Monday evening roundup

Left, right, and confused responses to Obama's Middle East speech. Note the one from the 'right'--big on conclusions, light on support for them.

There's more to Catholicism, and a lot more to "life," than abortion rights.

These Indian weddings strike me as everything a wedding shouldn't be. It's great to want a unique wedding, but wouldn't you want to stand out not in ostentation but in good taste, sense of community, and celebration of friendship and family?

The oceans are choking on plastic, so be mindful of yourKeurig cups. And bottled water.

The Times and Post have mixed feelings about "Follies" at the Kennedy Center, and really, it's too expensive for only kind of good/only good in the second act, even if it's really good in the second act.

Let me start this next string by declaring that I love Ruth Reichl. But I don't make any of her recipes, because they're complicated and heavy on meat. I'm not going to slam her list of must-haves, but I'll complement it with my own. I agree with her on rice and potatoes, but I'd say red, black, or brown rice. Black rice is my new love--great for sushi, too. And I'll add sweet potatoes to the potatoes category (yes, I know they're not related... but you can use them for some of the same purposes). I'll let eggs stay, even though I don't use them. Here are my other must haves:
-tofu, especially silken, which you can turn easily into savory ricotta or a sweet cream sauce;
-lentils (so versatile, and don't need to be soaked);
-chickpeas (soaked, cooked and frozen) or pintos (same preparation);
-organic greens.

Speaking of which, I am not one of those people indifferent to the price differential of organics, but I'm getting better at making myself buy them. I sprung for some organic kale last week, at a thousand-percent mark-up over conventional kale, and I it was worth it. Can't wait for the farm share to start up.

What do you mean, you have limited influence over what your kids eat? When I was growing up, what was for dinner was what was for dinner.

By the way, check out this pie chart of where ag subsidies go. Then, write to your elected representatives.