Maria's Dinner Table

Moved!

2012-05-29T17:01:00.002-07:00

Please feel free to look around, then visit my new home at mariasdinnertable.wordpress.com.

Kicked-up chicken salads

2012-05-29T11:03:00.000-07:00

Supermarket rotisserie chicken is one of my favourite money-savers—they cost about the same as a whole raw chicken—and they are a great midweek meal-saver as well. I cut off the appendages and add butter chicken sauce, or coconut milk and curry, or pasta sauce and olives (et voilà, chicken cacciatore). We are not chicken chest people here at home, so that part is usually the last to go, but I’ve managed to find some ways to jazz up cold white meat so that even my family will eat it. Here are three:

KICKED-UP CHICKEN SALAD #1: SESAME CHICKEN SALAD

This is my nephew Dominic’s favourite. Click on the link above for the recipe.

KICKED-UP CHICKEN SALAD #2: SPINACH AND STRAWBERRY SALAD

Add chunks of cooked chicken, goat cheese, walnuts, and sliced strawberries to a bed of fresh spinach. Drizzle with your favourite vinaigrette.

KICKED-UP CHICKEN SALAD #3: GRAPE AND ALMOND SALAD

Mix chunks of cooked chicken, small whole grapes, and slivered almonds with mayonnaise. Add a dash of a dash of balsamic vinegar, salt and pepper. Arrange on a bed of lettuce.

Pacific Rim Magazine 2012

2012-05-15T09:39:00.001-07:00

I had the great fortune to be involved in a number of exciting projects this year, a big one being the 2012 issue of Pacific Rim Magazine. My colleagues and I worked really hard on it and we are very pleased to be able to share it with the world!

Click on the image to read the online version. We hope you enjoy it!

Cupcakes vs. Muffins

2012-05-06T09:23:00.001-07:00

My friend and I were mulling over the difference between cupcakes and muffins, and the best I could up with was, “Cupcakes are cake, and muffins are—healthy?”

I’ve recently made both, and to further refine my definition, I guess cupcakes are generally more appropriate for special occasions, while muffins are for everyday. Kind of like a party dress vs. your favourite jeans and cotton tee-shirt.

Speaking of connecting food with fashion, check out these fashion mash-ups by blogger Diana Moss. They are both whimsical and delicious.

And finally, a few shots of some of the fruits of my labour these past couple of weeks.

Birthday Cupcakes for my friend Mimi. I was inspired by the spring bloom all around to go with a pink-and-white theme. I used this basic cupcake recipe and added mashed strawberries to the batter. Then I topped them with cream cheese frosting and strawberry halves. To make them into a “birthday cake” I arranged them on a two-tier fruit stand. Note: I didn’t bake the cupcakes in the liners; I just used the liners as an added frill for the cooled, decorated cupcakes.

Individual serving of the Birthday Cupcake.

Muffins may not be as fancy as cupcakes, but they are good anywhere, anytime. For these banana-chocolate chip muffins, I used a recipe from Amy Rosen, but I used walnuts instead of peanuts. It also works well with a mix of whole wheat and white flour, and brown sugar.

This is a knife-and-fork sandwich

2012-04-24T10:41:00.000-07:00

When life gets complicated, I think we all have the tendency to go back to the foods of our childhood: simple, easy, indulgent—in a word, comforting. We all have a favourite dish that takes us back, at least for a few minutes, to a more carefree time.

As a kid, I subsisted for one entire summer on ham and cheese sandwiches. I also loved french toast. Still do. So this is my idea of the ultimate sandwich: sweet ham and cheddar cheese, melting together between two slabs of hot, buttered, golden french toast. To me, it’s the culinary equivalent of a warm, friendly hug. And who can’t use a hug every now and then?

MONTE CRISTO SANDWICH
Serves two

4 pieces french toast (you can buy them frozen, or make your own)
2 slices cooked ham
2 slices cheddar, mozzarella, or your choice of melty cheese
2 tablespoons Dijon mustard
2 tablespoons mayonnaise
2 tablespoons butter

Preheat your toaster oven to 350.

To assemble one sandwich, spread the inside of one piece of french toast with 1 tablespoon of mustard and the other piece with 1 tablespoon mayo. Add a slice of ham and a slice of cheese and put the two sandwich halves together. Spread each side with half a tablespoon of butter.

Heat a cast-iron pan and fry the sandwich for about 30 seconds on each side, just to melt the butter and get both sides evenly golden-brown.

