Quotation Of The Day

“In any man who dies there dies with him, his first snow and kiss and fight. Not people die but worlds die in them.” -Yevgeny Yevtushenko

I have been seriously neglecting my blog

Wow, I haven't written anything in like, 2 months, which is strange because I always have so much going on in my head! With Halloween approaching, I am so excited to immerse myself in autumnal flavors and try a lot of new recipes. I have seriously been slacking when it comes to preparing seasonal foods thus far, but fall has only just begun, so I can't be too hard on myself. I made a spectacular potato soup on the first day of October, so that should count for something. Next thing on the agenda is pumpkin crumb cake with pecan streusel from Veganomicon. I am hoping to make that Tuesday night. Soup, soup and more soup, has also been on my mind. Who doesn't love eating soup this time of year? It's almost the perfect food. It's warm and comforting and you can make a soup out of just about anything. From a simple vegetable soup to a decadent cream of aspargus, there's something for everyone in a bowl of soup. Can you tell that I love soup? I really used to love my Mom Mom Shaffer's soup. It was so simple but so delicious and the smell always filled my grandparents' warm, tiny house. It is definitely one of my favorite memories from childhood. I hope you take advantage of the change of seasons by curling up with a nice, hot bowl of soup, too.

Stupidity runs rampant...again!

I do not suffer fools gladly and Sarah Palin is no exception. I had actually given her some credit at first for laying low during the whole health care reform debate, but then she had to open her big mouth and ruin it by saying unbelievably dumb things. I am hoping that most people are keeping up with this, but Sarah Palin is yet another moron to jump on the "death panels" band wagon, insisting that Advanced Care Planning Consultation equals euthanizing old people or guilting them into accepting less medical treatment in old age. This is a flat-out lie. This piece of legislation is designed to help seniors with end of life planning such as creating a living will and putting into place things like advance directives and do not resuscitate orders. An advance directive simply makes your doctor aware of the type of care you would like to receive if you should become unable to make those decisions based on an illness, etc., and do not resuscitate means that if your heart stops beating you do not wish for medical personnel to attempt to revive you. These types of things are impotant for numerous reasons. One, because it should always be up to the individual to make these choices, not a doctor. If I were to be involved in a horrible accident and left in a coma with no chance of recovery, I would want them to pull the plug, period. This is a decision I want to make, not have made for me. Two, it's much easier to make decisions like these ahead of time instead of placing the burden on loved ones. I would hate the thought of my son having to decide whether or not to pursue this type of treatment or that type of treatment or whether to resuscitate or not. Dealing with the illness and potential loss of a loved one is difficult enough without having to make confusing, often time-sensitive decisions. I think it's a great idea for seniors to have more input and control when it comes to the type of care they receive. Time and time again doctors recommend unnecessary or risky surgeries for their patients because they're highly profitable. A person should be informed about the risks and benefits of a procedure and be allowed to balance those for themselves. The fact that Sarah Palin and countless others are using this piece of legislation to literally scare senior citizens is shameful. They do themselves and the people of this country a great injustice when they lie. I'd be amazed if they could actually bring themselves to tell the truth for once. The stupidity in all of it is what really bothers me. These people are elected officials. They're put into office by people like you and me to pursue the best interests of our country and this is the best they can do, make up phony stories about how the government is going to use health care reform to wipe out all the old people? I will conclude with a quotation, said by many but credited to Abraham Lincoln- 'Tis better to be silent and be thought a fool, than to speak and remove all doubt."

Quotation of the Day

Any fool can make things bigger, more complex and more violent. It takes a touch of genius- and a lot of courage- to move in the opposite direction.

