Here on Canada’s East Coast we have been absolutely buried in snow, as has a good deal of the continent, by the sounds of it.

So, we all have time to relax and contemplate the beginning of the Year of the Rabbit, if we are lucky enough not to be shoveling snow today.

I wish you all a very happy 2011 and Rabbit Year, and hope you are doing very little shoveling!

love,
meg xoxo

picking these:

to fill these:

>

In the Annapolis Valley, where I’m from, fall is apple time. I love autumn and had always wanted to pick apples. Well, I had picked before, but I wanted to try it for more than one afternoon.

In conclusion: apple picking is a great activity but a dubious occupation. Well, unless you’re a lot faster at it than I am.

I’m back now. I will decide on some apple recipes to share soon!

love,
meg xo

This summer has been so, so busy! I will write a proper post soon with some photos and words and maybe even an anecdote or two, but for now it will just be this ‘icebreaker’. We can consider this sort of thing the small-talk of blog posts.

What I’m saying is that this post will be just a short one, but I look forward to returning to this space more frequently in the coming weeks.

For anyone at all interested in Canadian Literature, this poem from the Geist website is pretty funny.

“the oatmeal of world literature” indeed. Sometimes, though, isn’t oatmeal just exactly the thing?

I hope summer has been all you’d hoped it would.

love,
meg xox

the name says it all

I know that foods with the word instant in the title are totally out of fashion these days, but I’ve chosen to write about this one anyway. What is ‘roasted nuts powder’ anyway? And what does it have to do with me? You might be thinking. Well, if you are a busy person who hardly has time for breakfast or lunch, this might be just the item for you. I’m not a busy person, and I have loads of time for breakfast and lunch (not to mention dinner!) so I haven’t been drinking this lately, but there was a time when I snacked on this drink (does that make sense?) several times a week.

Quoting from the product description: … It is an instant natural health food produced for the purpose of easy consumption whenever one is hungry, especially for those that want to avoid spending too much time in preparation. Originally it is a traditional instant food designed to give the human body the 10 most important cereals such as nuts, sesame etc. and especially beneficial for the brain. Also this can be taken at ease when going fishing, hiking or on trips.

Back when I was living in Korea, there was a time when I was so busy that I didn’t have a free moment for lunch three or four days a week. This was entirely my own fault: I was working at one kindergarten (teaching English, of course) and another kindergarten was looking for a part-time teacher, so they asked me if I could work there during my lunch break. I said yes. I’m not sure why– maybe the extra money motivated me, or maybe I’m just bad at saying no. In any case, the manager of the kindergarten would come pick me up and drive me to the second kindergarten where I would work for an hour. After, she delivered me back to my regular job. The drive to and from the second kindergarten took about half an hour each way, so in total I was gone for two hours, and had no time whatsoever to eat lunch. The manager/chauffeur was not a cruel woman (she was exceptionally sweet, actually) so she took it upon herself to arrange something for me to eat each day, while I was working. Sometimes it was a plate of fruit or some rice cakes, but the act of chewing and swallowing made it difficult for the children to understand what I was saying, which cut down on my productivity as a teacher. So, what I’m trying to say here is that drinking this grain & nut tea was a convenient way to keep going for hours at a stretch, without eating (don’t try this at home) just like the Energizer bunny (TM). Those busy South Koreans have thought of everything.

All that’s required to make this is one packet of nut/grain powder, one mug or glass, some hot water and a spoon or something to stir it with. This will buy you some time between meals, but at 80 calories a serving I wouldn’t recommend it as an actual meal replacement. As far as packaged foods go, though, you could do worse than this one: it’s mainly composed of powdered walnuts and chestnuts, and has a lot less sugar (2g per) than those snack bars (granola bars, bran bars, cereal bars, etc.) that are so popular here in Canada these days.

What did you talk to the manager about during the hour you spent together in the car, you ask? Well, we didn’t really talk about anything. I barely spoke Korean and she barely spoke English, but we managed to understand one another very well, I think. The manager, Eun Joo, was passionate about OST’s. I didn’t know what those were, but they are Original Sound Tracks. From the movies. So, we would listen to movie soundtracks while we drove (or more frequently) sat stuck in the traffic of Kangnam, Seoul. Though busy, it was not a bad time in my life.

But, if you have the time, do make a proper breakfast/lunch for yourself, and take a minute to think of the poor souls out there in the world who are rushing around, trying to find time to eat, rest, breathe.

So, how about it? What do you eat when you’re in a hurry?

love,
meg

What is a Happy List, you ask? Well, it’s just as it sounds– a list of things that make me happy. I used to write them all the time when I was younger and needed to cheer myself up for some reason or other. Try writing one sometime. They’re lots of fun, and your list will change as quickly as your mood does, if you’re anything like me. Today’s list will have 27 items, one for each of my years.

