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sarakuper · 5 years ago

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Filandia; a gem in the coffee region

Stop #12, February 19-22

Oh Filandia, we came to love you so fast!

Filandia is a beautiful and quaint coffee town smack in the middle of the coffee region. The buildings are colorful and kept in wonderful condition. The town is surrounded by rolling lush green hills with magnificent mountains in the distance! We’ve enjoyed so much coffee here and are starting to understand that the coffee we drink at home is not as great as we thought! Even though the best coffee in Colombia gets exported, and we definitely drink it in the states, its not even just about the beans, it’s also about how it’s prepared! Many local coffee shops are starting to sell the best stuff right here in town, and they offer several ways to prepared your coffee. Sean and I have stuck with the traditional way and have yet to get so fancy with it, but we will soon :)

We arrived on Wednesday and walked around the quaint town. It immediately reminded us of Jardin, except smaller and with fewer people and tourists. On our way to the hostel we walked through a bunch of elementary and middle school students leaving school in their uniforms. It was so cute and made me a bit nostalgic! We enjoyed coffee and a snack at the edge of town overlooking the mountains. We walked around the town some more, wandered into their very many and very cute shops, and finished the night with dinner and a very, very highly rated restaurant that is mentioned every single time someone talks of Filandia. The hype got me very excited for this place, especially because a vegan blogger raved about it too (suggesting its vegan!). I was so disappointed in this restaurant :(. The yucca croquettes with their spicy jam was delish, and Sean said he loved the Colombian hot dog he ordered (which looked more like sushi). But when my falafel dish arrived and I want to put some on my fork, the falafel ball was so hard that my fork didn’t pierce it, and it went flying onto my lap with the thick layer of hummus. I’ve surprisingly eaten so much falafel in Colombia that has been the best I’ve ever had, and at this famous restaurant it was so over fried, it was difficult to get on your fork.

(did you know bananas grew upwards!?)

On Thursday we went Barbas Bremen Natural Reserve to see the howler monkeys. We got picked up in a Willy’s Jeep from our hostel to head to the finca. After a brief introduction of the area and some coffee, our guide Alejandro led us into the jungle. We heard the monkeys from afar, and before we knew it we spotted 5 of them. If fact, we even saw two of them mating! These monkeys howl so loudly, its unbelievable! We were able to stand and watch them for quite some time before continuing the beautiful hike.

The rest of the day was spent at Cafe Cultivar, a cafe that quickly became our favorite hangout in Colombia. The views on their patio overlooked the lush fincas and hills surrounding town, and the few foods we tasted were absolutely delicious. I brought my laptop, and Sean and I spent a few hours there eating, sipping coffee, and working. I spend a lot of time on job applications and getting other stuff in order while Sean worked on stuff for the business he’s starting when he returns to the states! At night we went out for tacos, but within 30 minutes after eating the taco I had a very strong craving for pasta, and so we went out for a second dinner. To be fair, the tacos we had were small and more like appetizers…. :)

On Friday we planned on hiking to a double water fall that many people speak of, sharing that the walk there is very beautiful. But honestly, we loved our time just sitting at coffee shops, walking around, and enjoying the view. It rained most of the day, so instead of the hike we just hung out. Just before sunset we walked to The Mirador for a 360 degree view of town and all the fincas, and at night we went to TukTuk, a Vietnamese restaurant. I essentially ordered a plate of veggies, but they were seasoned to perfection! Also it was an absolute HUGE portion, I’m surprised I even finished half. I love when restaurants have delish veg options!!

Our last day in Filandia was one for the books. After yet another delicious and healthy breakfast we sipped our coffee and took in the beautiful dining room in this hostel. It feels like you’re outside in a very lush garden. Then we packed up our bags (which always takes me 3x longer than Sean) and began our 10k (5 mile) walk to the well-known Aprisco La Espanola. I had read about this place in a few blogs, the few that explored Filandia, and the reviews of this place sounded amazing. It’s a goat farm in the foothills outside town, and they cook up a huge meal (upon request/reservation) with everything fresh from their farm. A priest lives there and cooks there, but I don’t know how or why that’s relevant. We walked for almost 2 hours, but then hopped into a jeep driving by to help us get there a little quicker. The driver was Colombian but actually grew up and graduated from high school in New York! Anyway, he dropped us off 2k from the finca and we continued to walk.

