I am the Decider

Despite not needing another reminder of how differences can separate us, I dare to focus on yet another divide. The very act of decision making cruelly separates the ever ‘peace-loving’ human race into two camps: “That’ll do” and “Is this the best?”

I have learned that there is a pseudo-scientific term for this decision divide: “satisficer” and “maximizer.” A satisficer has a set of criteria and if something meets that criteria, he or she is satisfied and takes action or chooses that option.

A maximizer, on the other hand, comes up with a list of criteria and when he or she matches it that may not be enough. A maximizer wants to not only find a choice that works but the BEST choice that matches the list of criteria – and this can take a while and a bit more stress.

But for a maximizer the extra time and stress eliminates later stress and regret of “what if?” that exists without the extra search.

Somehow satisficers do not suffer from this alternatives remorse. I would like to say us maximizers (yes I fall into this camp) find the greatest choice—not just the best—most of the time, but maybe that is just something to say to make myself feel better for that extra stress and time my neurosis causes, and infects others with.

But secretly I question whether it is worth it? It may be that this extra agony, providing even greater choice than “works for me” lowers the overall enjoyment of life. Psychologist Barry Schwartz has coined this the “paradox of choice.” In his estimation the more choices we have, the more dissatisfied and unhappy we are. It is certainly an interesting theory and think it is worth the watch (as have more than 3 million other people.)

I agree with this theory for the most part, except I still think I would rather face the dissatisfaction of too many choices than the constraints of no choice at all.

My paralysis of choice or maximizing tendencies also stem from an additional element of concern about “missing out.” It is not only the risk that the choice you make out of many may not be the best because there are so many other possibilities. For me there is almost a fleeting sense of mourning for the experience I am missing through my choice. Making choices closes doors and opens others; but my thoughts linger on those closed doors. And that is perhaps the source of dissatisfaction as opposed to the choice itself.

So I am working on welcoming the present and thinking less about ‘what if.’

But what is always best of course is not having to make a choice at all (but not because you only have one option).

“Wolde ye bothe eate your cake, and haue your cake?” Yes, thank you, I think I will. (Even in this saying we apparently have a choice).

Here is the best of both egg worlds–well at least for those of us that like runny eggs and melted cheese 🙂

 

Sunny Side Up Eggs Omelet

1 serving

• Two eggs
• Cheese – a lighter drier cheese like Parmesan is probably best, although cheddar also works.
• Green onions, diced tomatoes or any veggie – but in moderation, maybe only a sprinkling of each and diced
• Salt and pepper to taste

1)   Place a small bit of olive oil in the pan on medium heat

2)   Crack 2 eggs into the pan, followed relatively quickly by diced toppings sprinkled around the yolk, so more in the white part.

3)   After the eggs have firmed up a bit, sprinkle cheese on top and cover for 30 seconds.

4)   Cheese should be melted and eggs should be done. Sprinkle some salt and pepper (could add some yummy fresh herbs too at this point like basil or thyme) on top et voila!

Sit no more, ladies & gents, Sit nor more; Chairs were deceivers ever…

Everyday billions of people shorten their lives through one simple act that doesn’t involve a vehicle (but can) and something we have been doing since we were six-months old.

Sitting.

Sitting to eat. Sitting to read. Sitting to tippity-tap at our computers. Sitting to have a meeting and another one and another one. Sitting to read a book; drive a car; drink a cup of coffee; talk on the phone.

The studies have been piling up and pouring out of magazines, online pubs and probably even your mother’s voice on the phone: sitting for long periods of time causes health problems and weight gain by changing your metabolism, giving you bad circulation and weakening your muscles. Plus, the studies show that the hour you spend exercising daily (wink, wink) does not sufficiently offset the tens of hours of sitting.

Oh, sitting makes you stupider and sluggish as well, requiring you to imbibe your fourth cup of coffee, saccharine Diet Coke or, horrors, 5-Hour Energy. That stuff is just wretched. These articles in the New York Times, Men’s Health, and Wired are just a few of the examples of the recent focus on getting people to stand and move more during the day.

All of these harbingers of health agree that just moving around every 20 minutes is good, but what helps to lengthen life and ward off the 2-3 pounds of average weight gain per year is a stand-up desk. Or even better a treadmill desk…but let’s not get ahead of ourselves.

For better or for worse, I have more of an acute need not to sit too long and to move around often. I got knee surgery a few years ago and my knee literally starts to hurt if I don’t move it around enough. So my knee pain on top of all of these articles have made me pine for a stand-up desk.

