In vino veritas: Musings while drinking

It's Saturday night, and I've had a few glasses of wine.  I've been listening to some of my favorite music and reading the headlines.  It's amazing how one can be so antithetical to the other.

My playlist includes greatness of the 80s and early 90s, including The Cure, Van Halen, Duran Duran, Depeche Mode, Berlin, Nine Inch Nails, Nirvana, Alice in Chains and Pebbles (yes, I really am that eclectic).  I am a child of the 80s and a young woman of the 90s.  I grew up in an age where I was told that the world was my oyster.  The many, many women who trailblazed the path before me left me with the indelible belief that I could be anyone, any thing I wanted to be.  I was to be as assertive/aggressive as I wanted to be.  Fuck convention.  The doors were open, and I was going through it with shit-kicker heels.

Yes, the 80s and 90s were my decades.  And the men I encountered during that time were amazing.  They loved strong women; they loved our assertiveness.  It was almost as if it were a "thank you" to the passivity of women of days past, where there was a dependency upon men to be the sole bread winner, the sole supporter of family, there was almost a sense of relief, and a feeling of equality.

I share my experiences as a woman of the mid-adlantic, Philadelphia to be more exact.  I found the men I encountered were secure enough in their masculinity to go toe-to-toe with a woman of intelligence and strength, women who embraced their sexuality and didn't shy away from it.  It really was an amazing, liberating time.

Now, I see many men - simple, insecure, petty men - who hate women for their strength, their independence, their AUTONOMY.  Their only thought is to PUNISH them.  And sadly, it is women - simple, insecure, petty women - who are aiding and abetting them in this witch hunt.  Look at Texas, Wisconsin, and North Carolina, to name a few.  Do you really think that any self-respecting woman in those states would have allowed such draconian legislation that has passed to have passed?  Hell to the NO!

A REAL MAN, YES I SAID IT, A REAL MAN, does not feel threatened by equal protection under the law for women.  A REAL MAN will hold women to the same standards and rights to which he is entitled to under the law.  A REAL MAN does not hold himself sovereign over a women; he welcomes her as his partner and equal.  A REAL MAN does not dominate, but looks to his partner for guidance.  A REAL MAN does not feel threatened when challenged intellectually.  Take a look at our current Congress.  How many fail the aforementioned criteria laid forth?

Bring it.  All comments welcome.

Congratulations, Texas! You have pushed this mom into action!

Holy fucking crank dancing christ on a cracker!  

I've been following the craziness that passes for governing in the Texas legislature, particularly the ongoing efforts to return women to the status of brood mares and chattel.  Thank jeebus for Wendy Davis, who with grit and determination, stood up to the neanderthals, both male and female, who were working to set women's health back 50 years.

Wendy Davis' efforts were noble, if somewhat quixotic.

Fast forward:  new legislation offered to restrict women's reproductive health choices and treatment.  Passed by said neanderthals in the Texas legislature.

Not being satisfied with the draconian legislation outlawing abortions after 20 weeks and effectively shutting down all but 5 women's health clinics that provide abortion services, three Texas refuckingpublicans have proffered the following:

Texas Legislators File Radical ‘Fetal Heartbeat’ Bill To Ban Abortion After Just Six Weeks

I am so sick of these bastards.  They are not pro-life; they are anti-women forced-birthers who see women as nothing more than breeding vessels.  As Randi Rhodes says, they love the fetus and hate the child, and the mother for that matter.  They are using The Handmaid's Tale as a guidebook.

This goes beyond trying to impose their moral view of pregnancy and life begins at conception philosophy on the rest of Texas; they are interfering with the medical decisions that ultimately have to be made between a woman and her healthcare provider with regards to any pregnancy.  What will they demand next?  Will they get to dictate diet during pregnancy?  How many times a woman can pee in a day while pregnant?  Whether or not a woman can take a Tum's for heartburn or use Preparation H for the hemmoroids?  What about pre-eclampsia - can that be treated or is it "God's will" as well and shouldn't be interfered with?

These morally repugnant assholes are DANGEROUS to women's health and the independence and autonomy of the individual that they claim to love.  The people of Texas, both the women and the men who love and respect them, and the rest of us, need to get on this and get LOUD!

The Power of Cooking

I love eating out.  I love seeing how someone else interprets dishes.  I love seeing and tasting the creativity of local chefs.  I love being culinarily challenged.  I love restaurants.

Except chain restaurants.  I hate chain restaurants.

Now, granted, I didn't always maintain this position.  In fact, I will admit that there was something comforting about the consistency and predictability of chain restaurants.  I always knew what I was getting.

Then, something changed.

I became middle aged, and my digestive system was not going to put up with that crap anymore.

The lovely greasy, salty, high fat items that I adored in my youth now waged war against me.  Too much salt?  I'm a puffer fish for 3 days.  Too much grease?  I've got the runs the next day.  Too much spice?  Assburn, 'nuff said.

Many/most chain restaurants rely very heavily upon salt, preservatives and flavor enhancers to maintain consistency.  To their credit, many of the chains are trying to offer healthy/low fat/low calorie alternatives.  But, again, the sodium content of these items is way off the charts of a healthy diet.  And if you're sodium sensitive like me, low calories don't matter if you end up retaining a ton of water.

