Libertad para Angela Davis

On Saturday night Angela Davis spoke at Reed as part of Black History Month. The talk started at 7 and doors opened at 6:30. I arrived at 6:30 to find a line spanning nearly a third of campus. A first! I got in line at the back, but by some grace was met inside with a front row seat.
I saw Davis speak when she came to Humboldt State two years ago. That time, too, the line was off the wall and they had to broadcast the lecture out into the foyer. Her speech then was incredibly impowering, you can view it on YouTube (of course) here as given at UC Davis. (It didn't hurt either that she was sporting fantastic skintight bellbottoms with her signature afro, not at all looking her age).
This time the content of her speech was not so organized or coherent. She began by listing numerous black women throughout history who affected change, then making Obama the subtle theme of the rest of her talk. She listed his actions with which she was happy, those with which she was unhappy, what she hopes he will do in the future - all the while emphasizing that we should not be afraid to tell him when he does something wrong or when we want him to do something he is not. OK.
Despite all this, the experience of being in a packed auditorium with people excited and empowered and ready to enact change was incredible. And just knowing all that Davis has done and is doing supercedes her words on this one occassion. This fall she celebrated the 10 anniversary of Critical Resistance, which seeks to dismantle the Prison Industrial Complex.

For more information, I suggest reading Angela Davis: An Autobiography.

Dinner For Two

Wednesday nights are nice for me. I've turned in my two weekly math assignments early in the day, I don't have class again for a good 24 hours, no impending reading to do...clear road ahead for a moment of relaxation. So far they've been dinner nights. Tonight Russell made a chicken dish we've tried once before with the leftover org. chicken breast stashed in the freezer. It's a very easy recipe, and the flavors are incredible. (Beware it is on the sweet side.) Paired with my classic salad and a nice plump of quinoa, it filled our bellies well :) All prepared in under an hour! We really outdid ourselves this time with quickmix Ghiradelli's Chocolate Brownies and first-try homemade chai.

Ginger & Dijon Pear Chicken
Ingredients:
1 pear, finely sliced
1/4 c brown sugar
3/4 c water
1 boneless skinless chicken breast
1 tablespoon olive oil
4 green onions, sliced
4 tsp ginger (we use The Ginger People)
1 tbsp dijon mustard

Mix together sugar and water in skillet, bring to a boil
Add sliced pear and cook until tender
Transfer pears & liquid into bowl to cool
Cut chicken breast in half and season with salt and pepper
Add oil to pan and heat on med high
Add chicken, fry both sides until almost done (should still be a little soft in middle)
Mix dijon and ginger into sauce with pears in bowl, then pour contents over chicken
Heat until chicken is fully cooked and sauce is hot
Serve with green onions as garnish.

Scrumptuous Salad
Salads as super easy and flexible according to whatever you have in your kitchen. Here are the ingedients I used tonight. Ground flax seed is key, both for its nutritional value and nutty flavor. Lots of colors are good, as each color offers different nutrients. Always try to include at least one vegetable (in addition to the salad greens), fruit, and nut.
Salad Greens - the darker the better! Spinach is high in calcium.
Pine Nuts (toasted in over @ 400 degrees F)
cranberries
apples
grated and chopped carrot
flax seed
red onion
Annie's Papaya Poppyseed Dressing

First-Try Homemade Chai
I've been itching to make my own chai tea for a while now, and I have gradually been building up the spice cabinet to get me there. Tonight was the night. Undoubtedly the recipe will go through many iterations before it gets written down in stone, but my beginner's luck was good enough that I will share it here for you:

Servings: 4
With 8 cups water in pot, add the following (rough msmts):
1/2 tbsp fennel seed
4 or so cardamom pods (I don't really like the flavor of cardamom, even though I know its essential to chai, so if you do you shoud add some more pods to your batch)
10 or so cloves
1 cinnamon stick
1/4" ginger root, thinly sliced
1 bay leaf
1 tbsp black tea (i couldn't find whole tea leaves, but if you can by all means use them instead)
1 dash each of nutmeg and allspice

Bring to a boil and simmer for 10 minutes. Add tbsp of honey and simmer for another 5 minutes. Serve with rice milk.

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In other news, I just submitted my application for a Birthright trip this summer. Israel here I come!

Healthy Hearty Granola

To start off, just as we start off the day, with breakfast!
This recipe is easy and very moldable - just throw in what you have and make substitutions where you will. The more nuts=the more protein=the more lasting will the energy it gives you be. This recipe is not too sweet at all, and has a nice ginger bite to it.
This would be a good recipe to make with kids, because you can't go wrong and they can practice their measurements while getting good and gooey mixing up all the ingredients.

Servings: this amount lasted me about a week.

Preheat oven to 325 degrees F.
Mix ingredients in large bowl:
3c rolled oats
2 tbs ground flax seed
2 ts minced ginger (I use The Ginger People)
1 ts cinnamon
1 ts almond extract
1 ts vanilla extract
2 tbs honey
2/3 C applesauce (I made my own: see below for EASY instructions)
2 tbs maple syrup
dash of salt
nuts (I prefer slivered almonds and walnuts)

Spread mixture out on cooking sheet, 1/2" or so thick. Place in oven and cook for 30-45 minutes, depending on how crunchy you like your granola. Mix granola frequently to prevent toasting on one side.

Remove from oven and let cool. Mix with dried fruit (dehydrated strawberries are generally good for granola, I like blueberries to go with the ginger flavor), and enjoy!

Applesauce
Cup up 2 large apples into chucks. I leave the skins on because I like their crunch in the granola, but feel free to peel the apples first.
Add to small pot with just enough water to cover the base. Add in several dashes of cinnamon. Cover pot.
Bring to a quick boil and reduce heat.
Cook until apples are soft. You can remove excess water along the way. There should be just enough that the apples don't burn.
Mash with a potato masher.
Measure out 2/3 C, let cool, and add to granola.
Enjoy the remainder while still hot for a yummy snack.

Intro

Charlie & Clara in Redwood Valley, Humboldt County, California

It's a bird, It's a plane, It's a ... blog! Tada-
Here you will find bits and pieces of my life- photographs, musings, records of my knitting projects, and yummy, mostly vegan recipes for you to enjoy! So sit back, relax, and enjoy the ride.