A bit of political commentary

I try to avoid talking about divisive issues here, especially politics. I know that as a Democrat I'm a minority in Utah, and even among my family and friends. And this election has been particularly charged with emotion. But this article described exactly my frustration with the political process. The author points his finger squarely at conservatives, but all candidates and parties share the same problem. Romney just happens to have made the most recent ridiculous statement. Here's a rundown:

In his speech at the Republican convention, Romney said:

''We need change, all right. Change from a liberal Washington to a conservative Washington. We have a prescription for every American who wants change in Washington - throw out the big-government liberals.'' - Mitt Romney, Sept. 3, 2008

And after a bit of ranting, the author states:

Washington is already what Romney wants to make it. Our current state of affairs, love it or loathe it, is indisputably a product of conservative governance. . . . That it doesn't matter much at all you can credit to conservative politicians who have, over the years, trained their followers to respond with Pavlovian faithfulness to certain terms. Say ''conservative'' and they wag their tails. Say ''liberal'' and they bare their fangs. More to the point, say either and all thinking ceases, so much so that a representative of the ideology that has controlled most of Washington most of the last 12 years can say with a straight face that his ideology needs to seize control of Washington to fix what is broken there. And people hear this Orwellian doublespeak . . . and cheer. . . . Turns out, all it requires is a limitless supply of gall and the inherent belief that people are dumber than a bag of hammers.

Like Taylor (not a Democrat), it drives me crazy that elections are more about buzzwords and personality than the issues that really matter. Words like "conservative" and "liberal" and "choice" and "change" are so weighted with politics that they've become abstract ideas that conjure up images so distorted from the reality of everyday life that they've almost lost their meaning entirely.

And this is how we choose our next president. San Dimas County High School Football rules!

A bit of hope

Do you ever wonder if there's anything GOOD going on in the world? If, even with all the bad news going on all around us, people still take care of each other? Read this. The situation is heartbreaking, but hopeful and joyful at the same time. And the fact that the story of a Mormon family living in Mesa would make the New York Times is in itself inspiring.

I've been following this story since it happened. I read the blog of this woman's sister, who I'd like to think would be a good friend if we happened to actually know each other. What's most inspiring, though, is the reach these women have and how many people they've inspired and touched. It makes me want to be a better person.

Concert goers

Tonight we went to see the immortal Al Green at the Red Butte Garden amphitheater. It got a little too loud for Atty, so we had to leave early, but what we saw was amazing.
Al comes out with two very tall men in white suits who do nothing but dance, and he's carrying a bunch of roses. He hands out the roses to women in the audience, and random white women who've had too much chablis kept jumping on stage to give him hugs and get roses. Once he ran out of roses security got much better at keeping the women off stage. His latest album is definitely a must-have. Or just download my favorite, "Lay It Down."

Oh but the best part was that we got the tickets for free from SLUG, and we didn't know until we got there that they were VIP tickets. So we show up with our blankets and Subway sandwiches, and we get to sit in the section with comfy chairs and a free buffet of curried Israeli couscous, stuffed tomatoes, and all the free wine you can drink (I'll have that bottle of water, thank you). It was pretty posh.

And last week we took Atty to see the magnificent Neko Case. I absolutely love her. When we saw her last year in Park City we scored a place right up front, so we stared up her nose all night. This time it was a free concert at the Gallivan Center, so we were much farther back and surrounded by people who were there for the free show and not so much for Neko. But it was still fantastic. No one belts it out like she does.

For that concert we gave Atty earplugs, and he slept through most of it. I wonder if he would have slept better tonight if we'd remembered the earplugs. Oh well, maybe next time.

What Have You Eaten?

Erin passed along this interesting one: what from this list have you eaten, would you eat, or would you never eat? I had to look up some of the items on the list, but I was pleased to see that I've tried a lot of the list.

Copy this list into your blog or journal, including these instructions. Bold all the items you've eaten. Cross out any items that you would never consider eating (or eating again). [I don't know how to cross out text here, so I've put the "never eats" in red. And the "have tried" in blue for good measure.]

