don't they?

And then I sigh.

Because I don't want to judge others, yet I find it so hard. And I judge myself at times, for buying things I don't need and for wasting more than I should.

So, here's the crucial question: What do I need to be happy and productive? Would a cottage be enough? Meaningful work and loving friends? Do I even need books? And what about TV? - I seriously love TV.

What do you need?

Note: If you're interested in learning more about sponsoring a child in the developing world, click here to visit World Vision. They receive 4 out of 4 stars on Charity Navigator and devote 88% of funds to program, which means only 12% are spent on administrative costs and fundraising.

Meatless Monday* Meets Auntie Chronicles - Veggie Kids Edition

Well, it's another Meatless Monday and I've been thinking a lot about kiddos! As an auntie extraordinaire, I like to help out with the care and feeding of my little "nieces" and "nephews" whenever I get the opportunity.

Most of my friends, including the ones who are parents, are flexitarians, vegetarians, vegans, or some variation on that theme. They all have a variety of reasons for choosing to limit animal foods in their diets - including ecological and moral reasons (and aren't those really the same?). And those who are parents want to raise kids who have similar earth-lovin' values.

But is a vegetarian diet good for kids? you might be wondering. YES! Being a flexi or a veggie at any age takes planning. I cook poultry only once a week and eat meat-free the rest of the week. That means I have to carefully plan to get the protein and nutrients I need to stay healthy and feel energetic. So do parents of flexi or veggie kids. In fact, most people who have chosen to limit their intake of animal products want to be more intentional about what they put in their bodies, so it goes with the territory.

(In case you don't believe that kids can be healthy and have limited - or no - animal products in their diets, click here)

Since most veggie and flexi parents have answered the health question to their satisfaction already, a bigger question is often, how to I get my kids to eat this stuff in a world of beanie-weenies?

It's tough. My nephew ate very limited meat as a young child (it also keeps kiddos safe from nasties like E.coli, which is why many parents limit ground meat in particular -- my nephew didn't try a hamburger for a large part of his childhood). He had only ever eaten vegetarian chicken nuggets ... but once he started school and tried the real thing, he didn't want to see the "fake meat" kind anymore.

There are a few tasty ways to begin introducing vegetarian foods to picky kids, however. Here are a few suggestions for veggie foods that kids seem to love. (It's important to remember also, that vegetarian processed food is still processed, and while it is better for the planet, you still want to eat them in moderation). If you're just trying out Meatless Monday for the first time, these might be great places to start.

Morningstar Sausage Patties and Corn Dogs:

Corn dogs are so delicious! I love the Morningstar brand - to me, it tastes exactly like a regular corn dog. The sausages are also a great breakfast, especially on an English muffin.

Gardein Chicken Tenders

These are AWESOME! They are low in calorie, so they make a great protein snack, and they are quite similar to regular old disgusting chicken nuggets, without the disgustingness. In fact, I think I am going to eat some after I post this.

TVP (Textured Vegetable Protein)

If your kiddo will eat chili, tacos, or other foods with ground meat, TVP is an easy substitute. It is made with soy flour and looks like Grape-Nuts before it's cooked. Afterward it just looks like ground meat. I especially like to throw it into my regular chili recipe. Bob's Red Mill has lots of recipes for kid-friendly foods like Sloppy Joe's and Shepherd's Pie made with TVP.

Black beans

For some reason, kids who are otherwise picky eaters will often eat black beans. Sometimes just black beans. Blogger Heather Armstrong has often written about the fact that her daughter, who is a bit particular about her food, will eat black beans any time. My nephew will also eat black beans straight from a can. Luckily, they are super-healthy, and can be prepared lots of other ways besides just putting them in a bowl. I like them in a tortilla with some avocado. Yum.

Quorn Crumbles

Don't tell your family that Quorn is made from a fungus. If it helps, don't think about it yourself. Quorn is a "mycoprotein", but all you really need to know is that you can put the crumbles in all sorts of things, like spaghetti sauce or tacos, and they will appear to be meat.

Seitan

Seitan is a protein made from wheat gluten. Yes, I know that gluten is the devil these days, but seitan is delicious and it substitutes well in any recipe that you usually make with chicken, including casseroles.

Field Roast Sausages

I've written about Field Roast products before. I've even given a recipe that's very kid-friendly, a Pasta Bake that is cheesy and delicious. Not only are these sausages tasty, but they have the density of actual meat, so they are also great for dads who might not be on board with the Meatless Monday plan, as well as the kids.

