So How Is Your Dissertation Going, Ruchi?

Ahahahahaha.

I have a recommendation for anyone undertaking an MSc dissertation. Don't pick a trendy topic. Just don't. Because, see, you'll think it's a good idea because it's trendy, but then what will happen is that your topic will constantly be in the news and you won't ever get time away from your frickin dissertation. I think I have it bad what with the Copenhagen COP being mentioned every other day, but my friend B is writing about U.S. health care and there is REALLY no getting away from that. Not even on Facebook.

Anyhow, I finished a rough draft of my dissertation two weeks ago, and here is my second piece of advice for anyone undertaking an MSc dissertation. Don't finish the rough draft 7 weeks in advance. You might think you're being oh so smart and awesome and then you will realize that your will to do any more work has completely vanished and instead you spend your time doing ... honestly you don't even know what you do with your time, you just know that you seem to have very little of it. The other day, I sat in my room at my computer forcing myself to work. I finished the day with one paragraph to show for the day's work.

Also, and this has nothing to do with my dissertation or maybe it does, I don't know, I've been sleeping on the floor for the past few weeks. Because I have developed some weird insomnia that is associated with my bed. I know, it is very strange. But I've also established, that technically speaking, a bed is not actually a "need."

I have been blogging a lot in my head lately. Mostly rantalicious posts about uh, cap and trade, the environmental social movement, people who think we can solve all our problems by simply putting a price on carbon, and the construction going on in my library.

Then I've failed to write them, because well, rantalicious posts are exhausting. And I'm too busy being a puddle of inertia on the floor of my room because I can't sleep on my bed.

But, dear readers, I aim to please. So if there is a particular rant that you are dying to hear, let me know and I shall try to provide in a timely fashion. We can call it Arduous on Demand.

Surrendering To Vanity

I give in.

I'm sorry. I can't hack it.

Since January, when I went vegetarian, and then flexitarian (or lonely vegetarian as Honda termed it) I have gained 10 pounds.

I have tried upping my protein. I have eaten beans and lentils and beans and lentils and nuts.

I went on a diet. I counted calories. I cut out beer.

But I still craved sweets and snacks and cheese and chips. I would eat and eat and eat and still go to bed hungry.

I announced to my friend B that I was going on a body cleanse for a few days and only eating fruit and vegetables.

She told me not to be ridiculous, and said that maybe I should try eating fish or poultry again once a day.

So I did.

And lo! my cravings went away and my appetite returned to normal.

So, I'm sorry. It looks like I'm going back to eating fish or poultry once a day.

Unless anyone has any bright ideas.

Wherein Our Heroine Gets Carried Off By the Wind

Um, how the hell did it become late July already? What is going on here?!!

Sigh.

In just over five weeks, I will turn in my dissertation.

In just over five weeks, I will be leaving London.

In just over five weeks, my stuff will be packed up, and I will be living out of a suitcase.

Again.

Yes, I'm leaving London. At least for now. The current plan seems to be to go to New York by way of India. Yes, I'm aware that India is not *technically* on the way to New York. But homeland, and more importantly, family calls ... and so off I shall go.

I've been behind on my blog reading and writing, but today I read Green Bean's post about her small home.

And it made me reflect, once again on my stuff.

When I was in college, I took pride in the fact that I had very little in the way of stuff. I felt like it was important for a person to only have as much stuff as could fit in the back of a Honda Civic. That was how a young person was supposed to live. Rootless, free as a bird, able to take off on a whim.

Then I moved to Los Angeles. And though I assumed that my vagabond lifestyle would somewhat continue, I instead developed these awful things.

Roots.

I lived in one ghetto apartment next to, I am not making this up, a bona-fide drug dealer. One time, we came home and there were helicopters above and about five or six police cars on the street.

Also, the roof leaked and the balcony in the master bedroom tilted so that rainwater would spill over into the room, and we had to evacuate our rooms several times so that the carpet could be pulled up and dried so we would't get mold. So what I'm saying is that this apartment was maybe not the most awesome place in the world.

Nevertheless, I continued to live there. For FIVE years. Because I was lazy. And I had started to acquire stuff. More stuff than one could fit in a Honda Civic. I owned a FRIDGE, for God's sake. Moving was a bitch. Plus, all my stuff was there, the walls were decorated, my room felt properly kitted out. For all its faults, this place was home.

After five years, I was finally persuaded to move. I moved into a much NICER neighborhood, painted it, decorated it, bought more new stuff, and decided I loved my place too much and was going to live in it until the day I died.

Except, that I didn't. Because I got rid of most of my stuff, got on a plane to London, and ended up in a room the size of a postage stamp with two suitcases.

I am glad I didn't acquire a whole bunch of stuff in London. Because frankly, it's going to make moving much easier.

But I also realize that without all that stuff, there is a feeling of impermanence. Although I love London and seriously considered staying here, I never felt that I was really much more than a traveler to these parts.

