Saturday, February 25, 2006

Brushetta in the kitchen

Remember last week when we made American Brushetta? I had four e-mails from people willing to try using their ovens if it would, in one person's words, "really get me ready for a real recipe." In addition, the young woman whose e-mail had inspired Bonnie and I to put our heads together for a simple, get to know your oven recipe, made it three times and feels she can handle the oven.

A "real" recipe? Here we go, but note that you put more into the oven with last week's recipe than you will with this week's (where all you will be cooking is sliced bread).

8-10 slices of bread
1/3 cup of olive oil

Topping ingredients:
3 Roma tomatoes, chopped
1 clove garlic
1 cup chopped Romaine lettuce
1 tablespoon of basil spice
1 garlic clove, minced or chopped
1/4 teaspoon of salt
1/4 teaspoon ground pepper
1/3 cup crumbled cheese (feta or blue cheese)


Pre-heat the oven to 400 degrees. Brush olive oil on both sides of bread slices. (I prefer Italian bread but you can also use French bread.) Don't have a cooking brush? Use the back end of a large spoon. Remember, you are dampening the bread, not soaking it. Put bread slices on a baking sheet. Place in the oven. After seven minutes, remove baking sheet, flip bread slices over and bake for seven more minutes. (Remember, oven temperatures may vary. As a guideline, the bread should look the same as you prefer it for your toast.)

While that is going on, take the topping ingredients and put them into a bowl. You can add any left over olive oil to the bowl as well. Stir the ingredients.

When the bread is done, guess what? You are done cooking. Turn off the oven. Now spoon the mixture onto each slice, about 1 tablespoon per slice.

Warning: You can cook the bread in a toaster oven following the same directions; however, I would not recommend that you brush the bread with olive oil and then attempt to cook the bread in a standard toaster.

This is a "real" dish, with a real "name," that is cooked and requested. Wally's mother and I were talking on the phone this week and she prefers to serve it on bagel chips she's bought at the bakery in her local grocery store. For that, or if you don't have an oven and use a standard toaster for the bread, you can brush with olive oil after.

If you are using the oven, congratulations because you've cooked a "real" dish in your oven. You'll find that it wasn't that hard. Marci e-mailed saying she had eaten Brushetta and she looked forward to the recipe but what would really help her would be a "meal." She'd like to serve the Brushetta on small slices as an appetizer and would enjoy having an easy to cook main dish. Which meant I was on the phone with Elaine, Rebecca and Betty checking to see if the recipe I have planned for next weekend was as easy for others as it seemed to be to me. Betty's concern is time because she has three small children. Elaine's concern is "easy" and time because if it's too much work, she's just as likely to stop on her way from work and pick up something instead of cooking. Rebecca feels she's a so-so cook unless she's got someone in the kitchen or on the phone walking and talking her through each step the first time she makes a dish. They helped me pick a recipe that they found easy. Then I ran the idea past Cedric. He's more apt to toss something frozen in the microwave but he's started using the recipes here and is getting comfortable with "cooking more than eggs." Cedric listened to the steps required and said that not only could he handle that but that he could cook it for the woman he's dating now and have a romantic dinner.

So thank you to Marci for the e-mail and next week's recipe will be baked dish to ensure that we're still using our ovens. It will also involve boiling water on the stove and, for some, browning meat in a skillet. If that has some of you excited, great. If it worries some of you, wait until next week and you'll see how easy all the steps are. (Those who don't eat meat or would prefer to skip meat for that dish will just be using the oven and boiling water on the stove.)

I saw something in Ruth's Public Radio Report today that I wanted to pass on:

From KPFT in Houston:
Program Preemption on Tuesday, February 28 - 8 a.m.-5 p.m. Senate hearings on the National Security Agency's domestic surveillance program.
I do not doubt that other Pacifica stations may carry this but this morning only KPFT had a note up about it on their main page. Eight in the morning until five in the evening are Central Time Zone times.

That's this coming Tuesday. You can listen to Pacifica radio over the internet if you don't live in one of the areas that broadcasts it over the airwaves. Ruth's noting the 10th anniversary of Democracy Now! in her latest report. That is a program we watch in my house. I get more useful news and information from that program than I do from our local paper. As local TV news becomes more and more a crime watch and focused on the petty misdeeds of city workers, as opposed to the city's elected officials, I've found my desire to watch it has decreased. But Monday through Friday, I make a point to watch the hourly broadcast of Democracy Now! If you've never caught a show (which also airs on the radio and online), take a moment this coming week to check it out. I think you'll be impressed. For her report, Ruth called a number of us and asked us to select a report from the show that has stayed with us. I was impressed with various choices and it brings home just how much the show has covered. If you want to know what's going on in the world, watch or listen to Democracy Now! (and online, you can also read transcripts).























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Tuesday, February 21, 2006

Headlines

Mike here. Not a recipe, scroll down for Ma's latest. I'm posting something (with her permission from earlier today so chill everybody :D) a number of us worked on tonight/this morning that I'm calling Headlines.

In the United Kingdom today, over 200 people gathered at St Nicholas and Writhington Church, in Radstock, Somerset for the funeral of Corporal Gordon Pritchard who died in Basra on January 31, 2005 becoming the 100th British soldier to die in Iraq. 101 British troops have died in Iraq, official count. Gordon Pritchard, who was 31 years-old, is survived by his wife Julie-Ann and his children Stacey, Harrison and Summer.

Alexander Panetta, of the Associated Press, is reporting that Canada's Foreign Affairs Minister Peter MacKay maintains that "latest intelligence" indicates that the four memebers of Christian Peacemaker Teams are still alive. The four members, kidnapped in November, were last seen in a January 29th videotape. The four members are:

James Loney, 41, of Toronto;
Harmeet Singh Sooden, 32, a former Montreal resident;
Tom Fox, 54, of Clear Brook, Va., and
Norman Kember, 74, of London [. . .]

Sunday's upsurge in violence continued on Monday. Reuters is reporting that bombings in Mosul and Baghdad today killed "at least 19 people." The Associated Press reports that in Karbala one American soldier was killed in a bombing and that in Mosul, a bomber killed himself in a "restaurant packed with policemen eating breakfast, killing at least five people and wounding 21, including 10 policemen". The Department of Defense has identified Capt. Anthony R. Garcia of Fort Worth, Texas as one of the 34 US military fatalities this month. Garcia died of from gunshot wounds after a February 17th shooting that took place on a military base in Tikrit. Garcia is survived by his wife Doris and his children Kelly and Garrick.

Brian Zimmerman, of Gannet News, is reporting that questions still surround the shooting death of Army Reservist David Douglas who died two weeks after returning to the United States from a one-year stint in Iraq. Commenting on the violent deaths of many returning veterans, National Guardsman Alfonso Williams told Zimmerman:

You have a whole lot of built-up anger from being over there. . . . You can't explain (what it's like) to anybody. And to them, what they may think is screaming and hollering to you is a normal tone.

In 2005, the military reports that 136 active duty personnel committed suicide. No figures are kept for those who are inactive. The current number for US military fatalities in Iraq stands at 2276.

