Obama Should Learn from How I Cook Eggplant

It says 85 degrees on my computer—that’s the current temperature in San Francisco. It’s San Francisco’s famous Indian Summer. Yes, we have been spoiled by the cool weather in the city, so I already begin to hear whining about how hot it is. I am loving this weather, except when I have to take the bus. It does feel awful when I have to take a bus in weather like this. It smells, badly. It gets worse if even one homeless person gets on a bus, then I know it’s time for me to get off whatever stop it is. I simply will not be able to breathe if I stay in a bus. Walking does a body good anyway. Another advantage of this season is the harvest of fresh fruits and vegetables. They have become very cheap, unless I buy them at an organic farmer’s market. Last night, I wanted to cook some eggplant. I learned how to cook eggplant from mom when I was very little. Traditionally, we always cook eggplant with potato and green pepper. It’s called "Three-Freshness from the Earth" (地三鲜). Potato cubes are deep fried, so they are sealed by a crispy surface. Then right before the dish is served, they are mixed back with other ingredients including cooked eggplant and green pepper. Therefore, even the potato is covered with sauce and strong flavor from garlic and soy sauce, it has a crispy texture when I bite on it. Not any more, because I am neither at a restaurant nor mom is cooking—I am not served. By the time I come to the table to eat the dish, the potato already loses its texture and becomes soggy. Yesterday, a new idea comes to my mind: why don’t I substitute potato with carrot? Then I won’t have that problem. Plus, I will have better nutrition and more color in the dish. My experiment turns out to be terrific. The carrots add sweeter flavor (than potato) to the dish and it has the right texture I desire. And, they indeed adds more color to the dish than potato. With another tomato dish and a Szechuan style spicy meatball soup with frozen tofu, I had a decent home cooking style dinner on a hot "summer" night. Sometimes I feel odd when people ask for recipes. I don’t have one. I can tell people how I cook a dish, but I don’t think they can learn it by reading or follow instructions. They need to put their mind to the cooking process, have a vision of what the dish should be like, and innovate without fear. Meanwhile, use common sense and experience. Why do I keep talking about cooking eggplant in great length? Because then I won’t have the time to rant about Obama. I am very disappointed that he didn’t pick Hillary Clinton as his running mate. Just imagine for a moment—if Obama chose Hillary Clinton as his running mate, would this Tina Fay look alike (but less funny) woman even become a card for John McCain to play? For me, Obama still has a few months left to prove that he is a better candidate than Ralph Nader. He cannot win if he takes the independent’s votes for granted, not now after he ditched Hilary. He needs some innovation like how I cooked the eggplant last in order to gain the support from Nader’s supporters. Dear Senator Obama: Change your standing on issues if necessary, and it’s okay to be called a flip-flop, because you are already one like most politicians, unlike Ralph Nader. You still have the chance, so don’t blow it and then blame on Nader next year. As for now, I am not impressed by what you said and what you have done and I am still plan to vote for Nader, unless you actually change as your shout in your slogan: "we can change." Whether you "can change" is not important to me, but if you "do change" matters to me. Don’t know where to start? I offered to send you a copy of the documentary "An Unreasonable Man." Have you seen it? You will get plenty ideas how to get votes from Nader’s supporters. Now I am running out of time. I need to go to Billy’s roof top party. Then tomorrow, I will be soaking in the sun, sipping wine, and listening to the San Francisco Opera in the Park That will take my mind away from all this election mess, even from my eggplant.