Super Easy Über Tasty Vegetable Medley

My partner and I, for a variety of good reasons, decided to give up red meat about three months ago.

We’re also slowly moving away from poultry and I can sense that the world of Vegetarianism is probably just around the corner.

To date, frankly, we’ve not missed red meat. In fact, I rarely seem to think about it. Besides the obvious health benefits that come with giving up red meat, sometimes it’s nice to just to shake up your food routine a bit and try something different once in a while.

While the following dish may not classify as a food routine “shake up”, it is incredibly easy, wildly tasty and quite good for you.

It’s something that my partner threw together one night and it has quickly become one of my favorite vegetarian dishes. It’s also one of those divine dishes that only gets better when eaten the next afternoon for lunch.

I’ve even stuffed it into the middle of a cheese omelet on occasion. It transformed it from a pretty good cheese omelet to something that upon one taste makes you want to thrown a crown atop your head, march down your street and toss glitter into the air from your frying pan.

Though, it’s probably best that you don’t lest you end up in a padded cell somewhere.

George (my beloved partner and excellent cook) simply chopped up a mixture of our favorite vegetables (in this case, small red potatoes, fresh red bell pepper, mushrooms, a can of drained and rinsed black beans, fresh broccoli, baby carrots, and frozen corn), tossed them about with some olive oil, salt and pepper and placed them into a cast iron Dutch oven.

Place the lid on the Dutch oven and pop it into a 350 degree oven for about an hour.

What you’ll get at the end of your wait is a big hearty pot of something divine that smells so good, coyotes will howl.

We served ours on top of some brown rice which was generously sprinkled with Louisiana Hot Sauce.



As I mentioned earlier, the leftovers – should they exist – are even better the next day. Here’s an actual photo of the feast that I called lunch today.

I added a side of toasted whole grain bread smeared with roasted red pepper humus – and before you ask – no, I was not wearing a tied dyed t-shirt and shaking a tambourine while indulging in the deliciousness. Though, I have done that before and enjoyed the experience.

 
So, there it is. Easy, healthy, hearty and affordable.

Now, go eat your vegetables! 

Let’s, like, write it right Y’all!

I just came across this sentence being used to describe a product from very popular website geared towards digital design professionals - "All components was created on a 12-grid system, they like fit together like puzzles".

I’m including this actual screen capture of the sentence so you can be equally gobsmacked by its appearance.

The very fact that this sentence was not only constructed by a paid employee, but also - presumably - made it past an editor's gaze, given the OK, and then published on a very public (and heretofore professional) website shows that this is what now passes for professionalism in our culture. 

That ominous deep ringing sound that you are now hearing is the death knell of competency. Get used to it. Make friends with it. You’ll be hearing it more and more frequently as the weeks pass.

I’m not exactly sure how we have arrived at this point, but I have my theories.

I believe that there are several paths that have led us to the big Dumbapoloza complacency party. Complete reliance upon digital ink and the need to crank out snippets of copy at the speed of light in order to attract viewers, our crumbling public school system and the ocean of garbage that revels in ignorance while passing for entertainment are all factors in the dumbing down of America.

Make no mistake here, I’m not overreacting at the sight of one small, poorly written sentence, I’m responding to the clues that are becoming more and more prevalent with each passing day in this country. The public appearance of this one simple sentence (though you could pick from a plethora of others) shows you that the door to complacency and ignorance is now open and serving as a portal to it’s becoming an accepted way of life in this country.

You can see it reflected in American media, in entertainment, and perhaps most disturbing of all – at the voting booth. There are members of Congress that say absolutely moronic things. Smart people don’t vote for morons unless they have a plan to use them for some kind of purpose.

In that context, visualize the offending sentence as one of those loose threads that is pulled off of a suit in a slap-stick comedy routine. The thread is quickly pulled and the next thing you know, off comes the sleeve. Insert the comic slide whistle sound here.

Of course, my kvetching won't change the ever devolving professional standard. I am simply here to shine the light of awareness on this situation. It is my hope that others will do the same – though I realize that each time I turn on my proverbial flashlight, I am moving deeper and deeper into the forgotten land of “old school”.

But so be it, eventually the pendulum will swing back into enlightenment. It always does. But I’m afraid there will be a very long – and dark – path to tread before it does.