Happy List: April 16th 2010 edition

1. spring

2. dark chocolate w/ mint

3. herbs (especially thai basil and shiso)

4. Anne Carson’s Autobiography of Red

5. Marisa Monte

6. butterflies

7. cornflower blue

8. Joni Mitchell’s Blue

9. ikura sushi

10. penpals

11. tea from Hibiki-an & Camellia Sinensis

12. asparagus

13. hiking trips

14. truffle oil & salt

15. green smoothies

16. running!

17. banh mi from Marche Hung Phat

18. Townes Van Zandt

19. films by Wong Kar Wai (especially Happy Together)

20. sun salutations

21. my orchid (which has been blooming for the past month)

22. biking

23. oksusu cha (Korean roasted corn tea)

24. pretty teacups

25. frilly blouses

26. mangoes

27. new beginnings

What’s making you happy these days?

love,
meg xox

Do you know what these are?

On Friday at Oka (a lovely National park, in a village which is known in Canada as the site of the Oka Crisis) I spotted a few little spots of green among the brown leaves on the forest floor. I immediately knew what they were, and went closer for a better look. They were ramps! It was so exciting to find edible (and delicious) plants growing when I hadn’t even been looking for them. There was only one problem. That being that ramps are on the endangered list in Quebec, so we are supposed to leave them alone.

Lots of wild, onion-y goodness.

So, the very anti-climatic end to this story is that despite my joy at finding these lovely wild ramps, I decided to leave them in the forest where they were. Well, except for the few that I picked and tried raw, straight from the soil. They had a good, strong allium taste, so I was lucky enough to go on tasting them for the next hour or two (aka onion/garlic breath, big time).

We considered picking a few more to put on the banh mi’s we had packed for lunch, but decided against it in the end. I consoled myself about leaving the ramps with the thought that we still had a few hours of walking ahead of us, so they likely would have been pretty wilted and heat-weary by the time we got them home anyway.

Here’s a little more information on ramps: at The Forager Press, and The Atlantic.

And if you’d like to read about the Oka Crisis of 1990, the link will take you to the Wiki article.

So, are you much of a forager? Have you tried ramps? If so, did you buy them or pick them yourself?

love,
meg

Update– I watched an excellent documentary on the Oka Crisis, by Alanis Obomsawin. The entire film is available to watch at the NFB site here: Kanehsatake 270 Years of Resistance.

Today I wanted to write a bit about coffee. We’ve really been enjoying a coffee in the morning for the past few months, brewed on the stove top. Our coffee of choice lately has been from 49th Parallel Coffee Roasters, which is based in British Columbia. We buy it here in Montreal at Cafe Myriade, which is a darling & delicious cafe downtown, right in the midst of Concordia’s campus.

I am, decidedly, a tea person. But my relationship with tea is not exclusive–I do still enjoy coffee, though I try not to enjoy it in copious quantities, or more than once per day (usually). We have gone through a few bags of the above-pictured Organic Expresso, and enjoyed it greatly. It is strong yet smooth, and very perky. Perfect for those mornings when you must get up early, but would rather not. We are currently enjoying a milder and sweeter coffee by the same company–a fairly-traded Organic Ethiopian coffee called Sidamo. It is wonderful, with a complex, sweet, fruity quality. It is not overly bitter, and is very good without any sort of milk or creamer.

And here is my new favourite mug. I found this mug at a thrift shop several weeks (months? I can’t keep track of time lately) ago, and was so impressed by his happy-dog expression and tiny trunk that I just had to bring him home.

He's definitely a morning person (elephant).

So, how about you? Do you drink coffee? If so, how do you prepare it?

love,
meg xo

In the past few weeks I’ve done a lot of reading, quite a bit of cooking, gone ice-skating twice, and drank a lot of tea. C & I spent Valentine’s Day in the Emergency room at the hospital (we are fine, just couldn’t get into a clinic!) which was interesting, but certainly not fun. We are not vegan (or even vegetarian) but we have been eating lots of vegan & vegetarian meals lately. Out of sheer laziness, we’ve also been eating out a few times a week. Since it has been raining and/or snowing all week here, I haven’t been buying as many groceries as I usually might. Consequently, we’ve just been using up the contents of our cupboards and fridge.

Various aloes: far left is a gel for topical use. The others are edible and delicious.

What I wanted to write about today is aloe vera. Everyone knows that the gel of this lovely plant is useful for calming skin irritations like sunburn, insect bites, rashes, etc. However, aloe’s benefits go far beyond topical applications. It can be used to calm and soothe the digestive tract, has anti-bacterial and anti-fungal properties, boosts absorption of vitamins and minerals from food and supplements, and is highly nutritious; aloe contains many vitamins, minerals and amino acids that our bodies need to function optimally.

If you’d like, you can read more about the benefits of aloe vera here. It’s an article from a natural healing website called Uncle Harry’s.

Aloe vera juice is really popular in Korea, which is where I first started drinking it regularly. But, the sort of aloe juice popular in South Korea is more like a soft drink than a health drink–it has a lot of added sugar. I did find a natural version of this beverage in a health food store in Seoul, which was sweetened with pure apple juice instead of the usual sugar or fructose.

