I've got sushi in my tummy!
After going to what was sadly, not the best production of Romeo and Juliet I've ever seen in my life at the Centaur with Bill last Saturday, I've been jonesing for sushi ever since. We went out for japanese food before the show and it was LOVERLY. T'was a tofu and tempura extravaganza! Thanks Bill, it was a lovely freedom celebration!
So I've decided to start making my own maki. I've had the bamboo mat and whatnot for ages, so I finally decided to get up the courage to try to make some. And you know what? It's fairly easy to do maki rolls. I'm getting better at it each time. There is a lovely california roll recipe in this book I got awhile back called Raw Foods Made Easy. Deelish!
And on Sunday, I made the Walnut-Raisin cake with Lemon Glaze at Eileen's, and it was tasty! All of her recipes that I've tried so far are pretty darn awesome, I must say. If you're interested in learning more about raw foods, check out this link. Or this.
Although, it must be said, labels don't make you healthy. This is not my new religion or anything, I just like being able to eat lots of tasty, beautiful food that makes me feel healthy, satisfied and not bloaty, sluggish or farty. And as I've said to some of you, this is just what is working for me right now. It may not always be the right choice for me, and I don't want to be rigid about stuff. If I feel like eating cooked foods, I will. If I feel like eating dairy or wheat/gluten products, I'll do it (fully cognizant of its ill-effects on my system), and if one day I want to eat animal products again, then that's what I'll do.
You are what you eat, you know? And I find that I need to remind myself of where food comes from, be it plant-based or animal based. Although in the past, I've said that ignorance is bliss, it isn't really, is it? And it certainly doesn't exempt me from the responsibility I have to be a more humane person. Ignorance of the laws of the land doesn't make me exempt from having to obey them. And I don't think it's any different with spiritual or natural laws either. How can I explain what I mean?....
Okay, I know how to drive a car, although I don't have a license. (To be strictly honest, I haven't gotten behind the wheel of a car since my learner's permit expired when I was 17.) Could you imagine if I decided to start driving again, but refused to learn the rules of the road because I don't want to be limited in the way I want to drive, or because I don't want to know if I'm doing something wrong or dangerous? It's just ludicrous. And that's how I was about meat. I've always known that slaughterhouses are cruel, but I didn't want to think about it, because I like fried chicken and steak and burgers. I've known that factory farms mass-produce chemical, and hormone and antibiotic-ridden meat which have a cumulative ill-effect on my health but I don't want to think about it, because eating animal products gave me so much pleasure and I didn't want to stop doing that. I knew that factory farms are guilty of the worst environmental damage to the planet, but it seemed such an overwhelming problem before which I felt powerless and my own consumer dollars so insignificant that I preferred to go on doing what I was doing.
Bottom line, I didn't want to feel guilty about eating meat and animal products, because I wanted to eat them. But I guess if I can be made to feel guilty at all in the first place about eating them, then perhaps it's not something I should be doing.
And for my Bible-reading friends, take a look at the parable of the Talents. And chew on this: if the master got mad at his servant who basically returned to him what he was given, no more, no less, how do you think God will react when considering what you've done with all that you've been given (your body, the earth, talents, relationships, etc.)? What will you have to show for it all? Will you have developed what you've been given to make it grow, to make it better, to make it special? Will you have done nothing but kept these things in trust? Or will your talents be depleted? I know the parable isn't about the earth and the environment specifically, but you can apply the principle of using what you've been given to make it grow, to make it flourish, and thus to give glory and respect and to show appreciation to the one who gave it to you in the first place. Shoot, at this rate, we'd have to catch our tails just to return it in the condition we first received it.
Anyhow, I know that I'd like to try my hand at being more conscientious about how I live in the world. The toughest part is other people. People piss me off. People are so difficult to love sometimes. Particularly random passers-by. But I've already had that particular rant, so I'll spare you a reprise.
Ciao 4 now!
