Vegan Health Rice and Beans

No, these rice and beans aren't consummately healthful, I just wanted to take this space to promote Ginny Messina's blog, The Vegan R.D., which she's been writing since November 2007. I really should go and get blood work done to see how I'm doing on vitamins. I'm probably deficient at least in B12 and D. Vegan Essentials is a good place to buy supplements!

serves: 2

prep. time: 100 min.

INGREDIENTS

1 c. soup mix beans

3/4 c. short grain brown rice

1 yellow bell pepper, diced

1 poblano pepper, diced

some scallions, chopped or cut with kitchen scissors

1 avocado

juice of 1/4 lime

cumin

chipotle powder

dried cilantro

DIRECTIONS

1. Bring 4 c. water to a boil in a medium-sized pot. Add beans and simmer until tender, usually about an hour and a half.

2. Simmer the rice for 50 minutes.

3. In a pan, saute the peppers and scallions with seasoning in oil over medium-high heat for several minutes.

4. Mash the avocado with lime juice and salt.

I have a poem in the latest issue of The Capilano Review! It's the first time I'll see my byline in print. (Thanks to A. for encouragement!)

German-American Day Decidedly Un-Germanic Food

On October 6, 1683 "German immigrant families [founded] Germantown in the colony of Pennsylvania, marking the first major immigration of German people to America." Presumably because of that fact—never mind, Wikipedia's page for German-American Day states that 13 German families landed on the 6th and only subsequently founded Germantown. In any case, some Germans came this way and here I am. Reagan is responsible for reinstating the holiday on the 300th anniversary of its occasion. It needed to be reinstated because of WWI and subsequent feelings.

Yesterday I marched with Occupy Wall Street. Great to have a popular movement in the streets (or on the sidewalk, when the cops show up), but if we want to show 'em we won't tolerate life in a police state / financial state we're going to have to do more than march, forreal.

A.'s out of town until tomorrow night, so dinner was lonely. I made too much food, but it was good. The rice is yellow due to vegetable broth.

serves: 2-3

prep. time: 45 min.

INGREDIENTS:

1 c. short-grain brown rice

1/3 c. French lentils

1/3 c. yellow split peas

1/3 c. green split peas

1 Yukon gold potato, cubed

1 handful baby bella mushrooms, sliced

2 handfuls snap peas, halved (after cutting the ends and unzipping the spine)

1/2 bunch rapini, stems chopped

green onion, cut with scissors if you've got some

sesame oil

Bragg's liquid aminos

tamari soy sauce

balsamic glaze
sriracha

DIRECTIONS:

1. Simmer the rice in equal parts water and vegetable oil.

2. Simmer the potato, lentils, and split peas in water.

3. Prepare the other veggies and steam them.

4. To make dressing, whisk 4 parts sesame oil with 1 part each of the other ingredients.

A twitter-fiction story I wrote in February just got published on Nanoism. Read it here.