Lebkuchen á lá Emelye

Here's a recipe that I developed after researching a number of German Lebkuchen recipes. While this is more like a little cake rather than a crispy cookie, it's flavor is delicate and subtle and meant more for an adult palate, especially if real rum is used in the glaze. Enjoy!


Lebkuchen á lá Emelye

• 150 g sugar (300 g if not using Splenda)
• 30 g Splenda (abt 3/4 cup)
  
• 1 Tbsn unsulphered Molasses
• 1 Tbsn Vanilla extract
• 3 eggs
• 2 Tbspn Rum or equivalent amount of rum extract
• ½ tspn ground clove
• ½ tspn ground cinnamon
• ½ tspn ground ginger
• ½ tspn lemon zest
• Pinch of Cardamon
• 60 g candied lemon peel (chopped small, abt 3mm (1/8") chunks)
• 60 g candied orange peel (chopped small, abt 3mm (1/8") chunks)
• 275 g finely ground almonds
• 220 g flour
• 1½ tspn double acting baking powder

* Cream the eggs, sugar, molasses and vanilla until slightly frothy. Add the spices, zest and rum.
* Stir in the candied peel and ground almonds.
* Gradually sift in the baking powder and flour, mixing until the batter is thick and stiff. Allow the batter to rest ½ hour.
* Using two spoons drop mounds of dough about 2 inches (5 cm) to 3 inches (7½ cm) across onto a parchment lined cookie sheet.
* Garnish with almonds, halved or slivered (doesn’t matter), if desired, and bake in a 350ºF (180ºC) oven for about 15 to 20 minutes or until brown at the edges. (Keep an eye on the first batch, all ovens are different!)

* Frost the cookies with a thin frosting made from powdered sugar and milk flavored with almond extract, lemon juice or rum.

NOTES:

> Makes about 2 ½ to 3 dozen depending on how big ya make ‘em.
> Very sticky batter
> They don’t spread much in the oven, rather, they rise into a dome shape
> 8 cookies per sheet works well

Oh, by the way, our esteemed Governor Paterson has announced today that he will sign an order making discrimination on the basis of gender identity/expression illegal when it is perpetrated against state executive's employees. After hijacking the Gender Expression Non Discrimination Act (GENDA) last April, in favor of same sex marriage legislation, Gov. Paterson has throw the gender variant community some crumbs. Big Deal! This order affects a microscopic portion of the state's trans citizens and for yours truly this is way too little and way too late as well as completely irrelevant.

Thanks again for nothing, Governor! When will the gender variant community in New York State get a REAL advocate in state government?

New York State Senate Puts Marriage Equality Vote On "Indefinite Hold"

Marriage equality was not voted on in the New York State Senate yesterday. I am not terribly disappointed.

Because the Gender Expression Non Discrimination Act (GENDA) is STILL being ignored by both the politicians and the Empire State Pride Agenda (ESPA) in favor of marriage legislation. When Gov Paterson introduced the marriage equality legislation last April he effectively doomed GENDA. While ESPA did include GENDA and the NY bullying bills (Dignity for All Students Act) in its lobbying day at the end of April their main efforts for most of the year have been almost exclusive to marriage equality. I dare say, the main impetus behind the coup that the Republicans inflicted upon the NY Senate in June was largely fueled by opposition to the marriage bill. Of course, all other unfinished legislation was thus thrown under the bus too, along with GENDA and DASA.

Until April, the consensus in NY was that marriage quality would be a dead issue for at least this year and that non discrimination and bullying laws that included GLBT kids would be in the forefront. Mr Paterson and the rest of the political system in NY once again, however, have decided that trans people and BLTG kids aren't important enough to even consider when some political hay could be made pandering to the GLB and progressive groups with legislation that was considered unpassable for this legislative season.

Apparently, this isn't over and there have been some assurances made that the vote will be scheduled again. The NY Daily News says ESPA head, Alan Van Capelle expressed satisfaction that his group has the assurance it has sought for a reasonably prompt debate and vote, and Tom Duane (openly gay NY senator) said he was "happy" with the outcome. Of course they are happy! They are cissexual and cisgender people with all the privilege that comes with those identities. They don't have to worry about losing their jobs, being thrown out of their apartments or being denied service in a hotel or restaurant because of who they are.

Like in Massachusetts, Connecticut and New Hampshire, the GLB community in NY apparently still thinks marriage equality is worth throwing gender variant people under the bus. This is on top of the past treachery from 2002 when they supported non-inclusive non discrimination law which then passed. At the time, the trans community was told to wait. To be patient until they could come back to us. When the hell is that going to be? I daresay, unless some fundamental changes are made in both ESPA and the state government, the answer to that is never.

No, dammit! I will NOT call my senator about same sex marriage!!

Well, here it is nearing the end October and I haven't visited with you in months! It has been a relatively uneventful summer so there was little to get me going enough to write about. The leaves are now falling and the days have been cool and generally wet. Winter is just around the corner.

