An Asteroid named Homo Insatiables

As the year glides toward its marker-designated-by-mankind end I have to admit a certain pessimism about the future of our species. While scientists have been warning of climate change caused by greenhouse gas emissions with greater and greater urgency for the last 40 years, governments, industry and society have done little to address the problem. 

Industrial giants have used their money and power to defeat any environmental concerns. All they care about is making more money now and the future be damned. 

And we as a people have done little to nothing to rein in our own consumption levels, and to demand our governments enact environmental legislation. In fact all we have done is demand more and more and bigger and faster and shinier and newer and with one more feature/colour/button than six months ago.  

I'm not excluding myself. I cringe every time I reach for the 'Charmin', buy produce imported from Chile, Mexico and California, stand in the shower for an extra minute with the hot water pummelling the crook in my spine, and I make my excuses. 

We lived so low on the eco-pole for five years in our 120 sq ft "tin palace" that I'm begging off my eco-crimes on the grounds that it's taken me over two years to put 5,000 kilometres on my KIA, and that's with the oldest son driving it to Vancouver Island and back, which put almost 2,000 km on it. We eat very little meat, we are careful, conservative shoppers, and I wear my clothing 'til it's indecent to go outside. Right now I'm wearing a hippari top I made in 1979. The seams are worn right through in places, but it's so practical I can't bear to discard it. Nonetheless today we all collectively stand on the brink of the abyss. 

A new draft report by the the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) suggests that we are looking at the likely end of human civilization as increasing greenhouse gas emissions create “severe, pervasive and irreversible impacts for people and ecosystems” over the coming decades. 

Global temperature is nearing the point when loss of the vast ice sheet over Greenland will be unstoppable. Along with melting Antarctic ice, sea levels will flood major coastal cities as well as coastal plains and low-lying and island nations.

One of the most feared consequences of global warming is the thawing of permafrost regions. A study in Science magazine warns that “even slightly warmer temperatures [less than is predicted in coming years] could start melting permafrost, which threatens to trigger the release of huge amounts of greenhouse gases trapped in ice,” with possible “fatal consequences” for the global climate. (As humans we aren't designed to breathe carbon dioxide or methane.)  

The human era of civilization coincides closely with the geological epoch of the Holocene, beginning over 11,000 years ago. The previous Pleistocene epoch lasted 2.5 million years. Scientists now suggest that a new epoch began about 250 years ago, the Anthropocene, the period when human activity has had a dramatic impact on the Earth. The rate of change of geological epochs is hard to ignore.

One index of human impact is the extinction of species, now estimated to be at about the same rate as it was 65 million years ago, when an asteroid hit the Earth. That is the presumed cause for the ending of the age of the dinosaurs, which opened the way for small mammals to proliferate, and ultimately modern humans. Today, it is humans who are the asteroid, condemning much of life to extinction.

The IPCC report reaffirms that the “vast majority” of known fuel reserves must be left in the ground to avert intolerable risks to future generations. Meanwhile the major energy corporations make no secret of their goal of exploiting these reserves and seek new ones to plunder, even in the most environmentally sensitive and vulnerable ecologically places on Earth. 

A day before it ran a summary of the IPCC conclusions, The New York Times reported that huge Midwestern grain stocks are rotting so that the products of the North Dakota oil boom can be shipped by rail to Asia and Europe.

The same is true in Canada. Grain sits in silos; farmers are unable to find railcars to ship their grain to ports or domestic markets, while tar sands products are shipped by the hundreds of thousands of rail cars daily to Asia and the USA.  "Oil transportation by rail is expected to jump to about 700,000 barrels per day by 2016 from 200,000 bpd in late 2013, the Calgary-based lobby group predicted Monday in its annual crude oil forecast."  [Financial Post; June 9, 2014] 

I used to want grandchildren. I don't anymore. Best not to bring children into the hell this world is going to descend into. 

"Only when the last tree has been cut, and the last river has been poisoned, and the last fish has died. Then you will realize that you can't eat money." Chief Seattle 

Feliz Navidad! Merry Christmas

Christmas is tapping at the windows, and it won't be long before it comes busting through. And once again we've been busy preparing the traditional Christmas feast.

