The Land of Milk and (Sugar)

Joyeux Mardi Gras!

The three traditional pillars of Lenten observance are prayer, fasting, and almsgiving (or, as Busted Halo likes to say, Fast Pray Give). This year, I wanted to make sure I'm covering all three through my Lenten commitments.

Prayer: This Lent is a "back to basics" moment for me. I am recommitting to attending Mass on Sundays, which I confess I have not been doing on a regular basis for a while now. Part of it is that I'm not in love with any of the parishes at my disposal, but a larger part is sheer laziness. So what if it takes a half-hour to get to St. Dominic's by bus? God has blessed me in immeasurable ways, and the very least I can do is take two hours a week to thank him.

Fasting: Every morning, I have a cup of coffee at home while reading the news and catching up on blogs. Although some of the snobbier coffee connoisseurs in my life berate me *coughAlancough*, it's how I prefer to take my coffee. While trying to figure out what to give up for Lent, I ran across this great list. #38 on the list is to give up cream and sugar in your coffee. I like the idea, because it is a built-in daily reminder of the Lenten season. Each morning, as I drink my bitter coffee, I will reflect on Christ's sacrifices for us.

Almsgiving: Almsgiving is about more than donating money--it's about charitable acts as well. So, I am going to write letters of affirmation to some of the people in my life who inspire me (at least one a week), and donate some money in honor of each person to a charity that they like.

What are you doing (or not doing) for Lent?  What do you want to get out of this Lenten season?

H2Oh No!

I'm concerned about the California drought.  I want to do my part to help with conservation, so I started researching ways to cut back on my water usage.  Apparently, 50% of residential water use occurs outdoors, so I'm already way below average on that front, what with my lack of yard.  Nonetheless, there are some things that urban dwellers can do:

• Taking a 5-minute shower instead of a 10-minute shower saves 12.5 gallons with a low-flow shower head, and 25 gallons with a standard 5 gallon-per-minute shower head.
• Turning the faucet off while brushing teeth or shaving saves about 10 gallons a day.
• Fixing the worn washers in a faucet with a slow steady drip saves 350 gallons per month, and 2,000 gallons a month if the leak is a small stream. 
• Putting a new flapper in a leaking toilet can save 7,000 gallons a month. To test for leaks, put food coloring in the tank. Don't flush. Ten minutes later if you see color in the bowl, you have a leak.
• Replacing a pre-1990 toilet, which can use 5 gallons per flush, with a newer high-efficiency model can save 38 gallons a day per toilet. Most Bay Area water districts offer rebates of between $50 and $250 per toilet.
• Operate your clothes and dishwashers with full loads only, even if the machine has an adjustable load setting.
• Soak pots and pans instead of letting the water run while scraping them clean.

Conservation tip: putting a judgmental cat in your sink will reduce water usage by 100%!

Our property manager did toilet leak tests yesterday, and my toilet is fine.  I don't have any faucet leaks, and we already have low-flow faucets and showerheads.  As a renter, I can't change any of my fixtures, alas.

Seriously, does anyone still brush their teeth with the water running for two minutes?  Maybe it's because I grew up in the midst of another California drought, but I find the very thought of needlessly running water to be abhorrent.  That being said, I could do a better job of not running the water while washing dishes.  I wish I had a dishwasher, which is more efficient, but for now I'll try to soap up all of my dishes with the water off and then rinse them.

I think the biggest difference I can make would be to reduce the amount of water I use in the shower.  Taking shorter showers would be a good start, but I find that my mind wanders and it's really easy to take a 15-minute shower without realizing it.  To make sure I'm paying attention, and further reduce water used, yesterday morning I tried out the "start-stop" shower, which is similar to the idea for washing dishes.  Turn on the water to get wet, then turn it off to lather up, then back on to rinse.  Repeat for each stage of your shower--body, shampoo, conditioner.  It wasn't actually too cumbersome.  I was most concerned about getting cold, but the steam in the shower kept me warm while the water was off, and the water stayed hot in the pipers during the brief shutoffs.  I don't know if I'll be doing this for every shower, but I'll try to do it when I can, and will definitely work harder to keep my conventional showers to 5 minutes.

To my Californian readers, what are you doing to conserve water?  Any creative ideas?

