Picky Eater

I was a very picky eater as a kid but I eat most things now.

Recently I saw this amazing list of foods Homer's mom couldn't eat and decided to make a list of my own to objectively assess just how picky I still am.

Absolutely won't touch:

1. Vinegar
2. Mustard


Actually besides these two, I will eat almost anything so long as it's cooked to taste nice. There are other things I don't eat like insects, manure and dirt but I guess I won't have to worry about coming across these things in the places I frequent.

Bulgar

I saw a recipe using bulgar some time ago and had been curious about this ingredient. Then yesterday when I went to the Muslim butcher to buy oil cured Moroccan black olives, I saw packs of bulgar sitting there beckoning to me.

Since I'd never used this ingredient before, I did a little Internet research and basically it seemed there were 2 ways of softening it:

1. Pour boiling water over it and leave it for awhile.
2. Soak it in lemon, sour grape, tomato or onion juices.

I decided to go with #2 and looked for a recipe that softened the bulgar using this method.

I found this:

http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/108173

However I omitted the cinnamon.

I also sauteed some ground beef seasoned with salt, pepper and garlic.

I opted for Iceberg lettuce instead of Romaine and used big pieces of the leaves to wrap a bit of the ground beef and bulgar mixture. It was delicious!

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/england/7129756.stm

Here's another totally inane article about saving energy. Kind of reminds me of Alvin Toffler's 'Learning for Tomorrow' where he talks about how we have the technology to make condoms but can't make people use them, i.e. we can't modify their behaviour. Overall the book is about how the technology to make things rocketed forward while the technology to modify human behaviour languished in the middle ages and that this is at the root of some of the problems of modern times.

Take HIV. People know it exists. We have the communication network that has let most of the world know about HIV and how to reduce risks - and yet people continue to have unprotected sex.

Take oil. People know we are running out of oil and yet people not only want to buy cars but they encourage other people to buy cars. In addition, people not only want to travel a lot but constantly pester other people about 'where they went for holidays' making them feel bad if they didn't go anywhere insisting that 'you need to go somewhere!'.

Take consumerism in general. I've reached this point in life where I'm quite content staying home mostly, taking pleasure in activities like long walks, online games and cooking. I buy fewer things than before, but many people have tried to make me feel bad about this, suggesting that I needed more money so I could buy more clothes I don't need to wear, etc.

I think the problem is inside our heads. Inside the heads of human beings. Until attitudes of people change - like their nature of being competitive with other humans - nothing will change and we'll be speeding down home straight to all the problems that have been predicted by science.

Chickpea Salad

I spent all weekend preparing my lovely chickpeas so that I could make some delicious dishes out of them.

After I soaked them for 24 hours from Friday night, I boiled them for 3 hours on Saturday. Then I made some humus, and stored the rest in a tupperware in the refrigerator.

Today I made a salad for lunch which was delicious, refreshing and filling.

Salad Ingredients

Cooked Chickpeas
Sliced Cucmber (cut in quarters)
Diced Tomatoes
Diced Boiled Eggs
Chives (I use a scissor to cut them)

Dressing

Extra Virgin Olive Oil
Coarse Sea Salt
Freshly Ground Pepper (preferably red, white, black, green)
1/3 Lemon Juice
Dash of Cumin
Dash of Chili

Just mix all of this and serve with toast!

It's nutritious and pretty filling.