What's for dinner?

It's 11.36 pm and DH is off guiding a trip and I have nobody to bug!!!

Ok, so I guess I should tell you what I'm eating as I journey through this 100 Mile Diet. The basic idea of this diet is that you eat whatever you want, then you run a 100 miles.

I'm kidding. Just checking to see if you're paying attention.

So I'm pledging to buy and eat more foods grown within 100 miles of where I live. I'm aiming to eat 90% within the 100 Mile diet criteria. It's not reasonable or safe to deny me chocolate or coffee. However, if I must, I will eat only locally produced chocolate and locally roasted coffee ;)

Luckily for me, we have some amazing coffee roasters and chocolatiers here on the Rusty Coast. So my coffee choices right now are Level Ground Trading's Café Pangoa, a fair-trade organic coffee from Peruvia. t's a nice mellow cup of wake-up juice. The company is based in Central Saanich on Vancouver Island and is run by a group of Canadians that were truly dedicated to providing a real solution to poverty in coffee growing areas. I also use their organic fair trade cane sugar which tastes a heck of a lot better than the so-called 'plantation sugar' of sugar corporations.

My chocolate choice is currently Denman Island's Cocoa Loco with 70% cocoa mass that I picked up on the ferry over the weekend. This organic chocolate has a nice initial bite of bitterness that smooths out to a deep chocolate taste with no bitter aftertaste. One little square is all the dessert I need. This is one bar for savouring. Unfortunately, they don't use fair trade cocoa so I'm going to have to keep investigating.

I'm also on the hunt for local vinegars. I have a few leads and will get back with any updates.

So, now onto my 100 Mile Diet meals for today:

Breakfast: Local Red Haven peach and a wedge of melon (honeydew?) from the Nanoose Edibles farm stand cut in half with a dollop of Little Qualicum Cheesework's fromage frais (natural) and a drizzle of some local fir honey. Fir honey is so yummy. It's a dark brown honey with green tones. It's taste is mild and has a darker taste than lighter honey. And a bodum of coffee, of course.

Lunch: I had a bowl of beets leftover from dinner yesterday. They were the one's I picked up from the Duncan farmer's market. I also had a bunch of local organic beans and some romaine lettuce from my Nanoose Edible's weekly produce box. Along with some sliced carrots, again from Duncan, I made up a quick salad. I doused it with my Black Sesame Asian dressing (completely not within the 100 mile criteria, oh well). I had a small wedge of Natural Pasture's Wasabi cheese and a Paula Rose apple from Gabriola Island for dessert.

Black Sesame Asian dressing:
1/2 cup rice vinegar
1/4 cup veg. oil
1/4 cup crushed black sesame seeds (either whirl in your grinder or a smashing in the mortar and pestle)
1 tsp of freshly grated ginger
pinch of salt
1/8 tsp of white pepper

Dump all ingredients into a jar. Screw on lid. Shake and serve. It keeps in the fridge for a couple of days. This is super good with a slaw or as a flavour booster in soups and stir-fries.

After running errands earlier this afternoon, I popped over to Piper's Meats on Bowen Road to pick up some flesh. Piper's carries a whole shop full of locally raised, non-medicated, non-hormoned meats. There's everything from local lamb to local buffalo. I picked up a nice looking top sirloin steak to serve as my main protein source for the week.

Once I got home, I popped the steak into a glass dish and squirted a fig balsamic vinagrette and some chopped red chili pepper from the garden onto it. The vinegar I picked up a few weeks back at the Gabriola farmer's market from Jocelyne of Auld Alliance Farm. Along with a fig balsamic vinegar, I also picked up a chocolate balsamic vinegar and a fig chutney from her vast and growing line of vinegars and condiments. I know, not neccesarily within the 100 mile criteria but at least I was buying it from a local producer and the figs are from her property.

As the steak marinated in the fridge, I had to step out for a short errand...

After returning from what was supposed to be a short errand that got hijacked by miscommunication and a spontaneous wander down to Departure Bay beach and a wonderful return wander into the arms of an almost full, heavy moon, I was grateful that I had a fridge of waiting produce and a marinating chunk of flesh. Already too dark to bbq, I broiled the steak. I pulled off a few large romaine leafs, sliced off the thick stems and plopped some leftover Indonesian rice salad into the middle of the overlapping leaves.
The rice salad is the one from Moosewood's cookbook with a few local substitutions. For the veggie ingredients for the rice salad I tossed in some local green beans, carrots, cucumbers, zucchinis, red peppers, sprouts and red onion, all either from the Nanoose Edible's produce box or from the Duncan farmer's market.

Once the steak was cooked, I let it sit for 10 mins then sliced off a few thin slices and placed them ontop of the pile of rice salad. I then rolled the lettuce leaves over it all so it looked like a green burrito. To top it off, I squirted more fig balsamic vinagrette. A slice of Hilary's Cheese Company's Red Dawn and a sliced tomato from my garden served as my second course. Dessert was a square of my chocolate bar and a cup of mint tea with mint from my garden. Simply stuff a bunch of mint leaves into a sturdy mug. Crush the leaves a bit with the handle of a big wooden spoon and pour boiling hot water over it all. Viola!

Well, it's now tomorrow so good morning and good night all.

Jen Lam

I'm on a diet!

Ok. Before you all think that I've fallen off my brioche-lined rocker, the diet I'm on is the 100 Mile Diet. In fact, I'm such a believer in this diet that I'm leading the campaign to spread this way of eating and consuming through the Rusty Coast. The diet focuses on eating foods grown within 100 miles of where you live. We even have a website! For me here in Nanaimo, 100 mile is from Campbell River, to the west coast of the island, past the southern end and all the way east past Agassiz. That's a pretty big garden to draw from.

The 100 Mile Diet Nanaimo campaign is being launched with a Challenge Week from Sept. 11th to 17^th. I figured, I’d get a head start and start upping my local produce consumption this week. Though with a produce box from Nanoose Edibles, local free-ranged eggs from Nanaimo Sausage House where I pick up my produce box and oodles of fruit gleaned from friend’s trees and berry bushes, I’m well on my way.

On Saturday, a ravishing redheaded friend and I wandered over down the island to the Duncan Farmers Market to do a little chatting with the farmers and their patrons. Farmers are such real people. You know? They are literally and figuratively grounded. Some are a tad too grounded but they have a sense of place and time that has relevance. Time is not measured by some arbitrary ticking of a clock, place is not marked by convenience.

All the farmers I spoke to were thrilled by the idea of a 100 mile diet campaign in the area. They pressed business cards in my hands, they waxed poetic about their product, and they invited me up to their farms for a tour. They spoke of the simple joys of being part of a community and enjoying good whole foods and a real meal. I met Steve Miller from the Shadybrook Farm who raised cattle and lamented the possibility of not being able to sell their beef to the public due to bureaucratic red tape that’s trying to shove them down. From his stand, I picked up an inside round steak for dinner that night. All his cattle are raised in an ethically and environmentally sound manner. His stand also carried chicken in every cut imaginable, from stock bones to boneless breasts to whole chickens.

A few stalls down was the Cottage Farm stand where I found strawberries and blueberries still being sold. I picked up a huge box of prune plums, a bunch of huge oblong beets, a bunch of multicoloured carrots (yellow, purple mixed in a with their orange buddies, a beautiful head of cabbage). I spoke briefly to Helma Stewart, the farm’s proprietor, who insisted that call her to chat more and even gave me her cell phone number. Right beside her was the Gabriola Gourmet Garlic guy, who also makes the wonderful Definitely Different Chocolate line. He sold me a bag of garlic for planting and when asked when I should pop them into the ground, he advise that it be best that I plant them on midnight of October 15th, naked by the light of the full moon. Frisky vampires beware!