Why I'm Going Pescetarian

Happy New Year!  I wouldn't categorize this as a resolution, per se, but I decided to become a pescetarian beginning in 2014.  I've been flirting with the idea of becoming some sort of vegetarian for many months, and have gradually reduced the amount of meat I was consuming in 2013.  By the end of the year, my meat consumption was rather infrequent; I hadn't purchased meat to cook at home in months, and mostly opted for vegetarian options when eating out.

I could have continued in this "flexitarian" state, but I decided that I wanted to commit to something more specific.  There are a number of reasons why someone might choose to reduce or eliminate their consumption of animal products, but these are the reasons that most motivate me:

• Environmentalism: Factory farming is a major source of pollution, and is not environmentally sustainable. Many of my lifestyle choices are intended to combat environmental waste and pollution, such as not owning a car, taking public transit, supporting local agriculture, and recycling and reusing whenever possible.
• Humane Treatment of Animals: Everything I've learned about how animals are treated in factory farms is very disconcerting.  I don't like the idea of being a part of an industry that treats animals so cruelly, restricting their movement and pumping them full of odd things to maximize profit.
• Health: A vegetarian diet has been shown to reduce the risk of heart disease and cancer.  It's also been linked to maintaining a healthy weight level and longer lifespan.  Yes, please!
• Solidarity: A number of the people in my life whom I most love and respect are vegetarian.  I want to join their ranks.

Pescetarian means that I still eat fish and shellfish, but don't eat other meat.  Also, I'm still eating dairy, eggs, and insect byproducts--sorry, bees, but honey is too delicious!  I'm choosing to continue to eat seafood because it is possible to access sustainable options, and gives me more choices when eating out.  Also, seafood is a good source of omega-3 fatty acids, iron, and protein.  I highly recommend the Monterey Bay Aquarium's Seafood Watch pocket guides (and app), which identify which fish are the most sustainable choices.

The most challenging obstacle I've encountered as I've consciously reduced my animal consumption has been how many things have sneaky animal byproducts in them.  Gelatin is hiding in many more foods than just marshmallows and Jell-o.  Cheese is often made from animal rennet.  Refried beans usually have lard.  White sugar is processed using bone char.  I'm not going to completely cut out these byproducts, mostly because it's extremely challenging to do so, but I'm definitely going to seek out alternatives whenever possible.

I definitely have a lot more research to do around this topic, much of which I'm hoping will make its way into future blog posts.  For example, I want to learn more about the confusing array of egg options I see at the grocery store.  If anyone has recommendations of good books, documentaries, or websites about vegetarianism, please share!  I don't intend to be preachy about my decision to become pescetarian, but I do want to share my experiences in making this change, and engage in conversations about our food choices.

Stir-Fry-Crazy

Confession: until recently, I had no idea how to stir-fry.  You'd think it be simple, what with the primary instructions being right there in the name, but I had no idea what to do.  My family never make it growing up, so I had no experience making it.  I'm fairly adventurous in my cooking as an adult, but somehow stir-fry never made it into my repertoire.

Thankfully, I have finally figured out how to make stir-fry this year, through a helpful combination of watching Alan make it and researching recipe variations.  It turns out, my main barrier to stir-fry was that I very much prefer to follow recipes, but stir-fry is more of a fly-by-the-seat-of-your-pants "What do I have in the fridge" type of cooking experience.  What has finally pushed me over the edge into more confident stir-fry territory is trial and error combined with the impetus to figure out what to do with all of the delicious CSA box veggies that Alan and I receive every two weeks.

The one thing I haven't figured out yet is how to fry tofu.  Any advice from more experienced folks out there?  I can't get it crispy!  I suspect part of the issue is that my pans all heat rather unevenly, but surely there's some trick I'm missing.

What are your favorite things to stir-fry together?  I'd love some recipes to try!  For example, here's the stir-fry I made tonight, inspired by my CSA box.  I really liked the leeks--they're so sweet, and yet give it that onion-y flavor.

CSA Stir-Fry

Ingredients
1/2 block extra firm tofu, in 1/4-inch slices
4 tbsp. vegetable oil
1 leek, chopped
5 small carrots, chopped
1 broccoli head, chopped
2 baby bok choy, chopped (separate stems and leaves)
2 tsp. minced garlic
Ground ginger, to taste
Chili powder, to taste
Black pepper, to taste
2 tbsp. soy sauce

Instructions

1. Slice tofu into 1/4-inch slices and fry in 2 tbsp. of vegetable oil, 3-5 minutes on each side on medium heat.  Remove from pan.  Or, seriously, talk to someone else about how to do this more successfully, and then let me know what you find out.