Alas, stand-up desks run in range of the several hundreds to a couple thousand dollars for electronic ones. I couldn’t quite bring myself to spend that kind of money on my desk, even if I could join the ranks of other stand-up desk greats including Ernest Hemingway, Thomas Jefferson, Leonardo DaVinci, Benjamin Franklin, Vladimir Nabokov and Winston Churchill. Churchill lived to be 90, and you know that the drinking, cigars and stress couldn’t have been the reason for that (although standing didn’t appear to do much for his weight.)

Excuse the mess

Plus paying that much money for the simple act of raising your keyboard and mouse pad higher seemed to go against my cheap sensibilities. Monitors are good at swiveling if you have a flat screen. And I didn’t necessarily want to stand all day—if I really need to get something written quickly than sitting is still the best.

My solution was simple: I found some cardboard boxes that raised my keyboard and mouse to the right height and tilted my monitor.**

Voila, instant stand-up desk. When I want to sit, I remove the boxes and un-tilt the monitor.

Two boxes later and I have my stand up desk

I also was able to find the right box that allowed me to rest my complete forearm on it so I didn’t give my mouse wrist carpal tunnel. I do wonder about the ergonomics of my raised keyboard. My wrists are mostly level with my elbows but I think again finding that box at a good height with no strain at the wrists is important.

And, already being prone to plantar fasciitis (inflamed tendon that runs from toe to heel bone), I need to find some more supportive shoes to wear for my stand up desk rather fast. Some experts also suggest having one leg slightly resting on a raised object–like you would at a bar having a beer–(another box/book stack about 6-inches off the ground) to give your spine room to flex naturally.

Other suggestions: using an anti-fatigue mat, get used to standing in small stints and feel free to lean on the desk. And don’t stand for more than 90 minutes at a time. I also suggest concentrating on pulling the shoulders back even when you are standing, as it is still possible to slouch while standing.

Still in my first few weeks of using my boxy standup desk, I find I am a bit more energetic throughout the day, as others have said. I will have to wait and see about that weight loss (fingers crossed.) I can only stand for about an hour and then I have to take a brief sitting respite but hopefully I can build up the back stamina soon. I also need to find out if it is aggravating or helping my knee. I haven’t found any advice yet about standing desks and people with knee issues, although one of its popular uses is for people with back issues.

There are other non-health risks you run with this cardboard box stand up desk. First, don’t put your boxes too close to the trash can or they may get thrown away by your well-meaning midnight office cleaner, which was the unfortunate end to my first stand up desk (the mouse box was so perfect. Sigh.) Second, you may get some very strange looks from your office mates. I am sure you could make your boxes look nicer, maybe even put some nice photo collages or something on them to fit more with the office décor.

If slumming with cardboard boxes is just a bit too cheap and effortless for you, here are some other options for do-it-yourself stand up desks, including ones that involve Coke cans and hacking Ikea products.

The Ninja Standup Desk is pretty awesome too: the adjustable height desk hangs over the back of a door. It would be much better to travel with than a stack of boxes. (It will soon be on Kickstarter the crowd funding innovation site. I will write more on the crowd funding innovation phenomenon soon.)

Standing got you hungry? Here is a stand out snack that you can eat while standing up (good for the digestion):

So crunchy and sour. Up close and personal with Dilly Beans.

No Dilly Dally Chile Beans

Adapted from Eating Well Magazine July/August 2009 Quick Chile Dilly Beans

• 1/2 lbs French Green Beans (Haricots Verts) and Yellow Wax Beans (regular Green Beans ok too but not quite as tender)
• 2 cups water

• 1 cup distilled white vinegar
• 1 tablespoon salt
• 1 tablespoon coriander seeds (pickling spice fine)
• 1 teaspoon whole black peppercorns
• 1/2 teaspoon dried dill (or dill seed, or 4 fresh dill seed heads)
• 1 shallot sliced (red onion works too)
• 1-2 small fresh red chile peppers, quartered lengthwise Or 2 tsp of red pepper flakes (to spice level taste. I would say this is medium)
• 1 clove garlic, peeled and sliced lengthwise
  

  Dilly beans will light the way! Normally used for the green bean season, I can’t resist them at any time of year.