Do you have favorite kid-friendly vegetarian dishes?

* Meatless Monday is a movement to increase awareness of sustainable, meat-free eating, by eating meatless meals on Mondays. So alliterative!

Some Rumbling Ramblings About Justice

When I'm blogging about a topic, I often start out by checking the dictionary definition of whatever I'm writing about. Linguistic precision is a goal of mine.

So today, I started by looking up justice.

The first link I got? The girls' clothing store called Justice.

It says something, when the idea of justice is so far from our minds that child-sized pink sweatsuits usurp the true meaning of "justice."

Do some digging, and you come up with:

a particular distribution of benefits and burdens fairly in accordance with a particular conception of what are to count as like cases

Then, look up the word "social" and you get:

living or disposed to live in companionship with others or in a community, rather than in isolation.

So, if you combine those two ideas, you get social justice. In my own definition, the idea that benefits and burdens are distributed fairly throughout a community.

This weekend, the organization I work for celebrated its 20th Anniversary. It is an organization dedicated to educational justice, or the idea that the benefits and burdens of being an educated member of society should be shared equally, that every child should be able to have an excellent education.

Sadly, this simple idea is not shared by all.

I did a lot of thinking this weekend, about what social justice means to me and how I will continue to perpetuate it. Expect a few more rambling monologues about it as I process. Expect a few wonderings that don't quite come together.

In the meantime, I share with you a quote:

Who said that justice is what you imagine? Can you be sure that you know it when you see it, that you will live long enough to recognize the decisive thunder of its occurrence, that it can be manifest within a generation ... ? Justice is higher and not as easy to understand - until it presents itself in unmistakable splendor.

- Mark Helprin

Wake up, y'all. The thunder is coming.

John Legend and KIPP Orchestra perform "Wake Up" from TFA 20th Anniversary Summit on Vimeo.

Recipe Roundup 4: Blood Orange 'Tinis

Note: I'm re-running some recipes while I'm busy. Yeah!

Recently, I read somewhere that because of the recession more people will be skipping the bars and drinking at home. So why not hold an economic stimulus happy-hour and serve these blood orange martinis? With one of these in hand, your friends will forget they're not paying for their drinks, and you'll have the satisfaction of being a DIY bartender extraordinaire.

I'm not obsessive about local/organic produce; I buy it when I can afford it. I do, however, try to choose fruits in season. To make a vast generalization, they should have a lower carbon footprint (if they're in season, they don't have to travel as far ... theoretically) and should be tastier, and grown under more natural conditions. Apples and pears in the fall, berries in summer, citrus fruits in winter ... I anxiously await late winter for blood oranges. You can usually find them at natural markets (Whole Foods, Central Market, Huckleberry's, or farmers' markets if you're in southern climes) during January and February. And then poof! they're gone. That's why I try to make this recipe as often as possible during that brief period.

Blood oranges have a slightly-perfumey, almost strawberry-like flavor. Lime adds a tang. The cocktail is so delicious, you might want to warn your guests of the punch it packs.

Ingredients (for 2 large or 3 medium cocktails):

3-4 oz. vodka or gin (depending upon how strong you like your cocktails)
2-3 blood oranges
1 lime
Splash triple sec
Ice
You'll also need a cocktail shaker or some facsimile (pub glass and spoon would work fine)

Step 1: Slice the oranges in half. Before you squeeze them, use a small paring knife to slice off a twist of rind. Set this aside. Using a juicer, or your own strength, squeeze the blood oranges. You want about 2 oz. of juice. Set aside the blood orange juice and squeeze the lime in the same manner.

Step 2: Pour the vodka, fruit juices, and a splash triple sec into the shaker filled with ice. Shake, shake, shake.

Step 3: Place the twist of orange rind into a martini glass, and pour the cocktail in. Happy pink drinking to follow!

Enjoy!Note: You can make all kinds of fun, fruity, and surprisingly-potent vodka cocktails using this same formula and any fruit you choose in place of the vodka.

Thanks to my friend Kelly who provided the photo styling (and the shaker, kitchen, and glassware) for this post.

Recipe Roundup 3: Crack Ramen

Remember in college, when ramen was a food group? If you had money, Maruchan Ramen was your brand. But if you were poverty-stricken like most of us, Smack Ramen was the brand for you. Well, in tribute to Smack Ramen, I've named this recipe Crack Ramen -- because the broth is like crack. Once you start eating, an addiction follows shortly.

