Monday, April 21, 2008

smorgasbord

view from the Summer Pavilion behind the Library of Parliament
Supreme Court of Canada is slightly right of centre in the distance

Until I looked up this title word in the dictionary a few minutes ago, if I were to have been asked to spell it, I would have written "schmorgasborg," 'cause that's how I've always pronounced it. Go figure. Reminiscent of the time when I discovered that "shootsiescores" was actually my own faulty hearing of "he shoots, he scores." And don't get me started on all the malapropisms I encountered when I marked students' assignments for Business Communications.

Writers' Festival
However, I digress. (It must be a bad sign when the writer digresses before even beginning. Oh, well, false starts: we begin and begin and begin again. Who said that? Kroetsch? I'm sure he wasn't the first to begin that argument.) The Ottawa International Writers' Festival (spring edition) began one week ago yesterday. I didn't take in as many sessions as I originally planned, but I still attended enough to feel I'd received my money's worth out of my festival pass. (I've noted for next year that I probably should have created my own 5-event pass and saved a few dollars. There's a fine line between not enough and too much.) I listened to poets, fiction writers, non-fiction writers, editors, and publishers read from their texts and speak about concepts that mattered to them: Fred Wah, Rachel Zolf, Stuart Ross, Alison Pick, Anne Simpson, Don Domanski, Stan Dragland, Beth Follett, Alan Briesmaster, Chris Kitzan, Doug Francis, Steve Venright, Nathaniel G. Moore, RM Vaughan, Drew Hayden Taylor, Kateri Ackiwenzie-Damm, and Irene Gammel. As one might expect, I heard some more than others. I bought a few new books, too. (Yeah, like I needed those, right? Although, in my defence, I did recently read one of the books that had been sitting on a shelf for 5-10 years--Linda Nagata's Tech Heaven. It was a compelling, if unsettling, extrapolative narrative of ethics in relation to cryonics. Published in 1995. Does anyone write or report or think of cryonics anymore?)

Queensway
Last week marked another very important occasion for me: I drove on the Queensway, otherwise known as the #417, for the first time since returning to the region. The last time we lived here, I'd just begun tentatively making my way to Kanata via the 416 & 417--and then we moved back home. For those of you who have hyperspaced the Toronto 401 or hurtled down the Coquihalla, the Queensway would pose no challenge. I, however, best acquainted with Pembina Hwy, also known as Hwy #75, and Winnipeg's Perimeter Hwy, was most intimidated by it. I drew inspiration from three stalwart women: Ottawa-transplant Lisa, who only learned to drive sometime within the past five years or so, but whips from one end of the amalgamated city limits to the other with ease; cousin Shauna from Wpg, for whom the driving motivation to high-tail it down the 401 on her vacation was a visit to IKEA; and Ottawa-born Ci (pronounced "chee"), who once confided that she prayed for an opening before entering every on- and off-ramp.

Someone once compared driving on the 417 to driving on the Perimeter, but I beg to differ: double the Perimeter and up the speed by 15-20 km/h, then add vehicles constantly changing lanes, and maybe you've got yourself a comparison. Of course, from my outsider's perspective, it seems everyone here drives at least 10 km/h over any posted speed limit. James claims that he knows of two red light cameras (they seem to frequent Kanata, although I've read there are actually eight equipped intersections--only eight for the whole region?!), and that there are often police with radar guns along Strandherd. I saw one yesterday--police with radar gun, not red light camera. Anyway, the point to my rambling is that I finally found the courage to fly (figuratively, not literally). So with a little more practice, should we find ourselves descended upon by visitors this summer, I'll be able to tour them around while James is at work; if no visitors, well then, I'll be able to frequent the malls right across town.

Parliament Hill
On Saturday, I attended a two o'clock festival event, thinking I'd hang around downtown until another one at 6pm. I walked from Library and Archives Canada via Parliament Hill to Rideau Centre (see photo above). At 24˚C, it was as though we'd passed straight from winter into summer. I'm guessing half of the population of Ottawa was on Parliament Hill or down in the Byward Market on Saturday afternoon. Everywhere tube tops, tank tops, racerback tanks, spaghetti straps, no straps, babydoll tops with shortie shorts, biking shorts, walking shorts, sundresses, sandals, thongs (I mean the flip-flops kind, not underwear, even though I'm sure the latter were out & about, too). I had planned a bit of shopping at Rideau Centre, but it was difficult to stay indoors. I stopped at Sugar Mountain, wanting a gelato, but the lineup was way too long. After an hour or so in the sun, I decided I didn't feel like any more festival events, so I bussed back to Fallowfield and called James to pick me up. Before the end of the shopping day, I squeezed in a quick trip to Reitman's, where I bought three T-shirts.

