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Serves 2 as a main or 4 as a starter
fresh coriander (cilantro)  1 bunch
tomatoes 3 medium
green chillies 1-2
ginger ½ thumb (optional)
dried adzuki beans 200g
onion 1, peeled and sliced
olive oil 1 tbsp
xawaash spice blend 1 dsp (see below)
tomato paste 1 level dsp, or to taste
salt to taste

For the xawaash spice mix (makes about 35g or 4 heaped dsp)
cumin seeds 2 dsp
coriander seeds 2 dsp
black peppercorns 1 dsp
flat cinnamon bark 2cm piece
cardamom seeds 1 tsp
whole cloves 1 tsp

To make the xawaash, dry heat all the spices in a frying pan on a medium heat for about 2 minutes or until they begin to give off a lovely warm aroma. Once you can smell this, take it off the heat.

Use a coffee grinder or pestle and mortar to grind everything down to a powder.

If you want to make a big batch, just double the quantities, and it should last in an airtight container in the dark for up to 3 weeks. It can last longer, but the potency deteriorates – I use a lot of xawaash, so I get through it quickly.

To make the maraq digir, whizz up the coriander, tomatoes and chillies in a blender. Sometimes I add fresh ginger to give it an extra boost. Put the mixture to one side.

In a saucepan, boil the adzuki beans for about 20 minutes. (You can also use tinned fava beans.) Fry the sliced onion slowly in the olive oil until slightly caramelised. Stir in the xawaash spice blend. Fry a little longer, then add the coriander and tomato mixture, with some tomato paste. Add salt to taste.

Leave to simmer for about 20 minutes, adding a little water if needed. Add the beans and cook for another 15-20 minutes, then mash some of the beans.

I like it with feta and black olives and lots of olive oil on top. Serve with pita or naan bread, za’atar  (dipping spice) and olive oil.

from The Guardian https://www.theguardian.com/food/2019/jul/14/recipe-that-reminds-me-of-home-souvlaki-somali-bean-stew

Gazpacho — from Epicurious

A well regulated militia being necessary to the security of a free state,, the right of the people to join the national militia shall not be abridged.  With membership in the militia, comes the right to own a firearm, subject to the rules and restrictions of the militia, and attended by proper training in the use of such firearms.

Cold Beet Soup (borscht)

Serves four as an appetizer.

For more delicate flavor (and a vegetarian option) replace the chicken stock with vegetable stock or water. To turn the soup into a hearty one-dish meal, garnish each serving with chopped hardboiled egg, cucumber, and/or radishes. Some recipes also call for the addition of boiled potatoes, bacon, or mushroom dumplings.

2 cups cooked, peeled and coarsely chopped beets
1 small onion, chopped
1 carrot, finely chopped
1 tablespoon olive oil
2 cloves garlic, chopped
4 cups chicken stock
salt and pepper to taste
1 teaspoon dried dill
½ teaspoon finely grated lemon peel
1 cup unflavored yogurt, plus more yogurt or sour cream for garnish

In a large soup pot cook the beets, onion, and carrot in the oil until the onions are soft and translucent. Add the garlic and continue cooking for another few minutes. Transfer the ingredients to a blender or food processor, and process until finely puréed (add water or stock if necessary). Return the puréed vegetables to the pot and add the stock (or water), salt and pepper, dill and lemon peel. Bring the soup back to a boil, then simmer it for about five minutes, and remove from the heat. When it has cooled slightly, whisk in one cup yogurt. Refrigerate until mixture is thoroughly chilled. To serve, add chopped hardboiled egg, cucumber and or radish if desired, and top with a dollop of yogurt or sour cream.

garlic
onion
oil
salt
pepper
crushed tomatoes

From The Rude Pundit 11-27-18:

I was looking up some things about how, during the Great Depression, in towns that were being destroyed by starvation and labor war, parents would send their children out on the road to find a better life than the one they could supply them. It reminded me of this passage from John Steinbeck’s The Grapes of Wrath, about Dust Bowl refugees from Oklahoma and elsewhere heading to California, where they hope to start a better life. But, of course, they are met with anger and hatred and hindrance every step of the way, crushing their American dreams.

Here ya go:

“The movement changed them; the highways, the camps along the road, the fear of hunger and the hunger itself, changed them. The children without dinner changed them, the endless moving changed them. They were migrants. And the hostility changed them, welded them, united them—hostility that made the little towns group and arm as though to repel an invader, squads with pick handles, clerks and storekeepers with shotguns, guarding the world against their own people.

“In the West there was panic when the migrants multiplied on the highways. Men of property were terrified for their property. Men who had never been hungry saw the eyes of the hungry. Men who had never wanted anything very much saw the flare of want in the eyes of the migrants. And the men of the towns and of the soft suburban country gathered to defend themselves; and they reassured themselves that they were good and the invaders bad, as a man must do before he fights. They said, These goddamned Okies are dirty and ignorant. They’re degenerate, sexual maniacs. Those goddamned Okies are thieves. They’ll steal anything. They’ve got no sense of property rights.

“And the latter was true, for how can a man without property know the ache of ownership? And the defending people said, They bring disease, they’re filthy. We can’t have them in the schools. They’re strangers. How’d you like to have your sister go out with one of ’em?

“The local people whipped themselves into a mold of cruelty. Then they formed units, squads, and armed them—armed them with clubs, with gas, with guns. We own the country. We can’t let these Okies get out of hand. And the men who were armed did not own the land, but they thought they did. And the clerks who drilled at night owned nothing, and the little storekeepers possessed only a drawerful of debts. But even a debt is something, even a job is something. The clerk thought, I get fifteen dollars a week. S’pose a goddamn Okie would work for twelve? And the little storekeeper thought, How could I compete with a debtless man?

“And the migrants streamed in on the highways and their hunger was in their eyes, and their need was in their eyes. They had no argument, no system, nothing but their numbers and their needs.”

Along the way, they are beaten and thrown out of towns, and their camps are set on fire, hurting old people, kids. All because of fear and irrational hate of the other. Yes, this time, now, there is the added layer of horrific racism, but, even back then, Trump would have had the Okies tear-gassed.

“They reassured themselves that they were good and the invaders bad.”

Same as it ever was.

The six most damaging biases:

• confirmation bias
• fundamental attribution error ( to interpret others’ behaviors as having hostile intent),
• the bias blind spot (the feeling that one is less biased than the average person),
• the anchoring effect (to rely too heavily, or “anchor”, on one trait or piece of information),
• the representativeness heuristic (judging probabilities on the basis of resemblance),
• projection bias (the assumption that everybody else’s thinking is the same as one’s own).

1. Harm No One
2. You don’t have to do anything you don’t want to do
3. Keep It Clean
4. Swallow — you need the protein
5. A towel can be handy

Dopamine Itch

Olive oil is good for your skin. And a great lubricant.