Happy Earth Day, World!

Today is the 40th anniversary of the Earth Day celebration. It’s hard to believe it’s been around that long, and as one of the original OSPIRGers (Oregon State Public Interest Group, started by students at the University of Oregon in the 60’s with Ralph Nader’s backing), I have a great deal to cheer about, in terms of progress made and battles won for the environment in the intervening years. There is also a great deal not to cheer about.

I am not a fanatical environmentalist, but it saddens me deeply when I see natural areas devastated by private interests whose only concerns are making a quick buck, or trash thrown down by some uninvolved (and lazy) passerby. It takes so very little time, energy, and money to do a great deal of good; but it also (obviously) takes even less time and effort to do nothing. The thing that worries me, however, is how long it may take for Joe or Jane Q. Public to wake up and realize that there’s a problem. How long before they start doing anything to change? Anything at all would be a start!

Yes, we OSPIRGers got the Oregon Bottle Bill passed back in 1969 (I believe), which was immediately followed by several sister organizations springing up across the country pushing similar legislation through their respective state legislatures. Yes, we members of the Eastern Oregon Environmental Council (another college group I was part of—I was secretary, among other things) got out the write-in vote for S.T. Minam (Save the Minam—now a part of Eagle Cap Wilderness Area, where Sam and I spend a considerable amount of our vacation time) when our US Representative Al Ullman wanted to make it into a “multi-use area” years ago. He lost the election to S. T., backed off, and to the amazement of nearly everyone, worked to make the Minam River drainage part of the US Government Wild Rivers Act. Eagle Cap was made a Wilderness Area in the wake of the Minam River action, and there is even talk nowadays of making it into a National Park. See what can happen when YOU get involved? It even amazes me at times, but I didn’t do any of this myself. I was only one of many of concerned citizens who saw something happening that they believed was wrong—and got off their backsides and did something about it.

Much has been accomplished in the past 40 years, but so much remains that it’s enough to depress anyone into doing nothing. Now I live in the Puget Sound area of Washington State, and I hear news that grieves and disheartens me every single day. One of the symptoms of depression is a state of inaction, but I say what it should do is make me angry—very angry, and angry enough to fight about it.

One thing I learned while writing the posts about killer whales (orcas) is that they are not considered endangered world-wide, but the Puget Sound killer whales are, however—NOAA (National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, a federal agency focused on the conditions of the oceans and atmosphere) has placed them on their endangered list. We had a local population of 88, until eight of them simply disappeared in 2008—that’s 10% of our local killer whale population, folks! As far as I know, no one knows to this day what happened to them. This year five gray whales have died in Puget Sound thus far. I hear on the news that it is not unusual for this to happen as they migrate south from Alaska to their breeding grounds off Baja California, and this is an El Niño year, so the food chain in the Pacific Ocean is skewed. Not surprisingly, the post mortems have shown that these whales starved to death, but what is alarming is that their stomachs were full of plastic bags, sweat pants, and all manner of indigestible trash. Did they ingest this stuff along with whatever else they were eating, or were they eating it because that’s all there was? Either way, the answers are disturbing.

Sam and I recently vacationed in Pacific City, Oregon, and on the drive home we stopped at a little spot up the coast near Netart’s Bay. I don’t know the name of the place, but these people are engaged in research and growing oyster larvae for the big commercial outfits. They were kind enough to give us an impromptu tour (I got to look at two-day-old oyster larvae through the microscope! They look just like oysters, except they are transparent and swim around like crazy.), and a brief from-the-hip lecture on their concerns. National Geographic Magazine had been there just one week before filming, so these people know what they are talking about. They told us that there is a problem with the PH in the Pacific Ocean; it’s becoming too acid, and nobody knows why. Some people have some guesses, but no one knows for sure. Anyway, it doesn’t take much acidification to dissolve baby oysters’ shells, and that’s what’s happening all over the ocean, so if the problem isn’t solved soon—and I mean very soon—oysters may be extinct, because they can no longer reproduce viable offspring. You know, I had been worried about the environment before, but that news scared me.

