Pomelos, Pomegranates, Bears, the Fire Tablet and The China Study

I dreamt about it all night, the visit to the doctor's office of the medical director where I work. "They like coffee and brownies," he'd said, when we set the time and date for the visit, which was set for this morning, "nine-ish." The idea was just to show each of the nurses at Homeland, in turn, around the office so we could see how things work in the office: the phone calls, the computers, emailing the MD with requests for orders or with problems with the residents. Dr. Wildman doesn't like faxes and, although at first I was sure that it was more efficient to fax doctors, now that I'm used to phoning for all issues, I actually like doing business that way better.

I said the Fire Tablet last night. I'd gone to the store and bought brownies, then a pomelo and a pomegranate as an antidote. I'd also bought a copy of The China Study because I've meant to give one to Dr. Wildman. The science of the studies is so credible, the logic of basing health on good nutrition is so fundamental, and yet it seems so contrary to conventional medicine. Also, obviously, for most people, switching to a whole foods, plant based diet is not a popular prospect. So I yearned to have Dr. Wildman read the book, but I had a lot of anxiety about giving it to him. I was afraid of indifference, ridicule, anger or opposition. So I read the Fire Tablet for extra courage.

In the morning I got out the fancy yellow paper platter and cut up a pomelo: I cut it in half and created sliced sections which I set in rows. The other half I cut off the bottom so it would rest flat on the platter and put the half face up on the platter on the side. Then I opened a pomegranate by slicing off the blossom end, slicing a cone-shaped opening in the pith in the center, making small slices on the edges so it would come apart easily, placed both thumbs in the center and gently pulled apart the pomegranate into sections.

I peeled the pith partitions off and trimmed off extra peel and removed the few brown berries at the edges. With the rows of lime green sliced pomelo and red sections of pomegranate berries glistening on the platter, the fruit looked beautiful. I prepared everything with love.

I drove to the office in the Allenmore "A" building and found the office, clutching the bag with the brownies, the bag with the platter of fruit, and the gift bag with The China Study inside; when I nervously entered the office I placed these in the break room for the nurses. It was great to meet the nurses in the office. I've spoken to each of them on the phone, and it was nice to put faces to the familiar voices. Some of them I'm quite fond of.

Dr. Wildman goes to Yellowstone National Park every year and has a passion for wildlife. There were about fifty various prints and photos of bears decorating the walls of the office. I spent about two and a half hours watching how they do things in the office: answering the phones, using the computers to enter the patient's chart as soon as the issue is brought up, and the nurses emailing the MD and the doctor emailing back with his reply. I learned that when the nurse phones the office with a particular issue, it's okay to say, "I need an answer by noon," or the end of the day, or whenever.

I got to see the nurse use a bladder scanner, a very expensive ultrasound device for determining the amount of fluid left in the bladder after the patient empties the bladder. So expensive, I'd never seen one before. This is wonderful, as it saves the patient from the invasive procedure of inserting a catheter into the bladder. Dr. Wildman says Homeland is going to get a bladder scanner next week, which is quite an achievement with this family-owned business.

At the end, Dr. Wildman asked me if I'd enjoyed the visit. Then he put on his coat and announced he was going for lunch with his son. Now or never. Quickly I gave him the gift bag with the copy of The China Study, explained that it was a thank-you gift; he said he'd look at it later. Out he went, and out I went, saying goodbye to the nurses. They said the fruit looked beautiful. And that was that. I guess it remains to be seen what discussions, if any, arise from The China Study.

"When the swords flash, go forward! When the shafts fly, press onward! O Thou Sacrifice of the worlds . . . Verily, I have heard Thy call, O All-Glorious Beloved; and now is the face of Baha flaming with the heat of tribulation and with the fire of Thy shining word, and He hath risen up in faithfulness at the place of sacrifice, looking toward Thy pleasure, O Ordainer of the worlds . . . Should all the servants read and ponder this, there shall be kindled in their veins a fire that shall set aflame the worlds."

~ Baha'u'llah

Plant-based Tamales At Last!

I learned to make tamales. Here is my plant-based recipe, adapted from a couple I found on the internet. I pared down the size of the recipe; I'm not feeding an army [okay, maybe an army of one.] After I made them I was trying to figure out what would work more easily for a steamer, as I used a kettle and the steamer plate from the pressure cooker set, set atop a ceramic bowl for added height. The tamales are supposed to steam vertically. Anyway, it just hit me. Of course. Steam the tamales in the pressure cooker. I'll have to figure out the time by more experimentation. So for this recipe one can just figure on a regular steamer and the long cooking time.

Plant-based Tamales:

Dough:
2 cups water
3 cups Masa Harina flour
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup oil

Filling:
2 cups cooked black beans
one baked yam, peeled and mashed
half an onion, diced
half a red bell pepper, diced
several cloves of garlic, grated
one small tomato, diced
several shakes green Tabasco sauce [to taste]
several shakes cayenne pepper [to taste]
a shake of ground cumin
a shake of coriander

[As you can see I didn't bother with cooking down tomatillos or any of that stuff; go for it if you have the time.]

The Process:
Soak several corn husks for about half an hour. Tip: separate the corn husks so they really soak well, instead of leaving them in a bunch the way I did until I figured it out. Take one of the larger husks and tear off quarter-inch strips for tying the tamales.
Mix dough with your hands, mix filling.

With tapered end of the corn husk facing you, take about 1/2 cup or less of dough and spread it across the top half of the husk. Add about a tablespoon of filling. Fold the right and left sides over, fold up the end and tie a strip of corn husk around the middle to secure it and place it in the steamer upright, with the open end up. Be sure there's plenty of water in the steamer.

Steam them all for about 1 1/2 to two hours. They won't overcook.

You could use anything for the filling; vegetables, spinach, whatever you like. Experiment and enjoy!

Compulsive Eating

I have more or less decided to enroll in therapy to more effectively deal with my compulsive eating. Last year when I made a pilgrimage to Mount Carmel in Haifa, Israel, and prayed in the Baha'i Shrines, one of the issues I brought up in my prayers was to finally identify the best, truest, healthiest diet. Well, I found the whole foods, plant-based way of eating, proven by solid scientific research, and it was like a tremendous stroke of lightning, lighting my way. The spark of truth, at last.

Even though I am clear about what foods to eat; even though I feel 100% better when eating a whole foods plant based diet; even though I feel committed to practicing this and have taken a powerful and informative online course on nutrition from Cornell University which has answered a lot of questions; and even though I have converted to home-cooking most of my meals and learned and created dozens of satisfying and delicious meals, I still have difficulty with compulsive eating under certain conditions. Like the child said to the ice cream cone, God willing I will lick this.

The Source

I think I want to start a new blog i.e. rename my blog. I noticed from Sitemeter that a lot of people are ending up at this site looking for information about wiener or weaner pigs. I feel a little sorry for them. What a cruel joke, to look for something serious like how to raise pigs, and end up with this nonsense! ; >

I would call the new blog The Source and it would be a synthesis between two of my favorite interests, faith and religion. The Source spiritually because of God being the source of life. The Source physically referring to the sun as the source of energy, which is utilized by plants during photosynthesis, which makes the energy, along with all the protein, vitamins, minerals, fiber, antioxidants, carbohydrates and oils we ever need, available to us by eating them.

I have heard, "eat close to the source", i.e., eat foods still recognizable, whole foods. The source being the sun.

Whenever I can figure out how to link this site to the next, and design my new blog, I'll be set to change.