So last night I made chili, as it was horrible Romance movie night with a friend who can't have cow milk products or wheat. The chili turned out fabulous (of course, pshaw) and was super basic.
(I would love to have remembered to take a picture, but I didn't.)
I soaked Cannelloni beans until they were nice and plump. If I was smart, I would have cooked them now, but I forgot and I had to let the chili cook them as best as it could. I grated a HUGE zucchini that was hiding in my fridge, and used about 2 c. worth in the chili (I froze the rest). After grating the zucchini, I sprinkle salt on it to draw the water out, and then squeeze the excess liquid out of my zucchini. I tossed that straight into the crock pot. Also add in your beans, preferably cooked.
At this point I also boiled some more water and reconstituted three little chili peppers that I had. Once plump, I scraped out the seeds, chopped finely, and tossed in the crock pot.
I also tossed straight in a can of crushed tomatoes. I used about a cup or two of vegetable broth to rinse out the can and get the last little bits of tomato.
While I was getting all that set up, I chopped and fried two little peppers from my garden (yay!) and half of an onion. Once the onions were mostly translucent, I removed most of them from the pan and put them into the crock pot, and kept the rest in there to flavor the ground beef that I fried next. I had enough ground beef that it almost filled my pan, so it took a while for that to brown fully. Once it was done, I threw it in the crock and mixed it all up, trying to gauge how "chili-like" it was. It needed more liquid, so I added more vegetable broth. I also added tomato paste, salt, pepper, cumin and chili powder.
I let it cook for several hours (read: 5) and Mister bought a sheep's milk cheese that was to replace the cheddar I would have normally put on top. All in all, highly successful!
Friday, August 26, 2011
Tuesday, August 23, 2011
Why Iceland Should Be In the News, But Is Not
Reposted from this article.
Why Iceland Should Be in the News, But Is Not
By Deena Stryker
An Italian radio program's story about Iceland’s on-going revolution is a stunning example of how little our media tells us about the rest of the world. Americans may remember that at the start of the 2008 financial crisis, Iceland literally went bankrupt. The reasons were mentioned only in passing, and since then, this little-
known member of the European Union fell back into oblivion.
As one European country after another fails or risks failing, imperiling the Euro, with repercussions for the entire world, the last thing the powers that be want is for Iceland to become an example. Here's why:
Five years of a pure neo-liberal regime had made Iceland, (population 320 thousand, no army), one of the richest countries in the world. In 2003 all the country’s banks were privatized, and in an effort to attract foreign investors, they offered on-line banking whose minimal costs allowed them to offer relatively high rates of return. The accounts, called IceSave, attracted many English and Dutch small investors. But as investments grew, so did the banks’ foreign debt. In 2003 Iceland’s debt was equal to 200 times its GNP, but in 2007, it was 900 percent. The 2008 world financial crisis was the coup de grace. The three main Icelandic banks, Landbanki, Kapthing and Glitnir, went belly up and were nationalized, while the Kroner lost 85% of its value with respect to the Euro. At the end of the year Iceland declared bankruptcy.
Contrary to what could be expected, the crisis resulted in Icelanders recovering their sovereign rights, through a process of direct participatory democracy that eventually led to a new Constitution. But only after much pain.
Geir Haarde, the Prime Minister of a Social Democratic coalition government, negotiated a two million one hundred thousand dollar loan, to which the Nordic countries added another two and a half million. But the foreign financial community pressured Iceland to impose drastic measures. The FMI and the European Union wanted to take over its debt, claiming this was the only way for the country to pay back Holland and Great Britain, who had promised to reimburse their citizens.
Protests and riots continued, eventually forcing the government to resign. Elections were brought forward to April 2009, resulting in a left-wing coalition which condemned the neoliberal economic system, but immediately gave in to its demands that Iceland pay off a total of three and a half million Euros. This required each Icelandic citizen to pay 100 Euros a month (or about $130) for fifteen years, at 5.5% interest, to pay off a debt incurred by private parties vis a vis other private parties. It was the straw that broke the reindeer’s back.
