This week is Common Ground at MacEwan University, where I work with The Students’ Association, and we are focusing on acting local. It is easy to get super excited about sustainable living and supporting local business, especially food producers. If we grow our own food or buy from local growers we can drastically reduce our carbon footprint. Plus the food tastes better. Shopping in the organic food isle, at the grocery store, doesn’t count as shopping local. A lot of that produce is shipped, on average, 1500 km and often more just like the non-organic. Growing some of your own food can also make a significant impact on carbon waste reduction. At the very least, I like to grow my own tomatoes, chives and basil. It doesn’t take a ton of effort and it makes me feel great when I cook with items I grew myself.
Growing up, I enjoyed the benefits of a family who found the value in living sustainably. Truthfully, my parents were starving-students with three younglings and it was much cheaper to live this way. My mom and dad have always kept a garden, even if it was just a 3x5 plot in front of their student housing townhouse. My dad has hunted for much of our meat and caught a great deal of our fish. They freeze veggies and there was time when my mom was canning various things and even making yogurt from scratch. At a time when she was also making vanilla pudding from scratch it was always a little risky, as a five-year-old, to grab a spoonful of whatever creamy substance was in a bowl as it wasn’t always sweet and yummy, yet.
At the peak of their sustainable living efforts we were living in Worsley Alberta. My mom was grinding wheat for four, my dad was hunting deer and other game and they were both gardening and raising chickens and pheasants. Our family was in one of our poorest financial states then but we were defiantly eating well. I remember that food tasting the best, and those years being when we ate together as a family the most. We were involved, together, as a family building and creating a life rather than just moving through it.
Although us three younglings where barely three apples tall, we had our roles. My brother at two-years-old was the designated egg dropper and the designated dog fetcher to clean up dropped eggs. He would grab an egg from the basket one of us had set down, step away and drop the egg then holler, “Puppy! Egg!” Then our dopey cocker-spaniel, Andrew, would gallop up with his ears flopping everywhere to devour the egg mess. I think he got as much on his ears as he did in his mouth.
My sister, then four-years-old, and I would fetch eggs and feed the chickens. Sometimes we would help tend the garden with close supervision from Mom. My favorite times where when our mom would take us for walks to search for edible wild plants to garnish our salads with. Pigweed, I think that is what she called it, was my favorite. It had leaves sort of like spinach that where dusted with a sparkly purple. I still find it from time to time but not often in places I am willing to eat from.
My dad got his first deer in Worsley, in a field across from our acreage. He came running home, burst through the door and franticly asked my mother where I was. She told him I was outside playing and asked where else I would be, slightly worried by my dad’s frantic tone and confused by the giant grin on his face. “I got a Deer!” he responded and ran out to find me.
If my mom had had time to think about the situation I probably would have missed my first biology lesson. I remember standing on the edge of the field and my dad explaining the circle of life to me. I know realize he was testing the water and preparing me in case I decided he had killed Bambi. Bambi was the last thing on my mind. The whole “dad hunting” thing had a lot of hype built around it by then and I was so stoked that my dad got a deer!
We walk up to the deer and I crouched down beside him as he began to explain his steps. He pointed out all the different part or the deer’s body and how they worked as he field dressed the animal. I honestly think that day is responsible for both my short stint of vegetarianism as a teenager and my now treasured hunting hobby.
We moved from Worsley shortly afterward. I was six-years-old and partly through grade one. My parents continued to garden and my dad continued to hunt in the next town we moved to and then when they finally settled in Peace River. There we no more chickens or pheasants or walks to collect sparkly-purple edibles but their gardens evolved in to what is now a park like setting complete with a creek, fish pond and wee little bridge.
My family, and myself as an individual, have slowly come back to a higher level of sustainable living. Not to the extent as we had in Worsley but somewhere in-between. I shop at the farmers markets here in Edmonton for as much of our groceries as possible. My dad and I still hunt for some of the family’s meat. My parents grow a fantastic amount of vegetables in their garden. And we are learning everything we can about how to grow and live more sustainable and efficiently. We do these things not only because they help to reduce our carbon footprint but because they help to create and maintain connections and relationships that make us the family that we are. You could say that working together to provide some of our needs gives us Common Ground.
