Layer 1

X-bionic Underwear – Same deal as before, this is just the base layer that I usually use.   It does the job and keeps me warm.  I actually have 2 versions of the top, one which is slightly thicker.   You can see in the pictures that there are patches of different colors.  These patches are thicker, for areas you lose more feet.  The nice thing about X-bionic is that the women’s versions, aren’t just different colored, but are constructed differently, so that when you put on the long underwear it’s built for your body.

Wool socks – There’s pretty much no reason to wear anything but wool socks if you live north of 60.

Layer 2

Long sleeve shirt(s) – This is where I have some differences.  When it’s a bit warmer, I usually wear a Helly Hansen additional long underwear style shirt.  It’s thinner, but I like the colors and it will keep me toasty.  If it’s a bit colder, I’ll throw on a thick merino wool Icebreaker or equivalent.  This is also the layer that I adjust during my ride if I get too hot or cold.  I often bring an extra long sleeve in my bag  just in case the temperature drops mid-way through the ride.  Also, if I take off a layer in the middle of the ride, I’m never going to want to put it back on, so I like to have a dry, unworn one in emergencies.

Pearl Izumi tights – I have a collection of these tights.  My favorite are the ones that have gone through a few seasons and lost their elasticity.  I wear those when I want to pretend I’ve lost weight, when in reality I’m in a mid-winter cheese-athon.  The thing about tights is they are just easier to move in.

Layer 3

Halti jacket – I picked up this jacket from Icycle exclusively because I liked the hot pink zippers and my friend Monika had one.  I had a mini heart attack when I realized the price, and thought I’d be experiencing some major buyer’s remorse.  But, it turns out that it’s one of the best jackets I’ve ever had.  Ridiculously thin and light, I can’t believe that I’m able to ski/bike in it when the temperatures dip into the -20s.  Yet, despite the holes perforating the back, it does the trick for keeping me warm.  This jacket seems to exemplify the concept of keeping you dry in the cold.  The mesh portions move sweat quickly off the body, so that there’s no chance you’ll become an ice cocoon.

The other great thing about this jacket is that it looks good.  It’s a flattering cut, and there’s some well place reflective bits on the back to increase visibility.

My only complaint about the jacket is that there’s just 2 pockets in the front of the jacket, and nothing on the back.   This is not ideal for night riding, because you end up having to put the battery in your chest pocket, or backpack.

Skhoop Skirt – The love for down skirts is alive up above the 60th parallel.  Alaskans, ex-Alaskans,  and Yukoners are extolling its  virtues.   Nobody likes getting arctic ass – and yet, keeping your butt and thighs warm seems to be an endless battle.   In the past this meant layers and layers of pants, slowly cutting off mobility in the desperate hope that it would keep your tush warm.   But, now there is the down skirt – the perfect outer layer that focuses on the one part of your body that want the extra protection.  Geargals recently reviewed the Sierra Gnar skirt, which I’ve never tried.  I’m a huge fan of my Skhoop.  The side zippers allow you to move the zippers up and down depending on your activity.  For biking, I leave them about half zipped, which gives me enough room to pedal.  If I’m off the bike, eating a snack or chatting, I zip them back down to get the extra few inches of warmth.

Pearl-Izumi Infernos – Unlike colder temps, you need the ability to shift and brake in this type of weather.  The Pearl-Izumi lobster mittens are perfect.  The free index and thumb make it easy to shift and prevent 4-finger braking.  The joined ring and pinky fingers keep your most delicate digits toasty warm.   My hands don’t love cold weather, but these things do the trick.

Smart Wool Balaclava – I need a face cover.  Without one, my lungs shrivel up and turn into Archie’s jalopy – a gasping, hacking, mess.  My face quickly develops two white circles, which grow with every passing minute.  And, my one root canal starts to throb – an instant reminder of my failure to floss regularly.  Why specify my balaclava?  Because the difference between a balaclava and a buff is ridiculous.  And in the world of face covers, material makes all the difference.  A cotton/synthetic buff takes approximately 10 minutes to become soaked in moisture.  Soon you are riding with what equates to a wet washcloth, over your mouth.  If you go down a fast hill, that washcloth freezes and you are stuck with a frozen, stinky, piece of fabric glued to your mouth.  Not good.  The wool balaclava is much more effective and getting the moisture away from your body and the top of the balaclava will help warm the top of your forehead that peaks out from underneath a helmet.