Upon arrival we walked around the finca and enjoyed the absolutely beautiful surroundings. Not only were the views gorgeous, but everything about the farm was too- the architecture in the buildings, the kitchen, the dogs-chickens-goats-peacocks-and birds, just everything! Of course Sean went straight to all the puppers to give them love and head scratches. The male peacock was running around with the goats and shortly after opened up his feathers. We were confused as to why, because the males only do this when trying to impress a female, but we eventually saw the female he was after in the distance.. and she was clearly not interested!

Another group showed up and we were seated for lunch by 3pm. WOW, the food, just wow. The soup, which reminded me of the soup my mom makes on thanksgiving, was absolutely out of this world! It was the best soup I’ve ever had (sorry mamma!). I later learned it was made of pumpkin, carrots, celery.. and other fresh ingredients I cannot remember. Everything was truly delish.

We rode back in another Willy’s Jeep with the people we shared lunch with. An American guy from Michigan just married his wife who is from Colombia, and they live together in Bogota. They married only a week ago, and so they were traveling around with their parents (who where also there) and a friend. They were super lovely people and we enjoyed our time with them.

Next we are headed to Salento to visit the famous Cocora Valley!

Thanks for reading fam! I think my posts have gotten pretty boring because I haven’t kept them up to date like I’d like to- please don’t feel pressured to read. But definitely check out the photos :)

Love you all!

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garagetoilet89-blog · 6 years ago

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(My Famous) Sweet 'n Sassy Sweet Potato Pockets for Thanksgiving!

This recipe for Sweet 'n Sassy Sweet Potato Pockets was my very first signature Thanksgiving recipe. I came up with it in college when I needed to bring my own "vegan Thanksgiving" side/entree to a non-vegan family feast. And since I LOVE Thanksgiving, I didn't want to miss out on any of my favorite dishes. So instead of bringing multiple dishes and crowding the already crowded dinner table, I made these little gems.

I wanted my entire vegan Thanksgiving meal stuffed inside a puffy pita pocket. And that is what I got!

Everyone at the table raved about them - with shocked looks in their eyes - and by the end of the night I was scribbling down the recipe on a piece of scrap paper for one of the guests. And emailing it to others.

I make this recipe every year no matter what. I crave it. I love it. And it always reminds me that ANYONE can be inspired to try a vegan lifestyle.

Or at least a vegan dish at Thanksgiving...

These pockets contain fiber and vitamin A-rich sweet potatoes, heart-healthy garlic, protein-rich hummus, healthy whole grains in the pita bread and a dose of super-fruit chutney with cranberries and citrus. And a dose of nutrients from the parsley and mixed greens.

For 2017, I took some new pics and tried to simplify the recipe a bit for a video. (Video below!) These pockets can be super easy or a bit fancier, depending on a few tweaks.

To make them on the fancier side: - Add orange zest and a squeeze of fresh orange or tangerine juice to the sweet potato mash. - Make your own homemade cranberry sauce. - Add a pinch of thyme to the pita-warming baking sheet and then add the toasted thyme to the sweet potato mash. - Use homemade hummus. - Roast your sweet potato in the oven (rather than cooking in the microwave, which is an option..) - Add fancy greens such as arugula or baby kale or even shredded brussel sprouts when you add greens to the pitas. (Greens is an optional component.) - Want to get crazy fancy? Make your own pita bread! - Get creative with spices. You can add freshly cracked pepper, truffle salt, smoked paprika, turmerice, chipotle powder - just to name a few - to the mash. - Brush the pita very carefully with EVOO. I usually just swirl some over top, but for a more luxurious flavor, carefully coat the front and back of each pita pocket with oil. You can even add a pinch of spice or pepper to the pita too!

But really, the cool thing about these comfort food flavors is that you can keep things SO simple and these pockets turn out fun + delicious + portable!