As Jane Mayer reported in The New Yorker, early warnings were ignored by the administration about the environment created for abuse of prisoners in Guantanamo. Noting that "Human rights are under threat," Amnesty International is calling for the closing of Guantanamo. Tuesday, Amnesty International will host a live online discussion:

Live chat with Moazzam Begg, ex Guantánamo detainee, on 21 February, 6-7pm GMT

Moazzam Begg, British citizen, was held for "nearly three years," as noted on Democracy Now!. Amnesty International's call echoes the call of the UN investigation team as well as the prime ministers of Germany, France, England and Malaysia. U.S. Charm Minister Karen Hughes, speaking to Al Jazeera, rejected calls to close Gitmo and reportedly maintained that not only are the people imprisoned in Guantanamo wanting to kill Americans but that some released "have gone back to fighting and killing Americans." If the report is accurate, it is surprising that such an assertion would be made by the Minister of Charm and not Bully Boy himself.

In this country, the Associated Press is reporting that Republican governors George Pataki (New York) and Robert Ehrlich (Maryland) have joined the chorus of voices objecting by administration plans to turn over control of "six major U.S. ports" to Dubai Ports World. Senators Robert Menendez (New Jersey) and Hillary Clinton (New York) are also objecting to the proposed plan. Speaking out against the plan involving the Arab company, Mendendez stated today, "We wouldn't turn over our customs service or our border patrol to a foreign government. We shouldn't turn over the ports of the United States, either."

Feminist Wire Daily is reporting that CWIG (Center for Women in Government and Civil Society) has conducted a study on "the percentage of women in policy-making positions - such as state legislators, elected officials, high court judges, department heads, and top governor's advisors" for the years 1998 to 2005 and found that the rate of growth for women in those positions increased by only 1.6% -- "from 23.1 percent to 24.7 percent." FWD notes:

Slow progress for women in state government has national implications, says Debbie Walsh, director of the Center for American Women in Politics at Rutgers. State and local office serve as a "pipeline" to draw women into national politics. Not to mention, adds Walsh, state legislatures themselves are "making a tremendous amount of policy" –- in 2005, 48 state legislatures considered over 500 anti-choice bills.

On the national level, NOW notes, that although "almost nine million more women voted than men" only fourteen women serve in the United States Senate and only sixty-seven in the House, while of the fifty governors in the United States, only eight are women.

As noted on Sunday's KPFA Evening News, Saturday Feb. 25th, a Counter-Recruiting workshop will be held, open to the public, from 2 to 5pm at the Veterans' Memorial Building, Room 219, 401 Van Ness Ave. March 1st is the National Law Student Day Against the Death Penalty (SDADP).

In other news, Philadelphia Indymedia is reporting that Governor Ed Rendell vetoed the Pennsylvania's Voter ID bill. Rendell, who spanked Casey Junior in the 2002 election race, stated, "I see no reason to enact laws that will result in voter confusion and disenfranchise legitimately registered voters." Member of Protect the Vote had successfully fought against the proposed legislation and were on hand for the veto ceremony.

In other civil liberties news, following what BuzzFlash has called "Just Your Average Week of the Bush Administration Betraying America," the ACLU features a snapshot of governmental spying/snooping in the form of Betty Ball who states:

It is true that I have become more motivated to work for justice and social change knowing that the government is abusing its powers like this. But I am worried about how far the government will go to squelch First Amendment rights and silence dissent. Will we all be rounded up and incarcerated? Already so many people have been frightened away from participating in our events, and have asked to have their names removed from our mailing lists, for fear of the consequences of associating with us. I hesitate to call people to discuss plans for rallies or protests because I don’t want them ending up in an FBI file labeled as a "domestic terrorist."

Meanwhile, author and activist Diane Wilson remains in a Victoria County jail in Texas. Wilson was arrested for unfurling a banner that read "Corporate Greed Kills--From Bhopal to Baghdad" at a Dick Cheney attended fundraiser in Houston on December 5, 2005. Wilson's banners are apparently too much for the delicate sensibilities of the foes of democracy. She is currently serving a 150 day sentence for a 2002 action where she climbed a Dow Jones tower and unfurled a banner which read "Justice For Bhopal." CODEPINK is calling for Wilson's release.

In other take action news, MediaChannel.org is asking you to Take Action: Demand Coverage of Able Danger (more info on the Able Danger program can be found at Able Danger Media Monitoring).

Finally, Monday's Democracy Now! featured:

"Readings From Howard Zinn's 'Voices of a People's History of the UnitedStates:'"
Today we spend the hour with readings from a Voices of a People's History of the United States edited by historian Howard Zinn and Anthony Arnove. It is the companion volume to Zinn's legendary People's History of the United States ­ which has sold over a million copies.We will hear dramatic readings of speeches, letters, poems, songs, petitions, and manifestos. These are the voices of people throughout U.S.history who struggled against slavery, racism, and war, against oppression and exploitation, and who articulated a vision for a better world. Performances include Danny Glover as Frederick Douglass, Marisa Tomei as Cindy Sheehan, Floyd Red Crow Westerman as Tecumseh and Chief Joseph, Sandra Oh as Emma Goldman and Yuri Kochiyama, and Viggo Mortensen as Bartolomeo de Las Casas and Mark Twain.

This entry was compiled by:

The Third Estate Sunday Review's Dona, Jess, Ty, Ava and Jim;
Rebecca of Sex and Politics and Screeds and Attitude;
Betty of Thomas Friedman Is a Great Man;
C.I. of The Common Ills and The Third Estate Sunday Review;
Kat of Kat's Korner (of The Common Ills);
Cedric of Cedric's Big Mix;
Mike of Mikey Likes It!;
Elaine of Like Maria Said Paz;
and Wally of The Daily Jot.
























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Saturday, February 18, 2006

American Brushetta in the Kitchen

I had an e-mail from a young woman who wrote that she can't make anything but mashed potatoes (instant) and if there was "an easy recipe" using that, she would try to cook something.
Well there's an easy recipe for mashed potatoes but let's stick with instant mashed potatoes for a moment. Bonnie is a community member that I've exchanged e-mails with for about six months now. (Since she wrote a wonderful guest column in the gina & krista round-robin.) She's someone who enjoys cooking. So I called Bonnie and we discussed mashed potatoes. There are actually a number of things you can use them with. But if you're someone who's scared of your oven, as the e-mailer was, we felt this was the easiest thing that could get you used to using your oven. Here's the recipe.

Ingredients:
Instant mashed potatoes
4 slices of bread
1 fresh tomato
cheese
pepper

Make enough instant mashed potatoes for four servings. Set aside. Heat oven to 400 degrees. (You can use a toaster oven for this recipe but we're trying to get the e-mailer used to using her oven.) Place four slices of the bread of your choice on a cookie sheet, pizza pan, glass pan . . .(whatever you have). Spoon mashed potatoes on bread. Use spoon to spread the mashed potatoes on each slice of bread. Slice your tomato. I prefer slices but Bonnie says that she's made this for her kids with chopped tomatoes as well. Place tomatoes on top of the mashed potatoes. Pepper the open faced sandwiches in the normal amount you would use. If you don't like pepper, skip this step. If you add salt, add it here. Now top the open faced sandwiches with cheese. I always grated cheese when I made these for my kids but Bonnie said that when her eldest turned 12, he started fixing them for his siblings and he would use cheese slices. So use whichever you prefer, grated cheese or a cheese slice you would use for a sandwich.

