This is one of the recipes I've developed this summer while volunteering at Dancing Crane Farm. I'll try to relocate more recipes from my cluttered inbox to this space as I have the time. Same with pictures of the recipes.
Great for using up that one giant zucchini that everyone always seems to get stuck with at some point during the season. Or if you've already put that giant one to use in zucchini bread, use about three of the normal-sized ones. Like most soups, this one will improve with time, so make it a day in advance if you can. Toast up some pita bread to dip and you've got a bowl of warm spicy goodness on a cool fall night.
2 Tablespoons olive oil
1 large onion, finely diced
3 cloves garlic, thinly sliced
8-10 cups finely diced zucchini or other summer squash (use one giant zuke or three average-sized ones; scrape out the seeds)
2-3 Tablespoons curry powder (the amount will vary depending on the amount of zucchini, the strength of the curry powder, and your preference for curry/spice - make it how you like it)
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon red pepper flakes (optional)
scant 1/2 cup nutritional yeast flakes
2-3 tablespoons tamari
1 teaspoon molasses
1/2 bunch of parsley/cilantro, minced
Fry the onion with the oil in a soup pot over medium-high heat until the onion starts to brown. Stir in the garlic, curry powder and cumin and keep stirring to keep the garlic from burning, about 2 minutes. Add the diced zucchini, red pepper flakes (optional) and a small amount of water (no more than half a cup). Stir to coat the zucchini with the spices, cover and cook 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. When the zucchini starts to give up a lot of liquid, add just enough water to cover the zucchini. Continue cooking at a rapid simmer until the zucchini is soft and mashes easily, about 15-20 minutes. Stir in nutritional yeast, tamari, and molasses and remove pan from heat. Let cool slightly and blend until chunky, but not completely smooth. Stir in parsley and serve.
24 September 2009
22 September 2009
Fog Blog
Forecast is for "areas of dense morning fog". Let's see whatcha got.
Ok, so the camera doesn't take great photos of fog, but whatever. There was indeed fog, again more in Skandia than in Marquette.
It's darker and darker in the mornings these days. And today is the first day of Autumn. Eep.
Ok, so the camera doesn't take great photos of fog, but whatever. There was indeed fog, again more in Skandia than in Marquette.
It's darker and darker in the mornings these days. And today is the first day of Autumn. Eep.
17 September 2009
"Kevin ist kein Name, sondern eine Diagnose"
In English: "Kevin isn't a name, it's a diagnosis."
This article caught my eye when my homepage, SpiegelOnline, came up this morning. At first I giggled (I've known a few Kevins, and was inclined to agree), but reading the article was a little worrying and more than a little sad. For those who can't read German, or don't feel like reading the entire article, it describes a study that found teachers in Germany have pretty clear and unabashed prejudices about both the abilities and trustworthiness of students with particular names. In short, students with more "traditional" or "older" German names (the article gives as examples Maximillian, Alexander, Charlotte, Sophie, among others) are viewed by their teachers to be more intelligent and trustworthy than their peers with names like Kevin, Brandy, Angelina, Justin or Marvin (Marvin? That one came outta left field...). With the exception of Marvin, there's a common thread between these names that should be pretty apparent to anyone living in the US who's had the misfortune to glance at a People magazine in the last five years. When I was in Germany, I'd hear frequent jokes about people considered part of Germany's underclass and at least half of them involved a child of "trashy" (read: lower class) parents who was named Kevin (Beyonce was another popular one), which immediately reminded me of jokes I'd heard in Ireland involving baby chavs named Shakira or Justin.
On the one hand, there's an interesting discussion here on the influence of American culture on the European "underclasses", but it caused me to think about how a similar phenomenon exists with teachers in the US. Naming a child "Paris" or some variation of a "traditional" name which substitutes many of the familiar letters causes many people (yes, myself included) to react with a certain amount of disdain. How long would it take before we started to associate that disdain with the children themselves (and their parents), and not just their names? In that sense, it's very similar to a lot of other prejudices, and potentially just as harmful.
This article caught my eye when my homepage, SpiegelOnline, came up this morning. At first I giggled (I've known a few Kevins, and was inclined to agree), but reading the article was a little worrying and more than a little sad. For those who can't read German, or don't feel like reading the entire article, it describes a study that found teachers in Germany have pretty clear and unabashed prejudices about both the abilities and trustworthiness of students with particular names. In short, students with more "traditional" or "older" German names (the article gives as examples Maximillian, Alexander, Charlotte, Sophie, among others) are viewed by their teachers to be more intelligent and trustworthy than their peers with names like Kevin, Brandy, Angelina, Justin or Marvin (Marvin? That one came outta left field...). With the exception of Marvin, there's a common thread between these names that should be pretty apparent to anyone living in the US who's had the misfortune to glance at a People magazine in the last five years. When I was in Germany, I'd hear frequent jokes about people considered part of Germany's underclass and at least half of them involved a child of "trashy" (read: lower class) parents who was named Kevin (Beyonce was another popular one), which immediately reminded me of jokes I'd heard in Ireland involving baby chavs named Shakira or Justin.
On the one hand, there's an interesting discussion here on the influence of American culture on the European "underclasses", but it caused me to think about how a similar phenomenon exists with teachers in the US. Naming a child "Paris" or some variation of a "traditional" name which substitutes many of the familiar letters causes many people (yes, myself included) to react with a certain amount of disdain. How long would it take before we started to associate that disdain with the children themselves (and their parents), and not just their names? In that sense, it's very similar to a lot of other prejudices, and potentially just as harmful.
08 September 2009
Fog Blog
Fog is forecast for this morning.
Update: There was indeed a bit of fog in Harvey, which increased as I entered Skandia. See pictures.
Update: There was indeed a bit of fog in Harvey, which increased as I entered Skandia. See pictures.
01 September 2009
It seems I've finally been coerced into the dreaded world of THE BLOG. I still have no idea what the theme or topic or direction of this thing is going to be, hopefully nothing involving too much navel-gazing. Perhaps a repository for recipes? I've also entertained the possibility of musing on my favourite/hated words in various languages. We'll see. For now, it's enough to have simply created the damned thing.
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