Oh, SNAP!

So, are we all still outraged that a skinny rich lady tried to live on The Program Formerly Known as food stamps for a week?

Gwyneth Paltrow has never been poor.  She's never been close to it.  If her actual family disowned her, she could still turn to Uncle Morty for work, or a few bucks, so it's safe to say her parachute is fail safe. I think she's aware of that, folks.

Here is a link to some real Fuck The Poor stuff, laws proposed by an actual Governor.  It's all part of dehumanizing the lower classes, so the rest of us won't mind tripping over them on the street while they beg, I guess. THAT is where this outrage should lie, not at the feet of some privileged but well-meaning actress, who was trying to make a point.

I'm hungry right now, as I type this.  It's not real hunger, it's upper middle class hunger.  I thought my appetite was never going to come all the way back, after eating so little post-surgery, but boy, has it.  Once again, I have the appetite of an NFL Defensive Tackle. I'm trying to lose a few pounds before summer, so dinner tonight was half a pita and delicious soup from GPs most recent cookbook which, naturally, took a lot of flak for having expensive ingredients. Well, who the hell said you have to cook from it every night? Gawd, people are so fucking sensitive sometimes.  And you know what?  This soup cost like $5 to make, for 6 servings.  I left out the cilantro, because fresh cilantro makes me gag and is the worst food on the planet.  How anyone eats that stuff is beyond me, but I digress.

Spicy Sweet Potato Soup (adapted from It's All Good)

Ingredients
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1 large red onion, finely diced (about 1 ½ cups)
2 garlic cloves, minced
6 sprigs of cilantro, leaves reserved for garnish, stems tied together with a piece of kitchen string. (or not!)
¾ teaspoon cumin
Coarse sea salt
1 ½ teaspoons chipotle in adobo (or more if you like.  I pulled out a whole pepper, chopped it then added some of the sauce)
2 large sweet potatoes, peeled and diced (about 6 cups)
6 cups vegetable stock (I used chicken stock; so shoot me)                                                                                                                             1 can black beans, rinsed

Directions
Heat the olive oil in a large, heavy pot over medium heat. Add the onion, garlic, cilantro sprigs (or not!), cumin and a heavy pinch of salt and cook, stirring occasionally, until softened, but not browned, 10 minutes.

Add the chipotle and the sweet potatoes and stir to combine. Add the stock to the stock and turn up the heat. Once the soup comes to a boil, lower the heat and simmer until the sweet potatoes are very soft, about 30 minutes. During the last 5 minutes, dump in a can of black beans, if you'd like some more texture.  Remove and discard the cilantro (or not!). Carefully puree the soup in a powerful blender, or use a stick blender, like I did. If you want a really refined, smooth texture, you can pass the pureed soup through a fine-mesh strainer, but not if you added the black beans. Garnish each bowl with a few of the reserved cilantro leaves (or not!).

Not a great picture, but great soup!

And now, back to SNAP.  Maybe read up on actual welfare dependency statistics before falling for the image of "welfare queens" buying caviar with their $29.  And maybe ask yourself why this sort of welfare is demonized, but this this kind doesn't get nearly enough attention from conservatives or liberals.

Gwyneth Paltrow is not the problem.