"If you have sex, you will get X and die!"

All those who read this who are in Texas:

The Texas State Board of Education (henceforth SBOE) is in the process of adopting new health textbooks. Due to political pressures from the abstinence-only and anti-birth-control crowds, several of the textbooks under consideration have no information on birth control and/or condom use, or mention these only in terms of their failure rates. In addition to being bad policy in a state that has the nation's highest teen birth rate, this is technically a violation of the Health TEKS, which are abstinence-focused but do require at least discussing "barrier protection and other contraceptive methods." Hmm . . . maybe we should consider adding a Health section to the TAKS?

Please help by contacting the SBOE (the nice people at ProtectOurKids.com have a link to find your SBOE representative) and letting them know that Texans support comprehensive sex ed! It doesn't matter whether you have kids in the education system or not - you pay taxes here, you're entitled to your say. In fact, those of you who are former Texans and do have kids might want to write, too - "I'm not coming back if my kid isn't going to be educated," etc.

Thanks. This means a lot to me.

"If you have sex, you will get X and die!"

All those who read this who are in Texas:

The Texas State Board of Education (henceforth SBOE) is in the process of adopting new health textbooks. Due to political pressures from the abstinence-only and anti-birth-control crowds, several of the textbooks under consideration have no information on birth control and/or condom use, or mention these only in terms of their failure rates. In addition to being bad policy in a state that has the nation's highest teen birth rate, this is technically a violation of the Health TEKS, which are abstinence-focused but do require at least discussing "barrier protection and other contraceptive methods." Hmm . . . maybe we should consider adding a Health section to the TAKS?

Please help by contacting the SBOE (the nice people at ProtectOurKids.com have a link to find your SBOE representative) and letting them know that Texans support comprehensive sex ed! It doesn't matter whether you have kids in the education system or not - you pay taxes here, you're entitled to your say. In fact, those of you who are former Texans and do have kids might want to write, too - "I'm not coming back if my kid isn't going to be educated," etc.

Thanks. This means a lot to me.

Another Recipe or Two, and Some Thoughts on Cooking

First, the good stuff:

Baked Shells with Pesto

12 oz. shell pasta (preferably the medium size, about an inch long)
1 15-oz. container part-skim ricotta cheese
1/2 cup pesto (jarred will work, but preferably fresh; the stuff on the olive bar at Central Market works fine)
2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese (the kind in the zip bag works fine)
1/4 cup shredded Parmesan cheese (as fresh as possible)
1 Tablespoon butter
salt and pepper to taste

Cook the shell pasta in lightly salted boiling water for one minute less than the package instructs you to do. Preheat the oven to 350° F. Meanwhile, combine the ricotta, pesto, and half of the mozzarella in a large bowl. Grease the bottom and sides of a 2 quart baking dish with the butter. When the pasta is done, drain thoroughly and toss with the ricotta mixture. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Turn the contents of the bowl out into the buttered baking dish. Sprinkle the Parmesan over the top, and repeat with the other cup of mozzarella. Bake for 30 minutes, until the top is bubbly and lightly browned.

(  Other Food Musings )

Another Recipe or Two, and Some Thoughts on Cooking

First, the good stuff:

Baked Shells with Pesto

12 oz. shell pasta (preferably the medium size, about an inch long)
1 15-oz. container part-skim ricotta cheese
1/2 cup pesto (jarred will work, but preferably fresh; the stuff on the olive bar at Central Market works fine)
2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese (the kind in the zip bag works fine)
1/4 cup shredded Parmesan cheese (as fresh as possible)
1 Tablespoon butter
salt and pepper to taste

Cook the shell pasta in lightly salted boiling water for one minute less than the package instructs you to do. Preheat the oven to 350° F. Meanwhile, combine the ricotta, pesto, and half of the mozzarella in a large bowl. Grease the bottom and sides of a 2 quart baking dish with the butter. When the pasta is done, drain thoroughly and toss with the ricotta mixture. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Turn the contents of the bowl out into the buttered baking dish. Sprinkle the Parmesan over the top, and repeat with the other cup of mozzarella. Bake for 30 minutes, until the top is bubbly and lightly browned.

(  Other Food Musings )

And Some Lemmings

( Souls, Passing Years, and Finned-Folk )

And Some Lemmings

( Souls, Passing Years, and Finned-Folk )