Tex-Mex food became our traditional Christmas at a big family table at the Bluebird Cafe in Tucumcari New Mexico. Every year we'd make the long drive from southern Oklahoma to New Mexico to spend Christmas day with my older brother, who would make a similarly long drive from his home in northern Arizona.

And so, the prospect, year after year, of tamales smothered in mole, enchiladas, beans and rice turned these foods into the ones associated with the warmth of Christmas for me.

This year making the Tex-Mex feast been made easier by my discovery of a store called La Tiendona Market which sells foods from Latin America. And it's only about a km (about 1/2 mile) from us. I went through and bought foods I haven't been able to buy since I left "home" more than four decades ago. I actually was able to buy corn husks after wrapping my tamales in parchment for the last 40 years. I am one happy camper!   

So let's get to the sharing of the menu, and the recipes too, so that if you'd like to try one of these yummy dishes you can.  I'll add some food photos later. Yum! 

The Christmas dinner menu: 

Tamales with mole negro sauce

Sweet potato and black bean enchiladas with green chile sauce

Spanish rice

Refried beans

Corn chips

Guacamole

Green and black olives

Pomegranate juice mixed with sparkling Perrier for beverage

Mexican Hot Chocolate for dessert

Recipes Anyone?

Tamales - While tamales are traditionally made with two cups of lard, this recipe calls for one cup of canola oil, much healthier!  

Tamale dough

• 6 cups Masa Harina
• 6 cups Chicken broth
• 1 cup canola oil
• 2 tsp salt 
• 1 tsp baking powder

Tamale filling

• 1 1/2 pounds extra lean ground beef
• 1 tbs canola oil
• 1 large red onion diced
• 1/2 red bell pepper diced small 
• 1/2 green bell pepper diced small
• 4 cloves garlic minced
• 1 pkg taco seasonings 

3 dozen corn husks. Go through and make sure they are free of discoloration. 

Cut narrow ends of husks off and trim husks so they are about 3" x 4".  

Soak husks in warm water while you prepare rest of recipe. 

In frying pan heat oil til hot, add onions and bell peppers, add garlic last, then add beef and taco spices and brown. Pour off moisture and fat when beef is thoroughly cooked. Allow beef to cool while you mix dough. When cooled, put beef mixture into food processor and process it until it's a fine consistency with no lump or recognizable pieces of vegetable.

In large mixing bowl combine Masa, salt and baking powder and stir together. Add brother and oil and mix into a smooth consistent dough. Dough should be soft enough to spread easily on the husks with the fingers. 

Now, spread a layer of masa dough about 1/8th inch thick  onto a soaked husk with your fingers, leaving a 1/2" edge free of dough down the long side. Spoon a heaping tsp of beef filling onto the dough, then roll the dough so the seam overlaps, forming the tamale. 

Steam the tamales for 30-45 minutes. They are cooked when the husk peels cleanly from the dough. Serve with Mole Negro sauce. 

Mole Negro Sauce

• 1 package taco seasoning 
• 1/4 c chile powder
• 1 medium onion chopped
• 2 tbs tomato paste
• 2 cloves garlic chopped
• 1 corn tortilla, toasted and cut up (or six corn chips)
• 1/2 cup blanched almonds
• 2 TBS peanut plain butter
• 1/4 c raisins
• 2 tbs sesame seeds
• 1 tsp Chinese five spice powder
• 1 square baker's chocolate or 2 tsp unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1/4 c butter
• stock or water

In a blender combine the almonds, raisins, sesame seeds, and process until fine.  Place in a bowl and put aside. 

In the blender, process the onion and garlic with water until they are smooth, add tomato sauce and tortilla pieces, process to make a paste.  Mix the two together, adding the peanut butter. 

In a pan, melt the butter and add the taco seasonings, the five spice powder, the chile and the mixture from the blender. Sauté over medium heat, stirring, for five minutes. Add a cup of stock and the chocolate. Stir over medium heat, adding stock to produce a sauce with the texture of heavy cream. (Or if freezing concentrate add half the stock, and add the rest at time of use.)  I swear this is the second time I've had to correct this recipe. I've made it so often I do it automatically, this time I looked at the recipe I'd just put on the blog and to my horror found I'd not said when to add the spice and chiles. 

