BUTTER CHICK PEAS A LA RICARDO

Butter Chicken

TRACKS IN THE PARK

It is amazing what you can learn in a park in a subzero winter day. It's like life gives you a snapshot of geology in the freezing and thawing of one day.  Lessons of physics, and ecology and forces and temperature all abound. You can be a hunter, a polar bear, a penguin or a tracker. All with a little much needed vitamin D!

When I run, I fall through this ice topped snow. Mass x gravitational force!

Stellate tracks of snow shoes

Ice fault lines

Walking the melted skating oval.

COOKIES INSPIRED BY NERDY NUMMIES

My plan was to make classic Betty Crocker chocolate chip cookies the next time I used the oven, but we had just watched a video about ice cream flavoured cookies, and so we chopped up some leftover oreos and my daughter thought 3 marshmallows each would be perfect. We added them two minutes before the end of baking, and this was the result. Next batch (I have frozen the dough in balls for future cookies, without the marshmallows, of course) I will put them in for the last minute and see if broiling for a few seconds would brown them to perfection! They are wonderful!

REDPATH AT HOME

McGill has a gem of a museum called Redpath, and this year I signed up my daughter (and her accompanying parent) for a recurring program called Sunday Discovery workshops. I have only been to the one about Meteors this year, but do remember a prior one about Polar Bears. They each are a presentation followed by a craft, and both parent and child enjoy.

This week was a week without being signed up, and I was amused and impressed that my daughter had a plan for a home version of the same! So at 11:30 a keynote speaker gave a great lecture about goats, with a quiz and craft to follow!

My version

My instructor's way better version!

PACKING FOR A CARIBBEAN VACATION

I thought I did a pretty good job packing my carryon for a weeklong vacation from Miami to Roatan and back. I was limited to a pair of runners that I was going to wear on the plane from cold Montreal winter, and a pair of open sandals. I had a snorkel and mask as the most bulky. I chose to take travel size (less than 100 ml). My biggest limitation was that I hadn't updated my summer wardrobe. 

My essentials to remember were my passport, health card, camera phone and chargers, prescription sunglasses, my night tooth guard, 2 bathing suits and hats.

What I really could have left behind: spanish-english phrasebook, 4 notebooks I planned to consolidate, the umbrella (I did have a hat and rain jacket), 2 bras that didn't fit anymore, a shirt I didn't like and all the toiletries that were supplied on the cruise (sunscreen and conditioner and toothpaste were really necessary).

 The one extra I would take again was a rectangle of fabric that I got in Burkina Faso that worked as a skirt, a sarong and a towel depending on the need at the beach. It would have been better to have another lighter colour maybe, but the multi functionality of coverup/towel was great, and it packed even smaller than a swimming shammy.

The packing cubes that fit were one large and one medium and a cosmetic bag. I was really happy with my restraint until I arrived at the airport and found that American Airlines had a lot smaller carryon allowance that my more recent international and Air Canada flights. My carryon didn't fit! After all my careful planning, I still had to check (and pay for) a bag.

Ready to pack

Packed!

Máquè

I have no idea how to pronounce this Winnipeg restaurant's name, but once again, my brother came though with another great restaurant.  ?Make? It doesn't really make sense!

I live in Montreal, and somehow I shop for jeans in Regina, glasses in Ottawa, and eat best in Winnipeg! I must not be going to the right places!

This last visit was an evening that I was able to arrange with a layover from Regina that no one else would have wanted, but it was a perfect opportunity to eat and stay with my brother overnight!

We shared the meal at this  asian fusion restaurant, and had a glass of wine each to accompany. The only way we could choose from this long list was to eliminate the obviously not asian, and getting a mix of our shared desires (Nagano pork for my brother, mushroom, truffle and daikon for me!) It was very yummy!

An open sweet steamed bun (a first for me) with sliced Nagano pork belly, hoisin and smoky mustard, cucumber pickle and crushed peanuts. 

