Enchilada Sauce, Soft Vegan Ginger Cookies, and A Sad Observance

I thought I’d start this entry with that last little bit in my title, the ‘sad observance’, ‘cause, well, I don’t want to end the post on a depressing note. Yesterday, here in Columbia, many got out to observe the 5th anniversary of our invasion and occupation of Iraq. The actual anniversary is this Wednesday, March 19th, but weekdays aren’t the best for large gatherings. There was an anti-war rally and march through downtown Columbia, culminated by some very moving speeches and music. I don’t generally go to demonstrations as I feel that they, at least in the case of anti-war demonstrations, are pretty useless and sometimes just stand to perpetuate stereotypes. But there are times, such as the anniversary of this sad calamity, that I feel the need to get out with like minded people, and tell my fellow citizens and the rest of the world that not everything can be done in my name. I am sorry to the rest of the world – especially Iraq and Afghanistan (and also a lot of Central and South America, Mexico, Africa, East Timor, Chagos Islanders, and so on), I am sorry for what we do to you out of ignorance, incompetence, greed and arrogance. It’s times like these when I know I’m not alone in my sadness and anger.

There was a very good turnout to the event as well, over 1,000 people. That might not seem like a lot to some, but Columbia is not a huge town, and this is Missouri, a very conservative state. We had a wonderful speaker from the local chapter of the NAACP, a local representative, an Iraqi transplanted to the US, and a conscientious objector from the US military. His being there was a true act of bravery - he is putting himself at great risk, what he is doing for his principles, some might call it ‘deserting his country’, I call it ‘not wanting to kill people for their ‘freedom’’. It also reminds us that we cannot turn our backs on the veterans who return from this tragedy, it is not their fault that they are being used as a weapon of hate and greed, many enlisted only did so because they felt like they had no other opportunity in life, we must care for them with respect and treat them with dignity.

With that, I will share a few pictures, then move on to the much less depressing matter of food (including a recipe for yummy cookies!).

Students from the University of Missouri - Columbia holding banners.

Brett (who really needs a haircut and thus really fit the 'hippie' stereotype at the anti-war rally) signing the banner, and some guy who appears to be wearing a top hat.

Part of the crowd.

More crowd (I like that world flag).

The Iraqi speaker.

So anyways, thanks as always for listening to my crazy rambling, and now I'll get on to the food.

I made roasted veggie enchiladas again the other night, they are so good, but I get tired of using premade enchilada sauce. I started to wonder how difficult it would be to make my own and found out it wasn't too hard at all. I had an extra can of tomato sauce on hand, so I thought I'd give it a whirl, and if all else failed, I still had the premade sauce. Well, let's just say, I tossed a few spices into some tomato sauce, a splash of vinegar, and suddenly, I had excellent enchilada sauce. I doubt I'll ever buy the premade stuff again.

Easy Homemade Enchilada Sauce

15 oz. can tomato sauce

1 tsp white vinegar

chili powder

cumin

garlic powder

onion powder

Mexican oregano

cayenne

Season sauce as you like it. Add a tablespoon or two of water if you like a thinner sauce. Heat thoroughly and enjoy!

I'm not sure about the rest of you, but one of my favorite things to do, cooking wise, is to successfully veganize a recipe. Well, I found a recipe for very non-vegan, and also very non-healthy soft ginger cookies. Now, in my opinion, cookies shouldn't be healthy, they are cookies dammit, indulge yourself once in awhile, don't make them all the time, and leave some of the fat in so they are still enjoyable!!!! Enough of the tirade. I 'healthified' these to an extent, I switched the flours, sugars, cut down the amount of margarine use, and I also didn't have a couple of the ingredients, so I subbed in what I had. This is what I came up with and they were delish! I ate four last night, and Brett ate a bunch as welll. Four might not seem like too many cookies, but these bad boys are big!

Soft and Chewy Vegan Ginger Cookies

2 1/4 cups whole wheat pastry flour

2 tsp ground ginger

1 tsp baking soda

3/4 tsp ground cinnamon

1/2 tsp allspice

1/4 tsp salt

1/4 cup Earth Balance, softened

1/2 cup unsweetened applesauce

1 cup raw vegan sugar

replacement for one egg (I used Ener-G)

1 tbsp water

1/4 cup molasses

2 tbsp raw vegan sugar

Preheat oven to 350.

In a large bowl mix flour, ginger, baking soda, cinnamon, allspice and salt.

In a small bowl stir together the sugar, Earth Balance, and applesauce until well combined. Stir in the 'egg', water and molasses. Mix well.

Add sugar mixture to flour mixture in small batches.

Drop by heaping spoonfuls on a cookie sheet.

Flatten slightly and sprinkle vegan sugar on top.

Bake for 8-10 minutes.

Allow to cool on sheet for a few minutes before transferring to a wire cooling rack.

Makes 20 large cookies.

And finally, Cookiemouse, from the blog bearing the same name, so kindly asked me to write a guest blogging piece for his blog. I wrote about the environmental argument for vegetarianism and veganism. If anyone wants to check it out (our just check out his blog), you can find the entry here. Thanks again for asking me to do this Cookiemouse, I really enjoyed it.

Whew! This is a long post! Well, I took the day off of work today to give myself a three day weekend, so I'm off to enjoy it!

'Til next time!

Is War Really the Force That Gives Us Meaning?