Pro-Tec Snowboard helmet – These things are golden.  Designed for snowboarding, they are great at keeping you warm, without getting your head wet.  The fur lined ear covers are soft and comfortable, the chin strap is covered with additional fabric; and the colors are awesome.  As long as you have something to help reduce forehead exposure, this helmet is perfect.

Dressing it up!

I used to be obsessed with Cosmopolitan magazine.  It didn’t matter that I was 15 and hadn’t kissed a boy – there was something about the big bold headlines promising to teach you how to pleasure your man that seemed grown up.   Let’s face it, until I had a chance to take a practical exam, I might as well do as much theoretical research as possible.

One of my favorite articles was the fashion tips – I’ve never been particularly fashionable – I needed all the help I could get.   Cosmo used to have a running series on how to take a daytime outfit and make it “pop” for a night out.  Western shirt?  Tie it up into a belly shirt, add a jeweled belt buckle and you’ll be ready to dance your night away!

I love dressing up for bike riding.  I can’t walk 5 minutes in heels, but I have no problem riding around in 2 inch stilettos.  There’s something special about looking good on a bike; and with a few small modifications, you can take your exercise outfit and turn it into an outfit that will stop cars (hopefully).

Scarf or Cowl –  Any nice neck warmer, or scarf will do the trick.  My friend Alexis made me my favorite purple  cowl.

Joan of the Arctic Boots – Replacing my plain black boots with the slightly more fashionable Joan of the Arctic’s makes me feel fantastic.

Nice Grown-Up Girl Jacket – I’m lucky I get free nice jackets from my sister, a fashionista living in Aspen, Co.  If it were up to me, I’d still be wearing my 1997 red duvet jacket, kept together with duct tape.  Any nice duvet jacket will do.

Cold feet are awful things.  When your feet get really cold, they actually begin to feel like they are hardening – like the blood is thickening into slush.   Even though moving your toes may be the only way to warm them up – the colder you are the harder they are to move.  As far as I’m concerned toes are quitters – they get cold and they’re happy to surrender to frostbite and get a quick ticket out of footville.

In my dressing for cold weather article I thought about getting a pair of Bunny Boots.  But, I found a cheaper, easier solution, the Intuition Boot Liner.  The liner can replace any other regular boot liner in a Sorel, Acton or Baffin boot.  There’s also a couple people around town that are using them inside Neos or Mukluks.   I can fit them in both my bigger black Sorels or my fun and fashionable Joan of the Arctics.  In both cases, they increase the temperature threshold by at least 10 C.  They are also comfortable, light and make me feel like I’m walking on foam (in a good way).

The bestest part is that they are at the local bike shop Icycle Sports for $25!!!  They only have sizes 5, 6,7, 8 (men’s) left, which is perfect for the ladies.   Famed Antarctic explorer Devon is the guy who originally brought them in – and you know if they work for someone who’s traveled Antarctica by foot and Greenland by kite, they’ll be perfect for the less extreme adventurers.

I’ve been skiing the Birkie as long as I can remember.  I started in the 2.5 km Ole’s Two-Bit Tour, next was the 14 km (at the time) Mini-Birkie, then the 31 km Journal tour, and finally at the tender age of 13 the full no-pack 55 km Birkie lite (not a grammatical error, lite is Norwegian for wuss).  For the last 5 years, I’ve been doing the Torskeklubben – the full meal deal – 55 km with a 5.5 kg bag on my back.

As usual, I forgot to train this year.  But, despite knowing that panic training is not effective, I decided on a desperation ski.  At the very least, I hoped it would get my feet callused in the correct spots.

First step is filling up my bag.  The best thing to use is rice, lentils, flour, sugar or anything else that’s heavy, compact and has no sharp edges.  Unfortunately I was short on dried food, so I also had to add in a can of pumpkin pie filling.  Additionally, I stuffed in a few other basic necessities: Sharkies, gels, pizza, cake, water, thermos of gatorade, headlamp, ipod, extra shirt, extra face cover and extra gloves.