Venison
Nettle tea
Huevos rancheros
Steak tartare
Crocodile
Black pudding
Cheese fondue
Carp
Borscht
Baba ghanoush
Calamari
Pho
PB&J sandwich
Aloo gobi
Hot dog from a street cart
Epoisses
Black truffle
Fruit wine made from something other than grapes
Steamed pork buns
Pistachio ice cream
Heirloom tomatoes
Fresh wild berries
Foie gras
Rice and beans
Brawn, or head cheese
Raw Scotch Bonnet pepper (not into heat)
Dulce de leche
Oysters
Baklava
Bagna cauda
Wasabi peas
Clam chowder in a sourdough bowl
Salted lassi
Sauerkraut
Root beer float
Cognac with a fat cigar
Clotted cream tea (I've had clotted cream with herbal tea, but this might be something specific)
Vodka jelly
Gumbo
Oxtail
Curried goat
Whole insects
Phaal
Goat's milk (I totally forgot about the goat that lived in our front yard until Erin reminded me)
Malt whisky from a bottle worth $120 or more
Fugu
Chicken tikka masala
Eel
Krispy Kreme original glazed doughnut
Sea urchin
Prickly pear
Umeboshi
Abalone
Paneer
McDonald's Big Mac Meal
Spaetzle
Dirty gin martini
Beer above 8% ABV
Poutine
Carob chips (I ODed on them at the international cinema and haven't eaten carob since)
S'mores
Sweetbreads
Kaolin (I bought a bag of "Georgia White Dirt" on our trip to Atlanta. All sorts of health claims)
Currywurst
Durian
Frog's Legs
Beignets, churros, elephant ears or funnel cake
Haggis (not so tasty...)
Fried plantain (I gagged down boiled plantain and have no desire to try it again)
Chitterlings or andouillette
Gazpacho
Caviar and blini
Louche absinthe
Gjetost or brunost
Roadkill
Baijiu
Hostess Fruit Pie
Snail (both land and sea, both tasty)
Lapsang souchong
Bellini
Tom yum
Eggs Benedict
Pocky
Tasting menu at a three-Michelin-star restaurant (on my "bucket list")
Kobe beef
Hare (does rabbit count? I've had that a few times)
Goulash
Flowers
Horse (I haven't but James has)
Criollo chocolate
Spam
Soft shell crab (I can't stand to watch people eat whole crab, so I doubt I'll ever try it)
Rose harissa (I've had non-rose harissa)
Catfish
Mole poblano
Bagel and lox
Lobster Thermidor
Polenta
Jamaican Blue Mountain coffee
Snake

James has been kicked off the high council...

...and called into the bishopric. He's the second counselor. It's a completely new bishopric, and he's with two very good men.

I keep thinking of President Benson's saying: "Whom the Lord calls, the Lord qualifies." I'm beginning to believe that we're not meant to get too comfortable in life. Not that this calling is a bad thing, but it will definitely be a learning/growing experience for both of us.

Quote of the Day

"If you ever leave me this much time, I will drop dead and haunt you."

James, after the first speaker and the intermediate hymn were done with 35 minutes left in sacrament meeting

BEETS!!

There's a reason Dwight Shrute grows beets--people aren't supposed to like them. They're "peasant" food, something your ancestors kept in the root cellar to sustain them through the harsh winter. They're ugly in their raw form, dirty and hairy and looking very much like the roots they are:

I know a woman who detests beets but has several cases of canned beets in her food storage so that "when the marauders come, I'll have something to give them." That's a direct quote. (I don't know why marauders wouldn't knock her over and take her entire store, but maybe they'll be happy with whatever she decides to give them. If they ever come. Apparently there are polite marauders in her version of the apocalypse.)

Anyway, I like beets. I only knew the pickled variety until I went to France, where you can buy cooked whole beets in the produce section or go to the deli for tasty marinated beet salad. Then when I started growing them in my garden, I truly became addicted.

Susan asked for my recipe for gingery beet salad, and I started making some today, documenting the quantities for everything. I don't know what I was thinking, though, and I put in a healthy dose of dijon mustard instead of ginger. It was dang tasty. Here are the proportions for that one, though everything is to taste, really:

4 c shredded beets
4 Tbsp olive oil
3 Tbsp red wine vinegar
1.5 Tbsp dijon mustard
salt and pepper

The gingery salad is about the same, but instead of mustard you put in lots and lots of fresh grated ginger. (My favorite ginger tip: keep wrapped in plastic in your freezer, then grate it still frozen with a microplane grater/zester. It grates like a dream, and you don't even have to peel it. And it keeps forever.)

My other beet stand-by is roasted beets. They taste much better than boiled, and they couldn't be easier. Just trim and scrub them, wrap them in a foil packet like a tinfoil dinner, and pop them in the oven for 45 minutes to an hour. Make sure the beets are about the same size so they cook evenly. Here's what I roasted today:

Funny note about the long, skinny beets--I have been a bad beet steward, so this is the first time I've thinned the herd, so to speak. So I thought that I'd created a mutant variety with all the overcrowding. But then I remembered that I planted two varieties, one round and one skinny. Oh yeah.

After roasting the skin comes off super easy. Then I slice them and put them in a salad with goat cheese, arugula, and the mustardy vinaigrette. Again, super tasty.

What are your favorite beet recipes?