Being Bodil

Cooking with Capsaicin: Westfall Stew

Posted on the 17th of December 2008 at 15:03 by Bodil

For some reason, this is my most popular recipe. Possibly, this is simply because I know too many World of Warcraft players.

Yes, I used to be one. I got into the US open beta by fabricating a zip code (90210, how hard is that?) , and was a hardcore 18-hours-a-day addict through three betas and a few weeks into the EU release. And that, fortunately, was the extent of my life-swallowing WoW addiction. I’ve stuck with the culture of the game, though, and my favourite part is when people try to recreate in-game cooking recipes, like the real-life Westfall Stew recipe.

My version is vegetarian, and thus obviates the hours of pointless grinding the original requires. Apart from that, it’s relatively faithful to the original recipe, which is based on a reasonably typical Mexican chili. In fact, without the Murloc eyes, this is more properly Mexican food than WoW food.

(And for the record, yes, of course I played Horde. On a PvP server. I spent fifteen levels in Stranglethorn Vale. On a PvP server. I’m not usually prejudiced, but after that, you’ll excuse me for thinking all Alliance players are human filth. Or night elf filth. Especially night elf filth.)

Vegetarian Westfall Stew

250-500 g tofu
4 soy sausages
2 small onions
2 bell peppers
2-3 champignons or similar mushrooms
2 cloves garlic
3 habañeros
2 cans chopped tomatoes
1 box of pre-made salsa (preferably containing tequila)
1 can chickpeas
1 can red beans
1 small can maize
10 cherry tomatoes (approx)
1 tsp whole cumin
1 tsp basil
1/2 tsp oregano
1/2 tsp ground black pepper
1 tsp sugar
1 tsp unsweetened cocoa powder

Start by dicing the tofu into 1-2cm³ pieces and frying them in a frying pan for one minute on each side, until the surface is crunchy, but not too crunchy. Set the tofu aside.

Put the garlic and the habañeros in a blender and mince into a fine paste. Don’t worry too much about the amount of habañeros–it’s going to be a large dish. On the other hand, don’t stick your nose into the blender and inhale, or anything equally silly. Remember, capsaicin is not a joke.

Chop the onions, mushrooms and bell peppers, and slice the soy sausages into 1cm slices.

Find a really large cooking pot. The dish can easily occupy three or four litres, so be prepared. Heat a decent amount of cooking oil, and when it’s ready, add the cumin and let it sizzle for a few seconds. Be careful, don’t let it burn.

Next, add the garlic/habañero paste, stir well, and let it fry for another few seconds. Add the onions, and sauté until they soften. Add the bell peppers and mushrooms, and sauté for about three minutes.

Pour in the canned tomatoes and salsa. There should be a fair amount of liquid in there now. Add the basil, oregano, black pepper, sugar and cocoa powder. Stir well, and taste. If the taste is a bit weak, or the sauce too thin, you can try adding a teaspoon or two of chili powder.

Add the tofu, beans and chickpeas, give it a good stir, and leave it to boil at medium heat for about ten minutes.

Add the maize and cherry tomatoes, stir, and leave it for a minute or two.

Congratulations, you are done. Serve with rice.

Cooking with Capsaicin: The Quick Fix

Posted on the 11th of December 2008 at 20:14 by Bodil

Welcome to my food blog. I did warn you, once, that I wanted to widen the scope of my blog a bit, especially since it’s becoming more difficult to blog about transitioning–I find I’m only reporting on the really big events, because the simple details, which once were excitingly blogworthy, are now simply a dull routine.

So, let me attempt to brighten your day with a passion of mine: spicy food, or, if you’re a naysayer, the systematic eradication of my taste buds through the application of unreasonable amounts of capsaicin.

First, let me say a few words about my diet. I’m a vegetarian by choice and inclination, if not always by deed. I’ll sometimes succumb and grab a kebab on my way home from a night on the town, but I’ll always regret it afterwards. Meat, on the whole, saps my energy and makes me feel like my whole digestive system is full of filth. Carnivores will scoff at this, but really, you need to have been a vegetarian for a while to appreciate how much cleaner your body feels without all those dead animals clogging up your system. So let them scoff. They’re the ones who are missing out.

My particular version of vegetarianism includes animal proteins in the form of dairy products. That is to say, if it’s OK for Krishna, it’s OK for me. The dish I’m presenting today, though, contains no such thing, and conforms to a strict vegetarian diet, which some (rather self-righteously, I feel) call “vegan.” It does, however, rather benefit from a sprinkling of grated mozarella or gouda, if you like. Oh, and if you really need it to be vegan, make sure the pasta you use contains no eggs.

I’m also going to recommend you use organic produce wherever possible. It’s not only more tasty, it also generally fails to be full of pesticides and other filthy stuff that will make you feel bad and shorten your life span.

Habañeros are ridiculously potent chilies, and no discerning capsaicin addict would settle for less. However, they may be hard to come by, so if you’re willing to forego the rush, jalapeños or similar more readily available chilies will do–as long as they’re fresh: no pickles. Consult the Scoville scale for a good fit.