I’ve been using an Ergon bag for the last couple years.  It has a flink joint (or as I like to call it, ball) that joins the shoulder straps to the bag.  This means that even though my shoulders are moving, the bag stays in place.  It’s perfect for a ski race, where you have to carry an arbitrary amount of weight.   My only problem with the Ergon is when it gets to -25C, the joint freezes up and the pack squeaks.  For 3.5 hours it was like I was trapped in the hotel room next to Sting and Trudie while they enjoyed one of their infamous tantric session.

I knew it was going to be cold, but the temperature exceeded my expectations.  My desperate ski became even more desperate .  Any attempt to rest or grab  food and water, was destroyed by the penetrating, persistent, cold.   The first (and only real) snack stop left my feet chilled for kilometers.  The only thing I managed to eat was Margi’s Polish Apple Cake; I tried stuffing the gels into my inner pockets, but it didn’t help, by the time I pulled them out, they were frozen solid.

Even the landscape was cold.  No sun, no blue sky.  A black and white world highlighted by the occasional blast of color.

The only way to keep warm was to keep moving.   The long Pierre Harvey descent I love was ruined, within a few seconds I was snowplowing reduce the wind chill.   The long ascents I normally despise, were welcome opportunities to warm up.  At least the ski was entertaining, thanks to my iPod and American Life Podcasts I learned all about Wisconsin politics, and appendectomies.

After 3.5 hours, “skiing” had been reduced to bonk-induced shuffling; and I was grateful that the Wax Room was still open.  A quick call to the Mr. with a desperate request for a warm bath was followed by a chilly drive home.  By the time I stripped to jump in the tub, the full consequence of my long downhill was revealed – a strip of frostbite right across my abdomen.  I hoped that it was bad enough to lose a roll, but unfortunately it looks like I’ll be keeping all my appendages/abdominals.

I’ve never been a make-up kind of gal.  This week, wearing eyeliner, caused a work wide bulletin, with folks peeking their heads into my doorway – exclaiming “I heard you had make-up on today!”.  Who knew a bit of pencil could cause such a flurry. But, I’ve never felt comfortable with paints and pencils; especially when applying them to my own skin.

But frost on the other hand, frost feels familiar and beautiful.  The way it perches on your eyelashes, thicker than any mascara you could buy.  The way it frames your face, climbing through your overgrown bangs and baby hairs.  The way it coats your scarf, your toque; like a soft fur.

It’s easy to pencil on thick eyes, or paint beautiful red lips – but frosting a face takes work.  It takes heavy breathes and cold air.   And the moment you get comfortable, it melts away.

• Biking involves periods of high intensity/high energy (climbing) followed by times without any movement.  The danger in this, is that you can easily work up an awesome sweat, just to head down a hill and turn yourself into an icicle.
• There’s not a lot of upper body movement in cycling.  Things that aren’t moving, are more likely to get cold.  Most notably, your hands, that stay still and are the first contact with the wind.
• Certain parts of your body are connected to your bicycle.  Most parts on a bike are made with metal.  When it gets cold – metal gets super-cold.  So, your boots (sitting on your metal pedals); your hands (on your metal handlebar) and your ass (on your metal/synthetic seat) are at risk.

At the end of the day, the other important thing to remember is that everyone is different.  I have had too many years of trying my luck in sub-zero temperatures, resulting in a tendency to frostbite my face.   And despite living up here for a couple of years, I haven’t adapted the same way as the Mr. who wears dress pants and a windbreaker in -35.

Dressing for -28 to -40 C (-18 to -40 F)

The first thing I have to say about riding in this weather, is that I’m mostly riding to commute, or going for fun rides that are under 2 hours in length.

Layer 1

X-Bionic long underwear – I wear this long underwear most days of the winter.  One of its best qualities is that it has anti-smelling properties, necessary if you are going to exercise in it for multiple days in a row.  I’ll admit, by day 4 it’s a bit crunchy, but who doesn’t appreciate a little crunch?

Wool socks – once your feet are frozen, any hope of an enjoyable ride is over.   It’s ideal if you can find a pair of beautiful striped socks that will make you giggle every time you look at your toes, but in the absence of that, any wool socks will do.

Leg hair – Insultation is the key to success, I’m not the 5 time hairiest leg champion of the Yukon for nothing.  Guess which leg is mine, and which is my friend Sam’s; and keep in mind this is still 4 weeks before the competition.