New Adventures in Soy
Move over Rice Dream. Vitasoy light vanilla is my new favorite milk alternative. I also tried So Nice vanilla (as opposed to the original flavor I tried a few weeks back), but it just doesn't measure up. I've also tried Yves veggie burgers, both the mock beef and mock chicken. While I still maintain that they don't really taste like meat, they're edible. In fact, topped with lettuce, and a trio of relish, mustard, ketchup (for beef) or Caesar dressing (for chicken), and cleverly disguised in a Kaiser bun, they're not half bad. I recommend adding a slice of Swiss cheese, mushrooms, and onions to the "beef" patty.

Rice Dream vanilla ~ demoted to 4/5
Vitasoy light vanilla ~ 5/5 ~ I like the taste and a definite bonus is that it has about half the calories of Vitasoy vanilla and Rice Dream vanilla
So Nice vanilla ~ 1.5/5 ~ better than So Nice original, but not by much
Yves veggie burgers (chicken or beef) ~ 3/5

Good-bye Fun Mountain
The last two spots of our onetime eleven-foot mountain of snow melted in the neighbors' front yard yesterday at some point between the time we left for Cedarview Alliance and the time we returned.

Spring Cleaning
Not much progress on the spring cleaning front. Sometime this week I intend to wash windows on the ground floor. I should also vacuum and wipe down the inside of the truck. I did weed through my greeting card collection, in an attempt to reduce years' worth of accumulated paper. Does anybody want the fronts of old cards for craft projects? I'd be happy to mail them.

Off I go to tackle some other projects on my list.

Saturday, April 12, 2008

two recipes, but not for disaster

Sorry, nothing creative today for the following reasons: 1) I'm still dealing with my blinkin' head cold. 2) It rained all day. 3) I finished reading Reader and Raelynx, Book 4 in Sharon Shinn's The Twelve Houses series, late last night. I believe it's the last of that particular series (unless she finds a way to revisit it), and although it definitely provided a satisfying conclusion that neatly wrapped up the various subplots set in motion as early as Book 1, I now feel as though I've said good-bye to a handful of very dear friends--a testament to Shinn's skillful characterization. I've read 5 of Shinn's novels so far, and although they fall in the fantasy genre, and although many of the characters possess mythical, mystical abilities, the author managers to render them as believably human, flawed yet not incapable of reform or redemption. Anyway, I guess I wasn't quite ready to bid farewell to that fictional realm; consequently, I went about generally sluggish and mopey today.

Back in the real world, while grocery shopping at Loblaws today, I noticed a recipe on the last page of this week's flyer. I thought to myself that it looked like something James might enjoy, so I added the ingredients to my list and made it for supper. Here's the recipe as it appeared in the flyer:

Pecan and Pear Salad

1 pkg (100 g) no name Pecans
10 cups (2.5L) loosely packed PC organics Field Greens Salad Mix
1 pear, cored and diced (skin on)
3 1/2 oz. (105 g) blue cheese, crumbled
1/2 cup (125 mL) PC Vinaigrette - Honey Pear

1. In nonstick frying pan, toast pecans over medium heat until golden and fragrant, stirring occasionally, about 8 to 10 minutes. Set aside to cool.
2. In large salad bowl, gently toss greens, pears, blue cheese and nuts. Add vinaigrette; toss to coat. Divide among six plates. Garnish with additional sliced pear, if desired.

Of course, being me, I didn't precisely follow the recipe as is. For one thing, my non-stick frying pan was in the dishwasher, and I was too lazy to haul it out and wash it by hand (I didn't run the dishwasher because it wasn't yet full), so I toasted the pecans in a tray in my toaster oven for about 3 or 4 minutes. (I'm not persuaded that toasting the pecans is necessary.) Second, I didn't use PC Organics salad: I couldn't find it. I used another brand's Spring Mix. Third, I just eyeballed the amount of salad and dressing. Fourth, I don't like the strong smell of blue cheese, and I had some medium cheddar at home, so I cubed that and threw it in.

I'm happy I tried it: it got a thumbs up, so I'll make it again sometime.

