Easy Recipe for Difficult Times

Banana Muffins with Peanut Butter

Ingredients

1 c.	Mashed bananas (about 3 medium)
2/3 c.	a-p flour
2/3 c.	Whole wheat flour
1 1/2 t.	Baking powder
½ t.	Baking soda
½ t.	Salt
½ c.	Brown sugar
1 T.	Fresh lemon juice
1 t.	Vanilla
1 t.	Almond extract
¼ c.	Neutral oil (canola, grapeseed)
1	Jumbo egg
2/3 c.	Buttermilk
½ c.	Smooth peanut butter

Directions

• Preheat oven to 375° F. Place silicone liners in pan to make 14 muffins.
• Measure flours into a medium bowl. Add soda, baking powder, and salt, and stir to combine.
• Mix mashed bananas with extracts and lemon juice in another bowl.
• In third bowl, beat egg with oil, then add buttermilk and mix to combine.
• Add banana mixture to egg mixture, then fold in flour mixture until no lumps remain.
• Using a ¼ c. scoop, measure muffin mix into silicone liners.
• Place in oven for approx. 30 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean.
• Cool in muffin tin, on a cooling rack, for two minutes, then remove muffins to a tea towel-lined serving bowl, folding the tea towel over the muffins to keep warm. Serve immediately.

Optionally, you may add 3/4 c. chocolate chips to the batter, before baking, if you like, before baking.

Being Home, For the Time Being

7:30 am

Well, I’m not quite sure what to make of this “shelter at home” order given by Governor Gavin Newsom this week.  So, I had been planning on taking Kat out for a bike ride around San Diego (Mission) Bay yesterday, but since she had something to do yesterday evening, we postponed it to today, and, now, I’m not quite sure what to do.  I saw ma couple of people playing tennis in the court at our condo, but we don’t have tennis racquets.  I suppose we could take our bikes out and just ride along the bike path, which we’d be accessing via Santa Fe Street, located just downhill from Peter’s place.  It’s a beautiful day today, but it’s a bit cool, because it’s a clear day, without clouds to trap any heat to the earth (ie, shortwave energy penetrating the clouds, but longwave energy being trapped by them – greenhouse effect, right?).

1 pm

Well, she’s up, and we discussed what to do.  We’ve agree that this afternoon, we’ll go to La Jolla Shores Park and take a stroll to the tide pools, where I’m hoping to see more than I did when I went there with Peter the other day, when all I saw were hermit crabs – no fin fish, no mollusks.  Oh, wait.  I did see a couple of anemones, but they were looking pretty sad, not being fully submerged when I saw them.  So, the plan now is to go to the Shores, take a stroll, then return to Peter’s for the night, and then go for our bike ride earlier in the day tomorrow morning.  I warned her that she’ll have to be the one to make an effort to wake up early, and she consented to do so.  So, as long as Peter’s willing to host us tonight, we can go forward with our plan.

This morning, while waiting restlessly, I salvaged what I could of the flourless cocoa and chocolate nonpareil (large chocolate chips) cookies (ingredients:  3 c. confectioners’ sugar, 3 large egg whites, 2/3 c. cocoa, about 2/3 c. chocolate chunks or chips, optional chopped roasted nuts, baked in 350 degree oven for about 10 minutes on a sprayed silicone mat).

Last night, I made carrot soup in the pressure cooker:

Pressure-Cooker Carrot Soup

3 lbs	Carrots, peeled and roughly chopped
1 small bunch	Cilantro (fresh coriander), finely chopped
1 T	Ground cumin
1 T	Garam Masala
1 t	Ground cinnamon
2 in³	Fresh ginger, peeled and thinly sliced
1 c	Cashews, soaked in 2 c boiling water, cooled
2 c	Vegetable broth

Instructions

• Place cashews with soaking water into a blender, and blend first on low speed, then medium speed, until it forms a very light, very fluid paste.
• Place chopped carrots, broth, and 2 cups water into pressure cooker and cook at high pressure for twenty minutes.
• While carrots cook, gather together spices and take out an immersion blender.
• When pressure cooker is done, add spices (including ginger) and cashew paste to soup, and stir well to combine. Use immersion blender to blend soup so that it reaches a smooth consistency.  Simmer soup for several minutes, and serve with toasted naan.