Layer 2

Here’s my secret – I don’t wear a second layer when it’s really cold.  The outer layer is enough to stay really hot.  Plus, it’s too cold to remove a mid-layer mid-ride, so there doesn’t seem much point.

Layer 3

Skookum jacket – These are jackets that are manufactured in Dawson City, Whitehorse.  I have no idea why they are so warm.  They are only a couple centimeters thick; and they’ve got no down.  The absence of feathers is good – I find that the down jackets soak up sweat.  The outside is windproof, but not plastic; and there’s plenty of reflective strips.   The jacket was designed for dog-sledding, so there are convenient pockets for keys and lights and anything else I might need to access.  I have never been cold in this jacket.  I can not imagine ever being cold in this jacket.  The only problem with this jacket is that it’s just too warm.  Even in -40 I open up the pit zips to keep a temperature balance.

Snowpants – I got these sweatpants when I participated in the Fulda challenge a couple of years ago.  They are not attractive at all, but they are super warm.  They also have reflective stripes on the bottoms, which is good for visibility

Re-breather –  Years of exercising in frigid weather, coupled with a bad set of lungs have made winter air an enemy I can’t seem to defeat.  The cold air leads to lung infections, and the lovely nickname “Barky the Seal”.  The re-breather face mask keeps the air I breathe warmer and more humid.  But, the more comfortable air comes with a price.  It’s hard to get a lungful of air with a re-breather and the additional breathing effort results is a reduction in energy output.

Mittens – The Mr. bought me an amazing pair of traditional fur mittens made by a local woman named Lena White.  These things are amazing, they are warm and comfortable.  The thick fur keeps the harshest of wind away from my hands.  The idiot strings allow you to throw off the mittens in order to adjust a zipper or fix a cable, and then slip them back on to rewarm your fingers.   These are big mittens, and they do impede gear shifting and braking; but when it’s this cold that doesn’t matter.  In the cold, cold weather, your bike slows so much that you are going to find yourself spending most of your time in your easiest gears.  As for the braking – when you move that slow, stopping isn’t as important.

 Sorel Boots – This is another piece of clothing I got through Fulda.  They are tall, plain Sorel boots.  They easily fit over my snowpants and in most cases they keep my feet warm.  I’ve been tempted to buy a pair of “Bunny Boots”, which are the ultimate in arctic gear.   Someday I’ll get a pair and find out if they really are as warm as everyone says.

Hat – I stole these two hats from my Mother’s closet a couple years ago.  The felted hat she got it in Cambridge Bay, back when it was in the Northwest Territories.  I have no clue where she got the bomber hat, but they are warm and awesome.  I got myself in a lot of trouble with my friends when I said I didn’t wear a helmet in the super cold, so we came to a compromise.  When I’m riding to work or on any city streets, I will wear an oversized helmet, which can fit an additional hat underneath. When I’m riding on the trails behind my house at less than 5 km/h, I’ll wear a hat.

Here’s what happens when you put it all into action:

I’ve noticed lots of other people sharing their tips for winter dressing.  My bike-wife Jennoit recently shared her dress for work tips, Jill shared her favorite winter gear, Geargals has ongoing reviews,  and I just found Winnipeg Cycling Chick – all with some cool info.

Next week I’ll post the -15 to -28C wardrobe.

After this week’s power outage Yukon Energy posted some information about energy usage.  The increased burden of keeping things moving during the cold snap was bumping energy usage up over the available hydro-energy levels; and Yukon Energy was asking people to think about how to be energy aware during peak hours.  Watching their energy usage charts in facebook has become a new obsession for me.

Already surviving at the lowest room temperature I was willing to endure, I decided the best way to save electricity was through our woodstove.  During the winter, we try to keep the stove burning 24 hours a day.  Unlike the baseboard heaters, or oil monitors, the woodstove has potential uses beyond keeping us warm.  We’ve already made it into a humidifier, by placing a kettle full of water on its surface and this weekend I decided to try it out as a slow cooker.

Yukon Energy Pulled Pork

• A pork roast
• Collection of spices ( 1 Tbl of each cumin, cinnamon, salt, pepper, paprika)
• Ground Midnight Sun Coffee
• 2 Apples
• 1 Onion
• 2 cups of ketchup
• 2 cups of stock (or beer or root beer)
• 1 cup of cider vinegar
• Worcestershire sauce
• Tabasco Sauce
• 1 Tbl Sweetener (maple syrup, honey, molasses or brown sugar)

Mix the spices with the coffee; and rub it all over the pork roast.  If there’s any extra, keep it.

