What I'm Listening To

I need to just buy the album. 

Tribal Religions

I volunteer for the Mormon Women Project, running their facebook page, as well as, editing and publishing a monthly e-newsletter.  I love working with this diverse group of women, dedicated to celebrating the fact that there are many ways to choose the right.  We publish an profile of a Mormon woman every week, and this week's interview had an excellent quote I want to share.

I remember having a crisis of faith when I was in graduate school and we were studying literature. I was taking a course called “Black Literature,” and one of the authors of an assigned book wrote about how he had given up what he called “tribal religions” to become a Bahá’í. Why? Because he viewed Christianity, Judaism and Islam as tribal religions. The nature of a tribal religion is that it excludes anyone who is not part of the “tribe.” I thought about that (and of course Mormonism is very tribal) and agreed with him that tribal religions were destructive. I remember thinking that I could give up the church because excluding others is not what a loving God would do. Then I started thinking about family and how important family is for the development of a child and obviously a baby would not survive without a family, which is actually just a small tribe. So the tribe was probably not the problem. Everyone needs a family and that tribe to give them strength, but then that strength should be focused outside of the tribe and community rather than trying to keep people huddled together. That’s really at the core of my religious faith. I am a very religious person. I am a very religious Mormon. But the purpose of the church is to make people strong in order to reach out to the larger world, and not to keep us isolated from the world.

Perfectly said.

What I am listening to

The Like's "He's Not a Boy"



Melissa Czarnik's "Thunder Summer Storm"

Family Portraits

Rhubarb Crisp

1. I have pretty much given up making pie crusts.  I can do it, but crisps are so much easier and healthier.  Win. Win. 
2. Rhubarb has always been one of my most favorite things.  Yum. Yum.

So, putting two and two together, what could be better than a Rhubarb Crisp.  Yes, just rhubarb on its own.  No strawberries.

I found this recipe from the New York Times and adapted it a little bit, increasing the amount of oats and decreasing the amount of flour, sugar and butter.  The pecans are a flavorful, crunchy addition to the topping.  I devoured the first one I made in 24 hours (yes I am admitting to it).  And less than a week later, I restocked on rhubarb and am making another.  This time, I am going to try it topped with fresh peaches and ice-cream.     


Rhubarb Crisp

3 tablespoons cold butter, cut into small pieces, plus more for greasing pan
2 1/2 to 3 pounds rhubarb, trimmed, tough strings removed, and cut into 1 1/2-inch pieces (~5 to 6 cups)
1/4 cup white sugar
1 tablespoon orange or lemon juice
1 teaspoon orange or lemon zest
1/3 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon, or to taste
Pinch salt
1 cup rolled oats
1/2 cup pecans.


1. Heat oven to 375 degrees. Grease an 8- or 9-inch square baking or gratin dish with a little butter. Toss rhubarb with white sugar, orange or lemon juice and zest, and spread in baking dish.

2. Put the butter in a food processor along with brown sugar, flour, cinnamon and salt, and pulse for about 20 or 30 seconds, until it looks like small peas and just begins to clump together. Add oats and pecans and pulse just a few times to combine.

3. Crumble the topping over rhubarb and bake until golden and beginning to brown, 45 to 50 minutes.

Yield: 6 to 8 servings.

Suffrage Anniversary

Thursday August 26th was the anniversary of the day in 1920 when American women were granted the right to vote, and the Nineteenth Amendment to the US Constitution was ratified.  The Sewall-Belmont Museum in D.C. outlines the history of the suffrage/feminist movement.  They have Susan B. Anthony's desk, banners from the suffrage marches, and notecards woman made after lobbying on Capitol Hill for the ERA.  On one card I read, the Senator said "I never hire a married woman because she belongs in the home.  As soon as one of my girls get engaged, I fire her."  Can you believe that!!!!   My grandmother was actually fired when she became pregnant.  Outragous.  It makes me very grateful to my foremothers who fought for progress.  Now the mantle rests on my generation to continue the fight and work for wage equality, mandatory paid maternity leave, breastfeeding in the workplace, reforming social security for mothers, and stopping domestic violence, among many other things.

The next time you are in the district, I highly recommend visiting this museum. Here are some beautiful cards I purchased there:

Today is the anniversary of Martin Luther King's historic speech.  It serves as a reminder that the suffrage movement really meant suffrage for white women.  This blog post outlines the sad fact that black women were mostly excluded.

Wedding Dresses

 

Ok, so I am not even close to being a newlywed anymore, but can I just say that I loved my wedding dress.  It was something totally different than what  I thought I would get, but when I put it on, I had that "wow-moment."  The waist-line was perfect, the detailing magical, and the skirt full and elegant.   

Our new cable package includes TLC and the show "Say Yes to the Dress."  For some reason, this show captivates me.  The dresses are beautiful and the quest to find the perfect dress to reflect each individual's personality is really what fashion is all about.  Two dresses have really stuck with me:
 

This Amsale Serena is something like what I originally thought I would get (though with sleeves).  Simple. Elegant. Southern belle.  Plus it has pockets--how cool is that! 

This Monique Lhuillier gown is so unusual yet also very romantic.  I love love love the rose skirt.  Because let's admit it, my style is anything but plain and simple.  That is why I didn't end up with a simple dress.