Place the cookie sheet into the oven. You want the cheese to bubble. When that happens, you're done. Here's where cheese slices might work better because they will trap the heat and make sure the mashed potatoes are warmed as a result. If you overcook, you will burn the bread on the bottom. So watch the sandwiches (it shouldn't take more than five minutes).

Now what do you have? I don't know. I've never had a name for it. My grandmother would make them for us. I asked Bonnie if she ever knew a name for this and she didn't. So we'll call it American Bruschetta. If the reader will work on that recipe and let me know if it turned out, next week, we'll do a recipe for bruschetta.

This recipe is one that probably became popular when kids were hungry and a mother (of a father) was looking through the fridge and trying to figure out what to fix. It is wonderful on a cold day. You've got a warm sandwich that tastes good. It's an easy recipe. (You can probably make it even easier by purchasing already made mashed potatoes.) So I hope the reader will try it and anyone else who is nervous about using their ovens. It will get you over the hump and we'll go a little further with next week's recipe.

I don't see this as a place where I'm going to say, "Cook this! I do! So you should too!" I see it as a place where we can see that cooking isn't difficult. If you're reading this and you can identify something as the reason that keeps you from cooking (either than, "I hate it!"), please let me know and we'll see what we can do about it. Every recipe here will not involve cooking and I was tempted to do another recipe that didn't require cooking after I read the e-mail. But the reader stated she wanted to use oven but she just felt that everything was beyond her. We've exchanged e-mails and she's been using it on frozen pizzas this week so she's less nervous. But hopefully this recipe will make her even less nervous.

Are you a renter? If you are, your rent money pays for the oven. May as well use it. I want to thank Brady and Cedric because they both passed on that they tried last week's recipe (which required no cooking) and it turned out great. If it hadn't, I would still have wanted to note. C.I. mailed an issue of The New Yorker to me this week with a note to read a story inside. The note just said the essay started on page ninety. I was curious as I opened the magazine and discovered Nora Ephron's "Serial Monogamy: My cookbook crushes."

The essay isn't available online but it is still is onsale and you can also check your libraries for the February 13 & 20, 2006 issue. (It's a double issue.)

In "Serial Monogamy," Nora Ephron provides her usual straightforward and humorous commentary. She explains how she began her own cooking life and the various cookbooks that she learned from or was enthralled by. She also points out that, in Heartburn, she "included Lee's recipe for baked lima beans and pears (unfortunately, I left out the brown sugar, and for years people told me they'd tried cooking the recipe and it didn't work) . . ." My point in including that detail is that I love Heartburn (we talked about it two weeks ago) and I've made all the recipes in the book including the lima beans and pears. The first time I made that baked dish, the kids loved it. It was sweet and syrupy. My husband thought it was runny and wasn't interested. But the kids kept asking for it again and anything that gets kids to eat lima beans and pears is a good thing. So I made it a few times when it hit me that brown sugar would probably make it less runny.

That's where you should be in a perfect world. You try a recipe and it doesn't work out so you figure out how you can make it work for you. Cooking is like democracy, you don't just follow what's on the page, you participate.

You shouldn't live in fear in your kitchen (or of it) and you shouldn't live in fear in your country (or of it). When you explore your kitchen, you get comfortable in it. You should explore your country as well. The Patriot Act is being pushed through for renewal with little opposition (Senators Russell Feingold, Jim Jeffords and Robert Byrd were the only exceptions) and Bully Boy has set the terms for the debate on the warrantless spying of Americans because the press has allowed him to do so. It's about "national security." Illegal spying on Americans is not about "national security." If someone is suspected of something, you go a regular court or the FISA court and get a warrant. That's how it works in America.

If someone came in and told you that before you served lasanga, you needed to take the cooked dish, douse it in Palmolive and run hot water over it, you would know they were insane. But that has to do with knowing how things work. You need to know how things work in the kitchen, you need to know how they work in this country. This is your democracy. Use it.







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Saturday, February 11, 2006

Chilled Dill Peas in the Kitchen

Joanie e-mailed that she enjoys reading the recipes but there's been nothing here for her to make. Why? She swears she burns everything on the stove top or in the oven. We're exchanging e-mails and for others, who may have problems with their ovens, let me make this point, because you put the dial on, for instance, 400 degrees does not mean that's what it's cooking at. You can purchase an oven thermometer at most grocery stores. You'd be surprised at how many ovens are cooking at a lower or higher temperature than what the dial says. So if you're having a problem with your oven, please consider doing that. If you know someone who cooks often, you can probably borrow a thermometer from her or him. After you figure out the difference between the dial's temperature and the actual temperature in the oven, you can make a point to add or subtract as needed when cooking.

But Joanie's concern is one that many people sometimes have. I know as my own children have moved into their own homes, any recipe that required little to no cooking seemed to be greeted with a sigh of relief. So here's a recipe that requires no cooking and it's one that my friend Margaret passed on to me in the eighties.

Chilled Dill Peas
1 16-ounce can of peas, drained and rinsed in cold water
1/4 cup fresh snipped dill
1/2 cup fresh snipped chives
1 teaspoon curry powder
1 cup sour cream

Mix dill, sour cream, chives and curry powder. Add peas to the mix and stir. Refrigerate for at least one hour.

Now for some substitutions. First, you can use frozen peas but you'll need to cook them first. On dill and chives, it's always best to use fresh ingredients whenever possible. But the whole point of building up a spice rack is to have seasoning on hand when you might otherwise not be able to get fresh. I have dill and chives on my spice racks. If this is something I'm throwing together at the last minute, I won't have fresh dill or chives on hand. If you're using dried dill or chives, use a tablespoon of chives and a half tablespoon of dill. (Taste it and add more if you'd like.) We always have sour cream in the fridge. Mike and my husband both pour it on their baked potatoes. It's like milk or eggs, a staple in our home. But you can substitute a cup of plain yogurt for the sour cream in this recipe. (And you can use plain yogurt as a substitute for sour cream on baked potatoes.)

You can build a meal around one dish or many dishes without cooking. Many a picnic has proven that. As I said, Joanie and I are exchanging e-mails and we've figured out her oven issue and now are attempting to figure out what's happening on her stove top. But if you're have discomfort with the stove or oven, there are recipes for you. I'll try to note at least one each month and remind me if I forget to. Hopefully, making dishes that require no cooking will give you the satisfaction and comfort to tackle cooking dishes. If you do, and if you're successful, you may find that you prefer making dishes that require no cooking. That's up to you but don't cut off your options out of fear or a belief that you can't do it.

When I got married, I knew a few dishes. And my biggest fear was what happened after I cooked all of them? Was I a failure in the marriage if I didn't learn more? The reality is that most people repeat the same dishes. 365 days doesn't have to mean 365 different dinners. But when I was just married, I was creating this huge problem for myself that didn't exist. I talked about Elaine and my love of books last week and I'll note that one of the things C.I. and I talk about is cooking. C.I. is so much more practical than I was then. Each year, C.I. learns a few new dishes. I would have loved it if someone had given me that advice years ago. So let me pass it on now because it's practical. Purchasing a cookbook and trying to create every recipe in it is something that novices and cooking geniuses attempt (and probably both have the same rate of failure).