If you want to make this a no electricity endeavor, start with the liquids.  Mix the ketchup, stock (Yukon Brewing Midnight Sun Espresso Stout is pretty awesome in this), cider vinegar, sauces and sweetener in a bowl.  Add the spices, cut up apples/onion and pork and stick it on the wood stove all day (6-8 hours).

If you want to start it on the stove, put some oil in the bottom of a big sauce pan and sear the spice covered pork on all sides.  Remove the roast.  If the pans got a lot of burnt spices in the bottom, rinse it out.  Otherwise, add some more oil and the onions/apples.  Saute these until they are caramelized, then add the leftover spices.  Next mix in all your liquids.  Put the pork roast inside the pan and move it onto your wood stove.

After it’s cooked for as long as you can stand, use a fork to “pull” the pork.  Serve with buns and coleslaw.

There’s a few things I learned about using the woodstove.  It’s best to do this during the day, on a day that you are home.  You’ll want to try to keep the stove hot for the whole time.  We made the mistake of leaving the house for 3 hours.  When we came back, the stove top had cooled.  When slow cooking meat, you are supposed to keep it above a minimum temperature, which can be hard if you aren’t around to stoke the fire.  This is the reason that cooking it overnight can be tough.

Most of the time, the pork cooked at a higher temperature than a slow cooker, so keep your eyes on the liquid, and stir with a wood spoon so you don’t burn anything.  If the liquid gets too thick, just add more stock.

The pulled pork was a delicious accompaniment to the Settlers of Catan; and perhaps even tastier the next morning served with shredded potatoes and over-easy eggs.

The temperature never successfully broke -30 C (-22 F) this week.

On day 1, commuting to work in temperatures around -40 is an adventure.  I finally got to try out my new Christmas polar bear mittens, which exceeded expectation when it comes to warmth.  I got to take my Skookum parka out of the closet and see if it was as amazing as I remembered (it is).   And, I’m not going to lie, I got to be the crazy winter cyclist, that people shake their head at.  ”You rode your bike in this?” they ask – and I take their awe with pride.  The cold weather couldn’t keep me down, couldn’t stop me from my daily routine, and couldn’t keep me off my bike.

But, by Friday, the routine has lost its novelty.  I’m tired of the pre-ride ritual of layering on all my clothes.  Every day I get to work, exhausted from battling the cold – soaking wet from all the energy it’s taken to fight the freezing lubricants, and rigid tires.  I’m annoyed at the people that say to me “You rode your bike in this?” with their disapproving tone, like my bike riding is somehow causing the cold snap.  Maybe if I got with the program and jumped in my car, we could climate change this problem away.

Some of my annoyance is because of the cars that drive past me on my morning commute.  In these temperatures I try to stick with the paved pathways.  It’s too cold for a helmet – I need all the hats I can get on my head.  And at -40, cars spew thick exhaust that lingers in the air, too cold and dense to dissapate.  I have no desire to ride through the fog of petroleum products.   More importantly, the cold snap has left people cranky, and less inclined to follow general traffic rules.  Apparently at around -35, martial law is enacted on the streets of Whitehorse and you can do anything you want.  On Wednesday, I was crossing 2nd avenue when a car rushed passed me, honking its horn and shaking its fist.  It may have been too cold for them to roll down the window, but  the message was pretty clear.  I had obviously inconvenienced this driver.  I may have been crossing on a green light, and they may have completely blown a red light; but that’s really not the point.  What was I doing on their street in the first place?

The car vs. bike debate seems to be renewed in the chill of January’s coldest week.  I sometimes wonder if the anger is due in part to the inconvenience of a car in this weather.  There’s parts to plug in, windows to scrape, gas-line antifreeze to inject – from atop my little bike I can hear the cars grumble down the street – metal scraping, and engine struggling.  Our esteemed Mayor Bev Buckway told a newspaper earlier this year that bicycle commuters “can be really scary for cars”.  Sometimes I imagine that through a windshield I look like a crazy flesh eating zombie that at any moment could jump through the passenger window and eat someone’s brain.   Putting my overactive imagination aside, I can see the concern.  If a car hits a bike on the road, there’s huge repercussions for a driver: police reports, insurance costs, car repairs, and probably hundreds of hours of paperwork.   All things most cyclists don’t have to do – because they are dead.  I wonder if cars know that in the 58 car/bike accidents that resulted in fatalities in 2005, the cyclists are up 58 to 0 when it comes to deaths.  I’d say they don’t need to be too scared.