Transfer to the heated toaster oven and bake for about 10 minutes, or until the cheese has melted.

Serve with a knife and fork.

Cheers for chopped cabbage

2012-04-15T13:24:00.001-07:00

Making guys eat their veggies calls for pretty much the same tactics you’d employ with children. You need to serve up the dreaded légumes in creative ways, such as slicing them up really small, smothering them with a favourite dressing or melted cheese, or even puréeing them up before slipping them into soups and pasta sauce.

Thank goodness for pre-chopped, pre-washed cabbage mix. Homemade coleslaw is a snap to make with it, and you can also add it to cooked dishes. Here are a couple of things I did with it today.

APPLE COLESLAW WITH CREAMY SESAME DRESSING
Serves 4 as a side dish

2 cups chopped cabbage mix
1 small, crisp, sweet apple such as Pink Lady or Gala
~ sliced into matchsticks and tossed with the juice of 1/2 lemon

Dressing:
1/3 cup mayonnaise
1 tbsp apple cider or sherry vinegar
1 tbsp sugar
1 tsp sesame oil

Toss everything together in a medium bowl and refrigerate for a few hours before serving.

KOREAN-STYLE NOODLES (Japchae)
Serves 4 as a main dish

1 400-g package sweet potato noodles (dangmyun)

1 tsp vegetable oil
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 small onion, minced
1 12-oz beef steak, cut into long thin pieces (you can also use pork or chicken)
1/4 cup soy sauce
1/4 cup hoisin sauce
1/2 cup water
2 tbsp sesame oil
2 cups mushrooms, sliced
2 cups chopped cabbage mix
sliced green onions and sesame seeds, for garnish

Prepare the noodles according to package directions.

In a large skillet or wok, heat the vegetable oil and sauté the garlic and onions until soft and fragrant.

Add the sliced beef and mushrooms and stir.

Mix the soy sauce, hoisin sauce, water, sesame oil, and water and pour into the pan.

When the beef and mushrooms are cooked and the sauce has thickened slightly, add the chopped cabbage and prepared noodles. Stir everything together and let the noodles heat through.

Garnish each serving with sliced green onions, sesame seeds, and an extra drizzle of sesame oil.

Fine Dining and a father’s love

2012-04-11T20:49:00.000-07:00

This beautiful short by a young, up-and-coming film maker made my day. I’ll let it speak for itself.

Till we eat again

2012-04-08T17:26:00.007-07:00

Filipinos love to laugh so much, we have to put a time limit on sadness. Forty days after a loved one’s death, we observe the babang luksa, the end of mourning. Widows who chose to wear black can wear light colours again, and families gather to honour the dear departed with prayer, shared memories—and, of course, food.

Since my dad died at the beginning of Lent this year, his babang luksa coincided with Good Friday. So my brothers and I decided to wait until Easter Sunday. Now, we have two resurrections to celebrate.

Because it’s Easter, we’re having lamb, and to accompany it, I’m opening a bottle of the Shiraz from Domaine de Chaberton that my dad and I discovered and enjoyed together, years ago.

And for dessert, I’m making Hot Fudge Pudding Cakes. Luxuriously gooey, chocolatey and rich, this is something I reserve for the very best of celebrations. Also, the cookbook insists that this cake be served warm, with vanilla or coffee ice cream—my dad’s favourite kind of dessert.

So here’s to you, Pops—till we eat again!

Hot Fudge Pudding Cakes

Adapted from The New Best Recipe

Adjust an oven rack to the lower-middle position and heat the oven to 325 degrees. Lightly butter an 8-inch square glass or ceramic baking dish.

For individual pudding cakes, lightly butter eight 6-8 oz. ramekins and set them on a baking sheet. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.

I find individual ramekins easier to serve.

In a liquid measuring cup, mix:

2 tsp instant coffee in 1½ cups water

(or 1 cup of cold coffee mixed with ½ cup water)

In a small bowl, stir together:

1/3 cup Dutch-processed cacao

1/3 cup packed brown sugar

1/3 cup granulated sugar

Break up any large clumps with your fingers.

Set aside.

The difference between Dutch-processed cacao (left) and “premium” cacao. The New Best Recipe recommends Dutch-processed for best results

In a baine-marie, melt:

6 tbsp (3/4 stick) unsalted butter

1/3 cup Dutch-processed cacao

2 oz. bittersweet/semisweet chocolate, chopped

Whisk until smooth and set aside to cool slightly.