One of my favorite cheesemakers happens to sell at the Duncan Farmer’s market: Hilary’s Cheese Company. Hilary Abbot is a cheesemaker after my own heart. A charming man who loves cheese and the craft of cheesemaking. His Belle Anne, a French inspired cheese that has been washed in a locally made blackberry port is one of my favourite cheeses. He also an ash-ripened camembert that has revived my love for camembert. The milk for his cheeses comes from a farm minutes away from his cheese operation. That day I picked up a goat feta which tastes nothing like the industrial frog farts cheese that you find shrink-wrapped in the grocer’s dairy case.

We popped over to Hilary’s store in Cowichan Bay shop later that day. He shares store space with Tru Grain Breads, a real artisan baker who also brings in a Red Fife wheat grown in Saskatchewan and a spelt grown in Armstrong, BC. I picked up a couple bags of Red Fife wheat and some spelt. I know, Saskatchewan is way out of the 100 Mile radius but it is milled right there in the bakery and it’s organic. There’s no way I can make it without bread. The original 100 Milers got some precious flour from The Roost, a bakery that’s part of the Highland House Farm in North Saanich. On this hobby farm, Hamish Crawfood has planted Red Fife wheat which he turns into bread for the bakery. I may just have to plan out a Southern Vancouver Island food trip and see if I can beg or bribe some of this flour from him.

Many of the stands were boasting the first harvest of local apples. Organic apples for a buck a pound! Yippee!! I picked up a bag of Gravensteins, which are a wonderfully tart, crisp apple perfect for baking. I also love it with some good old cheddar. I also picked up a bag of Galas which are sweet and aromatic and put those industrial farm gala apples to shame. My backpack was already getting pretty full so I only picked up 3 pounds in total. It’s crazy that produce aisles at big grocery chains are inundated with mediocre apples from everywhere else but only offer one or two local apples. And usually one of those is the industrial farmed Red Delicious which looks great on the outside but has the taste and texture of wood pulp. Thank goodness for small local farmers that are keeping a variety of apples going and understand that there are some of us that don’t like the plastic aftertaste of the factory farmed apples.

I got to talk to wide range of folks from farmers to their patrons. I even ran into Mara Jernigan, resident chef for the Fairburn Farm B&B in the Cowichan valley. The farm boasts the only herd of authentic water buffalo in North America. There is a freaking water buffalo dairy in my 100 Mile region! (Jen does happy buffalo mozzarella dance). She’s also a rep for the Slow Food movement and a cooking instructor. And she has great tastes in shoes :)

It’s amazing how the farmer’s market has become a true community hub. Farmers, food producers and chefs that have organically (pun intended) formed a network of culinary wisdom and culture. There were many food and beauty producers selling as well. From soap to lavender products to jams and preserves to baked goods, one would wonder why anyone would ever need a grocery store.

It was apparent which vendors there were there to be part of a culinary community and which ones were there to simply make money for themselves with no intent of supporting the larger community. I suppose those vendors that don’t utilize any local produce in their products would have little immediate financial advantage to helping out the local farmers. Luckily, not all of them are of that mindset. Many of the other vendors were was happy the chat and were supportive of the 100 mile diet campaign even though it wouldn’t profit them directly, however others were downright chilly when I visited their booth.

BTW, I found gomashio at the market which is basically black sesame and salt. Who would’ve thought that this standard Japanese macrobiotic diet condiment would show up at the Duncan farmer's market? It was all packaged up pretty and labelled and, of course, overpriced. My Japanese friends would have a good laugh over how much people pay for this prepackaged condiment considering that most of them make it in bulk at home for pennies. You can make it yourself for a fraction of what it costed there by picking up a bag of black sesame seeds for $2 in the asian food aisle and adding a bit of sea salt. I use 1 tsp of salt for a ¼ cup of dry-toasted black sesame seeds. Just toast up the seeds in a dry pan, whirl it in your grinder with the salt or pound it in your mortar and pestle. It’s easy!

Check back soon and I’ll be telling you all about this great restaurant I found in Duncan! Maybe I'll even share one dressing turned my farmer's market bounty into a great 100 Mile diet meal.

Until then, treat yourself to a locally grown apple.

Jen

Canned

So my lovelies, I've been canning the last few days. Figs and peaches gifted from my friend's gorgeous trees supplemented with local bounty from the Shady Mile farm have been keep me busy. After gorging on fresh figs, I had to 2 huge baskets of edge of erupting ripe figs that I turned into fig compote and a fig chutney. Peaches (all together 50 plus lbs), got turned into peaches in vanilla syrup, peach compote with green cardomon and spiced peach & ginger chutney. I had some leftover peach slurry from the compote and freestyled a peach-rum-hazelnut sauce which I canned and I'm planning to break out in the dank swamp of February over some pancakes or perhaps a simple pound cake or a bowl of real vanilla icecream. Who wants to bet that it won't last through September?

I didn't get out for much blackberry picking this year. I did manage to get a couple of yogurt containers and made a blackberry-plum-rhubarb jam (with a touch of balsalmic vinegar). It's so good. The blend of tangy and sweetness goes well with goat cheese on a slice of baguette.

Blueberries , oh the bounty was good this year. They are huge and sweet and once I finished stuffing handfuls down my gullet, I made them into various jams. My first was a blueberry rhubarb jam. The late summer rhubarb is divine and damn a certain someone who keeps reminding me that they cause kidney stones. I'll worry about when I pee pebbles. The next batch was a blueberry plum jam. Finally, I made a blueberry ginger jam. Well, actually, it's more like a sauce. I mismeasured the sugar and it isn't quite thick enough. But it's thick enough for a crepe syrup or a 'fruit-amisu' (basically boozed up fruit sauce and fresh fruit instead of espresso in a basic tiramisu).

I just picked up a couple of pineapples (my guilty pleasure) and I'm thinking of a pineapple marmalade. Or maybe a chutney with some leftover peaches and rhubarb. Or a pineapple mint salsa sort of thingamabob. Who knows.



Along with all the fruits that are filling my belly, are all the brilliant veggies that I've been getting via my Nanoose Edibles produce box and local farmer's markets. From beans to squash to those sexy garlic and of course, the tomatoes. The tomatoes are going to be star of the show at a Slow Food event at the Laughing Geese in the Cowichan Valley on Sept.12. Participants are asked to bring a dish made with local tomatoes. In the invite, they dared up to bring a tomato dessert. Now, my lovelies, you know I couldn't pass up a dare like that. So now I've got to figure out a tomato dessert. Any ideas?

Happy eating!

Jen

Good-bye Hair

It's hot. Way too freaking hot. It's only going to get even hotter. There's only one thing to do. Cut my hair!!!

Here's one last look at me with my tresses. Say good-bye. Good-bye split ends. Good-bye ponytail-induced migraines. Good-bye drains clogged with Medusa orphaned tresses. Good-bye geisha-concubine-teahouse hostess fantasies.

I was getting pretty good at doing the sexy girl hair flick thing. I can do it now without giving myself whiplash. Oh well, time to learn a new trick. I ought to work on my tying a cherry stem into a square knot with my tongue trick next.

But it's about time I hacked off the locks and sent them off to hair heaven to be made into a wig.

I'm sending my locks off to Wigs for Kids.

I love that tunic top. It's so breezy. I tied a cotton obi around it to give it bit more shape and paired it up with a pair of black linen pants. I have a theory that if you show up to the salon looking spiffy, you'll get a better haircut. So far, it hasn't failed me yet.

Here's a picture of the hair that got hacked off:

Kevin at the Cutting Room in Nanaimo did the honors. He was awesome. A surfing, rock-climbing cutie of a hairdresser. And Freaking hilarious to boot.

I arrived a bit early to my appointment so I could look through the style books. I had a few ideas in mind but nothing I was completely committed too other than I wanted it short.

There are some really ugly hairstyles in those style books. Butt-freaking ugly hair. Like you'd be better off letting your kid brother do your hair for you sort of hair. (Or your older sis, right Pat?) . But then again, at least they're creative. That's a notch better than some of the mundane, hactchet jobs I see wandering through the malls. Lay off the bleach ladies. You're not fooling anyone. While you're at it, give the flat iron the morning off too.

