Fixin' Supper

• $45 million East Nashville project in the works | The Tennessean
  Great news for East Nashville…the Bank of America property — SUCH prime real estate — is finally going to get re-developed.
  (tags: EastNashville)
• Can You Become a Creature of New Habits? | New York Times
  Great article on learning, innovation and habits.
  (tags: learning habits)

• The Uneven Playing Field – Girls’ Sports Injuries | New York Times
  Everyone wants girls to have as many opportunities in sports as boys. But can we live with the greater rate of injuries they suffer? This is a terrifying story, with some hope at the end.
  (tags: sports injuries girls)

I just love risotto. If it weren’t too boring to contemplate, I think I might eat it every other day or so. And to clarify — too boring to cook the same thing every other day. Eating the same thing — eh, that’s not a big deal to me. Strange, I know.

Something I reminded myself tonight: High heat is so wonderful. I love my gas stove. One of the great benefits of gas is that you can adjust heat way up, then way down….just like that. And the way up — often so fabulous for sauteing vegetables, for instance.

Here’s what I did tonight:

1 c. arborio rice
2 T. butter, 2 T. butter
3 c. vegetable broth
1 red bell pepper
1 onion
1 yellow squash
3 cloves garlic
1/2 c. white wine
1/3 c. grated parmesan
1 t. thyme
Pinch of salt
Pepper

Simmer the broth — a low, flat pan works well.

Melt 2 T. butter in a large saucepan and add the rice. Cook for a few minutes over medium until rice begins to brown. Turn to medium low. Add 1/2 c. broth at a time, stirring it in. Let the broth cook down in the rice then add another 1/2 c. of broth.

Meanwhile, chop vegetables. Melt 2 T. butter in a skillet. Saute onion over medium high heat. Add red pepper then squash. Add herbs and spices. Go easy on the salt….broth is often salty, so you’ll want to taste at the end.

Once the rice is done, add the wine and let it cook down too. Add the vegetables then the cheese. Test for salt.

Mmm!

• Why Leisure Matters in a Busy World | New York Times
  Oddly, I have been thinking about this a lot lately. How to fit leisure into my crazy life. I have found of course that I have to be intentional about it. Interesting ideas here.
  (tags: leisure time schedule busy)

• Simple Gifts: The Shaker Way to Cook and Eat |NPR
  (tags: recipes shakers)
• Disappearing Foods: Encouraging a Comeback | The New York Times

• Clueless in America | New York Times
  Ignorance in the United States is not just bliss, it’s widespread. Column on the ongoing failures of our educational system.
  (tags: education)

• Sticker Shock in the Organic Aisles | New York Times
  Rising prices for organic groceries are prompting some consumers to question their devotion to food produced without pesticides, chemical fertilizers or antibiotics.
  (tags: organic food prices)

• Searching for a Savior | Nashville Scene
  This column is so damning — rightly so — of the Nashville school board. I have no idea why it appears to be so difficult to get this going.
  (tags: school board nashville superintendent)

• Pick on the Big Guys | New York Times
  Great column on re-thinking the way we handle transportation policy and costs.
  (tags: environment transportation)

• Mark Bechtel: Why I was born at the perfect time | Sports Illustrated
  I’m an on-again, off-again subscriber, so I just ran across the archive of columns by my friend Mark Bechtel. Gifted writer. This is a great one….of course I agree with him entirely on the best year to have been born.
  (tags: markbechtel sportsillustrated)