And yes, there are many reasons for that, but I'll tell you what. Never underestimate the power of stuff. To weigh you down, yes, but also to anchor you and to settle you.

I have stuff therefore I am.

Without my stuff, I always felt more like I was in a hotel than in my own home. Meanwhile, I still seem to suffer under the delusion that my home is still waiting for me in Los Angeles. The walls still painted turquoise and brown, the crumbs in the papasan still needing to be vacuumed.

No matter that I got rid of the papasan. And the bed. And the futon. And the fridge. And the CAR.

So, in a few weeks, this girl who lacks the weight of any substantial possessions shall take flight once again. To India, and then for a couple months, to New York.

Now, you know me, I'm not big on the consumerism, but I do wonder if I'll have to buy a lot more stuff before I ever feel like I'm truly at home again. I do wonder if somewhere there is a balance between weighted down and feather-light.

In the mean time, when people ask me where home is, I'll likely answer as per usual, "Los Angeles." It may not be where I lay my head, but it's where I once I owned a fridge.

The Healthy Food Porn Carnival

So, last week, I asked why so much food porn found on the eco-blogosphere and the web in general was unhealthy porn. I got a lot of responses, many which argued that healthy food just doesn't look as good photographed. That people like to read posts about desserts ... people noted that their dessert posts are some of their posts with the most page views.

But, by far, Rob had the best response. He very convincingly argued:

No one wants to see a pic of a sexy carrot being thoughtfully dipped in bowl of Ranch Dressing when there are sexy pics of pie. That is like asking to compare Nekkid pics of Sarah Palin and Margaret Thatcher.

My head just exploded by how many weirdos are now going to be searching my blog in search of Palin/Thatcher porn.

Anyhoo, so I pissed some people off, and have unleashed weirdos on my blog site with my constant references to porn. But I also managed to get some healthy recipes from many of my favorite bloggers! Which I think balances everything else out. Here are the sexy healthy meals:

The Crunchy Chicken has a delicious plate of garden scramble cooking up for ya. This is not only a healthy dish, but also a tasty way to clean out your fridge.

The Mindful Momma has not one but FOUR healthy ideas for you. The Indonesian red rice salad sounds particularly appetizing to me.

Abbie writes in defense of pie, but she also drums up some fresh and delicious tzatziki which is a particular favorite of mine. Which reminds me: we were in Istanbul last month, and the yogurt there is HEAVENLY. The Turks swear that they are the ones famous for the yogurt we call "Greek yogurt," and I have to say, after inhaling yogurt the entire trip, I'm going to side with the Turks on this.

Rob keeps up the Middle-Eastern theme with his Kousa Mahshi, a stuffed squash dish from Syria. Looks awesome!

Old Novice again offers you a selection of healthy meals including her delectable looking pizza!

Beany, or I should say, Mr. Beany, cooks up a healthy and yummy Monday night dinner of stir fry. I LOVE stir fry. I think I could live on it, and Mr. Beany's sure looks good. Plus, it seems like another good way to clean out the fridge!

ScienceMama whips up a nice light tomato and corn salad that is toddler approved! Sounds like the perfect salad for a hot July evening.

And the amazing Green Bean stirs up some sexy soup for all y'all. It's called Friendship Soup on account of how much she loves me even though I'm difficult! (Kidding, that's not why it's called Friendship Soup, but I do like the name.)

Finally, I shared one of my household staple's: rajma, which is an Indian dish made with kidney beans.

Thanks to everyone who contributed! I can't wait to try out these healthy, fun recipes!! And if I missed anyone, please let me know.

Food Porn, Hold the Porn

Here is my entry for my little healthy food carnival. I'm posting the carnival on Friday, so you still have time to write a post! Also, if you have written a post, make sure that you've either indicated that in the comments of my post introducing the carnival, or you can do so in the comments of this post.

Anyway, here is my recipe for rajma which is one of my favorite Indian dishes. It tastes a bit like chili. Unfortunately, I don't have pictures because I suck, but if you visualize cooked kidney beans and tomato bits ... that is what it looks like. I hope your visualization of my food porn is making you horny, I mean hungry.

The recipe involves a slow cooker, and this is why. Indian food is delicious and healthy but often takes AGES beyond ages to simmer on the stove. If you wait to cook Indian food until you come home from work, you will not end up eating until 10pm at the earliest. The slow cooker is your friend.

2 cups kidney beans
6 cups water in slowcooker (depending on what setting you have it on)
1 medium onion
2 medium tomatoes
2 cloves garlic
1 bit of ginger
1 tablespoon salt
sprinkling pepper
1/2 tsp cayenne
1 tsp garam masala
2 tsp turmeric
1 tsp cumin seed
1 tsp coriander

The night before:
Chop the tomatoes, onions, garlic and ginger. Fry the onions. Then put in a tupperware and set in fridge.

Morning:
Throw your tupperware into slow cooker. Add kidney beans, water, salt, pepper, cayenne, garam masala, turmeric.