I have a deep love of ramen, partly because all through high school my mom often brought us ramen for our daily breakfast in bed (I know, I know ... about twenty things are weird with that sentence. Just go with it). And, as you constant readers know, I love the films of Hayao Miyazaki, not least of all because of the noodle-slurping scenes in some of his movies. A few months ago, when master noodle-chef David Chang came out with his cookbook, Momofuku (named after his restaurant, which, in turn, is named after the inventor of instant ramen), and NPR ran a series on ramen, I became hooked on the idea of creating my own ramen.

Chang's ramen is served with a broth composed of a whole chicken and pork butt. Hmm ... not really my thing. So I began a culinary quest to create a broth that was vegetarian and could be made with readily-available ingredients. Unlike many of my recipes, this one took a few tries to come together. However, I'm really happy with the result, although it's not traditional ramen. It's got a chili-ginger-lime-flavored base, and it's a tangy refreshing meal. It's a nice light dinner or lunch.

どうぞめしあがれ !

(Omniglot tells me this means "Enjoy Your Meal" in Japanese, but if Omniglot is lying, pardon me, please).

Crack Ramen - Chili-Ginger-Lime Ramen with Marinated Salad

Ingredients**

Broth

1 tsp. sesame oil

A large hunk of ginger, grated, to produce about 3 tbsp.

6 scallions, chopped

1 jalapeno, chopped

4 small limes. Squeeze 3 for juice. Cut the rind of the fourth and quarter it.

1 carton vegetable broth

rice wine vinegar

soy sauce

sugar

Marinated Salad

Suggested veggies per serving (but you could substitute your favorites):

Broccoli slaw (sold pre-cut at most supermarkets)

1 escarole

3-4 grated radishes

1/2 cucumber

2-3 sprigs basil

Marinade:

Lime

Rice wine vinegar

Chili sesame oil (optional)

Noodles

Your favorite packaged noodles (you could use instant ramen without the spice packet, soba, rice sticks, or whatever strikes your fancy)

Broth:

In a saucepan, heat 1 tsp. sesame oil. Don't let it get too hot (it will become brown). Add the grated ginger, chopped scallions and jalapenos to the oil. Saute for a minute or two. When the mixture is sizzling, add the juice of the three limes.

Pour in just enough veggie broth to cover. Simmer this for 3-5 minutes.

Add 4 tbsp. rice wine vinegar, and 1/2 -1 tbsp soy sauce. Don't go overboard with the soy sauce. It will make the broth bitter. Add about 3/4-1 cup of veggie broth and simmer about 5 minutes.

Place the quartered lime in the pot. Simmer 5 more minutes.

Add 2 1/2 cups broth. Return the mixture to a boil. Taste. If it seems bitter, add 2 tbsp. sugar. Remove the lime. Cover and simmer for about 20 minutes.

While it simmers, make the ...

Marinated Salad

In a small bowl, with a fork, mix the juice of 1 lime, a couple of glugs of rice wine vinegar, and 2-5 drops of chili sesame oil. That's your marinade.

Toss all of your veggies together in a bowl. Pour the marinade over the top. Stick this in the fridge while the broth is simmering.

Noodles

Cook your noodles according to package directions. Be sure they don't become too gummy, which can happen if you overcook Asian noodles.

To Serve

Spoon about a cup hot broth into a bowl. Drop in the noodles. Top with the salad. Eat with chopsticks and grab a spoon for the broth.

Recipe Roundup 2: Not Keith's Pasta

This week, I'm going to be traveling, so I thought I would rerun a few recipes from the golden age of Light Green.

Not Keith's Pasta got its name because my friend Keith is very picky, and this pasta dish includes several ingredients that he can't stand. Unfortunately, his wife Kelly would probably love it, but I don't think she'll ever get to make it unless Keith goes out of town.

Ingredients:

1 container of cherub tomatoes, halved (you could use cherry or grape tomatoes as well)

Approximately 1 cup kalamata olives, pitted and chopped

1-2 tbsp. olive oil

veggie/chicken broth

1/4 c. white wine

1-2 tbsp. fish rub (it's a spice mix that usually consists of thyme, lemon pepper, garlic salt - you could substitute those things if you'd like)

1 package penne or ziti

1 package goat cheese crumbles

1 package/bunch basil, torn

Heat the olive oil in a large pan. Saute the tomatoes and olives together until the tomatoes get squishy. Add enough broth to just cover the tomatoes and olives. Pour in the wine and sprinkle generously with the fish rub. Stir. Lower heat and simmer.

While the tomato mixture is simmering, cook the pasta.

