Another Massive Update: Book Review, Food, & More :)

Let's start with the book review, since it's something that I don't do often enough. I've decided to go back to reading more, since I prefer non-fiction it gives me something non-science to contemplate. I have been slacking lately on reading and working out (two weeks off - oh no!). I recently finished reading Pornified: How Pornography is Transforming Our Lives, Our Relationships, and Our Families. I definitely think the book was written from a reasonably conservative (in the family values sense) perspective. I wish the book had a stronger classical feminist stance against porn. I think that porn should be legal and regulated at a certain level (no kids, limited access to kids, documented consent - although there is a whole other argument to be made about consent we won't go there now!). However, personally, I am a classic feminist in that I believe porn is absolutely degrading to women. Just because I think it should be legal doesn't mean I condone porn. I don't find anything sexy about watching women being treated like objects in real life, much less on film for a profit! Let's face it, porn is about men getting off, not women. The emphasis is on how the woman is there to serve the man, to help him climax, etc, but she could easily be replaced by another woman willing to get paid for sex on camera. (Note: How is porn legal but prostitution not? It's all sex for money really...) Anways, I would much rather focus my sexual energy on being with someone I am close to. I find that my desire is driven more by the person I'm interested in than in the act of sex itself. I mean, everyone has moments of "omg I want sex!" but for me I find that my desire is almost always focused on a particular person. I found two points from the book to be really interesting. The first is the paradox of a porn user saying that a certain act is demeaning to women, so they'd never want to do it to a partner or have someone do it to their daughter, but yet they get off to it while watching porn because it's a fantasy. Fantasy or not, I don't get how demeaning women can ever be sexy. That woman is someone's partner, someone's daughter, so how is it okay for her to be treated that way? Just because she's getting paid it somehow makes it okay? This goes into the "she's consenting to it" argument. Yes, she is, but why? Like I said, I think the idea of whether or not women can truly consent to be in porn based on the patriarchial structure of the industry is a whole other argument. Is she "consenting" because she thinks she's liberated, as pro-porn feminists claim? Is liberation really allowing yourself to be objectified? The pro-porn feminists claim she's liberated and is taking control of the situation. Have you seen porn? The women are almost never in control. She's not controlling her sexuality, she's being tricked into thinking she's liberated so that porn companies can turn a profit on her body. The system tells her lies that she's liberated but ultimately she is an easily disposable vagina. Even companies run by female directors who claim to be making more female-friendly porn are still producing porn that places the emphasis on a man's pleasure. The second point is the concern of how younger people (teens, even young teens who are not sexually active) will have access to internet porn and how this will shape their views on sex, the roles of each partner in sex, etc. It is definitely going to be interesting to see how young people develop their view of sexuality and what's appropriate with such easy access to internet porn. Will younger generations treat each other with intimacy and respect? Will they be able to separate the "fantasy" of porn from real life when they're exposed at prepubescent ages?

Speaking of objectifying women, I see more and more girls going along with being objectified in public. (I've been doing WAAAAY too much people-watching lately.) If you treat yourself like crap, no man will ever respect you. If you stand up for yourself and say I'm more than just a nice pair of tits and a girly figure, then you can gain the respect of the people around you. To just roll over and allow men to talk down to you will never get you anywhere. I think many people could benefit from knowing, "Treat yourself the way you want other people to treat you." People may think I'm a bitch because I'm blunt, but they certainly don't get away with objectifying me based on my appearance. I guess I wish I had been born in an era where classical feminists existed. It seems so hard to find these days. Everyone wants to be hip and they forget the struggle for equality along the way. :(

Now on to the food!

Baking for my fall kickball team, The Narragansett Lagers, "sponsored" by the brewery:
- Peanut butter coconut bars - would not make again, I left out the peanuts so there was no texture whatsoever. :(
- Peanut butter chocolate chip cookies - always a winning combo, I used the tiny chips from the cookies I made in January.
- Chocolate glazed mini doughnuts - used regular wheat flour, instead of pastry, so they were tough and nowhere near chocolatey enough.
- Coconut oatmeal drop cookies - decent but not spectacular
* Note for the substitutions, I used Ener-g egg replacer powder for eggs and Earth Balance for butter.

