News Flash: No More Chicken

Just a tidbit of news from my Zenned Out world of eating- no more chicken. That's right. No mas, el chicken-o. Oddly, it has happened nearly by accident. First, I saw Food, Inc. Then I said, no more chicken from industrial farming. Next, I read Veganist by Kathy Freston. Then I said, no more chicken from any place. And finally, four weeks later I haven't eaten as much as a nibble of chicken and I intend to avoid eating that bird for as long as I can. Mr. Perdue can suck an egg- so to speak.

I'm so annoyed: Week Two- You don't know how to drive

This blog may actually turn into a big whine-fest for Kristen. I find myself looking for things to be annoyed about so I can subsequently share them with the internet. Well, when it comes to poor drivers, I needn't look far. Today, some jerk ran the stop sign by my building at 30 mph. What an a-hole. And they are everywhere. But my favorite of late has been the nimrod who parks decidedly close to my driver side door, also the side of Helena's car seat, when there are AMPLE parking spaces in the immediate vicinity. This happened twice in one day last week. These idiots parked so close to my car that I had to go to the other side of the vehicle to get my child in the car seat. Double-u, tee, eff.

I'm going to go meditate this off.

I'm so annoyed: Week One-Accountability

I, just like you, have things that annoy me. I, maybe unlike you, have lots of them. I could just rattle off entire lists of things that annoy me. But rather than do that I've learned to acknowledge my annoyance, learn why I'm annoyed with said annoyance, deal with the annoyance, and move on from there- hopefully.

Here is my annoyance for this week.

Parents who take no accountability for their children. I don't care how old your child is, I don't care what sort of sleep deprived fog you think you're in- your kids are your responsibility until they leave your nest. So if that means they are knocking over my child at the playground remorselessly or running into me with a grocery cart for sport- it's time suck it up mother hen and say you're sorry for your child's terrible behavior.

If you're wondering, I'm stuck in the "deal with it" phase on this one.

Automatic Vegetarian

I was pretty sure Helena was a vegetarian. That was, until, she saw my "Parisian" sandwich from Pastoral this past weekend. And it was shortly thereafter that she was devouring nearly all of the ham from my baguette. This from a child who essentially won't touch meat. I was flabbergasted.

"Look at this child eating ham!"

"I know," says Denver, "she loves it."

"Just don't tell her where it comes from."

"She won't care, she'll just be like 'moooo' while she eats it and she'll laugh."

At this point I pause, wondering if I've lapsed in my listening and comprehension skills.

Denver continues, "Yeah, you know, I can point to cows now and be like- 'yummy, ham!'"

Now it was time to interject.

"You do know where ham comes from, right?"

"Yeah, of course."

"Ok."

And after 5 years of matrimony, I've learned to leave it at that.

Curry

Last night I made a recipe I had prepared many times before and enjoyed, but in light of our new style of eating it tasted even better than we remembered. I am sharing below. Please enjoy and embellish, as I tend to do with my recipes. PS- This is totally vegan and thanks to coconut milk, you would never guess it.

African Curried Coconut Soup with Chickpeas

2 tablespoons canola oil
1 medium onion (about 6 ounces), chopped
1 medium red bell pepper (about 6 ounces), chopped
1 jalapeño chili, seeded and finely chopped- I omitted, can't take the heat all the time.
2 large cloves garlic, finely chopped
2 cups low-sodium vegetable broth
1 (15-ounce) can chickpeas, rinsed and drained
1 cup chopped tomatoes, seeded and peeled, fresh or canned (see Cook's Tip)
1 teaspoon mild curry powder
1/2 teaspoon salt, or to taste
Freshly ground black pepper, to taste
1 (14-ounce) can light coconut milk
3/4 cup cooked white or brown rice (we used a blend of rices, quinoa, millet & amaranth)
2 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro or parsley

In a medium stockpot, heat the oil over medium heat. Add the onion, bell pepper, and chili; cook, stirring, until softened, about 5 minutes. Add the garlic and cook, stirring constantly, 1 minute. Add the broth, chickpeas, tomatoes, curry powder, salt, and black pepper; bring to a boil over high heat. Reduce the heat and simmer gently, uncovered, stirring occasionally, about 10 minutes. Add the remaining ingredients and cook, stirring occasionally, until heated through, about 5 minutes. Serve warm.

Food- not very zen

Last night I watched Food, Inc. (much delayed) and I was, in a word, appalled. I tend to be the type that is sucked in by documentaries- buying whatever side of the story the writers are selling. However, in this instance, there IS only one side, in my opinion. One company owns the rights to soybeans. Excuse me- I thought monopolies were illegal? Genetically Modified Organisms ( that we don't know jack about in terms of how they are going to effect humans in the long run ) exist in over 70% of grocery store items?? Thanks for the heads up on that one FDA. It's a pile of malarky. And it's one thing if the government is screwing you out of a few bucks a year to pay for some worthless program that isn't going to ultimately do any good or bad for society. It's quite another when the government essentially permits the hijacking of food production, leaving you completely defenseless against harm that we don't yet understand the implications of- I mean, everyone eats multiple times a day so this isn't an issue that stops at a country line in any direction. If you haven't seen it, watch it. And if you don't feel like investing an hour and a half of your life into one of the most important issues of our generation, then good luck to you!