3. Cook (and eat) Brussels Sprouts

This is the kind of thing that happens to me when I read another book about eating locally. This time it's Michael Pollan's book, "In Defense of Food: An Eater's Manifesto. I've also devoured (so to speak) his previous book, "An Omnivore's Dilemma", where I learned that if I'm not careful, pretty much everything I eat is just a form of soy or corn, or that what I eat eats soy or corn. Made me go out and plant a bunch of lettuce in my backyard (what else do you plant in November in Louisiana?) to assuage the anxiety I was feeling upon discovering that Big Food Business has taken over my diet to its bottom line benefit and my health detriment.

Upon reading the latest, in which he recommends to "Eat food. Not too much. Mostly plants", next thing you know, I've made a beeline down to the local farmers market and danged if I didn't end up with a passel of brussels sprouts. I didn't even know how to spell them, had to wiki them to see what they actually were: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brussels_sprout

Now you know as much as I do.

It makes intuitive sense to me to eat food that is locally grown. We all (sort of )share the same biological and ecological environment, and perhaps our respective bacteria, enzymes and other micro-stuff are compatible. I like being able to look the farmer who grows my food in the eye and assess what kind of person he or she is. I know that every week I can go back to their booth at the farmers market and let them know that I liked their food or that something wasn't quite up-to-speed with it.

I eyed the Brussels sprouts with skepticism, remembering childhood meals past when I took tentative micro-bites of boiled, tasteless miniature cabbage-looking things drowned in the ketchup I used to make it palatable, in the hopes that I could swallow without gagging. 'This is my year to Try New Things', I thought, bravely poking a container of Brussels sprouts with my finger. They were kind of cute, actually, mini-cabs that would look right at home as a boutonniere. "How do I cook these?", I asked the grower. As luck would have it, I was standing right next to a caterer, who was also buying Brussels sprouts to serve at a party that night. I was surprised by how her face lit up when she jumped in with a cooking suggestion.

"Boil them for a couple of minutes, then sprinkle olive oil, balsamic vinegar, salt and pepper and that's all there is to it," she said. "Some people roast them, too." Her eyes sparkled. Could it be? Were they actually edible, as some people claimed?

I was in. It was a sign from the Locavore Universe--it was my time to try my hand at making something scary taste good. Was I up for the challenge? I forked over my $2.50 for a carton and enjoyed the smug feeling I had as I walked back to my car. Why, I was practially healthier already!

Later, back in my kitchen, I decided to roast them instead of boiling. I was afraid boiling would make them too bland. I cranked up the oven on broil at around 400 degrees and spread out the Brussels sprouts on a cookie sheet. I drizzled olive oil, balsamic vinegar, and cracked pepper and salt over them and stuck them in the oven and checked them every few minutes. In less than 15 minutes, the tiny leaves around the base had turned crispy, and the core had softened. Amazingly, the taste was intriguing right off the pan but I wasn't satisfied yet. What if I grated fresh parmesan cheese over them? What if I added pumpkin seeds for crunch?

The result was delicious! There is a slight bitterness that the parmesan and the pumpkin seeds offset. I'm not a big fan of cooked cabbage, and there was a slight cabbage-y flavor that ultimately wasn't bad, but I still wasn't a fan. On a scale of 1-10, 10 being the best meal I've ever eaten, this fell into a solid 6. In the grand scheme of things, it feels really good to eat food that is whole and healthy, and I admit that often I succumb to a busy schedule and pre-prepared food, rather than taking the time to cook veggies in a way that I like, but often don't want to do.

I'd do this again, I like eating seasonal vegetables, and think, isn't this the way we're supposed to eat on a very basic level? I'm quite skeptical of how our culture pushes us toward processed food, and am shocked by ingredient lists that contain corn/soy in various forms. Is it really healthy to be a mono-foodie? Don't we benefit from biodiversity? I'm pretty confident that my Brussels sprouts didn't contain one molecule of corn or soy, and I feel pretty darned good about having taken the time to try a new food that I had formerly put in the No Way I'm Gonna Eat That category.

