Meatless March

In the Before Times, I observed Vegan Vednesdays to give an extra push to decreasing my animal product consumption, for the sake of the planet. Even though I don't mind skipping meat too much, Vegan Vednesdays were never easy for me. But you know what, I'm prepared to increasingly lay off dairy to do my part to avoid "a ghastly future of mass extinction, declining health, and climate-disruption upheavals (including looming massive migrations) and resource conflicts this century," as described in a seriously depressing new report . The "massive migrations" warning chokes me a little after I read this horrific NYT piece about migrants in Bosnia. I cannot stop thinking about it, and pondering how ridiculously fortunate a life I lead. Yes, I can forego animal products once a week.  To dive into Vegan Vednesdays, you could try " Creamy Coconut Polenta " (The Colorful Kitchen). Make sure to let your polenta sit before serving, or it'll be soupy (but...

A few weeks ago, I read about how pop-up drive-in movies are the new thin g in the pandemic era (see also this piece ), and I thought it would be the perfect first step back into the Real World. I did a search and found one about 30-40 minutes from our house , and while almost all dates were sold out, I got a spot for June 27, seeing The Karate Kid (original version, wax on, wax off). My initial excitement faded a little, some days later, when I had a terrifying thought: how would we use the toilet safely?! I also saw a photo of one of the showings, and the cars aren't THAT far apart. The wind left my sails. We considered selling our ticket. But then we reconsidered. This might be a relatively safe time to go out, since (some) people are still being cautious, and in our area, caseloads aren't sky-high anymore. And we cannot stay home forever, I guess. It might be good for our mental health to get out. So we did it. Without warning or explanation, they showed the 2010 ver...

Tomorrow is #VeganVednesday again, and here are a couple vegan snack ideas for you: 1. Guacamole ! I used to flip open Bittman's "How to Cook Everything" for the proportions, but now I just wing it: a couple of mashed avocados, a tablespoon or so of minced jalapeño, a tablespoon or two of minced onion, a healthy squeeze of lime juice, and salt. 2. Tapenade ! I tried a recipe tonight from The Spruce Eats and it was intensely garlicky, but other than that it was good. I mean, I liked it garlicky, but have mercy on the people around you. In the food processor bowl I don't really know what effect I was going for with this photo. I thought I would also take this opportunity to brag about mowing my own back yard with a reel mower, which I started doing a few years ago. It takes me about 2 hours, every 10 days or so. Plus you can look super-sexy while mowing, like me. It might take you less time than me if you mow your own lawn, because we hav...