It Gets Better from the CBC

It’s Bullying Awareness Week in Canada and my colleague Ryan Couldrey and I produced an It Gets Better video featuring CBC folks we work with. It Gets Better is an online video project that Dan Savage started and focuses on homophobic bullying. While Ryan and I worked on it, we did think about how opening our video up to be more generally anti-bullying would be interpreted. One colleague asked if we were concerned about diluting the original issue surrounding LGBT teens.

This is part of my response which I hope explains our decision to include everyone:

When we started asking colleagues to get involved, a couple contacted us and asked to be participate even though they’re not gay. They still wanted to do it because they too, were bullied for being different, whether it was for the colour of their skin, their love of “nerdy” things or their physical disability.

This reminded us that bullying isn’t limited to gay kids or kids who appear to be gay. Ryan, who is straight, was tortured by other kids on a daily basis, even beat up regularly. And though I am gay, I wasn’t picked on for being a tom boy, I was picked on for being the only Asian kid in a white classroom.

Everyone we’ve interviewed share the common experience of being different and being different in high school is not an encouraged thing. It leads to bullying and in extreme cases, bullying leads to kids hurting themselves.

Since the goal of this is to prevent kids from committing suicide, we did not want to exclude people from sharing their stories. Kids who are bullied aren’t less immune to suicidal thoughts just because they don’t also identify as queer. So if we can discourage those kids from hurting themselves and encourage them to get help, then it makes it worthwhile.

Note: Rick Mercer used the term “It Gets Better” in his anti-bullying rant back in 2007–and it wasn’t just directed at kids of the LGBT community.

Dinner parties

I have a bad habit of announcing goals on this blog and failing to follow through. One of my secret, unpublished goals is to have more dinner parties.

Barbecues have been great this summer, but tend to be gatherings of 10+. This make it difficult to have meaningful conversations with people and with so many in your home, there’s always someone who needs something (a fork, a wine glass, more ice). For this reason, I prefer hosting smaller get-togethers, even if it means I can’t get away with disposable tableware.

I love the idea of inviting friends from different social circles to come over, drink some wine and share a meal. Part of the excitement is the experiment of introducing friends to each other. How will the full-time fiddle-playing hippie get along with the high school friend turned pharmacist? I’m hoping these parties will force me to dust off my cookbooks and make something new. So what if I’ve never made pavlova before? Let’s give it a whirl!

It’s been a while since I’ve hosted anything that required more than grilling a burger so I’d be grateful for your suggestions on how to host a fun, casual dinner party.

What is your secret to hosting astress-free dinner party? Tell me about the most memorable dinner party you’ve ever attended.

Protected: Detox

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Hitting reset: detox time!

I am starting a 10-day detox tomorrow. After months of some pretty darn good food and wine, it’s time to hit reset. Before I go further, I should explain I am not attempting anything as drastic as the Master Cleanse (aka cayenne pepper cleanse). I’m not that brave.

Instead, I’ll be doing a natropathic detox. I’ll be cutting out sugars, processed foods, all meat except fish and organic chicken, dairy, some grains (wheat, rye, kamut, spelt,) alcohol and (gasp) caffeine. It may seem daunting, especially the last two, but the list of things I can eat is also very long: all fruits and vegetables (except corn and grapefruit), chicken, fish, green and herbal teas, some grains (brown rice, quinoa, buckwheat, steel-cut oats), beans, olive oil, herbs and spices.

I’m not sure what to expect except that everyone who has done this or a similar detox has praised its results. They report increased energy and an appreciation for new foods. It’ll be an interesting challenge to see what kind of meals I can make without dairy or what I come up with when quinoa’s the main ingredient.

I’m always excited by the challenge of a new project and now that I’ve typed out this blog entry and have tweeted about it, I have no choice but to stick with this detox. Hold me accountable, dear readers! My self-control will be tested.

Question: Have you done a detox or cleanse? Which one and what did you think of it?

Wine Journal #1: Cave Spring’s Chenin Blanc 2007

Through the little I’ve read/watched about keeping a wine journal, I’ve learned that marking down the vintage (year) of the wine is just as important as noting the winery and kind of wine you drank. Also, it doesn’t hurt to put down where you drank it with and with whom. Wine, like food, is just as much about what’s around the table as what’s on it.

So here we go. My first wine entered into my digital wine journal comes all the way from Beamsville, Ontario in the Niagara region. Please be gentle, I don’t speak “wine.”

Cave Spring
Chenin Blanc (Estate Bottled)
2007

We first had this wine at Oyster Boy more than a year ago. We were celebrating our first anniversary, I think. This may have made it special, but it’s also the first (and so far, the only) white wine my partner and I both love. She doesn’t like sweet wines and I dislike anything very dry, but this Chenin Blanc was the perfect balance.

Notes: Sweet like honey at first, and smooth, not very acidic which I think gives it a nice, soft mouth feel.

After the dinner, I looked up the wine online. I was sad to discover the bottle is only available at restaurants and at the winery. We returned to Oyster Boy a second time and ordered the Chenin Blanc but our meal was far less enjoyable.  Despite our favourite wine, we decided not to return. Thankfully, Cave Spring is just an hour and a half (with traffic) from Toronto. We stopped in to pick up a couple of bottles last month. We’re done with bottle number one, but we’re saving the second for a special occasion. I just hope my taste buds can wait.

New term: As you can see from the photo above, Cave Spring’s Chenin Blanc is estate bottled. This means 100% of the grapes used come from vineyards controlled (but not necessarily owned) by the winery, in this case, Cave Spring. Cave Spring describes its estate bottled wines:

In addition, to ensure that our Estate Bottled wines display power, purity and elegance, considerable focus is put on using fruit from some of our oldest vines, planted as far back as 1974.