2. Volunteer to serve dinner at a shelter

The day after the talk, I realize I don't know where a soup kitchen or a homeless shelter is. Hmmm. I google 'baton rouge homeless shelter soup kitchen' and click on St. Vincent de Paul's website because I've seen their ads on TV. I go to the contact page, dial the 'volunteer' number and leave a v/m.

Nobody calls me back.

Tuesday I had lunch with my friend Cheri, who is one of the most positive and upbeat people I know. I love our lunches, we always talk about Thinking Bigger, taking risks in life, and we celebrate successes of everybody we know. I tell her about needing a place to volunteer, and she goes, "Perfect! You need to go to St. Vincent de Pauls!" I explain that I had called, but no one had returned my call. "No problem," she says, "You can come with us when we go." Turns out her Civitan group volunteers once a month and extra hands are always welcome. I asked her to let me know when the next one was and she said, "You're on--it's this coming Thursday."

What I didn't know was that you can't just walk up and volunteer, you have to sign up and be part of a group. I kept picturing a school cafeteria with us all in hairnets and big spoons dishing up food from a big kitchen. Cheri told me that each member of her group cooks a dish, and they'd done it so many times the menu was set: roast beef, corn, creamed spinach, bread, salad and cookies for dessert. We all meet at 6 in the dining room for the women and children, and are finished by 7, like clockwork.

What will this be like?
I'd never been around homeless people before. What would they be like? Would I feel self-conscious? Should I wear my jewelry? Would they resent me? I felt silly even thinking these things and wished I felt more comfortable and didn't make such a big deal out of it. Oh well, this is what the List is all about, getting me out of my comfort zone.

Once I got into the room I knew immediately everything would be okay. The room was immaculate, and filled with about 20 women and children who were patiently waiting for us to set up.

We set up a serving line, the director came in and led the blessing, and one by one, the women approached us, and I was struck by how friendly they were. "Hi, how you doin'?" each one said, and politely asked for smaller portions for their 'babies'. I found myself chatting with them easily, all self-consciousness evaporated the minute I saw a beautiful little boy making 'sweet eyes' at all of us with his striking topaz-colored eyes." I took a plate of cookies over to two giggly sisters, who informed me that chocolate chip cookies were their favorite. I could relate.

I wondered later what their stories were. I felt for the children, were they okay during the day and did they feel safe at night? I felt silently grateful for the people in our world who operate shelters like this one, I would never have that kind of dedication, my skills and interests lie elsewhere. But for tonight, I hoped that what I did made a difference.

I'll be back, too. On the way back to our cars I got conscripted. The group informed me that I was now on their email list and they'll expect to see me next month. Maybe next time, I'll bake the cookies.

What's on your list?

The question catches me off-guard.

"What are some of the things on your list?". I'm surrounded by eager faces, three women who had just heard me speak at the Baton Rouge YWCA Connections meeting on the Louisiana Film industry. At the end of my talk, I had shared with them the idea I had to celebrate my half-century year by doing 50 New Things I've Never Done Before and now, here they were, wanting to know what I'd come up with.

"Are you going to bungee jump?", one of them asked.

"Y'all," I said, "I just had the idea for this about three days ago. I don't have my list yet at all, but I'm pretty sure it won't involve bungee jumping or a trip to the tattoo parlor. I want it to be ordinary things, things that you think about doing but never do. Like give $50 away to a stranger, or volunteer at a soup kitchen."

"Oh! That's great, let us know when you're going, and we'll go with you."

Wow, I guess this idea is real! If I have people depending on me to line it up, I guess I'm going to have to follow through with my idea. I was kind of hoping a soup kitchen opportunity would fall in my lap but it looks like I'm going to have to make this happen. I liked the external motivation, honestly, and liked the idea that I might have inspired someone to come along.