Turn slow cooker on. The first time you do it, it's helpful if you won't be gone for more than a few hours at a time so you can check on the water level since the amount of water that evaporates can differ from slowcooker to slowcooker. Once you have the hang of it though, you can leave the rajma for as long as you want. In fact, in India the rajma cooks for 24 hours so feel free to let it go 12 hours or however long you're out of the house. (It's done when it's got about the same consistency of chili. So it shouldn't be too watery, but it also shouldn't have all the water drained of it either.)

At night, when you come home:
Heat a small amount of oil in a frying pan. Add the coriander and cumin and toast until they turn brown but not burnt. (Not super easy to do. I often end up heating the frying pan, and then once the coriander and cumin go in, taking the frying pan off the heat, as the heat of the frying pan is sufficient.)

Then throw the oil/coriander/cumin into the slow cooker. Stir up a little and you're good to go.

ETA: I was asked an important question in the comments. I use DRY kidney beans not canned. Also, I forgot to mention but I've read websites that say you always have to quick soak kidney beans, and boil them to get rid of toxins before cooking. I have to admit I've never done this, so maybe I've been flirting with death all my life. Does anyone have any opinions on this?

What Are Your Five Favorite Green Reads?

I've got some gift cards to burn, so I wanna know: what are your five favorite green reads and why?

Here are some of my favorites:

The End of Food by Paul Roberts offers an incisive look into the food industry. Read my review here.

The Omnivore's Dilemma by Michael Pollan. Recently, I feel a little over Michael Pollan ... In Defense of Food wasn't nearly as good, and then there was that embarrassing incident where he and Alice Waters apparently demanded to put together a list of locavore approved chefs for the White House (turns out the old chef was a quiet locavore himself and the Obamas kept him.) I think I'm not the only one who thinks Pollan is sooooo last year's slow foodie, but, Omnivore's Dilemma is good stuff. And besides, you never forget your first love. Here's a post about the book.

Break Through by Michael Shellenberger and Ted Nordhaus. Back when I first read Break Through it was like my eyes had been opened for the first time. How is it, I thought, that no one else was saying what Michael and Ted are saying? Then I went back to university and realized plenty of people are saying what Michael and Ted are saying, but many of them are doing so in academic journals that your average enviro doesn't read. I keep hoping that will change, and when my former professor publishes his next book, I'm so making all y'all read it. But for now, here's a post about Break Through.

Garbage Land by Elizabeth Royte, which reminds me that I really have to read Royte's latest book. If it's anything like Garbage Land, it'll be worth a read as Royte somehow managed to make something as mundane as trash seem downright exciting. Here's a review by Green Bean.

Reducing Poverty and Sustaining The Environment edited by Stephen Bass, Hannah Reid, David Satterthwaite and Paul Steele. Technically this is more of an academic book, but it's really not. It's extremely readable and there are super cool and inspiring case studies from all over the world about how communities managed to develop sustainable solutions that bettered human livelihoods. Plus each case study is pretty short which is good for the people with short attention spans. Check it out.

Anyway, those are some of the books I've read and enjoyed. I eagerly await your lists.

Because The Rough Draft of My Dissertation is Due Monday

What better way to procrastinate than a meme that I stole from Beany?

A - Age: 30

B - Bed size: Double

C - Chore you hate: Doing dishes

D - Dog's name: I'm apathetic about pets. Like, they're fine, I guess, but I really just don't know how to relate to them.

E - Essential start your day item: 7 cups of tea. Okay, that might be a SLIGHT exaggeration.

F - Favorite color: Blue? I guess?

G - Gold or Silver or Platinum: Depends on my mood.

H - Height: 5'3"

I - Instruments you play: Piano, badly. And eventually I will learn guitar.

J - Job title: Penniless Student

K - Kid(s): None

L - Living arrangements: Dorm room the size of a postage stamp.

M - Mom's name: Mummy (Well that's what I call her anyway)

N - Nicknames: Ruchi is actually a nickname itself. Sort of. Sometimes people shorten it further to Roo or Ruch.

O - Overnight hospital stay other than birth: I think once maybe for asthma?

P - Pet Peeve: When office mates don't shut file cabinets or desk drawers.

Q - Quote from a movie: "Toe pick."

R - Right handed or left handed: Right

S - Siblings: One

T - Time you wake up: I'm a student. So anytime between 8 am and noon.

U- Underwear: Pants. Knickers. Briefs. What am I supposed to put here?

V - Vegetable you dislike: Erm, I can't really think of one right now though I am sure there are some I dislike.

W - Ways you run late: I have a bad sense of how long it will take to get somewhere so I am frequently late.

X - X-rays you've had: I don't know... several on my teeth. On my foot ... I can't remember where else.

Y - Yummy food you make: I make a really good chicken murgh masala. I also make a nice rajma, and aloo sabzi and other Indian food. I also make a very nice vegetarian lasagna. Basically, I'm a reasonable cook when I can be bothered to cook which is rare these days.

Z - Zoo favorite: San Diego.