First, Happy Birthday to my Dad! His birthday was yesterday and he was still celebrating when I called him at 10pm EDT. My mom had invited all his siblings and their spouses over for a BBQ.
I am a big fan of barbecues, because there is nothing quite so satisfying as finding shortcuts to preparing meals. I like to eat, I just don't like to figure out what to make. Speaking of food, you may be wondering what I'm eating these days. Two years ago, I went to see a dietitian whose services were available to me through my doctor's office. I talked to her about going vegetarian, and she gave me a number of resources--the Vegetarian Food Guide Rainbow*, for one--and helpful pointers. I've been slowly incorporating a few new foods into my diet, to make it more vegetarian and even more vegan, and thought I'd share what I've found. (Individual tastes and preferences vary so greatly, there's really no way to know if you'll like something unless you try it, and sometimes you'll need to try it more than once.)
In terms of vegetarian/vegan meat products, I'm sold on Sol Cuisine Spicy Bean Burgers; their packaging labels them "Tex-Mex vegetarian burgers" on the front, but indicates on the back that they are "100% Vegan." They're also free of gluten and wheat. I eat these burgers with the usual lettuce, tomato, mustard, ketchup, but use Vegenaise spread or hummus (both are vegan) as additional condiments. Sometimes I'll add cheese (dairy cheese, therefore not vegan, but it provides me with some necessary B12).
Other burgers I've tried and not cared for much: Yves Veggie Cuisine's Good Veggie Burger (I'll have to try the other Yves offerings before I write off the brand), Gardenburger's Veggie Medley, and M&M Meat's veggie burgers.
In terms of hummus, which I use as a dip with crackers, vegetables, and even tortilla chips, or as a spread for sandwiches and wraps, I've been buying either Summer Fresh Spicy Hummus or Fresh2Go Chipotle Hummus at my local Metro grocery store (whichever's lower-priced in any given week).
I also relish Veggie Patch Meatless Buffalo Wings; they contain egg whites (so they're not vegan), as well as soy, wheat, and possibly sesame, according to the label. Kraft's Raspberry Vinaigrette dressing makes a great dipping sauce, its sweetness counterbalancing the spiciness of the buffalo seasoning.
Rice Dream Enriched Vanilla rice milk has become a staple for my Kellogg's Special K 5 Grains cereal at breakfast. According to the serving suggestion, 3/4 cup of cereal provides me with 40% of my daily iron requirement. The rice milk is a bit sweeter than dairy milk, so there's no need to add any sugar to the bowl. (Credit here to my sis-in-law for mentioning that my niece uses rice milk for her breakfast cereal; that's how I got started.)
To my great delight, I discovered packages of daiya mozzarella style shreds in my local Independent Grocer's last Saturday. I'm quite pleased with this product: the flavor and texture is not identical to that of dairy cheese, but it comes close. My only concern is the sodium content, which seems a bit high.
As for desserts, I've tried Soyummi's lime pudding (haven't seen the other flavors at Superstore in Kanata), which is fine as puddings go, but it's the hexagonal cardboard cylinder it comes in that signals "fun to buy"! More recently, in the non-dairy frozen category, I've had Organic So Delicious lactose-free Strawberry (the content at the link shows "Soy," but my tub says "So"; I checked) and Good Karma's Organic Rice Divine Mudd Pie. Rice milk tends to look and taste more watery than soy milk, so the Strawberry stuff better simulates ice cream; still, if one comes to it with the mindset that it absolutely won't taste like ice cream, the Mudd Pie is pretty good with its nuts and chocolate chunks. (I wasn't keen on the Mudd Pie the first time I had it, but enjoyed it the second time. "If at first you don't succeed...") Best to purchase non-dairy frozen desserts on sale, since they are pricey. Come to think of it, so are ice creams, which is why I tend to stock up on Breyers for James when I see sales.
So that's a sampling for now. I hope to write a few more posts as I continue my experimentation.
*I'd have linked to a Website, but all my searches turn up broken links right now. Wonder if this means the Vegetarian Food Guide Rainbow is undergoing revision?
Thursday, July 7, 2011
Friday, July 1, 2011
O Canada!
Hope everyone had a Happy Canada Day!
We had a low-key day, with just the right mix of sun and cloud. We did not bother ourselves with William and Kate's itinerary. Instead, we slept in, puttered a bit, then went to Broadway's for breakfast after James mowed the lawn. Unfortunately, we were at least an hour too early to sit out on the patio, which only opens at 11:30 a.m. After we returned home, we went for a walk along Crestway, via the new transit station that's still under construction, and then towards the future Strandherd-Armstrong Bridge (also under construction; see our MP's self-congratulating video), across Prince of Wales, and along part of the Chapman Mills Conservation Area trail. On our way back, we saw the Snowbirds fly past.