So, for instance, if you decide to try this recipe and it's the only one you're willing to try, that's wonderful. You've got one recipe under your belt already in the second month of the year. If you add two more this year, you've got three recipes. That may not seem like much to you; however, if you keep up at that rate, in five years, you've got fifteen recipes you can use with ease.

When we were in DC in September for the rallies, C.I. made two wonderful meals and one of them included a pasta and a sauce that I have permission to share. However, that recipe requires cooking and some may see it as a lot of work. So we'll work up to that recipe.

But fixing a dish or a meal shouldn't scare you. If it does, find a recipe that looks easy to you or a recipe for something you love. It being easy or something you really want to eat will help you get over your discomfort. When we learn that it's not that hard, the fear tends to lessen.

If I seem focused on "fear" this weekend it's because the Bully Boy tried to scare America again with what seems to me a phoney story about a phoney terrorist threat that he falsely claims was averted. Americans were asking hard questions about the NSA spying and you had Michael Brown testifying to Congress on Friday that while the government's response to Hurricane Katrina was to do nothing, they did in fact know how bad it was.

When difficult questions surface, the Bully Boy plays the fear card thinking that if he can scare us, we'll all stop thinking. Fear can be a huge barrier. Don't let it be a barrier to you in the kitchen or in your own life. That's my message for this weekend. And let me thank my son Mike for posting my entry here last weekend. I could not log into my account here at Blogger so I used The Common Ills mirror site. Mike offered to transfer the post over (and did) for me if Blogger started working again. And thank you to C.I. as well for allowing me to use the mirror site. I'll probably cross-post this at the mirror site.





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Sunday, February 05, 2006

Mashed Potatoes in the kitchen

Mike here. Ma couldn't get into this site. She used The Common Ills mirror site to do her post tonight and I'm reposting it here because I'm such a good son. :D Here's Ma:

Trina's Kitchen

C.I. asked me to note that at the top because I'm using The Common Ills mirror site.
I can't pull up the main site or any community website. Mike suggested that I attempt to pull up other sites that use Blogger but no luck there either.

Last Saturday, I did a post and I'll be using the same recipe for the post that never posted. My message, error message, was something about a link not being closed. C.I.'s told me that if that happens again, I just need to click on a box by the error message and I'll be able to publish.
Mike has hounded me, as only one's child can, for not interrupting him and the gang working on the latest edition of The Third Estate Sunday Review to ask for help. They all work so hard and are trying to so hard to just get the editions completed and up so they can get some sleep. I did wait in the kitchen, I was on the computer we have in our kitchen, hoping Mike would come down at some point for a snack or drink. I also stood outside his door several times listening to see if it seemed calm but I could hear him speaking loudly in the phone so I knew they were all hard at work.

My plan was to ask the next morning and I left the computer on since I couldn't save to draft or publish my post. However, my husband was the first one in the kitchen Sunday morning and he assumed I'd forgotten to turn off the computer. He did turn it off and the post was lost.

Kat has told me that's the best thing that could happen. Her opinion is that I've stated I post only on Saturdays and that I might not post every Saturday so not posting, for whatever reason, early on got my point across.

If so, it wasn't a point I intended to make last Saturday.

It's been an awful week for the country. We've had Alito confirmed to the Supreme Court and we've lost Coretta Scott King. I'm not sure which tragedy wiped me out more.

For mashed potatoes: Put 1 large (or 2 small) potatoes in a large pot of salted water and bring to a boil. Lower the heat and simmer for at least 20 minutes, until tender. Drain and place the potatoes back in the pot and shake over low heat to eliminate excess moisture. Peel. Put through a potato ricer and immediately add 1 tablespoon heavy cream and as much melted butter and salt and pepper as you feel like. Eat immediately. Serves one.

That recipe is from Nora Ephron's novel Heartburn which I'll discuss in a moment, page 127.
First, let me discuss the recipe. I don't use it. I have a number of recipes I used for mashed potatoes but that's not one. Cedric wrote asking if I had a simple recipe for mashed potatoes. I think I do. However, my oldest daughter, after she moved out, wanted a recipe for mashed potatoes. I gave her mine and she had no luck with it. I gave her several others and still no luck. In desparation, I remembed this one and suggested it to her. She still makes mashed potatoes with this recipe, increasing the number of potatoes depending upon how many servings she needs.

So it may work for you as well. You may have to adapt it some, for instance if you don't have a potato ricer. Here's how I make mashed potatoes.

Wash potatoes, unpeeled. Peel potatoes. (I never use less than a pound but I'm cooking for a number of people. If it's just for you, I'd suggest two large potatoes or four small ones. One large one? If you're as thin as Ms. Ephron, go for it.) As you peel potatoes, bring water to boil in a large pot. (I usually use a dutch oven or, if I'm making a huge amount, a stock pot.) I usually spread out the day's newspaper and peel over that so that when I'm finished, I can just roll up the paper and the peels with it. Wash your hands. Though you've washed the potatoes before peeling, you will usually have grit of some kind on your hands.

After washing your hands, begin slicing the potatoes. How? However you want. Big chunks, little slices. They don't need to be sliced in a pretty manner. Whatever's easiest for you. (I go for big chunks.) Your water should now be boiling. You can place them in the water or dump them in. I dump them in because I know to move back to avoid the splash (the water will be hot). I let them boil for at least twenty minutes. No simmer. Once the potatoes are in the water, the boiling stops, and I count my twenty minutes from when they're dumped in, not from when the water starts to boil again. If you're cooking additional items, this is the time to start to work on them. If this is all you're cooking, gather your other ingredents: butter, salt, pepper and milk.

I don't salt the water. You can if you have no sodium concerns.

Once twenty minutes have elapsed, I drain the potatoes. You can use a strainer or a collander. WARNING: The water is hot. Watch your hands. I don't rinse the potatoes after draining, they've just boiled -- they are clean. I use a collander so I then dump the potatoes back into the pot I was cooking them in and add butter. Using a potato masher, I then mash them in the pot adding milk as I go along.

Use the milk sparingly. Add a little each time or you may end up with too much milk, in which case, you're going to end up with a soup and not mashed potatoes. Once you're content with the consistency of the mashed potatoes (I don't care for lumps, but some people do), you can add salt and pepper if you choose. I do add both. You should add sparingly, stir with a large spoon and taste as you go along to avoid getting too much of either. You can always add more, you can't take out what you've added.

Once you're content with the taste, they're done.

For me, that's the simplest recipe. You may prefer Nora Ephron's recipe. Use what works for you.

When Mike helped me work on my profile awhile back, e-mails started coming in asking if I just read literary books? No. I read all forms of books. I do enjoy the books I listed. Elaine is the first person I've encountered in a long time with whom I can exchange books and discuss literature. I'm reading some Satre books currently that she passed on to me. (She also said that when a Democrat's in the White House, I should know that C.I. reads and discusses novels. But when a Republican is in the White House, C.I. is in research mode and that's always been the case.)