Here in Canada I usually drink my aloe juice straight-up: undiluted and unsweetened (as in the bottle to the far right in the photo above). I find it really refreshing, and it really feels like it soothes me from the inside out. I love drinking a few tablespoons in the morning before breakfast.

If you are at all familiar with traditional Korean ‘teas’ (contains no tea!), you might recognize this one. These jars of syrupy ‘teas’ are more of a sweet, dessert-like drink. In Korea you can find many different types. A citron syrup is probably most popular, and it looks exactly like a jar of marmalade to the untrained eye. Other types of sweet Korean tea concentrates are: pomegranate, onion, quince, jujube, ginger, and aloe & honey (pictured above).

Traditionally, this aloe gel & honey syrup would be stirred into hot water to make a sweet, tea-like drink. However, I like it best on top of plain yogurt! Unlike regular aloe gel, I try not to eat this one too often because it is very sweet. It does make a nice treat on occasion, though, and despite its sweetness has a strong aloe flavour that I really enjoy.

Soon, I want to try fresh aloe gel, which I’ve never had. I’ve seen it at a few grocery stores around. The only thing that has kept me from buying it so far is my reluctance to carry home an aloe frond as big as my arm!

Finally, I also love to use aloe gel as a moisturizer and toner for face and body. It never irritates my sensitive skin, and makes my face nice and soft. Plus, it’s only about $5 for the tube in the photo. Frugal facial care, anyone?

So, how about it? Have you tried eating aloe vera, fresh or otherwise? What did you think & how did you use it?

love,
meg xo

just a few simple ingredients...

These chocolate-balls-of-goodness are so amazingly simple and sinful that I’m sure I’ll be making them all the time. They are quick and easy, and will completely nix the most insistent chocolate craving in minutes flat! I was inspired by this recipe from Chocolate Covered Katie. She has many variations on the original Fudge-baby recipe, and I’m sure the others would be equally good. These snacks are very much like the Jocalat Larabars, only much cheaper and homemade, which is always better, in my opinion.

rollin', rollin', rollin...

The first time I made these I followed the recipe to the letter, and they were delicious. However, I now find that I can taste the chocolate better when I skip the vanilla, and I like using a variety of nuts and a few less dates (since I don’t like things that are very sweet).

No matter how you like to eat, these should fit into your diet. They are gluten-free, contain nothing processed, are vegan and even raw if you buy raw cocoa. So, what are you waiting for?

Cocoa bliss balls adapted from Katie’s fudge baby recipe
1 cup pitted dates (I used honey dates, medjool are even better)
1.5 cup nuts or seeds (I used 3/4 cup raw cashews, 1/2 cup raw almonds and 1/4 cup raw pumpkin seeds)
4 Tbsp. cocoa (your finest!)
pinch of fine sea salt, and a few drops of liquid (almond or rice milk, or water), if you wish.

Throw all ingredients into your blender or food processor, and let the work be done for you. If your food processor is lazy like mine, it might protest a little by making lots of loud noises and vibrating madly. Continue blending. The mixture will turn into small stuck-together bits. Keep blending. After a minute or two more everything will be well incorporated and the bits will start to stick together. You could roll them into balls at this point, but I like to add a few drops of almond milk and then blend it once more so that everything sticks together in one big clump. Then, roll this ambrosial mass into balls, or any shape you would like.

Finally, enjoy.

Pure bliss.

What are you snacking on these days?

love,
meg

A few days ago we made a big pot of turmeric-ginger tea. I’ve made turmeric tea before, using powdered, dried turmeric, and even wrote about the tea and it’s health benefits here in this post. This time we used fresh turmeric and fresh ginger, and it was much better than using the dried powder. Using fresh turmeric also means that more of the potent anti-inflammatory properties of the root are preserved, making it even healthier. It’s not difficult to make, either, as long as you are able to find fresh turmeric. It looks much like fresh ginger root, except it has a smaller diameter and is bright orange (especially when cut open).

Keep in mind that turmeric stains, so be careful not to get it on anything that is very precious to you. I even find that it leaves a yellow-orange residue on the knife blade that it is cut with, so use a knife that can take a lot of scrubbing. Aside from that, it couldn’t be simpler to make. Just slice equal amounts of turmeric and ginger root (or just turmeric, if you’d prefer) and put it in a pot with several cups of water. Bring this to a boil, then reduce the heat to low and simmer for ten or fifteen minutes. Pour the tea and you’ve got a mugful of sunshine-yellow, comforting warmth. I keep any leftover tea in a glass container in the fridge, and drink it diluted throughout the day with either hot or cool water. Also, I find that the turmeric and ginger can be simmered twice. The second pot will not be quite as strong, but is still nice to drink.

I do hope you try turmeric tea, either the powdered or fresh sort. It’s a nice change from ginger tea, and considering all the health problems that are caused (directly or indirectly) by inflammation, it surely can’t hurt. The flavour of this brew is earthy, and spicy from the ginger. It is also good for digestion and caffeine-free, of course.

What is your hot drink of choice?

love,
meg