In my hair odyssey, I decided to best way to find a great stylist was to ask women who had great looking hairstyles where they got their hair done. Not just well-cut hair but hair that suited them, hair that moved well and didn't look 'done'. My little survey made me realize that there isn't very much good hair in this town. There some great boob jobs (and lots of mediocre ones to match their hair) but not much in the way of great hair. Of the women that I asked, several had got their hair done at the Cutting Room. A few got their hair done at Kiyo's, which is run by a former Cutting Room stylist.

So that's how I ended up in Kevin's chair at the Cutting Room talking about surfing, climbing and drag queens. And once all the hair stopped flying, this is what was left:















I'm free! So cool, so light!

I'm loving the new 'do. It's wash 'n go. A little bit of wax and I'm out of here.

To celebrate, I'm making Mojitos and watching the ferry mayhem from my patio.

Later.

Happy Hug-A-Tonto Day!

Happy Summer Solstice to everyone. It’s the longest day of the year and the start of summer. It’s all downhill from here.

It’s also National Aboriginal Day up here in Canuckland. In anticipation of this day, the Harper government has decided to join the US, New Zealand and Australia in their stand to stop the United Nations from passing a declaration on the rights of indigenous peoples. I mean, they have they’re own freaking day, who needs basic human rights?!?! Dreamcatchers and fry bread for everyone!

To make natives even more nostalgic for the good old days, the Harper government has pretty much raindanced the life out of the the Kelowna Accord, a plan laid out by the previous Liberal government and the provincial leaders to provide $5 billion over five years to address many of the inequities facing Canada's aboriginal population.

Thanks to a cold, my body has been under the control of Captain Mucus and his sidekick Boy Phlegm for the last few days. I’ve managed to shake most of it off. Unfortunately, most of it shook off onto my DH. As long as he gets a steady supply of canned chicken noodle soup, Ho Yan Hor cha and PS2, he’ll be ok. Consider it part Jewish, part Chinese, part pubescent boy medicine.

What do you mean, 'What is Ho Yan Hor cha?'

Seriously, get a Chinese friend.

They'll tell you that Ho Yan Hor cha is a magical herbal tea that can cure everything from the flu to dandruff to a New Year's Eve hangover. It has stuff like double golden rabbit bile powder and red phoenix flower stamen and ear of ginseng monkeys in it. (I've got no idea what's in it but it makes DH feel better.)

Today I picked up my box of organic produce from Nanoose Edibles, a local farm. Each week I get a box of fresh veggies and fruit as part of their produce box program. There was enough stuff to fill a whole shelf in my fridge. Amongst the crazy lettuces, English peas, baby beets, local strawberries, purple kohlrabi (picture above) and other goodies was a tomato plant and a stash of chamomile-lemon balm tea. It’s going to be grand playing with these ingredients. Considering how cool it has been this spring, I’m amazed at how awesome of a bounty we’re already getting from them.

We’ve definitely into salad season. I’m thinking of digging right into my produce box and making a mixed green salad with strawberries with orange-poppy seed dressing. I have a piece of smoked salmon from our neighbourhood fishmonger that will pair up nicely with some homemade bread and the last of a wedge of pepper crusted brie that I picked up the last time I was in Vancouver. The bread I made is the Wheat-Nut Anise bread from ‘Laurel’s Kitchen Bread Book’ by Laurel Robertson. It’s a sweet, nutty bread that has managed to stay moist for 4 days so far. There is a hum of licorice from the anise seeds and the cooked bulgur has created a chewy but still light texture. So far it has held up well to a Spicy Nutty Squash soup and a picnic lunch or cheese, real salami and olives.

Here’s my recipe for Spicy Nutty Squash soup. It’s an easy soup (only 4 ingredients!!) that requires almost no prep except for chopping and disemboweling a couple of squashes. It’s also a great way to use up cooked winter squashes. I prefer roasted squash since roasting caramelizes the squash but you can use any plain cooked squash. It’s also a vegan dish.

1 large or 2 small winter squashes (or 4-5 cups of already cooked squash). Any orange flesh squash like butternut, acorn, Japanese pumpkin/kabocha etc. Some are starchier than others. Some have more flavour. Just experiment. Pick a heavy squash with few blemishes and a nice solid flesh.

*2-3 tsp of peanut butter or another other nut butter

1/8 tsp of sambal oelek or any other chili sauce

2-4 cups of water or diluted veggie broth (1:1 broth to water)

1- Preheat oven to 325F. Line roasting pan with parchment paper or lightly oil with vegetable oil.

2- Slice squashes in halve lengthwise and scoop out the seeds.

3- Place squashes cut side down onto prepared pan.

4- Throw it onto the middle rack of the oven. Bake for 30-40 mins or until flesh is soft and cooked through. Let cool until able to handle with bare hands

5- Scoop out all the flesh from the squash with a large spoon into a blender.

6- Add other ingredients and 2 cups of water or veggie broth.

7- Blend on high until nice and smooth.

8- Dump it in a pot and add enough of the remaining liquid until it reaches the consistency you want. I prefer mine a bit on the thick side, other’s like it a bit thinner. It’s up to you.

9- Simmer pot over low heat until soup is just heated through. Stir consistently.

*For those with nut allergies, replace the nut butters with a couple cloves of roasted garlic. Just throw a couple of cloves of garlic with only the papery skin removed into the roasting pan along with squashes. They ought to be soft in about 15 mins. Remove from pan before they start to burn.

This soup freezes nicely. It will separate a bit once thawed but a bit of stirring will have it back as new. The smooth, thick mouth-feel (there's something quite obscene about that word, 'mouth-feel') of the soup makes it seem richer than it really is.

Things you can add to this soup (add only 1 or 2 additions):

-a squeeze of lime

-a sprinkle of chopped cilantro

-splash of good balsamic vinegar

-roasted veggies (think eggplant, carrots, parsnips, or more squash)

-ginger-soy or teriyaki marinated tofu

-a sprinkle of chopped smoked bacon, pancetta or chorizo (If you happen to have some leftover from a previous meal.)

-a sprinkle toasted breadcrumbs or a homemade croutons.

-freshly ground pepper

Or just quit screwing around and leave it as it is.

I'll be back with more installments of my China trip. Right now I'm going to enjoy what's left of the longest day of the year.

Enjoy!

Made in China

I've been MIA for a while. But I have a really, really good excuse this time. Really, I do. I got kidnapped by the cyber-terrorist group, Goodbye Pussy, and sent off to work for a Chinese ganglord. They were running a counterfeit cellphone ringtone factory built underneath a Ming Temple, the Altar of Everprocreating Sons. They needed my nimble fingers and ability to muzak on the spot. After weeks of forging ringtones of the whole Billboard 100 List with a Lilliputian-sized synthesizer, I managed to bribe the the night-shift guard, Shen-Shen, for safe passage to the nearest Special Hypocrisy Zone. After a few nights in a Chinese gulag and a short stint in a Shanghai massage parlour, I managed to make it home with a few bruises, 2 missing internal organs and a suitcase of fake Rolexes.

OK. So that's not exactly what has been happening. But I did go to China with my family. I would have popped stuff into the blog while I was travelling but at each internet terminal I used, there was a nice little note reminding me that that any statements made against the Chinese government would be considered a crime against the state and once their cyber-filters discovered my criminal acts, they would string me up by my toes and stick bamboo needles under my fingernails and rub snake piss into my eyes. So I figured I'd just keep a journal and puke it all out once I got back to where the soil was only semi-fascist. I'll be adding entries harvested from my journal whenever I have a chance. The journal, BTW, is a little red book. How very Mao of me.

PS - Shen-Shen your Yao Ming pubic hair clippings are in the mail. Thanks for everything!