What happened next was extraordinary. The belief that citizens had to pay for the mistakes of a financial monopoly, that an entire nation must be taxed to pay off private debts was shattered, transforming the relationship between citizens and their political institutions and eventually driving Iceland’s leaders to the side of their constituents. The Head of State, Olafur Ragnar Grimsson, refused to ratify the law that would have made Iceland’s citizens responsible for its bankers’ debts, and accepted calls for a referendum.
Of course the international community only increased the pressure on Iceland. Great Britain and Holland threatened dire reprisals that would isolate the country. As Icelanders went to vote, foreign bankers threatened to block any aid from the IMF. The British government threatened to freeze Icelander savings and checking accounts. As Grimsson said: “We were told that if we refused the international community’s conditions, we would become the Cuba of the North. But if we had accepted, we would have become the Haiti of the North.” (How many times have I written that when Cubans see the dire state of their neighbor, Haiti, they count themselves lucky.)
In the March 2010 referendum, 93% voted against repayment of the debt. The IMF immediately froze its loan. But the revolution (though not televised in the United States), would not be intimidated. With the support of a furious citizenry, the government launched civil and penal investigations into those responsible for the financial crisis. Interpol put out an international arrest warrant for the ex-president of Kaupthing, Sigurdur Einarsson, as the other bankers implicated in the crash fled the country.
But Icelanders didn't stop there: they decided to draft a new constitution that would free the country from the exaggerated power of international finance and virtual money. (The one in use had been written when Iceland gained its independence from Denmark, in 1918, the only difference with the Danish constitution being that the word ‘president’ replaced the word ‘king’.)
To write the new constitution, the people of Iceland elected twenty-five citizens from among 522 adults not belonging to any political party but recommended by at least thirty citizens. This document was not the work of a handful of politicians, but was written on the internet. The constituent’s meetings are streamed on-line, and citizens can send their comments and suggestions, witnessing the document as it takes shape. The constitution that eventually emerges from this participatory democratic process will be submitted to parliament for approval after the next elections.
Some readers will remember that Iceland’s ninth century agrarian collapse was featured in Jared Diamond’s book by the same name. Today, that country is recovering from its financial collapse in ways just the opposite of those generally considered unavoidable, as confirmed yesterday by the new head of the IMF, Christine Lagarde to Fareed Zakaria. The people of Greece have been told that the privatization of their public sector is the only solution. And those of Italy, Spain and Portugal are facing the same threat.
They should look to Iceland. Refusing to bow to foreign interests, that small country stated loud and clear that the people are sovereign.
That’s why it is not in the news anymore.
Stryker is an American writer that has lived in six different countries, is fluent in four languages and a published writer in three. She looks at the big picture from a systems and spiritual point of view.
Why Iceland Should Be in the News, But Is Not
By Deena Stryker
An Italian radio program's story about Iceland’s on-going revolution is a stunning example of how little our media tells us about the rest of the world. Americans may remember that at the start of the 2008 financial crisis, Iceland literally went bankrupt. The reasons were mentioned only in passing, and since then, this little-
known member of the European Union fell back into oblivion.
As one European country after another fails or risks failing, imperiling the Euro, with repercussions for the entire world, the last thing the powers that be want is for Iceland to become an example. Here's why:
Five years of a pure neo-liberal regime had made Iceland, (population 320 thousand, no army), one of the richest countries in the world. In 2003 all the country’s banks were privatized, and in an effort to attract foreign investors, they offered on-line banking whose minimal costs allowed them to offer relatively high rates of return. The accounts, called IceSave, attracted many English and Dutch small investors. But as investments grew, so did the banks’ foreign debt. In 2003 Iceland’s debt was equal to 200 times its GNP, but in 2007, it was 900 percent. The 2008 world financial crisis was the coup de grace. The three main Icelandic banks, Landbanki, Kapthing and Glitnir, went belly up and were nationalized, while the Kroner lost 85% of its value with respect to the Euro. At the end of the year Iceland declared bankruptcy.