---
These are a twist on cheese or chicken enchiladas and are fantastic!

Sweet Potato & Black Bean Enchiladas 

Green Chile Sauce

•  1 cup light vegetable broth
• 1 tablespoon  cornstarch dissolved in a little cold water
• 1 generous cup chopped roasted green chiles, hot or mild
• 2 to 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 tsp chili powder, hot or mild, to taste

Enchilada Filling

• 2 cups cooked black beans, drained
• 4 cloves garlic, minced
• lime juice from 1 lime
• 2 generous cups cooked diced sweet potatoes
• 1/2 cup chopped roasted mild green chiles
• 1/2 tsp chili powder mild or spicy
• Salt and pepper sauce to taste

Assembly

• 2 to 4 tbs vegetable oil, as needed
• 8 white or yellow corn tortillas
• 4 ounces shredded Monterey Jack cheese

Method

Preheat your oven to 350°F. Choose a baking dish that will hold 8 rolled enchiladas. Make the Green Chile Sauce by combining the broth, cornstarch, green chiles, garlic and spices in a sauce pan and heating over medium-high heat. Simmer until thickened. Taste test and adjust seasonings. Set aside.

In the meantime, for the Enchilada Filling, using a mixing bowl, combine the drained black beans with minced garlic and lime juice. Toss to coat the beans and set aside. In a separate bowl combine the cooked sweet potatoes with the chopped green chiles; add the spices. Season with salt and pepper.

Pour about 1/4 cup of the Green Chile Sauce into the bottom of the baking dish.

To assemble the enchiladas, cook the corn tortillas one at a time, in a few drops of oil to soften them, as you stuff each one.

Lay the first hot tortilla in the sauced baking dish; wet it with the sauce. Spoon 1/8 of the sweet potato mixture down the centre. Top with 1/8 of the black beans. Wrap and roll the tortilla to the end of the baking dish. Repeat for the remaining tortillas. Top with the rest of the sauce. Top with a sprinkle of shredded Monterey Jack cheese.

Bake for 20 to 25 minutes, until the enchiladas are piping hot and the sauce is bubbling around the edges.

---

Spanish Rice is dead easy - Cook the rice and add Salsa to taste; mild, medium or hot. 

Refried beans -  I'm doing the lazy cook's way this year and have bought a can. (Latin market - YAY!) 

Have a wonderful Christmas! May love be the most abundant seasoning at your table on Christmas day and every day!  

KIVA Loan for Dec 2014

This month's KIVA loan goes to Zade, a sixty-one-year-old widow from the Roma community of Ashkali Kosovo. She lives with her five adult children and her grandchildren in a small old house that was badly in need of renovation and repairs. The family's main source of income was from the sons and grandson who do menial work for  very low wages. 

Roma people and ethnic Serbians have face a tremendous amount of hardship in Kosovo, and are still socioeconomically and politically vulnerable. During the 1998-1999 war, the fighting displaced an estimated 80-90% of the region’s Roma population. Today, Roma and ethnic Serbians living in Kosovo still face discrimination and are excluded from many aspects of society, including political representation and access to meaningful work which pays a living wage. 

The country is one of the poorest in Europe and many live in abject poverty, with 13% living on less than $1 a day, according to World Vision. In addition to being a post-conflict area, Kosovo has the lowest per capita income in Europe, averaging about $3,000 annually. KosInvest also sets itself apart by serving all ethnicities in Kosovo – working with Albanians, Serbs in the north and Roma populations.

Zade's house had little insulation and lost much heat in the winter. Every winter it cost a lot of money to buy coal to keep the house warm. Zade’s family could not afford to keep the house warm, so they suffered always from the cold and often were sick in the winter due to the lack of heat. 