Bring the 2 cups of water to a boil. Throw in beans for 3-4 minutes. Take out with slotted spoon and put in ice bath. Put vinegar, salt, coriander, and peppercorns in boiling water. Let cook for 5 minutes. Let cool for 10 minutes. Stand Up beans in a sealable jar (or BPA free tupperware as I used but jar is better.) Put in dill, shallots, chile peppers and garlic. Pour vinegar mixture over the beans. Let it cool to room temperature and then stick in the refrigerator. Let sit for one day and then consume. Outstanding!

** The monitor could be raised by a box too if needed.

Metro Oasis II: Beyond the Thunderdome

In a follow up to my Metro Oasis blog entry last fall. Here is an interesting story from Climate Progress on Medellin, Columbia’s use of their metro system to bring social and environmental sustainability:

The system saves 175,000 tons of C02 every year, the equivalent of planting 380,000 trees that would occupy 11% of the city’s land mass.  Metro calculates that it saves the city $1.5 billion in respiratory health costs every year, and $4 billion in reduced traffic accidents and congestion. …

Prior to the development of the metro cable system, residents of the “favelas” (squatter communities along the mountainside) had to brave a treacherous journey down the mountainside, which could take hours on foot or infrequent and unreliable buses. Getting basic access to commerce, education, healthcare, and other necessities could take all day — sometimes making it impossible for people of these communities.

Also out recently was an interesting report, The Life and Death of Urban Highways from the Institute for Transportation & Development, on how cities are starting to tear out the popular 1960’s-70’s “urban highways” like they are bad shag carpet.

While the following report is about urban highways, more importantly, it is about cities and people. It is about community vision and the leadership required in the twenty-first century to overcome the demolition, dislocation, and disconnection of neighborhoods caused by freeways in cities.

Money of course and the billions it will cost to fix these half-a-century old structures is often a catalyst for these cities to rethink these divisive thruways. What is encouraging is the lower cost alternatives that cities are choosing to replace the crumbling freeways are often walkable communities, bike paths and public transportation.

These types of infrastructure decisions not only cost less but provide additional benefits. One Slate article recently even argued that building the right houses and communities that people want–“smaller homes on smaller lots in walkable, service-rich, transit-oriented communities“–would answer pent up demand in the housing market place and actually help salvage the economy.

As the United States takes a very hard look at its own crumbling infrastructure and incessant potholes, including reauthorizing federal funding for Highway and Transportation for the next 5 years, holistic considerations must be top of mind: How can the billions of dollars these upgrades are going to cost also benefit the lives and health of their citizens beyond the roads, making the best use of our limited funds?

This of course includes the suburbs, whose residents count as urban in demographics but whose infrastructure is too often ignored. And as a resident of the suburbs for the foreseeable future (see previous Metro Oasis entry on sacrifices for love): Hey urban planners and architects out there, the real frontier these days might just be a revamp of the not-really-planned sprawl boonies.

The same philosophy of creating pathways and connections between communities should apply to the metropolis’ outer rings as well. While there is good work focused on urban-style pockets of housing communities in the suburbs, no neighborhood should be an island–so to speak–and this solution doesn’t address the suburban housing stock already built since the 1950s. The suburbs should not be bisected and surrounded on all sides with highways and roads that are passable by automobiles only.

There is good economic potential if suburban residents could conveniently get to that awesome, non-chain pub in the next subdivision by a nice 20 min bike ride or a slightly longer walk (or dare I even mention light rail between these places?) A charming, unique establishment is much preferable to the TGIF in the strip mall if there is no potential of getting caught in an unpredictable traffic jam on the interstate. (Really 3:00 pm on a Saturday?)

I realize in this I am ignoring the public transportation vehicle that is The Bus, which does in fact reach these different locales, although still also has the potential of getting caught in the traffic jam. But until these mass transit step-children can get a better schedule (psst bus only lanes) and come more frequently, they are not a favorable alternative to getting around in a car if those are your only two choices.

People will not stop using their cars if there is no other way to get around. This is a budget “chicken & egg” conundrum and city councils may not think they have the money to take a risk at this point. But continuing to refill the potholes and build more roads for cars to fill up–choosing the devil you know as a friend would say–is this any less risky or costly than alternatives that may also offer the chance of multiple benefits (health, new commerce, environment) for the cost of one project ?

