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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.

On brunch

Photo by: Flickr user warein.holgado

I don’t like eggs. I don’t eat pork. Because I don’t like eggs and I don’t eat pork, I don’t like breakfast.

I know, a lot of you love breakfast. You probably love breakfast so much you would (and do) eat it for lunch and dinner. I’m envious of your ability to eat eggs. Lately, I have made an effort to cook and like them, but I still can’t stomach them in great amounts. It takes effort to get through a hard boiled egg. Even a plate of eggs Benedict takes mental preparation.

I wouldn’t put so much effort into enjoying eggs if it was not for Sunday brunch. As The New York Times pointed out in 2005, “brunch is practically a competitive sport in Toronto.” This is still true. Despite hangovers, below freezing temperatures and lineups my friends will still trek (uphill, both ways) for a good plate of hollandaise sauce atop poached eggs.

Why does Toronto go crazy over brunch compared to other cities? I’m not sure, but I understand why the meal is often put on a pedestal. I am in love with the idea of Sunday brunch with friends. For me, it’s not about the food. Brunch is the bridge between the weekend’s indulgences and the work week’s responsibilities. It’s remembering last night while you still have its smell in your hair. It’s one last hurrah before groceries, laundry and Monday morning.

The meal is like a celebration, says Toronto chef Teo Paul. He admits his mixed feelings toward the 2-in-1 meal. As a chef, it’s a pain in the ass because brunch-goers are so fragile and yet demanding at the same time.

I appreciate it, but I have to do it a little differently. I read about a guy in New York who does the same brunch every weekend: a giant terrine of eggs stuffed with smoked salmon and whatever else, on a table piled with croissants. That’s good thinking. My kind of brunch is standing around a big barrel table eating oysters and charcuterie and drinking good, cheap wine with friends and old drunk French guys drinking wine out of silver ladles. That’s a celebration. I know I’m not in Paris, but I’d like to try to bring something new to Toronto, something different.

Most of my friends would say brunch doesn’t need anything different. But as someone who doesn’t like eggs, I’m cheering Teo on. I have no problem with eating oysters or drinking wine.

Question: Forget eggs and bacon. What would you like your Sunday brunch to consist of?

Post-racial society? Not yet.

No one could ignore Tracy Morgan when he stepped in front of Tina Fey and accepted 30 Rock’s  Golden Globe for “Best Television Series – Musical or Comedy.” “Tina Fey and I had an agreement that if Barack Obama won, I would speak for the show from now on,” he said, clutching the statue. “Welcome to post-racial America! I am the face of post-racial America.”

I realize Morgan is an entertainer and no more a political pundit than you or me. But he isn’t the only person who has been touting the arrival of a post-racial society, the end of racism or the idea that any child—no matter what race, religion or gender—can be president one day.

Whenever I hear one of these suggestions, I chuckle at its naivety and then get angry. This is a post-racial society? How disappointing. Anyone can be president now? That is just laughable. People sure were quick to forget how much Obama was criticized for his past connections to Islam.

How different would today’s inauguration be if Obama were actually a Muslim man? If he were gay or a woman? What if he were a Christian man who had a father of Indian, Chinese or Native decent? He wouldn’t have been the Democratic nominee, let alone the American president.

The people who talk about Obama as proof that anyone can be president have a narrow view of what race is. We, the people are not one of two categories. We are not black or white. We are not just Christian or non-Christian. While people of colour share some similarities, each group has its own unique experience. A black man may be in the White House but we haven’t been able to get an Asian lead character on television since Margaret Cho—and that was 14 years ago!

I am excited for Obama’s presidency. This is the kind of change the world needs, but I urge everyone not to be idle. This is only the beginning. If we work together, one day we’ll burst through the glass ceiling, cross racial lines and find that an Indonesian Muslim lesbian can be the face of a post-discrimination America, just as much a black Christian straight man can be.