the parts & the motion.

[subjective]

i'm thinking of volunteering with either the eastern massachusetts abortion fund or the abortion access project. who knows anything about either organization?

over the weekend i read all but the last 50 pages of suits me: the double life of billy tipton. it included wrong pronouns (on purpose), an inability to understand why one would live as a different gender beyond the fact that it was easier for men to make it big in the jazz music business 50 years ago, & an inexplicable fascination with how he had sex & why his girlfriends didn't "figure it out." fuck that. aren't you lucky i did the work for you, so you can now avoid this book at all costs.

current grad school list:
uc davis, cultural studies
nyu, american studies
univ michigan, history/women's studies
harvard, history of science
rutgers, history (with concentration in hist of medicine & hist of gender)

i wrote good things for my zine last night while listening to mirah's "advisory committee" on repeat. no idea when the zine will be finished. maybe within a month.

this winter i am all about soup. please send vegetarian soup recipes my way, pronto. i have already perfected my potato-leek soup. i like most all produce except fennel & cucumbers. i can veganize pretty much anything. help a kid out please.

the annual transgender day of remembrance is 20 november. info forthcoming on what's happening in boston.

i still have no halloween costume.

Comments

this soup rules...

[(Anonymous)]

Michael Romano's Union Square Cafe Indian Borscht


from Passionate Vegetarian


4 medium beets, well-scrubbed, roots trimmed
3 tbs. mild vegetable oil
3 onions, sliced
3 jalapeno chiles, diced
3 tbs. peeled & finely minced fresh ginger
1 tbs. cumin seeds, toasted for 3 minutes in a dry skillet & ground, or 2 tsp. ground cumin
1 tsp. ground turmeric
1 tsp. ground coriander
3/4 tsp. freshly ground very hot dried Thai (bird) chiles, or 1 tsp. crushed red pepper
1/4 cup white or brown basmati rice, well rinsed & drained
1 to 2 tsp. salt, or to taste
Freshly ground black pepper to taste
3 quarts vegetable stock
1 to 2 tbs. honey
1 cup canned diced tomatoes in juice
3/4 tsp. Garam Masala (Indian spice mix)
Yogurt, sour cream, or tofu sour cream (optional)
Fresh cilantro leaves (optional)


1. Preheat the oven to 350. Wrap the beets individually in foil & bake til tender but not mushy, 60 to 70 minutes. Let cool to where you can handle them, then slip off the skins, cut into 1/4 inch slices, & pulse/chop in a food processor to a fine but not pureed consistency.


2. Heat the oil in a very large soup pot over medium heat & add the onions. Saute til the onions are wilted & translucent but not browned, about 15 minutes. Add the jalapenos & ginger & continue to saute for another 5 minutes. Add the cumin, turmeric, coriander, & dried chiles & saute for another 8 minutes (the air will become a bit--cough! cough!--a bit--cough!--pungent).


3. Add the rice & stir well to coat with spices and oil. Add the salt, pepper, stock, 1 tbs. of the honey, & the tomatoes. Bring to a boil, then turn down the heat to the merest simmer & cook until the rice is very tender, 20 to 25 minutes for white basmati & 45 to 50 for brown. Remove from heat & let cool slightly.


4. Strain the soup, reserving both the liquids & the solids. Working in batches, puree the solids in a food processor, adding only as much liquid as needed per batch to make a smooth, thick puree. Return the puree to the soup pot with the reserved liquid & beets.

5. Heat through. Add the Garam Masala & taste, adding salt, pepper, & perhaps more honey. Serve with a dollop of yogurt/sour cream & sprinkle with cilantro, if desired.