But, it’s easy when the weather’s bad and you’ve almost been killed by a giant box of metal, to become bitter.  The truth is that 99% of cars are great.  They are courteous, they are kind.  Lots of them give me a little wave as the go by (and not with their middle finger).  I’m not stupid, I know that sometimes I delay a car by 5 or 10 seconds, because it takes me that much longer to get through the round-about.  But, most drivers seem to be okay with that.  In fact many vehicles try to cede right of way to me (which by the way is completely unnecessary and can be kind of dangerous), stopping to let me cross the street, or make a turn.  So instead of making this post about the crazy winter drivers, I’m writing it to thank the not so crazies.  The ones who scrape their windows, so they can actually see the human powered commuters on the sidewalks.  The ones that follow traffic laws, even when it’s cold.  The ones who don’t yell at me or threaten to kill me.  And most importantly, the ones that don’t maim me on my way to and from work.   For you, I am truly grateful.

Riding at -40 requires a special wardrobe.  Anything designed to be aerodynamic or light is useless.  Instead you’ve got to find the things that through science or nature will keep you warm.  There’s a reason that the first people of the arctic wore furs – and it wasn’t for fashion.  Equipped with my Christmas polar bear mittens, and Northwest Territories’ beaver hat – I’m either a traitor or patriot.  If the ride ends in frostbite, and I have to take advantage of our health-care system, I’ll be the trifecta of Canadian awesomeness.

At -40 the world is both incredibly quiet, and strikingly loud.  Because most people are hiding inside, away from the harsh cold, the regular sounds of civilization are noticeably absent.  There are not a lot of cars on the street, and scarves have all but eliminated any chance of chatter.  But where regular sounds are silenced, others are amplified to the point of becoming unrecognizable.   Planes that normally escape the runway without detection, suddenly sound like chainsaws being started mere meters away; and cracking ice has you dodging imaginative bullets.

While your sense of hearing reaches superhero levels, your sight is slowly eradicated.  A scarf or facemask takes away your ability to look down.  A big hat or hood removes the peripheral.  Lashes slowly accumulate frost, weighing them down until they drape over your eyeballs.  What’s left is a pinhole world, covered in crystal fur.

There is no speed at -40.  Within meters of leaving the heated house, Jack Frost takes hold of your bike.  First it’s the tires, that become rigid and no longer roll with ease.  Then it’s the cranks that start to slow as lubricant transforms into maple syrup.  The pedals stop spinning – frozen in place and a once speedy machine now crunches over the snow like a half-ton Caterpillar.

The body slows just as quickly as the bike.  Air at -40 is empty – humidity and oxygen have flown to warmer climates, like most of your friends.   The only thing even remotely comparable,  is the first bike ride after landing in Aspen, CO – 8000 feet above sea level.  Every breath in feels like it’s not enough.  Further complicating things are they scarf or facemask – a necessity if you want to avoid frozen skin.  The already diluted air has to be sucked through a layer of fabric.   With only a small fraction of the oxygen necessary to power movement – each leg rotation takes the effort of a sprint.  The normal 20 minute ride to work is suddenly 40 minutes, and the flat river trail morphs into a hilly challenge.  Thank God no-one else is stupid enough to be riding, or walking up those pathetically small hills would be embarrassing.

So why wander out when the rest of the world is content inside?  Partly it’s the ADHD, but it’s also the adventure of entering a world that looks a little bit familiar, but is somehow completely different.  It’s also the hardest you’ll ever ride to cover such a short distance.

This weekend, I am doing everything I can to resist the lure of adventures.  Perhaps in an example of divine intervention, the temperature has plummeted, somewhat easing the appeal of the outdoors.  Trapped inside my house, I’ve decided to do the only thing I love as much as biking…eating.  And somehow over 4 hours of boredom, I created the world’s greatest Moroccan themed dinner.  So delicious, in fact, that I’m sharing it with you.