One thing that kept me busy was my involvement with the Rainbow Pride Connection LGTB Conference at Chautauqua Institution, in Chautauqua, New York. The conference was quite a success, with almost 100 people attending (140 people attended the lovely concert given by the Buffalo Gay Men's Chorus), and plans are underway to have another conference next October 2nd.


I received an email a week ago from the Empire State Pride Agenda (ESPA) asking me to contact my state senator to ask her to support same sex marriage equality. Pretty much all New Yorkers are aware of the idiotic stalemate that was induced by a Republican power grab last June in the New York State Senate. What they may not be aware of is that the stalemate prevented the upcoming vote on the Gender Expression Non Discrimination Act (GENDA) as well as the vote on marriage equality for same sex couples. Since that time the governor, David Paterson, has called a few special sessions of the Senate in order to take care of urgent business that was neglected. What has been conspicuously missing from these sessions has been any talk about these two important civil rights measures.

What has been conspicuously missing from ESPA's public statements is GENDA. All I hear, again, are requests to lobby for same sex marriage rights. The governor himself has mentioned them yet GENDA is nowhere to be seen! What the hell is going on? It seems a repeat of the 2002 Sexual Orientation Non Discrimination Act (SONDA) is happening once again. Transgender people are being ignored, being thrown off the bus once again! Does anyone think the GLB community will devote the resources that are needed to pass GENDA after they get marriage equality along with their 7 year old inclusion in New York's nondiscrimination and hate crimes law? Look what happened in Massachusetts. It's been 5 long years since the GLB community received marriage equality there yet the transgender population is still without basic protections. They currently have legislation pending in their legislature to remedy this but I haven't heard anything about it in months. Obviously, it isn't the priority that marriage equality was.

The New York State transgender community was told to wait their turn, to wait until the GLB community came back for them. Here we are seven years later, still waiting and watching while so many political resources are drained on an issue which, while it's certainly important, does nothing to enhance the quality and even survivability of life for the transgender community. This cannot continue. I will call my state senator (Cathy Young) again, even though she has come out publicly against same sex marriage rights, and I will ask her to support GENDA and if there is enough time, to support marriage equality. I cannot wait any longer for basic civil rights protections. WE NEED GENDA FIRST!

I sent the following email to Governor Patterson via his website. I urge all of you to join me in this effort:

Dear Gov. Paterson,

I am appalled by your recent promotion of same sex marriage rights while transgender individuals such as myself still lack the basic civil rights protections we so desperately need and which would be awarded by the passage of the Gender Expression Non Discrimination Act.

We need you to point out that being married to your same sex sweetheart is of little use if you can still be legally thrown out of your apartment, fired from your job and denied services in the public sphere because you don't fit within someone else's idea of what gender you ought to be or look like. While same sex marriage equality is important, non discrimination law that includes gender identity and expression is vital. It's a matter of survival for a great many New Yorkers.

Please use your position to promote GENDA first. Once that's done, marriage equality will be just as easy as it is now to pass. If marriage equality comes first, I fear transgender New Yorkers will NEVER see the protection they so desperately need.

Thank you,

Jamestown, New York

NYS Gov. calls special session of the Senate, #1 priority is Same Sex Marriage, GENDA is ignored

Gov. David Paterson, of New York, has issued a proclamation calling the NYS Senate into special session tomorrow, Wednesday, June 24th. The proclamation lists same sex civil marriage as its first priority. The Gender Expression Non Discrimination Act, GENDA, is nowhere to be found.

Once again, gender variant people in New York State have been shoved under the bus, as I feared as soon as Gov. Paterson introduced same sex marriage legislation back on April 16th. In an apparent repeat of the legislative violence trans people suffered in 2002, we have been forgotten. I'm sure we'll be told again that we just need to be patient, that the GLB community will "come back" for us. I'm also convinced if same sex marriage equality becomes law in New York, the state's femme gay men and the butch lesbian women, along with the transsexual people, the genderqueer people, the straight but feminine men and the straight but butch women, will have to wait until the unlikely event that the federal government and the GLB lobbyists who want need donation generating victories above all else, decides we are worth the trouble of consideration.

I believe this will happen because once marriage equality becomes law in New York, the financial support and political will necessary to pass a trans inclusive set of laws in the state will wither away. I'm sure the leadership of the GLB(t) organizations will hasten to assure us that protecting gender variant people is the next fight on the list. After all, they need issues to justify their continuing existence but once marriage equality is achieved, what large issues are left for the GLB community in NY? Few, if any, that I can see.

I will never be so selfish as to advocate for the defeat of the civil marriage rights bill in New York because GENDA is still not law. I am a lesbian as well as trans woman and I know this is important for our community. I won't, can't, leave the GLBT community and I'm afraid it will leave me.