Heartburn is a wonderful comic novel that I've read many times. Nora Ephron's main character is Rachel who isn't a cooking expert but writes cookbooks. Her husband Mark is a columnist and is always looking for a topic for his latest column. One topic he doesn't write about is the affair he's having.

When Rachel finds out about the affair, she leaves Mark. There are many complications and a lot of humor so if you haven't read Heartburn, that's a book I would highly recommend. If you've seen the film of Heartburn, you may want to avoid the book. I wouldn't blame you for that. Other than Carly Simon's song "Coming Around Again," there was nothing worthy of note to me in the film Heartburn. But the book is much more enjoyable.

There were many enjoyable posts this week and I'd hoped to highlight a number of them. With the sites not displaying, I'm unable to. But Cedric, Rebecca, Elaine, C.I. and my son Mike did fine work all week. If I'm able to, I will carry this post over to my own site later tonight. I should also note that one of my sons will be getting married this month and February's posts may be spotty as a result.

This was a difficult week for the community and today's problems with Blogger probably don't provide much comfort. But we made it through the week. If mashed potatoes aren't your idea of comfort food, and they may not be, fix or purchase something that is. And enjoy your weekend.








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Tuesday, January 24, 2006

Alito vote Tuesday, keep the pressure on, make your voice heard

News from the Feminist Wire.

Judiciary Committee Votes Tomorrow on Alito; Filibuster Possible, Says Durbin
Tomorrow, two days after the 33rd anniversary of Roe v Wade, the Senate Judiciary Committee will vote on Samuel Alito, a Supreme Court nominee who in 1985 wrote that the Constitution does not protect a woman's right to an abortion. Women's rights leaders and activists rallied last night at the Supreme Court in support of the landmark Supreme Court ruling.
"Since we last gathered to commemorate Roe v. Wade, two seats have opened up on the Supreme Court, and George W. Bush has used both opportunities to nominate judges whose records show a disdain for privacy rights and individual liberties," said Kim Gandy, president of the National Organization for Women. "The Senate is poised to vote on confirming Samuel Alito, who would replace Sandra Day O'Connor, a justice whose vote has upheld women's rights for nearly 25 years. How quickly the fate of women's reproductive rights could turn in this nation."
Already, at least nine Senators have come out publicly and strongly against Alito's confirmation, including four who voted in favor of confirming John Roberts as chief justice. In an interview with the Chicago Sun-Times, Senator Richard Durbin (D-IL), the Democratic Whip, said that a filibuster was possible.
"A week ago, I would have told you it's not likely to happen," Durbin said. "As of [Wednesday], I just can't rule it out. I was surprised by the intensity of feeling of some of my colleagues. It's a matter of counting. We have 45 Democrats, counting [Vermont independent] Jim Jeffords, on our side. We could sustain a filibuster if 41 Senators ... are willing to stand and fight."
GET THE INSIDE SCOOP
with The Smeal Report and the New Leif blogs at MsMagazine.com
TAKE ACTIONCall your Senators and urge them to oppose Alito
DONATE
Make an emergency contribution to the Feminist Majority's Save Roe Campaign. We must be a strong voice in this crucial fight to save Roe and the Supreme Court for women’s rights.
Media Resources: Feminist Majority; NOW statement 1/22/06; Chicago Sun-Times 1/20/06

We finished a roundtable for the gina & krista round-robin a little while ago. I was going to have a cup of tea and turn in. Watching my youngest daughter and my son Mike map out strategy at the kitchen table for how they could launch one more wave gave me the energy to boot up the computer and log in. I believe this is possible, we can stop Alito's confirmation. But we need to continue working. So do something Tuesday and try to motivate others as well.
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Saturday, January 21, 2006

Creamy Fudge in the Kitchen

What a week? Started off with Democrats indicating they were giving up and ended with . . .

Elaine's asked if I'd mind including this from the Feminist Wire:

More Senators Announce Opposition to Alito
More Senators have announced their opposition to Samuel Alito for the Supreme Court. Encouragingly, no additional Democrats have announced support for Alito since Ben Nelson (NE). Senator Richard Durbin (D-IL), the Democratic Whip, announced his opposition to a packed auditorium at Northwestern University School of Law.
"In the record, the writings, the words, and the life of Samuel Alito, I searched for evidence of his caring heart -- evidence that for the next two or three decades he would use his position on the Supreme Court to enlarge our freedom, protect our privacy, and respect the delicate balance of power and responsibility our Constitution creates," said Senator Durbin. "At the end of the day, at this historic moment, I cannot say with confidence that Samuel Alito meets that test."
Senator Tom Harkin (D-IA), in announcing his opposition, said, "Based on his record, I am gravely concerned that Judge Alito does not believe the Congress has the authority to protect the fundamental rights of all Americans."
Other Senators who have announced publicly their opposition to Alito include Patrick Leahy (D-VT) (the Ranking Democrat on the Judiciary Committee), Dianne Feinstein (D-CA) (the only woman on the Judiciary Committee), Ted Kennedy (D-MA), Ken Salazar (D-CO), and Max Baucus (D-MT). Senators Leahy, Baucus, and Salazar all voted for John Roberts in September.
GET THE INSIDE SCOOP with The Smeal Report and the New Leif blogs at MsMagazine.com
TAKE ACTION Call your Senators and urge them to oppose Alito
DONATE Make an emergency contribution to the Feminist Majority's Save Roe Campaign. We must be a strong voice in this crucial fight to save Roe and the Supreme Court for women's rights.
Media Resources: Harkin statement 1/19/06; Durbin statement 1/19/06; Feminist Majority

I'm happy to include it (and flattered to be asked by Elaine). It's from Friday and it demonstrates how much we the people can do. We shouldn't get cocky and think it's over because it's not. But we should realize the power of people power. That's what turned it around.

Cedric had asked last week if I had an easy recipe for something sweet? I can't think of a better time to note a dessert than after all the hard work of this past week. I would dub the following Katrina vanden Heuvel's Sweet Victories Creamy Fudge if it weren't for the fact that the battle's still raging. So keep fighting but take a moment to note what we've accomplished.

This recipe is from my friend Nancy. She saw it in a magazine years ago but has no idea which one it was today.

Creamy Fudge
1 (8-ounce) package cream cheese, softened
4 cups sifted powdered sugar
4 squares unsweetened chocolate, melted
1 teaspoon vanilla flavoring
Pinch of salt
3/4 cup coarsely chopped walnuts

Combine cream cheese and powered sugar in mixing bowl (or food processor); mix until throroughly blended. Add melted chocolate, vanilla flavoring and salt. Stir in walnuts. Spread mixture in an 8-inch quare pinned lined in buttered wax paper or foil and chill for several hours (or overnight). Remove from pan and cut into small squares. Makes about 3 1/2 dozen squares.

This is an easy recipe. You melt the chocolate in a sauce pan on the stove or in the microwave. If using the stove top, stir frequently. If using the microwave, microwave in thirty seconds bursts. It should take no more than three thirty-seconds periods and you should stir the chocolate after each thirty-second period.