 

 

“Make no mistake: the clear winner of the primary will be white male mediocrity.” – author Hannah Drake

*sigh*

Yes, I was a Hilary supporter.  I made phone calls for Elizabeth Warren this time around.  And, as many (relatively liberal, college-educated, relatively intelligent) women, I was, once again, disappointed in the state of American politics.  Even Bernie, as much as he stands for progressive values, is imperfect.  Not because he’s old, not because he has a penis;  he doesn’t represent all of what I want to see in a president.  Given the competition, however, he’s the best man still standing.  Unfortunately, Biden will gain the Democratic party nomination and will lose the general election because The Rump supporters will not waver, even as they will once again be fed to the dogs, given the past actions of the As*hole-in-Chief.  And the Bernie Bros will, once again, sit out the election and claim no responsibility.

Yes, I *still* refer to “Bernie Bros,” even though many (including my own partner) deny their existence, given that their (small, but fervent) number was still working actively against all of the other contenders for the nomination, on no other premise that the other contenders were not their man.

Their MAN.

Well, I suppose the only hope there is is that Joe Biden will, if he chooses to act intelligently, select a woman as a running mate (Tulsi Gabbard comes to mind, at least as a young, relatively intelligent former member of the US Armed Forces), even if he only does so in order to garner “The Minority Vote” (if there be such a monolith).  But, nevertheless, here we are, another election where the two choices will be, demographically, not altogether dissimilar.  Will it be the corporate Democrat, or the self-serving, racist, sexist, narcissistic Asshole-in-Chief?  I already know I won’t vote for The Rump.  I’ll hold my nose and, when the time comes, make my (futile?) choice.

 

Bread Salad

Ingredients

4 slices	Wheat bread, medium-thick slices (1/4”-1/2”)
2 large	Eggs
2 medium	Avocados
2 stalks	Celery
1 medium	Tomato
½ c.	Dill, coarsely chopped
½ c.	Parsley, finely chopped
1 c.	Fresh coriander, leaves picked from stem
1 c.	Fresh mint, leaves picked from stem
1 medium-large	Lemon, juiced (3-4 T. strained juice)
2 T.	Lime juice (from concentrate is okay)
¾ c.	EVOO, separated
¼ t.	Coarse salt
¼ t.	Freshly grated pepper

Directions

• Preheat oven to 400°F. Cut bread into  bite-sized cubes, about 1/2” on a side.  Mist bread cubes with about ¼ c. EVOO, until bread cubes are  evenly coated.  Brown/crisp bread cubes in preheated oven for 5-10 minutes, or until lightly toasted.  Remove from oven and cool on baking sheet.
• Cut eggs, celery, and avocado into a small dice. Seed tomato and cut into a small dice.  Combine eggs, celery, avocado, and tomato.  Toss with salt and pepper, then add lemon juice and toss to combine.
• Combine herbs, bread cubes, and vegetables in a large bowl, and toss lightly. Grind additional pepper and salt over salad, and toss.
• Combine remaining EVOO with lime juice in bottle, and shake until it forms a loose emulsion. Pour over salad just before serving, so that bread cubes remain crisp upon presentation.
• Enjoy!

Salad!

Herb Salad with Eggs and Avocado

Ingredients
1 c. Fresh mint leaves, picked from stem
½ c. Fresh dill, coarsely chopped
1 c. Fresh parsley, coarsely chopped
½ c. Fresh coriander, picked from stem
2 large Eggs
1 medium Avocado
1 medium Tomato
2 stalks Celery, in a fine dice
½ t. Salt
¼-½ t. Freshly ground pepper
¼-½ t. Freshly ground fenugreek
1 c. Feta, in small dice
½ c. Black olives, quartered
1 T. Lime juice
1 medium-large Lemon, juiced (about 3 T.)
1/3 c. EVOO
4-5 inner leaves Romaine lettuce, torn or chopped into small bite-sized pieces

• Place eggs in saucepan of cold water and bring to boil. Once it reaches boiling, turn off heat, cover, and allow to sit for 15 minutes to complete cooking.
• While eggs are cooling, cut avocado, celery, and tomato into small dice. Juice lemon and pour juice over avocado to prevent browning.
• Combine herbs with lettuce and toss. Add avocado, tomato, celery, olives, feta, and toss to distribute.
• Add salt, fenugreek, and pepper to taste, Toss dry salad lightly.
• Combine lime juice and olive oil in a bottle. Shake until it forms a loose emulsion, then pour over salad. Toss to dress salad completely, then serve.

Another Failure (of The Rump Administration)

The federal government is going to send out cheques to all Americans (I wonder whom they’re counting?) to add to the debt it is buying itself into as part of (yet) another TRILLION DOLLAR BANK BAILOUT:

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/mar/17/us-government-to-give-citizens-emergency-financial-aid?utm_term=RWRpdG9yaWFsX0d1YXJkaWFuVG9kYXlVUy0yMDAzMTg%3D&utm_source=esp&utm_medium=Email&utm_campaign=GuardianTodayUS&CMP=GTUS_email

This article reports that The Rump Administration will be sending out money to all Americans (citizens only, probably) to help spur the sagging economy, because, The Rump well knows, a poor economic outlook often dooms sitting presidents.