Here’s a recipe for a Chicken or Egg Salad Sandwich I put together to chew the question over:

Do you like the chicken or the egg better? A question for the philosophers

Philosophy 101: Chicken or the Egg Salad Sandwich (makes 2)

• 2 cups Roast, Poached or otherwise Cooked Chicken
• 1 soft-boiled egg (add another if you like it really eggy!)
• 1.5 Tbs Dijon Mustard
• 1 Tbs Plain non-fat Greek Yogurt
• Dash of hot sauce or add 1/4 tsp of paprika if you like it spicy — or more
• 1/2 cup chopped celery — top of the stalks and leaves preferable
• 2 tsp squeezed lemon juice
• 1 tsp chopped parsley (optional)
• 1 tsp chopped red or green onion (optional)
• 1 Tbs chopped walnuts (optional although definitely recommended)
• A lovely multigrain bread toasted and your favorite greens (argula and/or romaine add a nice spice and crunch)
• If you want to currify it (which is also quite tasty) add 2 tsp of curry and 1/4 cup of cut grapes

On the Question of Gratitude – Part II

Well…experiment over.

My month of gratitude I blogged about in November sadly did not result in a more constant state of happiness.

Granted, I maybe did it during what I thought was a good time of year —the holidays—but that was probably incorrect. The holidays are quite fun regardless and are not like the rest of the year, what with the family and presents and all. That probably skewed the data. It certainly distracted me from keeping up the gratitude list…and my blog.

So I might try the list again in the doldrums some time later this year for a more scientific result.

But being grateful is exhausting. My general character default setting of yearning for something different, and ignorantly better, ends up making me feel guilty a lot of the time if I am trying to be grateful for what I have. While perhaps grateful in a subtle way, in the end, I guess I find it insufficient and not enough to overwhelm my “wandering eyes.” And then I feel guilty for not really feeling thankful even though I have identified these great parts of my life.

Aside from my warped issues of guilt and anxiety, I did observe a couple of other interesting things during my little experiment.

Looking over my list, I find that I was often grateful to and for “things” rather than people per se, although it sometimes did involve some thing that someone gave me. I am not sure what that says about me. I know it can’t be the people around me. That is another thing I had a light bulb about during this little experiment: I filled my life full of wonderful people. The list definitely made that clear.

And not really surprising it was usually small things like doors being held or a smile or a ride that made the list.

I’m afraid gratitude is still not a reflex. Yet I think I am a little more aware or at least am making side notes in my brain when something would qualify for the list. So all is not lost.

I guess in the end I would classify myself as a mouse.

‘Cause if you give a mouse a cookie, he is going to ask for a glass of milk.

Ahh fond childhood memories

 

 

 

Listful Chocolate Chip Cookies

mmmm chocolate chip cookie

(Made with apple sauce, dark chocolate, walnuts and a bit of whole wheat flour to relieve some guilt but still get a yummy, satisfying taste. If you are a normal, carefree human I suggest Toll House Chocolate Chip Cookie recipe, which this is adapted from and I ate growing up. But still use dark chocolate chips…so yummy!)

• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/4 cup whole wheat flour
• 1 1/2 tsp of baking powder
  

  Or in this case a glass of soymilk...what have I become?

• 3/4 tsp of salt
• 1/2 cup of apple sauce
• 3/4 cup packed brown sugar
• 1/4 cup softened butter
• 1 Tbs vanilla extract
• 1 large egg
• 1 cup of dark chocolate chips
• 1/2 cup of chopped walnuts

You know the drill. Preheat oven to 375o. Cream the butter and sugar. Add wet ingredients. Premix dry if you are feeling virtuous, otherwise just toss the dry ingredients in, with the baking powder in last. Bake in oven about 10 minutes. Be grateful for warm, delicious and almost nutritious chocolate chip cookies!

On the Question of Gratitude

I have a lot to be thankful for and I have decided I should be more grateful for the good things in my life.

But then I think – if I am too grateful will I get complacent about it? I mean if I am in a constant state of being thankful for what I have, what will make me want to do, learn or strive for anything more?

My “zero sum” framing of gratitude and ambition is severely hampering my happiness I fear.

According to an interesting article in The New York Times published just before Thanksgiving, “Cultivating an “attitude of gratitude” has been linked to better health, sounder sleep, less anxiety and depression, higher long-term satisfaction with life and kinder behavior toward others, including romantic partners.”

The study of gratitude and other things that make people happy is part of a recent focus in mental health called “positive psychology.” Several studies in this field have extolled the benefits of gratitude to improving stress, boosting the immune system and generally being a happier human being.

The most famous example of this new emphasis on happiness is The Royal Government of Bhutan’s official decision in 2005 to measure the prosperity of its people by Gross National Happiness and not by Gross Domestic Product, which only measures the economic well being of a country. People in Vermont, of course, are attempting to do the same here. I most sincerely wish them luck.