"Chill for several hours" does not mean, as Mike found out last year, put in the freezer for a half hour. At Thanksgiving, I was especially swamped and Mike and his younger sister (who says "Mother do not mention my name! I have friends!") pitched in the way all my children always have. Mike will tell you that he's not an experienced cook. But when I handed him this recipe, he got it down pat with no problems at all except for thinking the fudge would be ready sooner if he put it in the freezer. Had I not stopped him, we would have had ice crystals in the fudge. This isn't a "frozen dessert."

Put it in the fridge and leave it for a few hours. You can cook the meal itself, serve it, eat and, by the time you're done with that, the fudge should be ready.

Mike and his sister will make this now themselves and can eat the entire thing with help from their father. If you have a sweet tooth, this is perfect for you. It's a little too sweet for me and one square is usually all I will have.

Mike created an e-mail account for me this week and it is in my profile. He also helped me add some details to my profile. I received an e-mail from June whom I don't recognize as a member of The Common Ills community. I'm glad members have shown me so much support and encouragement with their e-mails but I had no idea anyone else would be visiting this website.

June sent me a thing from another website that was making fun of the cover of the new issue of Ms. Magazine. She wondered what I thought of it? I think it's a great issue and was anticipating purchasing it since C.I. spotlighted it. I bought it Wednesday and would encourage everyone to check it out. As for the cover, I think it's a wonderful photograph. But then maybe I'm just a dull homebody who's raised eight children? Maybe that's my problem?

I was talking to Wally's mother about the issue and about June's e-mail this morning. She said that was the website Wally had heard wasn't even bothering to take the trouble to get the word out on blocking Samuel Alito's confirmation to the Supreme Court. Somehow that made sense.

I don't know what bothered someone so much about the cover, that Jane Fonda has a dog or that she's wearing pink and photographed against a pink backdrop? Or maybe it was just Jane Fonda herself that bothered?

Seems to me that someone wanted to slam for some reason and she found a way to do it in a very superficial manner. I love Ms. Magazine and am a big fan of Jane Fonda and Robin Morgan so I don't see any problem with the cover. At the checkout counter, the cover didn't elict hisses but compliments. But possibly if you're level of "contribution" is to slam a photo, a non-cheesecake photo, you have enough problems already?

Maybe something's seriously amiss when you attempt to critique a photo but confuse it with a cover? One cover, the non Ms. one, trumpets weight loss ("30 DAYS TO THIN!" it proclaims) and "THE $$ QUIZ THAT COULD MAKE YOU RICH!" while Ms. trumpets "The Women of Today's ANTI-WAR MOVEMENT" and "How to TEACH PEACE."

I'm not really sure what superficial comparisons contribute to a feminist dialogue but possibly that's the extent of contribution some can make?

If I seem mad, I am. It's a great issue and, instead of noting anything in it, someone decides to act alarmed that it features a woman with a dog on the cover -- as though that's something that's never been done before outside of Good Housekeeping. Maybe since C.I. had already featured the cover the week before and spotlighted the issue, the person felt there was nothing to left to say but attack the photo?

Or maybe it's just more anti-Jane sentiment? Does that website suffer from "War Got Your Tongue?"

I have no idea. It's silly nonsense, if you ask me. And we have more important things going on. If anything is a "step backward," I'd argue it's a site that doesn't have time to note the need to fight Alito's confirmation.

But what do I know? I'm just a lifelong feminist, a working class woman with eight kids. Maybe I'm not "edgy" enough? Who knows?

I hope that answers June's question about what I thought of the thing she forwarded. June seemed bothered by the item. If it helps June any, Wally's mother and I were bothered as well.
Apparently "edgy" requires cutting the contributions others make? Wally's mother is convinced that the writer just has a problem with Jane Fonda and says the same writer had a problem with Eve Ensler's most recent play so maybe it's just a need to "kill mommy"?

Whatever it was, it added nothing to a discussion. For something that does that, you can read the latest issue of Ms. Magazine. And you can keep fighting the Alito nomination.

Please visit NOW's website where you'll find a pop up with the following:

Don't Confirm Anti-Roe Nominee to Supreme CourtSenators Must Filibuster Samuel Alito
TAKE ACTION
These are the faces of women who died because they could not obtain safe and legal abortions.
If Roe v. Wade is overturned, these pictures could include your daughter, sister, mother, best friend, granddaughter . . .
Don't let George W. Bush and the U.S. Senate put another anti-abortion justice on the Supreme Court. Read More
Take Action NOW
Support NOW's Emergency Work to Save the Court
Tell A Friend to Take Action to Save the Court

Focus on the things that really matter and leave "edgy" to the "trendies." Take it from someone who remembers the pre Roe v. Wade days, blocking Alito's confirmation matters.

On other issues that matter, please read Ruth's Morning Edition Report which provides a summary of John Conyers' hearing Friday. Lastly, Cindy e-mailed C.I. about my "build up" at The Common Ills. Cindy, I appreciate the support but I'll disagree with C.I. on this matter. If you know anything about C.I. you know copping to the blame is perfectly in keeping; however, the facts tell a different story. While C.I. has been hitting hard on Alito and the NSA spying, I've still been noted eight or more times at The Common Ills and considering this is only my third post and my third week, I think that's been a pretty big buildup. It should also be noted that C.I. stayed on the phone with me, on a Saturday where there was no time for it, to talk me through setting up this site and to talk me through my first entry.

Everyone has been very helpful and very welcoming. Knowing C.I.'s tendency to reject all compliments and to take on any blame, I'll have to kindly correct the impression that I haven't had an adequate buildup at The Common Ills. It's been a busy and rough week for the community and I'll echo Gina and Krista from this morning's round-robin and say thanks to C.I. for "coming back from the brink of exhaustion to rally the community yet again."
























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Saturday, January 14, 2006

Avocado Soup in the kitchen

When my maternal grandfather had a heart attack in the late 1970s, we were all concerned about his health. His diet would have to alter. For some in the family, the answer was to stop placing salt shakers on the table.

For some, that was the sole action taken. Like most of them, I cook with salt. I season as I cook. Knowing that some cooks in the family use salt liberally, a number of us didn't feel that removing salt shakers from the table would be enough.

Salt is a staple in my kitchen and I use it often. When we know ahead of time that guests will be joining us for meals, I always ask if there are any dietary issues. Leigh Ann, one of the people who reads my son's blog Mikey Likes It! regularly, asked me what one tip I would give to someone who wants to start entertaining? It would be to ask your guests, ahead of cooking anything, if they have any allergies, any foods or ingredients that they avoid.

In terms of health issues, you do not want to serve something a guest is allergic to and there are many people with food allergies. If a guest has been advised to avoid anything due to allergies or health conditions, you're going to feel inhospitable for serving something that they can't enjoy. There are also guests who will tell you that they won't eat this or they won't eat that just due to their personal tastes. Listen.

You should serve what you enjoy. But if you're planning to entertain, take it from me, if a guest says ahead of time that they don't like broccoli and you make one dish with it, thinking that there's more than enough other dishes that they can enjoy, watch the gathering around the table switch to the one guest noting how much he or she hates broccoli throughout the evening, over and over.