2. Add 2 more tbsp. of vegetable oil and toss in sliced leeks (1/4-inch should do) and garlic.  Fry for a couple of minutes over medium-high heat.

3. Add carrots, broccoli, and bok choy stems, all chopped into bite-size pieces.  Season with ginger and chili powder and fry for 3 minutes (until it begins to lose its crispiness).

4. Add bok choy leaves and 1/2 cup of water.  Cook, stirring occasionally, until water has evaporated and veggies are tender.

5. Add the tofu back to the pan, along with soy sauce.  Add black pepper to taste, and serve with rice.

In conclusion, look at my adorable squirrel rice scoop!

San Francisco Living: A Year in Review

Fact: I still have two boxes I have yet to unpack.

I moved into my apartment a year ago today.

It's funny that I ended up living in the city, because I never aspired to move to San Francisco.  Really, I just wanted to shorten my commute.

With all the recent reports of the extremely high cost of rent in San Francisco, I count myself lucky to be paying significantly under market price for a studio, even one in the Tenderloin.  I saw a posting for a different studio in my building on Craigslist last month, and it was listed as $400 more than I'm paying.  Good grief!  I'm also thankful that my building is rent controlled, so I only experienced a 1.9% increase in rent this year.

Technically, I live in the Tenderloin, but I really consider myself Tenderloin adjacent.  There are definitely areas a block or two away that I wouldn't want to walk alone, but the areas I frequent are safe.  I'm right next door to a hostel, so there are always folks around, which makes me feel even safer.  I haven't experienced a single incident since I moved to the city, knock on wood.

My other concern as I moved into my apartment was the size.  Best I can figure, my studio is about 300 square feet, I took measurements, and my studio is 267 square feet, which is quite small, especially since some of that space is a hallway.

Probably my least favorite thing about my apartment is my kitchen, which is tiny.  I have 10 inches of counter space, which I tripled by squeezing in a tiny IKEA cart.  I was terrified of my oven for most of the past year, because I repeatedly burned things and set off my smoke alarm.  However, I finally invested in an oven thermometer, and discovered that my oven runs 75 to 100 degrees hot, which is extreme!  So, now I have learned to set things 100 degrees below, and can bake without fear.

I don’t feel like I’ve done a very good job of taking advantage of living in San Francisco.  There are so many neighborhoods that I have yet to explore.  I should really put together a to-do list like I had for D.C., and try to check things off.

I doubt I’ll stay in San Francisco forever.  It’s extraordinarily expensive, and I miss what less urban areas have to offer in terms of greenery, safety, and convenience.  On the other hand, I do love having access to ample public transportation (as compared to the suburbs), incredibly diverse food, and a fascinating collection of passionate, young people.

Anyone have any suggestions as I begin to compile an SF to-do list?

In Which I Quote Christian Stuff at You

Chris and I have been reading some good things lately for our weekly Catholic chat via Skype.

The Problem of Pain

During the month of October, we read The Problem of Pain by C.S. Lewis.  I've always loved C.S. Lewis, from my childhood readings of the classic Chronicles of Narnia to my later explorations of his Christian writings such as Mere Christianity and The Screwtape Letters.  Lewis does such a wonderful job of presenting arguments with clear examples that shed light on difficult concepts.

In the first chapter, I enjoy Lewis's treatment of the question often raised--if God is good, then why doesn't he make everyone perfectly happy?  Either He isn't good, or he lacks the power to make everyone happy, or perhaps both.  Lewis makes a very elaborate argument about suffering being a necessary element of a world that also contains free will, which I will not attempt to summarize here.  But, I did want to share this quote:

Meaningless combinations of words do not suddenly acquire meaning simply because we prefix them to the other words 'God can'.  It remains true that all things are possible with God: the intrinsic impossibilities are not things but nonentitites.  It is no more possible for God than for the weakest of His creatures to carry out both of two mutually exclusive alternatives; not because His power meets an obstacle, but because nonsense remains nonsense even when we talk it about God.

Mm, logic.

I also loved this quote:

When we want to be something other than the thing God wants us to be, we must be wanting what, in fact, will not make us happy.

I was rather surprised that one of the chapters was on Animal Pain, which struck me as a bit incongruous with the flow of the book in general.  He argues that animals are sentient but lack selfhood in a way that supports immortal souls.  However, along the way, he rejects other, weaker arguments against the immortality of animals.  My favorite is this:

Nor am I greatly moved by jocular inquiries such as 'Where will you put all the mosquitoes?'--a question to be answered on its own level by pointing out that, if the worst came to the worst, a heaven for mosquitoes and a hell for men could very conveniently be combined.

