No Words Wednesday: Star Wars Day!

May the Fourth Be With You!!

Misadventures in Cooking - Asparagus stinks

Note: I've decided to rename this feature Misadventures in Cooking because...er, well, because it's more appropriate where I'm concerned.


For reasons beyond my comprehension, a couple of weeks ago I purchased a can of whole asparagus at the grocery store. When I got it home, I realized - I had no flippin' idea how to cook asparagus?!

So I did what I always do when I need an answer - I turned to twitter. I got advice from many tweeps on how best to prepare this veggie - and only one had the decency to suggest "throwing it away and not eating it." Next time, I'll surely listen to him.

In the meantime, I was following instructions I'd gotten elsewhere, and looking to butter, garlic and a grill to enhance this green vegetable. Don't get me wrong - they were excellent instructions. But of all the recommendations I got - I didn't get one warning about the awful smell. Which made me sad (and slightly nauseous).

Pressing on - in the name of better eating, trying new things, blog content and not wasting food - I proceeded to bury the shoots in melted butter and garlic salt, and plop them on my electric grill. I will admit - the final product didn't taste half bad....

I did not manage to choke down more than a couple of bites.

....but I'd drowned it in so much butter and garlic that I don't think what remained could actually be considered a vegetable. They were also soggy, so even if I got past the smell - I'd never get past that texture.

So what did I do wrong? Was it because the asparagus was canned, and not fresh? Did I use too much butter? Did I not grill long enough, or on a high enough heat?

I'm interested to learn - for learning sake. I won't be trying this dish again any time soon.

A non-feminist's view on feminism

Depsite what some people might think, I don't consider myself a feminist. I do believe that women should be empowered, independent and fulfilled - with or without a man. I do believe women should be treated equally, and have the same rights, responsibilities and opportunities as anyone else.

The thing is - I believe that about everyone. I think I sometimes sound like I'm preaching the woman's case because I speak from that perspective - but that's because I'm a woman. It's really the only perspective from which I have a view.

Feminism is defined as "the doctrine advocating social, political and all other rights of women equal to those of men;" and "an organized movement for the attainment of such rights for women." To me, a feminist is someone who is actively engaged in that fight. Who believes that women don't enjoy the same rights as men, and who believes that is something for which we need to fight.

I'm not debating whether we do or we don't - mostly because I'm in no mood to research facts, and I suspect even if I was, I'd find plenty in support of either position. The fact is - I've never had to fight for my rights as a woman. I've never been shut out of a club or a job because of my gender; I've never earned less than my male counterparts; I've never been pregnant, so I've never experienced any related prejudice or challenge; I've grown up in a world where my reproductive rights have always been respected.

Since I've never had to fight for equal rights, it seems hypocritical that I would call myself a feminist - someone who actively fights. Plenty of women came before me who did fight for those rights, so that women like me could be in a position to say, "I've never...." It seems disrespectful for me to align myself with them and their heroic efforts - so I won't.

I suspect those women hoped that eventually there would be women like me. They fought and argued and lost and won battles - all in the name of equality. The whole point being that one day, women wouldn't have to fight anymore. The point was never for the battle to keep going - the idea was to win, right?

I guess if I can say "I never had to...." - I'm proof of some victory, no matter how small.