Submitted by: Mike Spindell, guest blogger
Sometimes an idea hits me leading to an epiphany. Epiphanies for me usually take the shape of the realization that a 
belief I’ve held for a long time, is actually more important in the scheme of things than I had previously thought about. This happened with me some few years ago when the opposition to gay marriage defeated a voter initiative. I had been a believer in the need for equality for Gay men and women since I was a teenager. After all the bullies who were beating me up kept calling me a “fag, or “queer” and while I wasn’t, I got insight into what it must be like to be homosexual. In life you have the choice of identifying with the bully, or those who are bullied. I’ve always chosen the latter. So as a young adult I cried tears of joy when “Stonewall” happened and the police found that Gays would no longer be easy targets. Working for NYC’s Human Rights Administration and then living in Manhattan gave me the privilege of meeting and befriending Gay people of both sexes. When AIDS hit the scene I had many friends die and I worked to help the Division of Aids Services as a Budget Director. Yet while I always completely supported LGBT rights, for a while I believed the focus on Gay Marriage, shouldn’t be in the forefront of the movement. The argument over Proposition 8 in California http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Proposition_8 gave me an epiphany that led me to see that not only was the right to marriage an essential part of ensuring the Constitutional Rights of Gay people, but it was the key element. Being unable to assist in the health care choices of long term partners, in some cases even being barred from the funerals, or participating in ones’ partners Health Plan are important Constitutional issues and the essence of the battle.
Last night my wife and I saw and were very moved by Stephen Spielberg’s “Lincoln”. There was a scene in it during a congressional debate where one congressman said in effect “If we grant Blacks freedom, then we’ll have to give them the right to vote……and if we give them the right to vote we will have to give women the right to vote. In truth it was another six decades before this country bestowed upon its’ women the basic Constitutional Right of voting as my wife pointed out to me. Later in the evening we watched the Bill Maher Show and during the discussion reference was made to the frequency of abuse and murder of women throughout the world and suddenly my epiphany. While I’ve always supported women’s rights, it is so easy in a world where so many wrong things occur daily to not place the abuse and murder of women particularly at the top of an agenda decrying unjust war, drone attacks, racism, economic disparity and torture, to name a few. As it became clear to me last night, the murder, rape, bondage and the degradation of women is part and parcel of all these issues of evil and not merely one aspect of them. Considering that women comprise at least half of humanity, the mistreatment of women worldwide is actually the most important issue humanity faces. We must solve this before we can even hope to solve any other great issue. Because I’m not really a great thinker, many of my “epiphanies” are ones that are obvious to many. However, when they do occur I am willing to reconsider the hierarchy of my beliefs. Unlike my other guest blogs I will not tire you with the evidence of what to me is self-evident. Do you agree, or do you have other world problem solving priorities?
New York City !!! get a rope
But my preferred enchilada sauce is New Mexican style.
Smom,
I’m kind of a saucier. It’s my thing. Most sauces I can replicate after tasting once or twice. I can do all of those styles, French (if you can make the mother sauces, you can make damn near anything), Chinese, Japanese, Vietnamese, Italian, Creole, Cajun and generic American style sauces. About the only thing I’ve never tried is Indian because I’m just not a fan of too much curry, but I’m sure I could. The principles are all similar when not the same.
gene, Do you cook mexican, tex mex or new mexican sauces?
Don’t hesitate to ask, B. I’ve got simple for the first timer recipes for enchilada sauce and hard core ones too, but to be honest, even the hardcore aren’t hard to make. It’s a very forgiving sauce to assemble and hard to break. Really it’s little more than a simple reduction with a light roux.
Blouise, Since you are a novice go to the Sante Fe Cooking School site and get some ideas. They sell chilies and some pre – mixed items. It is a great place to visit when you are in Santa Fe.
novice at chilies
SwM, Gene and gbk,
It’s too bad we all live so very far apart as it would be fun to cook and share
SwM and Gene,
I’m a novice but not shy about reaching out for help which means you’ll probably be hearing from me.
Smom,
Yeah, I’ve used that before. It’s better than most for sure. But it’s also a fairly easy sauce to make. I’ve heard some of Blouise’s cooking adventures. I’m sure she could pull it off.
gbk,
Please send it to me
gene, That canned hatch red is pretty good for a quick fix. I linked it. Blouise might want to start out with that until she is ready to start roasting and grinding chilies. 🙂
If I can’t get hatch, I use guajillos to make enchilada sauce. Not as good, but better than from a can and readily available (it’s a really popular pepper in Mexican cooking).
Blouise,
I have a name and number. Bulk only, which is the only way to buy chilies.
http://www.hatchmexicanfood.com/ Easy ready made stuff.
http://santafeschoolofcooking.com/ You can order from here. I do New Mexican cooking because you can easily get the ingredients in Texas. They even have a hatch chile fest here.
gbk,
How in the hell do I get some of that stuff?
Yeah, I’ve got ten pounds of both New Mexico Red and Green in my freezer (powder form) and another five pounds each roasted, dried, then frozen. Can’t beat it.
I’m starting to get concerned because I consider this low inventory.
New Mexico Red. ‘Nuff said.
gbk,
Yeah … that’s what I meant. 😉
It was Mexican tonight … excellent margaritas but the food fell short. However, every bit of Mexican I get up here has failed the mark once I’d experienced the real thing in New Mexico.