Ha!  True that.

Pope Francis

Chris and I are about to start St. Bonaventure's The Life of Saint Francis of Assisi, followed by Introduction to the Devout Life by St. Francis de Sales.  However, we took a week off from our longer readings to explore the America Magazine interview with Pope Francis.  There were a number of wonderful things said during the interview, and I would encourage everyone to read it.  I particularly enjoyed his emphasis that he is a sinner, that he practices discernment in all things, that he sees holiness in patience, and that uncertainty in discernment is leaving room for the Lord.

There was one part of the interview that has been quoted repeatedly by the media, around the idea of focusing less on divisive issues such as gay marriage and abortion.  I was excited about this from the first moment I read it, but all the more so in reading it in the context of a discussion of the Church as a field hospital for the world:

We cannot insist only on issues related to abortion, gay marriage and the use of contraceptive methods. This is not possible. I have not spoken much about these things, and I was reprimanded for that. But when we speak about these issues, we have to talk about them in a context. The teaching of the church, for that matter, is clear and I am a son of the church, but it is not necessary to talk about these issues all the time. 

 The dogmatic and moral teachings of the church are not all equivalent. The church’s pastoral ministry cannot be obsessed with the transmission of a disjointed multitude of doctrines to be imposed insistently. Proclamation in a missionary style focuses on the essentials, on the necessary things: this is also what fascinates and attracts more, what makes the heart burn, as it did for the disciples at Emmaus. We have to find a new balance; otherwise even the moral edifice of the church is likely to fall like a house of cards, losing the freshness and fragrance of the Gospel. The proposal of the Gospel must be more simple, profound, radiant. It is from this proposition that the moral consequences then flow.

I love this idea that we should focus on sharing a "simple, profound, radiant" Gospel, and everything else will fall into place. I have found Pope Francis's emphasis on simplicity and the preferential option for the poor to be extremely heartening, and cannot wait to see what his papacy holds for the world.

Have you read anything inspirational lately?

Mrs. Boucher's Snickerdoodles

Alan brilliantly suggested baking cookies this weekend.  When he asked what my favorite cookies are, I immediately responded, "Snickerdoodles!"  My family has an old recipe for them that we've been using since my dad's childhood, when he got the recipe from his kind neighbor, Mrs. Boucher.  She had him start to write out the recipe in his child's handwriting, and then helped him out to write the rest of the directions.  I love that my mom still pulls out the soft, worn, ripped sheets of paper to reference the recipe.

So, when Alan and I decided that we were going to make snickerdoodles, I immediate texted my mom to ask for the recipe, because no other would do!  We were entertained that my iPhone wanted to autocorrect to "snicker doodles," which we imagined to be excessive chortling while drawing.

I love cooking and baking with Alan, because we somehow always manage to break down laughing over something silly, and the results are always tasty.  This was a particularly exciting baking experience because we got to use his fancy stand mixer--so jealous!

I was pleased with how our snickerdoodles turned out, just as good as the ones from my childhood (and, my father's childhood).  We had to experiment with the baking time a little to get the chewiness just right--too much, and they get crunchy; too little, and they are still doughy inside.  Then again, I'm a little picky about cookie consistency, tending to prefer cookies on the chewy/doughy side.

I hope you try out this recipe!  The cinnamon will make your kitchen smell decidedly autumnal.  Mrs. Boucher's recipe requires no alterations, but some clarifications of my own are included in parentheses.

Snickerdoodles for Dale from Mrs. Boucher

Mix together thoroughly...
1 C. soft shortening
1 1/2 C. sugar
2 eggs

Sift together and stir in...
2 3/4 C. sifted flour
2 tsp. cream of tartar
1 tsp. (baking) soda
1/2 tsp. salt

Chill dough (1 hour).

Roll into balls the size of small walnuts (1-2 tbsp., depending on how big a cookie you prefer).

Roll in mixture of 2 tbsp. sugar and 2 tsp. cinnamon. (Trader Joe's organic sugar is a little too coarse for this; you'd be better off with a more finely granulated sugar to get it to stick well.)

Bake 2 inches apart on an ungreased sheet.  Bake till lightly brown but still soft.

400° - 8-10 minutes - 5 dozen snickerdoodles.