Daikon wonton (I always choose daikon because I have no idea what to do, but have never been disappointed), white cooked chicken, Chinese ham, hoisin and smoky mustard, sesame, XO sauce. It smelt and tasted so delicious, this is a photo of my first dumpling half eaten before I thought to take a picture! I started realizing at this point that I shouldn't be halving this meal with my over 6 foot younger brother, and started (begrudgingly pushing over 2/3rds of the dish to pace myself to the next delight)

It just kept getting better! The bisque was poured out of a tiny metal teapot, but not emptied and I almost stopped the waiter to ask him to waste nothing but he was too fast! This was unbelievably delicious! Jumbo crab, bacon, lobster and coconut red curry bisque with caviar and black truffle and chives. A little Chinese broccoli and a lot of crabmeat. Fantastic!

Wild mushroom, white truffle and white miso, egg noodle, cured egg, shaved black truffle and chestnut. Happily my instinct for mushrooms being a great meat replacement was true, and my concern for chestnut unfounded (see Christmas at Garde-Manger). It was a really great pasta dish!

Roast Nagano pork belly, peanut and pepper nam Jim (Thai dipping sauce, in this case the dollop more than a dip), sherry master stock reduction, finely  sliced turnip and basil. Too much for me. Just enough for my brother. No room for dessert at this wonder full meal.

MINCEMEAT MUFFINS

I had on cup leftover from Christmas tarts, which froze well, and I thought I'd try this recipe. It's a sweet excuse of a  muffin, and it was very popular, despite most people having no idea what Christmas mincemeat is (no it is not meat)!

COWGIRL SALAD WITH TOFU AT BROWNS SOCIAL CLUB IN REGINA EAST END

I was recommended to try the teriyaki tofu, and was happy with the warm garlic bread and the tofu, but the salad had beans and cherry tomatoes, and although it was a good light, balanced salad, it was a little strange. My friend had the chicken version, which I think made more sense!

AVOCADO SUSHI IN POINTE-CLAIRE VILLAGE

I was hungry and it was late with no food in the house and all the dishes done. I had gone through photos recently and saw it was 2014 the last time I had eaten at Avocado Sushi in Pointe-Claire Village! So I called to confirm they were still serving (they were and had room for one!) at 20:15, so I drove over and ordered without looking at the menu. Although it was not a high protein meal, it was delicious!

Wakame Salad

Magic Garden and Avocado maki

Gerbera Daisies everywhere!

Last perfect bite

+12 AND MELTING FAST

It was a beautiful day from the get-go. I wasn't sure if the forest would be cooler and didn't want to carry a phone or traction devices in my hand, so I debated about a second layer, but I am glad I had the waist band to use instead. My hands and legs got too warm, but by the time I walked the last blocks, I was starting to chill, so it was near perfect. Wore running hat, and had a great trot. The snow was quite a bit of work, collapsing underfoot, so it was a good work out for the feet and ankles, without being too slippery or wet. I miss the snow, but training for the marathon will be a lot easier if the streets clear in February! 

Dusk with melting snow

Glad I didn't wear more layers. Pants were too warm. Waist belt worked well to keep needed traction soles out of the hand until needed and phone fit perfected (to keep track of my distance - 5.2 km!)

VEGETARIAN BOLOGNESE SPAGHETTI

Double and freeze in batches

Buttery sweet power food. Top with parmesan to increase popularity with kids.

A MOTHER'S BREAKFAST

Today I got to sleep in. I woke up at 6:30, no alarm! It was wonderful, but certainly not what I used to consider a sleep-in! I stayed in bed with a purring kitty on my side, and watched a show I fell asleep to early last night to finish. Then I got up, and for the first time in 5 days made coffee to enjoy. I still fed the cats before I made a toast, but when I looked through my last import of photos while I enjoyed that coffee, I found a picture I took last week that is a more common day than today.

It took me many years to stop eating my usual meal and then considering my daughter's leftovers. I don't like to waste, but it still is hard to throw out perfectly good food. I certainly need less food than I used to, but I like eating!

This was the breakfast I had after getting up, feeding my daughter (Nutella toast), feeding two cats and giving one insulin, making my daughter's lunch, and hustling to the bus stop, before returning and shovelling the step. I sat down with almost a whole piece of toast, in a less appealing manner than originally served, but totally serviceable, and an apple/celery "salad" that would not pass muster on day two to reserve with browning apples, but was totally satisfying, with a much needed glass of cold water. Simple breakfast. Scraps to some. A mother's breakfast!