Once home, we went our separate ways. James did James-type activities, involving computers and RC cars, while I harnessed up the cats in the backyard and read a book. We had dinner together over an episode of Battlestar Galactica (since we're caught up on our other shows right now), then parted company again.
It's always a bit of a toss-up at our house whether or not to attend Canada Day fireworks. We've gone downtown once or twice, but crushing against 50,000 others during and cramming into buses with what feels like that same amount of bodies afterward is not a picnic. The city encourages everyone to use public transit because so many streets are closed to traffic. Andrew Haydon Park offers a great view of its own pyrotechnics as well as Parliament Hill's (a two-for-one show), but then we have to contend with all the families flooding to AHP for the "festival": midway, petting zoo, etc. Kanata is a short drive for dinner and a movie, but seems too long a drive to take in fireworks. Barrhaven's festivities begin at 11 a.m., but streets around Clarke Fields are also blocked off for the evening, making parking nearby virtually impossible. So we'd decided to stay home (which made my husband very happy, because he had a date with his computer).
However, I exercised my prerogative as a woman to change my mind. A Googlemaps search had indicated that it would take me approx. an hour to walk to Clarke Fields; frankly, I wasn't keen on that destination, because it would have involved walking past some deep ditches, and there have been a number of skunks in that area, judging by the pungent odors and signs of roadkill. So I decided to check out the Strandherd Park'n'Ride, to see what I could see. It was actually a great vantage point. A few groups of people had gathered there already by the time I arrived. The kids in the bunch were stoked, chanting "Can-a-da, Can-a-da," waving their glow sticks, and, at one point, singing K'naan's "Wavin' Flag." They did a decent job of it, too.
I identified with their excitement: there's just something about fireworks that thrills me! (My favorites are the ones that burst and trail streamer-like glowing bits behind them.) I like them even better from a distance. For one thing, they're not as loud (so less risk of hearing loss--very important). Second, there's lots more personal space. Third, no worries about traffic tie-ups. The added bonuses for me tonight were not only that I got exercise, but also that I witnessed a few private/personal light shows here and there along my route. Very cool. In fact, some backyard displays came close to challenging the public one.
All in all, my kind of day.
We had a low-key day, with just the right mix of sun and cloud. We did not bother ourselves with William and Kate's itinerary. Instead, we slept in, puttered a bit, then went to Broadway's for breakfast after James mowed the lawn. Unfortunately, we were at least an hour too early to sit out on the patio, which only opens at 11:30 a.m. After we returned home, we went for a walk along Crestway, via the new transit station that's still under construction, and then towards the future Strandherd-Armstrong Bridge (also under construction; see our MP's self-congratulating video), across Prince of Wales, and along part of the Chapman Mills Conservation Area trail. On our way back, we saw the Snowbirds fly past.
Once home, we went our separate ways. James did James-type activities, involving computers and RC cars, while I harnessed up the cats in the backyard and read a book. We had dinner together over an episode of Battlestar Galactica (since we're caught up on our other shows right now), then parted company again.
It's always a bit of a toss-up at our house whether or not to attend Canada Day fireworks. We've gone downtown once or twice, but crushing against 50,000 others during and cramming into buses with what feels like that same amount of bodies afterward is not a picnic. The city encourages everyone to use public transit because so many streets are closed to traffic. Andrew Haydon Park offers a great view of its own pyrotechnics as well as Parliament Hill's (a two-for-one show), but then we have to contend with all the families flooding to AHP for the "festival": midway, petting zoo, etc. Kanata is a short drive for dinner and a movie, but seems too long a drive to take in fireworks. Barrhaven's festivities begin at 11 a.m., but streets around Clarke Fields are also blocked off for the evening, making parking nearby virtually impossible. So we'd decided to stay home (which made my husband very happy, because he had a date with his computer).
However, I exercised my prerogative as a woman to change my mind. A Googlemaps search had indicated that it would take me approx. an hour to walk to Clarke Fields; frankly, I wasn't keen on that destination, because it would have involved walking past some deep ditches, and there have been a number of skunks in that area, judging by the pungent odors and signs of roadkill. So I decided to check out the Strandherd Park'n'Ride, to see what I could see. It was actually a great vantage point. A few groups of people had gathered there already by the time I arrived. The kids in the bunch were stoked, chanting "Can-a-da, Can-a-da," waving their glow sticks, and, at one point, singing K'naan's "Wavin' Flag." They did a decent job of it, too.
