A One-Way Ticket to Nowhere

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Voter

[Early this morning, before the butterflies overtook my stomach.]

Today is quite historic; we will either have an African-American President or a female Vice President. Wow. I'm very proud to be a part of it.

Voting Party 2008!

Dan and I had Matt, Gayle, Abbie, and Garret over for dinner last night AS WELL AS a voting party. We discussed the measures in our pamphlets, played SORRY, watched the world series' last game, and pigged out!

I proudly made 2 spicy fall stews baked in kabocha squash,avocado-cucumber salsa, and buttermilk biscuits. I forgot the cheese, which made it vegan, and the buttermilk biscuits were totally store-bought and popped in the oven ten minutes before the squash finished. (Trader Joe's! Holla!) I received a standing ovation and 5 stars for my hard work, and I have to share this recipe because it IS SO GOOD. ENJOY!

Vegetarian Times doesn't have it copied from the magazine onto the web site yet (it's from the October issue), so I will painstakingly write the whole thing down for you. Because it IS SO GOOD. Note: I doubled the recipe to accommodate 2 tall, hungry, manly men.

Spicy Fall Stew Baked in a Pumpkin
Serves 6 :: Gluten-Free

If you can't find a large pumpkin, bake the stew in two small pumpkins or squash.

2 Tbs. olive oil
1 medium onion, diced
1 red bell pepper, cut into 1-inch dice
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 tsp. chili powder
1 tsp. ground cumin
1/2 tsp. dried oregano
1/2 lb. tomatillos, husked and quartered
1 15 oz. can hominy, rinsed and drained
3/4 tsp. salt
1 3-4 lb. pumpkin or squash -Sugar Pie, Cheese, Red Kuri, Kabocha, or Buttercup-
2 oz. grated sharp Cheddar cheese (or not!)

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Heat 1 Tbs. oil in pot over medium heat. Add onion, bell pepper, and garlic. Sauté 7 minutes or until softened. Stir in chili powder, cumin, and oregano, and cook 3 minutes more, or until spices darken.

2. Add tomatillos, hominy, 1/2 cup water, and salt. Cover and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium-low, and simmer, partially covered, 10 to 12 minutes, or until tomatillos are softened. Uncover, and cook 5 minutes more to thicken stew, if neccesary.

3. Meanwhile, cut top of pumpkin around stem to make lid. Scoop out pumpkin seeds and strings. Rub inside with olive oil and sprinkle generously with salt. Sprinkle cheese in bottom of pumpkin.

4. Fill pumpkin with stew, then top with pumpkin lid. Place on baking sheet (parchment paper suggested but I didn't use it...) and bake 1 1/2 to 2 hours, or until pumpkin flesh is fork-tender. Remove from oven; let stand 5 minutes.

5. Scoop stew, including pumpkin, into bowls and serve hot, topped with salsa.

Per serving 221 cal; 6 g prot; 9 g total fat; 31 g carb; 10 mg chol; 699 mg sod; 6 g fiber, 10 g sugars.


My Avocado-Cucumber Salsa (Magazine recipe calls for poblano chiles but I forgot to get them! And again, I doubled everything. Who uses only 1 clove of garlic, anyway?)
Makes 1 1/2 cups :: Vegan, Gluten-Free

1/2 cucumber, peeled, seeded, and cut into small dice
1/4 cup cilantro, chopped
2 Tbs. lime juice
1 clove garlic, minced
1/2 jalepeo chile, stemmed, seeded, and minced
1/2 tsp. salt
1 ripe avocado, diced

Boinky Popus

We are more than thrilled to have Jess & Josh (& Pax) join us in the blogosphere. You can find their blog here. I had to look up "popus" in the dictionary because I had no idea what it was. Not only is it part of the blog's name, it is also listed as an interest of theirs on their profile. They are the only blogspot members who have this interest. The dictionary asked me, 'Do you mean ''porpus'' or ''pops''?' It also suggested "pop-us" or "po-pus," which neither have definitions anyway. Hopefully they will enlighten me as to the meaning of the word, but maybe it is not meant to be understood by the rest of us. Either way, I like it. And who doesn't like that ridiculously adorable boy, Pax? Or Jess or Josh? They inspire me. We are so lucky they settled here in Portland and we get to spend time with them. Our recent rendez-vous have been debate night get-togethers and football watching at the Ship. As you can see on their blog, they've already voted, which kind of bummed me out because I wanted them to come over for our "vote night." That's right! I'll be making a pumpkin filled stew, adorning guests with vote stickers, busting out our ballots (we mail in Oregon), and maybe watching a little baseball followed by Obama's 30 minute message. Yes, we plan on voting for him. We have proudly placed an ObamaRama air freshener in our car to signal our support. We also plan on voting for Linda Hendersen, who is running for city council position #4. She wants to build a dog park in Sherwood. YES PLEASE!!!! If it happens, we'll invite Josh, Jess, and Pax down for some dog play at the park-which is more fun than coming to our small condo. (They live with four dogs.) Anyway, happy reading and blessings for Boinky Popus!

Political musings

So I am not sure if Leah and I have ever mentioned our political leanings, but holy smokes, this Democratic Primary is ultra exciting! For many years the Oregon Primary has been so late that it never mattered who you voted for, because they had already sewn it up. This year it may turn out to be different.

So who do I vote for?

Well, no one for now. I am still registered to vote in Multnomah County, and haven't changed to Washington County (where I now reside). That is my one goal of this week. Register! I have to take part in this parrrtaaay.

To be honest. I am happy to have 2 candidates that I would like to vote for in the General Election. I mean, when is the last time that happened? Hillary or Obama? Doesn't really matter to me, just as long as "G-Dub" won't be able to run again. I may be leaning a bit toward Obama, I mean, that is what all the cool kids are doing right? Hillary will put up a big fight though, and if she wins, I still believe she has what it takes to move this country back in the right direction. It is just that Obama is saying all the right things, and speaking to what many people are yearning for. A President that hasn't been corrupted (too much) by American politics. The key word in the previous sentence, "speaking". If there is one beef I have with the Obama campaign, it is that there is too much speaking, and not enough answers. Answers about illegal immigration, the economy, the war, and health care. Hillary has been doing a better job of that, and that is why she may eek out the nomination in the closing months.

The best part about this election, seeing the uber Conservatives (Limbaugh, Larson, and Coulter) squeemish that McCain, the most moderate of Republican's (heck he might as well be Democrat), itaking it to the Mittster and Huckabee. Love it, love it, love it!

I am sure we will update you on how we vote, once the day has passed, but until then..........Go Hillobamainton!!!!