Studies finding that wealth and happiness are not related, and that multi-millionaires are often not any happier than the rest of us, have certainly made headlines in the past decade. This study found that the Irish and the middle class were on average the happiest people on Earth (of course, this study was cited from an article in 2006.)

Since I skew towards the never-quite-satisfied side and not the grateful-for-the-moment side, I have decided it is time to make a conscience effort to boost my gratitude level. I figured Thanksgiving is a fine time to implement my plan.

The New York Times article suggests a few ways of accomplishing this. One of them is to write a testimonial to someone you haven’t given proper thanks to and read it to them in person. Hmmm not quite ready for that.

Instead I am opting for writing down five things a day I am grateful for. It seems somewhat silly but I am going to try (here are a few tips.) I will report what I come away with in a month’s time.

To help start me off, it seemed like a good time for some “humble pie.” Apparently this dish was popular among 15^th and 16^th century commoners and was filled with innards such as brains, liver, heart and other organs, known as “umbles” —thus the expression. I opted for the “modernized” version. That’s one thing to be grateful for.

My mini Humble Pies

Humble Pie

(as adapted from James’s Humble Pie)

• 1 lb of chuck blade steak (or any other stew like beef)* cut into ½ inch chunks
• ½ can (about ½ cup) of White Kidney Beans (my nod to the dish’s humble origins, cuts the amount of meat originally called for, helps thicken it and  adds some good fiber!)
• ½ Yellow Onion, chopped
• 1 Carrot, sliced
• 1 Turnip cubed
• ½ Red Bell Pepper, diced
• 1 cup Beef stock
• 1 cup whole, peeled low-sodium Tomatoes or Diced Tomatoes with juice (about ½ can)
• 3 tsps of minced garlic (about 2 cloves or whatever level of garlicky flavor you like)
• 2 tsps  of Paprika or Cayenne Pepper (again I defer to your spiciness level)
• 1 tsp ground black pepper (to taste)
• 1 tsp of salt (to taste)
• 1 sprig of fresh thyme chopped or ½ tsp of dried thyme*
• 1 teaspoon of fresh rosemary chopped or ½ tsp dried rosemary*
• 2 leaves of sage (about ½ teaspoon)
• 1 bay leaf* (the herbs are mix and match as you like)
• 3 tsps of corn starch mixed with 3 tbs of water
• 1 9-inch pie dough top

Humble Pie ready to be eaten, with some extra gratitude points for garlic-olive oil spinach.

1) Preheat oven to 375o. In a pot brown the beef. Set aside. 2) Caramelize onions (cook gently until translucent and brown in color–you can skip this if you want but it sure adds taste), then add the rest of the vegetables and beans. Cook until veggies are tender and then add meat back. 3) Add stock, tomato juice, herbs and spices. Stir and let simmer for about an hour, or until the beef is tender and falling apart. 4) Stir in corn starch and water mixture to thicken it. Let cook 5 more minutes. 5) Remove and let cool. I put mine in serving size bowls but you can put in a 9-inch pie dish or any other shallow baking dish that a pie crust can cover. It was also easier to put the small dishes in the freezer to accelerate the cooling process. 6) Pour into baking dish(es) and cover with pie crust (I just used a pre bought one. Knock yourself out of course if you want to make your’s from scratch. Probably more humble that way…)  7) Cut slits for steam and brush a scrambled egg over the top if you want to look shiny like in the magazines.  8 ) Stick into 375o oven for about 30 minutes. Voila! Finish it off by baking some Parmesan cheese on top for an extra zip (Ok maybe this should be called “Almost Humble Pie.”)

Folding–Be Gone!

Over the course of an 80-year lifespan, a person will spend about 100 days of it or more folding laundry.* Well, I protest! Shake my fists and pound my feet on the floor. I won’t do it anymore.

It seems absurd that I am going to spend that much time of my life doing something I detest when my life is already straining at the seams from the things I would like to do.

I hate folding clothes for three reasons: it is boring; it takes up a significant amount of time; and I am very bad at it. Even if I am very careful and do my best to match those corners up, my clothes remain wrinkled. And even this extra effort is undone the next time I search for something underneath it in a pile.

I know I am not alone in my frustration or poor folding skills. But folding is a Sisyphean torture that most of society is calmly willing to take it appears. A quick Google search revealed there are plenty of devices to help you fold and hang, but no inventions or strategies to dispense of this task altogether.

