Daily Archives: May 7, 2006

Indigenous Solidarity Quesadillas with Irish Cheese and Maque Choux, contributed by DuctapeFatwa


Posted by katiebird

You can make these with flatbread, naan, roti, traditional flour tortillas or any of the new “wraps.” Some of the latter come in various flavors and low carb versions as well as whole grain. I would not recommend injera unless you make it special, because in the usual form it is too soft and floppy.

Once you have selected the base for your quesadilla, obtain some Irish cheese and grate it. Irish are the indigenous people of the British Isles, so using Irish cheese in your quesadilla is a nice way to salute Europe and show solidarity.

Cut up an onion (Sufi chop) and a sweet bell chile in any color. Put a pan on the fire, add a bit of olive oil, when it is hot, add your chopped vegetables and let them cook but not all the way. Take some out and spread them onto your tortillas or whatever you are using, add your grated Irish cheese, fold over, wrap in alumininum foil and put inside the heated oven section of your fire source.

Now make maque choux: That is essentially what those bags of “Authentic Mexican” vegetable medleys of corn, black beans, sweet chiles, etc. are. This is a traditional Native American dish that is very easy to make. Just dump some in the pan with what is left of your onions etc, and add a bit of African cayenne, chopped habaneros, jalapenos, all or none, depending on how much flavor you wish your maque choux to have. Add a bit of garlic, some cumin seeds and a tiny whisper of cinnamon. Let it all cook for a while as the quesadillas bake.

Some like them to be soft, some like the bread a bit crispy, so take them out sooner for soft, as soon as cheese is melted, Put your maque choux on top, and dribble salsa around them.

If you want a very pretty look, alternate drops of red and green salsas to celebrate Mexico.

You can also top the maque choux with chopped tomatoes if you have good ones.

This is a good way to get in a serving of vegetables, and depending on your bread substance, a minimum of evil white carbs.

Serve with little bowls of chopped pungent chiles, chunks of avocado, chopped cilantro so diners can customize their quesadillas.


E4T Fruit & Veg Bar. I’m off to Price Chopper’s Farmer’s Market


Posted by katiebird

My relationship to fruits and vegetables has changed dramatically since I discovered the true size of a serving. I think that I was picturing eating 3 or 4 buckets of vegetables, but it isn’t really necessary to eat that much. A serving is about the amount of fruit or vegetable that fits in your cupped hand.

One of our local grocery stores recently completed a major expansion and their produce department is now almost as big as a Walmart (mentioned for size comparison only) with a selection that’s even bigger than that at Whole Foods. So for my Sunday outing, I’m going to go take a look.

I’ll let you know what (if anything) I’ve bought when I get back. Do you have enough fruit and vegetables for your week?

And has anyone tried Ductape’s chocolate trick?


May 7, 2006 – Just 4 Today


Posted by katiebird

It seems like everyday there are things left over from yesterday that I meant to do. Yesterday, I meant to get something done for a certain website and I didn’t.k I also didn’t do anything on my secret project.

But, Just 4 Today, I will. Just 4 Today, I’ll get to work on that website and do something with my secret project and drink 2 liters of water and walk 3 miles.

I will.

What are you going to do today?


Marshmallows and successful weight control


Posted by katiebird

I’m not going to eat between meals and I’m not going to take seconds. Just today. And I’m going to try this for a year to see what happens.

I was reading an editorial in the New York Times by David Brooks (Marshmallows and Public Policy) which I can’t link to because the online editorials require a paid subscription. But here are the bits that got me thinking:

Around 1970, Walter Mischel launched a classic experiment. He left a succession of 4-year-olds in a room with a bell and a marshmallow. If they rang the bell, he would come back and they could eat the marshmallow. If, however, they didn’t ring the bell and waited for him to come back on his own, they could then have two marshmallows.

In videos of the experiment, you can see the children squirming, kicking, hiding their eyes — desperately trying to exercise self-control so they can wait and get two marshmallows. Their performance varied widely. Some broke down and rang the bell within a minute. Others lasted 15 minutes.

The children who waited longer went on to get higher SAT scores. They got into better colleges and had, on average, better adult outcomes. The children who rang the bell quickest were more likely to become bullies. They received worse teacher and parental evaluations 10 years on and were more likely to have drug problems at age 32.

(snip)

The ability to delay gratification, like most skills, correlates with socioeconomic status and parenting styles. Children from poorer homes do much worse on delayed gratification tests than children from middle-class homes. That’s probably because children from poorer homes are more likely to have their lives disrupted by marital breakdown, violence, moving, etc. They think in the short term because there is no predictable long term.

The good news is that while differences in the ability to delay gratification emerge early and persist, that ability can be improved with conscious effort. Moral lectures don’t work. Sheer willpower doesn’t seem to work either. The children who resisted eating the marshmallow didn’t stare directly at it and exercise iron discipline. On the contrary, they were able to resist their appetites because they were able to distract themselves, and think about other things.

What works, says Jonathan Haidt, the author of “The Happiness Hypothesis,” is creating stable, predictable environments for children, in which good behavior pays off — and practice. Young people who are given a series of tests that demand self-control get better at it over time.

I wonder if it was controlled by whether the kids liked marshmallows or not? :) Just imagine if your fate depended on whether you were tempted by grilled cheese sandwiches (which you loved) or marshmallows (which you didn’t).t One false craving and it’s low SATs and prison for you!

OK (I’m sorry), no more jokes.

I know that this sentence, “On the contrary, they were able to resist their appetites because they were able to distract themselves, and think about other things.”w matches my experience with The Commitment. That trying to ‘be strong’ isn’t nearly as useful a strategy in resisting temptation as getting up and doing something, pretty much anything.i And that (as he says) I’ve gotten better at it over time.

But resisting the foods that tempt me will always be a challenge (yesterday was a struggle.) Luckily I don’t have to worry about it all the time.p That’s right, I’m only going to worry about it today. And I’ve got a lot of overdue projects to work on if I need distracting.