I identified with their excitement: there's just something about fireworks that thrills me! (My favorites are the ones that burst and trail streamer-like glowing bits behind them.) I like them even better from a distance. For one thing, they're not as loud (so less risk of hearing loss--very important). Second, there's lots more personal space. Third, no worries about traffic tie-ups. The added bonuses for me tonight were not only that I got exercise, but also that I witnessed a few private/personal light shows here and there along my route. Very cool. In fact, some backyard displays came close to challenging the public one.
All in all, my kind of day.
Wednesday, March 24, 2010
Celina's birthday and a lost cell phone
Happy Belated Birthday, Celina! Hope you had a splendiferous day on Monday!
I know: we are bad, bad friends. Our card will be late once again. I had written down the date as the 22nd, yet somehow my faulty memory convinced me I was aiming for the 26th.
My excuse is really quite simple: I am aging rapidly.
As an example, today I lost our cell phone. I carried it with me, tucked safely in my purse all day. I always ensure the ring tone is muted, because I do not want to receive glares such as the ones I dole out to students whose cell phones play Human League's "Don't You Want Me, Baby?" halfway through a lecture. I'm kidding. They're more likely to have "You Spin Me Round" (The Chipmunks version) or the voice of Stewie from Family Guy.
After work, James agreed to meet me at the Quizno's at Fallowfield for takeout. At home, I couldn't for the life of me figure out what had happened to the phone. I remembered checking it for the correct time at about 6:30pm, before entering the resto. I couldn't find it in my coat pockets, my purse, the canvas bag containing my dress shoes, or my backpack. I even called to Quizno's to ask them to check the counters, but not a phone was in sight. Fearing that some hoodlum might have picked it up, downloaded Lady Gaga's "Paparazzi" as the new ringtone, and text-messaged each of his 563 Facebook friends, I called Telus to suspend services.
I was feeling low. I mean, I generally do not lose things. I try to return items to the exact same location I took them from and kinda give heck to those who don't. It was all the same to James: our contract was up, so he was meaning to pick out a new handset anyway.
Less than an hour after I spoke with Erika at the call centre, James discovered the cell on the dresser in our room. Ooops.
I recall reading articles (I just don't recall where, exactly) that suggest one should regularly do puzzles like crosswords to exercise the leetle grey cells. I'm already scrambling to do a Sudoku a day; guess I'll have to up it to two.
Maybe our new phone will come with a Sudoku app. Maybe I should look for one that comes with a birthday reminder app, too.
I know: we are bad, bad friends. Our card will be late once again. I had written down the date as the 22nd, yet somehow my faulty memory convinced me I was aiming for the 26th.
My excuse is really quite simple: I am aging rapidly.
As an example, today I lost our cell phone. I carried it with me, tucked safely in my purse all day. I always ensure the ring tone is muted, because I do not want to receive glares such as the ones I dole out to students whose cell phones play Human League's "Don't You Want Me, Baby?" halfway through a lecture. I'm kidding. They're more likely to have "You Spin Me Round" (The Chipmunks version) or the voice of Stewie from Family Guy.
After work, James agreed to meet me at the Quizno's at Fallowfield for takeout. At home, I couldn't for the life of me figure out what had happened to the phone. I remembered checking it for the correct time at about 6:30pm, before entering the resto. I couldn't find it in my coat pockets, my purse, the canvas bag containing my dress shoes, or my backpack. I even called to Quizno's to ask them to check the counters, but not a phone was in sight. Fearing that some hoodlum might have picked it up, downloaded Lady Gaga's "Paparazzi" as the new ringtone, and text-messaged each of his 563 Facebook friends, I called Telus to suspend services.
I was feeling low. I mean, I generally do not lose things. I try to return items to the exact same location I took them from and kinda give heck to those who don't. It was all the same to James: our contract was up, so he was meaning to pick out a new handset anyway.
Less than an hour after I spoke with Erika at the call centre, James discovered the cell on the dresser in our room. Ooops.
I recall reading articles (I just don't recall where, exactly) that suggest one should regularly do puzzles like crosswords to exercise the leetle grey cells. I'm already scrambling to do a Sudoku a day; guess I'll have to up it to two.
Maybe our new phone will come with a Sudoku app. Maybe I should look for one that comes with a birthday reminder app, too.
Wednesday, March 17, 2010
don't kiss me: i'm not Irish
Happy St. Patrick's Day!
'twas a gorgeous day out here, perfect for all the leprechauns to ditch work and part with their pots of gold while acquiring pots of ale.