In a small bowl, whisk together:

¾ cup ubleached all-purpose flour

2 tsp. baking powder

Set aside.

In a medium bowl, whisk together:

2/3 cup granulated sugar

1 tbsp. vanilla extract

1/3 cup whole milk

¼ tsp. salt

Whisk in:

1 large egg yolk

Add the melted chocolate mixture and whisk to combine.

Add the flour mixture and whisk until the batter is evenly moistened.

Pour the batter into the prepared baking dish/ramekins and level the surface with the back of a spoon. If using ramekins, use about 1/4 cup of batter per ramekin.

Sprinkle the cacao mixture over the batter. It should cover the entire surface of the batter; if using ramekins, use 2 tbsp. of the cacao mixture for each ramekin.

Pour the coffee mixture gently over the cacao mixture. If using ramekins, pour 3 tbsp. of coffee over the cacao mixture in each ramekin.

Bake until puffed and bubbling. The whole cake takes 45 minutes; the ramekins take 20 minutes.

Do not overbake.

Cool the cake for 25 minutes. Cool the ramekins for 15.

Notes:

The cakes will collapse slightly as they cool. Relax. These are not soufflés.

The bottom part should turn into moist, velvety crumb, and the stuff on top should melt into a thick, slick sludge. It's also normal for the edges to be a bit hard and crusty. If you get all three of these textures, then you'll know it's a success.

Serve with vanilla or coffee ice cream.

Do-it-yourself fried rice

2012-03-18T14:51:00.002-07:00

As a full-time student, I haven’t had the time, energy, or finances to experiment with interesting and exotic dishes that I could turn into eye candy for this blog. As much as I hate to admit it, for the past few months, ready-made tortellini, pour-and-serve pasta sauce, frozen pizzas, and Chinese and Filipino take-out have been my best friends.

I still make the effort, though, to make simple dishes from scratch whenever I can. Maybe because I bought a new rice cooker a few weeks ago, we’ve been consuming a lot of rice-friendly dishes lately. I always cook more steamed white rice than we can finish, so the next day I can turn it into fried rice, which is fast and easy and makes a good packed lunch.

I’ve learned to keep certain condiments handy: sesame oil, sesame seeds (I prefer the black ones—they look so much more dramatic), green onions, frozen green peas, garlic cloves in soy sauce, lop cheung (Chinese sausage), and salmon belly strips (available from my local Filipino grocery store for a few dollars a bag). All of these make tasty additions to fried rice.

I’ve also learned anew that good food doesn’t have to be fussy, elaborate, or expensive. Even on a tight budget, with the simplest of ingredients, you can still eat well.

I learned this technique of curing garlic cloves in soy sauce from my former roomie.

Peel a few heads’ worth of garlic cloves and place them in a clean jar. Pour in enough soy sauce to cover, fix on the jar lid, and store in the fridge. The cloves are ready to use after 4 weeks; they turn crisp and nutty, while the soy sauce becomes deliciously garlicky. Add a minced clove or two, along with a few spoonfuls of soy sauce, to your fried or steamed rice.

Fried Rice with Salmon Belly
Serves two

2 cups cold cooked jasmine rice
4 salmon belly strips
1 teaspoon coarse sea salt
2 eggs
2 cloves garlic (fresh or cured in soy sauce), minced
1 thumb-sized piece of ginger, peeled and minced

1 tablespoon vegetable oil

2 sprigs green onions, cut into thirds and julienned
1 tablespoon black sesame seeds
1/4 teaspoon sesame oil

Sprinkle the salmon bellies with coarse sea salt, spreading it around with your finger and let stand for about half an hour. Fry the strips in a cast-iron skillet or roast them in the toaster oven for 15–20 minutes.

While the salmon is cooking, heat half the vegetable oil in a non-stick skillet or wok. Break the eggs into a small bowl and beat lightly with a fork. When the oil is hot, pour in the eggs and cook, turning repeatedly, until just set. Remove the eggs from the pan and place in the same bowl you scrambled them in. Set aside.

Add the remaining vegetable oil to the pan and sauté the minced garlic and ginger until fragrant and lightly golden. Add the rice (sprinkle with a little water if it’s clumped together) and stir to distribute the garlic and ginger.

When the rice is heated through, add the scrambled eggs and sesame seeds and drizzle on the sesame oil. Make sure everything is mixed together well.

Serve the rice with the salmon bellies on top, garnished with the green onions.

