Gothic Granola

If you have some Italian in your heritage and you have two X chromosomes, you should know how to make sauce. And pizzelles...you should know how to make pizzelles , tiramisu , and cannoli.

If you're vegan or vegetarian, you've probably stared at a plate like this often: cooked grain, beans, and greens. Videre licet , lentils and rice.  Nota bene the rice was cooked with cumin and saffron.

Whatever genius came up with this "cooking hack," it's now common knowledge. No less than four blogs (and many more than that) list the same darn recipe, and so, four sources = common knowledge = no need to cite. CAULIFLOWER CARNAGE!! 

News from the Intertubes regarding health and wellness: Sleeplessness, the same problem that plagues teenagers, also plagues adults! To continue the analogy, school: adolescents :: work : adults. So, as with suggestions to push back school start times, some experts suggest pushing back work start times and/or operating on a flexible schedule. How revolutionary!   As I've been discussing using lower-GI sweeteners in treats as a suggestion, new studies show that lower GI diets aren't all they're cracked up to be . Still wouldn't hurt to avoid massive amounts of refined, high-GI foods, though.   There's now h ard data showing how sitting all day is killing office workers (increasing mortality) . What more does one need to light a fire under one's ass and stand periodically at work (and encourage the executive team to buy some standing desks and have walking meetings)?  

First, we bought a package of rice wrappers. Then TC's dad brought us a package of rice wrappers. Then we forgot about the rice wrappers for a while. Finally, we decided to make them a few weeks ago for dinner. My protein for the meal was scrambled tofu in San-J Polynesian sauce and the men's protein was yoghurt-ranch marinated grilled chicken. The salad dressing marinade was my idea, for the record.  

I am American: my heritage is 5/8 Italian, 2/8 Finnish, and 1/8 Armenian.  One year, when visiting my dad’s side of the family as we do every New Year’s, we were introduced to dolmades at a Mediterranean restaurant called The Black Olive  (since closed) in Tewksbury, MA.  Dolmades consist of blanched grape leaves filled with rice and sometimes meat or nuts and raisins (trail mix?) which are then steamed to tenderness.  Last year, I made sushi for Christmas. This year, I made dolmades with the help of my mom and grandmother.  My grandfather took all the photographs of the assembly.