1. Watch an LSU championship game with friends

I live in Baton Rouge, near the First Church of the LSU Tigers. My house is close enough to Deaf Valley that when the wind blows right on game nights, I can hear the roar from the crowd if I have my windows open. During football season, Baton Rouge essentially coats itself in purple and gold and otherwise normal-looking folks with show up in public wearing tiger-striped blazers and drive around in their SUV's with snappy little LSU pennants waving from the windows.

Let me commit blasphemy here: I don't follow LSU football.

I didn't know that Les Miles is the coach and Matt Flynn is the quarterback. I didn't know that LSU had made it into some sort of special game until suddenly all my friends were heading to New Orleans for the BCS. Huh?

"Melinda, you DO know there's a game on Monday night, don't you?" my friend Marsanne says accusingly. "Um yeah, I heard something," I say somewhat defensively. She goes on to lecture me about how if I've sworn to do 50 New Things then I can damn well start by coming to her house to watch LSU in a championship game with her and some of her friends.

I was caught off-guard. Isn't 50 New Things all about stretching my horizons? Was this how I wanted to start? I agreed and showed up at her house 15 minutes before kickoff.

It didn't hurt that LSU had a phenomenal win over Ohio State, 38-24. And that I was greatly amused watching Marsanne jump up and down every time LSU got a first down or made a TD. I learned that 'BCS' stands for 'Bowl Championship Series' and that the crystal football LSU won was made by Waterford and cost $30,000. I figure I'm practically ready for ESPN.

The next day, I found myself saying things like, "How 'bout that game, huh?" to store clerks and "We showed them, didn't we?" We??? Was I on that field??? I suddenly felt I was part of something bigger, and there was something oddly comforting about participating in a mass event that everyone seemed so happy about. Life is better when you share it with others. But you won't find me in a purple and gold outfit just yet.

50 New Things

Instead of saying, "How old are you?", the Italians say, "Quanti anni hai?" or, "How many years do you have?" In a little over a month, I shall have 50 in my basket of years, something that, quite frankly, feels more than a bit strange to say. I seem to have misplaced the body I used to have, as well as the face that went with it. And yet, I seem to have acquired something that passes for wisdom, in fact, may very well be. So, while I occasionally wish for the body I used to have with the wisdom I have now (think of all those bad relationships I would have skipped! Oh, but wait, darn it, is that where the wisdom came from????), I know that's just my own little fantasy.

How to celebrate my half-century of life on this planet? I've been pondering this for about six months. Do I go around the world? Do I take trapeze lessons in Costa Rica? Do I have a party? I wasn't sure, I just wanted whatever I decided to be meaningful, significant, and enrich my life.

So, this is what I came up with: 50 New Things To Do That I've Never Done Before.

There's a movie out right now called, "The Bucket List", starring Jack Nicholson and Morgan Freeman. The movie is about all the things they want to do before they "kick the bucket" and the trailer shows them skydiving and hanging out at the pyramids. I'll guarantee that I'd sign up for that list in a heartbeat if I had a good producer and an unlimited budget but since I don't, I'll have to improvise.

Everybody wants to know: what's on your list? Hell, I don't know yet, I just had the idea last week. I do know that it most likely won't involve bungee jumping or getting anywhere near a tattoo parlor. I want this to be ordinary things that you always think about doing, but just for some reason, never get around to doing. Like giving a stranger $50, or volunteering at a soup kitchen. I don't think I'll count things I accidentally do that I've never done before, I'm not sure yet. The idea is to intentionally grow by doing new things.

My observation is that our worlds naturally contract as we get older. We may become physically limited, and become more comfortable with things that are familiary. Or maybe, by the time we've been around 25,550 days (that's 70 years, give or take a leap year), we've simply done a lotta stuff. And some of it we simply don't want to do any more. The 'new' things that interest us enough to get off the couch are harder to find. By challenging ourselves to get out of our rut by trying new things, we develop a habit of keeping ourselves on the vital edge of life, a place I want to always reside.