The list of scary news could go on and on, but I don’t wish to bore you. What I would like to do instead is challenge those of you who read this to examine your lives and see what small changes you can make that will make a difference in the world around you. Pick up your trash and put it in the appropriate can, NOT the Recycle bin—AND put your recyclables in there. Don’t toss soda pop cans in the garbage. Aluminum cans take a great deal of energy (in the Great Northwest, that’s hydropower, elsewhere it’s coal-fired generators) to manufacture. Most solid waste companies, at least in the Puget Sound, don’t even require you to sort your recyclables anymore. Take your plastic bags to the store to be recycled—or better yet, replace them with your own tote bags. You can get them almost anywhere now, or even make your own. Keep that crap out of animals’ stomachs! And, when you buy products, buy environmentally friendly ones. With the huge push behind the Green Movement that’s been going on for the last couple of years, it’s easy to do. You may be quite surprised to learn that you can clean up the most horrible mess with simple, organic cleaning products, rather than buying the super-poisonous chemical ones we’re used to. You’ll SAVE MONEY too, while you’re doing the planet a favor. What could be easier than that? What could be better? Basically, just don’t be a planet slob. Be responsible, like a grown-up. You are one, aren’t you?

In Fairness, My Last Word

In the interest of fairness, I went to Sea World’s Website to check them out, and I did learn a few things. Since 1965 they have rescued and rehabilitated over 17,000 stranded, sick, or injured animals, and they do conduct an endangered species breeding program. You may be interested to know that Tilikum (I’ve been misspelling his name), also affectionately known as Tily, was caught in November, 1983 near Iceland—remember the US Marine Mammal Protection Act of 1972? Apparently other nations don’t feel shy about violating it and then selling the whales to us (while the Marine Mammal Protection act put a stop to Pacific Ocean captures, it didn’t end those occurring near Iceland). Tily is currently the largest orca in captivity, weighing in at around 13,000 lb., or about six-and-a -half tons. At this moment, there are 42 captive orca whales (according to Wikipedia), and Tily is the sire of 15 of them per the most recent head count.

Blog posts at Sea World’s site are full of comments about the recent incident, but what interested me was that a number of people, including youngsters, stated how inspired they had been by the work being done there. One young person wanted to become a veterinarian, for example. I can honestly say I can applaud much of what the people at Sea World are doing. It is not cheap to rescue and rehabilitate wild animals, but that is not what is happening with the orca population there—or if whales are being rehabbed, that does not seem to be the main thrust of the program. Also, I wonder how much it costs to keep 29 orca trainers employed, not counting the staff required to take care of the animals. That can’t be cheap either. Trained killer whale shows are big business, and many people don't want to admit it.

I would sincerely like to know what kind of conditions these animals live in? Are they happy? Do they engage in a healthy social life, or are they isolated from each other-and if so, why and how often? These are questions I can’t answer without going there and seeing first-hand, and frankly, that won’t be happening, because I can’t afford it!

I could not find out how many shows are done weekly at Sea World in Orlando, Florida, but the (on-line only) purchase of a ticket to Sea World guarantees you one visit anytime within one year from the date of purchase. With that ticket you can visit a second time free within seven days of your initial visit. The price of an adult ticket on-line is $78.95, and a child’s ticket is $68.95. If you buy a ticket good for two parks, it will cost $109.95 for one adult and $99.95 for one child. The bonus is that with a multipark ticket, you get unlimited admission, plus free round-trip transportation between Sea World and Busch Gardens. Wow! That’s a pretty good deal, but at the same time, only available to people with the time and money to go there, and that leaves a lot of us out.

You might be interested to know that there is an effort being mounted to return Lolita, the solitary remaining whale at the Miami Seaquarium, to the wild in her native waters off Puget Sound. According to researchers, she still vocalizes in the unique language shared by the Puget Sound orcas—which NOAA has listed as endangered. Apparently the Board of the Seaquarium has not yet ratified the agreement put forward by the Orca Network ( http://www.orcanetwork.org/) , and based on what happened with Keiko, I question whether it is the right way to go. She should not have to remain isolated where she is, however, and I doubt many people would disagree with that.