Bring these to wherever you are spending your holiday. Thanksgiving on the go never looked (and tasted!) so good ;)

Prep for the super simple version of this recipe!..

If you want to get more fancy, DIY your cranberry sauce and add some greens to the pockets too. (I almost always DIY my sauce, this canned sauce was really just to show the super ease possibilities!..)

I toast the olive-oil rubbed pita bread triangles in the oven until crispy warm - soft insides, crisp browned edges. Then stuff those pockets with all the goodies. Then I warm them in the oven just before serving - or serve right away.

Watch me make them..

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Serve these pockets as a side dish or main course for your Thanksgiving Day feast!!

Updated: 2018

Sweet 'n Sassy Sweet Potato Pita Pockets

By Kathy Patalsky

Published 11/06/2012

These pockets have everything Iove about the holidays in a cozy little pita pocket triangle. Cranberry sauce, hummus, sweet potato mash and crispy oven-toasted pita bread.

Ingredients

3 pita pockets, cut into quarters (12 triangles total)

1 medium sweet potato, baked

1 carrot, chopped

1/2 cup flat-leaf parsley, finely chopped

1 cup garlic hummus

1 tsp extra virgin olive oil

black pepper to taste

1/3 cup cranberry sauce (homemade or canned)

1 Tbsp nutritional yeast (optional)

baby greens or baby spinach (optional)

pinch of orange zest (optional)

Instructions

Warm an oven to 400 degrees and bake sweet potato for about 50 minutes. For a speedier bake, use a microwave. (Keep oven warmed to about 350 for step 3)

Add the flesh or the baked potato to a medium bowl. Add in the carrot, parsley and optional citrus zest to the sweet potato. Also add in 2 Tbsp of the hummus. Mash until smooth. Add a pinch of pepper to taste. Set aside.

Brush your pita pocket triangles in olive oil. Then lay them on a baking sheet. Bake the pita for about five minutes, just enough to lightly toast the outside and warm the inside. Tip: Peel open the pita triangles before baking so the edges do not bake together while toasting.

Assemble pockets: Peel open the toasted pocket. Add 1-2 tsp of hummus, 1 Tbsp of sweet potato mash, 1 tsp cranberry sauce and optional parsley or greens stuffed inside. Press to close. Repeat with all the pockets. Serve warm. For extra warming, place the stuffed pockets back in the oven for about 5-10 minutes to toast and warm everything together.

Yield: 12 pockets

Prep Time: 00 hrs. 30 mins.

Cook time: 00 hrs. 50 mins.

Total time: 80 mins.

Nutrition

Calories: 110kcal

Protein: 3g

Fat: 3g

Totalcarbs: 19g

Dietaryfiber: 3g

Tags: thanksgiving,pita,holiday,sandwich,entree,vegan,sweet potato,hummus,christmas,

Everyone has their signature, feel-good #Thanksgiving recipe. THIS is mine! Started making these years ago when I needed something portable to take to non-veg celebrations. Still love them! https://t.co/pMgJEYK9bG pic.twitter.com/XUAI1fe3aN

— Kathy Patalsky (@lunchboxbunch) November 21, 2018

It is really all about the sweet potato mash..

Get more of my Vegan Thanksgiving recipes here!

Pin it for later!..

(Don't worry, if you are super-fan of the original (longer) recipe, I have left it below for you! Original post + recipe follows...)

Sweet 'n Sassy Sweet Potato Pockets vegan,makes eight pockets

2 pita pockets, any variety grain pita you'd like (I usually do a mixture of whole grain and basic white flour - for the picky guests) :) 2 cups Kathy's Sweet Potato Mash (ingredients below) 1/2 cup Cran-Citrus Chutney (ingredients below) 1 small tub garlic hummus (as needed) fresh black pepper cayenne and fresh thyme mixed greens or baby spinach olive oil for rubbing pita bread

Pitas: Brush with olive oil, sprinkle with a pinch of fresh thyme and slice into quarters. (8 total from 4 pitas) Warm in oven for ten minutes at 375 degrees. Until softened on inside and edges are crisp.

