Two Parties Or Stay At Home

Given the choice of New Years Eve spent at one or both of the two parties I was kindly invited to or staying home, I opted for home sweet home. There are many reasons for my decision not the least of which is my increasing penchant for quiet as opposed to hustle and bustle. The New Years Eve party is however a different type of busyness. There are all manner of extra noisy possibilities from crackers to poppers and then some not to mention the neverending flow of all different types of booze, none of which appeal to me so in all aside from seeing friends albeit a bit less sober then usual, there is no reason for me to socialize, If it's t.v. that I choose as a companion there are any number of great holiday movies to watch and I don't even need to be a movie channel subscriber. All I really need is a varied selection of food and I'm good to go, or as in my particular case, to stay....home.
Happy New Year!!

Resolutions Anyone?

Over the past few weeks as we near the close of 2010, I have been mulling over the thought of writing a resolution handbook. At this time of year many of us begin to make a mental list of the possible/probable things we could/would change assuming that is, we have been blessed with some sense of conviction at the very least. I have always made very specific resolutions but never really considered that when seen through a different lens, resolutions are actually quite varied and multi dimensional so there would in fact certainly be plenty of pages in my 'resolution handbook'.
I have decided to divide the 'guide' into categories; for example: family,co-workers, boss, boss' boss, fellow drivers, pedestrians, shopkeepers, mechanics, postmen, government employees, students, teachers, Principals, doctors,handymen, electricians, personal trainers, chefs, etc.etc. It goes without saying of course, that within each category, there are sub categories. For example: teachers; the ones you admire, the ones you find useless, the ones who have passed their expiration date....I had mistakenly assumed that my 'book' would not in any way resemble a tome but would at best be a slim sized thing that could easily be tucked into ones side pocket, however the fact is that with the myriad of possible chapters and sub chapters we may just be talking about a coffee table sized publication!

Peking Duck Instead Of Turkey

Turkey, mashed potatoes, stuffing and cranberries, the perfect Christmas meal when you go the traditional route. If you suddenly decide to deviate from the tried, true and tired? you can well afford to be very selective especially as the options are so varied. You might like to mix it all up by having curry which can always be vegetarian if it's meat you seek to avoid, or you may choose to make a roast (beef or pork). Although there are many other alternatives, I have yet to hear a selection game meats being bandied about as possible replacements for THE bird. Somehow I do not think venison says Christmas anymore than 'lapin' so what to do if you do not want the usual Chinese, Italian or that old Canadian standard tourtiere to stand in for the turkey. We decided to try a semi quasi Chinese dish of peking duck because it is almost like fine dining as opposed to calico kitchen homestyle. It does come with crepes thus elevating it from mere everyday fare to something certainly more exotic than turkey and aside from the meat content, it is certainly more worthwile and I daresay flavourful than tofurkey!

My Fridge Is Too Full Or Why I Dread Christmas

Here it is the night before the EVE and as usual I have made my customary 3 trips to our local supermarket to 'stock up' before ALL stores close as they do every year. I am usually a once per week shopper and if I forget anything I can easily wait until the next shopping day, but something happens to me when I hear those Carols non-stop on the radio. They seem to trigger feelings of dread along with some aberrant behaviour over which I have no control. From early tomorrow until Sunday the 26th, I could be sitting here with an empty fridge and pantry with no place to buy any food or drink if I did not plan ahead. This is normally a good thing but in this case, not so much as I tend to over plan. In what I perceive to be a proactive/preventative manner I carefully plot my shopping but almost immediately after the bounty from trip number one has been unpacked and put away, my mind propels itself into the 'what if' sphere wherein I easily come up with a few more things that I just may want to make during the non-shopping days. This is clearly the impetus for trip number two. Upon my return from this second foray, I decide to preview some of my holiday dishes just to see if I have chosen well. What invariably occurs is that I so like this pre holiday meal that I go into panic mode when I realize that I do not have enough 'fixins' to duplicate the repast without yet another run to the store to top off the now lacking in quantity ingredients. Trip number three always begins with a solemn oath to self: I will NOT go back to the super duper food emporium until after Christmas. I do keep my promise and I must say it is perhaps partly because trip number three always results in a total reorganization of said fridge which seems to have taken on a life of its own, whining and bulging at the seams. I should have been a professional packer is another thing I say to myself as I strategically balance bottles and tubs in an effort to make it all fit and be visible at the same time.
Merry Christmas wishes to all..yes I know it's early but I'll definitely be too busy cooking and eating to blog!!

Don't Pay Attention To The Pope

Having recently heard the Pope quoted, giving his take on corruption in the church, there is only one clear conclusion to draw. Do not listen to the Pope!
The words that he he chooses to place blame with the abused public sector for the 'falling from grace' (spiralling??) of his 'holy' representatives is for me not unlike waving a red flag in the face of a rampaging bull. Whatever we are, we cannot possibly be as stupid as he seems to think we are, unless of course we idiotically give any kind of credence to his crazy ramblings. Unfortuantely I am sad to say, there are those for whom his declarations become thoughts by which to live, so I feel an obligation to reach out to anyone who is wavering on the sidelines, not quite committed but undecided..
My advice is simple and from the heart; Know that at the end of the day, a pedophile is a pedophile whose actions we are not responsible for, no matter what our lifestyles. Don't pay attention to the Pope!