May 12, 2006 – Vancouver Airport – 9:17 am

Waiting for Pat, John & Dad to show up (John’s brother, Andrew, is driving them here) so we can get going to the Air Canada check-in counter for our CHINA TRIP!!!! Beyond excited about seeing China & all the relatives that we have never met. It’s all very strange to think of these people as family. Not sure what to even call them. Thanks to the Chinese obsession with familial taxonomy, each relative has a title that reflects a multiple of things including maternal or paternal lineage and birth order. This means each relative has a specific specification of their special post as speciated member of this family. In other words, each family reunion is half joyful celebration, half imperial exam.

I stayed up pretty much all of last night watching ‘Return of the King’ then ‘Connie & Carla’. After almost 4 hours of the epic battle over Middle Earth, my brain could only handle an early morning wallowing of show tunes & drag queens. Anything more substantial would have blown a fuse and rendered me useless for today’s travel.

I stayed awake for a reason. Though, I don’t really need a reason to watch ‘Return of the King’ for the 32^nd time. The plan is to sleep most of the 11 plus hour flight to Beijing. Now, as I’m writing this, I realize that my brain is fallen into a bucket of stupid. My efforts to trick my body into Beijing time has left my brain dumber than my body. Considering how goofy my body is, this is definitely not a good thing.

That familiar tinny ‘ all-nighter’ feeling that accompanied me through most of my college days has taken over my body and is thick on my tongue and throat. Mom keeps asking me if I’ve eaten. It’s her default mode. When she has nothing to say to me, she asks if I’ve eaten yet. In fact, it’s the general Chinese default mode. We greet one another with ‘Have you eaten yet?’ upon meeting not because we’re concerned about one another’s state of hunger but because we have nothing better to say. But now, each time Mom asks me, it’s brings attention to my stomach, which at this moment in time, is very confused. It’s saying to me, ‘What were you thinking? Am I supposed to want breakfast or dinner now?’ I have a feeling that my stomach will not be happy for a while, especially once it gets a whiff of airplane food. I can only hope that the bounty that awaits us on the other side of the plane trip will appease it.

Part of me is so present for all of this trip. I’m a sponge (a sleep-deprived sponge). I’m taking in all the sounds and sights, the feeling of crisp pages of my passport, the cavernous airport and all the cheesy Canadian paraphernalia stores, the already dog-eared itinerary that I keep checking to see when I’m going to see what, and the speeding baggage carts and their drivers as people rush for their flights. Another part of me isn’t going to register it at all until I’m standing in Tianamen Square.

Oh fuck! I’m going to be in Tianamen Square. And I’m going to see the Terracotta Army and the Great-Freaking-Wall of China and those glorious limestone mountains of Li River and, and, and…OK…breathe. There’s a table of airport workers that are given this bug-eyed yellow gal strange looks.

Airports are strange places. They are not so much a place but a space that operates as a vehicle. Nobody comes here to be here. Well, except for that Christmas when our family came to the airport just to hang out because there was nowhere else that was opened. We hung out at the arrivals gate, waving at all the holiday-weary travelers as they arrived through the magical arrival’s door. The door that signals that ‘Ah-ha’ you’re finally here, you’ve passed through all the 9 gates of hell. Your swarthy eyes and 5 full sets of hotel toiletry sets haven’t set off any security alarms. You meet the minimal requirements in order to step onto this soil. You may go join the rest of the peons.'

Airports are transition spaces, spaces built simply to move people in a physical way. Some are good at this, other’s are human-size equivalents of sadistic rat maze experiments.

The souvenir stores are a countdown of Canada’s greatest hits: First Nation doo-dads and thingamabobs, 63 manipulations of maple syrup, smoked salmon in a bag- in a box- in a tin- wrapped in cedar bough and stuffed into the nether-regions of a beaver. There are tins upon tins of animal droppings which gives tourists the false impression that Canadians have a coprolite fetish. Disappointingly, they are merely fruits or nuts covered in chocolate, thown into a tin and slapped with an absurdly high price tag and a cute cartoon of the animal that the product supposedly was expelled from. Yummy.

We’re waiting in the food court by Bill Reid's 'First Folks in a Jade Canoe' statue. It’s a shame that most locals don’t get a chance to see this beautiful work until they leave this city. We’re still waiting for the others. It’s all fine since we’ve got a ton of time before our plane leaves. Anyways, I’m still mentally deciding what to pack. Should I have brought more underwear? Should I have brought fewer skirts? Should I have brought more t-shirts and fewer tanks? (a moot point since I only own 2 t-shirts and 28 tank tops) Should I have bothered bringing a pair of jeans? It’s amazing how much space a pair of jeans takes. I could have packed 6 more tank tops in space of one pair of jeans. Should I have brought another book just in case I don’t feel like reading the one I have. What are the chances of finding a English-language bookstore in Xi’an? Should I have brought more sunscreen? I had brought three bottles, one spray-on, one purse size spray-on and a regular smear all over yourself type.

There they are! We’re now off to the first of the treacherous nine gates of security.

10:53am -The bastards won’t let me carry on my knitting!!!! They’re freaking 6mm plastic knitting needles. There are baby toys that are more dangerous than these mammoth needles. So I’m stuck with 11 plus hours to fill up sans knitting. Provided that I sleep for about 6 of those hours, that still leaves over 5 hours. Hopefully the inflight movies will be good. If not, then I may have to talk to my family or whatever poor sap has their seat next to me. Thank goodness for Sudoku!

Dead Seeds Growing

I've been MIA for the last while. I've been recovering from my Knitting Olympics frenzy. The skirt got done and I would post up a pic but I'm having technical difficulties so you're just gonna have to take my word for it.

Here's some stuff I've been messing with lately:

Ban Terminator : No, this is not a call to get Schwarzenegger out of office. This is a call against lifting a UN moratorium on sterile seeds. The GMO seeds would prevent farmers from saving and replanting harvested seed. In other words, it would stop farmers from farming the way that they have for freaking ever. This wonderful concept is brought to you by your neighbourhood agri-facists like Monsanto. Canada and US are at the forefront of trying to get this moratorium lifted. Write letters to your officials, sign the petition, spread the word.

In relation to the Dead Seed Growing rant, I'm subscribing to Nanoose Edible's local produce box program. For $35 a week, I get a big box of organic local produce delivered to my doorstep. Yippee! I can't wait. There're similar programs in other cities in Canada, US and Europe.

So, in celebration of International Women's Day, South Dakota's Rebumpkin Governor Mike Rounds has decided to put forth a bill to ban abortions, even in cases of rape and incest. Other states are considering following South Dakota's lead...sigh...some people's children...

So, if the bill passes, doctors will face fines and up to 5 years in prison for performing abortions. Rape and incest victims will be forced to carry the fetus to term, whether they want to or not. Rapists will get the same parental rights as the woman they raped. Well, I'm sure the rapists in South Dakota are glad their rights are being protected so well.

Maybe Cameron Diaz did know what she was talking about on Oprah's Voting Party show.

Yikes.

Is it too early in the day to start drinking?

Citius, Altius, Fortius, Knittius

The Torino Winter Games are to begin today! How am I acknowledging this celebration of human ability? I'm knitting a skirt. I've joined the Knitting Olympics. This event put together by the Yarn Harlot, dares and challenges all knitters to knit a piece that will begin no sooner than the lighting of the Olympic flame and must end before the closing ceremonies.

I'm going to be making a 5-paneled A-line knee-length skirt. I'm going to be using Sirdar Donegal 'Tweed' yarn in Grass. It's a mashine-washable wool blend and will be ready just in time to meet Spring. I picked up a whole swack of it last month at Mad About Ewes big clearance sale.

There are no rules other than the start and stop time. Any knitter embracing the Olympic philosophy of "Citius, Altius, Fortius" (faster, higher, stronger) and is ready to let the next 16 days get sucked around a pair of knitting needles and ball of yarn is welcome to join.

