Publicity still from Ted Lasso on AppleTV+: Left to right Brendan Hunt, Jason Sudeikis, Brett Goldstein
THINKING ABOUT:
We hear so much about toxic masculinity. Along with white supremacy it’s one of the scourges of the modern world. Today I'm celebrating nontoxic masculinity (which should simply be called “masculinity” but alas, see The Scourge, above.) We finished Ted Lasso this weekend and throughout the three-season series I kept thinking what a gorgeous example of healthy, supportive, and sexy masculinity it was. The Diamond Dogs creating a safe space for them to express private feelings. The evolution of characters like player-turned-coach Roy Kent. The first statement Ted makes about what’s acceptable in his locker room when he silently places black tape across the naked breasts of a girl in a pin-up photo. It’s a master class in how to be a modern man.
We might expect a Kansas City football coach to be a MAGA, instead he’s simply a lovely man who inspires everyone around him to be better. Modeling empathy. Accepting help. Recognizing fatherhood. It’s all here in this series, and I was sad to see it end, but hopeful that it has perhaps inspired people around the globe to see how lovely men can be.
Real world examples include therapist Jeff Guenther, whose videos share gently funny perspectives on everything from sex toys to why it’s shitty to lie on your dating profiles. And
, who’s fighting the good fight to get Christians to act like Christians again. And Rowan Jette Knox, a trans guy, dad, and #LGBTQIA+ activist who recently transitioned and is open-heartedly sharing his journey on Threads. I would love to hear more examples from your world to share in a future post.Publicity still from Shrinking on AppleTV+ starring Harrison Ford and Jason Segal.
WATCHING:
We watched Masters of the Air (a well-meaning but disjointed WWII mess that can’t live up to Band of Brothers). I couldn’t get past the first episode of Palm Royale, despite a fabulous cast, costumes, and sets. What I will recommend is Shrinking starring Jason Segel, Jessica Williams, and Harrison Ford in the lead roles. Segel, Williams, and Ford star as therapists in a Pasadena, CA practice who help and spar with each other as Segel tries to come out of a spiral after the sudden of his wife. He begins trying unorthodox methods with his patients, with some success and spectacular backfires.
READING:
I’m finishing up Body Respect: What Conventional Health Books Get Wrong, Leave Out, and Just Plain Fail to Understand About Weight by Linda Bacon, PhD and Lucy Aphramor, PhD. The authors created the Health At Every Size movement (HAES) and this is the shorthand version of that philosophy. It’s another book I’m reading as part of my project to heal 40 years of disordered eating.
EATING:
As you might know, I’m a huge proponent of reducing food waste and re-using leftovers in creative ways. One reason people toss leftovers is when the original meal was mediocre. We had just such a meal last week at a beautiful faux-Mexican restaurant famous for its ginormous technicolor margaritas. I ordered Chicken Mole Enchiladas. I adore this type of complex mole, made with chocolate and poblano chiles, but one bite and I had to scrape it off. SO SALTY. The Hubs didn’t complain, but his chicken was boiled and wet, making his tostada base soggy. We ate what we could and I packed it into to-go containers, as I couldn’t bear to throw out that much food. (When we got home I pulled out the sad shredded iceberg lettuce from the tostada [on the right, below] and added it to our green waste, as I knew it was a lost cause.)
I’m going to explain step by step what I did to rescue this food, Chopped-style, to make a super tasty casserole far better than the original meal.
Leftovers Tex-Mex Casserole
35-45” bake time
8-10 servings
When food is really salty, you need to think of it as your seasoning. The first step was to fire up the Instant Pot and make 1 cup of unseasoned brown rice. (1 cup uncooked brown rice plus 1-1/2 cups water for 22 minutes at high pressure, then quick release). While the rice was cooking, I put 1/2 cup dry pinto beans in filtered water to soak.
I removed the cooked rice to a container to cool, washed out the IP pot, and cooked the beans. (1/2 cup soaked dry pinto beans with about 3 cups water for 9 minutes at low pressure, then natural release with the IP warming function off.)
While the beans were cooking, I looked in the fridge and garden to see what fresh items I could add to extend the food and upgrade the flavor. I sauteed shredded cabbage, radishes, garlic, bell peppers, and chopped scallions in some olive oil, adding only some cracked black pepper to season it. Once the veggies were nearly cooked, I added the soggy chicken to remove the extra liquid, adding flavor from the vegetables and browning in the oil.
Once everything was cooked, I preheated the oven to 350F while I assembled the casserole.
After spraying a large casserole dish with olive oil I lined the bottom with the extra tortilla scraps (from the enchilada, tostada, and the now-soggy extra chips from our table).
In a large bowl I mixed about 1-1/2 cups of the cooked brown rice, the beans, the sauteed veg/chicken, and the remaining rice and beans. I diced up the two black olives (garnish) and used the entire dollop of sour cream. I added a small amount of dairy-free cheese (since that’s what we had), making sure it was all stirred together well before putting it into the prepared casserole and smoothing the top.
I baked it with the lid on for 30 minutes, then removed the top and baked another 10 so the top got crispy. (You could add more shredded cheese at this point if you wished.)
Tasty and almost no food ended up in a landfill, plus we got at least 4 more meals out of it. Win! Win!
Fun To Be Around is free. I post for the delight of writing and connecting. No paywalls, ever. If you enjoy my writing and find yourself waiting for the next issue, you can support my work with a paid subscription. Come back soon. I love seeing you here.