Leigh Ann should be prepared for the fact that there's no controlling an evening. But you can attempt to avoid somethings by preparing ahead of time. The broccoli incident has happened several times because I like it. My children have always liked it (when they were younger many of them called brocoli "trees"). Three times, I've made the mistake of thinking that as long as there were other items provided, serving broccoli wouldn't be a problem for a guest attending who hated the vegetable. All three times, the person, a different one each time, turned the evening discussion into why he hated, they were all men, broccoli. This isn't really a topic that people eating broccoli want to hear. One time, it resulted in a loud remark of "We heard you thirty minutes ago!" All three times, it caused tension.

So find out if there are things that can't be served for medical reasons and if there are items that you should avoid for the peace of the evening. If this is a large gathering with multiple dishes and an issue of dislike arises, smile and suggest they sample something else.

Leigh Ann may or may not listen to that advice which is her choice. My second eldest daughter didn't listen and learned after her first attempt at entertaining to ask about food issues before planning the meal. So if you read this and it doesn't seem like the suggestion has any bearing on your own life, ignore it. Maybe it will never be a problem for you. But if it does end up being a problem, pick yourself up after and realize that with each meal you cook (for others or just for yourself) will provide you with more knowledge.

As a number of us attempted to figure out how to cook without salt (salt substitutes, if available in our area then, were not known of by us), I mentioned the problem to my friend Roberta who turned me onto a book by Elma W. Bagg entiled Cooking Without a Grain of Salt. There are a number of recipes in this book (the cover boasts "over 250 superb and nutrious recipes") and I was unaware that all the food I'd eaten at Roberta's were low sodium dishes. She had a problem with water retention and her mother had been advised to cut down on the sodium in her diet due to high blood pressure.

One of the many recipes I enjoy in this book I'll put below:

PUREE OF AVOCADO SOUP
Appetizing soups were most difficult to prepare without salt. I tried and tried, and wasted and wasted. These few are good.

2 avocados
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1/4 teaspoon of paprika
2 teaspoons chopped chives
1 teaspoon grated lemon rind
1/4 teaspoon dill, ground
1/4 teaspoon oregano
2 teaspoons grated onions
2 cups milk

Peel, seed and mash avocados. Add rest of the ingredients. Heat in a double broiler. This is a thick soup, and can also be made with low-sodium dry milk if you wish to cut the count.
4 SERVINGS. Per serving, 64 mg. sodium and 325 calories.

Avocados are full of vitamin C. I enjoy them on salads and in dips or even on their own. Mike and his younger sister are the only children who shares my enjoyment of avocados. I think the popularity of guacamole outside of our home has exposed our older children to avocados and allowed them to rethink the fruit. An aunt who loved them was forever buying them in bulk and rushing over to drop some off when they were on the verge of going bad.

Fruits and vegetables that come to your home free and frequently usually motivate you to find a recipe for them. (If anyone knows of a good cookbook on squash, please pass that information on.) The recipe for avocado soup was the first and only avocado based dish I could find that my family, as a whole, would eat.

When we were in DC in September at the rallies and protests against the war, Dona of The Third Estate Sunday Review caught a cold. It was the worst time for it, Saturday morning with a busy day facing her, and she needed something to pick her up. Soup is usually a good food to turn to at times like that. She was going through the kitchen of the home we were all staying at and not having luck locating a can of soup or broth. There were two avocados and, though skeptical, when I volunteered to whip up a batch of soup using them and the other ingredients above, she was willing to try it.

Some of you may not know what a double broiler is so this is a definition from online: "Double Broiler: A small pot placed above a larger pot that contains boiling water." If you're adventurous and willing to take all responsibility (legal and otherwise) for attempting it, you can try to rig one via a large pot and a smaller pan. However, if you don't have a double broiler, the soup can be made in a single pan and turn out quite well. Just remember to stir frequently as it cooks. For the ingredients, you can use dried ones, such as dried chives instead of fresh ones, if they aren't available in your area or if you're making it at the last minute and don't have any fresh ones handy. If I don't have lemon peel handy, I use lemon zest or else add an additional teaspoon of lemon juice. A friend who enjoys creamy soups adds butter when cooking this. So you can play with this recipe. (Again, you take responsibilty -- legal and otherwise.)

I hadn't intended to make this the second recipe I posted but Dona enjoys it and I felt that after the week that was, we might all be looking for the comfort of a soup. Like my son, I'm glad our senator, Ted Kennedy, was vocal during the hearings but I was more unimpressed with Democrats on the committee than impressed.

C.I. has an entry on members reactions and I enjoyed reading that because it echoed a number of complaints and concerns I had while following the hearings this week. My husband enjoyed Brandon's comments about the hearings being like a football game that had reached with the fourth quarter with no one on "our team" ever consulting a playbook until the last minute. My husband and Brandon were of the same mind on that.

Myself, I was disappointed that Bully Boy saw another nomination for the Supreme Court, a lifetime appointment, go before the Judiciary Committee and there was no organized effort on the part of Democrats during their questioning. It is true that Alito was dodgy in his answers but it's also true that while dodging, few bothered to challenge him on that. A senator might mention it in passing or note that it had occurred "yesterday" but when the dodging was going on, the tendency was not to confront it but instead to "move on" as Diane Feinstein stated at one point.

It looks like Alito will be confirmed. I'm not suggesting that people don't protest to their senators (Democrats and Republicans) or that they give up on fighting the nomination. But it does feel like the Democrats on the committee did very little, as a whole, and now expect the people to wage a battle they weren't willing to fight themselves.

That's very upsetting to me. Like Mike, I'm glad to call Ted Kennedy my senator (and have no real issues with our other senator, John Kerry); however, Ted will not be in the Senate forever.
When he decides he's given as much as he can and chooses to step down, I'm worried about the level of fight left in the Senate on the Democratic side.

Diane Feinstein was a huge disappointment this week. Outside of Joe Lieberman, I'm not sure any other Democratic senator could have done so poorly. It wasn't that she wasn't raising issues that were important; it was the fact of how she raised them.

To keep the focus on the kitchen, it would be like me repeatedly saying to the family, after I'd served dinner, "I could have made ___ or I could have used ____." She appeared to bringing her prep work to the table when the country needed to be served the meal. I found her "Gosh, I'm just a girl and lawyering is so far beyond my brain" insulting to women. After over a decade in the Senate, her personal style seemed embarrassing. Did she grasp the gravity of the situation? Interrupting Ted Kennedy, in the midst of his questioning, did not suggest that she did. She was "playful" when she should have been business-like.

I found the whole thing depressing as a woman who was assured after the 1992 Year of the Women (assured by the press) that everything had changed. It didn't appear that anything had changed. The treatment of Anita Hill as someone to be dismissed (which played like it was due to her gender) is now endorsed with the actions of Diane Feinstein who makes it easy to dismiss women due to her actions on the committee. As my sister-in-law Peggy said, "Donna Reed had more bite."

So it wasn't a week of uplift. But maybe we can channel our frustration into action. As Rebecca, Wally and C.I. have noted NOW provides you with the means to Take Action: Call Your Senators Today. As Laura Flanders says, "Don't leave politics to the politicians." And I'll add, as I'm guessing she would, too much is at stake.

