Featured Web Resource: This Emotional Life

A reminder:
I know I'm not writing as much about "SEXY" topics such as feminism, animal rights, and the politics of pop culture as I did on the old blog. It'll happen. For now, though I need to keep things "POSI" and relatively neutral for reasons relating to a new job, major changes, new family members, etc. Once I feel more comfortable in this e-space, I'll go for it. I'm still me, y'all.



Today's goodie:

Today, I wanted to write about PBS's project "This Emotional Life." I learned about This Emotional Life at a conference for Family Home Child Care providers in Tallahassee. Of course, the speaker only covered early learning/early education, but I have spent considerable time since looking over myriad parts of this website. It is absolutely fantastic.


The project was initially a three-part documentary about relationships and the human experience. It's classic PBS- scholarly, multidisciplinary, methodical, and takes a considerable shot at being humorous. The documentary was shown in three parts on PBS, and is "good." The web resource, however, is dynamic, helpful, careful, interesting, engaging and covers more than 1000 topics related to health, well-being, and human relationships.

Just a glance at the home page will give you a good idea of the scope of this project:intimate relationships, autism, having a spouse with bipolar disorder, meditation, happiness, attachment in early childhood, how relationships affect cancer, etc.

Each topic contains articles, videos and something that I feel makes this project revolutionary:PBS hooks users up with local resources they call "locate mental health and well-being support organizations" that can provide information, action, or support.

That's right.
Worried about a friend's eating habits?
Concerned about patterns in your relationships?
Wondering what the most important factor in your child's reading development is at her/his age? love or infatuation? does my child have autism? how would I know?
how do I help a family member with a drug addiction?

PBS will hook you up with organizations (like my current employer) that can help you find the resources that you need.

Pretty fucking cool. Thanks, PBS. That's much cooler than showing a program, leaning back in your thrifted desk chair and saying, "the information is out there on the airwaves, we've done our part." Connecting people with resources. amen.


This Emotional Life

check it out.

Harbinger Hummus recipe: hummus is a a grrl's (or corgi's) best friend.

Chickpeas truly are a grrl's, corgi's, boy's, vegetarian's, vegan's, meat eater's, fire fighter's, sky diver's, writer's, academic's, land scape architect's, person's best friend.

In this blog entry, I will discuss some of the benefits of this amazing legume and post a recipe for some amazing, zesty, and mildly spicy hummus that absolutely blows my mind.

Rethinking the chickpea (garbanzo bean, Indian pea, ceci bean, Bengal gram). Did you know that chickpeas are among the earliest cultivated vegetables? In addition to being low fat, they are also chock full of protein and dietary fiber. They also contain molybdenum, folic acid, manganese, iron, copper, zinc, and magnesium. They can help lower cholesterol and improve blood sugar levels. This makes them a great food for diabetics and insulin resistant individuals. When served with high quality grains (quinoa, brown rice, whole wheat bread), they can be a complete protein food.


One way chickpeas help you GET AWESOME: The molybdenum in chickpeas helps you to detox after eating those sulfite rich foods (you can find those nasty sulfites in anything from wine to lunch meat). Without sufficient molybdenum, sulfite can give you headaches, a racing heart, and less healthy skin. ick.



Hummus, to me, is by far the most delicious and scandalous way to enjoy this amazing legume. This hummus recipe is one I have adapted from How it all Vegan (vegan cook book STAPLE for the veggie beginner or vegan cooking sorceress).

It makes two cups, and will knock the mittens off of anyone you know who likes chickpeas.

You need
1 small onion, chopped
a bunch of minced garlic! as much as you can handle!
a splash of olive oil
2 1/2 cups cooked OR canned chickpeas
3/4 cup tahini (about 200 grams)
1 1/2 tbsp Bragg's OR soy sauce
1/2 cup lemon juice
1.5 tsp cumin
1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
1 tsp salt

VARIATIONS: use roasted garlic, buy canned jalapenos in their own spicy delicious vinegar and add not only the jalapenos, but also some of the sauce. Serve with a jalapeno slice on top.

In a small saucepan, saute onions and garlic in a splash of oil on medium heat until onions are translucent. In a blender or food processor, blend the sauteed onions, chickpeas, tahini, Bragg's/soy sauce, lemon juice, cumin, cayenne and salt until you reach desired consistency.

Serve it in a cute bowl, with some cut veggies, pita etc.

NUTRITION BONUS! The Tahini is a great source of calcium! If you use Bragg's, it contains 16 healthy and important amino acids! Lemon juice has got that vitamin C, yo!


We use it for: vegan burger topping, mixing in with pasta when it doesn't seem zesty enough, eating it by itself, eating on half of a vegan bagel for breakfast, impressing people at potlucks, trying not to feed it to the corgi.


Caution: Garbanzo beans can cause an allergic reaction in those who are sensitive to them. Always consult a physician before deciding to make significant changes to your diet.