Other links:
- Made Beach Cookies for a Sunday Funday with the lovely Cristin (I could write a whole entry about what a blessing she has been in my life, but I won't). So good, but they got crushed in the cooler.
- Made these simple tortilla cups but I didn't like the canned green chiles. They were really slimy and nasty. I will definitely pick a fresh chile next time and dice it.
- Attempted making Mac and Cheese bites but messed up the pasta portion. Not enough pasta so it was nasty. They ended up in the garbage.
- Made a simple pasta with veggies dish for NWIS. It was my first time cooking zucchini so I was happy that it turned out okay. I used the leftover zucchini and cherry tomatoes to top the leftover pasta from the mac and cheese bites. I added white beans and Italian seasoning for protein and flavor.

Photographed food: I absolutely want a new digital camera so I can take better quality photos. Black Friday goal: Acquire kick-ass digital camera. The Canon Powershot A400 from 2004 needs to be officially retired.

Spicy Thai-style red beans with coconut milk - SOOOO ADDICTING! Would definitely make this again.




Mexicali sliders with Cajun yam fries - These were also really good, but they don't freeze well at all! I ended up tossing out 4 of them after defrosting them. Also, never burn sweet potatoes! The sugar becomes really disgusting and they taste terrible.




Cajun chickpea cakes - baked them and they fell apart really easily. Served with Cajun creamy rice - rice recipe should be cut in half!




Quinoa loaf with mushrooms and peas - This recipe was recommended to me by some friends. It sounds really weird, but it is so damn good. I learned the proper way to store mushrooms is in a paper bag and they're only good for a week max. I had to toss my baby portabellas and buy new ones.




Cajun meatloaf with a Bourbon glaze - boiled the tempeh for 10 minutes before breaking it up for the recipe, because I heard that removes the bitter taste. I'm undecided on my taste for tempeh... Served with mac and cheese, which made a little too much.




Gumbo with Andouille-style Sausage - Definitely not spicy enough and okra is disgusting. Way too many leftovers that I threw away.




General Tso's Tofu - definitely could become a regular in my menu planning.




Peppers stuffed with bulgur and herbs - This was served at a Greek-themed girls' night at Jess's house (another blessing!). The other dishes included hummus with pita bread, Greek salad, eggplant, and a couple other dishes.




Thai-style sweet and tangy noodles - I didn't really get sweet and tangy from this recipe, but it was still good. I wish I had thought to separate the rice noodles a little more before dropping them in the boiling water. They were tough to separate once cooked.




Recently, we had our yearly student symposium at the lovely UCLA conference center at Lake Arrowhead, CA. It was fun to meet students from the other campus, plus we got an afternoon off to have fun! After the trip, I stayed with my friend Eric in Solana Beach, CA. Although I didn't get a photo of the two of us together, I did snap this one of the beach with my phone.





I had time to myself, since he had to work during the day. I did a lot of thinking and read the book The Meaning of It All: Thoughts of a Citizen-Scientist by Richard Feynman. It was an easy read. When I wasn't sleeping, doing p90x, or reading, I was cooking. I made this beautiful curry from a mix of ingredients I picked up at the grocery store. Another iPhone photo, so don't judge too harshly.





In other non-food news, I went to see Ryan and Marigny for Halloween. Again, I failed to get a photo of us together. Whoops. Ryan and I went out to the local bars in costume and bicycled, as usual. There's nothing greater than drunk bicycling with Dr. Boostie. We went to see Bad Religion, the best punk band ever, at the Orlando House of Blues. I have been waiting since the 8th grade to see them live, so I jumped at the chance to go for only $30! The venue is really small, so I was only about 8 people back when I went on the floor. I got pummeled in the pit but luckily some big dudes rescued me. My Converses ended up getting stepped on repeatedly, so I lost my shoes. I found one because a guy was carrying it around the pit waving it in the air. Several people told me they saw a similar shoe go on stage, so I had a roadie throw it back to me once the show was over. This concert was definitely better than the Kings of Leon show I went to recently where I got separated from my group and missed the entire show. The Cruzan Amphitheater gets absolutely no cell phone service so I got lucky to find a friend who parked near us.