So, I cook a lot more at home.  I've always loved to cook, and recently, I've come to a very eye-opening conclusion:

My cooking is better than, at a minimum, 95% of the restaurants within a 5 mile radius of my house.

For example:  tonight, I made Chicken with 40 Cloves of Garlic.  I used organic chicken, olive oil, a little butter, thyme, bay leaf, white wine, chicken broth, salt and pepper, all items that are readily available.  It was fucking fantastic!   The flavors were bright, rich and savory without being heavy.  Served along side was haricots verts (tender young green beans) that I steamed in the microwave with olive oil, salt and pepper.  The whole meal took 45 minutes to make, and rocked the house with the hubby and the kiddos.

No restaurant anywhere near me offers this, and if they did, I would put mine up against theirs in a heartbeat.

And it was better than any takeout I could have ordered from a restaurant near my home, most of which are chains.

Cooking at home doesn't have to be complex or time consuming to be good.  As I stated, my Chicken with 40 Cloves of Garlic took 45 minutes to make.  And I know every ingredient I put in it and where it came from.  There is power behind that.  And the ability to feed my family amazing food with simple ingredients on a budget makes me proud.

So, skip the take out.  You can make it better and cheaper than what the restaurants offer.  And here's the recipe to start you off:

Chicken with 40 Cloves of Garlic

40 cloves of garlic

2 Tbsp olive oil

5 Tbsp butter, total

1 3-4 pound chicken, cut into 8 pieces, washed and patted dry (two drumsticks, two thighs, two wings, two breasts)

salt and pepper to taste

1/2 tsp. dried thyme

1 bay leaf

1/2 c. dry white wine

1 c. chicken broth (homemade or low-sodium canned)

Suggested sides:  Fresh green beans, crusty french bread

Place garlic cloves in a large bowl.  Cover with boiling water and let steep for 10 minutes.

While garlic is steeping, heat olive oil and 1 Tbsp. of butter in a large sautee pan or dutch oven over medium high heat.  Season chicken pieces with salt and pepper and place skin side down in pan/dutch oven.  Do not crowd.  Brown the chicken on all sides adjusting heat as necessary to prevent burning and/or smoking.  Once chicken pieces are browned, spread the garlic cloves around the chicken pieces. add the thyme and bay leaf and a splash of the garlic water used for steeping.  Cover, reduce heat to medium low and cook the chicken for 35-40 minutes or until juices run clear when pierced with a fork.

Remove chicken and garlic from pan.  Add the wine, scraping up any browned bits from the bottom of the pan.  Reduce the liquid by half, then add the chicken broth.  Continue to simmer and reduce to 3/4 cup.  Remove from heat, and swirl in the remaining butter.  Pour some of the sauce over the chicken and garlic and serve the rest on the side.

Happy Cooking!

Okay, so it's been a while since I've posted.  I'm really, REALLY new to this whole blogging thing, plus with moving, husband, children, school, life, etc., etc., I have been woefully negligent in this blogging endeavor.

So, take 2.

I will try to be more regular with posts (if anyone out there cares).  This is more for my thoughts and observations than anything else.

So, at first, I thought I wanted to start a food blog.  Food and cooking are a passion for me.  Sure, I'll talk about food and new ingredients and culinary experiences that I have.  But, I think I want this to be more.  I want it to be the ramblings of a nearly 50 YO woman who has some things to say about what's going on locally and globally.  I have a POV that not everyone may agree with, and I welcome civilized, intelligent and polite discourse.  Let me repeat those adjectives:  CIVILIZED, INTELLIGENT and POLITE.  Anyone who deviates from these three basic rules will be subjected to a verbal tirade that would make Les Grossman blush (all the really cool people will get this reference).

So, dear readers, let's try this again.  Welcome to my world.  Wine optional, but recommended.

Aaaaannnnnd, here we go!

Greetings and salutations to one and all!  Welcome to Zombie Saguaros!

At this point, I'm sure you're saying, "WTF?"  And, quite frankly, I don't blame you.  Allow me to esplain'...

I am starting a new chapter of my life in a few days, relocating from small town New Mexico to Tucson, AZ.  From what I have already experienced in the Old Pueblo, I am quite excited by this new chapter in my life.  We will be "Tucsonans" (is that the right way to say it?) for the next 5-7 years, and I am looking forward to a new glut of adventures in the Grand Canyon State.

So, by now you're thinking, "Why, that's great, DesertMom, but what's with the really weird blog name?"  So glad you asked!  On one of our reconnaissance missions to Tucson, we discovered many saguaros that were, shall we say, less than healthy.  There was clearly a deterioration of cactus flesh going on, so naturally we assumed...zombies had taken them over!  Zombie saguaros, to be exact!  And zombies, both human and saguaro kind, need to eat.  Thus, the natural thought process came to "Food Blog!"  Brilliant, is it not?

So, I hope to share with you, dear reader, my culinary (mis)adventures, and come what may, as I Forrest Gump my way through my new life in Tucson.

Let's go and have fun, dammit!