The Amazing Backwards Rossetti

Well friends....Rossetti has moulted.

Other spiders do a lot of preparation before hand to let you know a moult is coming.

But not Rossetti.

Other spiders stop eating and seem almost fearful of food so that you have to awkwardly fish a live cricket out of their tank because it is scaring your sweetums.

But not Rossetti.

Other spiders do "spider yoga" for several days where they stretch up against the glass to loosen their carapace.

But not Rossetti.

Other spiders lay a web mat down so they have a soft place to moult. When you see that happening you know they will "do their thang" in a couple of hours.

But not Rossetti.

Other spiders moult on a regular schedule at three months, then six months, then once a year when they reach adulthood.

But not Rossetti.

To be fair, some of that one is her species. She is a Chilean Rose and they don't always follow the once a year schedule.

It's been over three years since her last moult.

And we have no idea how old she is as she is a rescue and she hasn't followed the moulting schedule which helps you to determine the age of a spider.

We just woke up today and she had done it. Just like that. Boom.

Rossetti is our special needs spider.

She seems a bit dyspraxic (like dyslexic only with coordination and movement). As she is stalking her prey (and if you have ever seen a spider hunt, they really stalk like lions) she creeps toward the cricket and then.......pounces in the wrong direction!

Every time.

She also really hates plastic trees.

I mean *really* hates. I didn't even know spiders could have emotions like this. But hers are strong ones.

We put a small plastic tree in her tank. She worked for days to wrap it up in spider silk which pulled all the sticky-out branches flat. then she bulldozed the tree, carried to her hidey (which was like a hollowed out log) and spent two days shoving the tree under the log and then buried the ends of the tree in substrate so she didn't have to look at them. Not like she could really look at them because despite having eight eyes, tarantulas are virtually blind and rely on other senses like touch to get around.

But you know what I mean.

And for the last two years she has had a bit of web hanging off her butt like toilet paper on the bottom of your shoe.

Um...excuse me...you've got something...right there. No other side.....

But we love our little bundle of contradictions.

Well done Rossetti.

What We Ate Wednesday--Mushroom, Potato and Kale Curry

Hello lovelies. Curry. Delicious curry. The sort of thing you can throw together by cleaning out your fridge and still come up with a delicious meal.

I prefer curry paste to curry powder, but it's all good. We like to buy Pataks Balti Curry Paste which contains:

Water, Rapeseed Oil (20%), Ground Spices (16%) [Cumin (3.5%), Paprika (3.5%), Turmeric, Coriander, Spices, Fennel], Maize Flour, Salt, Acids (Acetic Acid, Citric Acid), Tamarind, Cracked Black Pepper, Garlic Powder (0.5%), Cracked Coriander Seed, Dried Crushed Red Chilli, Black Kalonji Seed, Died Coriander Leaf

This curry was made from stuff we already had:

onions and garlic

potatoes

mushrooms

kale (could sub spinach but kale rocks our socks)

coconut milk

curry paste

If I had had frozen peas I would thrown them in as well. 

It was really saucy so I would suggest serving it with naan bread so you can sop up the juices. 

Sop being a technical term for soak up all the goodness with yo' bread  if you are from the American South. 

Mushroom, Potato and Kale Curry

You need:

one onion, chopped

3-4 cloves garlic, crushed

200g button mushrooms (about 10?) 

2 large white potatoes, diced

125ml (half a cup) vegetable broth

1 tin coconut milk

3 TB curry paste or curry powder

100g kale or spinach (about 4-5 cups) 

squeeze of lemon (I used bottled and it it was fine)

1. Cook the onion in a TB of water until softened then add the garlic and the mushrooms. Cook until mushrooms start to release their water and soften.

2. Add the potato, vegetable broth, coconut milk and curry paste/powder. Bring to the boil and then simmer 25 minutes.

3. Meanwhile prepare your naan bread. If you can't find a vegan or gluten free one, fear not. Use my 5 minute flatbread found {HERE} 

4. When the 25 minutes are done and the naan is hot, then add your spinach or kale and stir and let it wilt. Then add a squeeze of lemon juice to brighten it. I like to twist on several grinds of pepper at this point, but that's just me. 

If you have frozen peas throw them in for the last 5 minutes to defrost. 

All done within a half an hour.

