Sign of the Times

A friend of mine on Facebook posted this...what? Party Poopers. It is snowing here as I write. Big, fat beautiful flakes. Love it. But, I know, I know...LOTS of you don't!!

And, speaking of parties. It is Super Bowl weekend and maybe you are thinking that by being a plant-based eater, you are going to miss out on all the fun.  Ha, you may even be told "You're no fun anymore!" You, with your plate of raw carrots, well, may feel like a party pooper yourself....on the sidelines of all the action. Outside the box. Well, here is another sign of the times. No more herd mentality. If plant-based eating is a fit for you...

Game on! Give a cheer! You can treat yourself to the best eats in the house. On Cooking.com this morning they have the top10 bean dips...one for each touchdown the Steelers are going to make. Fix up one or three and take them wherever you want to party. Just say no to those cocktails weiners, oh, and to the lid on the box as well.

This recipe is a tip of the hat to the Super Bowl hosts. And, not a mention of cheese...just cannot risk the association! Have a great weekend! And don't forget to brush up on your Pittsburghese...see post from January 21, Tasty Bilingualism for a quickie language course.

Texas Caviar (makes lots and the black and gold colors are perfect!!!)

3 (15 ounce) cans black-eyed peas, rinsed well and drained
1 cup chopped, roasted red bell peppers
1 small yellow bell pepper, finely chopped
1 cup thinly sliced green onions
1 tablespoon Tabasco
1 tablespoon Worcestershire Sauce
1/2 cup loosely, packed chopped parsley
2 serrano chilies, minced
4 large garlic cloves, crushed
1 large tomato, coarsely chopped
6 tablespoons white wine vinegar
1 cup plus 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1/2 teaspoon black pepper

Combine peas, bell peppers, green onions, Tabasco, Worcestershire Sauce, parsley, chilies, garlic, tomato, vinegar and olive oil in a non-reactive bowl and mix well. Chill at least 8 hours or longer. When ready, stir in black pepper and let come to room temperature.  You may also want to add in some cumin. Serve with tortilla chips. Make 10 cups.

Got questions?

Chocolate is a know-it all; answers my questions whether relevant or irrelevant any time of the day or night. Personally, I think dark chocolate should be its own food group. Who's asking?

Maybe you are wondering what to sip on today? On this Thirsty Thursday...here is a de-lish and actually, very nutritious beverage. Got questions? Drink up!

Hot Chocolate Earl Grey

3 tablespoons high quality cocoa
1-2 tablespoons agave nectar or honey
1 tablespoon premium loose-leaf Earl Grey tea
1 cup boiling filtered water
1 drop pure orange oil, optional or a twist of orange peel

Pour boiling water into a teapot and add tea. Let steep 3 minutes. Put cocoa and agave nectar in your tea cup or mug (or if you prefer, into a warmed pitcher), add strained Earl Grey tea, orange oil if you chose to use it and stir to mix thoroughly. Wrap hands around mug and enjoy! Serves 1.

Fragrant Dis-stress

I love perfume. Cannot imagine a day without it. First fragrance? Tinkerbell.

As a teen, I wore Muguet du Bois, Tweed and then quarts of Nina Ricci's L'Air du Temps all while also inhaling my BF's English Leather and Brut.  Later, I flirted with Chanel #5, Coco, Opium, Dune, Caleche...the list goes on. Now I have 4 fragrances I really love and wear depending on which I can afford.

Coming out of the library the other day I passed an elderly woman who had on the most fantastic fragrance and I told her so. Her eyes lit up and she bubbled out a similar story, "Why, thank you. It is lovely, isn't it? It is a very old fragrance, Ma Griffe. Oh, and at night I switch to this one, Le Noir Magique (spoken in perfect French which this isn't!). It is divine!"

And so, it pains me to share this but I must...because that's what I do.

I feel like a rat.

Read this and weep http://www.ewg.org/notsosexy

It is yet another tale of harmful petrochemicals hidden in the goods we slather on ourselves every day. I went to my vials to read what I could and tried to check them out online, too. That 2 of the 4 said "inflammable" is a big heads up, right? I love the fragrances but not enough to go up in flames with them. The other two were strictly essential oils that I had mixed up in a small shop.

So...the quandary, especially because Valentine's Day is right around the corner and you may be thinking "gift sets". Hold out for a minute...

Fortunately, I do not wear perfume anywhere but on my pulse points. I do not recommend anyone use fragrance-laced soaps, shower gels or body lotions or any perfumed product all over which is why I am always letting people know I have safe solutions for those very products.

"Fragrance", the hidden catch-all on the label of most products scores a whopping 8 (10 being the highest!) on the toxicity scale!!! Many fragranced products are also full of artificial dyes, too, another blow to health. And, the "celebrity" fragrances seem to be especially bad, horrible actually because they are marketed to guess who...our precious young people. 

The pulse points for perfume have always been plenty...maybe just a couple instead of all 20...and a dab instead of a full spritz. And, nix the sets. What do you think? 

Here is a how to apply perfume video I found this morning. Love how she stresses subtlety...
http://www.ehow.com/video_4404983_applying-perfume-pulse-points.html

For those of you crying "Uncle"

Phil's your man. He did not see his shadow today. Here is the official "Spring is coming!" forecast! An icebreaker...
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20110202/ap_on_re_us/us_groundhog_day

I am not as psyched as some are. Early spring here can translate into a six-month or longer summer.  And I have only had the goods to make one decent snow angel. But for my sweeties especially, who have been chin deep in snow since Christmas, tell it like it is, Phil!

TGIF

Yes, I know it is Tuesday. So, what's with the TGIF?

Thank God It's February.

For many of you, January just snowballed, literally. I talked to my mom yesterday and she has 4-5 foot drifts on her "temperate" island and she and my kiddos have another storm on the way. January was a doozy. I think one for the record books.Tomorrow is Ground Hog's Day...we will see what Punxsutawney Phil has to say!

Yesterday the new food guidelines were released and no surprises there. Eat less. Eat more veggies, fruits and whole grains. Still way too nebulous in their guidelines but they did acknowledge the huge, healing role of the plant kingdom. As a matter of fact, make sure half your plate at each meal is filled with veggies and fruits. We have been saying that all along. A plant-based diet will change everyone for the better and with a nearly whopping 105 million (yes!!) Americans with either diabetes or pre-diabetes, we better hurry. http://www.cdc.gov/media/releases/2011/p0126_diabetes.html

For embracing plant-power in a publicly endeared forum, this Red White and Food post shouts out to Oprah. Today on her show, she is sharing that she and her staff of 300 plus are going beyond veg to vegan for a week. I cannot wait to watch it and see if somehow, this can be contagious for more than a week, if not vegan, at least veg. I don't usually watch her but her "O" power can have an amazing ripple effect. Michael Pollan is also on. Tune in if you can!

Here is a picture of what I wish could be our national plate, courtesy of Dr. Neal Barnard:

Post Oprah note: I really liked the premise of the show: conscious eating..."eating and understanding where our food is from is really something to think about" and making a personal decision on what goes on your fork. And, how cool that Harpo is now embracing "Meatless Mondays" and adding veg options permanently to the company cafeteria.

What was a little disappointing was that the health, spiritual and environmental benefits of a plant-based diet didn't come out until the last few minutes and that to "source" both vegan foods and humanely-raised and slaughtered animal products were at places and from farmers not accessible to many of us "neighborhood" people. How do you know if Temple Grandin designed the slaughterhouse where your meat comes from?

Good, healthy, consciously-chosen food needs to be available on every corner and this show was a great starting point for what that means to you and what personal choices you are going to make. That's when we will see change that betters all lives involved.