Contrary to what could be expected, the crisis resulted in Icelanders recovering their sovereign rights, through a process of direct participatory democracy that eventually led to a new Constitution. But only after much pain.
Geir Haarde, the Prime Minister of a Social Democratic coalition government, negotiated a two million one hundred thousand dollar loan, to which the Nordic countries added another two and a half million. But the foreign financial community pressured Iceland to impose drastic measures. The FMI and the European Union wanted to take over its debt, claiming this was the only way for the country to pay back Holland and Great Britain, who had promised to reimburse their citizens.
Protests and riots continued, eventually forcing the government to resign. Elections were brought forward to April 2009, resulting in a left-wing coalition which condemned the neoliberal economic system, but immediately gave in to its demands that Iceland pay off a total of three and a half million Euros. This required each Icelandic citizen to pay 100 Euros a month (or about $130) for fifteen years, at 5.5% interest, to pay off a debt incurred by private parties vis a vis other private parties. It was the straw that broke the reindeer’s back.
What happened next was extraordinary. The belief that citizens had to pay for the mistakes of a financial monopoly, that an entire nation must be taxed to pay off private debts was shattered, transforming the relationship between citizens and their political institutions and eventually driving Iceland’s leaders to the side of their constituents. The Head of State, Olafur Ragnar Grimsson, refused to ratify the law that would have made Iceland’s citizens responsible for its bankers’ debts, and accepted calls for a referendum.
Of course the international community only increased the pressure on Iceland. Great Britain and Holland threatened dire reprisals that would isolate the country. As Icelanders went to vote, foreign bankers threatened to block any aid from the IMF. The British government threatened to freeze Icelander savings and checking accounts. As Grimsson said: “We were told that if we refused the international community’s conditions, we would become the Cuba of the North. But if we had accepted, we would have become the Haiti of the North.” (How many times have I written that when Cubans see the dire state of their neighbor, Haiti, they count themselves lucky.)
In the March 2010 referendum, 93% voted against repayment of the debt. The IMF immediately froze its loan. But the revolution (though not televised in the United States), would not be intimidated. With the support of a furious citizenry, the government launched civil and penal investigations into those responsible for the financial crisis. Interpol put out an international arrest warrant for the ex-president of Kaupthing, Sigurdur Einarsson, as the other bankers implicated in the crash fled the country.
But Icelanders didn't stop there: they decided to draft a new constitution that would free the country from the exaggerated power of international finance and virtual money. (The one in use had been written when Iceland gained its independence from Denmark, in 1918, the only difference with the Danish constitution being that the word ‘president’ replaced the word ‘king’.)
To write the new constitution, the people of Iceland elected twenty-five citizens from among 522 adults not belonging to any political party but recommended by at least thirty citizens. This document was not the work of a handful of politicians, but was written on the internet. The constituent’s meetings are streamed on-line, and citizens can send their comments and suggestions, witnessing the document as it takes shape. The constitution that eventually emerges from this participatory democratic process will be submitted to parliament for approval after the next elections.
Some readers will remember that Iceland’s ninth century agrarian collapse was featured in Jared Diamond’s book by the same name. Today, that country is recovering from its financial collapse in ways just the opposite of those generally considered unavoidable, as confirmed yesterday by the new head of the IMF, Christine Lagarde to Fareed Zakaria. The people of Greece have been told that the privatization of their public sector is the only solution. And those of Italy, Spain and Portugal are facing the same threat.
They should look to Iceland. Refusing to bow to foreign interests, that small country stated loud and clear that the people are sovereign.
That’s why it is not in the news anymore.
Stryker is an American writer that has lived in six different countries, is fluent in four languages and a published writer in three. She looks at the big picture from a systems and spiritual point of view.
