Another Rant

You remember (it wasn't that long ago) Mitt Romney's "47%" comment? And more recently, all these memes and videos and pictures of people who ARE the 47%, striking back?

Maybe Mr. Romney would like a break from that.

An Open Letter to Mitt Romney
Mr. Romney--

Let me start by saying I am NOT one of the 47%. I have a job; a GOOD job. I have health insurance (I will not mention through which company, but start thinking of health insurance companies off the top of your head; it will be in the first 3 you think of). I'm not on welfare or food stamps.

With my good job and my good health insurance, I had to have a knee scope several years ago. My "good insurance" has things called "deductibles" and "co-pays" and "we don't cover that." It took me TWO YEARS to pay off my out-of-pocket balance. TWO YEARS, Mr. Romney.

Now my doctor tells me that I will need both of my knees replaced, the sooner the better. I am aware, Mr. Romney, that you have no background in orthopedic surgery, but let me assure you that two knee replacements will cost an astonishing amount more than one knee scope. "Sooner" is NOT better--BECAUSE THERE IS NO WAY IN HELL I CAN AFFORD THE OUT-OF-POCKET COSTS.

Now I know this would never be a problem for you--$10K out-of-pocket is nothing for you. And therein lies the problem: Not everyone has unlimited cash reserves like you do. In fact, HARDLY ANYONE has that kind of money. You are pathetically out of touch with the way the majority of Americans live. Not just the poor, but us struggling middle-classers. Even those of us that do have money, can't throw it at all of our problems and make them disappear.

Tell me, Mr. Romney, why you think it is acceptable for it to take 2 years to pay off a medical bill, when one has good medical insurance that he/she pays for??

Yet you oppose our president's attempts to make healthcare affordable for all. This, sir, is why you will never have my vote or my respect.

By the way, I have a horse too. I bet I've seen him more often in the past 2 months than you've seen your horse in the past 2 years. Can you explain why I don't get a tax deduction for his care?

Regards,
Misery's Fence

Farners Market Raw Vegan Haul $10.50

3 medium-large zucchinis
1 large red bell pepper
3 ghost chilis (so I'm a masochist, sue me)
1 pint cherry tomatoes
1 bag (I'm guessing about 1 1/2 lbs.) kale

We had a storm last night, and it was still raining this morning, and I guess that scared off some of the vendors. :-( My favorite watermelon guy wasn't there, or else I would have bought another. Some "almost bought" items were some really good-looking Red Delicious apples (I just don't eat enough of them), beautiful Japanese eggplants, and some onions.

Already added some kale to my breakfast smoothie (frozen banana, chocolate almond milk, peanut butter).

I got my Spirooli yesterday!! I still have a couple of smaller zucchinis left over, so I'll probably make chips with some and spiralize the rest for "spaghetti." How about: zucchini spaghetti with chopped kale, chopped cherry tomatoes, raw corn (I still have 2 ears left), fresh rosemary, with olive oil and balsamic vinegar?

This is a much smaller haul that weeks past--partly due to fewer vendors, and partly due to summoning every ounce of willpower and not buying any bread. I have wheatberries to sprout and make my own Essene bread (my last batch sucked--WAY too much salt).

$17 Farmers Market Haul

For a measly $17:

8 tomatoes (medium to small)
2 large cumcumbers
6 ears bi-corn
8 Jonathan apples
1 loaf basil-sun dried tomato bread

Some of the corn will go into a raw curried corn salad; some will go into a raw corn, tomato, cucumber, and avocado salad.

The rest of the tomatoes will go into a raw soup (haven't decided yet if I want to do a gazpacho, or something else). I'm considering juicing a few with some cucumber and celery.

The apples and the rest of the cucumbers will be eaten as-is. I might make David's Favorite Dessert with a few apples (diced apples, chopped raw walnuts, raw honey, cinnamon--mix and eat).

The good word is--my daughter and son-in-law are moving out!! I love them dearly, but the thought of having a meat-free refrigerator (not to mention more space for watermelon!) is sweeter than Tupelo honey!

Average Joe on the Raw

An excellent movie showing the ups and downs of an "average Joe" who goes raw vegan for 60 days. It can be purchased for download or "rented" to watch online, for very reasonable prices.

Another $19 Haul

Another Saturday, another trip to Granny's and the BCFM!

2 heirloom tomatoes
4 peaches
2 red bell peppers
1 medium (but very heavy) watermelon
1 onion
3 ghost chilis
3 ears bi-color corn
1 loaf of basil-sundried tomato bread
about 10 small apples

The Farmers Market was offering free samples (only 2 vegan, though) and giving away reuseable grocery bags. Yay!! The free samples are actually a good idea--"try before you buy." I tasted a salsa that I probably wouldn't have considered buying before, but it was really tasty.

