Department Of Now That The Winter Olympics Are Over I Can Get Back To
Considering Issues Of Profound Ethical And Existential Importance®
Host David Marchese:
“What do you think we should *do* with the increasing awareness that more animals might be conscious than we previously thought? ….we *know* human beings are conscious and we exploit the hell out of other humans all the time.”
Guest Michael Pollan:
“…there’s this whole conversation…that if A.I. is conscious, then we’re going to have to give it moral consideration. Well, really: have we given moral consideration to one another? Have we given moral consideration to the chickens and the cattle that we eat? The answer is no. It doesn’t automatically follow. So, we’re going to have to sort out the ethics.”
Michael Pollan:
“Maybe it’s around the ability to suffer. Maybe that’s where you draw the line…but it’s not as easy as: Ital you’re conscious, therefore you have all these rights…. Who we grant personhood to is a very subjective human decision. We give it to corporations, oddly enough, which are not conscious, but there are all sorts of creatures we don’t give it to. I don’t think we’re entirely rational or consistent in our granting of moral consideration.”
( excerpt from journalist and professor Michael Pollan’s interview with David Marchese,
“Michael Pollan says humanity is about to undergo a revolutionary change,” 2-7-26, NY Times podcast The Interview )
So yeah, there’s that. Or….
I could search the incredible volume of available videos online and perhaps find an entire channel devoted to showing a continuous loop of All Races Won By Norwegian XC Skiing Æsir-god Johannes Høsflot Klæbo® .
You know what you need to do.
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Department Of Five Words You Don’t Hear Me
(Or Anyone) Saying Very Often…Or At All
“This Norwegian salad dressing rocks!”
Holy Hel [2] and Herring Heritage – it seems moiself is producing a (unintended) Norski theme blog. [3]
Dateline: last week. I finally got around to making this salad dressing, from the innovative mind of Norwegian chef Andreas Viestad. I’d been intending to do so for some time; now, I want this dressing on every lettuce-based salad I eat, for the rest of my life.
Viestad, who also hosts the PBS show New Scandinavian Cooking, pissed off impressed the European gastronomic world by when his cookbook on Norwegian food was selected the “Best Foreign Cookbook in the World” and also was awarded Special Prize Of The Jury at the 2008-2009 Gourmand World Cookbook Awards.
Norwegian Salad Dressing
(moiself’s adaptation of Andreas Viestad’s recipe; serves 2-3)
Viestad’s recipe uses juice from the lettuce offcuts to make a dressing with an intense lettuce flavor. Use your best lettuce for the salad, and the dressing (which will be an intriguing dark green color).
- 2 to 3 small heads of your favorite/most flavorful lettuce
– one small head of radicchio or other bitter salad green [4]
– 1 t Dijon mustard
– neutral oil (I use avocado)
– splash of lemon juice or any vinegar (optional)
– ground black pepper; and a pinch of fresh or dried dill
– sea salt to serve
(1) Rinse and tear the greens into bite-sized pieces; dry them in a salad spinner. Set aside the “cutoffs” (inner stems, core, and outer leaves) of the greens.
(2) Juice cutoffs in a juicer; strain juice ( you want ~ ¼ c ). [5]
(3) Add juice to a jar along an equal amount of oil as juice (or less, as moiself prefers) the Dijon, the spices, and lemon juice/vinegar; shake well to combine. Mix dressing into the salad leaves, serve w/sea salt sprinkled atop greens.
Many people who eat salad don’t tend to care about (or even notice) the flavor of the lettuce – it’s all about the dressing. [6] Viestad came up with a dressing that uses the bits and pieces of the lettuce that we tend to throw away but where the lettuce flavor is concentrated – almost more lettuce-flavored than the lettuce itself – which is why the greens you use should be your favorites. Y’all foodies may be thinking, Why would you *trust* any salad recipe from a Norwegian? Growing lettuce in the high north might sound like a bad idea, but as one Norski “salad farmer” explained to Andreas, [7] the far northern farms of Norway have good soil, good water, good light, and the cold night temperatures help the salad greens to grow “strong, crispy, and tasty.”
The only reason our household now has a juicer is because moiself wanted to properly make this dressing [1] . I *love love love* this dressing; please try it out, and I must emphasize again that you should do so using the best, flavorful lettuce you can find. On that subject, I hope I don’t have to remind anyone that storebought [8] iceberg “lettuce” is anything other than nasty and flavorless. My favorite description of iceberg lettuce came from an anonymous post on a food-related bulletin board, from a former restaurant worker: “…with the experience I got being an employee I can tell you that iceberg lettuce tastes as poor as my life’s decisions….at the end of the day it’s just water with a cell structure.”
In moiself’s opinion, it was the preponderance of iceberg lettuce in the Titanic’s food storage holds that actually sank the ship (there was a miscommunication when the first mate radioed for help…and the rest is history).
* * *
Department Of Every Senior Person Should Be Taking This Class-
Dang, That Means Me As Well…
Moiself is having a hard time identifying with that label, as, according to the various demographics (depending on which ones you consult), you enter senior territory at age 55, or not until 60, or 65, or 70, or 75…. I recently took a Zumba class labeled for that (“senior”) demographic. And now I’m thinking that every person, regardless of age, should also be doing so, if only to provide reason/excuse to get up and shake it instead of sitting on your ass all day commune with your fellow human beings.