Here's a second recipe; this one's from the Men's Health site:

Pasta with Chicken and Spinach

8 oz. Skinless Chicken Breasts
2 oz. Enriched Linguine Noodles
2 Tbsp. Parmesan Cheese - Shredded
2 Garlic Cloves
2 Cups Green Giant Plain Cut Spinach
1/2 tsp. Oregano
1 cup Hunt-Wesson Tomato Sauce
2 tsp. Olive Oil

1. Cook pasta until tender, about 8 to 10 min.
2. Clean and trim chicken of visible fat. Slice into thin strips. Chop garlic.
3. Microwave spinach for 4 minutes and drain off liquid.
4. In a non-stick skillet, add oil and garlic. Sauté until garlic is soft.
5. Add chicken and cook for 10 minutes or until meat is no longer pink.
6. Add remaining ingredients and simmer for 7 to 10 minutes. Serve hot.

My version of this one goes something like this: Bake chicken and serve on the side so as to please both carnivores and vegetarians. I think the original recipe conceives of the spinach as frozen, but so far I've always used fresh spinach, thereby eliminating step #3. I purchase the Catelli whole wheat linguine or spaghetti noodles, use Hunt's tomato sauce, and substitute canola oil for olive oil. (I've learned that when I sauté garlic, I have to watch it very closely so it doesn't become charred remnants.)

I won't say the kitchen is my favorite place--that would be a blatant lie--but I think I'm finally beginning to make my peace with it.

Thursday, April 10, 2008

rediscovered

My laptop would undoubtedly thank me profusely if I sorted through all my old files and deleted the unnecessary ones. But then, that would mean I wouldn't be able to rediscover the odd delightful grain of wheat among the chaff, such as the following. Before you read what I wrote, though, please see please see this link for the William Carlos Williams poem, "This is Just to Say." Otherwise you'll miss the fun.



this just lets you know
[re-vamp-ing Wm. Carlos Williams]

hey,
i've given up
those ignorant kisses
that were in
cold storage

which i'd been
pinching for
ever and a day for
you

forgive me
his mouth was so concrete
and so touching and
so there

(9 apr 1995)


Note: I was a fourth-year honours student in Dr. Tony Steele's American Literature class at the time, chafing at "group work." That might have accounted for my motivation to skewer Williams. Not that long after, I overheard another prof remark that fourth-year honours students are the most difficult kind of students to teach, because they think they know it all.

Tuesday, April 8, 2008

and now for something completely different

I've been inspired by the creative posts of fellow bloggers, be they in the form of fiction, photography, life writing, or what have you. So I'm going to be gutsy and share something that I wrote Sunday evening. I haven't done any such writing for a while, but this imagery has wanted out--it's been percolating for a few weeks, since I passed Bridgehead on my way home from work in the dark one Thursday evening before the time change. I'm not yet familiar enough with html to set the line breaks where I want them, so no criticizing the layout.

**********

window seat

stop. bank & albert. stop.

i see you through
a haze of pane
through twilight
watch twice ten fingers
cup identical cappuccinos
or extra-large lattés
(does it really matter which?)

four eyes and sixteen times as many teeth flash
as you flirt over a cream cheese-iced
slab of carrot cake
alternating laughter and forkfuls
and expressive hand gestures

synchronous artificial respiration touching mouth
to ceramic lip
tongues flicking to the corners
to get every last fleck of foam

on the move again.

i don't have to see what's next
we all know how this will end
you'll lie awake half the night
in your respective flats
hearts racing
feeling moody passion brewing

and i'll immortalize you
in a dark roast
with light & bitter notes

**********

(Yes, I admit my adopted persona, that speaking, observing I/eye is pompous; "immortalize," for goodness' sake! Also, please note that I have not actually patronized Bridgehead, although I did set foot in it over the lunch rush today to verify serving sizes. Silly me, I forgot to fact check if the menu lists cappuccinos and lattés, although most places do, so I imagine Bridgehead would, too, to be competitive, if nothing else.)

Sunday, April 6, 2008

snail mail and spring fever

There's something to be said for good old-fashioned snail mail, if you ask me.

Last week was rather routine, same as the week before. Nothing all that remarkable happening. University students seem to be experiencing an end-of-term anxiety and beginning-of-spring giddiness that translates into ceaseless nattering from all corners of the classrooms and lecture halls. It wouldn't be so bad if they just whispered, but the noises range from a low rumble of, presumably, the cool dudes who sit towards the back to the high-pitched gales of laughter of the blondes-from-a-bottle with fake'n'bake tans who evidently feel that it's everyone's basic human right to hear what they have to say, be it about carbocations in chemistry--during a chemical engineering lecture on mass balances--or comparing notes on high school friends they had in common during a tutorial on mass balances.

Tuesday morning halfway through Physics, a paper airplane landed near the front of the classroom. The professor opened it up, skimmed through it, and held onto it. The following Physics class, on Friday, I witnessed two students approach the professor before the lecture began. One explained that they had been fooling around the previous class, and that they hadn't meant for the paper airplane to disrupt him. She said that although her friend's name had been on the top of the paper, it was actually her fault that the paper had gone flying through the air, so she hoped he wasn't going to deduct marks from her friend's grade for something that wasn't her fault. He told them not to worry about it.

