The Joy of Cooking Fairy: Coming Out Party

Obama Came Out--Shall we Give a Shower?

This morning marked an historic occasion, for which we should Give Thanks, Pause to Reflect, Take Action, and Have Cake.

We were greeted by the news that President Obama has stated his belief in marriage equality.

He considered his friends, his colleagues and staff, the parent's of his children's friends...and his children. Do they see these same-sex couples as different and undeserving of total equality?

No.

Former British Prime Minister, Tony Blair, once he left office, fulfilled a long-standing promise to his wife to join the Catholic church. Very soon after, he was vigorously questioned as to how he could have championed legalizing gay marriage in the UK when it went against the very strongest moral tenets of his faith. His reply:

"It's what was right for the nation."

So Obama is charging ahead for equality, in the face of North Carolina's Amendment 1 passage, the now-constant assault on women's equal rights to access healthcare and reproductive services, and the long-standing barrage of Tea-Party/Right-Wing/Name-Calling. Dunno about you, I feel simultaneously wound to the hilt and worn the f*&k out people.

GingerMan and I donate to the Democratic party and PBS as a family. I donate to Planned Parenthood and Girl Scouts, and used to give to Susan G. Koman, until it surfaced with solid evidence that The Pink Ribbon had Consorted with Evil. Until they show solid evidence of true directorial reformation, those funds are now redirected to Planned Parenthood, where they are again applied to a panoply of women's health checks and preventative care initiatives, free of politics.

But the phone calls...Ohhhhh the phone calls.

And the emails. I get five or six a day just from Obama for America, then one or two from Courage Campaign, a couple from Credo, who support PP, and on and on.....every day.

As I said last week, I really had to take stock and cut out most of the news in print and on TV. The depression was overtaking me and the pleas for petition signing and letter writing and just that one more little donation of 5 bucks....

That was me: my mental capacity to deal and formulate the most cogent plan of attack; to streamline and focus attention and support, both moral and financial; was collapsing into useless ellipses.

So as I sat to write this, I decided. Fixed donations, select recipients.

A contribution to Courage Campaign. I have supported them before, but I never before believed in sending money or manpower to other states to change their elections until the dilemma hit home. I had a very religious friend who made it clearly known that they donated money to their church for the training of campaign workers sent here to California from their home state in the midwest to promote Prop 8, the Anti-Marriage Equality law.

As well as contributing to pro-Prop 8 advertising campaigns, funds went to the campaigns of elected officials IN MY STATE, NOT THEIRS, supportive of Prop 8 and ultra-conservatism in general. We haven't spoken since. Now it's a Civil Rights Issue, NOT a State's Rights argument. They are no longer allowed to run and hide behind the good ol' Tenth when they come crawling out to infest the rest of us with their odious hatred when they think the coast is clear.

Also, I'll still support Planned Parenthood and Girl Scouts, with a huge-whoppin' cookie buyout every spring. Scouts, that is, PP don't do a range of cookies, but they sure deserve some.

There are so, so many issues pulling us from so many directions--home, work, family, and all the political and social struggles that overlap-- I know I'm not the only one feeling stuck in Moral Molasses.

We have Pagan Coming Out day, National Coming Out Day, and today is the President's Coming Out Day. So I declare this next week National Giving Out Week. It's breaking things down into smaller bites. You may be a family of two Mums with a small child and four aging parents. You've got a lot on your plate just keeping up every day, and money can be tight.

Step One: Ask fundraisers to take you off their phone lists. I know it sounds obvious, but when it's the Democratic party, it seems a little harder to turn down the Home Team.

Step Two: If you get a million emails from organizations you've donated to or signed petitions for once or twice in the past, deep breath--unsubscribe. You can "Like" most of them on Facebook if you really want to keep track of them, but otherwise, just let yourself have some headspace, and inbox space, back.

Step Three: Then pick two or three organizations, set up contributions and be done.

Some things, like PBS or Courage Campaign will do a small monthly amount you only have to set up once. Anything else that comes in the mail, set it on fir--I mean, promptly recycle.

And that's it. Really. The rest of it comes down to our own grass-rooting--what we talk about in Knitting Group, at parties, what we post on Facebook and Twitter and Google-Spaghetti-O's. We may not feel it's a lot, but we have just made ourselves Drops in the proverbial Bucket. Check your FB Friend's List--that's a whole lot of Drops--come join the Shower!

