Wednesday 30 April 2008

Food and a rant

Or should I say a rant and food pics? I'll get to approximately three weeks worth of food porn momentarily but first a word from our sponsor.

Feminism. Is it really a scary word? Despite the new cultural angst over the idea of feminism, I identify myself as a feminist. The problem? I'm doing a first-year law course (I would name it, but to save myself the heartache....) with basically the intent to persuade the students of their responsibilities to act morally and their duty to help others in society. This is a very "leftie" agenda. I, as one who celebrated Kevin Rudd's victory with a smashing hangover, think this is a great idea (as do many of the students, conservative or not!). However.....
This week's topic was "Gender and Race" - basically an analysis of access to justice/legal assistance from the perspective of women and non-white people. I was surprised to find that I was the only person (other than our awesome female tutor) that identified themselves as a feminist (most of my class is under the age of 20). They didn't seem to think that feminism was really required anymore. One fellow classmember actually listed the reason that they didn't identify as a feminist was that "the boys laugh at feminists. They think they're dikey lesbians". !!!!!! Notwithstanding the utter disparity in this statement, I want to say a few things....
We need feminism for everyone. Feminists don't hate men! They want equality for everyone! This means equality in pay and treatment. We're not going to get change unless we push for it.
I know I'm not the most articulate when I'm angry, so here's a video that you must watch (thanks to my favourite feminist website Feministing for the link):



And now, as advertised, food!

I think this may have come from Vegan Fire and Spice? Sorry Cam, I remember it was tasty though! I call it "Cam's chickpea dish with mashed potatoes and hummus". I do remember that I put nooch and smoked paprika in the potatoes!


Moroccan Chickpea and Lentil Soup. This did come from Vegan Fire and Spice. Yummers.


An awesome photo of my Dad slicing Veggie Roast with his fancy knife. I heart this knife. Check out the wafer thinless of the slices.


Cam's been making lots of Indian curries (as always they're awesome). So here's a small selection (there's a bit of a theme here!):

Chilli Potatoes (These burn for me, but gosh (did I just say gosh? When did I turn into a polite person?) they're tasteeeeeee!)


Chilli Potatoes with Spinach and Chickpea Curry (Also delectable)


Chilli Potatoes with Mushroom and Pea Curry (Cam said that he'll have a recipe for the Mushroom and Pea curry soon!)


Leeks are finally available in Brisbane!!!! I've been waiting for Leeks to become affordable since getting Veganomicon.

Firstly, a Leek and Potato soup from La Dolce Vegan (it has carrots in it, thus the orangey goodness):


THE Leek and Bean Cassoulet from Veganomicon. So. Damn. Good.


And onto my particular favourites, the non-savoury things!
Choc-chip Blondies with Rasperries from Vegan With a Vengeance!


Fancy Mushroom and Red Wine Scrolly Bread. It was a bit tough, but still AWESOME.


Ginger Pear Muffins (overripe pears equals incredibly smooth batter equals yummy goodness):

I attempted some apple scrolls based on Bittersweet's Pizza Scroll recipe. They just weren't sweet enough (more sugar is required in the dough!):

Finally, I'd had a crap morning at work and raced home for lunch before uni in the afternoon.... Someone was nice enough to leave me the last of the "middle" of the bread (I hate the end/crusty bits)! So I had the ultimate in convenience snacks: The (vegan) luncheon sandwich.

Thinly sliced Sanitarium Lunchon is sandwiched between two slices of High Fibre White Bread from Baker's Delight. Spread with Nuttelex, this sandwich will fill the needs of vegans on the run....

14 comments:

K said...

In regards to feminism, I couldn't have said it better myself! It's a huge concern that you are the only up and coming lawyer that identifies as a feminist.

In regards to the food, the Choc-chip Blondies with Rasperries look amazing. I will have to give them a try.

LizNoVeggieGirl said...

Wow, the Moroccan Chickpea & Lentil Soup, Spinach & Chickpea Curry, and those Raspberry-Chocolate-Chip Blondies look FABULOUS!!! I always love your food photographs :0)

Wheeler's Frozen Dessert said...

Wow that food looks delicious!!

Theresa said...

Amen, sister! I took a class in undergrad titled 'Race, Class and Gender'. 90% of the students were rich and white and female--but the first 2 weeks all we did was talk about why they hate feminism so much. What the..?! They also had a fair few whinges about how tough life is for rich kids... oi. People are stupid. Feminism is good. Patriarchy is bad. Racism is bad. Capitalism is bad. Animal agriculture is bad. It's easy!

Amy said...

Mmmmmmm it all has me drooling as usual (and I wish they'd make that roast soy free! You always make it look so yummy!). BTW, I'm coming for a visit, Cam can cook for me anytime! I love curries and my Mr won't cook veggie food :(

Steffi said...

I find feminism has a really bad reputation in Germany. Most girls in their teens and twens think of it as something their mothers did and that's didn't work out. It's creepy how many women my age whole-heartedly agree to being an inferior human.

apart from that, the grub looks awesome!

Anonymous said...

Here here on the feminism front. Scares me that some people "don't see the need for it anymore." =P

Heather said...

I do so wish I had the energy you have to cook all those things. I write the menu for the week, but by Tueday we are ordering out and eating Moe's Burritos. When the weekend comes I break out the Veganomicon :-)

My honey, bless his heart, still can't fathom my feminism and thinks that because I like lipstick, skirts, men, and cooking, I can't be feminist. Sigh. My students are the same as yours. They think the feminist movement is over for them.

Anonymous said...

It drives me nuts that people think feminism is about taking something away from men, like there is a finite amount of 'equality' out there or something.

And hey, you cut your nut roast differently to me! I cut it along the small side but your way makes loads more sense, great for sammiches and the like.

Theresa said...

I've just given your blog an award that's roaming around the blogosphere :)

Amy said...

Wow. I wasn't expecting such a huge response!

Surprise surprise, I've been bitching about that class ALL WEEK to EVERYONE. It's nice to see the fire's still burning in the feminist blog belly (tee hee).

Also, on the roast front: Dad cut it fancy especially for me! I'm normally a circle, not an oval cutter too!

Vegetation - the couch is always free (and you can sleep right near the turtles!).

Have a great weekend everyone! I just saw the musical Keating and it was SO COOL. SERIOUSLY. Except there weren't actually any women in it. I still screamed like a teenage girl for Kerry O'Brien and Anthony Green though....

Tofu Mom (AKA Tofu-n-Sprouts) said...

Great "rant" and great pix!! (Have a recipe for Dad's "roast"? That's pretty cool looking!)

Anonymous said...

What odd timing for me to read this post. I had a very frustrating conversation with my boyfriend about feminism just last night. It's so unfortunate that people stereotype feminists the way they do, which is not unlike how vegans are often thought of to be "crazy hippies". Anyways, I'm glad there are people like you out there, striving to change those misconceptions! And also, your food porn is delightful. :) (PS I love feministing.org)

Unknown said...

I agree, I'd love to know how/where you got the veggie roast from.