Ontario primary and secondary school kids are on Spring Break this week: a good time to steer clear of the malls. I didn't take my own advice. The afternoon class I usually work was cancelled today, so I strolled over to the ByWard Market and down Sparks Street via Rideau Centre, noting that at least 90% of the population had donned their greenery for today. All the Irish pubs (and even the non-Irish ones) were overflowing with patrons on patios. Personally, I figured it was a little premature for the flipflops, shorts, and miniskirt/thigh-high boots/white legs sans pantyhose combos; on second thought, remembering last summer...
With so many residents claiming Irish ancestry, it's surprising that St. Paddy's isn't a municipal holiday. They might as well make it one: employees were bailing early this afternoon, and my guess is a number of people will be calling in sick tomorrow.
Who wouldn't want a holiday honoring a man who piped the rats out of Ireland, then celebrated by buying rounds of green Guinness, Starbucks green tea lattes, and shamrock shakes (grimace) for his friends, eh?
In parting, let me share a choice expression from this site: "May the Lord keep you in his hand / and never close his fist too tight."
'twas a gorgeous day out here, perfect for all the leprechauns to ditch work and part with their pots of gold while acquiring pots of ale.
Ontario primary and secondary school kids are on Spring Break this week: a good time to steer clear of the malls. I didn't take my own advice. The afternoon class I usually work was cancelled today, so I strolled over to the ByWard Market and down Sparks Street via Rideau Centre, noting that at least 90% of the population had donned their greenery for today. All the Irish pubs (and even the non-Irish ones) were overflowing with patrons on patios. Personally, I figured it was a little premature for the flipflops, shorts, and miniskirt/thigh-high boots/white legs sans pantyhose combos; on second thought, remembering last summer...
With so many residents claiming Irish ancestry, it's surprising that St. Paddy's isn't a municipal holiday. They might as well make it one: employees were bailing early this afternoon, and my guess is a number of people will be calling in sick tomorrow.
Who wouldn't want a holiday honoring a man who piped the rats out of Ireland, then celebrated by buying rounds of green Guinness, Starbucks green tea lattes, and shamrock shakes (grimace) for his friends, eh?
In parting, let me share a choice expression from this site: "May the Lord keep you in his hand / and never close his fist too tight."
Monday, January 25, 2010
climate change
Had you told me one year ago that it could rain on January 25, I wouldn't have believed you. Last year at this time, during the infamous OC Transpo strike, I was carpooling with friends and bundled up in three to four layers just so that I could survive the 20-30 minute walk from Constitution Square to the university without freezing my...extremities.
Sunday, January 24, 2010
Sunday, January 17, 2010
Happy 2010 - year of the house
It's long overdue, but thanks to everyone who sent us Christmas cards, photos, and newsletters--and in some cases, all three!
For the third year in a row, I did not send traditional holiday cards, nor did I send e-cards, as Gillian Deacon suggests in Green for Life (204). You'll just have to be content with a recap of our Christmas activities instead.
After a very physically and mentally challenging Fall term at UO, and given that my "flight" instinct is overdeveloped compared to my "fight" instinct, I was ready for AC110? on Dec 16th. James's manager drove us to the airport. I had a few anxious moments at security when I thought I wouldn't be allowed to bring two gifts as carry-on (they had electronic and metal parts). I was beginning to think I'd have to taxi over to the FedEx headquarters (at least it's close to Macdonald-Cartier), but bless the supervisor, she scanned the items separately and all was well.
My parents picked us up in Winnipeg, took us to brunch at Smitty's, followed by Christmas shopping at St. Vital. We spent the next few days in Rosenort. We celebrated Christmas with Mom & Dad and Perry, as well as with the larger P.S. Friesen family. Took in the REMC Sunday School Christmas program: so many kids I didn't recognize. Only a few more years before it will be the grandkids of my friends' children up there, I guess.
Our next destination was Dauphin. James's parents' newly renovated home (formerly Baba's house) was truly impressive. Their dining room is something out of "Style at Home." We made a trip to Brandon one day via Riding Mountain National Park. There was hoarfrost on the trees, and big, fluffy flakes were dropping from the sky as though we were inside a snow globe. In addition to Christmas dinner on the 25th when the whole family got together, we made visits to Brian & Michelle, Glenn & Kim, and to Baba in the care home. Thanks to the generosity of his big brother, James snowmobiled and ice-fished during his vacation (two must-do's on his list of winter activities in Manitoba).
We spent the better part of the day with Duane & Celina on the 28th. They took us to the buffet lunch at McPhillips Street Station--we actually had to take a shuttle between the parking lot and the casino entrance!--then we caught Avatar at Polo Park.
