Snow and Stuff

It's been one of those days... well a couple of those days. The cold streak in Ohio is getting old, the temperatures dropped so much w had to bring the goats in from the barn. Unfortunately, we lost one of the from the frigid tempteratures. It is a small barn and just isn't enough protection aginast the severe wind chills. (The other is in a large crate/cage in the spare bedroom with plastic covering the floor.) He seems mostly content, even laying up against the bars to be closer to the dog. I think we will all be ad when the temperatures let up and the risks go back down (he may not be a large goat, but I know he would prefer to have more room and be back in his barn and yard).

This may surprise some people who know that I have lived in Ohio all of my life, but really, REALY am not a big fan of snow or ice or cold. It' aggitates my joints and makes me achy. This is my quiet weekend before the business to come is upon me. No one in my house felt much like cooking for lunch so we went out... a local place that has Chinese and other Oriental type foods. I've often found Ethnic food places to have meat-free options that are not always as readily available in other places (Oriental, Italinan, Mexican, etc). It was alright. My mom made dinner, forgetting about me, she put meat in all of it. I ended up making a mushroom noodle soup for dinner for myself, nothing fancy or great, but the warm both was probably for the better. I think sometimes it really just gets to me when I get forgotten when it comes to family meals. Me being meatless is not a recent, new, or on again/off again thing. It's just me, but sometimes that still doesn't seem so easy for the people around me.

I keep having this fantasy of living in a vegetarian house (more than just me and a small scattering of friends, mostly sometimes vegetarians at best), with vast connections to other vegetarians, and living in a more vegetarian world- where meat-eaters are in the minority and not me. It seems a far away fantasy, but I will keep it.

"Tongue - a variety of meat, rarely served because it clearly crosses the line between a cut of beef and a piece of a dead cow." ~Bob Ekstrom

Recipe Evolution

I was standing at the stove having just mixed previously frozen spinach into my pan when I got to thinking about the dishes I often prepare. My mom loves my tortellini with the basil mushroom sauce (I use olive oil sometimes mixed with butter to create the base). It’s a nice change from the usual heavy tomato or cream sauces that often adorn pasta. I usually lightly sauté mushrooms and garlic with a touch of oil and water and basil to brighten everything. (It is very common for me to use partial water to sauté to help cut down the fats and oils.) The recipe has seemed to evolve again and constant slight alterations depending on whatever I have on hand. I often keep a bag of frozen spinach on hand and use what I need. As the garlic and red onion slivers sautéed in the oil mix on the stove I warmed about 2 Tbs. of frozen spinach (for one serving) in the microwave about a minute with a touch of water. I then added mushrooms to skillet and chopped the spinach into smaller pieces before also adding it with a pinch each of basil and parsley. As the mixture warmed through I add a spoonful of diced sun dried tomatoes that I had in the refrigerator. The cooked tortellini was added straight to the skillet mixing all the flavors and letting the little pieces of spinach and herb make their way into the crevices. I served it in a nice bowl with a sprinkle of shaved parmesan and welcome to food love. Clearly this was a step up from frozen pizza and other similar foods of last week.

It is clearly no surprise to anyone that I love to eat as well as cook. I have no intention to go without great taste or foods that comfort body and soul as well as nourish. I love experimenting with new flavors and mixing old favorites into something new. I love trying new things and may even be up soon for trying tofu that hasn’t been pre-marinated. (Once upon a time all tofu was very foreign and very scary to a girl raised in Ohio farm country on meat and potatoes.) Hope ya’all have found those ‘food love’ moments that just make you smile.

In the Words of Leo Tolstoy: '"Thou shalt not kill" does not apply to murder of one's own kind only, but to all living beings; and this Commandment was inscribed in the human breast long before it was proclaimed from Sinai.'