I was going to write out a whole opinion piece regarding what I have read thus far in Chris Hedge’s book ‘War is a Force That Give Us Meaning’, but decided against it. You see, my opinion, in all honestly, shouldn’t really matter to you all, it is your opinions that truly matter. And this is what I am interested in anyway, I am interested in how others interpret the things that I have read, and personally, on my own, I can assess how others’ opinions and evaluations differ from mine. You see, I am not one of those people who are completely set in my ways; I am willing to change my opinions and viewpoints on things if presented with compelling evidence and simple arguments that make sense to me. I am also a huge individualist and feel that no matter what your opinion on an issue, if you can state your reasons for feeling a certain way in a logical and rational fashion; I will accept and respect that, even if I strongly disagree. This is why I can be civil and even friendly with Christian Evangelical Republicans even though their reality and my own are very different, and our opinions on pretty much everything are polar opposites, but the individuals I know are smart, their opinions are well thought out, they just came to a different conclusion from the ‘evidence’ than I did. And I don’t believe that there is anything wrong with that, I’ve said it before, and I’ll likely say it again, the world would be a pretty boring place if everyone thought, felt, and acted the same, now wouldn’t it?

Anyways, I thought I would simply use quotes that I have marked in the book and follow with some questions by me. Now, any of you out there who have a psychologically oriented background could probably figure out, at least to a certain degree, my opinions on this topic merely from the information I chose to present and the questions I ask, as well as the way those questions are framed. (This might also be a little something to think about when watching the news on NBC or any other mainstream media source, just remember news anchors are people too, with their own biases, and hang-ups, and this is reflected not only in the semantics used, but the very stories covered. I’ll leave it there, but trust me; I could go on and on.) Or you may just think you know how I feel about something, how much are you willing to bet that you’re right? Knowing just a bit about linguistics, persuasion, and public opinion due to my studies, what chance is there that I am sneaky in my use of semantics so as to intentionally not let my true opinion show through? Just remember, we psychology folk are evil like that. :-)

Quote 1: “The historian Will Durant calculated that there had been only twenty-nine years in all of human history during which a war was not underway somewhere.”

Now I haven’t checked the integrity of this ‘fact’, but for the sake of argument, let’s assume that this is true. So, only 29 years in ALL of human history has there been peace.

What does this say about human nature? Does this mean that we are more like our animal relatives than we like to think? Are humans predators? To what or whom? With history in mind, is there any hope for true, lasting world peace? Is violence inherent in the human condition or are the evil few just very good at manipulating the masses? Why haven’t the masses learned from history and revolted against the ‘status quo’ of continuing conflict and violence? Are we bound to destroy ourselves because of our propensity towards violence or mere stupidity?

Quote 2: “Patriotism, often a thinly veiled form of collective self-worship, celebrates our goodness, our ideals, our mercy, and bemoans the perfidiousness of those who hate us.”

Do you agree with this? Do you think that Nationalism and Patriotism are negative qualities? Are we (any nation) really morally good and just? Why is it that, especially after a crisis, criticism of the policies of one’s nation is not accepted and ‘frowned upon’? That suddenly, by virtue of our criticism, we become one of ‘them’, the enemy? Why is it all or none? Why is it that we think the horrible things others do, at least in reference to America, are done because ‘they hate our freedom’? Do we really believe that emotion and rage of this level of intensity really stems from their ‘hating our freedom’ or being jealous of our stuff? What do you think the real root of a lot of this conflict stems from?

Quote 3: “While we venerate and mourn our own dead we are curiously indifferent about those we kill. Thus killing is done in our name, killing that concerns us little, while those who kill our own are seen as having crawled out of the deepest recesses of the Earth, lacking our own humanity and goodness. Our dead. Their dead. They are not the same. Our dead matter, theirs do not.”

What do you think of this statement? I must point out here, that I don’t think he is referring to individuals; he is referring to us collectively and that we seem to be much more affected by the death toll to our own soldiers than the death toll of the innocent civilians that occupy the area of conflict. What do you feel are the implications of the ‘us and them’ mentality? Does this give us, however thin, justification to commit atrocities since the enemy is the ‘other’? Why is it that in combat, where the mission of both sides is essentially the same, to win, that one side’s acts are moral, and the other side’s acts are barbaric? Why is it that seeing one of ‘our dead’ elicits and greater emotional response than witnessing ‘their’ dead? Aren’t we all people? Do you see animal cruely as an extension of our justification to do immoral things, the us and them mentality?

And finally, quote 4: “Just remember” a Marine Corps lieutenant colonel told me (Chris Hedges) as he strapped his pistol belt under his arm before we crossed into Kuwait (Persian Gulf War), “that none of these boys is fighting for home, the flag, for all that crap politicians feed the public. They are fighting for each other, just for each other.”

What does this say of the strength of our argument to go to war? Do our soldiers really believe in the mission of the conflict they are fighting in? Shouldn't they if they are risking their lives for it? In current times, with the above said statements in mind, do you think American soldiers are more worried about ‘bringing democracy’ to places like Iraq and Afghanistan or merely trying to survive their tour so they can go home?

Thanks to anyone who takes the time to read and ponder this. These statements really made me think and I was curious as to the reactions others would have reading them. Do they make you angry? Do you try to think about where the author is coming from, even though his views and statements seem pretty far out there? I probably didn’t ask all the right questions, but I was trying to ask the questions that Hedges may have had to ask himself before really being able to look at these statements and war in general though a different ‘lense’ or perspective. And believe it or not, I am hopeful about the future of humanity, that doesn’t mean that I think things will get better, but that I believe it is possible.

And I must add in closing that these questions are not asked to offend people. If you are offended, please tell me, and explain why, that was the point of this. I have family in the military, as many of you may have as well, and these statements do not diminish their bravery, it just merely calls into question whether or not we should be sending our brave men and women into conflicts, and whether or not, in the long term, constant conflict (with both nature and each other) will lead to our species' demise. I know how I felt about what I read; I was just curious how this resonated with others. Don’t be shy, call Chris Hedges a crazy or whatever you want, just please explain why you feel the way you do.

‘Til next time.