Addendum: The Tragedy of Captive Killer Whales

I did not mention this, but one thing I cannot emphasize enough is that $$MONEY$$ is the real motivator for much of what is happening with the captive killer whale population in the United States. People can excuse having them by the need to study and understand them—which I personally can agree is important. The fact remains, however, that if Grandpa and little Suzie weren’t willing to cough up the big bucks for those Sea World tickets, the shows would not be happening. If you disagree with me, let me remind you that three movies and a TV series were made about Keiko (or a fictional killer whale in part patterned after him), and another one is due out soon. If we were truly interested in learning how to communicate with them and in what they are really like as creatures, it seems to me that we’d be studying them more in their natural environment, and we certainly wouldn’t be training them to do tricks.

While SETI (Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence) is a noteworthy endeavor, what will happen if we ever do find someone out there? We’d better know how to communicate with someone other than ourselves (which we don’t do well either) if we have any dreams of it ending other than badly—for us. Remember The Day the Earth Stood Still starring Michael Rennie (1951), War of the Worlds starring Gene Barry (1953), or how about The Arrival, starring Charlie Sheen (1996)? I remember a Gahan Wilson cartoon in Playboy Magazine many years ago when I was in college that showed a huge gray amoeba-like alien oozing down the highway in the middle of a Southwestern desert scene, heading for a little restaurant on the horizon with a huge neon sign above it that said, “EAT.” If we do find intelligent alien life somewhere, we have a good chance of ending up just like our killer whales, unless they happen to be a benevolent species, such as the Vulcans in Star Trek: First Contact (1996).

The other thing I need to say is that I was taught from a very early age when working with the horses we had on our ranch not to EVER turn my back on a stallion. And, it’s never a good idea to turn your back on any animal that is larger, stronger, and faster than you. If they should decide to attack, then you have no clue it is coming until it is far too late. I was taught to never underestimate them, and to never take them for granted—no matter how much I loved them or thought they might love me. I ignored that advice a couple of times and was injured because I was foolhardy enough to do so. Lucky for me, I was not killed, but I have a hunch that Ms. Brancheau made this fatal error and paid dearly for it. A hunting animal will always look for the moment when the prey animal’s guard is down to move in, and who knows how Tillikum really regarded his trainers? An animal will never go against its true nature, and we disregard this fact at our peril.

Another thing to remember is that what may be play to them will harm us. I well remember one time when my six-month-old Arabian filly Mafdiy (whom I had been around since the moment of her birth) suddenly whirled around in front of me, kicked up her heels, and struck me on the point of the hip. I was her human "Mom," and I know it was intended as play, since we had been playing a version of Tag in the pasture, but she forgot that I was not just another horse. It was nothing more than a tap, but I was brought my knees in pain. It could have been far worse, and even then it was enough to hurt a great deal. She expressed afterwards that she was very sorry, but we never played like that again, and both of us learned a lesson.

I am reminded of an old Indian story which tells of a scorpion who wanted to cross a river, but he couldn’t unless he persuaded another animal to carry him across. None were willing to take him though, because he was a scorpion and would sting them and kill them. He was about to give up when finally a fox agreed to take him across, but he had to promise that he would not sting the fox. The scorpion said, “Well of course I won’t sting you! We’d both drown in the river and neither of us would get to the other side!” So the fox let the scorpion get on his back and swam into the river. All was going well, and they were about halfway across, when suddenly the fox felt a sharp prick in his back. In shock, he realized that the scorpion had stung him after all, and in a rage he screamed, “Scorpion, why did you sting me when you promised not to? Now we will both die, and it’s all your fault!” The scorpion said, “I know Fox, and I’m truly sorry; but you see, I’m a scorpion, it’s my nature to sting, and I couldn’t help myself.”

The Tragedy of Captive Killer Whales

The death of Dawn Brancheau, erstwhile trainer of Tillikum the Killer Whale, at Sea World on February 24, 2010 prompted a great deal of outrage on both sides of the question regarding wild animals performing in captivity, in particular killer whales. People wondered how an animal obviously beloved by its trainer could turn on her so unpredictably. According to her sister, Diane Gross, Dawn was living her dream and would never want any harm to come to the animal. She loved working with him.