Part of the deal is to also challenge yourself with a project. If you're a first timer, then a simple scarf may be challenging enough. For me the challenge would be that I don't have a pattern to follow and that I've never made a skirt in this manner before. So this project depends a lot on trusting my gut instincts. Once I have my first panel done, I'll have a better idea if my initial plan will work or not.

Right now, I need another cup of coffee. This month I'm working my through the Saltspring Island coffees. Their Sumatra roast is very fruity.

Go Team Canada!
Update: Here's the skirt. Unfortunately, the yarn wasn't the best choice for a skirt for me. It didn't drape enough and was a bit thick for my liking.
This skirt eventually got frogged and turned into the Fiddlehead jacket

Crap Wrapped in Lettuce

Darren has requested a recipe for lettuce wraps. So here it is, plus some variations.

This recipe is great for novice cooks and is very versatile. It falls in the aforementioned chinese cooking system of 'chop up crap, throw crap into hot wok, season with more crap, eat crap.'

Basic Lettuce Wrap Recipe:

Ingredients:
Meat crap - I usually use ground pork. You can use any ground meat. A pound is enough for 4 servings. You can also use leftover meat like chicken, BBQ pork, duck, salmon, meatloaf, shrimp, roasted squirrel. If you use pre-cooked meat just add it at the end to just warm through.

You can also use tofu or tempeh. For tofu, use firm or extra firm. If using firm tofu, just sandwich the tofu block between two large plates with a can of whatever on top to squeeze out excess water. Crumble or chop into a small dice.

Vegetation crap: Whatever as long as it's not watery like a tomato. The usual veg crap for this are carrots, celery, onion. You can also use water chestnut (fresh not canned. Canned water chestnut is it's own punishment), jicama, fennel, bamboo shoots and bean sprouts. I'd stick with crunchy veggies that cook up fast. You can also use up leftover veggies here too. I like gai lan, sugar peas, mushroom (shitake is very good) and spinach. Again, if using already cooked veggies, add at end to just warm through.

Don't go overboard. This is one of those times that you should K.I.S.S.

Other crap: I like adding nuts, just a handful of walnuts, pine nuts or even pumpkin seeds add a neat extra dimension to the dish. Toast the nuts before adding. Just throw them into a dry pan at medium heat. Once they start getting some colour & you can smell the nuttiness, they're done.

Seasoning crap: Ginger, garlic, shallots, szechuan peppercorns, soy sauce, fish sauce, curry powder, ancho or chipotle chili powder, 5-spice, 7-spice, ground cumin and corriander, sesame seed oil, black bean sauce. Again K.I.S.S

Oil: Use peanut oil or veggie oil (canola, safflower, corn etc). Save your olive oil for another time.

Condiment crap: Hoisin sauce is the traditional favorite. Plum sauce or duck sauce is also pretty good. You can also serve with a chili-fish sauce (just mix a glop of sambal oelek and fish sauce together) and some wedges of lime. If you're using curry powder or powdered cumin and corriander, you might want to opt for some yogurt sauce (1/2 cup yogurt, some chopped cilantro/parsley, 1 minced garlic clove and squeeze of lime/lemon, salt & pepper to taste) or a chutney. If you're using ancho or chipolte powder, some salsa or sour cream will work well.

Instructions:
There are 2 main factors to a good basic lettuce wrap filling. One is that everything is cooked up fast so have everything chopped and right beside you at the stove. Secondly, the filling can't be a sloppy, wet mess. Unless you like wearing your dinner.

1- Chop veggies into small dice (1/4 inch cubes). Mince ginger & garlic if using.
2- If using raw ground meat, season with a good healthy pinch of salt.
-If using leftover meat, either dice or shred the meat.
3-Heat up a couple glugs of oil in pot/wok/pan at medium-high heat.
4- Add ginger & garlic to oil. Don't let it brown.
5- Add ground meat. Spread it out over the bottom of the pan.
6-Let it brown. This means "DO NOT TOUCH". For about 3-4 mins. Let the meat get some colour before you start farting around there with your spatula.
7- Once the meat is cooked, add the veggies. Cook for a minute.
8- Add other crap (nuts, seasoning stuff). Start off with a couple spoonfuls. Taste it before adding more. If you're using any of the spices like curry or black bean sauce, push some of the mixture to one side of the pan, let the moisture evaporate a bit and toss your seasoning onto the dry pan bottom to let it get a bit toasty. Be careful not to burn it. Toasting will help bring out the flavours and aroma of the seasonings. Mix in with the rest of the crap.
9-Taste it. If it needs more seasoning crap then add some. If not, then don't mess with it.
10- Serve with iceberg lettuce leaves and condiment crap.

Lettuce tips:
1-Use iceberg lettuce. Do not deviate, the other lettuces won't have the strength to hold the filling and you'll end up with filling on your lap.
2- Remove the core from the lettuce with a small paring knife. Just cut around the core with the knife pointed towards the centre so you end up with a cone shaped lettuce stump.
3-Slowly peel one leaf at a time. Cut off any thick stalks.
4- Wash the leaves and dry them as best you can without ripping. Stack them onto a plate and keep in fridge with a damp towel over them until needed.
5- You will end up a bunch of inner leaves that won't work. Save those for another use like an iceberg salad with blue cheese dressing and walnuts for lunch tomorrow. Or shred them and toss them into a bowl of congee.

Leftover Lettuce Wrap filling ideas:

You might as well make more than you need. So double or triple the recipe. For the most part, the filling can be frozen and used later.

The filling also makes a great base for fried rice or chow mein. It is as simple as reheating the crap in a wok and tossing in some cooked rice or noodles.
It can also be thown into a congee.

You can throw it into a bowl of noodles and soup.

Throw a bowl of leftover filling into a hot pan with a bowl of stock or water. Add a couple handfuls of spinach. Take pot off of heat and add a slurry (1 tbsp of corn starch and cold water mixed). Put back onto heat, bring back to boil for the slurry to thicken the sauce. Add more seasoning (soy sauce, oyster sauce, fish sauce) if needed. Serve over sauteed asian greens or snap peas if you have them. Serve with rice.

If you have curried filling, just reheat it with a bit of stock or water. Add some more curry powder or ginger if needed. Toss in some coconut milk and serve over rice.

You can also serve the filling with naan or tortillas.

Chili powder seasoned filling is a perfect foundation for a quick burrito/taco. It is also the beginnings of a fast, easy stew/soup. For stew, just reheat a bowl of the filling and add a couple of spoonfuls of tomato paste. Cook for a few minutes over medium heat. You're looking to caramelize the tomato paste, not burn it. Stir continuously. Toss in a can a diced tomatoes and bring to boil then let simmer for 15 mins. Add more seasoning if needed.

For soup, skip the tomato paste and add a cup of stock along with the diced tomatoes.

Now I'm hungry.

Later my lovelies.

Gung Hay Fat Dog!

Happy New Year of the Bitch!

Let's get this party started.

So, I had myself a nice little Chinese New Year dinner this past weekend. For the first time in who knows how long, I actually made Chinese food for it. I was considering doing a Moroccan Chinese New Year. Since Chinese food has taken over the globe I always feel it's only ironically fitting to serve the cuisine of other cultures on this most festive of Chinese holidays.

Check out "Chinese Restaurants", a 13 part documentary by Cheuk Kwan about the Chinese food diaspora if you ever have a chance. There's a freaking Chinese restaurant where ever you are, from Trinidad to the most remote northern corner of Norway. For a hilarious look behind the scenes, check out cinematographer Kwoi Gin's Rice Bowl Diaries. It is proof that the line, 'Well, I'm making a movie.' is a great way to pick up chicks no matter what country you're in.

However, I've been hankering for some beef in black bean sauce and since most of the Chinese restaurants in this rusty town is known more for their neon red sweet & sour sauce on deep fried anything, I figured I'd do Chinese this year for the lunar new year.

I actually followed some of the food traditions. I even put out a traditional plate of sweets , aka the Tray of Togetherness, for our guests to munch on as I finished dinner. White Rabbit candies are a traditional sweet, aren't they?

