I love to cook. I love to cook for other people. And, if I do say so myself, I'm a pretty amazing chef. I like to work with a recipe I'm given and tweak it a little and make it a little different, something new. So I've decided to start posting a few of these recipes for you all to try out. Yes, these will be vegetarian. And yes, they will be delicious. My first recipe will be a risotto. Because I love risotto.
Wild Mushroom Risotto
Ingredients:
3 14 1/2-ounce cans vegetable broth
3 tablespoons butter
3 tablespoons olive oil
2 shallots, chopped
1 pound assorted wild mushrooms (such as oyster, crimini and stemmed shiitake), sliced
1 cup arborio rice
1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
3/4 teaspoon chopped fresh thyme
1 sprig of fresh rosemary
Dried herbs to have on hand:
Thyme
Red pepper
Basil
Herbs de Provence
The Process:
In a saucepan, pour all cans of vegetable broth. Bring to a simmer. Reduce the heat and cover. We will be using this later but it does need to stay hot.
In a large skillet, melt the butter and add the diced shallot and garlic over medium heat. Saute this for (approximately) one minute. Add you mushrooms to the mix, saute until they are tender and you can see that their juices have been released. This will take anywhere from 5-10 minutes depending on how small you cut your mushrooms. Add your rice, stir to coat it in the mushroom/shallot/garlic. Increase the heat to medium high and add 1/2 cup of the vegetable broth. Let this simmer until it is completely absorbed then add another 1/2 cup of broth. Stirring frequently, continue the process of adding 1/2 cup of broth and letting the rice fully absorb it until the rice is tender. Stir in the Parmesan cheese and fresh thyme. Stir in the dried herbs to taste (I never actually measure this, but I would guess I use approximately one teaspoon of each). Remove from heat, add the sprig of rosemary, do not stir in as this will be removed before serving. Let it sit for ten minutes.
It has become increasingly popular for one to be a vegetarian in today's world. The most popular animal rights group is PETA. PETA actually only has (roughly) 750,000 members, not really as large as people seem to think. Why do people think they're the largest organization out there? They're constantly pulling some sort of stunt to garner media attention. There are hundreds of celebrities that are members of PETA. Seeing them in the media all the time will lead the general public to believe they are bigger than they really are. But is PETA as influential as people like to think? Do they really do as much good as people imagine? Should we be giving PETA credit for the amount of media coverage that has been devoted to animal rights lately?
A lot of people like PETA. But these people apparently don't know anything about the horrors that PETA actually is. In 2010 alone, PETA took in 2,345 animals. Out of this number, transferring 63 and only adopting 44 of these pets. What happened to the other 2,200? They were put down. People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals? Right. Maybe this was just a one time fluke, maybe they were just suffering from the economic troubles that the rest of the country was facing. Maybe in years prior, they didn't end up putting down 93.8% of the animals they received. Let's look at their records for 2004, they accepted 2,655 animals that year. They only transferred one animal to a different shelter and adopted 361 of them. The other 2,278 (85.8%) were put down. For a detailed look at these records, click HERE
Well, their main goal is raising awareness, you might say. They are doing that, aren't they? They're just trying to provide equality to all living creatures, right? Well, everyone except women. PETA constantly uses scantily clad women and sexist tactics in order to prove their point. A simple google search for any PETA ad will bring you hundreds of images of scantily clad, white, attractive, thin women. You might not think much of it at first. But then you might notice that women are degraded in almost every advertisement that PETA uses in order to make their point. They are naked, nearly naked, in cages, covered in blood, beaten... PETA uses women in their advertising campaigns as no more than the way they look. Yes, sex sells, but women are more than "meat". The simple fact that PETA gives little to no respect to the women in their own publicity stunts is enough reason for any woman to be disgusted with them.
They are constantly trying to gain media attention for television commercials they know have no chance of being run but they try to submit them to a national broadcasting company (anyone remember the fiasco over NBC refusing to air their commercial for the Super Bowl in 2009?). They know there is no chance of this type of commercial being shown to the public on national television, but they submit it just so it can be rejected and they get the opportunity to criticize said company for not allowing it to be aired. PETA was up in arms about the fact that the following commercial was not aired during the 2009 Super Bowl, but really, would you want to see this with children in the room?
