Many, many people have (thankfully) already blogged about the It Gets Better Project.
It began in 2010, when there seemed to be an epidemic of kids taking their lives after being bullied (many for being gay). This project is aimed at showing young people that life DOES get better.
Growing up it hard, but getting to the the other side is so worth it. I promise.
Here is a video of the Cincinnati Rollergirls; more awesome people who’ve known what it is to be bullied, and are living proof that It Gets Better.
Speaking of growing up…
One of the strangest phenomena for me as a 20-something involves my taste buds. Most of my life I’ve been the pickiest eater to walk this Earth. At my pickiest, I didn’t even like cheese (too bad that couldn’t have stuck!).
Other items I refused to ingest:
- ANY cooked veggie
- Legumes
- Ketchup
- French fries
- Fast food
- Seafood
- Red meat
- Tofu
- Mexican food (what was I thinking?!)
- Asian food
- Coffee
- Sweet tea
- Gin (thanks to an unfortunate experience)
Sometime around my about 24th birthday I developed a love of avocados and kalamata olives. That was just the beginning!
At the ripe ‘ol age of 27, I crave: spinach, winter squash, tofu, chickpeas, coffee, MEXICAN… just about everything on the previous list.
Things I still don’t like:
- Seafood
- Certain cooked veggies (potatoes, yellow squash, carrots)
- Ketchup
- Fast food (with the exception of Chick-fil-a)
- Sweet tea
- Gin (it was a really bad experience)
My favorite 20-something taste bud find would have to be mushrooms. Truffles, morels, shiitakes, hen of the woods… you name the ‘shroom, I probably have positively passionate feelings about it. (No, not the magical ones…)
This has been paid for by the Council of Mushroom-love.
I can’t chew them right now, but I can slurp them! This soup was earthy and rich. It is a thicker soup, but you can add water/more broth as needed. I like the thickness – it feels more like chewing.
Mushrooms are low in calories, fat-free, cholesterol-free and low in sodium. They provide nutrients such as: selenium, potassium, riboflavin, niacin, vitamin D, and calcium.
Wild Mushroom Soup
Prep Time: 5 mins
Cook Time: 20 mins
Keywords: soup/stew gluten-free low-carb vegan vegetarian soy-free leek mushroom fall winter
Ingredients (4 servings)
- 3 C wild mushrooms (portabella, oyster, morels, etc), roughly chopped
- 2 leeks, chopped
- 1 celery stalk, chopped
- 1/4 C white onion, diced
- 1 T EVOO
- 2 garlic cloves, minced
- 1 tsp fresh thyme, chopped
- 1/2 tsp dried basil
- 1/4 C vermouth cooking wine
- 1/2 C veggie broth
- 2 T goat butter (use coconut butter to make it vegan!)
- 1/2 tsp crushed red pepper
- S & P to taste
Instructions
In medium pot, saute first 5 ingredients until tender, about 10 mins. Add garlic during the last 5 mins, so as not to burn it.
Add remaining ingredients, seasoning to taste with red pepper flakes, salt, and pepper.
Using an immersion blender, blend soup until smooth.
Ladle in bowls and top with grated cheese (Gruyere or a nutty parmesan-esque cheese is delish) and freshly ground black pepper. I would have used black truffle shavings or truffle oil if I had it!
***
Thankfully, my sister grew out of picking her nose… 😉
Have you grown out of something funny/odd?