Anyways, here's the menu:
-Beef & lychee in black bean sauce
-Lettuce wrap with pork and walnut & szechuan peppercorns
-Potstickers
-Pan-fried Lo Bak Go (Chinese turnip cakes. Tastes so much better than it sounds)
-Braised Chinese mushrooms (shitake, straw, enoki, black fungus, white fungus) and bean curd
-Ginger Prawn Chow Mein
-Asian fruit salad (star fruit, pomelo, mandarin orange, chinese apple pear, lychee) with lime-honey dressing
-Lychee chocolate truffles

I probably made more Chinese food for this feast than for all of last year put together. I must have been cooking from genetic memory since I can't remember making half these dishes before and I would risk losing my Chinese certification if I used recipes. Who uses recipes for Chinese cooking anyways? It's pretty much just chop up your crap, throw in your crap into a hot wok, season it with some more crap and toss your crap onto a plate and serve!

Anyways, happy year of the bitch.

Eat, Drink and Be Chinese!

Harper Ate My Country

Am I blue?
Am I blue?
Ain’t these tears in these eyes telling you,
How can you ask me,
Am I blue?

That's what Canadaland was singing this morning in the shower, trying to get Bush's dried-up jizz out of its mullet.

Prime Minister Harper.

Wow, tastes like moose ass when I say that.

I'd drown my sorrows in a 40 pack of Timbits but Timmy Ho's is American now, so I'll just lay here with my toque and my Care Card pressed ever so gently against my cheek and dream of simpler times....sigh

Here's a recipe for a Coffee Crisp cocktail to get that nasty moose sphincter taste out of your mouth:

In an old-fashion glass pour in:
1/2 oz Amaretto Almond Liqueur
1/2 oz Kahlua Coffee Liqueur
1/2 oz Irish Cream
Fill with Milk

Nothing to Love

(Photo taken of ice formation on rock on Arrowsmith Mountain last year. So beautiful it kinda hurts. Don't know if it hurts because it's so beautiful or because it's so temporary.)

I love nothing.

That came out wrong.

I'm in love with...ACK...damn this bloody, bastardized language. This is why Buddhism could not have been born in the west. Maybe that's how Russia gave birth to Nihilism. It was all just a big misunderstanding.

Heck, I shouldn't be loving nothing anyways. I'll just become too attached to it and then I'll drive it away. Nah, nothing wouldn't leave me? Would it?

Most likely I'll just forget it somewhere like on the edge a gas station bathroom sink, where it'll grow into a brilliant fuschia gas station bathroom algae bloom and take over the world.

Maybe it'll wander off one night and end up hitching a ride with a bunch of tree planters. Homesickness will get to it and it'll walk back home only to be shot in the leg by a drunken target hunter. The hunter brings nothing home to heal and nothing returns the favor by boffing the hunter's wife. Then the hunter offs himself to frame...wait, how the hell did nothing end up on the set of Clay Pigeon? Which, BTW, is one of the most under-rated movies of the last decade. Love the chemistry between Vince Vaughn and Joaquin Phoenix. Loved that Joaquin did Brother Bear. Great animated movie about rights of passage and examination of self and who we deem as our enemies. Also, SCTV's McKenzie brothers show up in this movie disguised as a pair of moose, making this Disney film about a hunter that becomes a bear more Canadian than anything Cronenberg every made.

I would presume than the writers of this film based the story on the Dancing Bear mythology. The Dancing Bear is the ubiquitous stone carvings of a happy bear balanced on one foot that, along with the Inukshuk, represent 98.5% of the Inuit art being sold in Canadaland. In Inuit mythology, humans are reincarnated as animals and since the bear is the king of the land up in the Great White North, one would be so thrilled to come back as this gorgeous creature that they would bust a move. Reincarnation is not just a process between lives but also within one's life. Our stages from birth to death is linked by reincarnations as we leave our old selves and enter the realm of our new selves. Sometimes these shifts are ritualized into graduations, weddings, christenings, debutante balls etc. All are rites of passage and involve some form of ritualized death and rebirth.

Words, simple shifts of words, can sometimes be all that is needed to close one door and open another . "I now pronounce you blah blah blah."

Words often mark milestones in a relationship. Walls are breached from the first 'hello'.

How many hours have I sat with pencil and paper untangling words from my brain until that one word comes and it all just spills out.

But words are nothing.

Nothing.

Right.

I love nothing.

I also love freshly ground coffee. I spent a good 5 mins sniffing freshly ground Mexican Chiapas coffee and watching the storm come in.

I also love Manchego cheese. Can't find any Manchego cheese in this town this week. Might have to find a way into the underground Manchego cheese cartel.

I'm such a slut. Yep, a rambling, coffee-sniffing, cheese hunting, knitting-freak, nothing of a slut. And you all love me for that!

Kisses and smackings to you all.

P.S. - Pat your scarf is ready. I might send it over via flying marmots. Be on the watch for flying marmot poop. That shit stains. Maybe I'll just wait & give it to you the next time I see ya.

Martin Luther King Jr. Never Got Any Swag

What is that bright disc in the sky? Ack, my eyes are burning!

After another day of bruising storms, the rusty coast is enjoying a brief siesta. Enjoy!

Yesterday, our southern neighbours celebrated Martin Luther King Jr Day with a pageant of blindingly white smiles, frocks that exceed the GNP of most African countries, over-primped tresses, collagen plumped lips and silicon enhanced everything else known as the Golden Globe Awards. Actually, I'm just assuming that's what was showcased at the awards since I opted to spend the evening knitting a scarf for my sis and reading 'Ender's Game'. But I'm sure it was a great fashionable feast of Hollywood backpatting.

Martin Luther King Jr.'s life and legacy, re-reading Ender's Game and watching the mudfest that is Canadaland's federal election has me thinking about what makes a good leader, or in the case of the federal election, what doesn't make a good leader. At best, the party leaders look and sound like a bunch of cranky toddlers throwing poop and blame at each other. Watching the debates, I actually wished that the Parti Québécois ran in my riding. But they don't and I'm stuck trying to figure out which of the evils is the least malignant.

Not voting is not an option.

Men like Roy Mah and Douglas Jung and other men from the Chinese community went off to fight in WWII so brats like me could mark my 'X' like other Canadians. They gambled with their lives with no guarantee that their efforts would lead to the Chinese community's enfranchisement. They did it because they saw that they only way to change things was if they stepped up and made the changes within. Instead of sitting around and waiting for enfranchisement and equality, they took it upon themselves to act like Canadian citizens, to accept the responsibility of being an Canadian citizen despite the 'Alien' designation stamped on their birth certificates.

They weren't heroes. They were leaders.

And I would be a bugger if I didn't vote.

I'll leave you with this quote from Martin Luther King Jr.:
- 'But I know somehow, that only when it is dark enough, can you see the stars.'


P.S. - Just found out that a trip to the Antartica was part of the Golden Globe swag bag. Along with cold weather gear!!! If some generous swag recipient wants to pass on this trip and gear to little ole me, I'd be forever grateful. I'll even knit you a sweater.

Knitting Rain and Pizza R n' D

Hey, look out the window. Surprise! Here comes the rain again. I've had that Eurythmic's song running through my head all day yesterday (...talk to me...like lovers dooooo.) At least it replaced that stupid hippo song. Scratch that, stupid hippo song just came back.

Well, this last spell of rain is proving why this is the rusty coast of Canada. We're in the last stretch of days before we break a record for the most consecutive days of rain. Go rain go!

So, according to the Grand Poobah of Weatherametrics of Canadaland, you could actually count the number of hours of sunlight that we've had since Dec. 19, 2005 on your fingers, even if you had one stuck up your nose.

So Rusty Coasters (or is that Coasterinias, or maybe it's Coasterites, how about Coasterese?) have to find ways to combat the soggy winter blahs. Some try light therapy, some run off to somewhere else where it doesn't feel like the sky is a leaky faucet and others just bitch and moan and count the number of hours of sunlight on their snot-covered fingers.