Sweet Potato Mash (slightly modified from original recipe) 1 large garnet sweet potato (about 3 cups), baked 1 cup sweet onion, chopped 1 large carrot, chopped 1/4 - 1/2 cup garlic hummus 1/4 cup fresh tangerine or orange juice 1 cup parsley, chopped 1 Tbsp maple syrup optional pinch of cayenne salt/pepper to taste

*to add a crunchier texture, mix in 1/2 cup chopped celery.

Cran-Citrus Chutney 1/2 can cranberry sauce (or use homemade) 1 tangerine or orange, peeled and cubed 1 Tbsp tangerine or orange juice 1 grind of fresh black pepper mix well by folding ingredients with fork

Pita Assembly: Open pita gently and add the following: Spread 1 tsp garlic hummus Spoon 2 Tbsp Sweet Potato Mash Spoon 1 Tbsp Cran-Citrus Chutney Add a few leaves of mixed greens squeeze pita tip to close - hummus can help to "seal" the pocket edges a bit

Before Serving: Re-toast in 350 degree oven for ten minutes. Serve warm.

Storage: Store in fridge until ready to eat. Re-toast in oven. Or microwave gently for a soft pocket. They taste delish the next day too. I just microwave or warm in the oven.

Source: http://kblog.lunchboxbunch.com/2009/03/recipe-sweet-n-sassy-sweet-potato.html

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mmphilippines-19 · 6 years ago

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El Nido

Arrived in El Nido after a very bumpy 6 hour bus trip. The bus trucker was playing Tetris trying to fit 15 people into an 11 seated bus, but we managed! The Phillipino are so nice, do everything to make sure you’re having a good time and are feeling comfortable.

We’ve found out Philippino dad- Sonny. Well and truly took us under his wing and is pretty much our personal transport around El Nido, bless him.

Outpost hostel is so good! Directly on the beach with the nicest sunset view 😍. Everyone is very friendly and fun! There are a million teachers from Dubai here, weird.

Day 1 we went to Nacpan beach- possibly the nicest beach we have ever been too, blue blue water and white white sand. Also there was about 3 other people on the beach which made it even better! Sonny drove us there of course, nothing like a tricycle trying to get up a hill to make you feel bad about yourself haha. Had our first Phillipines lunch here, lots of veg and rice.

Day 2 we did a island hopping tour with the hostel, also lots of fun! The drivers of the boat definitely did not take us the the places advertised and well and truly winged it, but it was lovely anyways! Ate more delish food, grilled chicken pork and lots of fruit.

Day 3 we did a private boat tour with 3 English girls that we met- this was one of the best days ever had to date. So so good. The drivers took us where we wanted and also recommended some extra special places to go. We snorkeled at talisay island which had the clearest water ever seen, you could see so many fish, honestly phenomenal. Also had lunch here on the boat- such a winning spot for lunch. Monique got sea sick, spewed off the side of the boat into the crystal clear water- at least all the fish came nice and close. One of the girls on our boat had a bad falafel the night before that wasn’t agreeing with her- needed to go number 2 all day and with no other option had to go in the ocean... 😂 was such a funny boat ride.

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rusticrevivals · 7 years ago

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As promised, the plethora of guests, the hard haul of harvest, and the commitments of concerts and other carry-ons have all just been completed in this past week, and thus I feel I am perhaps able to begin writing regularly again. What a year! What a season of busy-ness! Never in my life do I remember having so many jottings on my calendar for such a long stretch of time – May through mid-October! Because of extra-special circumstances this year of 2017, many events were once-in-a-lifetime/not-to-be-missed, and thus we felt we HAD to participate or we’d always regret it. (ie: 150th CANADA concerts in which to perform, 145th New Denmark celebrations in which to take part,- as these only happen every 5 years to this extent, -100th year of our St. Peter’s church, plus the CBC’s Still Standing cast and crew spending a week in our little community as well.) Because we’ve just moved to such a beautiful farm with lots of room for guests, visitors have also abounded. Our final one just flew back to England last week after a 3-week stay, and between Richard, Mom/Joy and myself we’ve counted that there were 19 STAYING guests since the end of May! And all of those events or guests have occurred in the busiest of farming life — whilst trying to begin living off the land in earnest, including work with the new animals, planting through spring and early summer, and of course all the work involved with harvest – the picking, peeling, plucking, pouring, ‘putting up’ and preserving.