If you have always have curry paste or powder and a tin of coconut milk or a tin of tomatoes, then you can just throw them together with all the veg in your fridge and call it a curry. 

Problem solved. Need to feed more? Serve over rice to extend it. Or a tin of chickpeas. Sorted. 

Murder Ballad Monday--Polly Vaughan by Tony Rose

Hello and welcome to Murder Ballad Monday. I am continuing to explore different versions of the Irish folk song Polly Vaughan classified as number 166 in the Roud Folk song index. This version is entitled Polly Vaughan and was sung by Tony Rose in 1976 on his album On Banks of Green Willow.

This version is unusual in that the hunter is named Willy as he is always referred to as Jimmy or Jimmy Randall or by no name in the other versions. This one is also unusual in that his father seems to be indicating he will bring money to the trial (a hundred bright guineas) to help his son go free. Is this a bribe? Or just settling fine? Who knows. Thankfully, Polly’s ghost appears to say it was an accident, so Willy’s dad can save his money.

You can listen to this version here:

One midsummer's evening, the sun being gone down,
Young Polly went walking by the side of a pond.
She sat under the shady trees, the showers for to shun,
With her apron wrapped around her, as white as a swan.

Young Willy went hunting with his dog and his gun,
Young Willy went hunting as the evening came on.
Down among those green rushes, as the evening came on,
He shot his own true love in the room of a swan.

And when he'd seen what he'd done away he did run
Crying, “Father, dear father, do you see what I've done?
Down among those green rushes, as the evening came on,
I shot my own true love in the room of a swan.”

“Stay at home, dear Willy, till your trial do come on,
That you may not be banished to some far land.
On the day of your trial your father will appear
With a hundred bright guineas if that will you clear.”

On the day of the trial young Polly did appear,
Crying, “People, oh people, let Willy go clear,
Down among those green rushes, as the evening came on,
He shot his own true love in the room of a swan.”

That’s all for this week’s Murder Ballad Monday. Stay tuned for another look at this ballad when I look at a bluegrass version by the Dillards. 

What We Ate Wednesday--Roasted Parsnips, Carrots, and Chickpeas with Kale

Hello lovelies. This week’s meal was a “clean out the fridge” meal which was so gorgeous, it deserves a blogpost.

I looked in my fridge. I had parsnips and carrots and kale. I had chickpeas. I had brown rice. I had one tiny onion and a sorry half of a green pepper. I could do something with that.

I often roast parsnips and carrots and I often roast chickpeas, so I figured why not roast them together?

I decided to combine how I roast both of these and do my standard sautéed kale and serve it over rice.

This totally worked.

Roasted Parsnips, Carrots, and Chickpeas with Kale

Preheat your oven to 220C/ 425F and put your roasting tin in the oven to heat up.

In a bowl combine:

2 large or 4 small parsnips, cut into strips

1 large or 2 small carrots, cut into strips

1 tin chickpeas, drained and rinsed

1 TB oil

1 TB tamari or soy sauce

Salt and pepper to taste

1 TB liquid sweetener like maple syrup, agave or golden syrup (don’t add this yet!)

1. When the oven is preheated, take your hot pan out and add the above into it. It will sizzle! Turn the heat down to 200C/400F and put back in the hot oven for 20 minutes.

On the hob:

When the countdown on your timer is about 5 minutes then sauté the following in a large pan in a splash of water or oil.

1 onion, sliced into rainbows

Half a pepper, chopped

2. When the timer beeps, stir and put back in the oven for 5 minutes. When the timer beeps again, take out the roasting tin and add your TB liquid sweetener and put it back in the hot oven for 5 more minutes.

3.Add 100g of kale (destemmed and torn up)—about 4-5 cups to the pan on the hob and cook with a splash of water until reduced and bright green. Then add:

A good glug of tamari or soy sauce

1 drizzle of toasted sesame oil

A good squidge of liquid sweetener like golden syrup

(I realise these measurements are imprecise, but that is how I do it.)

Serve the greens with the roasted veg (which are soft and caramelised) and the roasted chickpeas (which are crunchy) over brown rice.

 I use easy cook brown rice. I started boiling my water first, so that I put the roasting tin in the oven when the rice started to cook so they would come out round the same time.  Make sense?

