I'm starting to think that the trick of this blogging thing is doing it whenever you feel like it - even if it's 2:18 am and you don't have a TON to say.
This isn't about gluten, or vegetarian food, or how my friends are funnier than me. Instead, I want to take a moment to start to sketch out why I think the baby boomers (as a group) suck, and exactly HOW much I think they suck.
First, let me say, my parent are boomers. And I love them. And sometimes, I want to throttle them. So I'm probably biased. But, as a qualitative researcher, I believe everything is always already subjective (and "biased"), so, hey. That's par for the course, I guess. As I tell my students, the task now is to be reflexive about exactly what my own perspective is and why.
Let me say again: I love my parents. I grew up on stories, movies and musics about the 60s - situated in the context of the 50s, of course, as you can't understand the later decade without getting a sense of the earlier. Everything was so shiny, so hopeful, so sincere and earnest and honest. The Beatles were that way, even, in their music - even when they tried to be silly or avant garde...they were still shiny and sincere and earnest.
And yet the Boomers grew up; they stopped being shiny and sincere and earnest and started living the rat race - all the while pretending they were better than that. That's my problem with the Boomers - pretending you're better than your parents generation when, in fact, many of the choices you made ended up being just as disastrous; especially when you forgot why you were making those choices in the first place, and started making them solely on the basis of what felt good.
So where did we end up? A divorce rate that peaks later than ever before but hasn't dropped significantly (so couples that have been together for 30 years are calling it quits as casually as those who've been together for 30 months). A financial crisis based in part on saying you're good for something you can't really cover. And an ethos (pathos?) of a generation of shiny, earnest sincerity, which individuals can't live up to, but can't admit they can't live up to.
This is my problem with the Boomers. They want a better life for their children, yet now they're competing with their children for jobs, and feeling like we should wait and let them have their turn a little longer; the same way Obama should have stepped aside and let HRC have her turn.
Enough.
We love you.
We respect what you stood for.
We respect who you are today.
We see that these are not the same, in most cases.
Back off.
Give us a chance.
Stop running for city council when you've already fracked it up in the past.
Stop trying to recapture your youth.
Be who you are and where you are - you can even be who and where you are in a way that is as shiny, honest and earnest as you have ever been before, even as you continue to make mistakes that don't quite fit with that. Just be honest about it.
...Maybe THEN we'll see you as allies and not as roadblocks.
Saturday, February 28, 2009
Monday, February 9, 2009
Eggplant Parmesan
I grew up in the midwest and my dad was an avid gardener, so in the summer, I occasionally crave a simple dinner of fried eggplant, corn on the cob and sliced tomatoes. It's not summer here - it's been cold, and it's starting to feel like it may never be summer again (although thankfully we're in the midst of a thaw, which is very welcome), but this eggplant parmesan recipe makes me feel like someday we might get there.
Last week someone in the department was heating up leftovers that smelled just like chicken parmesan, something I hadn't thought of in years, but that suddenly I HAD to have. I don't remember if it was Abe or I who thought of substituting eggplant, but the resulting dish reminds me of summer AND satisfies my need for cheesey, tomatoey, fried goodness.
We used gluten-free bread crumbs purchased at our local grocery store (some have better gluten-free sections than others). Simply slice the eggplant relatively thin (I like about 1/4 to 1/2 inch slices) and peel it if you don't like the skin. Then, dip the eggplant in egg (I think whites or egg beaters would work just as well), dip it in your gluten-free bread crumbs, and lay in a hot skillet with a bit of olive oil. It doesn't take much oil. If you find that your breading isn't sticking to the eggplant, doing a second dip in both egg and crumbs will thicken your breading and solve your problems. Cook over medium heat until crumbs are crisp and dry, and transfer to a plate with paper towels to soak up any excess oil, while you cook the remaining eggplant.
We like to melt a bit of fresh mozzarella on top (just stick it in the toaster oven), and then top the whole thing with tomato sauce. You could also bake the eggplant in a casserole with tomato sauce and getting something a bit saucier and closer to a moussaka.
Fabulous tomato sauce recipes abound - I like this one, from 101 cookbooks: http://www.101cookbooks.com/archives/five-minute-tomato-sauce-recipe.html. We use MUCH less olive oil (just enough to prevent the garlic from sticking), and skip the lemon zest, since we rarely have lemons around. 1970's Abe Lincoln just informed me that he usually adds onion to the sauce when we make it for eggplant parm, which he doesn't do when we make it for pizza. This sauce is great for pizza, eggplant parm, on pasta - pretty much everwhere! We like the Pastene brand of tomatoes, and we add a bit of rosemary, but you'll figure out how you like it after you make it a few times; it's addictive.