SUPER PARTY SNACK TIME!!!

And what's a party without cake? Well, we're talking about doing good, so it's actually a super-healthy Banana Bread which anyone I have ever put it in front of has snarfed like Chocolate Gateau.

This is my amalgamation of a few very healthy Banana Bread recipes, and it turns out my favorite Baked Good is Secretly Packing Nutritional Heat. TOP PRO TIP: Slice this up and wrap separately, makes a great lunch bag snack or on-the-go breakfast!

BANANA BREAD

PREP: 15 MINS

BAKE: 40-45 MINS

PREHEAT OVEN: 325F

INGREDIENTS:

-1/3 C Canola Oil

-2 Large Eggs. Some Recipes split the eggs into whites and a yolk or accept egg-substitute, and it's possible, but I don't like to.

-1/4 C Sour Cream or Yogurt: Using low-fat sour cream is a great idea, as it does nothing to the taste or moisture of the bread. I have used plain 2% Yogurt and it was okay. >>Graduate Level: I'm planning to try Greek Style Yogurt in either 2% or Fat Free next, as they both have a very rich texture. Go for it, I'm saying.

-1C Ripe Bananas. We're talking way, way, way brown. Like they look like UPS delivery guys. Like they look nearly bad. Trust me, they'll be MAGIC.

-1tsp Vanilla+ 1tsp Almond Extract. You can skip the Almond Extract, most recipes call for just Vanilla.

-*1.5 C White or Whole-Wheat Pastry Flour. Purely up to taste and aesthetic.

-*2/3C Sugar. Use White or Brown, again, to preference. I haven't used Agave or Stevia yet!

-1.5 tsp. Baking POWDER.

-1/2 tsp. Baking SODA.

-1 tsp. Cinnamon. OR 1 tsp. Penzeys Cake Spice. (i <3 it.)

-1/4 tsp. Salt.

ADD INS:

-4Tbs. Flaxmeal (ground Flax Seed).

-1/2C Chopped Walnuts.

-1/2C Chocolate Chips OR the darkest, highest % cacao chocolate you can find, chunked up.

A WORD ABOUT FLOURS:

My attempts thus far have yielded the following:

White Pastry Flour: Very cake-like product, especially when using white sugar as well, much like a store-bought bakery item.

Whole-Wheat Pastry Flour: A little firmer, still tender due to being pastry flour (it has low levels of weak-gluten protein content compared to All-Purpose or Whole Wheat).

Whole Wheat Flour: Okay, wait--what was that mambo 'bout weak glutes?

Wheat Flours contain gluten, which we hear a LOT about these days, but basically it makes a big sticky protein-y net when you add liquid to flour and make any kind of dough. Different kinds of wheat have different kinds of proteins and are sometimes processed more (or less) to achieve different uses--e.g. bread flour, cake flour, all purpose, etc. (On Food and Cooking, Harold McGee)

The JoC explains further that these differences in types of wheat and proteins affect the amount of moisture the flour can absorb. So in most cases, we want to stick right to the recommended flour for the recipe as all the other variables have been accounted for.

Think of it like knitting a scarf: Cake-flour cake is like lace, Pastry-flour goods are like a cashmere scarf. Whole-Wheat regular flour used in their stead will usually produce something akin to the Woolen Breastplate of Boudicca sweater your Great Auntie knit you for Christmas.

However, in this very specific case, I've started playing round with all these variables. You see I've toyed with the dairy. I'm eyeing the Sugar with Intent to Tweak. But I started with the Flour, and I have to say, switching all the way to Whole Wheat has produced a very firm, but tender bread.

SNEAK PREVIEW! WHOLE WHEAT STYLE! CHOCO-CHIPS!

Definitely more bread than fluffy cake, and I feel there's even more nuttiness to it. Start with the basic, then branch out.

As for the Add-Ins, they're all to taste, but I really do recommend the Flaxmeal, on two counts: Again, it gives a lovely nutty flavor without nuts, and it ups the fiber and omega goodness. Nature's Broom and all...

INSTRUCTIONS:

1. Lightly oil the bread pan.

2. Beat- Oil, Eggs, Sour Cream, Banana and Vanilla in stand mixer or by hand mixer until creamy. It'll look like Banana pudding. Already Good.