Stronger than death

2012-03-08T15:58:00.000-08:00

I buried my father a week ago.

In the days since, I've been helping my mother and my siblings sort out his affairs and belongings, receive countless telephone calls and emails, and write dozens of thank you notes.

At times, it's as if a bright, shining light has gone out of our lives.

But there are other moments when I feel as if I'm finding parts of my father that I never knew existed. For instance, an old friend of his wrote us the following email:

I was Vic's classmate since first grade all through high school, and was deeply shaken to hear of his passing.

The last time I saw him was in the late 80's. I had resettled in Iloilo and it was tough starting a family and adapting to the new surroundings. Vic had arrived on the same flight as my visiting Dad and shouted out a childhood jeer at the airport's baggage claim area. We had dinner together that night after he took care of business commitments, and I will always remember that night because Vic's infectious confidence and spirit helped refresh my commitment to make a go of my new life in the province.

It's been several decades since that night, and I now live a comfortable, happy life in Iloilo. My resolve would have been shaken a few more times had I not met your Dad back then, and for that I will always be grateful. My deepest sympathies and prayers go out to your family, and I look forward to meeting Vic again.

If I could ask my dad now about that meeting, his face would probably light up with a grin, and I can just hear the affection in his voice, because that's the way he talked about all his old school buddies. He truly thought of them as his own brothers. But I don't think he would ever mention how much his good cheer helped his friend make a success of his new life. I don't think he would even have suspected how much of a difference he had made.

But I'm happy to think that now, he knows how much everyone who knew him really loved him, from us his family, to his friends, to the pharmacists who served him and the doctors and nurses who looked after him, to the clients he continued to assist and advise, even after he officially retired.

My mom and my sister and I chose a headstone for his grave today. Just a simple block of dark granite, etched with a Latin phrase he liked to repeat to us, especially when we were freaking out about one thing or other. Omnia in bonum. Everything for the good.

And I wondered how a man who started life in a tropical country across the ocean could come to end his days in a cold northern city, and be laid to rest on a windy hilltop surrounded by winter trees. Nothing to show for a life but a block of stone on a piece of earth. It all seemed rather bleak, until I thought of a phrase I had just come across in a book I was reading.

"...the only thing which makes it possible to regard this world we live in without disgust is the beauty which now and then men create out of the chaos. The pictures they paint, the music they compose, the books they write, and the lives they lead. Of all these the richest in beauty is the beautiful life. That is the perfect work of art."*

A beautiful life. This is my dad's legacy, and the best one I could ever have hoped for.

*W. Somerset Maugham, The Painted Veil

Spring clean

2012-02-24T22:19:00.000-08:00

Thanks to a few unexpectedly free afternoons this week, I was able to get my spring cleaning done.

I dusted and vacuumed, washed sheets and aired rooms, re-arranged and re-organized. I found things I thought had gone missing forever, and re-discovered things that I’d forgotten I had.

I found an old letter from a friend, confiding how bored and frustrated he was with life in Manila while he waited for his application to a prestigious American university to come through. Today, he’s got his dream job in New York. Which goes to show you that things have a way of working out if you just work hard and wait out the tough times.

I unearthed some stories from my creative writing phase, and decided that if all else fails, I could try becoming a scriptwriter for Filipino telenovellas.

I found a pretty key-chain I’d brought home from a trip and never used. I’m using it now. I found stamps, which meant I didn’t have to run to the post office to mail birthday cards for my nephew and my dad.

Last but not least, I found an old, blank greeting card. I don’t remember if I bought it for someone in particular, or if I bought it simply for the inspirational quote on the cover. I don’t even remember when I bought it. But finding it was like one of those reminders that nothing happens by accident, because the words on it were just what I needed to refresh my perspective.

The quote is from Emerson, and I typeset it onto a fresh background. Here it is:

Travel close to home

2012-02-18T22:32:00.000-08:00

Some time ago I quoted writer Adam Hochschild, who said that you don’t have to go very far to enter into worlds other than your own.

In this spirit, I took some time this spring break to pretend I was a tourist in my own town. I walked into Chinatown to photograph a building that caught my eye on a previous walk, and discovered that it’s part of the new Woodwards complex.

Not everything down there is new and sleek and modern—there are lots of old brick walls and dingy alleys left that are strangely beautiful in their own way.

Farther along Cambie Street there is a new cooking store/school called The Dirty Apron. This will be the destination for a future trip, as I had just enough time to check out their window display posters. I liked the vintage look of the distressed display type on the textured, sooty paper.