Last week someone in the department was heating up leftovers that smelled just like chicken parmesan, something I hadn't thought of in years, but that suddenly I HAD to have. I don't remember if it was Abe or I who thought of substituting eggplant, but the resulting dish reminds me of summer AND satisfies my need for cheesey, tomatoey, fried goodness.
We used gluten-free bread crumbs purchased at our local grocery store (some have better gluten-free sections than others). Simply slice the eggplant relatively thin (I like about 1/4 to 1/2 inch slices) and peel it if you don't like the skin. Then, dip the eggplant in egg (I think whites or egg beaters would work just as well), dip it in your gluten-free bread crumbs, and lay in a hot skillet with a bit of olive oil. It doesn't take much oil. If you find that your breading isn't sticking to the eggplant, doing a second dip in both egg and crumbs will thicken your breading and solve your problems. Cook over medium heat until crumbs are crisp and dry, and transfer to a plate with paper towels to soak up any excess oil, while you cook the remaining eggplant.
We like to melt a bit of fresh mozzarella on top (just stick it in the toaster oven), and then top the whole thing with tomato sauce. You could also bake the eggplant in a casserole with tomato sauce and getting something a bit saucier and closer to a moussaka.
Fabulous tomato sauce recipes abound - I like this one, from 101 cookbooks: http://www.101cookbooks.com/archives/five-minute-tomato-sauce-recipe.html. We use MUCH less olive oil (just enough to prevent the garlic from sticking), and skip the lemon zest, since we rarely have lemons around. 1970's Abe Lincoln just informed me that he usually adds onion to the sauce when we make it for eggplant parm, which he doesn't do when we make it for pizza. This sauce is great for pizza, eggplant parm, on pasta - pretty much everwhere! We like the Pastene brand of tomatoes, and we add a bit of rosemary, but you'll figure out how you like it after you make it a few times; it's addictive.
I thought I would blog, really, I did. Then I got busy - really busy - and remained intimidated by how funny and cool my friends are. I'm still too busy (maybe even busier now) and I'm still not sure most of what I have to say is all that interesting. Lately, though, I've been getting more and more frustrated by how hard it is to find good, simple, gluten-free and meatless recipes on the internet.
I stopped eating meat in the seventh grade at Thanksgiving. I don't think it was very principled or anything - I just got grossed out by the carving of the turkey. I quickly went back to eating turkey and chicken, though, but never ate beef or pork again. When I met 1970s Abe Lincoln, he didn't eat any meat except fish, and I wanted him to love me, so I gave up my beloved BK chicken sandwiches. (The post-Thanksgiving stomach flu that same year probably also helped make "going cold turkey" on poultry easier.) At any rate, we've been lacto-ovo-pescatarians, as we like to say, for several years now.
Last year, fed up with chronic headaches, I decided to try an elimination diet. Lo and behold, I was a much nicer, happier and better-feeling person when I stayed away from gluten. My headaches didn't change much, and I'd been largely fibromyalga-flare-free for a while, but surprisingly even those occasional fibro muscle aches disappeared. The most marked changes were in my stomach and energy levels. I'd had regular stomach pain since college, and when I stopped eating gluten, I suddenly realized what it was like to NOT have my stomach hurt. And I had energy! That was exciting.
I haven't been tested for gluten antibodies, because I'd have to go back to eating gluten for a couple of weeks first to maximize the chances of returning a positive. If the test was negative, I still wouldn't eat gluten, because I've experimented enough to know it DOES influence how I feel. On the other hand, if it was positive, all it would tell me is that there's a recognized reason for me to keep doing what I'm doing - and then I wouldn't feel like I could get away with "cheating" occasionally - which I do now. I don't live strictly gluten-free. I just ate several yummy gluteny treats at a friend's baby shower this weekend, and while I feel a bit out of it today, it was worth it. Occasionally I'll eat breaded fish if I can't find anything else or if I'm jonesing for fish and chips. But for the most part, I try to eat and cook mostly vegetarian, gluten-free food.
