Humanity in Print

I just finished a wonderful book by Michael Pollan, author of The Omnivore's Dilemma, which was a call for locally grown food that leaves a smaller carbon footprint, or just thinking about your food. It's called In Defense of Food: An Eater's Manifesto, and it's a wonderful argument for a whole food diet from multiple standpoints. He isn't preachy, just honest. It is rather cynical about the "cult of nutritionism" at some points and simply frightening at others. I highly recommend this if you are a conscientious eater.

With that said, I thought I would fill the entire world in on what is on my "to read" list for the week because I am obviously very important. Yes, I said for the week, as I have been satellite television free for a whole day now,and desire some entertainment for my off hours.

For my fluff book:

Club Dead by Charlaine Harris, a Sookie Stackhouse novel. It's the series that TrueBlood is based on. I don't dig the show; however, due to the gratuitous nature of the overblown sex scenes. They're briefly mentioned in the book, and crudely acted out on the show. Heavy handed much? I read the first two books, and I'm one of those who can't NOT finish a series I start unless my hatred and busyness outweigh my dogged determination.

Non-fiction:

I'm almost done with Is God a Vegetarian? which has to do with the role of animal rights in Biblical context and how we can be more responsible as Christians to limit suffering as much as possible for our food. It also unveils some of the things that go on in factory farms. Fight food ignorance! Know how your food got to your table!

American Classic:

I will start The Violent Bear it Away by Flannery O'Connor soon. I shall love it and hold it and think kind thoughts on the oddities of southern gothic literature. MMMMM. I will subsequently read Wise Blood, as my love for O'Connor cannot be tamed!

Odd choice:

Pride and Prejudice and Zombies. Self-explanatory, really.

Used to be an illegal pamphlet:

The Communist Manifesto Yes, I know what you're thinking, and with my earlier mention of the proletariat, you can obviously assume that I don't care. So there.

What are you reading that you could recommend to me?

Springtime and Birthdays and Chili Fresco

So I made tomorrow's dinner tonight to the sounds of nagging from Kate plus 8.

She is freaking insane. More on that later.

I made a menu for the week yesterday. This is a good idea because we're doing Dave Ramsey's money makeover, and we're on a budget now! We're not eating out anymore except for Sunday afternoons and an occasional weekend night. Monday's menu called for cheese quesadillas with homemade salsa (since I had a TON of roma tomatoes left over from last week).

Dinner ended up being Raisin Bran because we spent the day in Athens with Nick, and weren't home until around 8 pm.

So I decided to make my salsa tonight for tomorrow. I got creative. The results were good. Significantly better than my attempt last week to make soup using the pot likker from my collards. It tasted good, if you could get past the sickening green color... blech.

Anyway, the salsa turned into a chili fresco. That is my new term. Many ingredients were raw, hence the fresco.

Jennifer's Chili Fresco

1 can black beans

1 can whole kernel WHITE corn (that's important)

1 can Rotel (or generic Rotel, which is what I used)

1 small onion, diced to your preference of size

2 medium Jalepeno peppers, diced

2 roma tomatoes, chopped

chili powder, cayenne pepper, salt, pepper, Adobo Seasoning with Cumin (to taste, your preference)

Ghee (clarified butter) or olive oil

sautee the onions and peppers in the ghee until they are soft and the jalepenos have cooked off a little bit of the heat.

Mix canned ingredients and tomatoes in a bowl. Drain the canned foods, except for the Rotel. Use that juice. It's good!

Once the onions and peppers are ready, add those in, then season.

I'm planning on serving this on the cheese quesadillas tomorrow for lunch, and then using the leftovers for dinner. I'm going to make whole wheat linguini, mix in the salsa, and top with a sour cream or yogurt based cream sauce. MMMMMMM. (and it's healthy!)

Now, about Kate plus 8. It irritates me that she spelled her book title with an 8 in it. Multiple Bles8ings.

It also irritates me that she is so hateful to her husband. I will NEVER condone adultery, but it's understandable that he would feel the need to find a little "kindness" from somewhere.

It's also a sign that they have TERRIBLE communication.

If it weren't terrible, it wouldn't be so compelling to watch. Meh.

One last bit. If you've never smelled Pacifica Scents, you're missing out on something amazing. I bought Lotus Garden today. It's about 15 bucks, and it smells absolutely amazing. Like springtime and birthday parties. I did some arm huffing on myself for at least an hour after I put it on! I actually huffed my arm again just now.

Definitely check it out. You can get it at Earth Fare and Whole Foods for sure, maybe elsewhere.

That's all for tonight!

Open Letter To Ina Garten

Dear Ina,

How do I love thee, let me count the gays....

Ina, I understand that you are rich beyond my wildest dreams; live in Sag Harbor, Southampton, or some other equally WASPy place; and rely upon "good" vanilla and your seemingly unending stream of fabulously gay dinner guests.

I understand that the only thing that we have in common is that we are both slightly chubby and have Anglo familial roots.

But let me say that your lemon yogurt cake recipe makes me want to take you gently in my arms and kiss you right on your lobster bisque flavored lips, causing your dinner guests to cheer, I'm sure.

This is the best recipe. Ever.

I made it tonight, albeit with whole wheat flour because refined white starches are slowly poisoning the Western world, and it was amazing. My mother, father, and husband all professed their deep and undying love for me. Matt will now never, ever question his love for me, even when things get old and saggy. Mom and Dad love me more than they love my sister and have made me soul heir of their vast fortune.

Please don't be upset with me for taking liberties with the flour; you could stand a touch of whole grain yourself, I'm sure.

Sincerely,
Jennifer

Welcome...

This is my first stint back in the blogosphere since about 2006. I kind of gave up on my old blog: http://jenniferleighgainer.blogspot.com . You can feel free to go back and read it if you want to know what I used to be like back in the "self-discovery" phase of my early adulthood. I will give you warning, a lot of it is pretty self-indulgent and silly, but some of it is entertainingly sardonic and relatively insightful for a young twenty-something.

This blog will likely be similarly twisted, but maybe (hopefully) with a happier, more settled lilt about it.

Not that I expect anyone to read it, but should you happen upon it, I hope you find it either agreeable or thought provoking. If it makes you angry, you should probably be thinking more critically and questioning things, as I am rarely wrong. (see, there's the rapier wit I was mentioning earlier, I will not spell it out from now on... it's your job to pick up on it... see how that works?)