The notion of “universal basic income,” an idea championed by former White House hopeful, Andrew Yang, is being taken  and bastardized, in True Rumped-up fashion, by the Administration in  what promises to be a futile attempt to win over any voters who are already going to vote The Rump out of his comfortable White digs.  I can only hope that Biden wins, although I have no love for the man, myself.  As part of the Corporate Democratic Establishment, Biden offers no real solutions, just more bullsh*t, not altogether different from what The Rump is selling from his horse-drawn cart of economic magical elixirs.

Of course, this will *not* mean that universal basic income is being adopted;  it’s a “stimulus” to try to get people to spend what little money they still have (and what little they’ll actually be getting from the gov’t) to shore up those for whom The Rump *actually* gives a flying f*ck:  investors and other owners of the largest corporations, who will be the true beneficiaries of any cash handouts proposed by The Rump.

I’m infinitely sick and weary of the 24-hour news cycle that does nothing but repeat The Rump’s continuous flow of lies, while providing little “balance” from voices of reason and intelligence (Rachel Maddow, John Oliver, and even the comedian, Steven Colbert).  Now that we are in the midst of a pandemic (one that The Rump denied until it approached epidemic proportions in this country), things are looking grim.  If Americans start dying from the novel coronavirus, I can only hope that it’ll be, in this order, Steve Mnuchin, The Rump’s idiotic, favored daughter and her husband, then The First Lady, and then The Rump, himself, followed in quick succession by Vice President Pencilneck.  Actually, maybe VP Pencilneck should go first, so that The Rump has no second in command to give his last wishes to.  Then, of course, The Senate Majority Leader, McTurtle, needs to go.  There are just so many who need to die in order for our democracy to survive this -oh, so very interesting- time we are living in…

Ideally, Both The Rump and Biden (though it’s slightly sad to see him go this way, but not really) will contract the Coronavirus and at least one will die.  Then we can have a real election in which the man who should be in charge can take office.

Another Simple Cashew Soup

Cashew-Miso Soup with Scallions

1-1 ½ T	Shiso (white) miso
1 c	Raw cashews, soaked overnight – see Note, below
1 c	Cashew milk
1 c	Coconut milk
¼ c	Sliced scallions
¼ t	Toum (opt.)

Drain cashews and place in food processor.  Add coconut milk, and process until smooth, stopping to scrape bowl as needed.  Add toum, if using, and cashew milk. Continue processing until very smooth.  Pour into saucepan, add miso, and heat soup over medium, stirring constantly, until no lumps of miso paste remain.  Continue heating until soup begins to bubble.  Remove from heat and pour into serving bowl.  Top with sliced scallions and serve immediately.

 

Note:  to soak cashews, place 1 cup nuts into a lidded bowl, then cover with boiling water, so that nuts are completely submerged with about ½ inch of water over tops of nuts (they’ll expand while soaking, and this will ensure they remain submerged).  Cover, and allow to sit overnight before using.

Editorial re: “Veganism row breaks out after Joaquin Phoenix is told: be kinder to farmers”, published in The Guardian online, US edition, 25 February 2020

In this article, the writer discusses the “battle” between veganism and animal farmers, and how, farmers claim, they are being equated with the tobacco industry, which has been vilified for decades now.  The British farmers’ union, headed by a woman named Minette Batters, is claiming that their members are experiencing mental distress over the influence of celebrities like Phoenix, who eschew all things animal, using, as their justification, that all animals are sentient beings who deserve respect insofar as they should be allowed to live their lives in peace without being raised for their flesh and products by humans.

This brings up an interesting point, which I would like to see addressed by scientists, medical practitioners, and probably social scientists [sic], and that is, whether animal products continue to be necessary for the continuing evolution of the human species.  Vegans don’t bat an eye at wild animals who hunt prey to live, justifying their instincts by saying that it’s “merely nature” expressing itself in the form of the predator.  If humans are not the most advanced predators ever created by evolution, who is?

Granted, human evolution has been helped by its use of animals for both their products (milk, eggs, hair, silk) and their flesh, and, frankly, their labor.  However, having come so far, are we going to stagnate, or can we evolve beyond the need for animals as food?  We’ve evolved beyond using horse-drawn carts.  Can we stop the slaughter?