This was super healthy and super delicious. It made enough for 4 servings or two greedy people servings. 

The Sad Story With The Happy Ending

Once upon a time, in a land far away there lived a man and a woman. They lived in a funny house that was pink on the outside and much bigger than it appeared on the inside. They called it the TARDIS house.

They lived in that big house, just the two of them for many years. The lady, who was a teacher, spent all day with small children. They were not able to have children of their own so she spent her days being mother to the munchkins in her class. Her life was good. Sometimes she was sad, but all she had to do was look into the face of her 30 bright-eyed first graders and she was happy again.

One day, a little girl came into their lives. She was one of the lady’s favourite students and she needed a home. She lived with the man and the woman for a year and it was a good year. The lady was a mother. The little girl had parents who loved her. They were hoping to adopt the little girl and give her the forever home she deserved.

But it was not to be.

For reasons too complicated to explain, the adoption could not go through and the little girl had to be sent back to live with her family.

The lady was devastated. The man was sad. The little girl was heartbroken.

The lady lost touch with the little girl and never knew what had happened to her. Was she happy? Were they treating her well? Was she loved? Did she remember the man and woman who had loved her so much?

The woman was so sad inside that she tucked away her sadness and rarely spoke about her daughter. It hurt too much to remember.  It was too complicated to explain how it all fell apart, but she thought of her daughter every day. She prayed that she was OK and that she would remember the lady with love.

Years went by and the man and woman decided to leave their past behind and move far, far away. The sailed the ocean to their new home and made a life for themselves on distant shores.

But still, sometimes, the woman was woken up at night with thoughts of her little girl. “Does she hate me because we had to give her back?” she wondered. “Does she know that it was not our choice?”

              

Recently, the little girl (who was all grown up) found the lady and they are a family again. They never forgot each other. They never stopped loving each other.

Through the miracle of modern technology, they “skype” and talk to each other and try to make sense of the past and catch up on the missing years.

The woman cries when she thinks of all the birthdays and milestones she missed. She cries when she hears the life that her daughter had-- which is not the life that she (or any child) deserves. She cries when she thinks of the life they could have given her. She laughs when she sees her grandbabies.

                                 

Yes…the woman went from childless to mother and grandmother all in one go.

It is overwhelming, but wonderful.

It does not matter what is the colour of their skin, but what is in their heart.

It does not matter if they are blood kin or not. Family is who loves you and supports you unconditionally.

They are a family.

I love you my baby girl, Monjae.

Welcome home. 

Murder Ballad Monday--Molly Bawn (Alison Kraus and the Chieftans)

Hello and welcome to Murder Ballad Monday. Last we looked at a very traditional Irish version of Molly Bawn by the Dubliners. This week, a more ethereal version of this song by Alison Kraus with the Chieftans from the album Down the Old Plank Road: The Nashville Sessions which was released in 2002.

                      

It is a strange mash-up that begins like the Dubliners’ version and ends like Peter, Paul and Mary’s one.  

You can listen to Alison Kraus and the Chieftans here:

I have included the lyrics below if you’d like to follow along.

Come all ye young fellas
That handle a gun
Beware of night rambling
By the setting of the sun
And beware of an accident
That happened of late
To young Molly Bawn
And sad was her fate

She was going to her uncles
When a shower came on
She went under a green bush
The shower to shun

Her white apron wrapped around her
He took her for a swan
But a hush and sigh
Was his own Molly Bawn

He quickly ran to her
And found she was dead
And there on her bosom
Where he soaked, tears he shed

He ran home to his father
With his gun in his hand
Saying "Father dear father
I have shot Molly Bawn"

Her white apron wrapped around her
He took her for a swan
But a hush and a sigh
'Twas his own Molly Bawn

He roamed near the place
Where his true love was slain
He wept bitter tears
But his cries were in vain
As he look on the lake
A swan glided by
And the sun slowly sank
In the gray of the sky

That’s all for this week. Stay tuned next week for a version entitled Polly Vaughan by Tony Rose.

Reconnecting to the Disconnect

It has been a day.

A day for connection.

A day for reflection.

A day to remind me why I chose compassion over cruelty.

A day that reminded me that for many years I did not.

A day for atonement.