And take this picture for example:
PETA had women wrapped in plastic, almost completely naked, and covered in fake blood. These protesters were made to look like meat you would find in a supermarket (only a LOT bloodier). The stickers attached to these human meat dishes read, "Billions of animals are abused and violently killed because you eat meat. Get Help visit GoVeg.com". I get the point they're trying to make, but to me, this is just an extremely sexist and disgusting display. It shows nothing more than an organization trying to get media attention. And really, "Get help"? Like eating meat is some sort of disease or addiction people suffer from. And what does this protest succeed in doing? Nothing. People that agree with PETA thought of it as art, those that don't found it disgusting. This is using the "sex sells" motto to the extreme.
As a vegetarian, I find almost everything about PETA horrifying. I am all for actually trying to make changes in the communities we live in. I believe in protecting innocent animals from the cruelty that they are faced with every day. I think the meat industry has becoming absolutely disgusting and I'm glad people are finally trying to make a change in it. I do not believe in degrading women into nothing more than an object and setting feminism back in the process. I also think the idea of converting someone to be a vegetarian is wrong. You do what you want, eat what you want, but if you ask me why, I will give you my opinion and my reasons to why I don't eat meat. I wont try to convert you (seriously, PETA calls vegetarians and vegans "converts", how cult-like is that?!).
Unless you're one of those antifun vegans. Then I might try to convert you.
In honor of Fred and George and the sacrifices of the Order of the Pheonix and the 50 Hogwarts students made at the last battle, I'm planning on getting this tattoo in the near future. Since Harry Potter has been a huge part of my life, getting an HP tattoo is one of the better choices for tattoos out there (and really, am I ever up to anything good? Seems to fit me perfectly) I think, instead of on my arm, I'll be getting it on my shoulder blade or across the top of my back. I'm also going to be getting a tattoo in remembrance of my dear friend, Justin. Again, no idea when this is going to happen, just that it will be sometime in the near future.
I know I'm not the only one out there with Post Potter Depression. This is a story that many of us have grown up with for the past 14 years.
There are millions of people out there that have grown up with this story that are now trying to figure out what next. Yes, some of you out there think it's a bit ridiculous for us to be so torn apart by the fact that it's all over. You think that it's just a movie. You think it's just a book. You think it's just a story.
But it's not.
I remember getting the first book on my seventh birthday. I remember all of the book releases, every midnight premiere. I remember the late nights trying to finish the books before anyone else. I remember locking myself in my room when I was young so people wouldn't spoil the endings for me. I remember all the friends I made in each new school because people would see that I, too, was a Potterhead. I know all the late night conversations trying to decide if Snape was good or evil. I've grown up with Dan, Emma, Rupert, Tom, James, Oliver, Matt and Evanna for the past ten years. I've seen them on Platform 9 and 3/4 until the final scene, sending their own children off to Hogwarts. I've cried with Harry after he lost the only family he has ever known, Sirius. I laughed at all of the ranks pulled by Fred and George. I cheered at Dobby being unintentionally set free by Lucious. I mourned his death, always remembering that Dobby has no masters because he is a free elf. I cried when Dumbeldore died and I refused to give up on Snape. I stood by Snape through everything, I knew he couldn't have been evil. I was overjoyed to be able to prove to people that I was right after reading The Prince's Tale. I was proud of Narcissa for lying to the Dark Lord just for the chance to see her son again. I cheered when Ron and Hermione finally were able to be together. I cheered when Kreacher led the house elves into battle. I cried when Fred, Lupin, Tonks, Colin, Lavender and 50 other students died at the final battle.
So no, this is not just a story. This is the biggest part of my childhood and my life that has just come to an end. That is why there are millions of fans around the world that are mourning the loss of this second family. And to anyone out there wondering why children, teenagers and adults alike are flocking to theaters and cluttering your twitter, facebook, tumblr and whatever else they can with Harry Potter, there is a reason. We are all mourning and celebrating the best 14 years of our life.
I almost forgot to make a post about this with all of the Harry Potter insanity that has been going on, but my wedding photographer is going to submit one of these photographs for the cover of a bridal magazine! I'm not sure when I'll find out if they chose to use one of them, or if they will even let me know if they don't want to use one, but it is pretty exciting to think about the fact that one of these pictures could be on a magazine!!
