Gareth Bale

Reading articles about the Welsh soccer star Gareth Bale's refusal to take a cut in his massive £500,000-a-week wages so that he could move on from Real Madrid, where he was exiled to the bench, I thought back to the two Champions League games in 2010 when the then-21-year-old Bale crushed the defending champions Inter Milan and wondered if I'd make the same choice to get paid to sit out while my prodigious speed and skills eroded.

 

Gareth Bale

 

sits smirking and yawning in the stands with
his teammates, the same ones he disenchanted
in a particularly apathetic appearance, the last straw
for his coach, Zinedine Zidane, who never gave, and
can’t accept, less than maximum effort. Mind you,

this is the same coach for whom Bale almost
single-handedly won the Champions League final
two years earlier, impelling Los Blancos into the lead with a
recumbent bicycle kick just three minutes after coming on,
then adding the insurance goal nineteen minutes later,

the same coach who exited his last game in a red mist
before it ended, after flattening Marco Materazzi with
a precise thrust of his bald pate into the brutish defender’s
solar plexus, because Materazzi said he’d rather have
Zidane’s sister than his shirt after the match. Oh Zizou,

how cliché, but you fell for it anyway, then watched
that clown Materazzi bury his spot kick before smooching
the World Cup trophy you trudged past on your way off the pitch,
after Trezeguet missed the penalty you might have taken,
having scored one early in the match, only to be undone

by Materazzi’s (always him!) towering header. Is this
who we are? The headbutt, rather than the Golden Ball,
collecting half a mil weekly to ride the pine, just
two years removed from being the hero of Kiev?
Bashō understood that enlightenment is a path, not a

destination (which sounds like something Mom would say).

Relish the joys along the passage—spinning through

a Zidane roulette to avoid befuddled defenders,

bursting past Maicon down the left wing with unrivaled
speed and power—wherever it takes you.

*********

During our recent beach trip, Grandma Judy had me look through a folder she keeps there with some recipes in it. This one from a 2010 issue of Vegetarian Times looked promising, so Grandma and Pop-Pop made a double recipe for everyone and it was a big hit. There's a fair bit of prep work (about 30 minutes) in breaking down the pineapple and chopping the bell peppers and red onions, but after that it's a snap and you can get the rice made, your table set, and your kitchen cleaned while you're waiting for the pineapple and veggies to roast.

Sweet-and-Sour Roasted Pineapple and Bell Peppers

Adapted from Supermarket Vegan (2010) by Donna Klein via Vegetarian Times

Time: ~1:15

This is double the original recipe so as to use the whole pineapple and feed more people. That recipe gives you the option of stirring in some sweetened coconut flakes with the lime juice in step 4. I don't keep sweetened coconut flakes around, and I'm not buying a bag just to use a tablespoon or two in this dish, so I tried topping the dish with toasted unsweetened coconut chips instead (as you can see in the photo above), but it didn't really add much so I won't do that again. You can also skip the rice and serve the roasted pineapple and veggies as a side, with or without the toasted cashew pieces.

1 fresh pineapple

2 medium-large red bell peppers

2 medium-large red onions

53 grams (¼ cup) neutral-flavored oil such as sunflower or canola

27 grams (2 tablespoons) toasted sesame oil

25 grams (2 tablespoons) dark or light brown sugar

kosher salt

freshly ground black pepper

30 grams (2 tablespoons) freshly squeezed lime juice

To serve

Steamed rice, or Thai Coconut Rice

1 cup (130 grams) roasted cashew pieces

Toasted unsweetened coconut chips? (see note)

    1. Place racks in the center of the oven; heat to 400 degrees.

    2. Cut the pineapple into bite-sized pieces (watch how to do that here). Cut the bell peppers into ¾-inch cubes. Cut the red onions into ¾-inch pieces. Transfer the pineapple, pepper, and onion pieces to a large bowl. Add the oils, sugar, a few pinches of salt, and a few grinds of pepper, and toss until evenly coated.

    3. Scrape everything onto two 18-by-13-inch half-sheet baking pans. Roast until lightly browned, about 35 to 40 minutes, stirring once and rotating the baking sheets front to back and top to bottom after 20 minutes.

    4. Scrape into a serving bowl. Add the lime juice, and stir until well combined. Season to taste. Serve over steamed rice, topped with cashews. Serves 5 to 6.