Tillikum had in fact been implicated in the deaths of two other people prior to this incident, but Chuck Tompkins, head of animal training at all SeaWorld parks, in an interview with the CBS Early Show stated, “There wasn't anything to indicate to us that there was a problem.” Oh really? While with Sealand of the Pacific in British Columbia, a trainer drowned in his enclosure, before he was sold as a breeding animal to Sea World in Orlando, Florida. Then in 1999 a man, who snuck into the facility during the night, was found dead of hypothermia in Tillicum’s tank one morning. There was no sign the whale actually killed him, though he did have bumps and bruises on his body. Neither of these deaths may have been “his fault”, but due to his blemished history, only a dozen of Sea World’s 29 trainers were allowed to work with him, and none were supposed to be in the water with him.

Remember Keiko? The killer whale who starred in the 1993 Warner Brothers movies Free Willy? The original movie was a blockbuster and was followed by Free Willy 2, and Free Willy 3, plus a short-lived animated TV series. A fourth movie is projected for release in 2010. Keiko was rescued from life in a dinky little swimming pool at Reino Aventura in Mexico City, his hide rotting away from skin lesions he’d developed due to poor health. Donations from Warner Brothers’ studio and Craig McCaw led to the establishment of the Free Willy Keiko Foundation in 1995 and with money sent in by thousands of school kids (and many others) in the U.S. who felt moved to help him, Keiko came to the U.S. where he received top-level care and where he became the star-in-residence for several years at the Oregon Coast Aquarium in Newport, Oregon. Over $7 million dollars was spent to build a facility to house him and return him to health, and while at his home in Oregon, he regained over a ton in weight. People flocked to see him, and the country fell in love. Eventually an effort was mounted to return Keiko to the wild, where the hope was he could live out his days as Nature intended, and he was flown to Klettsvik Bay in Vestmannaeyjar in Iceland, where he was installed in a specially-built sea pen, to be re-trained to hunt for himself so he could be released to live with his own kind one day. Many felt that these efforts were misguided, if not downright ludicrous, and millions more dollars were spent in the effort to help him have a normal life.

Well, it was a fine and noble dream—but it failed, and Keiko, even though he was finally released, never joined up with a pod to live out his days as everyone hoped. Steinar Bastesen, a Norwegian politician of the time made International news when he said that Keiko should be killed and the meat sent to Africa as foreign aid! I believe the Norwegians realized it would be a huge PR faux pas if they followed up on this threat, but it does highlight how outrageous the entire venture had become. The fact remains that Keiko never learned to hunt again in order to feed himself, and he eventually died of pneumonia, beaching himself on December 12, 2003 at the age of 26 years. He was buried in a cairn of stones in Halsa, Norway, made by local Norwegian school children, and a memorial site remains there. In all, it was a very sad end for an animal much-beloved by millions of people—including me.

Fortunately, the US Marine Mammal Protection Act in 1972 made trapping wild killer whales illegal, because some people at least realized it was a mistake to take these creatures out of their element (many never survived being caught in the first place), stick them in little pools, oftentimes in complete isolation from others of their own kind, and then “train” them to perform for our pleasure. Nearly all of the killer whales seen performing now are bred in captivity—and Tillikum has sired a number of them, making him a very valuable commodity. The one figure I saw quoted regarding his worth was $2 million dollars.

The environment these creatures inhabit leaves much to be desired. Imagine being cooped up in a barren little room all alone for years at a time, with no contact with anyone but an alien creature that you can’t talk to. Then these beings engage you in training, so you can perform on command for treats, which is somewhat better than being bored out of your mind. What a complete and total insult to creatures of high intelligence with a complex social structure! The rest of the time they do things to you that you can’t understand. Don’t you think you’d go a little nuts? Don’t you think you’d be insulted, get angry, and rebel? I can say that, if I were placed in that situation, I’d probably have lost it long before Tillikum did—if that is truly what happened. In fact, taking a good look at this whole scenario is animal cruelty in my book.

The thing that annoys me most, however, is that of course the animal is always at fault when bad things happen. Anytime an animal does something to hurt or injure a human being, it is labeled as “bad,” a criminal, and since it is guilty of the ultimate sin, it must be destroyed. No matter who is really at fault, the animal is ALWAYS the one to suffer.