A great way to spend the afternoon, and I didn’t spend a cent!

Silence, the Miracle Minute, and the Tree of Life

2012-02-12T22:03:00.000-08:00

A wonderful lady reminded me this weekend of the difference between being busy and having a full life. Many times “busy” is just a code word for aimless activism that’s just as bad as idleness.

When things get “busy” there’s a little cure called the Miracle Minute, which simply means taking sixty seconds to take a deep breath and let silence settle your soul.

There’s an old-fashioned saying that silence is golden. As with many other old-fashioned things, the importance of silence seems to be feared and despised these days. What are we so afraid of hearing, I wonder, that we try so hard to drown it out with all kinds of noise.

I’m looking to start a movie club, so last night I watched The Tree of Life with some friends. I think it’s a brilliant film, combining the very best of all art forms: cinematography, music, drama, poetry. The story line, simple yet profound, unfolds between ballet-like sequences portaying the creation of the world, the “eternal music of the spheres.” It was meditative and lovely, like being in the innermost recesses of someone’s mind, watching them dream, hearing them pray.

It’s the first movie I’ve seen that didn’t try to fill every moment with dialogue or sound effects, which just made me appreciate the value of silence all the more.

From now on, instead of saying “Life is (super crazy) busy,” I will try to say “Life is full”... and, with the help of many Miracle Minutes, really make it that way.

Does good really win?

2012-02-05T17:02:00.000-08:00

I’ve encountered this question a few times this week. Does the good really win?

Looking around at the world today, it might seem naive or just plain foolish to believe that the good ever wins. Evil does seem to prosper, and often it’s truly because good men do nothing.

But wait a minute. Haven’t you noticed that evil very often flaunts itself? “Look at me, notice me,” it seems to say—perhaps to trick us into thinking that it’s more prosperous than it actually is.

In contrast, an essentially good action or person is often quiet, discreet, modest, and humble.

Which is perhaps why it’s so easy to forget that good exists, and why, when good wins—as it very often does—we so easily miss it.

I was just reminded of this principle today when I watched this documentary on Irena Sendler, a Polish nurse who, with the help of friends, rescued thousands of Jewish children from the Warsaw ghetto during World War II.

She was a women of tremendous courage but also of amazing humility.

“I have many faults,” Irena says at one point during the film, “but one thing I can say about myself is that I’m very organized.”

The atrocities of the Holocaust were staggering and unspeakable. But all the children Irena rescued survived the war, and many of them are still alive today to tell the tale. Irena herself was imprisoned but miraculously saved from execution and set free to live a long life and marry the man she loved. She died peacefully in bed at the age of 98.

Near the end of the film, William Donat, one of the rescued children, is shown returning to Poland to find Magda Rusinek, one of Irena’s friends who smuggled him out of the ghetto. Reunited, they embrace. They are in tears. But, “It’s all right,” says Magda. “It’s going to be alright.”

“Everything is alright,” says William.

So does good win? I believe it does—every time.

Richmond ramen quest

2012-01-29T22:22:00.000-08:00

I have my erstwhile roomie Mimi to thank for this post. We made plans to hang out and have dinner together this rainy Sunday, and she was bound and determined to have some really good ramen. So she did some research and discovered a place in Richmond called G-Men Ramen that’s supposed to be one of the best in the west. It took some driving around — they’ve moved from their original location; luckily they left a sign with the address of their new location stuck on the door!

When we finally found the place (at 1160-8391 Alexandra Road, in front of Lansdowne Mall), we were shown to a table right away, and we were so pleased with ourselves we gave each other high-fives, much to the amusement of our waitress.

Mimi ordered a bowl of tonkotsu miso ramen and I had the tonkotsu eo soba (pictured below), a “soupless” ramen dish with tender slices of pork, sprouts, shredded seaweed, an egg poached in soy sauce, and just enough broth to moisten the noodles and collect in a shallow, rich pool at the bottom of the bowl. Both were delicious and we drained our bowls to the last drop.

The folks at G-Men are very serious about their ramen. The broth is simmered for nine hours for maximum flavour, and each table is provided with a full battery of condiments and detailed instructions for properly consuming ramen.

We also give G-Men top marks for fast and friendly service, reasonable prices, an attractive ambience, and clean washrooms (in the ladies’, there was even a little tray of q-tips, mouthwash, and floss wands - very thoughtful!)