The Carmarthen and Pembrokeshire Vegans spent the afternoon at GREENACRES ANIMAL RESCUE in the freezing Welsh rain. Our tour guide Mikey led us around, showed us the animals and told us their stories. He kindly took this picture of us in one of the rare moments when the rain had stopped.
                          
There were cats and dogs waiting to be find their forever home. I did not tour their quarters due to my allergies. But i am told that most of the cats that are left are black or black and white because cats with colour are chosen first. A ginger cat would be snatched up in a heartbeat, but a black moggy has to wait to be re-homed.

There were a variety of ducks and chickens, many ex-battery hens. Many with missing feathers, spindly legs and no beaks.

There were alpaca, sheep, horses, ferrets and bunnies and pigs. Beautiful pigs. Enormous pigs that looked you right in the eyes with a cheeky expression and were happy to be scritched behind the ears like a dog.

But I could not take my eyes off of the turkeys.

I have never seen a live turkey before. Only dead ones on a plate. There were three females in one pen and I watched them closely. I saw one who had had her beak burned off with a hot wire to prevent her from pecking other birds who had been closely confined. I saw her difficulty eating grain. It made me want to cry.

In another part of the barn was a gorgeous tom turkey named Mr T who looked like this:
                           
He was magnificent. There is no other word for it. And I felt hot tears of shame welling in my eyes because of the indoctrination I had as a child.

Thanksgiving.

Sometimes people called it Turkey-day.

You didn't just eat some sliced meat on a sandwich at Thanksgiving, you murdered a whole bird and put it as a centrepiece on your table.

I looked forward to Thanksgiving all year because I loved turkey. But I did not love turkeys.

Seriously, turkey was my favourite meat. I never saw the animal, even when it was animal shaped sitting on my grandmother's table. I was blinded by my taste buds.

We got a special kind of turkey every year. A Greenberg Smoked Turkey. They injected the birds with this pepper solution which made them taste *amazing*. They were "grown locally" near my grandmother's house in Tyler, Texas. We always felt like we were doing something good by getting a bird that was local. Not some anonymous bird with dubious origins from the local supermarket freezer, but a Greenberg. I visited their website to see if they were still going. It read:

Greenberg smoked turkey is a treat that is not to be missed, so much so that around 200,000 customers make us part of their holiday season each year. 

200,000. Each year. That's 200,000 lives lost every year.

I ate Greenberg turkey every Thanksgiving and Christmas for 34 years. That is 68 lives that I am personally responsible for taking.

It got me thinking about how we objectify and glorify turkeys in school. I did this all through my school career and I am guilty of doing this as a teacher.

The month of November is all about turkeys. And Pilgrims with buckles on their hats which would NOT have been there (a pet peeve of mine, but that's a tale for another day.)

As teachers we make work fun by doing things like this:
              

We all thought turkeys were fun.

And then we do art like this:


We all thought turkeys were beautiful.

And finally, we read books like this:



This fantastic tale is all about a group of kids on a school trip to a farm who find out that that turkeys are going to be killed and stage an act of animal liberation by hiding the turkeys under their coats and take them home and have a vegetarian meal instead with the turkeys as guests.

I read this every year to my class. I read it and we all cheered because no one (and I mean NO ONE) wanted to see those animals die.

Then we all went to the cafeteria and ate this:
    

I couldn't see it.

I didn't want to see it.

But now I do.

Seeing those turkeys today made me realise how glad I am that we are vegan. How important it seems to choose compassion.

Many people ask me "Don't you miss meat?" I hold my hand up and admit that I used to LOVE the taste of meat. Especially turkey. Especially Greenberg turkey. But somehow, it stopped being about me and what I wanted. It started being about what is RIGHT and what is FAIR.

For years, there was this disconnect between the lives of sentient beings and my plate. These days, we are connected to life and all the living beings that inhabit this blue-green planet.  All the food we eat is delicious and cruelty free.

Today reminded me of the connection.

I let that turkey nuzzle my hand and I said a 68 apologies to him and his brethren for the lives I wilfully took.

It is good to reconnect with animals to help remind us they are beings in their own right who feel pain as well as joy, just as we do. If you have an animal sanctuary near you, I urge you visit and meet your meat if you are not vegan.

I would also say if you have spare cash and want to do something nice for animals please send some donations to Greenacres which you can do {HERE}

Be veg, go green to save the animals, yourself and the planet.