I also know that there are people out there who love to fold laundry and get a secret delight over crisp clean cotton corners. If you are such, read no further–this may give you a headache.

For those of us lacking OCD habits or millions in cash for maids but ideally still want to look relatively wrinkle-free on a daily basis, I have an idea to relieve us from this laundry servitude: a closet filled with rows and rows of clothing rods.

My rough sketch of my rod closet filled with clothing rods instead of shelves. I apologize for my lack of artistic skills.

Over these rows of clothing rods, I could just lay my shirts, pants and skirts, happy as you like, in less than 2 seconds. No more fumbling to get pants off hangers or attempts to grab the black shirt at the bottom of the pile, only to have the other shirts on top left in disarray. Just lift those shirts up, grab the black shirt and quickly lay the other shirts back down again. I hate hanging clothes on hangers, but I would keep dresses and jackets on them, as that is probably important for their shape.

Having rows of rods would also be a good way for me to keep the floor of my room clean–um–er and use up a few less of the planet’s resources. I sometimes have clothes that can be worn again but they often end up in the laundry anyway because I don’t feel like folding and putting them away again.

My research on how we ended up with our modern closets dominated by shelves and hangers uncovered very little. Most people just had chests, trunks or stand-alone wardrobes because they had so few clothes and, well, because the British had to pay a tax on every room in the house (we are talking about the 99 percent here.) Built-in closets didn’t really become popular until after World War II and the rise of 20^th century America, yet there is no real explanation why folding persisted. Limited space is clearly a significant reason, but just accepting folding as the only answer seems a bit uncreative to me.

A brief attempt to use an on-line custom closet service to design my own closet filled only with rods also ended in frustration as all the options included shelves or just single racks and designing from scratch is definitely not in the budget.

So for now my rod-filled closet will remain a sketch on the shelf and my closet in disarray.

I guess my only hope is this folding technique, also referred to as the Japanese t-shirt folding technique. I was shocked when a search on YouTube turned up video after video of this pinch-pinch-uncross-your-arms technique, which I had never seen or heard of before.

Who knows? This could be the folding equivalent of washing machines–cutting down on time spent on the maintenance of our wardrobe even more so we can use our time on more productive (or at least more fun) things.

No such fast technique for pants though, or ironing… Don’t get me started on that activity.

*This number was calculated based on a study by a laundry and cleaning company that found a mother will spend 5 months of her life doing her child’s laundry until the age of 18. This also included the pre-treating, washing and well children. So then I estimated that I spent about an hour folding laundry every 10 days and that I didn’t do laundry until I was 5 years old at least and calculated about 112 days [~36–10 day chunks in a year. (36 x 75)/24=112.5 days]. I rounded down to be on the safe side. No one else has bothered to calculate this that I could find. Yet another supporting fact that no one has bothered to advance thinking beyond folding clothes.

Vermont Autumn Foliage Inspired Salad

Beautiful foliage near Montpelier

Beautiful vistas of red and yellow tinged trees, perfect weather and the end of the growing season can inspire many things: poetry, hiking, paintings and salad.

I had the very good fortune to spend a few days in Montpelier, Vermont, recently, just as the world famous autumn leaves were beginning to show their colors.

Those glorious burning reds, golds and fading greens set against blue sky with white clouds dashing across did wonders for my urban inspired stress and fatigue, as did the company of wonderful, soul-nurturing friendship.

They also gave my taste buds a little inspiration. For our last lunch I put together a lovely, easy pick-me-up salad— fresh yellow corn, red pear and blue cheese. The salad was a nice twist and fresh taste to add to our yummy leftovers from the previous night’s dinner prepared by my hosts. An ideal and tasty way to end a gorgeous autumn day filled with friends, family and foliage.

Fall foliage inspired salad

Fall Foliage Salad

Serves 4-6

• 3 ears of cooked yellow corn on the cob
• 1 medium sized red Anjou pear, on the crunchy, unripened side
• 1/3 cup of blue cheese crumbles – freshly crumbled from the block is best, use whatever your favorite type is. (If you are not a fan of blue cheese, goat cheese would probably be good as well.)
• Fresh ground pepper
• ¼ cup of roasted pine nuts (optional) – to roast just throw them in a sauté pan on medium-high heat , shake them every 30 seconds or so for a few minutes until golden brown.
• 1 Tbs of Basil julienned (optional)

Slice the corn from the cob (a perfect time to use leftover corn from last night’s dinner.) Core pear and slice into bite size pieces. Gently mix corn and pear in a bowl. Throw in blue cheese (and pine nuts if adding.) Grind pepper on top to taste (mine was about 1/2 teaspoon) and sprinkle with basil if adding. There should be enough salt from the cheese but feel free to add more if you want to.