Dad’s Patio Tomatoes and Zucchinis
My dad makes this dish on the side burner of his barbeque a few times every summer. With stuff from the garden, of course. To me, it is the taste of summer.
Ingredients:
2 tbs olive oil
1 medium Red onion diced (White will do)
1 large or two small zucchini
2 small to medium tomatoes chopped in bite sized pieces (Roma are best)
½ cup of fresh chives
Salt and fresh ground pepper to taste
Heat olive oil in a frying pan at a medium heat. Add and sauté the onions until they are translucent. It is important not to brown them, just soften them. Add the zucchini then the chives and tomatoes about 3 minutes later. Toss together and simmer until the zucchini is your desired tenderness and the tomatoes have made a sort of sauce. Usually about 3-5 minute. Serve as a side dish with your favorite patio main course.
I’ve added shrimp, a squeeze of lemon and basil to make a pasta dish that is quite a bit different but still very good.
I am currently planning a patio garden for the condo Nik and I are moving into. I look forward to applying some of the permaculture methods and indoor garden methods I have been reading about. I’ve included some of the links to these methods below and encourage anyone reading this to look into growing a little of your own food. Also, if you haven’t already, check out your local farmers markets and other local and sustainably focused businesses and organizations in your area.
Links:
http://www.windowfarms.org/
http://www.treehugger.com/kitchen-design/saving-food-fridge-it-will-taste-better-may-even-last-longer-and-reduce-your-energy-bills.html
http://myphytopod.com/
http://www.edmontonpermaculture.ca/
http://www.permaculture.org/nm/index.php/site/index/
Thursday, March 8, 2012
Friday, March 2, 2012
New Beginnings
I’m a mover and a shaker. This is not exactly a virtue all of the time. I like trying new things, going new places and having new beginnings. I love new beginnings. This may be attributed to how I was brought up. We moved constantly.
Seriously, I went to four different schools between kindergarten and grade five. I was born in Westlock, then we lived in Athabasca, then Lac La Biche, then Red Deer (we had one move there), then Edmonton, then Worsley (where we moved twice and I took kindergarten and started grade one), then Olds (three different houses and grades one to the start of three), then to Peace River. Oh Peace River… with my parents I lived in three different homes. When I moved out I had five homes with roommates and one just my boyfriend, at the time, and I.
My itchy feet followed me to Edmonton. In the twelve years I have lived in here, with a short two-home move in Drumheller around year seven, I have had nine homes. I would have to sit down with both of my parents and a note pad to properly calculate the number of moves we have made together and then add the moves I have made on my own to get a proper total. I am so tired of moving; however, I do very much enjoy the new beginning that comes with each new home. The packing and unpacking is fun at first. I always manage to get rid of a few things and reorganize everything as I unpack.
You would think I had become a pro at throwing away stuff I don’t use or need anymore and that I am now one amazing packer. This is not so. I became very good at packing stuff hastily and storing it in Rubbermaid bins. Horrid, I know. During my time at the Bonnie Doon place I have managed, with the help of my roommate Danica, to part with a fair about of junk that has been living in the bins while being moved and restored. At first it was difficult, now it has become liberating. Each time I give a book, a kitchen tool or an item of clothing away or take a full box to Goodwill I feel a little lighter. I guess I have been holding on to a lot of things thinking that one-day, when I finally settle down I will prepared. Really all of that stuff has been weighing me down, making that final new beginning harder to reach.
Nik, my partner, and I have just leased a new condo in Spruce Grove. We are currently living in a basement suit in a house in Bonnie Doon that was built in the late sixties. It is charming little place, but it is old and hasn’t been treated so well by the many renters that have lived there over the years. There are some pros, such as the beautiful earth-tone dyed and poured concrete floor in the kitchen and living area, the wonderful neighbourhood full of great friends, the big back yard, the bus that stops right out front and takes me straight to work and the new upstairs tenants who are friends of Danica. The cons have outweighed those charms, excluding the friend who I will miss having so close. For the most part we are moving because it is easier on both of us for Nik to be closer to the shop he sub-contracts out of. There are other reasons though, the old tenants smoked and had a big smelly dog. I can’t get over the smell that still lingers. It’s a basement, albeit there are large windows, it is just not sunny enough. The kitchen is small and old. Most of all, we need a fresh start that is just ours and ours together.