Actually, I find it quite surprising how lenient professors are these days. I surmise that it has a great deal to do with the increased emphasis on teaching evaluations with respect to tenure. Either that, or they feel it's futile to try to change the habits of these "digital natives," these "millenium students" used to multi-tasking (talking on the cell, chatting on messenger, checking e-mail, watching TV, listening to downloaded music, blogging, all simultaneously).

So amidst the added chatter I do my best to block out when I'm working, the feeling of impending despair at having to find work for the summer when the majority of postings state "bilingual essential," and this head cold I acquired (probably from all those door handles on campus), I've had a few "what am I doing here?" moments. That's why the snail mail was so welcome! Within the last week, we received an Easter card & note from a family friend, a package of goodies from my brother (the Office Space DVD is conspicuously absent; I think James ran off with it), a card (and cheque for the latest transcription) from the Mauro Centre, and sand and shells from Mexico courtesy of Duane & Celina. Thank you!!! You made my days.


I'm a little hesitant to add that it looks as though spring may be here to stay. (Hesitant, because it snowed big fluffy flakes on Wednesday, although they subsequently melted very quickly.) It's not just me that thinks so. Yesterday afternoon, one of the neighbor kids was standing on a snowbank bareback, watching his dad break up remaining ice at the end of their driveway. The dad is the guy who wore shorts to snowblow his driveway. Maybe their family developed a genetic mutation that makes them impervious to cold. Mind you, the sun was really that warm: I walked back with my light jacket over my arm, and given that I was wearing a black t-shirt, the idea of going bareback did hold a certain attraction.


Friday, April 4, 2008

everything in its place

My sister-in-law and I had a telephone conversation about spring cleaning the other day. She cleans as she goes along, so that she doesn't have to set aside a whole week or month to do it all in one shot. I think that's very admirable, and something to which I might aspire someday. Two years ago, in the apartment, I finally broke down and exterminated the dust bunnies that had multiplied underneath our bed in that hard-to-reach-place near the headboard for the better part of two-and-a-half years. However, let me reassure you I'm a lot more motivated to clean up now that I've got more space in which to store things, and now that we actually invite people over. (We lived not unlike hermits while James finished his degree.)

Much of Ottawa enjoys a four-day Easter weekend. The feds have Easter Monday off, and the universities follow suit. I guess a touch of spring fever hit me, because I decided to organize our en suite. Linens'n'Things had a "buy one, get one half price" sale on under-the-sink organizers, and I found Rubbermaid mesh drawer organizer packages for $14.99 each at Loblaws. It's freed up some welcome space on the vanity and shelving unit.



The next room to tackle is the kitchen. I've already purchased, from Stay Organized, a rack in which to store my cookie sheets and muffin tins; I hope to get there again tomorrow, to see if any one on staff has suggestions or solutions regarding those awkward corner cupboards of mine. Apparently there's also a store in Orleans that specializes in storage and organizational products. Might have to get directions. I'll combat my clutter yet!

Tuesday, April 1, 2008

bon poisson d'avril or "where's the beef?"

Happy April Fool's! Bon poisson d'avril!

Hey, my peeps! I've been taking a little break from the blog. Those 30 tiny moments ran me ragged. Actually, no, they were rather exhilarating--but they did take time, and although I'd like to think I have a lot of other wonderful attributes, I'm not convinced that I've mastered time management. Case in point: I spent almost all Sunday afternoon contemplating what types of organizers might help me control my clutter. (More about this in a future post.)

So then, what have I been doing lately? I've been checking into vegetarian/vegan/organic options. Below are a few of the items I've sampled.

clockwise, l-r: granola, Rice Dream, it's all good chick'n, almonds, tofu

not pictured: So Nice, Licks veggie burgers, veggie ground round,
Amy's tomato bisque soup, pistachios, riceworks rice crisps, Tostitos blue corn chips