People forget entirely the nature of the creatures who share our lives—the majority of whom have had no choice whatsoever in the matter. We have taken them out of their natural habitat (sometimes even destroyed it), made them totally dependent on us, invested them with all sorts of unnatural thoughts and feelings we’ve projected on them, and then we are horrified when something bad happens. We forget too, that “just because we love them,” what the animal feels toward us is not necessarily love at all—and that they may be utterly mystified or frightened by what we do to them and act to defend themselves. Many of us think of them as little furry humans or our children. Heck, I’m a pet parent myself, but at least I realize that my dog is not a child—and my horse isn’t either. I don’t know why animals seem to like us, but for some strange reason they often do—at least until we prove we can’t be trusted and drive them over the edge to insanity.

I sincerely hope that a humane solution (what a euphemism!) can be found for Tillikum and the others of his kind in captivity, so they may live with others of their own kind and not be expected to perform tricks for the gratification of our children. Let them be what they are: killer whales—Orcas, for Pete’s sake—and stop vilifying Tillikum. Regardless of why he did what he did—and we may never know the real answer, it’s time to back off. As one researcher (I’m sorry, but I don’t know his name) said in a TV interview this past week, there are no recorded incidents of killer whales attacking human beings in the wild—where they belong. And, who wouldn’t rather see them there, swimming and hunting fish or seals with their pods? I know I sure would. Let’s clean up the environment where they ought to live!

PETA Has Done It Again

I can’t say I was overly surprised when PETA (People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, founded in 1980 by Ingrid Newkirk and boasting a membership of two million members world-wide) came out earlier this week saying it was cruel for Punxsutawney Phil (the official weather groundhog of Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania.) to be exhibited on Groundhogs Day, and that he should be replaced by a robot. Really? I should think PETA would be against the entire operation, but replacing him?--With a robot? Puh-leaze! It would be laughable, except they’re 100% serious.

First, let me say that Groundhog Day is one of my favorite holidays out of the year, precisely because it does involve these furry creatures. One look at Phil and you know that he is a pampered pet—and he doesn’t seem to mind in the slightest missing out on hibernation in favor of all the publicity. Not to mention that his home town rakes in the dough, thanks to Phil. Remember Bill Murray and Andie MacDowell in the 1993 movie Groundhog Day? Losing Phil would put a major dent in the local bottom line, I’m sure. It would probably not be a good day for Phil, either.

What I want to know is where it will end with PETA? For an organization which equates the rights of a rat with those of a human boy, who knows? According to Wikipedia,

"PETA is an animal rights organization. It rejects speciesism, and the idea that animals may be regarded as property. It therefore opposes the use of animals in any form: in animal testing, as food, entertainment, clothing, furniture, decoration, companionship for people, seeing eye dogs for the blind, or as working in any form such as shepherding sheep. PETA would like for all animals to be completely free from dependency on humans to survive." (For more please see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/People_for_the_Ethical_Treatment_of_Animals)

Please don’t misunderstand me, I am 100% behind them when they target abuses in research or the meat industry, for example, but I believe that some of what PETA takes exception to is way out of line. According to them, none of us could have pets anymore, no more service animals, nor could dogs be trained to sniff out drugs or explosives in order to protect us from terrorists. No more horseback riding, especially jumping over courses, no more . . . anything to do with animals! Gosh, I guess we wouldn’t need to worry about preserving endangered species anymore either. Forget the world going to the dogs, there would be nothing here but wall to wall people!

Nearly all of the people I know have had pets sometime during their lives or lived on farms, and aside from the occasional irresponsible person, have regarded their animals as trusted friends and companions. For some, their pets are more like their kids. Farm animals, which are expected to earn their way and eventually end up as food, are valued and cared for humanely, and yes, oftentimes even loved too. I don’t think I speak out of turn when I maintain that animals greatly enrich the quality of our lives just by being there. The few times I’ve been without a cat or dog to share my life have been lonely and miserable, because they give back something that the companionship of other humans does not. They don’t judge us, and they are always there and glad to see us, whether we’ve been gone five hours or five months. When they are finally gone, we are heartbroken, and the grief is just as real as for a human being. I remember every cat, dog, horse, and goat that has been kind enough to share my life, and I miss each and every one of them.