Zade's first loan was used to repair and insulate her house. The improvements to her house have made it possible for her family to live a more comfortable and healthy life. Zade is very grateful to the KIVA lenders for their support. The loan that she was given was used to repair and renovate her home made her very happy. She was satisfied with the loan process and with the results. 

Since the home has been repaired she has started a  handiwork business from her home. Now, she is again asking for a loan, but this time it’s for her business, to enable her to buy fabrics to produce her beautiful lace table clothes and other linens for the home. 

She would like to be able to purchase material to provide better products and more variety to her clients. She hopes that she will be able to hire an employee and expand her business even further. She really appreciates this help and wants to thank all of the lenders for their continued support in helping her to generate income.

The KIVA field partner KosInvest started its operations in Kosovo in October 2001 as a micro-enterprise development division of World Vision, and has been a separate entity since January 2007.

KosInvest operates exclusively in rural areas in Kosovo, where two-thirds of the nation’s poor live. Through inclusive financial services, KosInvest aims to help marginalized and economically active poor families generate more income and improve their living conditions. KosInvest works in ethnically divided areas and expressly focuses on strengthening ties across these communities by promoting shared economic interests and building business relationships. As of December 2013, KosInvest had disbursed more than US $30 million in loans. Since it started providing loans, KosInvest has helped create over 7,000 new jobs.

KosInvest offers a wide range of loans, including loans for vulnerable populations, agriculture, and women-headed households. In 2014, KosInvest began offering a new livestock loan product that allows farmers to receive livestock or machinery directly, rather than receiving the loan amount in cash. This loan product is the first of its kind in Kosovo.

In 2011, KosInvest won the Social Performance Reporting Award in the Silver Category from the Microfinance Information Exchange (MIX). The organization is member of MIX, the Association of Microfinance Institutions in Kosovo (AMIK), and the Microfinance Centre, a regional microfinance network. 
  

It's rewarding to know you can reach out and in a small way help ease another's burden. After what the Roma went through in Kosovo, and how they are treated so unkindly by the world at large, a kindness now and again wouldn't go amiss. May you be blessed Zade.  

As you celebrate Christmas, remember those Christ urged us not to forget. Among the toys, fancy gadgets and gifts that will hit the closet and never see the light of day again, find it in your heart to donate $25 to your local food bank (Canada) (USA), the World Food Programme Zero Child Hunger in 2015, or KIVA.  

And lastly, giving is a gift you give yourself. Research is now confirming that those who donate their time and material wealth to others are healthier and happier. "It is one of the beautiful compensations of life," said Ralph Waldo Emerson, "that no man can sincerely help another without helping himself." Although philanthropy usually goes hand-in-hand with altruism, new evidence indicates that the giving of one's time or treasure makes the world a better place for both giver and recipient. 

Merry Christmas! 

  

The Lord Who Looks on the World with Compassion

Incredible Illustration by Tomi Um from Lion's Roar (see Blog Roll) 

Like all religions Buddhism uses stories and legends to illustrate its precepts and aspirations. One of Buddhism's most important tenets is compassion, both for oneself, and for others. 

In Tibetan Buddhism Avalokiteshvara ( "the lord who looks upon the world with compassion") is seen as representative of the compassion of all the Buddhas. 

According to the legend, Avalokiteshvara was deeply moved by the suffering of the beings he saw around him and he vowed that he would not rest until he had liberated all sentient beings from suffering. 

After persevering at this task for a very long time, helping suffering beings one by one, he looked out and realized there were a vast throng of beings whose sufferings he had not yet been able to relieve. His despair became so intense that his head split into thousands of pieces. 

The Buddha lovingly gathered the scattered pieces and put them back together as a body with eleven heads and a thousand arms, each ending with an open hand and an eye in its palm, so that Avalokiteshvara could see the suffering in the world and assist thousands of sentient beings all at the same time. 

The mantra associated with Avalokiteshvara is the one most Westerners are most familiar with, Om Mani Padme Hum, which is said to liberate all beings from suffering.

                                             ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Now we will tell a somewhat dry Buddhist joke, and if you "get it" comment on it. You might add "Holy Cow", because if nothing else Buddhists can take a joke. 