The kitchen is big deal for us. Our relationship was built around food and feeding each other. We have learnt so much about each other and ourselves by puttering together chopping, washing, cooking, baking and creating in the kitchen. I realized I was falling in love with Nik while he moving between the stove and the sink. He was creating something fantastic that likely contained his favorite seasoning, Vegeta. We decided where and how we want to build our future together in the kitchen while cooking and chatting. It became clear that we needed a bigger kitchen to hold us over for a while, as it is where we create most of our quality time. The condo has a large corner kitchen with tones of storage and counter space. I am in heaven just sitting here typing.
This is intended to be our last move before we build our sustainable dream home somewhere in the country and settle there for good. I wonder how that will sit with me five years in. How will I quench my thirst for new beginnings? Will I be rearranging furniture every six months, uprooting and remodeling the indoor greenhouse? Maybe I will be one of those geeks suggesting my husband and I renew our vows every few years. Then I will insist we move all of our stuff into a C-can to then move back into our home as a new beginning, a fresh start. I hope I have the self-control to let the greenhouse be, at least. Any which way, I am certain Nik and I will be able to find all the new beginnings we desire for us and for our family. For now, I look forward to the future and pour a glass of wine to enjoy before crawling in next to Nik on the chilly air mattress for our first night together in our new home.
Keep It Simple Sweetheart Marinade
This Marinade goes great on any meat and is super easy to whip up. We use it mostly on venison a lot.
Ingredients:
2 tbs Olive oil
2 tsp Vegeta
1-2 crushed or finely chopped garlic cloves
Juice from half a lemon, (1-2 tbls)
Pepper to your liking (fresh ground is best)
If cooking venison, beef or pork give the meat a few hefty taps with a meat-mallet on both sides. Take care not to flatten it. Think of it as fluffing the meat.
Place all the ingredients a bowl large enough to stir two eight ounce steaks, or other meat, in. If you have a Tupperware marinade container use that. Lightly toss the meat in the bowl taking care that they get completely covered in the marinade. Leave the meat for at least 20 minutes before cooking them on a pre-heated barbeque, indoor grill or frying pan. Flip once half way through desired cooking time. For Chicken cook all the way through, for good quality beef, pork or duck cook to your liking.
Tips: Beef of Venison steaks cook best when placed on the grill at room temperature.
Add chopped basil to give a summery taste.
Put goat cheese or feta on top of the meat after flipping it.
Let meat stand for 5-10 minutes before cutting into it.
Seriously, I went to four different schools between kindergarten and grade five. I was born in Westlock, then we lived in Athabasca, then Lac La Biche, then Red Deer (we had one move there), then Edmonton, then Worsley (where we moved twice and I took kindergarten and started grade one), then Olds (three different houses and grades one to the start of three), then to Peace River. Oh Peace River… with my parents I lived in three different homes. When I moved out I had five homes with roommates and one just my boyfriend, at the time, and I.
My itchy feet followed me to Edmonton. In the twelve years I have lived in here, with a short two-home move in Drumheller around year seven, I have had nine homes. I would have to sit down with both of my parents and a note pad to properly calculate the number of moves we have made together and then add the moves I have made on my own to get a proper total. I am so tired of moving; however, I do very much enjoy the new beginning that comes with each new home. The packing and unpacking is fun at first. I always manage to get rid of a few things and reorganize everything as I unpack.
You would think I had become a pro at throwing away stuff I don’t use or need anymore and that I am now one amazing packer. This is not so. I became very good at packing stuff hastily and storing it in Rubbermaid bins. Horrid, I know. During my time at the Bonnie Doon place I have managed, with the help of my roommate Danica, to part with a fair about of junk that has been living in the bins while being moved and restored. At first it was difficult, now it has become liberating. Each time I give a book, a kitchen tool or an item of clothing away or take a full box to Goodwill I feel a little lighter. I guess I have been holding on to a lot of things thinking that one-day, when I finally settle down I will prepared. Really all of that stuff has been weighing me down, making that final new beginning harder to reach.