HAPPINESS IS MY DAUGHTER'S FIRST BOOKCLUB

I am sitting blogging at the library while my daughter has her first ever book club. It was an idea she got from her librarian at school, and although no one seems to have read the book in its entirety, there was lots to talk about from the laughter and noise I heard from the recreation room!

SETTLING

There is an idea in life that settling is the inevitable consequence of compromise. Then I heard another way of thinking of it.

Settle for more.

So next time you think you have to give something up, look at it differently, and don't stop looking until you can settle for more.

FRENCH FOR FUN

Faux plie (Bedhead)
Un Gribouillage (Doodle)
Sanglots (Sobs)
Tintements (Clinking)
Aboiements (Barking)
Gemissents (Groaning)
Incontournable (Unavoidable)
Éblouissant (Dazzling)
Époustouflant (Breathtaking)

La Malbouffe (Junk Food)

Poigner avec (stuck with)

dans le temps (the old days, those days)
les relations (sex)

sans rancune (no hard feelings)

Rochambault (rock paper scissors)

QUEBEC FRANCAIS

Meton que aka suppose que Let's say

Patente aka choses Thingy

anglicism

filer aka se sentir To feel

QUOTING THE CROWN

"Who wants transparency when you can have magic? Prose when you can have poetry?"

LOCUS OF CONTROL

This is a concept I haven't thought of in a long time, but the phrase popped into my head recently travelling, when I was reflecting on why a decade long fear of flying suddenly ended. It seemed to me that ultimately what was going to happen was out of my control, and by shifting the locus of control outside of myself, and in this case, to the pilot, I was able to be stress free. Maybe this is why fatalism and prayer are so popular. When we as humans fail to see what we can do, and give the responsibility to fate or God, it is a place of peace and freedom. As I get older, as much as I can do, I will do, but maybe there is something to the rest being given to god.

SITTING IS THE NEW SMOKING

Everyone knows that smoking is bad for you. People spend a lot of money to give themselves the most significant risk of lung cancer available, as well as increasing their risk of heart and lung disease, all while spending their retirement funds. Most people know that high blood pressure, high cholesterol, and diabetes are risks for heart and lung disease that need to be treated. But when I sat down to watch a basketball game with the University president, I was a little surprised to hear about the awareness he had of the risk of a sedentary lifestyle. What really amazed me was the catch phrase he had to describe the need for standing desks in the classroom; " Sitting is the new smoking". I wish I had come up with that!

WE WILL MISS YOU, STUART MCLEAN

Once upon a time, I went in to see a patient, and I recognized his son as the writer and radio host Stuart McLean. He was down-to-earth and attentive to his father, and when the visit was over, he offered a ticket to a show. There were none nearby, but one was going to be in my parent's hometown, and my mom used my referral to go to the show. This is proof, and a big thrill!
His podcast, The Vinyl Café, was one of few regulars, and I have a set of books on my shelf. It is a great loss, but a remarkable body of work that we will be going back to for a long time.

We will miss you, Stuart. You were a marvellous generous hilarious man!

PRICELESS: WALKING TO SCHOOL WITH MY DAUGHTER TO SKATE WITH HER CLASS

Terra Cotta Wonderland

It didn't seem the same without her, but why should I pass up the opportunity to slide down the hill with sled in hand?

Such beautiful snow. So precious. Dare I say, winter is not long enough?

HAPPY VALENTINE'S DAY

ALMONDINE WITH RUM RAISINS IN THE GRAND DINING ROOM

On the last sea day, I went down for a breakfast at the "ordinary" (read GRAND) dining room, and noticed a pastry on the special bakery list called Almondine. The server went to the trouble of obtaining one of these delights, and it was worth the wait. WOW! It could not have been better in a Parisian bakery! Served by a window view of the turquoise Caribbean Sea, on gold leaf china and Christofle cutlery. Exquisite!

  Muffin shaped pastry, standing on a puff pastry round, layers with rich semolina and rum infused raisins, and topped with lightly toasted roasted blanched almond slices

Baking you can eat with a fork, in tiny wedges, to enjoy every bite!

TURBULANCE AND MIRACLE ON THE HUDSON

I have written before about how the world is a better place because I am not a pilot. If I imagine that I was forced into the position, I think of the scene in "A View From the Top", when Gwenyth Paltrow hits turbulence as a newbie flight attendant and starts screaming. It would be unnerving for all if I was a pilot and an emergency occurred!


