:: Why Bother? ::

Michael Pollan gives his answer to the question “Why Bother?” with regard to climate change. Specifically, when everything’s going down the toilet, what good is changing my light bulbs really going to do? Will it really stop the ice caps from melting?

The brief answer is no, of course not, not by itself. He says that changes like this, when they become habit and expected in human society, are what will cause the bigger changes we need. If people “on the ground” don’t genuinely care about this stuff and act on it, there’s no reason for the people in power to care about it either. Large change, especially in the absence of progressive leadership, has to start from the bottom and move up. This is not a new message by any means, but I like hearing it again.

Pollan recommends that everyone who is able to do so (and that’s most people, even apartment dwellers like me) grow some portion of their own food, no matter how small. An option for urbanites without any outdoor growing space is to get a share in a community garden. The city I live in has a community garden, but it’s full up for the year. I will explore other options.

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:: RIP, Mabel Davis ::

My great grandmother, Mabel Davis, passed away in the early afternoon today, just 9 days before her 93rd birthday. She was the last of my great-grandparents, and a wonderful and loving person. She had been in poor bodily health for a few years, but was generally still able to get around, socialize and even go candlepin bowling until a year or so ago. I’m not sure when the last time she went bowling was, but I know she told me this about regular bowling such as we have outside of New England: “Oh honey, you can’t help but get a strike with those big balls!” Even at her advanced age, she had a very sharp mind, and always worked through the word puzzles in the newspaper (I think she avoided the crosswords) and really liked watching Jeopardy.

She was featured toward the end of an episode of This American Life back in 2001, which is wonderful because it means I can just go back to the recording and hear her voice. If you’ve never heard it (or even if you have), take a listen. It’s a good story, and in my unbiased and highly objective opinion, my great-grandmother is the star.

She gave me the photograph above just a couple years ago. I had never seen it before finding it in her apartment while visiting her, and I love it. She looks very happy in that photograph (in the middle), and that’s how she was just about whenever I saw her. She was full of love, and I miss her.

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:: New Bill Stewart Record: Incandescence ::

One of my favorite drummers released a new CD today, and I didn’t even know it was in the works. Bill Stewart doesn’t have a website of his own, probably because he’s too busy being one of the world’s foremost drummers. He’s played funk with Maceo Parker and James Brown, but has spent the lion’s share of the past 15 years playing with Larry Goldings, John Scofield, Pat Metheny, and a bunch of other people. His drumming is tasteful, inventive, and very musical; it’s always a supreme pleasure to hear.

He also composes and occasionally leads bands. As of today, he has five records as a leader, at least two of which are sadly out of print (come on, Blue Note, give me a break). This new one, Incandesence, features the same band as his previous Keynote Speakers: Kevin Hays and Larry Goldings on keyboards and accordian. Yes, this is a two keyboard and drums trio, and it’s great. I haven’t heard Keynote Speakers yet, because it goes in and out of stock at CD Baby and I just haven’t bought it, but the new one is available from my good friend eMusic. I’m listening to it now, and eating it up. This is vastly superior to lame April Fools jokes.

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:: Tasty Book: Vegan With A Vengeance ::

We have a vegetarian household at Chez Chellman. I haven’t cooked meat in many years (I eat it elsewhere, I just don’t cook it), and Lisa’s been veg for many more than that. She borrowed the cookbook Vegan With A Vengeance from the library a few weeks ago, and it’s been very good for tasty eats. I recommend the book heartily, and wanted to note the recipes we’ve made since we borrowed the book. One of things I like about it is that the recipes, at least the ones I’ve made, are fairly easy to make without being boring.

These are the ones we’ve made since having the book. Once we buy it, we’ll make even more.

• Baking Powder Biscuits and White Bean Tempeh Sausage Gravy
  This one is a big winner — Lisa likes to cook breakfast, and has made this several times.
• Scrambled Tofu
  Lisa has made this several times. It’s good as written, but she likes to add canned artichokes to pep this up.
• Sesame Asparagus
  A very tasty and fast way to prepare asparagus.
• Seitan
  I was making the seitan recipe from the PPK website before seeing the book. The one in the book is slightly different, but the results seem to be basically the same. Like she says there, it’s a lot cheaper to make seitan yourself. It takes a few hours to finish, but most of that is just letting it simmer and cool — the actual prep time is pretty fast.
• “Fronch Toast”
  Not Lisa’s favorite; the chick pea flour adds an odd flavor.
• White Bean and Roasted Garlic Soup
  Making this, I roasted garlic (two heads!) for the first time. It’s a very garlicky soup, but the roasting makes it less ridiculous than if it were uncooked garlic.
• Stewed Tofu and Potatoes in Miso Gravy
  This was a milder recipe than I was expecting. Good, but not my favorite. I had never used miso before making this, and I have a lot left over. I should try making miso soup.
• Mango-Ginger Tofu
  This is a very tasty sweet and spicy recipe, lots of mango.
• Ethiopian Seitan and Peppers This doesn’t taste like any Ethiopian food I’ve had, but it’s a good preparation of seitan.
• Mushroom and Sun-Dried Tomato Risotto
  I had never made a proper risotto before making this. I had always thought that the thickness of a good risotto came from cheese or cream or some kind of dairy, but it actually comes from the way it’s prepared (i.e. lots of stirring). Really good.
• Raspberry Blackout Cake with Ganache-y Frosting
  Lisa made this for her dad’s birthday earlier this month. It’s very chocolatey. I think I do like non-vegan cakes a little better, but this was a very good one.

This book is worthwhile whether you eat meat or not. Go get it.

If you eat meat and need some new recipes presented in a hilarious package, I recommend you watch Cooking With Coolio. I haven’t tried his recipes yet, but his treatment of spinach is pretty similar to what I’ve been doing with kale lately (and has been a big hit around here), so I’m pretty sure it’s all good. If you’re sensitive about language or yo mama jokes, be forewarned that there are plenty of both.

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:: The Credit Crisis ::

The New York Times has a pretty explanation of the credit crisis available. It’s a pretty tangled web that was woven that has unraveled in a hurry.

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