The Cardamom Caper

It never occurred to me-until now that is- that bakers may have ulterior motives when choosing what to prepare. I innocently believed that the 'baking' motive was purely altruistic, but I stand corrected as well as a few pounds heavier!
Last night I tasted a homemade cardamom cookie topped by chocolate and an ancient family secret icing that nearly defies description. Each bite was a completely different pocket of flavour, and even after the last crumb had been savoured, and especially after that, I still could not tell you in one or two words, what the cookie tasted like. A cookie that laughs in the face of ordinary descriptors defies being labelled by mere words. This then must be the result the baker sought when he embarked on his cardamom sojourn. He had planned it all; he wanted us (his wife and I)to experience all that this multifaceted spice has to offer, and at the end of the day he probably wanted to render us speechless...we did do a fair amount of talking!! Why else? you might ask, but to this question I do have an answer. Any gifted baker who sets out on the cardamom trail wants to render us speechless so that we can fully enjoy the fruits of his labour and get down to the importance of eating that last cookie on the plate. Of course, it goes without saying that when words fail, hearfelt and honest oohs and aahs fill in the blanks, PERFECTLY!!

Regifting and Then Some

Tis the season and all but no matter what a bad rap re-gifting gets, I believe that it is the only way to fly if you are like me, budget conscious and hate the madness of the shopping malls and stores during the Christmas rush. The solution to all your gift buying angst is easily found through re-gifting in time. This is a fairly new approach and takes re-gifting to another level where it is definitely less easy to tell. The trick is to amass a collection of useless (to you) presents throuh the years and then say 5 years down the road when everyones memory is a tad less sharp, you simply return 'said' gift to the very person who gave it to you! Isn't that brilliant? No way will anyone on your receiving list be able to launch an acceptable protest regarding your gift because they'd have to first admonish themselves for once upon a time gifting you with something 'similar'; however they'll never in their wildest dreams believe that the gift they hold in their hands is one and the same as the one they bought for you.
Regifting (in time) is so much better than time sharing.

Food Processing

I think the time has come to confess my addiction to cooking shows. For the past 6 months I have been a closet tube watcher culling a 'favourites list' from among all those shows available on the Food Network. Mercifully I have narrowed my preferences down to a mere 3 programs which thankfully has resulted in many less hours of television watching and less of a food obsession. This has in turn helped me maintain a steadier bank balance as I no longer dash madly about buying assorted 'exotic' ingredients which are usually more costly than those which my normal standard menus require. This chain of positivity makes me feel less guilty when I have success with a new dish, ( from my preferred list of course) and for some inexplicable reason have no qualms about claiming the dish as my own! During what I now call my research period, I actually found myself using the mortar and pestle that had long been a decoration in my kitchen so we're talking serious addiction here...The only chink in my armour was the food proccessor. I had had one years ago but in my small living quarters, it just did not seem like a wise investment so clearly I was in a handicap position vis a vis the recipes I could/would attempt. As I have mentioned-in another blog- I am sometimes memory challenged so it will not surprise you to learn that I had completely forgotten about a teeny tiny food processor which I had received as a gift two years ago. Recently I had a yen to try my hand at homemade pesto and so strong was my desire that it prompted the sudden recall about the small box tucked away in the cupboard. I unearthed the brand new 'mini' processor and though I am normally appliance challenged, fate was kind and not only was 'my' pesto PERFECT, now the sky's the limit!!!

Two Came Back

At the end of the last school day before the holiday break, I stepped into the bustling hallway teeming with children racing for the exits and came face to face with two former students who had decided to return to their old stomping ground and in the spirit of Christmas past, visit their old teacher. When the initial joy of seeing them subsided I began to experience a myriad of feelings beginning of course with gratitude for the ability to recall (for the mostpart) the names to match the now grown up faces that I haven't seen in years. Incidentally this 'gratitude' thing kicks in every year after summer and Christmas break as I welcome my students back and shamefully have no choice but to use the phrase "John tell your friend who is sitting next to you on the right that it is his turn to read." Sightings of former students usually begin with the fear factor which is invariably linked to my memory and this only intensifies with each passing year. Once I am secure in the knowledge that the face really does match the name which I have pulled up from the recesses of an old teachers mind,the fun can and most certainly does begin.
The young adults begin the telling of 'their' story and as they talk the years since you've seen each other do a sort of time shifting dance while your memories sway you backwards, their words return you ever so gently to the here and now.
These 'reunions' are unplanned, unscripted and oh so much more meaningful when shared with colleagues who were active participants at the onset of the journey.