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[Melanie keeps sending me the best graphics/memes! Gracias, mi amiga... 💚 ]
Yesterday was Cinco de Mayo, which commemorates the Mexican Army's important victory over the French at the Battle of Puebla, on May 5, 1862. In the United States, the holiday has become a celebration of Mexican American culture.
In honor of the holiday, my favorite local vegan restaurant was having a special promotion (curbside pick-up only), so I of course had to order for myself and Sarah (dropped hers off on my way home), getting each of us the Taco Trio, Classic Esquites (Mexican corn cups), and a churro donut:
A bit pricy but oh so delicious!
I had taken a beer out of the fridge, and then put it back. The crazy thing is, I haven't had a drink since Thursday March 12, the night before I started self-isolation, two glasses of pinot grigio at the Dar concert in St. Augustine, which Reba and I road-tripped up for. Since then... nada.
Some of you know I come from a long line of alcoholics, so there is a genetic predisposition in my family to overimbibe. I have had my struggles in the past, went for a year without, then decided I did not have a problem. I still keep all the warning signs in my head though, one of which is drinking alone. My husband *might* have a glass of sangria or a strawberry daiquiri every blue moon (pun totally intended... ;-) but, with my formerly-active calendar of concerts and dinners with friends, I was definitely a social drinker, never having more than two (beers or glasses of wine, rarely hard alcohol) but on a regular basis. So, it's now been almost two months of chosen sobriety. I enjoyed it to "loosen up", but I don't need it.
I laugh that the trend now is to do Virtual Happy Hours, and my one weekly Zoom call is at 11 a.m. I joked to N and J that maybe one time we could have mimosas or Bloody Marys? It's okay, though. There just doesn't seem reason enough right now to break my stride, or streak, and I may one day randomly decide, and that will be okay, too... :-)
P.S. For the record, I have not had tequila since June 1976, hosting a party the evening of the day I took my last college final exam, having bought a gallon of "the meanest Mexican spirits" (see poem below). Come at 7 p.m., I said. At 7 p.m. I started drinking. The last thing I remember is someone going out for more lemons (it was still daylight), and I woke up hours later with a lump on the back of my head (I had apparently fallen off the front porch), wearing different clothes (after throwing up; thanks to my college roomie Linda for changing me!), and many passed-out peeps throughout the entirety of my house. Great celebration (ha!) and, to this day, I cannot smell the stuff without gagging.
SONG: Tequila by The Champs
BOOK: Like Water for Chocolate: A Novel in Monthly Installments with Recipes, Romances, and Home Remedies by Laura Esquivel
POEM: Cinco de Mayo by Luis J. Rodriguez
Cinco de Mayo celebrates a burning people,
those whose land is starved of blood,
civilizations which are no longer
holders of the night. We reconquer with our feet,
with our tongues, that dangerous language,
saying more of this world than the volumes
of textured and controlled words on a page.
We are the gentle rage; our hands hold
the stream of the earth, the flowers
of dead cities, the green of butterfly wings.
Cinco de Mayo is about the barefoot, the untooled,
the warriors of want who took on the greatest army
Europe ever mustered—and won.
I once saw a Mexican man stretched across
an upturned sidewalk
near Chicago's 18th and Bishop one fifth of May day.
He brought up a near-empty bottle
to the withering sky and yelled out a grito
with the words: ¡Que viva Cinco de Mayo!
And I knew then what it meant—
what it meant for barefoot Zapoteca indigenas
in the Battle of Puebla and what it meant for me
there on 18th Street among los ancianos,
the moon-faced children and futureless youth
dodging the gunfire and careening battered cars,
and it brought me to that war
that never ends, the war Cinco de Mayo
was a battle of, that I keep fighting,
that we keep bleeding for, that war
against a servitude that a compa
on 18th Street knew all about
as he crawled inside a bottle of the meanest
Mexican spirits.
QUOTE: "I can think of many reasonable excuses for needing a cocktail, but Cinco De Mayo is always a no-brainer." ~ Rachel Hollis
So much for Thoughtful Thursday and Mindful Monday. Can we have a new category of Intentional Tuesday? Oh, f*ck it. Who cares? I've been busy with all sorts of family, friends, and activities. The world will not end if I don't post twice a week, on the days I said I would. God, retirement is great. My boundaries/expectations/deadlines have certainly become less rigid. “Like sands through the hourglass, so are the days of our lives." Ha!
Long-story-semi-short: I decided to become vegetarian in October 2014 and, since I was 90% vegan at that point, went 100% vegan in July 2017. My friend Michele has been a huge inspiration over the years, as has my friend Patrick. I have really embraced the lifestyle, and have hosted two vegan dinners (via my UU church's service auctions), as well as presented a UU Sunday service titled Give Peas a Chance, with a handout of cookbook, restaurant, and documentary resources... :-)
I'd like to think that I don't proselytize about my dietary choices, but I do love sharing tips and secrets of my passion for healthy and compassionate food. Vegan cooking can be fun and delicious, as well as nutritious. My OverReaders Anonymous women provide mostly vegan items for our book-themed menu each month. It means a lot.
My friend Suzanne told me about an event at our local JCC last week. Dr. Neal Barnard, a leading expert in the field of veganism, was speaking... for FREE! I immediately signed up and met her there. It was interesting in that he was promoting his new book (link below), for sale at his talk, which I bought and had signed. I have followed him for years, and know how incredibly intelligent and handsome he is, but never realized how funny. My erogenous zone is wired for mischievous, and I joked the rest of the week that he is my new "hall pass" (previous candidates include Harrison Ford and Kevin Kline). Is that inappropriate?!? Sorry, Dr. B.
Also very cool that he reached out to Lindsay Nixon (The Happy Herbivore) to contribute recipes. Exciting to discover, as I know her through Facebook and Goodreads... :-)
So, nowhere in the PR literature did it state vegan, nor even plant-based. I imagine they were afraid no one would show up if they advertised as such, since those are "hot button" words, often thought of as intimidating and controversial. The room was full, and I had fun looking around throughout, watching the audience's reaction once the subject was finally clear. No one left, and there was a respectful discussion afterward. Crisis averted!
All that to say, even though I try to eat super-healthy most of the time, it motivated me to kick up my level of fruits and vegetables, and reduce my amount of processed foods even more, and I already feel better. Made this recipe Sunday night (found on Michele's former blog), and it was amazing! Will definitely be incorporating it in our monthly rotation... :-)
SONG: Call Any Vegetable by Frank Zappa
BOOK: Your Body in Balance: The New Science of Food, Hormones, and Health by Neal D Barnard MD FACC, Lindsay Nixon (Contributor)
POEM: Vegan Symphony #9 by Philip Nikolayev
Roaring roast cake with bean base spareribs for me,
carottes étouffées medium rare,
I like them a tad undercooked, still red
with sap, tea leaves in olive oil,
strawberry sushi flummoxed
to the point of deliquescence,
or better still, freshly picked
cucumber rolls to match
the lettuce steak, mesquite broiled
to a crunchy andante, with all
organic granola salsa, nuts
nutritious to the max, and then of course the
soypork casserole with legs
of boletus, and tofu chops on a platter
of tomato paste base salmon with
a sprinkling of beet juice droplets,
all served with a rich broccoli broth.
QUOTE: “Hurt no living thing: Ladybird, nor butterfly, nor moth with dusty wing, nor cricket chirping cheerily, nor grasshopper so light of leap, nor dancing gnat, nor beetle fat, nor harmless worms that creep.” ~ Cristina Rosetti