Monday, August 22, 2011
What Not To Do
So last week Mister bought fruit. Fast forward to today, and they were attracting fruit flies. So, thinking I was a smart cookie, I figured I'd turn them to jam. The pears were a lost cause. But the peaches were fully salvageable!
So I hunted up an easy peach jam recipe and set to work.
(Sliced peaches and put on heat with sugar)
Poking around the freezer turned up a bag of blueberries. Perfect! I tossed them in with a little more sugar. All told, I added peaches, blueberries, sugar, oj, cinnamon, nutmeg, garam masala and vanilla. I was feeling pretty crafty.
Added to that crafty feeling was my heating and sterilizing my jars in the same water as the water bath. How sneaky am I, I thought. And then I realized that I didn't have my jar lifters, they're still in storage.
Never fear, thought I, I am resourceful. I can figure this out. So to fish my clean jars out I grabbed a spatula and a silicone oven mitt.
I was futzing with the jar when disaster struck. I dipped the silicone oven mitt far enough under the water that it filled up and became a silicone cup of water. Feeling my hand burned, I freaked out, and reared back... throwing the water from the oven mitt directly at my face. Luckily, I wear glasses. Tearing the glasses off my face, I ran to the sink to throw cold water over everything in pain (with a constant stream of f-bombs). I also dashed into the bedroom to grab the aloe vera and smear it thickly upon everything.
I did manage to use the silicone oven mitt and spatula in lieu of the jar lifters, but thanks to my burn, the wafts of steam made it an exciting process.
I can happily write this all now, with two pint jars of jam on the counter, and my right hand in a bowl of water. But boy, what an ounce of prevention is worth!
So I hunted up an easy peach jam recipe and set to work.
(Sliced peaches and put on heat with sugar)
Poking around the freezer turned up a bag of blueberries. Perfect! I tossed them in with a little more sugar. All told, I added peaches, blueberries, sugar, oj, cinnamon, nutmeg, garam masala and vanilla. I was feeling pretty crafty.
Added to that crafty feeling was my heating and sterilizing my jars in the same water as the water bath. How sneaky am I, I thought. And then I realized that I didn't have my jar lifters, they're still in storage.
Never fear, thought I, I am resourceful. I can figure this out. So to fish my clean jars out I grabbed a spatula and a silicone oven mitt.
I was futzing with the jar when disaster struck. I dipped the silicone oven mitt far enough under the water that it filled up and became a silicone cup of water. Feeling my hand burned, I freaked out, and reared back... throwing the water from the oven mitt directly at my face. Luckily, I wear glasses. Tearing the glasses off my face, I ran to the sink to throw cold water over everything in pain (with a constant stream of f-bombs). I also dashed into the bedroom to grab the aloe vera and smear it thickly upon everything.
I did manage to use the silicone oven mitt and spatula in lieu of the jar lifters, but thanks to my burn, the wafts of steam made it an exciting process.
I can happily write this all now, with two pint jars of jam on the counter, and my right hand in a bowl of water. But boy, what an ounce of prevention is worth!
Schedule
Mister and I had a bit of brainstorming Saturday, and this is what we came up with.
Monday: clean out fridge, take out trash, buy groceries
Tuesday: wash floors
Wednesday: (no chores)
Thursday: clean bathroom, new towels
Friday: (no chores)
Saturday: (no chores)
Sunday: sweep floors, dust baseboards and surfaces, wash laundry, put laundry away
As we often have guests on the weeked, or go out ourselves, we wrote in a break. Wednesdays are also no chores because we get home late that day.
We also put together a basic rotating meal plan.
Monday: vegetarian
Tuesday: pasta and salad
Wednesday: breakfast for dinner (Mister's in charge)
Thursday: crock pot (I'm in charge)
Friday: roast chicken or casserole (I'm in charge)
Saturday: no plan
Sunday: soup or stew
We'll do a roast chicken twice a month or so because it's some of the best bang-per-buck options. Tuesdays are pasta because we have band practice, and it needs to be fast. Lunches will be leftovers, PBJ, fruit, trailmix, etc.
