Papal bulls***

I recently came across this article on the Pope's Good Friday address. You can read the article here.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2006/04/15/wpope15.xml

He was rather harsh in his interpretation of the modern world, which delighted me to no end. (For me, Catholicism is a spectator sport, with apologies to actual Catholics.) Some choice quotes:

"A slick campaign of propaganda is spreading an inane aplogia of evil, a senseless cult of Satan."

"Surely God is deeply pained by the attack on the family."

In other parts of the speech, he knocked genetic engineering, some sort of vague prostitution-like happening, the church in general, and the newly published Gospel of Judas. My favorite victim, however, was a passage that went thus:

"Accumulating wealth was 'robbery' when it 'prevented others from living.'

Umm, is it just me, or does the Vatican have just a wee bit of accumulated weath? Personally, I think that they should keep it, because it was gathered over a couple thousand years and has so much history. But is it really consistent to then go and criticize others who accumulate wealth?

It gets better. Under the guidance of our dear Pope, the Vatican is transferring publishing rights to its own publishing house and all reprinted Vatican documents will have to pay a royalty. They also plan to make royalties retroactive for the last 50 years! Now who's accumulating wealth? Is it those who vowed to live in poverty?

You can see that article here, after the stuff about sex and love.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml;jsessionid=NHKSW2OUP5A25QFIQMGSFGGAVCBQWIV0?xml=/news/2006/01/18/wpope18.xml

You know, there was some guy who said something about taking the plank out of your own eye before helping your brother with the speck in his...

What the dhal?

First, please note the change in mission statement. I might as well say everything I want to on one blog and not crowd cyberspace with my mental detrius.

I've had a request for a dhal recipe. This one is easy and Punjabi style (or at least the Erin version of a Punjabi style).

1 cup red lentils or split mung beans
2 1/2 cups water
1/4 tsp turmeric
2 jalepeno chilis, chopped
1 tsp salt
1 medium onion, sliced
1 tomato, cut into wedges
1 tsp shredded ginger
1 tsp minced garlic
1/2 tsp cumin seeds
1/2 tsp black mustard seeds
1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
1/2 tsp garam masala
1/4 bunch coriander leaves, cleaned and chopped
2 tbsp + 2 tbsp vegetable oil

Wash and pick over the lentils/beans. Put them in a saucepan with the water, turmeric, and jalepenos, and simmer until soft and thick, about 15-25 minutes. Mash the beans with a spoon and add the salt. Set aside.

In a frying pan, heat 2 tbsp oil on medium-high. Add the onions and stir, sauteing until brownish. Add the tomato, ginger, and garlic and continue to stir-fry for another two minutes. Pour this mixture into into the bean mixture and wipe the frying pan clean.

Heat the remaining 2 tbsp oil over medium high heat in the frying pan. When hot, add the cumin and mustard seeds. Keep a pot lid handy. When mustard seeds begin to pop, protect yourself with the pot lid and add the cayenne and garam masala. Fry for about 30 seconds and add this mixture to the lentil mush.

Stir in chopped coriander, reheat, and serve with rice.

Nummy!