Moroccan Lamb Stew

• Lamb (I got a big roast and cut it into cubes)
• Yam or squash
• Can of chickpeas
• Onion
• Garlic
• Spice Mixture (cinnamon, cardamom, cumin, coriander, nutmeg, cloves, allspice, turmeric and/or whatever else you have that’s similar)
• Ginger
• Dried Apricots

Put all the spices together in a fry pan, cooking them until there aromatic.  I used about 1 tsp of each spice, but increased the quantity of spices I really liked.  Pour the spice mixture on the lamb cubes, rubbing it into the meat.

In a pan (I used a big cast iron), cook the onion, garlic and ginger until it’s soft.  Again use however much you feel like – depending on which flavors you prefer.  Because I’m sick, I upped the ginger quotient.  Once the onions have cooked, put in the lamb cubes.  Cook them on medium – high until the outsides have been browned.  Put in enough water to almost cover the meat, then cover the pan, reduce heat to a simmer and leave it be for approximately 1 movie (2 tv dramas, or 3-4 comedies).  Now cut up your yam/squash into cubes and stir it in.  Leave it to cook for about 30 minutes.  Next add your chickpeas, and dried apricots.  Another 30 minutes of cooking will suffice.  I either leave it covered or open depending on how much liquid there is.  I like my curries to be thick, which means more time uncovered at the end.

Serve with naan bread and salad.

Pomegranate Couscous Salad

• Couscous
• Cucumber
• Tomatoes
• Mint bunch
• Pomegranate seeds
• Honey
• Sliced Almonds

Put your sliced almonds into a frying pan and brown on the stove.

Boil water, couscous is usually a 1 to 1 ration for boiled water and dry couscous.  Once the water’s boiled, add it to the couscous and cover for five minutes.  Uncover and stir in some olive oil and honey (probably a tablespoon).

Chop up cucumbers, tomatoes and mint.  Stir them into the couscous.  Add pomegranate seeds.  The easiest way to do this is to cut a whole pomegranate into quarters.  Put the quarters in a big mixing bowl filled with water.  Keeping the pomegranate submerged, use your fingers to pull out the seeds.  The water keeps your hands from getting stained red, and the pulpy bits of the pomegranate float to the top.  When your finished, you can easily dump out the water and pulp, leaving you with only nice, washed seeds.  Last, add your almonds.

This is a simple, but scrumptious salad.

To start, the rooms at the Fairmont are beautiful.  The beds have nice white sheets, and a feather duvet.  But, it’s the bathroom I love most.  In addition to a stand up shower, there’s a big bathtub with a window-like opening that lets you watch trash tv, surrounded by a force field of bubbles.

Staying at the airport has plenty of advantages.  First off there’s a plethora of food to choose from at every hour of the day/night.  Whether you want to hit up Flying Wedge pizza, Starbucks for a 5:30 am latte, or some Toshi Sushi, it’s all just a couple hundred feet away.  No need to put on a raincoat – or even change out of your pajama bottoms.

If you are looking for something a little more delicious, the Fairmont’s restaurant features drinks and dinners that rival any downtown eatery I’ve been to.  Carly and I particularly loved their honey, and pear puree cocktail.  If it weren’t for the prohibitively high price ($12/drink), I may not have been able to stop drinking them.  The food’s ridiculous – I had a signature salad full of crab, ahi tuna, and shrimp.  Easily beating the nacho cheese as the best meal of my trip.

Another nice thing about staying at the airport, is that it greatly extends sleep-in time.  Gone is the time budgeted for taxis, and buses.  Instead you can wake up 2 minutes before check-in time.  Roll yourself and your suitcase to the counter – get your bags tagged and head back to the room for a short nap and a shower.  This is priceless,  especially when check-in time is 5 am.

You’re probably wondering how I showered without the luxury of bags.  That’s the final fabulous thing about the airport.  Once you’ve cleared security, there’s a world of make-up, face cream, and more waiting to be applied.  By the time you hit your gate, you’re smelling like a Vogue magazine, and looking a bit like Dolly Parton.

So next time your dreading an overnight layover at YVR, book a night and enjoy plane watching from the comfort of a bubble bath.