Here are my ratings:
  • Duke's Gourmet French Vanilla Granola ~ 5/5 ~ I put some in a bowl, add some vanilla yogurt (I found plain yogurt too bitter), and fruit.
  • So Nice soy beverage (original) ~ 1/5 ~ Ewww, too mealy-tasting; the vanilla or chocolate flavors might have improved the experience. I suppose I could have used it for baking instead of pouring it down the drain.
  • Rice Dream vanilla ~ 5/5 ~ The vanilla is barely detectable, and that's a good thing in my books. No surprise, given its name, but this rice beverage's taste reminds me of eating sweetened cooked rice with milk. Don't tell the people that put out the Milk calendar, but I've used their rice pudding recipe, substituting Rice Dream for milk. I've used it in my instant oatmeal, too.
  • Licks veggie burgers ~ 1/5 ~ Too gritty for my liking; it was obvious I was eating condensed grains. (I gave away the remaining 3 in the package to a friend.) Then again, I'm not a fan of 100% pure beef patties, either, because I find them too dense. Give me Mom's or Aunt Mary's burgers any day!
  • it's all good chick'n lightly seasoned ~ The verdict's still out on this one. The one time I made it, the chick'n breast had the texture of tough, dry chicken; however, it didn't taste like chicken to me (perhaps more what I'd expect frog or snake to taste like?). Call me crazy, but I'm thinking that I may prefer to eat veggies that retain their veggie-like appearance instead of veggies that masquerade as meat.
  • Silken tofu ~ I've been too petrified (not "chicken"!) to try it as of yet. Apparently tofu is best marinated, so that it absorbs flavors. Many years ago I had an excellent stir fry dish with tofu cubes in it at some now long-defunct Asian restaurant in the Exchange District with CWB co-workers.
  • Yves veggie ground round (Mexican) ~ 3/5 ~ I incorporated this soy product into my portion of the Old El Paso taco kit and it wasn't half bad, probably in large part due to the Mexican seasoning.
  • Amy's tomato bisque soup ~ 4/5 ~ Tangy tomato soup with a touch of sweetness. I topped it with croutons and shredded cheddar.
  • Almonds & pistachios ~ 5/5 ~ Great snacks.
  • riceworks gourmet brown rice crisps ~ 5/5 ~ I tried them in the Sweet Chili, but they come in Sea Salt flavor, too. They're billed as "wheat and gluten free" and "vegan and celiac friendly" rice chips. I've bought them at Loblaws, so there's a chance that Superstore also stocks them.
  • Tostitos blue corn tortilla chips ~ 5/5 ~ We tried another brand of blue corn chips, but they were not nearly as light and crisp as the Tostitos. And blue corn chips are just ever so much more festive than regular tortilla chips.
I doubt I will ever go vegan. I can take or leave eggs for the most part, and I've switched over from butter to margarine, but I don't know if I want to give up my glass of milk with chocolate chip cookies. I'm not sure I'll make a very good vegetarian. I'm not going to be super-strict about it. Still, I have decided to eat less meat.

Why the sudden interest in a change of diet? The Winter 2008 issue of The Winnipeg Humane Society News contained two articles that prompted me to search out a few Web sites and evaluate my eating habits. One article described how foie gras is produced; the other detailed abuses of farm animals. I have never, to my knowledge, consumed foie gras, nor have I been tempted to. Yet I never before knew how this "delicacy" is made; now that I’ve read about, I hope nobody ever eats it again. I can’t even write about it without feeling ill about the horrible cruelties people are inflicting on numerous ducks. These ducks are kept penned up and then force-fed, actually force-overfed, with rods rammed down their throats. They are all but drowned in cornmeal (many of them probably do drown in it). I can’t get these images out of my mind. How can people be so cruel? I feel like throwing up when I read about those poor helpless little ducks trying to comfort each other.

And it doesn’t stop there. From what I understand, our North American insistence on a very meaty diet means that more and more animals are raised en masse for butchering purposes. That means that they are coldly viewed as expendable commodities, so less and less care is given to their creature comforts. More and more grain goes to feed these animals bred only to die. I’m not sure about all the logistics, but I’ve read that if we were to eat less meat, we’d raise less animals, and there would be more grain to feed the starving millions of the world. Like I say, I’m not sure about the logistics, but that’s the argument.

There are other offshoots to this: because animals are treated as commodities, they are often mistreated during transport. If the plight of animals doesn’t get you, think about the injustices to workers at the slaughterhouses. Extreme and hazardous working conditions lead to high turnover. The way I see it, such companies are taking advantage of a workforce low in socioeconomic status (immigrants, poor, with little education). There is further fallout: don’t forget the wear and tear on the truckers who have to work umpteen-hour days to haul the food so the livestock can eat, eat, eat their way to higher production quotas.

I suspect we may be called to account for actions such as this. If so, I want to end my complicity. I'd like to think I can contribute to a solution rather than be part of the problem. Like I say, I have eaten, and may continue to eat, meat occasionally. I'm not coercing anyone else to adopt my perspective. I'm just saying that you're more likely to find me in the aisles with fruits, vegetables, nuts, and grains these days.