So PETA, please forget replacing Punxsutawney Phil with a dead thing made of electrical wires and plastic. No matter how realistic, it wouldn’t come within a million miles of being what Phil represents to the rest of us. To even make the suggestion makes me wonder if you truly care about animals at all. You certainly must have never loved one—or had one love you.

Uh-oh! My Inner Geek Is in Love Again!

I’m afraid it’s true. Those of you who know me won’t be surprised, since it was love at first sight with the iPod Touch, and I soon was the proud owner of a 32 GB version. I never went for the iPhone; somehow it just never grabbed me, but the Touch has been my constant companion ever since I forked over the roughly $500 purchase price several years ago. Looking back, I’d say I got my money’s worth.

Fast forward to 2010: I had always liked the idea behind Amazon’s Kindle (and I’m sure I must be one of their best customers), but I was never much enamored of its gray-scale interface, though it was kind of cute. Seeing as how I’ve always been an eclectic reader (and part of my lumbar scoliosis is due no doubt to the fact that I always hauled tons of books home from school as a kid), the idea of being able to pack all the books and magazines I wanted to read in a little e-Book reader was appealing. I maintained that I would buy one when it came out with color, which it seems was not to be—or at least Apple beat them to it.

As with the Touch, it won’t be cheap, but it supposedly will go far beyond even the Touch’s capability and be useful in gaming or even at work. Available in 16-, 32-, and 64 GB interfaces with Blue Tooth wireless, it weighs in at 1.5 lb. I hear that’s a bit heavy if you plan on watching a 30-minute TV show, but it beats the socks off my 4 lb. laptop. Battery life for video is 10 hours (or a once monthly charge if you only read print), according to Steve Jobs (the best I ever got on my iPod Touch was 7 hours, and that was playing music with the display turned off—not playing video), and my Dell or HP laptops have never done better than 2.5 hours. Wi-Fi capability will cost you an additional $130 for the hardware, no matter which version you buy, but monthly plans (through AT&T only) will be $14.99 for up to 250 mg or $29.99 for unlimited usage. That seems reasonable enough for just about anybody, assuming they can afford the unit in the first place.

And to think I was considering upgrading to the 64 GB Touch. Now I don’t think so. The iPad is supposed to start shipping in March. I think I may need one.

Another Day in the Life

It’s been another soggy Seattle day. I hate to say that, because the rest of the week-end has been rather nice with lots of sun, and because so many people elsewhere think that’s ALL it does here. Today though has been downright wet. I’m sure the ducks, if there are any still here this time of year, love it.

Since I haven’t wanted to go outside, what have I been doing instead? I’ve been cooking, knitting, reading, and watching TV. It looks as though I may finish the sweater I’ve been working on since completing the baby blanket project, and I tried a new recipe. Last night we watched PBS’ Nova program on the Sphinx on Comcast On Demand (which has a companion article in this month’s Smithsonian magazine, by the way—if you get a chance, see both of them), plus a couple of Netflix rentals: The Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer (2007); and Babel (2006), starring Brad Pitt and Cate Blanchett. Quite a juxtaposition of movies!

I rented The Silver Surfer because Sam and I used to be big comics fans many years ago (my own favorites being The Mighty Thor—Marvel Comics, 1970, scripted by Stan Lee’s brother Larry and penciled by Jack Kirby; and Conan the Barbarian—Marvel Comics, 1970, written by Roy Thomas and illustrated by Barry Windsor-Smith. These are collector’s items, folks!), and because the Silver Surfer character was supposed to have some sort of cosmic significance—since I’d never read any of The Fantastic Four comics, I didn’t know what that was. If you’ve ever been to my house, you’ve probably seen the painting I’ve been working on of Odin, which was taken from an old back issue of Thor. Anyway, the Silver Surfer movie is extremely light-weight stuff and very comic-bookish, which was no doubt intentional. Stan Lee even has a cameo in it. Sorry guys, it was entertaining but not much more than that. There is probably a sequel planned, because we see the Surfer floating in space at the end of the movie, after he’s defeated Galactus and saved Earth from destruction. Tsk, tsk, I won’t be adding this to my library.