So our ramen quest was a success and we’ll definitely be going back to G-Men again.

Grocery-shopping, menu-planning firemen

2012-01-20T14:29:00.000-08:00

With my classes running every afternoon and evening, Monday to Friday, I’ve discovered the joys of grocery shopping on weekday mornings. There’s no better time to get it done. Produce piled high for the picking, supermarket staff fresh and cheerful, and near-empty aisles — nobody there but me, the seniors...and the firemen.

My favourite grocery store is kitty corner to the neighbourhood fire station, so by now it’s no surprise to find a fleet of firemen there, in full uniform, with crackling radios on their belts and market baskets in hand, doing this most homely and mundane of chores. One time they received a call in the middle of their shopping and had to drop everything and run. I looked at the deli counter lady and we smiled at each other.

“I love firemen,” I said.

I really do love firemen - from the time I was a kid. Just ask my mother. I loved watching any TV show or movie that featured firemen. I still do. Third Watch, Backdraft, Ladder 49 —I've seen ’em all. A few years ago, the World Fire and Police Games were held in Vancouver: it was heaven! The city never felt safer.

Don’t get me wrong — I never wanted to date or marry a fireman and I don’t ogle firemen calendars. I just like the whole idea of firemen, and the knowledge that if you are ever in any kind of trouble, you can call them and they will come and help you. I guess that to me, they are the real-life, every day embodiment of my childhood hero, Superman.

Today there were three of them in the produce section, wondering aloud what to buy “for the salad this weekend.” I hope they were able to get everything they needed without getting a call.

Thank you, guys, for everything you do!

Brisbane Library Firemen’s Storytime is on the third Monday of the month. The children love to hear the Firemen read stories, talk about fighting fires and exploring the firetruck after storytime. Downloaded from Flickr Creative Commons.

Words of wisdom from Marguerite

2012-01-07T21:49:00.000-08:00

Marguerite is a very dear, very great lady I know who lives in Montreal. She’s been an inspiration to me ever since I met her eight years ago. Over ninety now, she has had a long and distinguished career in social work, and an even longer career in serving others outside her profession.

My friend Sonia took a visitor to see Marguerite recently: a young girl who Sonia says wants to change the world. Marguerite had this advice for her.

“If you want to change the world, you need to change one thing at a time, and do the little things very well, with a lot of love.”

Marguerite also said that complaining wastes what little energy we have. “So, a long time ago, I decided to stop complaining.”

Two excellent ideas, I think, to carry with us into the new year.

Happy 2012, everybody.

My last project for the year...

2011-12-23T23:26:00.000-08:00

....is my new motto for next year.

It comes from Tuesdays with Morrie by Mitch Albom. The original passage reads:

“Have I told you about the tension of opposites?” he says.

The tension of opposites?

“Life is a series of pulls back and forth. You want to do one thing, but you are bound to do something else. Something hurts you, yet you know it shouldn’t. You take certain things for granted, even when you know you should never take anything for granted.

“A tension of opposites, like a pull on a rubber band. And most of us live somewhere in the middle.”

Sounds like a wrestling match, I say.

“A wrestling match.” He laughs. “Yes, you could describe life that way.”

So which side wins, I ask?

“Which side wins?”

He smiles at me, the crinkled eyes, the crooked teeth.

“Love wins. Love always wins.”

I first read this a few months ago, and I've thought about it a lot since then. When I feel pulled in so many different directions, the last three words help keep me from flying apart. In the end, it isn't how successful we are, but how much we love that matters.

Here's to winning in 2012.

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

2011-12-22T22:10:00.000-08:00

Since I will be away from my computer for the next two weeks, I'm posting my New Year collage a litte early. All the best for 2012!

Christmas ferns and clove oranges

2011-12-08T12:25:00.001-08:00

I woke up this morning and realized that for the first time in many weeks, I have no projects to finish, no articles to write, no tests to study for, no deadlines to meet. You can imagine the bliss!

Of course, there is Christmas to prepare for. Thankfully, over the years I've managed to simplify my Christmas traditions, which in a funny way has enriched them as well.

For example: I avoid the malls like the plague at this time of year and bake all my gifts instead. With some carols playing and the whole house smelling of melting butter, sugar, and chocolate, I always feel like I'm receiving more than I'm giving. It only gets better with the satisfaction of filling the tins and watching people's eyes light up as I hand them their goodies.

My aunt dropped off these empty tins for me last weekend: a not-so-subtle hint!