Spent a couple more days at my parents' home, and then it was time to fly back on the 30th and get motivated to work on our townhouse. We'd ordered a built-in unit for my office towards the beginning of December, which was scheduled to arrive January 4. We'd bought paint Dec 15th, knowing that we'd return late on the 30th, and that our favored paint store was closed Dec 31st. James did all the taping and other prep work; I painted. We did take time out for a potluck supper and a movie with Dave & Ci and Nicole on New Year's Eve. I'm pleased to say the paint was dry in time for the guys to install the shelves Jan 4th.
Bob the Builder started his handiwork Jan 5th. We had asked friends of ours if they could recommend a carpenter for a couple of small projects we had in mind: that's how we got to know Bob. He cut an arch into our kitchen wall and also a recessed audio equipment cupboard downstairs. We're very pleased with the results. Now it's a matter of obtaining window treatments for my office, more painting, and a bit of organizing/decluttering. For the latter, I need to figure out how to operate the new camera (we were perfectly happy with our old camera, but James hasn't been able to locate it since his business trip to Denver), then post photos of two IKEA bookcases and perhaps a few other items on UsedOttawa.
Will try to post photos once the dust has cleared. (It has already settled, believe me--numerous times, in fact. Mostly on the hardwood. Thank goodness for Bona!)
For the third year in a row, I did not send traditional holiday cards, nor did I send e-cards, as Gillian Deacon suggests in Green for Life (204). You'll just have to be content with a recap of our Christmas activities instead.
After a very physically and mentally challenging Fall term at UO, and given that my "flight" instinct is overdeveloped compared to my "fight" instinct, I was ready for AC110? on Dec 16th. James's manager drove us to the airport. I had a few anxious moments at security when I thought I wouldn't be allowed to bring two gifts as carry-on (they had electronic and metal parts). I was beginning to think I'd have to taxi over to the FedEx headquarters (at least it's close to Macdonald-Cartier), but bless the supervisor, she scanned the items separately and all was well.
My parents picked us up in Winnipeg, took us to brunch at Smitty's, followed by Christmas shopping at St. Vital. We spent the next few days in Rosenort. We celebrated Christmas with Mom & Dad and Perry, as well as with the larger P.S. Friesen family. Took in the REMC Sunday School Christmas program: so many kids I didn't recognize. Only a few more years before it will be the grandkids of my friends' children up there, I guess.
Our next destination was Dauphin. James's parents' newly renovated home (formerly Baba's house) was truly impressive. Their dining room is something out of "Style at Home." We made a trip to Brandon one day via Riding Mountain National Park. There was hoarfrost on the trees, and big, fluffy flakes were dropping from the sky as though we were inside a snow globe. In addition to Christmas dinner on the 25th when the whole family got together, we made visits to Brian & Michelle, Glenn & Kim, and to Baba in the care home. Thanks to the generosity of his big brother, James snowmobiled and ice-fished during his vacation (two must-do's on his list of winter activities in Manitoba).
We spent the better part of the day with Duane & Celina on the 28th. They took us to the buffet lunch at McPhillips Street Station--we actually had to take a shuttle between the parking lot and the casino entrance!--then we caught Avatar at Polo Park.
Spent a couple more days at my parents' home, and then it was time to fly back on the 30th and get motivated to work on our townhouse. We'd ordered a built-in unit for my office towards the beginning of December, which was scheduled to arrive January 4. We'd bought paint Dec 15th, knowing that we'd return late on the 30th, and that our favored paint store was closed Dec 31st. James did all the taping and other prep work; I painted. We did take time out for a potluck supper and a movie with Dave & Ci and Nicole on New Year's Eve. I'm pleased to say the paint was dry in time for the guys to install the shelves Jan 4th.
Bob the Builder started his handiwork Jan 5th. We had asked friends of ours if they could recommend a carpenter for a couple of small projects we had in mind: that's how we got to know Bob. He cut an arch into our kitchen wall and also a recessed audio equipment cupboard downstairs. We're very pleased with the results. Now it's a matter of obtaining window treatments for my office, more painting, and a bit of organizing/decluttering. For the latter, I need to figure out how to operate the new camera (we were perfectly happy with our old camera, but James hasn't been able to locate it since his business trip to Denver), then post photos of two IKEA bookcases and perhaps a few other items on UsedOttawa.
Will try to post photos once the dust has cleared. (It has already settled, believe me--numerous times, in fact. Mostly on the hardwood. Thank goodness for Bona!)
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