One of the most challenging, and thus, for me – most entertaining of all the writing exercises I’ve done in decades of writing courses has been to connect seemingly unrelated story-lines or facts into one cohesive work. That is the challenge I have now given myself over the coming weeks of blog-writing. Because there has been so much to cover over recent months in the way of recipes and techniques I’ve come up with in the kitchen, humourous tales of the variety of peoples and daily life here in the Appalachians, eco-friendly suggestions or ‘urgent urgings’ as I call my environmental lectures/postings on Facebook, my word-play category “Phonetics Phun and the Pharm”, and just our “Regular Rural Updates”, I have had to find a way to make the connections and still keep each blog with “a bit of everything’ so that readers won’t get bored! (ie: don’t want to inundate with boring tips for freezing corn, if most readers are looking to find out about Richard’s latest bruising episode, etc!)

Lorne Greene went to my alma mater, Queen’s. He switched his major to Drama and Languages, much the same as I did, and, also as I did – went on to work for and live around the National Parks, first, as a drama teacher at a camp in Algonquin (like my dramas performed for the benefit of Murphy’s Point and Bon Echo Provincial Parks), doing radio voice-overs to help protect wildlife and the conservation areas, and even acting in a short film for the National Parks System. Then, of course, his own multi-award-winning Canadian production of New Wilderness brought the plight of nature and our environment very much to the forefront, as it was number ONE in its time-slot for all 5 years that it aired. Thus, Mr. Greene was very much a man after my own heart in the ways of both the Performing Arts, and his work for the Environment. But what’s the first reason I felt a connection to him? Because he rode “Buck” the Buckskin, on Bonanza of course, and everyone knows I always have loved my ‘golden animals’ – palominos and duns/buckskins especially. Lorne even bought ‘Buck’ after the series ended and donated him to a therapeutic riding school, just as I have devoted time, training and yes, even golden horses to the same. (Buck is SAID to have lived to an unbelievable age of 45 with the disabled children… usually only ponies live to ever be this old, but we’ll go along with this bit of urban legend because it’s nice to believe it…)

(above, Lorne and Me – “We Dun Good” ! )

One of the deep-voiced Greene’s only on-air bloopers was to once say on CBC radio news broadcast “farmers are expecting their biggest craps in years”.

In a neat segue, we too have little distinction between this years ‘crops’ and well – ‘crap’. Due to the 5 weeks of solid rain early on, then 4 weeks of drought , many of our crops did not do well this year (more on this, and how we’re working to prevent this happening again in future blogs over the coming weeks…) But one thing you can ALWAYS count on to grow, no matter the weather conditions or the soil: BEANS AND PEAS. The “Long Greens”. (trivia: did you know ‘long green’ is actually a colloquial term for ‘money’, first used in the late 1880s? Well, in a way, our beans and peas are ‘money’ – because they are the one thing we can ‘bank’ on to grow enough of to put in our fridge and freezer! )

So, while the other crops were somewhat ‘crap’, our peas, green beans and edamame (a type of soy bean that’s delicious!) bloomed in copious numbers. Following are some of my favourite things to do with each:

GREEN BEANS – to eat fresh (click on each photo for caption, explaining what I’ve come up with…. I know some of you have told me this doesn’t work on your computers, and for this I apologise. I think you are probably lacking a viewing program such as Adobe or Acrobat or some such… If you can’t view my concoctions, leave me a message and I’ll tell you all !)

I put a few handfuls into a cup

after snipping off either end

and let them soak in oil

balsamic vinegar

a smattering of peanuts and parmesan

and, if you like it, some Dijon Mustard.

After these have soaked for a few hours (or overnight if you like), I put butter in a frying pan

and making sure I have added most of the ‘sauce’ and all of the peanuts and parmesan

I fry for a very few minutes, then serve hot or cold. Delish!