We've got some good, regular meals around here, and I'll be posting those, for others who might be interested. I think most of them are good even if you DO eat gluten and/or meat, so feel free to make them for friends who aren't burdened by these considerations. :) If you have suggestions for meals or recipes, or anything else, I'd love to hear them!
I stopped eating meat in the seventh grade at Thanksgiving. I don't think it was very principled or anything - I just got grossed out by the carving of the turkey. I quickly went back to eating turkey and chicken, though, but never ate beef or pork again. When I met 1970s Abe Lincoln, he didn't eat any meat except fish, and I wanted him to love me, so I gave up my beloved BK chicken sandwiches. (The post-Thanksgiving stomach flu that same year probably also helped make "going cold turkey" on poultry easier.) At any rate, we've been lacto-ovo-pescatarians, as we like to say, for several years now.
Last year, fed up with chronic headaches, I decided to try an elimination diet. Lo and behold, I was a much nicer, happier and better-feeling person when I stayed away from gluten. My headaches didn't change much, and I'd been largely fibromyalga-flare-free for a while, but surprisingly even those occasional fibro muscle aches disappeared. The most marked changes were in my stomach and energy levels. I'd had regular stomach pain since college, and when I stopped eating gluten, I suddenly realized what it was like to NOT have my stomach hurt. And I had energy! That was exciting.
I haven't been tested for gluten antibodies, because I'd have to go back to eating gluten for a couple of weeks first to maximize the chances of returning a positive. If the test was negative, I still wouldn't eat gluten, because I've experimented enough to know it DOES influence how I feel. On the other hand, if it was positive, all it would tell me is that there's a recognized reason for me to keep doing what I'm doing - and then I wouldn't feel like I could get away with "cheating" occasionally - which I do now. I don't live strictly gluten-free. I just ate several yummy gluteny treats at a friend's baby shower this weekend, and while I feel a bit out of it today, it was worth it. Occasionally I'll eat breaded fish if I can't find anything else or if I'm jonesing for fish and chips. But for the most part, I try to eat and cook mostly vegetarian, gluten-free food.
We've got some good, regular meals around here, and I'll be posting those, for others who might be interested. I think most of them are good even if you DO eat gluten and/or meat, so feel free to make them for friends who aren't burdened by these considerations. :) If you have suggestions for meals or recipes, or anything else, I'd love to hear them!
Monday, July 14, 2008
My friends are funnier than I am.
It's true. My friends are very funny. Honestly, between 1970's Abe Lincoln's informative yet hilarious posts at Hello Fitchburg and the Unicow's regular screeds against bad grammar, bad thinking and bad politics, I'm pretty intimidated to be blogging at all. But, here I am. I'm not as funny as my friends, but nonetheless I've decided I'd like to see what it's like to have a place where I can think out loud. Some place that's not an academic article destined to be edited to within an inch of its life, at least.
I have mixed feelings about the whole blogging thing. Abe and the Unicow have got a good thing figured out - they blog about things that bug them a lot of the time, or things that they think you should know about. I love reading Posie Gets Cozy and Gluten-Free Girl, which of course aren't local, but are still focused on topics outside of the blogger's life and interests. I read Dooce regularly, though. And I have to say, I love that she writes about whatever's going on for her at the moment, even if I occasionally wonder at what possesses someone to share THAT much of themselves on teh intarwebs. Is it a fabulous openness, or a disturbing self-centeredness that makes someone think any one else would actually be interested in reading about your own life?
But again, here I am. It's been a crazy, topsy-turvy couple of years here in the World of Pussy Ruxpin. Graduate school's demanding and soul-sucking on its own. Add to that starting to teach my own classes regularly for the first time. And to that, add begining to get involved in a community that I love but that baffles me in many respects. Finally, add the gut-wrenching separation and divorce of my parents, coming to terms with the idea that my idyllic hippy childhood and perfect family wasn't really so perfect, and re-learning how to relate to both my mother and father. It’s been a fun couple of years.
Actually, it has been fun. I have amazing friends. Funny friends, as I said. I love 1970’s Abraham Lincoln more than is polite to discuss. We just may elect a President I support later this year, and my town actually did elect a mayor who I believe is already making positive changes for people in our community. It’s a good world, the World of Pussy Ruxpin – if never a quiet one. Hopefully, this blog will be a place for some reflection and conversation on the hilarity, inanity, and humanity of it all. That is, if I can motivate myself to write this more effectively than I've been motivating myself to work on that looming little thing called a dissertation!
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