-Albert Einstein

Whore Of The Week: Robert Moon...amongst others

I stumbled upon Robert Moon's existence when I googled the term "astroturf". An article written by Moon featured in the Macon County Conservative Examiner entitled "Democrats to bring out union rent-a-mobs (actual astroturf) to intimidate Grassroots Protesters", was full of right-wing propaganda and blatant lies. Moon explains in his article that 84% of Americans are happy with their health care (didn't cite his source) and that the White House's proposed health care reform is designed to "reward failure and punish success", to which I replied "what failures are the millions of children without health care guilty of"? In true conservative fashion, he opted to sidestep my question (and my claims that FreedomWorks and other lobbying firms were behind the "dissent" at recent town halls) and instead chose to dismiss my response as typical left-wing garbage and insult me for "attacking" his character, going so far as to call something I said "sleazy". Would posing as a journalist to push the agenda of lobbyists and big business make one sleazy? I would think so. Robert Moon is a member of a group called the "Tea Party Patriots", a right-wing extremist group that depends on lies and smear tactics to get attention. I wasn't at all shocked when Mr. Moon failed to respond to my direct questions. What was somewhat shocking, however, was when I scrolled to the bottom of the Tea Party Patriots' website and saw its list of Partners, one of them being FreedomWorks, the same lobbying firm that is behind all of the orchestrated dissent at town halls across the country. No wonder he didn't respond to my statement. Some more of the Tea Party Patriots' Partners include Michelle Malkin, who, in 1995, worked as a journalism fellow for Competitive Enterprise Institute, a think-tank dedicated to the promotion of free enterprise without government regulation (I would love to hear her thoughts on the bailout), and RedState, a political weblog geared toward Republicans and Conservatives. Among some of RedState's contributors are those claiming that homosexuality is a "mental disorder" and that Muslims are "inherently evil". One of RedState's contributors is Tom DeLay. Does that name ring a bell to anyone? It may be a gigantic coincidence, but I'm guessing it's the same Tom DeLay we all know and love. Tom DeLay, former Republican House Majority Leader, indicted in 2005 on criminal charges that he had conspired to violate campaign finance laws. Was instrumental in the K Street Project, an effort to pressure lobbying firms to hire Republicans to top positions. Also involved in coordinating efforts to redistrict congessional districts in Texas, aka gerrymandering, in order to favor the election of more Republicans. Not to mention that two of his former aides were convicted in the Jack Abramoff Scandal. I could go on and on forever but I will touch on this because I think it's important. Tom DeLay's predecessor as House Majority Leader was none other than Dick Armey. Who is Dick Armey, you ask? Well, he's a former Republican House Majority leader, but he also happens to be the Chairman of FreedomWorks and is even referred to as "The Honorable Dick Armey", on their website. Make me gag. Yes, that's the same FreedomWorks mentioned earlier. The group responsible for simulating protests, defacing property, burning elected officials in effigy and going so far as to threaten death to said elected officials. Interesting also is who Mr. Tom DeLay was succeeded by, a Mr. Roy Blunt. Mr. Blunt voted in favor of reducing the waiting time for a handgun from 72 to 24 hours and received an "A" rating from the National Rifle Association. He also voted in favor of a national ban on same-sex marriage and has voted against gay adoption. He has received a 14% rating from the American Civil Liberties Union, but a 92% rating from the Conservative Christian Coalition. Mr. Blunt also happens to be a staunch opposer of health care reform. All of this kind of makes you wonder who these people are working for and whose interests they are really fighting so desperately hard to protect. I can assure you, they're not ours. These people don't care if we lose our health care or if our premiums skyrocket to unfathomable highs. They care about themselves, their rich friends and the corporations who keep them rich. All of this seems a little too intertwined to be an accident or a coincidence. These people are working together to fight constructive change and they're using hired suits to do it. The people they're utilizing and flat-out using, to do their dirty work, couldn't organize a sock drawer let alone an entire protest or movement, so they take it upon themselves to do it for them. The sad thing is that these people don't even realize that they're only being used to protect the interests and preserve the livelihoods of a select few who could care less about a single one of them. Are these the type of people we want pulling the strings? People who are embroiled in scandal after scandal, are whores for big business and hate homosexuals? I am not sure about most people, but that is not my idea of America. We know who these people are fighting for. More importantly, I think, is to ask ourselves exactly who and what we are fighting for. If the answer is your family, your loved ones or each other, congratulations. If the answer is corporations, special interests and lobbyists, shame on you.

Pizza: The Food of the Goddess

I was talking with a friend of mine tonight and he said that he thought he had eaten too much pizza. I was slightly confused by this because I wasn't aware such a thing even existed. I know I've had too much cake or too much television, but too much pizza? I think that's considered blasphemy in some countries. Almost everyone who knows me knows that I love pizza, but I am not sure they really know how much. When my husband and I lived in Richmond, Virginia, he suggested we do something he called "52 Weeks of Pizza", where we had to get pizza every Friday for a year. What made it interesting was that we had to get it from a different place every week. Absolutely no repeats allowed for an entire year. There is absolutely no way we would have been able to do this in the tiny town in which we now reside but in Richmond, the possibilities were endless! Compared to where we live now, it was like there was pizza on every corner. Well, in a way there really was. It was heaven for two pizza lovers like ourselves. I used to look forward to every Friday and loved reading reviews online and asking around to find out where we could track down the best pies. It was a great way to feel like we were participating in a very important, regimented activity. If we happened to be out of town on a Friday we would simply get pizza wherever we happened to be. We even discussed what we would do if I went into labor on a Friday and had to be in the hospital. We had some truly great pizzas, some of my favorites being Mary Angela's, Extreme Pizza, Zorba's (on Broad Street- best Greek Pizza ever), Bella Luna and Mimmos. I know there were others, but a lot of the names and locations elude me now. "52 Weeks of Pizza" concluded in June 2008. Bittersweet was the end of our gluttonous pastime. When I think about it, it makes me think about Richmond and how much I loved living there. I really enjoyed the time we spent there and feel lucky to have had the pleasure to call Richmond my home. It will always have a very special place in my heart. We still get pizza every Friday.

