Five stories that have North Texas talking: Meatless hospitality, Ken Burns’ ‘The Dust Bowl,’ Gaza protests and more.
Even more insulting than being introduced to a holiday table as a “vegetarian” (as opposed to “my cousin” or “our hostess”) is to be presented with token wilty 2-veggie dishes on the account of omnivores. It implies vegetarians (and the cooks!) are picky children who get a pass on being adventurous, when many of them are actually the far opposite.
Enter Dan Pashman of The Sporkful, packing a banana squash “as big as you can fit in your oven.” He instructs all who would to stuff said squash with yam, leeks, onion, red pepper and other things, in an awe-inspiring formation of heartiness, no soy or seitan detracting. The result: Veggieducken.
Find Pashman’s interview with NPR’s Rachel Martin, and the recipe, here.
-- Lyndsay Knecht
Travel (To Highland Park Village) With Tre Wilcox
It’s time (two weeks ago) to think about Christmas shopping. Second only to the heartfelt handmade gift is the luxurious experiential gift, and I found a high-ticket staycation item via the New York Times that includes an “intimate live cooking demonstration” by Top Chef Tre Wilcox, a private VIP dinner at his Marquee Grill and two nights at the Magnolia Hotel. The trip is May 17-19.
Whether or not the $775-and-up tag is feasible, the international trip curator Goviva is an interesting guide to epic-flavored daydreams. Like surfing the North Shore with David Sterling.
-- Lyndsay Knecht
Part Two Of ‘The Dust Bowl’ Slightly Easier To Swallow Tonight
The Ken Burns documentary The Dust Bowl premiered last night. This is notable, not only because its the masterful storyteller’s latest but because the retrospective is strangely timely in Sandy’s wake. The upturned conclusion finds families migrating to California after the devastation in the southern Great Plains and airs tonight at 7 p.m. CT. PBS (‘round here, that’s us at Channel 13.)
See the preview for The Dust Bowl below:
-- Lyndsay Knecht
Dallas Marchers Join Protest Against Gaza Air Strikes
Nearly 300 people joined a downtown Dallas protest yesterday organized by the Dallas Peace Center. The org, and others, were calling on the U. S. and other nations to press Israel to stop the air strikes in Gaza. The six day offensive is meant to stop Hamas rocket fire into Israel.
President Obama, in Myanmar over the weekend, reaffirmed Israel's right to defend itself, but urged restraint. Diplomats are gathering to try to broker a cease fire. Mark Memmott of the Two-Way is following the story.
-- BJ Austin
Arlington Mom Sues District After Daughter’s PE Injury
Remember running bleachers when a couple cross-country team members couldn’t tear away from lockerside gossip en route to practice? Well, Sharri White is suing the Arlington school district since her daughter, 13-year-old Alyssa White, ended up in the hospital after having to take one for the team and do extra reps of an “explosion” lunge-and-jump exercise as a group punishment when some kids were late to PE at Ferguson Junior High School last December.
The soccer goalie apparently has a condition where her chest muscles swell when she pushes physical activity too hard. Alyssa went to Cook Children’s Medical Center two days later when she found blood in her urine and it turned out she had developed rhabdomyolysis, due to severely damaged skeletal muscles. Elizabeth Campbell of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram has the story.
-- Lyndsay Knecht
