Tuesday, November 22, 2011

80-ton Sperm Wale vs. the Essex Orzo


On November 20, 1820, a sperm whale attacked and sunk a Nantucket whaling ship in the Pacific way the hell away from the coast of South America. Whales are intelligent. They know that boats are responsible for the cries of their pod members, for their blood in the water. Whales are also huge, and if they want to break up some wooden planks they'll do it without much trouble. If ever there was poetic justice in the human war against nonhuman animals, it could be located in the vicinity of the sentence "The whale crushed the bow like an eggshell." Righteous. After the Essex sank, the crew refused their captain's advice to sail west based on the fear that the islands might be inhabited by cannibals. Seven of the crew were eventually cannibalized by their desperate mates. The word "irony" almost doesn't do the story justice.

Last night I made an orzo dish and A. put together a tomato and cucumber salad with black pepper and red wine vinegar.

serves: 2-3
prep. time: approx. 20 min.

INGREDIENTS:
1 c. orzo
4 oz. tempeh, cubed
6 oz. white mushrooms, chopped
8 oz. baby spinach
1/4 in. segment of ginger, diced
curly parsley
Bragg's liquid aminos
juice of 1/2 lemon
lemon rind shavings
cayenne
garlic powder

DIRECTIONS:
1. Bring 3 c. water to a boil. Add the orzo and boil, uncovered, for 15 minutes, or until done. (Took me longer than the package said it would.)
2. In a pan, saute the tempeh, mushrooms, ginger, and spinach (in that order) with oil over medium heat. Add the other stuff a few minutes before the main ingredients are cooked through.
3. Combine.

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