How I’ve decided to ‘preserve’ green beans:

Last year I fussed with both ‘pickling’ the beans with carrots, and also blanching the beans first, before freezing. After my aching back and knees were already becoming too much this August/Sept., I read up on some ‘lazier’ ways… here’s what I’ve found:

You don’t HAVE to ‘blanche’ first! Just wash, snip off the ends and ‘flash freeze’ (like many of you might do with berries!) Make sure they are dry, first, from your washing of them. As we are organic, I often just gave them a wipe off with a dish towel, as having them at all wet will make freezer burn. Once dry, separate them on trays as much as possible so they don’t end up sticking together, and pop them in your freezer (I did a few in the top of my fridge freezer, then started ‘going BIG’ and doing about 6 trays at a a time out in the chest freezer. Freeze for about an hour – you don’t want to do too much longer, or freezer ‘burn’ will begin. They should be hard, and snap in half easily with a crack! When you bring them back to the counter to bag (we use strong recycled bags from other things like oatmeal, or zip-lock bags from other veg. or fruit we were forced to buy mid-winter) DON’T WAIT ! Get right on this, or if they are open to room temp. for even a few minutes they will start to thaw, and that will cause them to stick together in the bag, OR to be subject to burn… I think we have close to 30 meal-sized packages of green beans in the freezer for the winter, now, and that’s more than I really want to eat in a winter, even just in soups. Sooooo…… I decided to get inventive again with the remaining beans that were coming in late:

I steamed a bunch of beans at a time,

then put them in the blender/food processor

I had to add a bit of water to make the machine really mash them up… like baby food!

I sprinkled my own dried parsley on top. Then I froze the mash in a lot of plastic containers (recycled from other things, of course!)

This green bean mash will be used in such things as meatloaf or chili, where it will add extra protein and ‘bulk’ without ever really being seen or tasted. I’ve tried it once in a meatloaf already, and it was excellent, and really spreads our meat out to help save on that end of things!

PEAS: We LOVE our peas! Richard was most happy with the perfect way some of our peas looked this year. One day when we were shelling them together, he found this one in his batch, and insisted I take a photo for our readers, so here it is:

What I frequently do with our fresh peas for a lovely lunch:

Add the freshly-picked peas to a bowl

Add in your favourite nuts (we like walnuts)

Crumble in some hard boiled eggs with some mayo.

You could even add some of your lightly-steamed green beans if you wanted!

Pepper and paprika to taste

I then add feta cheese (and next year hope for it to be Cammie-cheese!)

Sprinkle a little parmesan on and serve. Voila!

Of course, we also shelled copious amounts of peas and put them in containers like small Truvia canisters to freeze. We always seem to over-do the bean-planting, though, and never have quite as many peas as I’d like, so next year I DEFINITELY must rectify this!

Lastly, edamame: (pron. ED – A – MAW -MAY ) This was introduced to us by my sister, who always seems to be the one of us in our family who is ‘up’ on the ‘trendy’ or exotic foods – it was she who first showed me an avocado, decades ago, and they are one of my favourite foods – wish I could grow THEM here! Anyway, my little nephew enjoyed this special soy bean, shelled, and roasted lightly with oil and salt (like you might do pumpkin seeds), so we have prepared many of them like this. However, the way they are prepared in Japanese restaurants is as follows:

Simply steam the edamame IN THEIR PODS for a few minutes. Don’t overdo!

They can then be served with the pods SALTED, right in their pods, and will split open with ease at your mouth as you squeeze the pods and slide the delicious beans right on to your tongue!