"So, Miz, what do you DO with all this produce?"

The watermelon will be juiced (blended, actually) along with fresh ginger to make a bracing morning drink. I'm guessing I'll get about 4 days out of it. The rinds will be a juicy treat for my pet pig, Angeles. (Seriously, didn't you read my profile? The part about making an airplane out of a sock because my pig would eat the banana peel? Did you really think I made that UP??)

One of the tomatoes was already used in my sprout salad this afternoon; the other will be used in raw marinara sauce (along with a good part of the onion).

One of the bell peppers will go into my raw vegan "cheez" dip tomorrow; the other will be part of my raw pasta dish (the "pasta" will be one of last week's zucchinis).

Some of the peaches will be eaten out of hand, and others will be diced and mixed with strawberries and balsamic vinegar for a refreshing fruit salad. Apples will be eaten out of hand, or used for my apple-walnut salad; a few might go to the horse and the pig. (Yes, I have a horse too. And 3 dogs, 2 cats, a rabbit, and a hermit crab. Let's just get the shock out of the way first thing, shall we?)

Haven't yet decided what to do with the corn, and I'm a bit sorry now that I didn't spend the last $1 and get more. I LOVE raw corn on the cob. But, I also have a recipe for a really good raw curried corn salad (the extra buck will go to buy organic cilantro at the grocery). But I'm also dying to try those ghost chilis, so I was thinking of creating some other type of raw/cold corn salad with those.

Decisions, decisions!

$19 Vegan Haul

I admit, I love farmers markets and local family farms. Love, love, LOVE.

I am a high-raw vegan. That means that most of the food I eat is raw, but I do eat some cooked vegan foods. Now that summer is in full swing, seasonal produce is *fairly* cheap and abundant (droughts have affected us, unfortunately) and the sweltering temperatures make raw juicy foods the perfect choice for any meal.

I took $20 in cash with me Saturday to buy some goodies for the week. First stop was Granny's Garden in Burlington, a family-owned farm that sells their produce directly on premises. Five juicy peaches, two large heirloom tomatoes, and two zucchinis as long and thick as my forearm for $9. The peaches will be eaten out of hand, one of the zucchinis will be dehydrated as chips and the other will be sliced and left raw as dippers for guacamole. Tomatoes will be eaten as-is or added to a sprout salad.

Next it was off to the Boone County farmers market. A very heavy Sugar Baby watermelon (enough for 4 meals), and a loaf of vegan bread (apricot-craisin) for $10. If I had gone all raw, I could have had several ears of corn, an eggplant, onions, and some bell peppers instead of the bread. Which is exactly what I'll do next time; the bread lasted a little over 24 hours, but for the same cost I could have bought enough produce for the week. I don't often splurge, but I already had some produce at home and the bread looked fantastic (and did not disappoint taste-wise).

Sadly, our farmers market is relatively small and doesn't offer a whole lot of variety. I've thought of challenging myself to eat only from the farmers market and Granny's each week, with whatever I can buy for $20. I might give it a go next week!

The Beauty of Incongruity

I love things that are incongruous.

When I was in college (for the 3rd time), I had to take some sort of common-sense class about how to actually get a job with the degree I was about to get. We watched this short film showing a young man dressed up in his business suit, giving a financial presentation to a room full of similarly-suited old guys. OK, fine. Then they showed the same actor, dressed in biker leathers and a bandana, giving the same presentation to the same group of geezers (yes, I may use the word 'geezer' because I'm old too, and I've earned the privilege). The lesson I was supposed to take away from this: appearances are everything.

The lesson I actually took away from this: People are stupid. Stupid, stupid, STUPID. And judgmental. And in serious need of having the crap smacked out of them.

Why should anyone care what the guy is wearing, as long as he knows his material and is enlightening us in some way? I actually found the biker guy MORE interesting, because of the seeming incongruity in his tastes and interests. How cool is it that you can be a biker AND a Wall Street geek, and have no shame--nay, actually have PRIDE!--in expressing both? You GO, Biker Man! To quote Chuck Berry: "This is America; live like you wanna live!"

Now, if you're one of the stupid people that thinks Biker Man was dressed "inappropriately," please show me--in the U.S. Constitution, or the Bible, or the Qu'ran, or whatever you've got--where it says "Thou shalt not speak of professional matters unless thou art wearing a tie." My brother-in-law is an attorney; if I ask for legal advice and he happens to be wearing jeans and a t-shirt, I don't insist that he go change into a suit and tie before answering. He's the SAME PERSON, with the SAME LEVEL OF INTELLIGENCE AND EXPERTISE, no matter what he's wearing.

When I was a young'un, my folks taught me not to judge a book by its cover. Maybe I just chose my parents wisely, but this is something every parent should be teaching his or her children. Alas, it appears "common sense" isn't so common.