I used to be thrilled to get on a plane. It always sign that I was going somewhere, and that felt exciting. I actually remember the thrill of getting in a car on the highway, for a weekend away, driving often alone to a nearby destination. But for a number of year now, I panic in planes. Not if it is a smooth flight, and I certainly do my level best to not show it if I travel with my daughter, since she doesn't have any fear about it. I have learned to adapt. I read or play Sudoko while the plane takes off, or talk to the person beside me or, if I'm lucky, I have a screen and can start a movie with earbuds or the sound off.

I feel it more if I am in the center of a big plane, and the movement is less but the creaking is more, and it jumps back to memories of disaster movies that are always shot in the bulkheads of large aircrafts. It happens with turbulence and is worse if no one explains it. My hands sweat, and I can't concentrate while it is ongoing, so I mostly just tell myself not to grip the arms of my chair too tightly, do my best to distract myself,  and I really only relax once back on the ground, taxiing in.


But lately, I have taken to ask for window seats, and have flown into some beautiful places. I enjoy the take-off and landing again, getting a great view of the Mont Royal mountain and the St. Lawrence, Montreal on a clear day circling back, or seeing the countryside or water on the way to a city I had never been to, and seeing the city open up and identifying the Sagrada Familia of Barcelona, or the CN tower of Toronto. The view distracts me and there is a joy of travelling that has reappeared, that I have not felt for a long time.


When I reflect on the timing of when my joy disappeared, I am reminded of a paper I read on the subject. It confirmed that the level of anxiety collectively had arisen of those who have a fear of flying, and maybe, without realizing it, I had become had one of the statistic. Maybe it was just time for me to feel mortal. In any case, it seemed to start from one flight with joy, to the next in anxiety, and it was annoying.


So this week, on a flight from Miami, I was reminded again about pilots, as I wrestle with fear during turbulence, and for the first time in a long time, I entrust the responsibility to the pilots, believing they would do what has to be done, and, anyways, what could I do if they weren't able to keep the plane righted? I think my usual panic attacks were quelled by a few of factors. A fearless colleague had told me about a harrowing trip alone in a prop plane over the coast of Peru, and knowing even he could be nervous, somehow reassured me. I watched the movie Scully, a beautiful film that retold the incredible crash landing on the Hudson, saving everyone on board.  I started enjoying travels again.


The Peruvian flight was a funny (read harrowing-but-everyone-survived) story, and in my head, I identified with the flight in "So I Married An Axe Murderer", where the pilot looks like a hippy high on pot, and then falls asleep, taking the cop to where he can save his friend from murder, which is how he ends up taking this risky flight in a thunderstorm. Compounded is my childhood recollection of missionaries dying in small South American planes, most memorably Keith Green. In this case, on arrival to his hotel, he asked the tour guide to arrange to fly over the Nazca lines. He was discouraged from doing so, which seemed an odd position to take from a man who worked for tourism. So after a long day on the bus, he got in the plane, and saw them all. His comment that he was glad he had the distraction of photography made it plain that it was a turbulent ride. His fear, albeit barely expressed, after being such a seasoned traveller, gave me some confidence today.


The film Scully was another level of confidence in flying. Honestly, when I heard the story, I felt it was a miracle that a pilot did what he did, on water, and so near NYC, with all its traffic. So I was really looking forward to seeing the details unfold, and I do love Tom Hanks, so I was surprised how the story was told. I didn't think I could feel more admiration, but what I hadn't known was the story that came after. I found that came close to home, the scrutiny he was under. While the world and I were wowed by the unlikeliness of such a skilled water landing (unlike the expected water crash), he was being criticized for making the call to do what he did. It made me weep with relief, after feeling the pressure he must have been under, that he was proved to be right. One of my friends who was there had never even heard the story before, and was bowled over with the idea that what she just saw was based, carefully I think, on real events.


Lastly, I have a spend a week on my first cruise through the Caribbean, and for most of the week my body has experienced the bumping around that far surpassed the turbulence that I felt in the air, and nothing bad ever happened. So I hope that when I get back on the plane in Miami, instead of fear or anxiety, I will feel a little bit of the thrill, and look forward to the next flight that will take me on another adventure!