There are a few other “Long Greens” I’d like to ponder here. Leanne, my friend from Scotland, stayed with us for 10 days mid-harvest and helped greatly with the animals and some of the picking and peeling processes. There was no time to take her sight-seeing, but for one of Richard’s doctors’ appointments he DID take her to Plaster Rock to see some of the chain-saw sculptures commemorating activities of the area:

The above photo then reminded us that we STILL, after a year and a half, hadn’t purchased a canoe, (we want one for calm paddling, and for Richard to fish from) and that our friend from England, Remy, (another Richard, actually) was coming just 10 days after Leanne, and wanted to immerse himself in the Ways of the Wilderness (he and his son, Joe are certified ‘Bushcraft’ instructors in the remote moorlands of Yorkshire —in fact they live so close to Haworth they often hear Heathcliff calling for Kathy across their Wuthering Heights —– and they are always trying to hone their survival skills. More on his activities here on the farm later, but if you’re interested in their website and perhaps taking a course from them if you’re travelling over there, see: http://www.brigantiabushcraft.com/home ).

As soon as Remy came he motivated us to find and purchase a wonderful old green canoe from a neighbour:

Then he and Richard immediately wanted to test the Saint John River, at its very lowest for decades, I was told by an old-timer as I waited on Brook’s Bridge downriver, in order to take photos.

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And today, whilst trying to arrange connections and segues in my head preparatory to writing this blog post, I looked down at my cozy self, wrapped in Leanne’s generous gift to us: A McKenzie tartan wool blanket (because Mom was a McKenzie and that’s why I went to live in the Scottish Highlands in the first place!) And it made me think “Long and Green – and so SERENE”, now that all our heavy work is over, our commitments are over and our last overnight visitor gone…

Remember how Lorne Greene went to Queens and studied Theatre Arts and Language as I did? Well, there’s another connection – a group of us ‘artsies’ who wanted to become teachers were chosen from across Canada to take part in Queen’s ACE program – only 20, in fact are chosen each year! ACE stands for Artist in Community Education and we auditioned for not just Fine Arts and Writing, but the Performing Arts – Drama and Music. One of this group, Jodi Essery, won the Lorne Green Award that year, and they said it was one of the more difficult choices they’d yet experienced due to the high level of talent among the ACE crowd. And I guess everyone from my little group had some lofty ambitions! One, James Libbey, is now the conductor and composer of the International Schools’ Music Program in Luxembourg (James visited me when I lived in my wee cottage in Yorkshire, and I still remember him taking his bagpipes with us when we went for a walk in the near-by beech woods and playing them standing on a stone hog’s back bridge over a trickling brook. Magical! )

His best friend, Evan Smith – another good Queen’s chum of ours who used to sit on the floor of my dorm room and read aloud to the rest of us, has won accolades and awards – in fact has won the YMCA PEACE AWARD, for his work with teaching children in Venezuala, then taking Ontario students to Peru and Costa Rica to interest them further in global social justice issues. He has started two programs throughout Ontario: Connexions, which is a 3 credit Grade 12 course for students who go to these countries and help, then come back and report, and SOLID (Student Organization for Learning about International Differences)

http://www.flamboroughreview.com/news-story/5401006-teacher-earns-peace-medal/ My friend Tab DeBruyn has just had her first book published, is a life coach, and the Executive Vice-President of Arbonne of Canada. She once did a silhouette dance to one of my poetry readings as part of our graduation ceremonies at Queen’s:

And many of you may have seen my old Drama class partner, Liz McEachern, either on stage in her one-woman shows at various Fringe Festivals throughout the GTA, OR in her humourous role on CBC’s Schitt’s Creek (her episodes now are apparently playing on Air Canada flights as well, so you may have ‘caught her’ there). Here she is with Dan Levy, Eugene Levy’s son, who will also be hosting The Great Canadian Baking Show starting Nov. 1st.

Liz is starting to get recognized on the street now, so I’m very excited for her and for the accomplishments and visions of all my amazing class-mates from Queen’s.

And yet, here I sit – telling you how to mix parmesan in your fresh green beans and taking photos of canoeists instead of actually being IN the canoe as I once would have been…. Talk about MISSING THE BOAT!

However, none of the above has THIS view from their front porch, now do they?

(The red maple to right is part of our birch grove. I’ve introduced Tiffany to you a few times before re: the pageant photos, etc. Watch for her interviews and photographer’s input with Jonny Harris on CBC’s Still Standing: New Denmark, in the spring of 2018).