Drain the pasta and put it back into the saucepan or into a bowl. If you'd like, spray with 1-2 sprays of cooking spray to keep it from sticking together.

Drain any excess fluid from the tomato mixture and pour into the pasta.

Sprinkle with the goat cheese crumbles and the basil.

Then STIR! The goat cheese and tomato goodness become the pasta sauce. Hooray! You're ready to serve.

Recipe Roundup 1: Chocolate Chip Bran Muffins

This week I'll be traveling for work, and so I wanted to share a few recipes from the early days of Light Green.

Does the term "bran muffin" conjure up a cardboard-like breakfast your Great-Aunt Ida used to serve - the kind of thing you'd slip to the dog when no one was looking? If it does, you've been the victim of a very common health food blunder: thinking that "healthy" and "high-fiber" are synonymous with "tasteless" and "impossible to digest."

It's true: bran muffins can be challenging to make exciting. I've been baking a lot lately, though, and so with some help from my friend Andrea, I've taken on the challenge of making a bran muffin that you want to eat but which has few artificial ingredients.

Why all the baking? Well, in trying to be a more conscious eater, I've found that the foods with the most strange and unpronounceable ingredients are my beloved carbs. It's hard to find bread products without a paragraph of chemicals after the word "Ingredients." Hence, the baking.

These bran muffins are an adaptation of an adaptation of the muffin recipe found on the Bob's Red Mill Wheat Bran package. Andrea added pumpkin and used Splenda to sweeten the mix, as well as adding some dark chocolate pieces as garnish. I took her recipe and altered it to be a bit spicier as well as including only natural sweeteners.

What are some of the health benefits of these muffins?

Well, first of all wheat bran and pumpkin both contain fiber - which besides -- ahem -- keeping one "regular", is believed to help prevent certain diseases such as heart disease, cancer, and diabetes. Using organic agave nectar avoids the harmful chemicals in artificial sweeteners, and it has a lower glycemic index than many other sweeteners (but it is high in fructose). Pumpkin is high in antioxidents. And chocolate of course, particularly darker chocolates, is thought to benefit heart health. These muffins, then are packed with goodness (Click on the links in this paragraph to read more about the foods described).

So, here's how you make your own batch:

Pumpkin Chocolate-Chip Bran Muffins

Ingredients:
Dry Ingredients:
1 c. wheat bran
1-1/2 c. whole wheat flour
1 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. cinnamon
1/4 tsp. nutmeg
1/4 tsp. clove
Wet Ingredients:
3/4 c. fat-free milk
1/4 c. agave nectar
1-2 tbsp. molasses
1 egg
1 c. pumpkin (you can freeze what's left in the can, then thaw it in the microwave the next time you make these)

Plus:
1/2 c. semi-sweet chocolate chips

For a vegan version - use soy milk, vegan chocolate chips, and egg substitute.

Directions:

Pre-heat oven to 400 degrees. Grease a muffin tin (or use paper baking cups, which - granted - is not as green, but also avoids fake foods like cooking spray or margarine).
Mix all of the dry ingredients in one bowl. The bran tends to sink to the bottom, so you probably want to use a fork to make sure it's integrated throughout the mixture.

Mix the wet ingredients in a second bowl.

Pour the wet ingredients into the dry. Mix until the dry ingredients are thoroughly dampened, but don't overmix.

Pour in the chocolate chips and mix until they are evenly distributed throughout the batter, which will be extremely thick.

Spoon the batter into the muffin tin. It will make twelve muffins.

Bake for 17-18 minutes. DO NOT overbake. Burned bran muffins are yucky. Not that I would know, or anything.

If you happen to care, these are about 3 Weight Watchers points. They are quite filling, so one of them makes a good snack or a breakfast on its own. They can be frozen, and then thawed. They are also delicious when heated in the microwave for about 15 seconds.

Enjoy! Your colon will thank you!

Note: These are also great if you substitute 3 overripe mashed bananas for the pumpkin, or if you use organic sweet potato baby food (2 jars).

This morning there was ice on my porch...

... in Houston.

But that DOES NOT mean that global warming isn't real. This year's brutal winter weather is just that: weather. Weather refers to day-to-day local changes. Climate refers to average weather over a long period of time.

If you'd like to read more about how you can answer when somebody slaps his head and says, "Look at that snow! Guess Al Gore got it wrong!", click here to visit Skeptical Science, a website where you can find responses to climate deniers' dumbest arguments (my fave: "Jupiter is warming.")