Yesterday, after I handed in my last school project for the term, I made it my mission to find a little Christmas tree. The lady at the florist's informed me, in a snooty voice, that nobody wants to carry small trees anymore. "They don't make any profit." I guess she didn't realize she was talking to the Paper Bag Princess. I looked around the shop a bit and found Christmas ferns in four-inch pots. Four pots clustered around one that's slightly raised make a very passable Christmas tree, as you can see.

An old gold shawl of mine makes a gorgeous Christmas tree skirt. All the decorations come from the dollar store, including the angel. (Ok, she cost more than a dollar, but I couldn't resist her sweet face and feathery wings.)

The only drawback to a Christmas fern is that it has no scent. I was going to wait until closer to Christmas to get some fresh greenery, but at the market this morning I found an armful of fir and pine, eucalyptus, and twiggy branches for the bargain price of $4.99. Along with some red berries and white chrysanthemums, I was able to make up two bouquets.

To add to the Christmassy scents now filling my little queendom, I'm making clove oranges. Tie a bit of ribbon around an orange and use a couple of pins at the north and south poles to keep the ribbon in place. Decide on a pattern that you like and with a toothpick, poke shallow holes where you want the cloves to go. Stick in the cloves. Fill a bowl with them or hang them from your Christmas tree.

Finally, I'm decorating my shoji screen divider with these glittery red ornaments (also from the dollar store).

This is the time of year when I most sorely miss having my whole family around. But as I told someone just today, every time I try to create something beautiful, or to do something good for other people, I like to think that it's also transformed into something beautiful and good in the lives of the ones I love best. And somehow, this is also the time of the year when it's easiest to believe that.

Ambleside and Advent

2011-11-27T19:46:00.001-08:00

Sunlight is precious here in the Pacific Northwest, especially at this time of year. This afternoon some friends and I drove to Ambleside Park in West Vancouver to walk on the beach and catch the last of the sun's rays over the water. Here are some images I captured. Enjoy and have a wonderful first week of Advent!

The patience of a fisherman....he had some crab traps out too.

This one had to be thrown back because it was too small. Claws still look pretty wicked, though.

I loved the whorls and textures of this piece of driftwood - Mother Nature's sculptures.

And here's a man-made sculpture: Overflow IV by Jaume Plensa.

Waiting for the stars to come out

2011-11-13T18:43:00.001-08:00

"Some of us believe that God is almighty, and may do everything; and that he is all wise, and can do everything; but that he is all love, and will do everything - there we draw back."

This quote from Julian of Norwich ties in neatly with a poem by Canadian writer Jean Little that a friend of mine passed along to me this weekend.

November can be a trying time for people - I know it is for me - the days are short and dark and cold - and the brightness of lights and decorations often only remind me of family and friends who are too far away, and of Christmas wishes that won't come true for too many.

But this poem helps, especially knowing that Jean Little wrote it at a time in her life when she knew that she was going completely blind. She tells of its conception in her memoir, Stars Come Out Within.

Creator God who simply spoke
And mountains heaved and morning broke
Creator God, who with a word
Fashioned ocean, cloud and bird,
God who could have, from afar,
Made people for this minor star
Using just the power of speech,
Remaining distant, out of reach,
God I love and praise who came
Yourself to hold and mould our frame
Forming us from common soil
With joy and playfulness and toil,
Saving this shaping till the end
Thinking perhaps to find a friend
For converse and for company
Finding instead your family,
Teach us who draw back so much
That love comes close enough to touch
When, failing, in despair, we ask
To pass to other hands the task
Of healing, so beyond our power,
Remind us in that anguished hour
That you who fashioned us from dust
Are with us still, have earned our trust,
And share with our humanity
Not only lonely agony,
Not only morning, star and bird
But, if we take you at your Word,
Love that's not just dutiful,
But jubilant and beautiful,
Love that sings while suffering
Because love cannot help but sing.
When the world's pain becomes so great
We rage or weep or turn to hate,
Redeem us even as you planned.
Give us the grace to understand
You have us still within your hand.

Circle Craft

2011-11-11T15:12:00.001-08:00

I took advantage of this holiday Friday to check out Circle Craft's annual Christmas Market (on now until Sunday November 13). Over two hundred artisans from all over British Columbia and the rest of Canada gather under one roof to exhibit and sell their finely designed, high quality wares.