Pasta with Tofu in Tomato/Cinnamon Sauce

Ingredients:

200 g block of tofu
1/4 zucchini
1 onion
1 clove garlic
2 habañeros
1 can chopped tomatoes
1 tsp whole cumin seeds
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp turmeric
1 tsp basil
1/2 tsp oregano
1 tsp sugar

Dice the tofu into 1cm³ pieces. Heat some vegetable ghee or cooking oil in a frying pan, and fry the tofu for about one minute. Turn the pieces over and fry the other side for another minute. Set the tofu aside in a bowl.

Put the garlic and habañeros in a blender. Stop and think for a moment: are you really sure you want to use two habañeros? If you don’t feel up to it, remove one and don’t feel bad about it. Consider adding a third as carefully as you would consider the dosage for your first LSD trip. Consider again, and decide not to. You don’t fool around with habañeros.

Once you feel confident you’re not going to kill yourself, mince the garlic and habañeros into a fine paste.

Chop the onion and zucchini into sensible pieces.

Heat ghee/oil in a fair-sized pot. Put the cumin seeds in, and let them sizzle for a few seconds. Add the garlic and habañero paste. Stand well clear; capsaicin is a wonderful thing, but you don’t want to get it in your eyes or lungs. Stir for a few moments, and add the chopped onion. Sauté until the onion softens. Add the zucchini and sauté for a minute.

Pour the can of chopped tomatoes into the pot and stir. Add sugar, cinnamon, turmeric, basil and oregano, and stir well. If you feel there’s not enough liquid in the sauce, add water until you’re satisfied. If it seems too thin, add some tomato purée. Once you’re happy with it, add the tofu, turn down the heat a bit and leave it to boil until you run out of patience. Five to ten minutes would be good, so try to control yourself.

Serve with pasta, and enjoy.

Settling In

Posted on the 22nd of November 2008 at 16:01 by Bodil

This is my sixteenth day as Bodil, legally. My tenth day of being aware of the fact–even the mail takes a lot of time when you’re dealing with the government. It’s also my third day with a legally valid ID–a debit card with photo ID from my bank–to prove the fact, and the first shopping spree using this card has just been completed. I got a gloriously comfy and expensive pillow at 50% off, and two pounds of habañeros. Other things too, or it could hardly be called a spree, but these are the things that matter: nightly comfort, and Scovilles.

And how does it feel, you’d ask, being finally official? Nothing special, really, I’d answer. There’s no immensity of emotion, but I do have to report a certain pervasive, if faint, sense of relief. It’s a bit irrational, but I have this idea in my head that if someone should accuse me of being a man, I can now pull out my ID and say, “see, would a man be called Bodil?” Fortunately, these scenarios only happen in my head, these days–I haven’t been mistaken for a man, at least that I’m aware of, in four or five months.

It’s also a relief to know that if I’m asked to show my ID, it doesn’t automatically mean outing myself anymore. In fact, I’m going to Kristiansund to see my parents for Christmas, and this time the name on the plane ticket is what it ought to be. I’ll be going through the airport without being outed a single time. A shame, really–the last time was oddly amusing, even a bit exciting.

And that is the extent of my emotional response. Now, to turn those habañeros, soy sausages and tofu into a curry so potent it would invite UN sanctions. If I die from a capsaicin overdose today, I die fulfilled, and my headstone will read “Bodil.”

These are the best of days.

Bodil

Posted on the 12th of November 2008 at 19:20 by Bodil

I was going to tell you how I feel right now. I realise I’m not entirely sure myself. Definitely very happy. Possibly a bit frightened by the enormity of it. A certain hint of triumph. A touch of disbelief. I’m not entirely sure I’ve fully comprehended what just happened, and may need to get back to you once it’s sunk in properly.

You see, my name change was approved on the 6th of November, and the letter testifying to this fact arrived in my mailbox today. So, from this day forward, I am, indisputably, Bodil.

For most transgendered women, I understand the genital surgery is the great milestone. This was mine. It’s done now.

Well, until the boob job, anyway–I guess that’s probably going to have a more direct psychological impact. People have been calling me Bodil for six months now, after all; this isn’t really anything new.

It’s still pretty damned awesome.

Armageddon: Cancelled

Posted on the 5th of November 2008 at 10:02 by Bodil

I think you may just have averted the collapse of modern civilisation. Given that your previous governments have worked hard to precipitate it in the first place, I guess this makes us even.

It’s not all good, though. At the time of writing, it looks fairly certain that California’s Proposition 8 banning same-sex marriage is going to pass, and a similar constitutional amendment has already passed in Florida. Ironically, these are both states where Obama won. You could get over the racism and elect a black president, but you’re still not capable of giving up bigotry altogether, it seems.

I try not to care: I find the concept of monogamy personally objectionable, and in any case this isn’t an issue that affects the rest of the world on the same horrific level that a McCain victory would have. It still makes me sad.

Still, all things considered, you did a good job, yanqui. Now just try not to elect Sarah Palin in 2012, yeah?