An Ode to (noble) Instant Ramen

Styrofoam encircled, salty life-saving goodness, of thee I sing.

Ramen*, or instant ramen to be exact, is that food I hate to love—a tasty and quick meal to make but oh so poor on the nutrition scale. The anniversary of the invention of this marvel of the mid-20th century was last week.

Instant ramen is most associated with a lack of money or lack of cooking skills. This is not entirely divorced from its original and–dare I say–noble purpose.

Ando Momofuku-san (Wu Pai-fu),** a Taiwanese-Japanese businessman, invented the easy-to-make dish in 1958 to feed a hungry Japanese population after World War II. The returning soldiers and their families had grown accustomed to Chinese “la mian” (hand-pulled noodles) during their occupation but couldn’t afford even the somewhat modestly priced meal or couldn’t wait for the long preparation of the original soup made from bone-based (or miso-based depending on the region) broth and fresh noodles. Momofuku sought a way to shorten this process.

Momofuku also believed that satisfying hunger could solve many of the problems the world faced.

Peace will come when people have food.

Eating wisely will enhance beauty and health.

The creation of food will serve society.

Makes instant ramen look downright saintly.

More than 85 billion packs of ramen are consumed every year. Instant ramen was voted the greatest Japanese invention of the 20^th century. It is hard to appreciate in the United States how convenient and easy instant ramen is elsewhere–especially in China, where hot water dispensers are ubiquitous to quickly fill your styrofoam cup, whether on the train or waiting at the bus station or sitting on a park bench.

Ando Momofuku lived to the ripe old age of 96 (died in 2007) and supposedly ate a bowl of ramen every day.

In this new century we know that we must not only fill stomachs, but fill them with something nutritious as well. Let’s hope the invention of “nutritious” and delicious instant ramen is just around the corner. ‘Cause let’s face it those other instant “healthy” soup mixes just do not hit the spot (and really aren’t that much lower in sodium.)

Till such a marvelous event takes place, here is what I like to do with ramen, which is especially satisfying when you are feeling ill, and at least makes it somewhat more nutritious—for those of us that can’t imagine that we can eat a pack of ramen everyday and live to see 96 (1,640 mg of sodium, 12 grams of fat–6 grams of which come from the noodles because they are flash fried to get them to that desiccated state. That was Momofuku’s brilliant invention–and I am not saying that sarcastically.)

Semi-nutritious ramen

Makes 2 servings

• Boil the contents of a can of low-sodium chicken broth or 2 cups of homemade chicken broth. Add a dash of water, as you will boil off some of the water when cooking the noodles.
  
• Chop up : Two choices —  A) 1 small clove of garlic, a sprig of rosemary, half a carrot and a celery stalk. OR B) chop up 1 small clove of garlic, one thumb sized piece of ginger and half a carrot. Add A or B to broth.
• When broth comes to a boil, open ramen noodle package and throw in noodles. Be careful not to dump that shiny, aluminum or clear plastic package of crystallized chemicals into the broth as well. You can just throw that out (or if you are a hoarder, save it for another day when you need chicken broth and none is around.)
• Cook for 3 minutes. Turn off burner.
•  You can (and really should) add greens at this point, especially if you are doing the B version. Any type will do including green leaf lettuce which actually adds a touch of sweet crunch. If you are the measuring type, maybe half a cup but really it is up to you how much you want.
  
• Cover pot and wait another 2 minutes to let noodles really blossom into chewy goodness. Squeeze a ¼ of a lemon (optional), salt (soy sauce) and pepper to taste and serve. If you are sick be sure to eat the garlic and ginger, as both are very good for you.
  

*Ideally we could all have access to real Japanese ramen noodle soup everyday, but it is one of those foods I classify as “only makes sense really to get at a restaurant” (others include dim sum, Beijing duck and naan bread) given the amount of labor/specialized equipment needed. Alas ramen noodle restaurants are a rarity here in the U.S. If you are in New York City you should try Ippudo.

**For more on Ando Momofuku see this The Economist article.

Zucchini Coffee Cake

I love to bake. I resist following recipes. These two states of mind often do not combine for the good of the sweets order. But sometimes the two collaborate to create deliciousness.

Enter my Zucchini Coffee Cake.