Health Care Reform: The Facts, The Fictions and Everything In-Between

Since everyone else seems to be talking, blogging, writing, singing or screaming about health care reform I figured, why shouldn't I? It's something I've spoken with many people about so it just makes sense to put those words on virtual paper. There are a lot of rumors and myths going around about healthcare so I figured I'd post some links. The links I am posting come from the White House website, www.whitehouse.gov. I figured this is the best place to get all of the facts first and then make decisions based on what I read here. Not on what I hear on the news or read on the internet or in the newspaper or magazines. This is the only place you will truly find what our government is proposing, free from opinions and criticism. A lot of people would probably say "Oh, you can't believe what you read on there". What can I believe, then, someone else's interpretation of it? I would much rather read it for myself than have someone else tell me what it says. We do ourselves a great injustice when we allow ourselves to accept what other people say as truth without seeking information on our own. Read the information provided and formulate your own opinion based on what you've taken in. I think the most accurate way to understand what is really going on is to go straight to the source. To rely on other people's twisted versions does nothing but muddy the waters and make everything more confusing for everyone. If you don't like what you read here, do something about it. If you like what you read here, do something about it. I am also providing some links about health care from factcheck.org, a nonpartisan, non-profit organization whose job it is to wade through all of the rumors, lies and hype to bring you honest-to-goodness facts.

http://www.whitehouse.gov/realitycheck/faq

http://www.factcheck.org/2009/08/cpr-administers-bad-facts-again/

http://www.factcheck.org/2009/07/surgery-for-seniors-vs-abortions/

http://www.factcheck.org/2009/07/false-euthanasia-claims/

http://www.factcheck.org/2009/08/nazi-symbols-at-town-halls-the-real-story/

http://www.whitehouse.gov/blog/Facts-Are-Stubborn-Things/

http://www.whitehouse.gov/blog/Reality-Check/


I could post a lot more, but you get the idea. Read it. Remember it. Recite it. Engage in intelligent discussion about health care reform.

Chickpeas with onions, garlic and chopped dates

This dish is dedicated to Eliza, a friend of mine who sent me a message on Facebook about Moroccan food. Eliza is a fellow food lover who inspired me to create a photo album on Facebook entitled "Food Porn". This dish, with the inclusion of dates, is slightly Moroccan-inspired but doesn't include cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, or turmeric (not sure why, since I have all of these) but it is delicious and very pleasing to the palate, plus it utilizes spices that most people already have on hand. It is a satisfying and hearty meal on its own or would be fantastic over rice or quinoa or served with warm pita bread. Here's a rough version of the recipe:

1 can chickpeas (do not drain liquid), or you could use about 2 cups prepared dried beans. I used a can because I made this on a whim and because I can't find our dried garbanzos. If you do use dried beans, just use about 1/4-1/2 cup more vegetable broth and add it in the beginning of the recipe when you add all of the other ingredients.
1/4 cup chopped onion
3 or 4 chopped dates, depending on size and desired sweetness (I used 3 and it gives the dish just a slightly sweet flavor, very well-balanced)
2 gloves of garlic (or more, if you like)
Approximately 1/2 - 1 tbps Liquid Aminos. If you don't have or use Liquid Aminos, you can just use soy sauce. I'm just a fan of Liquid Aminos. I think it has a better depth of flavor than regular soy sauce and is less salty.
Black pepper
Chili powder
Onion powder
Pinch of cilantro (I added this mostly for color since I didn't have any parsley)
1/4-1/2 cup vegetable broth depending on how thick you'd like the dish to be

Mix all ingredients except for vegetable broth in a medium-sized pot and bring to a simmer. Lower heat and cover and continue to simmer on low for about 15 or 20 minutes or until most of the liquid from the chickpeas is absorbed.
Add the vegetable broth in small amounts until the desired consistency has been reached. I like mine to be thick but still have a nice sauce for dipping and such.
When desired consistency is reached, turn off heat and allow to sit for a few minutes. Serve warm over rice or any other grain or in a bowl with bread for dipping.