I like to embrace the fact that there is a season where I can listen to old Eurythmics songs and new Radiohead songs and lots and lots Chet Baker in between and read a bushel of Dylan Thomas' poetry and re-read the LOTR for the 50th time and knit a sweat factory full of sweaters and scarves and other cozies and drink pots and pots of tea and be glad that I don't have to wash the car for months. As Neil Young sings it, be the rain. Yes, my darlings, sometimes it's fun just to drown in clichés.

Speaking of knitting, I just picked up a skein of the most gorgeous mohair yarn. The yarn is made by Fleece Artist and is from their HandMaiden line. Fleece Artist is based in Halifax and make the most delicious hand-dyed yarns. They are my favorite yarn producer and are quite affordable. I picked up the Baby Kid (http://www.fleeceartist.com/yarn_babykid.html) in Blue Lagoon. Some of it is going into a short scarf I'm making for my my sister. The rest I think I'm going to fashion into a shawl of rain.

Last night we got to do some research and development with our backcountry oven. We had some friends over for dinner and I had made a couple of homemade pizzas. Just when I was about to pop them into the oven, I realized that the oven wasn't working. So out comes the backcountry oven. A backcountry oven is basically a non-stick pan with a lid that has a built-in thermometer for baking stuff on camping trips. There's a 'pot cozy' that fits over the whole thing that helps keep the heat in. The whole thing sits ontop of your camping stove. Ours is made by Backpacker's Pantry.

So we heated it up, popped in the pizza, had another glass of red wine and chatted. We were drinking Cono Sur's organic Cab Sav which was had a nice earthiness to it. Luckily, I had also made a pot of chorizo sausage and black bean soup, so I wasn't too worried about not having anything for dinner.

Since the backcountry oven works best when the temp hovers around 350F and I usually bake pizza at around 500F, I was curious to see how the temp difference would affect the end product. Obviously, it would take longer but would it affect the taste and texture of the pizza? Hmmm, enquiring bellies wanted to know.

Halfway through the baking, the kitchen oven decided to work again and so I popped the second pizza into that at 500F for 12 mins. I was excited to be able to do a taste comparison of the two pizzas (I know, I'm such a geek).

Well, the pizza baked in the kitchen oven turned out great. I had made a whole wheat pizza dough and topped it with pesto, artichoke hearts, olives, cooked chorizo sausages, sun-dried tomatoes, peppers and mozzarella cheese. The crust was perfect with a nice crunch and a tender inside and the cheese was nicely golden.

The backcountry oven pizza turned out pretty good too with only a few minor issues. One was that it took a bit longer, about 30 mins. to bake. We didn't have the stove fully pumped and weren't exactly keeping close watch on the fuel output. We also had it cooking outside on the porch where the winds were probably pulling a bit of heat away.

Obviously, you can only make one pizza at a time. There's enough pizza to feed 2 bellies for dinner (or one very hungry belly.) So if you have more bellies, you either have to make more pizza or supplement it with a hearty soup.
Another thing is that the crust didn't really get crusty. It was baked fine and was soft and tender but there was no crunch to the crust. Maybe we should have let it baked for another 10 mins but my belly was grumbling. Also, the cheese didn't get golden but I didn't expect for it to. Since all the toppings just needed to get warmed through, they worked well.

In the past I have found that wetter ingredients (fresh tomatoes and other veggies) and a too thin of a sauce don't fair well in a backcountry oven pizza. The moisture pools ontop of the pizza. I'd suggest using a basil or parsley pesto or a tapenade instead of tomato sauce and stick with toppings that don't need cooking so they won't release much moisture. That said, if I was on a kayaking trip or car camping, this pizza would be a pretty deluxe way to end the day.

That's it for now. I'm off to be the rain.

Dance with a dirty old man

Canadian poet, Irving Layton, died yesterday in Montreal after a battle with Alzheimer's . (Note to self: Never do battle with Alzheimer's, it always wins. Pick on a something my own size like a canker sore.) Whether you thought of Layton as a prince of words or a dirty old man is moot since all Canadian poets are dirty old men, even the women. Especially the women. Yes, even Maggie Atwood. Do you think anyone could possess a wit that sharp and not be a dirty old man?
Of all Canada's Pantheon of Poets (who, by the way, gather at a Tim Horton's every spring in Sudbury for their annual general meetings. I hear George Bowering is fond of the Dutchie) Layton was the best at being a dirty old man, IMHO. Yeah, I know, Lenny does a pretty good job at it too but he's a freaking Buddhist now.

Layton embodied the anti-Puritan zeal and throb of dirty-old-manliness on and off the page. He lived singing of thighs, breasts and shoulders. He died with his 'loins wrinkled like the forehead of a sage.'

So, on this day I will remember Irving Layton as one of Canada's greatest dirty old men. They certainly don't make them like they used to.

Just wondering...

why are Ziyi Zhang's pretty brown eyes aqua-blue in the 'Memoirs of a Geisha' posters? Is Crystal Gayle singing the theme song?

Just wondering.

Swooning Naked Monks

I'm listening to the 'Ballads of the Swooning Naked Monks', otherwise known as 'Carmina Burana' by Carl Orff. The most famous bit 'O Fortuna' is the music they play in movies when the hero escapes imminent death and things all around blow up.

In a past life, I had the oppurtunity to perform this in a chamber choir. It was one of the most moving musical experiences I've ever had. Wildly crazy about Orff already, I was doubly thrilled to be singing the poetry of a bunch of vagabond monks and vagrants who were the authors of the 25 poems that Carmina Burana is based on. The poems revolved around 3 things: Spring, drinking and love. Perfect material for a green, tender maiden like moi to be studying. I did my best to acquaint myself with all three.

(You can't really expect me to be too serious about music that has lines like 'my virginity makes me frisky'. )

As moving as it is to listen to the 'O Fortuna' verse while Mr. Hollywood Hero is swinging on a telephone wire and saving Miss Hollywood Starlet from the scorching her lovely locks, it is hundred times more moving to be inside the music, surrounded by your choral comrades, voices lifted, pissed off at Fate.

But my favorite moment is the the 20th song 'Veni, veni, venias ' with it's robust vocals and percussion angst that spills into the vulnerable solo vocals of 'In truitina '. So tragically lovely. Sigh.

So here's to a bunch of swooning ,naked (well, they were defrocked) monks. If I had some mead, I 'd raise a glass of that to you but since isn't noon yet I'll raise my cuppa coffee to you.

BTW, I'm drinking Kicking Horse's Fair Trade Kick-Ass coffee. Nice, strong morning blend. Goes very well with a slice of pumpkin-persimmon bread.

Have a swooningly lovely day!

Winter Solstice Part Two

I decided I needed to spend the few hours of light left on the shortest day of the year outside wandering about the seawall. I needed to properly welcome winter, as unwinterly as it may be. The rain that pelted the Rusty Coast this morning had quieted down. It was so warm that by the time I got to the seawall I had already unwrapped my scarf, taken off my jacket and gloves. I hadn't even bothered putting on a toque. It was dreary and grey. I cursed the lack of snow and the balmy weather. It's going to be hard to find any ice-climbing next week without a huge drive. I know it's supposed to be mild out here but if this weather were a 8-year old, it would get picked on every recess. Winter looked like something the cat dragged in.

I looked across the channel and on a post, perched like the King of England, was a blue heron. I thought about my friend Karin who has a strong connection to these regal birds. She had recently sent sad news of her dear feline's passing. It all made me realize that I had much to be grateful for. The grey that was so dreary was now not so. I looked over to the small island in the channel and smiled. It's trees were crowned in winter mist. With an impossibly slow sweep of its wings, the heron took flight. The sky's greying was now a myriad of silvers and pewter. The air was crisp and alive. I smiled and thought. 'It's a grand day to welcome in winter!'