In all the years I've lived in Vancouver, this was my first time to go. Since art and design are so much more prevalent in my life these days, I went more to look than to buy. There were many items that were true works of art, such as these handtooled leather book covers from Sandstone Crafts in Salmon Arm. Unfortunately for me, they had the prices to match.

But I was pleasantly surprised to find some old friends whose goods I can actually afford.

Milsean (booth 300) operates out of Aldergrove, BC, where I lived for many years. The old firehall at 264th Street and 29th Avenue is now the family-run factory where they make their famous demerara butter crunch, Leprechaun's Gold, Blarney Stones, and other delectable goodies. Out front there is a tea and coffee shop, decorated in the same caramel and chocolate tones as the candy - quite simply the best place in town to sit and while away the afternoon.

At Circle Craft today I was pleased to see that they still have the same good deals on their 8-oz bags of sweet things: $25 for three gold foil bags, perfect for gift-giving. They also offer ten of their 1-oz bars in a drawstring gift bag for $15.

Tuscan Farm Gardens (booth 641) was there too, and it's great to know that their new location in Abbotsford is once again open to the public, with a garden, shop, and soon-to-come bed-and-breakfast. Their handcrafted toiletries, honey and teas are infused with homegrown lavender and other herbs. Tuscan Farm Gardens is part of the Passport to Christmas farm tour in the Fraser Valley, so if you are out that way this November and December, be sure to drop by.

Sweet Thea (booth 312) is a new discovery - most known for her wedding cakes, she also makes tarts, pies, and festive breads like stollen. I bought a stollen from Thea, who advised me that over time, the sugars in the fruit will gradually seep to the surface, making the bread more and more moist. Look for her at various farmers markets and bazaars throughout the coming seasons.

If you have a bigger budget, I highly recommend you try Chocolatas (booth 409). Years ago, Wim and Veve Tas opened their home-based chocolate factory and shop in Abbotsford to my girls' club. Wim himself showed us how he makes his chocolate and let us taste as many as we wanted. His creations are almost too pretty to eat, but when you do eat them, they literally melt in your mouth, and feature daring flavours like black pepper and Earl Grey.

So if you are looking for some pretty, unique, and relatively inexpensive Christmas gifts, check out these BC-based exhibitors, as well as Manifest Design (booth 500), the Montreal jeweller where my mom bought these beautiful earrings set in adonized aluminum at the Rue des Artistes jewellry fair in the Old Port last summer; and the clever and whimsical photo art at Alphabet Photography (booth 217).

Other attractions at Circle Craft are the live entertainment stage (today's line-up included highlights from The Nutcracker ballet); a food area; and Totally Amazing Glass live demos.

I'm going to hide my stollen now so it can ripen in peace for Christmas!

Thank you, Miss Ramos

2011-11-06T22:28:00.000-08:00

This is one of those thank-yous left unsaid until too late.

I just got the sad news that one of my dearest teachers and mentors passed away last night.

Miss Ramos was in charge of our Grade 5 homeroom - if memory serves me correctly. What I remember most clearly about her are her sweet expression and her smile, and the way she would listen attentively to everything I confided to her during our regular, one-on-one chats (for which she always obligingly pulled me out of math class).

Hindsight, as they say, is 20-20. It's only now that I'm starting to appreciate how privileged I was to have the teachers that I did - intelligent, talented, creative, sensitive women, strict but fair, funny and kind, courageous - and unforgettable.

Thank you, ladies. Your reach extends further than you know. The lessons you taught are now being passed on to a whole new generation of young women on the other side of the ocean.

But part of me will always stay a little girl, learning in your classroom.

Cold nights, hot toddies

2011-10-25T21:25:00.000-07:00

Fall has set in with a vengeance, and along with the chilly weather has come its nasty little sister, Miss Sniffles.

To fight them both off last night, I cracked open the bottle of Sortilège that my parents brought me from Quebec last spring.

I'm not much of a whisky drinker and don't intend to start being one, but I have to say that a hot toddy made from this liquid gold, along with my other favourite golden things (honey and lemon) is just the thing you want to cradle in your hands and sip on cold nights.

I've long heard that a hot toddy is the fail-safe remedy for colds, and now I know it's true. This morning I bounced out of bed feeling brand-new, my itchy throat and stuffy nose gone the way of ghosties and ghoulies and things that go bump in the night.

Slaintheva!

HOT TODDY

1 tablespoon honey

1 ounce whisky

1 lemon wedge

1 cup boiling water

Mix everything in a mug or Irish coffee cup and drink up!