Babel is quite another story. I rented this movie because it had a number of Oscar nominations (including Best Picture) and won a Golden Globe for Best Drama in 2006, but aside from those things, I had no idea what the story was about—except perhaps the obvious theme from the Biblical story regarding the Tower of Babel. The movie posits that humanity still suffers from confusion and the lack of communication, though according to New York Times reviewer A.O. Scott, October 27, 2006, in his review of the same name, emotion needs no translation. It is a moving story, and I don’t want to say too much in case you haven’t yet seen it. It is worth viewing, and I find myself still reflecting on it today.

Now let’s get to the recipe. This year I re-subscribed to Cook’s Illustrated magazine (they are the same folks who produce America’s Test Kitchen TV series), and part of the deal is weekly emails from them. This week there was mention of a recipe they had developed for beef enchiladas, which I had not prepared for some time (the last time I made it, I used a recipe from one of Betty Crocker’s cookbooks), so I went to their Website and downloaded it. Needless (perhaps) to say, I came up with my own variation of the recipe after preparing it once, and frankly, I think it’s better and easier to make than their version. I will share my version, and maybe you’ll be inspired to make it yourself:

Aunt Di’s Beef Enchiladas (Serves 4 to 6)

3 large (or 6 small) garlic cloves, minced
3 Tbsp chili powder
2 tsp ground coriander
2 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp sugar
1 tsp salt
1 ½ lb beef flatiron or flank steak, cut in strips
1 Tbsp olive oil
1 large onion, chopped
1 (15-oz) or 2 (8-oz) cans tomato sauce
½ C water
1 C shredded Monterey Jack cheese
1 C shredded medium Cheddar cheese
½ C chopped fresh cilantro leaves (a nice big handful)
1 C chopped, canned nacho jalapenos (I used the hot La Victoria ones that come in a jar. These are actually only about medium hot, or I couldn’t eat them. If you want milder chilies, you can buy them canned, though I’ve found those have hardly any flavor at all.)
12 (6-inch) yellow corn tortillas

Combine the minced garlic, chili powder, coriander, cumin, sugar, and salt in a small bowl and set aside. Slice the flatiron or flank steak into strips against the grain and also set aside. Heat the olive oil in a Dutch oven over medium heat and cook the meat until browned on all sides, about six minutes, and then transfer it to a plate. Cook the chopped onion in the pot until golden and then add the garlic/spice mixture. Cook this about a minute, and then add the tomato sauce and water. Bring sauce to a boil, return the meat to the pot, reduce the heat to low, and simmer it for about 1 ½ hours, until the meat is tender enough to break up with a spoon (if not, you’ll have to remove the meat and chop it up when you get to the next step).

Adjust oven rack to the middle position and pre-heat oven to 350⁰ F. Strain sauce over a medium bowl to remove the meat and set it aside. In another medium bowl mix the meat with ½ cup each of the Monterey Jack and Cheddar cheeses, plus the chopped cilantro and jalapenos.

Prepare a 9 x 13-inch baking dish by spreading about ¾ cup of the sauce in the bottom. Microwave the corn tortillas for about a minute to soften them, and then spread about 1/3 cup of the meat mixture in each tortilla. Roll the tortillas and set into baking pan with seam sides down, and then ladle the remaining sauce over the top, being sure to cover all the tortillas. Spread the remaining cheese over the sauce, then cover pan with aluminum foil, and bake until fully heated—about 20 minutes. Remove foil and brown the cheese for another 5 minutes, then serve. Sour cream and/or guacamole make nice accompaniments, as does a tossed salad or other greens.

Note: The beef filling and sauce can be made ahead and the enchiladas rolled and baked just before serving.

I should tell you that when I asked the butcher at QFC about using blade steaks, as directed by Cook’s Illustrated, he told me, “No, no, no! You don’t want to have to be messing around boning out meat for this—just use a flatiron or flank steak and cut it against the grain before you cook it.” Well, I took his advice and was not sorry, though I did have to chop the meat before making the enchiladas. Enjoy! This is great comfort food for a cold rainy winter day.