Monday: clean out fridge, take out trash, buy groceries
Tuesday: wash floors
Wednesday: (no chores)
Thursday: clean bathroom, new towels
Friday: (no chores)
Saturday: (no chores)
Sunday: sweep floors, dust baseboards and surfaces, wash laundry, put laundry away
As we often have guests on the weeked, or go out ourselves, we wrote in a break. Wednesdays are also no chores because we get home late that day.
We also put together a basic rotating meal plan.
Monday: vegetarian
Tuesday: pasta and salad
Wednesday: breakfast for dinner (Mister's in charge)
Thursday: crock pot (I'm in charge)
Friday: roast chicken or casserole (I'm in charge)
Saturday: no plan
Sunday: soup or stew
We'll do a roast chicken twice a month or so because it's some of the best bang-per-buck options. Tuesdays are pasta because we have band practice, and it needs to be fast. Lunches will be leftovers, PBJ, fruit, trailmix, etc.
Prepping for Fall
As I went to put new laces in my laceup, every day shoes, I realized that it was a perfect opportunity to waterproof them. So I pulled out the spray can of leather proofing (no green methods here!) and went to town. I did those lace ups, two pairs of boots, my leather jacket, Misters leather jacket and a pair od Mister's lace ups. It's a beautiful suny day, and all of these items are hanging out in the sunshine on the front porch, waiting for the hour of "curing". I should also get polish and massage in some conditioning (LUSH's ultrabalm is excellent for this).
But before I get to that, I need to finish up the furniture rearranging that Mister and I started yesterday.
As an aside, the iPad hates posting, as it likes to ignore characters or spaces.
But before I get to that, I need to finish up the furniture rearranging that Mister and I started yesterday.
As an aside, the iPad hates posting, as it likes to ignore characters or spaces.
Surprise packages
So I'm sitting here with the iPad, a cup of tea and the empty bowl of my breakfast (leftover mac n cheese... Don't judge!), when I see a UPS truck stop outside. I gaze at it, and wistfully wish that it was for me... When I heard the 'thump' of a box being dropped by my door. I raced over and pulled in a bit of a care package from my mother.
One ugly as sin but amazingly waterproof, lime green raincoat (I called and asked about it the other day, so this is a desireable item)
Two spiral bound, three subject notebooks, college lined
A Phrase and Sentence Dictionary of Spoken Russian, book
Lavender and Old Lace, book
Taste of Home, magazine
A bunch of photos
A note
Firstly, I want to give a shout out to the post office for charging $9 for this (wtf). The photos are of my new nephew, and of the last three family events that we had. I swear, I am the worst for candid photos. In almost every single one, I am making some manner of a crazy face. The funniest are the few of Mister and me, as we both have this habit. (When we did the engagement photoshoot my friend said we wouldnt stop moving, and we have a tonof pictures of us in the process of speaking.)
But, that was my enjoyable morning - and it reminds me that I have two packages to get in the mail, a pillow for K and CDs for mle.
One ugly as sin but amazingly waterproof, lime green raincoat (I called and asked about it the other day, so this is a desireable item)
Two spiral bound, three subject notebooks, college lined
A Phrase and Sentence Dictionary of Spoken Russian, book
Lavender and Old Lace, book
Taste of Home, magazine
A bunch of photos
A note
Firstly, I want to give a shout out to the post office for charging $9 for this (wtf). The photos are of my new nephew, and of the last three family events that we had. I swear, I am the worst for candid photos. In almost every single one, I am making some manner of a crazy face. The funniest are the few of Mister and me, as we both have this habit. (When we did the engagement photoshoot my friend said we wouldnt stop moving, and we have a tonof pictures of us in the process of speaking.)
But, that was my enjoyable morning - and it reminds me that I have two packages to get in the mail, a pillow for K and CDs for mle.
Friday, August 19, 2011
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