I wanted coffee cake this morning. I also had a zucchini I needed to eat before it joined the vegetables that I mournfully toss because they have gone to the dark side. (I would like to compost but the BF can barely stand the potted plants I have. An under-the-sink compost is not a possibility. Ah the compromises and adaptations for love.)

I also started creaming a lovely stick of unsalted butter yesterday to make zucchini bread–before I remembered that most zucchini breads use oil and not butter.

This recipe also fulfilled another urge I often get while baking: How can I make this healthier? Sadly whole-wheat flour, wheat bran, flax seeds and oatmeal have torpedoed more than a few of my baked good experiments.

But moist, green zucchini begs for the nutty, toothsome heartiness of whole-wheat flour. I resisted adding oatmeal as this is supposed to be a cake after all.

With these parameters in mind, I dove into my Martha Stewart magazines for the coffee cake recipes I never have a chance to make. I have been a voyeur of Martha Stewart Living magazine since college; ogling those pristine photos and admiring those “maybe some day” crafts and tips for people with gorgeous houses and time. But not being one of those, I don’t get to use the recipes or tips all that much unless I purposefully go shopping for them.

This time was not exactly an exception—I had to adapt Martha’s recipe for Cardamom Streusel Coffee Cake a bit to match my desires and pantry. To balance the moisture from the zucchini, I dropped an egg from the total, contributed some whole-wheat flour and lost half-a-stick of butter. I also substituted a bit of brown sugar instead of using just white sugar and used the rest of the Greek yogurt in my fridge instead of low-fat normal yogurt. I think on-balance I ended up with a yummy, healthier coffee cake.

I omitted the streusel topping. It is a bit too much sweetness in the morning for me, but perhaps it will meet your ideal.

I ate a piece before I remembered to take a picture. Goes wonderful with coffee. Yum!

Zucchini Coffee Cake

(Adapted from Martha Stewart Living Magazine, “Cardamom Streusel Coffee Cake,” January, 2006)

Serves 10-12. Or one over a course of a day.

1 1/2  cups all-purpose flour

1 cup whole-wheat flour

1 tsp of baking powder

½ tsp baking soda

2 tsp ground cinnamon

½ tsp salt

1 stick of unsalted butter (1/2 cup) – softened

1 medium zucchini grated

1 cup sugar

¼ cup brown sugar

2 eggs

1 ¼ cups whole milk Greek yogurt

1 tsp Almond extract (Martha calls for vanilla, which is probably yummy but I didn’t have any. So I am sure either would be fine.)

Preheat oven to 350^o. Butter (spray, oil) a 10-inch cake pan.

Normally you should sift together the dry ingredients at this point. But I just tend to mix them together in the end and try to distribute them as best I can. If you’re a dutiful baker – sift flour, powder and soda.

Cream butter, then add sugar. Add eggs (best at room temp so they don’t lump up the butter again, but it is generally forgiving if you don’t.)

St. Elizabeth is the patron saint of bakers, countesses, death of children, falsely accused, the homeless, nursing services, tertiaries, widows, and young brides.

Add zucchini. Alternate adding yogurt and flour (be sure to mix in salt, soda and powder if you haven’t already). Add almond extract.

Pop into oven for 50-60 minutes, or until knife plunged into the middle comes out clean (it was about 55 min for me.)

Let cool at least 20 minutes…. I mean it. This is the hardest part for me but it is important. It really should cool completely but I realize many of us are not saints.

A real local movement

I am not an expert when it comes to international aid but it seems to me this program, Prolinnova [Promoting Local Innovation], has a lot to offer for both the developed and developing world. Developed countries have a lot of science and research, but they cannot make up for centuries of knowledge accumulated by people native to their land or who are experiencing the challenges of their particular geography everyday.

Times are changing, especially with more extreme climate change, and new science, research and technology is necessary to understand and adapt. But I think often the indigenous people can help enhance research, science and technology with the knowledge that just comes from experience and trial and error. It is also an empowering feeling to help be part of a solution that can help a person, a person’s family or even a community.

Developed countries may even possibly take a page from these organizations working in foreign countries and rethink their own farming techniques as they face similar adaptation needs but many farmers face limited budgets or access to capital. There is no need to reinvent the wheel.

The project also recognizes a significant fact: that in many countries it is the women who do most of the farming. And it is the women who are eager to learn and improve their lives.

The future holds an additional 3 billion by 2050 and we are going to need countries that are able to depend on their own resources and capacity to some extent if we are to meet the needs of this growing world.