When one welcomes winter, one needs the right nourishment. So I walked down to McLean's Fine Food store, a dangerous place for a belly like mine. My mission was to find cheese and olives. But instead of going straight to the cheese counters, I tortured myself by going up and down all the aisle. So many wonderful food delights and so little time and money. The cheese counter was a slow tango of decision making. Do I want something mild and tender? Or do I want a ripe, pungent kiss of blue-veined opera? In the end I chose the Pecorino Pepato Isola Siciliano, but I did flirt a bit with the Gorgonzola. With cheese and a container of assorted olives, I headed back home.

The universe had another plan for me.

Did you know that Christmas is coming soon? Really. It's within days. With a few hours of daylight that I had left in the shortest day of the year, I decided that had to find some gifts for our neice and nephews. Now, not to say that I haven't been thinking about them, I just kinda thought that the right gifts would just find me eventually. But that doesn't seem to be happening so I wandered about through used book stores and small local shops looking for something that would say, 'Tah dah! The perfect gift!' I really, really thought that I could find a barely used copy of 'The Little Prince' in perfect condition just sitting there on the shelves. Or a fair-trade Peruvian hand puppet that any little girl would immediately fall in love with.

No such luck. But I did run into my dear friend Tim, a brilliant poet and ancient, warm soul, who was busking with his pennywhistle in front of the library. He had an umbrella of candy cane red and white opened and tucked into his belt and a huge smile and hug for me. Life is good.

Then DH calls and tells me he has the rest of the day off and I can take the car to find gifts at the mall. Typing this now, I don't know how got to thinking it was perfectly fine that I spend the few hours of light on the shortest day of the year in a MALL!?!? I chalk it up to my missing my afternoon tea and therefore suffering from a lack of civilizing caffeine.

Going to the mall only reminded me why I don't go into malls, especially during this time of year. I'm no Scrooge. I love giving gifts, almost as much as I love receiving them. But mall gifts? I wanted to give them something that would reflect some facet of DH and me. I reminded myself the first rule of giving: Give a person something that they want, not what you want them to want.

(But doesn't every little girl want a fair-trade Peruvian hand puppet?)

So I braved through the crowds and the processed music and found gifts for the kidlets. I attempted to leave the parking lot but someone must have rearranged all the entrances and I ended up getting lost. I eventually found an exit and as I was waiting at the stop sign, a big, white van pulled in and a pair wonderful, smiling familiar faces popped out of the window. The universe had granted me the gift of another chance meeting with friends!

After an impromptu coffee visit with my friends, I headed home with my belly grumbling. Poor belly.

There wasn't much in the fridge but it was all that I needed. A bunch of brocolli, half an onion, a few carrots, a German smokie and, of course, the cheese and olives from this afternoon. I made a simple soup for our winter solstice dinner. I cut up the smokie and pan-fried them until they were crusty and brown, added chopped onions and carrots and let that all saute. Deglazed it all with a bit of white wine leftover from last night. Then I added the brocolli, florets and stalks cut into bite-sized pieces. I pitted and coarsely chopped a handful of moroccan salted olives and threw those in. Then I covered it all with boiling water, along with a can of chickpeas. I let it come to boil then let it simmer for a bit. The olives, smokies and veggies did a good job making a quick broth. A few sprigs of thyme and oregano from the kitchen garden, a few grinds of pepper and dinner was ready.

Unfortunately, DH had work tonight so I dined alone. I ate in my newly curtained dining room. The curtains do help to keep the chill out of that corner. The soup complimented the pecorino cheese so very well. I paired the cheese up with the walnut bread. The earthy, nuttiness of the bread held it's own against the strong peppery sheep milk cheese.

It's been a grand day. A day of unplanned gifts in so many ways.

Welcome Winter! I hope you enjoy your stay!

Happy Winter Solstice!!

Winter solstice is upon now, though it feels very unwintery on the Rusty Coast with temps up to 11C today. I will wax poetic about this glorious annual milestone a bit later. I will leave you with this quote from Billy Shakespeare for now:

Blow,blow thou winter wind
Thou art not so unkind,
As man's ingratitude.

Please pardon the mess...

What do you expect from someone who decided to start a new blog just days before Elf Hunting season begins?? So the house is a minor catastrophe. How the heck did my knitting crap get all over the freaking place and how come last week I couldn't find a single yarn needle and today there's a colony of them that have taken the coasters as hostages??

I can explain. I've been making 'Happy Birthday Jesus!' gifts all weekend. This year it's brittle. Partly because I love brittle and so if I love it then everybody else loves its. Dems the rules. Also because I had pretty much all the ingredients and my bank account is a bit barren.

I made pumpkin & sesame seed molasses brittle, plain ole peanut brittle, spicy pecan brittle and an almond toffee. Miracles of miracles, there's actually some left for gifts.

So the kitchen got a bit messy and then I had to bake bread yesterday. It was supposed to only be a bread morning but it ended up being a bread day. All day and into the night. I made 3 loaves of walnut-kamut, 3 loaves of seed & multigrain, 2 loaves of fruit-anise seed bread and a patridge in a pear tree. But it was neccessary. We were completely out of bread. Nada, not a crumb. I didn't know what to sop my soup up with. I mean, I make soup just so I can sop it up with bread. We cannot soup without sopping!

Somehow a relaxed morning of making a few loaves of bread ended up turning the house into a Atkin's Dieter's nightmare. Not that I'm complaining. It's just that by the time I pulled the last of the bread out of the oven, my DH called and said he was on his way home and I realized that a whole day had already risen and baked! I hadn't even had a shower yet!

I pampered myself with half a loaf of walnut-kamut bread accompanied with a good couple knobs of butter and a thick slice of real Derbyshire cheese.

Dinner was a spicy pork & eggplant Thai-sort-of soup and walnut bread. I just browned a pound of lean ground pork, then threw in the last of a batch of roasted eggplant, a few sliced mushrooms, carrots, onions, a smacked loonie of ginger, a couple of cloves of garlic . A couple glugs of chinese cooking wine, a couple healthy jizzes of fish sauce, a spoonful of sambal oelek, a few szechuan peppercorns were added once everything was cooked up. I added enough boiling water into the pot to cover the ingredients plus and inch and let it simmer for 10 mins. If I had them, I would've added some scallions and some lemongrass. Cilantro wouldn've been nice too.

I also had a bag of brussel sprouts and a few stalks of gai lan than were close to their due date. Those I cut up and sauteed with some chopped garlic. Upon serving, I just added the greens ontop of the soup.

This morning I breakfasted on the seed and multigrain bread and a couple slices of parmigiano reggiano. There's something so satisfying about bread and cheese. Especially if the bread is homemade and the cheese is good, honest cheese. I buy my parmigiano in chunks no bigger than my fist. If you only enjoy parmigiano in the grated form then do yourself a favor and cut yourself a slice. It's the only way you can get the full-mouth experience of parmigiano reggiano. A good chunk will have these amazing naturally formed salt crystals that crackle as you bite into them. The taste is earthy and sexy. Like the unadulterated sweat of a Roman slave boy...oh, sorry, got carried away. Anyways, it's really good.

I supposed this makes me a parmigiano snob. If you want to use that dessicated cat puke in those green containers that is being sold as 'Grated Parmesan Cheese' on your jarred pasta sauce, go right ahead. I mean that chunky ketchup backwash could probably be improved by the horse musk aroma of that processed lactose atrocity. But if you're going to go through the trouble of making a homemade sauce then why do you want to slap it across the face and spit into it's mouth? I know, it's expensive but think of it this way: You've gone through the expense and time of making a homemade sauce, a good couple shavings of parmigiano regianno will help your sauce bloom into a savoury blessing. Well at least it won't make it taste like cat puke!

So today I'll clean up. I'll even put up a couple of curtains and sequester my knitting crap to only one corner of the living room. Maybe I'll even have time to take a shower before the DH comes home. A girl can dream can't she?