Lorne Greene’s, Long Greens, and the U. of Queens As promised, the plethora of guests, the hard haul of harvest, and the commitments of concerts and other carry-ons have all just been completed in this past week, and thus I feel I am perhaps able to begin writing regularly again.

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tokyolocal · 8 years ago

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Must Eat, Tokyo

Japan is way more than just sushi and ramen, right? Japan’s rich array of food leaps far beyond raw fish and bowls of ramen – imagine deeply flavored curries, fried or grills meats, veg, and fish, hot pots, and delicately herbed pickles. Japanese food has contributed its very own flavor profile to the salt, sweet, bitter, sour, spicy, texture, temperature and…umami. Check out J-cooking staples and enjoy watching your waistline grow!

Sushi – Well, you need to do it, skip the tuna auction but don’t miss out on Tsukiji. Start your day with a carafe of nihon-shu (sake) and omekase (chef’s choice) style fish. This will be a highlight for sure. Take note, the marketplaces shut down around noon.

Ramen & Gyoza – Like a hand in glove, you must get both of these after a long night out, or a cold day, or for breakfast….whenever you can, really, Tokyo loves its ramen any time of day.

Teshoku – A must-have, classic Japanese Washoku meal comprised of miso soup (fermented), tsukemono (pickled), rice, and grilled fish or meat.

Katsu – Fried meat or fish over rice. Delicious.

Dons – Meat with egg over rice. Yummmm forever.

Japanese Curry – You can get classic or soup varieties of curry. Like the other items in this list, this is a super popular dish and is served (like everything!) with white sticky rice. Shimokitazawa is a great place to grab curry, they are famous for it.

Okinomiyaki / Monjayaki – Both of these items are otherwise known as Japanese pancakes that you cook at your table. Okinomiyaki is a base of egg, flour, and cabbage and you can add any number of other things – meat, fish, noodles. This pairs well with a bunch of friends and lots of beer.

Osechi – This may be hard to find as it’s traditionally made for New Year’s celebrations and is most famous coming out of Kyoto. Osechi is essentially preserved foods (that you eat over the course of the New Year’s observation period), including lots of wakame, beans, and salted fish and roe. It literally feels special, but is expensive. Try it out if you have the budget.

Shabu Shabu - hot pot meal where you dip and eat meats, fish, and veg. Super good.

Nabe – Please do not miss the chance to get motsu nabe. But only if your stomach can handle eating all of the unusual parts of an animal – stomach, organs…you get the idea. Motsu nabe smells divine, but may be an acquired taste. There are regular nabes for the novice – pork slices, lots of vegetable, fish cakes, and savory broths.

Oden – Oden is popular, so much so you can buy it at any 7/11. Do try to find actual oden, though and experience a wide variety of fish cakes, hanpen, daikon, and hard boiled egg simmered for hours in a rich dashi broth. This is the absolute perfect cold weather food and goes swimmingly with either beer or nihon-shu.

Yakitori – Grilled meats with the occasional dash of vegetable. You can play it safe with chicken and pork skewers or have some fun with liver, cartilage, and other sweetbreads. Yakitori is cooked over charcoal and a quintessential on-the-go food when you are going to or coming from an night at the bars.

Izakaya – An izakaya isn’t a dish, it’s a type of restaurant/bar. Basically, you go there to drink and eat Japanese tapas. You probably won’t be able to read the menu, but you can literally just point and explore – everything will be delicious.

Kiddie Foods – Pancakes, omelrice, takoyaki, and crepes are foods you will see in areas dominated by kids in their 20’s. It’s all worth a try. Tako yaki is especially good – golf ball sized pillows of batter and octopus pieces.

International Foods: As delish as J-food is, beware of international food in Tokyo - everything is modified to 'the Japanese palette'. Korean and Chinese and Thai are all mild, Vietnamese and Burmese is hard to come by, French is not authentic, and it is difficult to find Indian food that is even edible. The one exception to this rule is Italian food. It's super easy to find great pasta. Note that dishes range from J-style (spaghetti with ketchup and cut up hotdog, no joke) to think-you-are-Sisily dishes of desire.

#tokyoeats #tokyo #japan #japanesefood

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