March 2008 Archives

I vaguely remember the feeling I had when Bill Clinton won his first presidential election. I was still in high school and stayed up late watching the returns come in. I was excited, electrified, engaged. I was an ardent Clinton supporter for many years, a real true believer. As I've said many times there is no fall like the fall of a true believer. So while I remember vaguely that feeling of hope and possibility when Clinton was first elected what I remember most vividly is being so incredibly disappointed in him.

I am filled now with hope for an Obama presidency. I am filled with excitement at the possibilities his leadership of our country would present. I am more engaged and connected to the political process than I've been in going on ten years. I don't want this feeling to someday be vague. No matter what happens with Obama, whether he fails to be the Democratic nominee, whether he wins the general election, whether he is a great president or only a passing one,  I want to remember this feeling. I want to remember being optimistic for our country and the direction we can move in. I want to remember feeling excited about the political process and my generation's role in it instead of detached.

So today I placed an order for "Change" by Shepard Fairey. The poster cost me a $70 donation to the Obama campaign, pretty hefty for a poster but a very fair price for an inspiring work of art and contributing to the candidate I'm passionate about. Again, no matter what happens, in 15 years I want to look at this poster on my office wall (I imagine always having it in my office) and remember this feeling of hope and possibility. Hopefully it won't be a reminder of what could have been but instead the reminder of the way things felt at the beginning of a major positive and progressive movement in this country.  

This is another recipe that comes from the Moosewood Restaurant Low-Fat Favorites: Flavorful Recipes For Healthful Meals cookbook.

Savory Indian Sweet Potatoes
Serves 2 as a main course, 4 as a side dish

2 large sweet potatoes
1 cup diced onions
1/3 cup water, unsweetened apple juice, or orange juice
3 garlic cloves, minced or pressed
1 1/2 tablespoons grated fresh ginger
2 teaspoons ground cumin
1 small fresh green chili, seeded and minced
2/3 cup diced red and/or green bell pepper
3 tablespoons Neufchâtel (low-fat cream cheese)
1 1/2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
1/2 cup fresh or slightly thawed frozen green peas
Salt and freshly ground pepper to taste

Bake sweet potatoes at 400 degrees F for about 1 hour, or until tender.

While potatoes bake, combine onions and water or juice in a medium saucepan. Cover and simmer until onions soften, about 5 minutes. Add garlic, ginger, cumin, chili, and bell pepper. Cover and simmer until pepper is tender, about 5 minutes. Remove from heat. Cut Neufchâtel into small pieces and stir it into hot vegetable mixture to melt. Set aside.

Cut sweet potatoes in half lengthwise. Hold each potato half with a heavy towel or mitt in one hand and scoop out the flesh with a spoon, leaving 1/4-inch shell. Mix potato flesh with vegetable-cheese mixture. Add lemon juice, peas, salt, and pepper. Set oven temperature at 350 degrees F.

Coat a vegetable dish with vegetable-oil cooking spray. Stuff potato shells with filling. Place potatoes in prepared dish, cover with aluminum foil, and bake for 15 to 20 minutes, or until thoroughly heated.

I didn't choose this recipe because I wanted to make vegan rice pudding. I chose this recipe because I had a half gallon of soy milk in the fridge that I wanted to use up and I love rice pudding. That is to say I love yummy stuff and am not a vegan and I deem this recipe to be excellent and yummy. This recipe comes from the Moosewood Restaurant Low-Fat Favorites: Flavorful Recipes For Healthful Meals.

Excellent Rice Pudding (that happens to be vegan)
Ingredients
4 cups water
3/4 cup white rice (preferably basmati)*
1 quart 1% vanilla soymilk**
1/2 cup pure maple syrup
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1/4 cup currants or raisins***
1 teaspoon freshly grated lemon peel

Sliced seasonal fruit (optional)

Bring the water to a boil in a heavy saucepan. Add the rice and simmer, uncovered, for 5 minutes. Remove from the heat and allow to sit for 5 minutes. Drain the rice and return it to the pan with the soymilk, maple syrup, cinnamon, vanilla, currants or raisins, and lemon peel. Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat and simmer gently for 30 to 40 minutes, stirring often until the pudding is thick and creamy. Serve warm or chill for at least 2 hours or overnight.
If you like, garnish the pudding with strawberry slices or other fresh fruit.

*I used aborrio
** I used Silk Light Vanilla Soy Milk
*** I left these out

After the mixture came to a boil I cooked it quite low and slow for probably 45 or 50 minutes. For a long time it really looked like it wasn't going to come together to produce a creamy texture but it finally did and it's fantastic. Highly recommended recipe.