I did survive my first week of blogging. I mistyped "me" as "be" in the last entry. Kat advised me to leave it as is or else get used to spending time that I could be posting instead correcting typos in each entry. I'll follow that good advice unless I make a typo in copying a recipe. There were a number of kind e-mails (27) and most pointed out that the e-mail address doesn't display on my profile. I didn't get around to doing that section, I guess. The week was busy for Mike and everyone else so I didn't ask about how to fix that or add things to my profile. Leigh Ann noted it was a good thing I'd stated to write me care of Mike (irishmike02@yahoo.com) because she wouldn't have known how to write me. Lynda wrote a very nice e-mail and sent it to me care of C.I. who was kind enough to forward it. I'll try to create an e-mail account before next week and also to attempt to get it noted on my profile.



















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Saturday, January 07, 2006

Vegetarian Enchiladas in the kitchen

My name is Trina and you are in my online kitchen. I'm a member of The Common Ills community and the mother of Mike who has a website called Mikey Likes It!

I am a mother many times over but I'll note my children here only with their permission. Mike's youngest sister doesn't enjoy being mentioned at his site so I'll assume she'll prefer not to be named here either. I haven't checked with Mike for permission to name him but I doubt that will be a problem.

There are a number of excellent websites in the community and this won't be one of them. It won't be a daily weblog. I would like to post at least once a week. I think a number of topics are already covered quite well by the websites in the community. What I hope to do is to write something about cooking and politics. I'd like to share a recipe that stood out to me and, in the process, weigh in with a statement or two about the state of our nation.

I am on the left and far more left than leadership in the Democratic Party. I am opposed to the continued occupation of Iraq and was opposed to the invasion. I'm nervous as I type this so, in case anyone is thinking of starting a website and they are nervous, I'll let you know next time if I lived through it.

Tonight I want to note a recipe for Vegetarian Enchiladas:

Warning: The sauce for this is very hot. You may want to reduce the amount of hot sauce and chili powder.

Olive oil for sauteing
1 1/2 cups chopped onions
2 cups canned tomatoes
One 8-ounce can tomato sauce
2 cloves garlic, minced
Pinch cayenne pepper
10 drops hot sauce
1/2 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon chili powder
1 tablespoon honey
1/4 teaspoon ground cumin seed
1/4 pound black olives, pitted and sliced (reserve some for garnish)
1 1/2 cups cooked pinto beans (1/2 cup uncooked), mashed or ground
8 soft corn tortillas
1/4 pound Monterey Jack or other cheese, grated
Salt to taste

Heat oil and saute two-thirds of the onions until translucent. Add tomatoes, tomato sauce, half the garlic, the cayenne pepper, hot sauce, 1/2 tablespoon chili powder, honey, salt, and cumin seed and simmer, uncovered, for 30 minutes.
Heat olive oil and saute remaining onions and garlic and black olives until onions are translucent. Add remaining 1 teaspoon chili powder, taste for salt, and add beans (and some sauce if mix seems too sticky). Stir well.
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Fill each tortilla with 2 to 3 tablespoons filling and 1 tablespoon grated cheese. Roll up and put in a shallow baking pan. Cover with sauce, sprinkle with remaining cheese, and garnish with reserved olives. Bake until bubbling hot, about 30 minutes.
Complementary protein: beans + corn.

That recipe is from page 317 of Frances Moore Lappe's Diet for a Small Planet. I've gone through multiple copies of this book because it's a staple in my kitchen as much as eggs or butter. Complementary protein was the author's way of explaining to people that you could eat a nutritional meal without meat which, hard to believe today, was a big question once upon a time.

The book has many wonderful recipes but this is the one I've cooked the most. I do love vegetables but I'm not a vegetarian nor are my family. But I have a very large family. (I may have spent more time preganant than anything else other than breathing.) Prior to this book, we would have rice and beans whenever possible. The beans were seasoned and the rice was usually brown. But that was the extent of my knowledge until a friend passed me a copy of Diet for a Small Planet.

Ensuring that we all had a nutritional dinner was important. So was doing that on a budget. These days, I'm amazed that I can buy, for instance, brand name crackers. When all the children were living at home, brand names was something reserved for special occassions. We didn't suffer as a result but anyone on a tight budget will understand what I'm talking about.

If you're on a budget, you're also keenly aware of the price of meat. We had fish every Friday and another meat, usually chicken, for one other night a week. By the way, if Mike remembers this differently, he's not remembering wrong. He's the second to youngest of the children. If you spoke to one of my oldest, they would remember these days very well.

The price of meat effected what was on our table. Diet for a Small Planet was the book that taught me how to cook a great meal without meat. For the first five years I fixed this dish, my husband refused to believe that I wasn't sneaking meat into it in some form. He's only recently accepted that there isn't even a meat based broth in it.

If you're on a budget this is a recipe you can master and carry to potlucks but don't expect to carry home any leftovers. People do not touch at this dish, they devour it.

In my home, it was so popular that it became a Wednesday staple.

These days, shredded cheese is readily available but I still remember my panic when I decided to start this recipe and realized that my rolling pin was missing. One of the children, not Mike, had adopted it for a project I won't bore you with. But if you're on a budget and you don't have a rolling pin, you can mash the beans with a potato masher. If you don't have one, you can consider using a spoon but I'd recommend a glass. With a spoon, even a large one, you'll need a lot of extra time. With a glass, plastic or glass, you can cover an area quickly. I like to mash on a cutting board because it's easy to drain some of the excess juice produced by mashing the pinto benas. You could also use a pan or skillet. Dried beans are inexpensive and my first choice but if you're pressed for time, you can also use canned. If you use canned beans, you can use canned pinto beans or canned refried beans depending upon how pressed you are for time.

When I first started playing with this recipe, I often sat the tortillas down flat, put filling as a layer, then followed that with more tortillas because I had the worst time keeping the tortillas rolled while they were cooking in the oven. Often, they would unwrap before I could get the dish into the oven. What I stumbled upon was using toothpicks to keep them wrapped and removing the toothpicks when I removed the dish from the oven.

This remains the most popular recipe in our home. As the older children have moved out, I've noticed that Wednesday nights is a popular time to drop by and they've all asked me to show them how to make it. For that reason, and because the book is full of other wonderful recipes, I wanted to start by noting Diet for a Small Planet. Along with the recipes, you'll find serious discussions about food and the impact our eating habits have on the planet. This is a wonderful book and I hope someone will check out the book as a result of this recipe. Even if you do not check out the book, hopefully, you'll attempt this recipe and realize how easy it is to make, how inexpensive and how great it tastes.

When I got married, I thought I'd learn a few recipes each year. That wasn't happening. Most cook books used terms that I would intend to look up but then a diaper needed changing, a fight needed settling, someone needed a ride to practice . . . This book is user friendly.

With each entry, I hope to note a different recipe from a different book or one that was passed on to be my friend or family member. My oldest son recently got engaged and suddenly the disposable income is no longer as disposable. You tell them that will happen but it's hard for them to see that happening until it does. So what I'm hoping for is to provide the community with some recipes that are nutritous and affordable in a Bully Boy economy. Some will be meat based, some won't be.

Besides being nervous, I'm typing faster than I have in my life. That's because C.I.'s been kind enough to stay on the phone with me during this and will be talking me through how to do links right after this entry posts. I'll link to all the community websites tonight and will add some more links in the future to voices that speak to me. Thank you to anyone who visited the site.






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