I was trying to think of some activity something to stretch or even test my foot recovery. [9] At my most recent postop check (two weeks ago) I asked my doctor if a Zumba class might be good; I’d been searching for something other than what I do at home (neighborhood walking; elliptical and treadmill workouts; yoga; weights and core routines) to give my foot some new challenges. He asked if I’ve done any Zumba before my surgery. No; but I used to do a lot of Jane Fonda workout tapes back in 1990s.
I did the tapes, but not the spandex.
I told the doc that the classes were held at the local community/senior center, so it’s unlikely they’d include ski jump landing preps or ice-skating quadruple jumps or extreme…whatever. Thus, I told him, unless he said no, I was planning on checking out the Zumba class. After briefly examining my foot he gave me his thumbs up– “Feel free to resume normal activities but don’t push till it hurts/do anything stupid.”
So: moiself had my first class on Monday. [10] What can I say? I found it to be so delightful and stimulating that it’s probably banned in countries that frown on people of any age (read: females) moving in ways that distinguish them from infrastructure.
“Now, move to the music…can you even hear the music?”
And by moiself thinking that everyone should take the classes, I don’t mean only the specific brand of class called, Zumba – I’m referring to any exercise class incorporating movement/choreography/what might be called dancing.
Most of us have heard and/or read about how dancing is “good for us;” and most of us don’t have the time or inclination to take formal dance classes, often because we think that you must have a dance partner to do so. And the latter is not the case in a dance fitness class.
Research on multiple levels of study (involving brain health, psychological and social well-being ) suggests that dance-based workouts help protect against the cognitive decline that can happen as people age. From what I’ve read, learning dance/choreography workouts (I’m going to invent the acronym DCW [11] ) reduces stress by boosting your mood through the release of endorphins, providing an outlet for emotional expression, and, when it’s done in a class with other participants, [12] creates and strengthens social connections and a sense of belonging. DCW require focus as you listen to the beat, follow steps, and feel the rhythm – DCW require you to be mindful, as in, putting your mind in the present moment, or more colloquially, paying attention to what you are doing.
So, DCW aren’t just good for your mood – they’re also also great for your brain and your physical coordination. DW enhance cognitive functions, such as memory and spatial awareness and concentration…and yeah, all that’s fantastic, but it’s also just plain fun.
This move is not done in Zumba; still, I challenge you to be in a bad mood when you’re imitating a dog about to pee on a fire hydrant.
Oh yes, the class itself: the instructor (who was a sub for the usual class teacher) was excellent – both chill and enthusiastic. Also, it turns out she has a really great name (even though she spells it wrong [13] ). After the first two dance sections, in the five or so seconds of pause before the instructor queued up the next music, moiself inadvertently blurted out, “Oh, this is fun!” Apparently, in-class out-bursts are not the norm, as the teacher immediately assured the rest of the class, “She’s new.” [14]
* * *
Freethinkers’ Thought Of The Week [15]
( Emma Goldman was Russian-born, radical anarchist activist and lecturer who opposed capitalism and fascism and promoted equality for women, workers’ rights, and free education during the Progressive Era. )
* * *
May your lettuce (or your life) be more than just water with a cell structure;
May you find make room for both Issues Of Profound Ethical And Existential Importance® *and* Norwegian sports videos;
May your revolution (and exercise) always encourage dancing;
…and may the hijinks ensue.
Thanks for stopping by. Au Vendredi!
* * *
[1] I tried it with a high-speed blender – nope.
[2] In the Norse pantheon, Hel is the god (female – let’s do away with this “ess” notation, as if the male gender is the default and the female is the decorative afterthought) of death and the netherworld. Just in case you’re thinking of getting on her good side, Hel’s favorite offerings are tea, chocolate, dried meats, preserved flowers, mead, and raw honey.
[3] Just for a couple of issues.
[4] Soak radicchio or other bitter greens in ice water (helps tame the bitterness) for at least 15m while you prepare the rest of the recipe, or scroll online for cat videos .
[5] You could also use a heavy duty/high speed blender, like I did the first few times, but this takes some time and it doesn’t work as well, IMO.
[6] Except for MH, who, much to many people’s bewilderment, has always preferred his green salads sans dressing ( he thinks that dressings are or can be a cover for less-than-tasty-greens/other salad ingredients.
[7] In this episode of New Scandinavian Cooking (for which you need a PBS account, I think)
[8] Some home veggie gardeners say that there are varietals that are more palatable. I think they lie, or at least, exaggerate.
[9] I had surgery on my left foot in Mid-November.
[10] The second today.
[11] For Cance Choreography Workouts…but perhaps for a catchier acronym, Damn Cute Wiggling?
[12] As opposed to doing it alone in your home, to a dvd or online class.
[13] Robin.
[14] Her explanation was probably not necessary, as, from what I could see, all I got was enthusiastic smiles, and no Debbie-Downer Stop Having Fun looks from the other participants.
[15] “free-think-er n. A person who forms opinions about religion on the basis of reason, independently of tradition, authority, or established belief. Freethinkers include atheists, agnostics and rationalists. No one can be a freethinker who demands conformity to a bible, creed, or messiah. To the freethinker, revelation and faith are invalid, and orthodoxy is no guarantee of truth.” Definition courtesy of the Freedom From Religion Foundation, ffrf.org