Questions: Do you like Chenin Blanc wines? Can you recommend one you think I might like?

New to wine

If wine were a video game, I’d be on beginner level one.

After organizing and attending last week’s Foodie Meet (wine edition), I’ve gained a little more understanding of wine, but if anything, I’ve learned that there’s more to wine than I imagined. The experience has only increased my interest in learning more about the good grape and I know I’m not the only one.

Starting today, on a semi-regular basis, I’ll be posting my wine-learning experience and knowledge here.

I’m starting off on my wine journey by keeping a wine journal. If there’s one thing I’ve learned, it’s that it’s OK to like what you like. Wine is intimidating because of the snobbery associated with it, but at the end of the day, if you enjoy it, no one should tell you otherwise.

If you have any suggestions for how I and other wine newbies should start learning about wine, please leave a comment. Whether it’s a book, a website or something else you think would help get us started in the wonderful world of wine, please let us know!

@TOfoodie map

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I’ve been tweeting mini restaurant reviews on my @TOfoodie Twitter account and decided I need to keep a database. I chose to map the tweets on a Google map. Take a look at where I’ve been eating and what I thought of my experiences.

Agree or disagree with something I’ve said? Let me know!

What and where is your favourite hangover cure?

(Photo by hfabulous)

After an evening of over indulgence, I woke up with a pounding headache and dry mouth. Eight bottles of red wine between five women will do that to you. My party days are pretty much over, but I talking about foods and drink. Through my TOfoodie Twitter, I asked “What and where is your favourite hangover cure?”

Here are their responses:

nicopop: Hair of the Dog Caesars at Hair of the Dog!
bigtrouble Juice! – wheatgrass, apple, carrot, celery, lemon, ginger. That and fresh air. Failing that, a Bellini or a Mimosa will do.
ericpl Believe it or not its a grilled eel on rice bowl at any decent Japanese resto…
ironsouschef hangover cure? There is only one. IRNBRU. Can be hard to find, but Metro usually carries it. Also, see this: http://bit.ly/Q0Hh3
hjli Usually leftovers of my drunken appetite: Johnny’s Homeburgers (VP&Sheppard) for suburbia; King Palace (Bloor&Church) for downtown
jasotri A caesar usually does the trick!
ejcs Rehydration salts +late_night dim sum

I’m totally craving an apple, carrot and ginger juice now, thanks to @bigtrouble. Still, my ideal hangover cure is a greasy spoon grilled cheese sandwich with a strong cup of coffee, cold Coca-Cola and a tall glass of ice water. Maybe I’d have a side of fresh fruit for nutrition. What do you crave when you’re nursing a post-party sickness?

At peace with uncertainty

The state of my employer has been well-publicized in Canada. It is, like for many other media corporations around the world, a time of uncertainty. My position is no exception. In fact, I don’t know anyone who feels very comfortable about their employment whether they’re in media or not. I’ve worried, panicked and got ahead of myself, but now I’m finally at this point where I am at peace with the idea of uncertainty and unemployment.

I realized that I’d be OK while watching and listening to Emily Haines in the video above. Emily is on a completely different level from me, in terms of creativity and achievement, but her attitude is transferable to any field or person. When she felt like she couldn’t create anything of value and didn’t know where her life was going, she turned to Buenos Aires. There, she found a new way of looking at the world and came away with “the simplest and clearest writing” she had ever done.

I don’t want anything to change. I want to keep my salary and job because I like the stability and enjoy my work. But if it all ends, it’s OK. I really do believe that for every door closed, there will be a new door open—you just have to be patient and maybe look a little harder than you usually do.

Fancy Mac & Cheese

February has been the kind of month that makes me want to only eat chicken pot pie made by someone else, sleep and watch movies all day. I’ve come home on weeknights and found that the last thing I want to do is cook. It hasn’t helped that I’ve been busy and so instead of making something delicious, I’ve resorted to lazy solutions like fast food lunches, mediocre Japanese or Thai delivery and uninspired frozen dinners.

In times like these, I like to make “fancy mac & cheese.” I won’t pretend that this is exciting, inventive cooking. It wasn’t even my idea, but I make it somewhat often because a) I usually have all the ingredients on hand and b) it’s takes boxed mac & cheese up a notch.

I only made it once last month, but I doubled it and it gave me lunch for the rest of the week. Not everyone likes oysters, but I think it would also work with a tin of smoked mussels. The smokiness in the oil is key. It’s basically this recipe I found on Chow Hound with a few extra ingredients. I add a handful of cheese so I don’t sacrifice cheesiness with the additional ingredients. Also, the extra fat makes it reheat nicely if you have leftovers. Just pop it into the microwave with a few drops of water. I find regular Kraft Dinner to be too dry. Get President’s Choice white macaroni and cheese if you can.

Ingredients:

1 tin of smoked oysters w/ oil
1 cup of cooked shrimp, peeled and cut into pieces
1 large onion (or 2 small ones), thinly sliced
1 cup of frozen mixed vegetables, thawed
1 cup of grated white cheddar cheese (optional)
1 box of President’s Choice white macaroni and cheese (Kraft’s just isn’t nearly as good)
3/4 cup of milk

Instructions:

1. Cook the macaroni, drain and reserve.
2. In the empty pot, heat only the oil from the smoked oysters tin. Reserve the oysters. Sautée the onions in the oil until they’re soft.
3. Add the macaroni back into the pot. Add the milk and cheese powder from the box.
4. Stir in the vegetables and shrimp.
5. Add the extra grated cheddar cheese and heat until it’s all melted.
6. Add the oysters when just about read to serve.
7. Add pepper and salt to taste.