There is a story of a devoted meditator, who after years of focusing on Om Mani Padme Hum, believed he had attained enough insight to begin teaching. His humility was not yet perfect, but nonetheless he felt himself ready to lead others. 

A few years of successful teaching left the meditator with no desire to seek wisdom from others, but when he heard there was a famous hermit living nearby, he felt the opportunity too exciting to be passed up. The hermit lived alone on an island in the middle of a lake, so the meditator hired a man with a boat to row him across to the island. 

The old hermit received him graciously and the meditator was very respectful. As they shared tea the meditator asked the hermit about his practice. The old man said he had no special practice, except for the mantra of Avalokiteshvara, which he repeated all the time to himself. The meditator was secretly delighted, the hermit was using the same mantra he himself taught ~ but when the hermit spoke the mantra aloud, the meditator was horrified!

"What's wrong?" asked the hermit.

"I don't know what to say. I'm afraid you've wasted your whole life! You are pronouncing the mantra incorrectly!"

"Oh, dear!," the hermit cried. "That is truly terrible! How should I say it?"

The meditator gave the correct pronunciation, and the old hermit was very grateful. He asked the visitor to leave immediately so he could start chanting the mantra properly right away. On the way back across the lake the meditator, now brimming with confidence that he was an accomplished teacher, pondered aloud the sad fate of the hermit.

"It is so fortunate that I came along," he remarked to the boatman. "At least now he will have a little time to practice correctly before he dies." 

Just then, the meditator noticed that the boatman had turned quite pale and seemed dumbstruck, and he turned to see the hermit standing respectfully on the water, next to the boat.

"Excuse me, please," the hermit said humbly, with a deep bow. "I am so sorry to inconvenience you, but being old and and forgetful, the correct pronunciation has already slipped my mind. Would you please repeat it for me?"

"You clearly don't need it," stammered the meditator; but the old man repeated his polite request until the meditator relented and told him again the way he thought the mantra should be pronounced.

The old hermit thanked him quietly, turned and could be heard repeating the mantra very carefully, slowly, over and over, as he walked across the surface of the water back to his island. 

Bless Us All

In Charles Dicken's novel "A Christmas Carol"  the Ghost of Christmas Present takes the wealthy, greedy and bitterly unhappy Scrooge to the home of his underpaid and impoverished clerk Bob Crachit, where Scrooge observes silently and unseen as the family gathers for their simple and meager evening meal.

The irony is that while Scrooge has wealth beyond measure it brings him no pleasure. His only interest (to the point of obsession) is the accumulation of more wealth. He is so obsessed with maintaining possession of his money that he won't even spend enough to make himself comfortable. His dingy room is cold, his bread is stale, his meat the gristle end. The fire in the grate is lit only long enough to take the frost from the air. He is as emotionally barren as he is stingy. He ignores his one relative, he has no compassion for the widow, the orphan. His name is spat rather than spoken by those who have the misfortune of owing him money, and no one desires or scarce tolerates his company.

On the other hand, the Crachits, who make do on crusts and the generosity of the parish, are grateful for the little they have, make light of their burdens and enjoy a rich and loving family life despite the serious illness of their youngest child.

It is a perennial story which never grows old. There is an unending supply of Scrooges, not all of whom deny themselves luxuries, but nonetheless match his devotion to their fortunes and lack of compassion for their workers and the poor and vulnerable around them. And there's also an unending supply of Crachit families, working minimum wage jobs, trying to hold families together under burdens of sick children and too much month left at the end of the money. Scouring the pantry for another package of KD or can of soup.

Many movies and plays have been made of "A Christmas Carol". I confess Alastair Sim's portrayal  (1939) is probably my favourite, but tonight we watched (of all things) "The Muppets Christmas Carol" which stars Michael Caine. I'd never watched it, thinking, 'a bridge too far', but to my surprise found it quite wonderful. The music especially is sensitive and at times very moving. With that I am adding here a song Tiny Tim begins and the other Crachits join in on while Scrooge observes them on Christmas Eve. It's called "Bless us all" .

 

As we head into the Christmas season, 

God Bless Us Every One, 

and may WE share our blessings with others!