Nik, my partner, and I have just leased a new condo in Spruce Grove. We are currently living in a basement suit in a house in Bonnie Doon that was built in the late sixties. It is charming little place, but it is old and hasn’t been treated so well by the many renters that have lived there over the years. There are some pros, such as the beautiful earth-tone dyed and poured concrete floor in the kitchen and living area, the wonderful neighbourhood full of great friends, the big back yard, the bus that stops right out front and takes me straight to work and the new upstairs tenants who are friends of Danica. The cons have outweighed those charms, excluding the friend who I will miss having so close. For the most part we are moving because it is easier on both of us for Nik to be closer to the shop he sub-contracts out of. There are other reasons though, the old tenants smoked and had a big smelly dog. I can’t get over the smell that still lingers. It’s a basement, albeit there are large windows, it is just not sunny enough. The kitchen is small and old. Most of all, we need a fresh start that is just ours and ours together.
The kitchen is big deal for us. Our relationship was built around food and feeding each other. We have learnt so much about each other and ourselves by puttering together chopping, washing, cooking, baking and creating in the kitchen. I realized I was falling in love with Nik while he moving between the stove and the sink. He was creating something fantastic that likely contained his favorite seasoning, Vegeta. We decided where and how we want to build our future together in the kitchen while cooking and chatting. It became clear that we needed a bigger kitchen to hold us over for a while, as it is where we create most of our quality time. The condo has a large corner kitchen with tones of storage and counter space. I am in heaven just sitting here typing.
This is intended to be our last move before we build our sustainable dream home somewhere in the country and settle there for good. I wonder how that will sit with me five years in. How will I quench my thirst for new beginnings? Will I be rearranging furniture every six months, uprooting and remodeling the indoor greenhouse? Maybe I will be one of those geeks suggesting my husband and I renew our vows every few years. Then I will insist we move all of our stuff into a C-can to then move back into our home as a new beginning, a fresh start. I hope I have the self-control to let the greenhouse be, at least. Any which way, I am certain Nik and I will be able to find all the new beginnings we desire for us and for our family. For now, I look forward to the future and pour a glass of wine to enjoy before crawling in next to Nik on the chilly air mattress for our first night together in our new home.
Keep It Simple Sweetheart Marinade
This Marinade goes great on any meat and is super easy to whip up. We use it mostly on venison a lot.
Ingredients:
2 tbs Olive oil
2 tsp Vegeta
1-2 crushed or finely chopped garlic cloves
Juice from half a lemon, (1-2 tbls)
Pepper to your liking (fresh ground is best)
If cooking venison, beef or pork give the meat a few hefty taps with a meat-mallet on both sides. Take care not to flatten it. Think of it as fluffing the meat.
Place all the ingredients a bowl large enough to stir two eight ounce steaks, or other meat, in. If you have a Tupperware marinade container use that. Lightly toss the meat in the bowl taking care that they get completely covered in the marinade. Leave the meat for at least 20 minutes before cooking them on a pre-heated barbeque, indoor grill or frying pan. Flip once half way through desired cooking time. For Chicken cook all the way through, for good quality beef, pork or duck cook to your liking.
Tips: Beef of Venison steaks cook best when placed on the grill at room temperature.
Add chopped basil to give a summery taste.
Put goat cheese or feta on top of the meat after flipping it.
Let meat stand for 5-10 minutes before cutting into it.
Last Night's Non-Post
Sorry guys, the new place has a sketchy internet connection. Nicole just pointed out that the post I ask her to read is not here.
Posting now.
Thanks'
Jenn
Posting now.
Thanks'
Jenn
Thursday, February 23, 2012
Ingredients for the Life of Nikki Tups
I had meant for the first post in this series to be one of my partners recipes and one of our stories. I wrote a draft that I was very excited about on my new tablet but when I saved it, well I am not really sure what happened to it. It appears to be gone. When that sort of thing happens to a piece of my writing I get a little pissy and refuse to rewrite it until the pissyness passes. So, I start with my dear friend Nicole and how she came back to the kitchen to rediscover her adventurous side in the kitchen and in life. Starting with none other than curry, of course.
I met Nicole in August of 2010 at our coordinator training for the Students’ Association of MacEwan University, fondly referred to as the SA. She was a second year SA veteran then. I noticed her right away. She has one of those welcoming personalities that draws people in and makes them feel welcomed and at home. Though we didn’t really become friends until the following summer. We were both just too busy and too wrapped up at our separate jobs at our separate satellite campuses, she at MacEwan South Campus and me at Centre for the Arts and Communications.
After our two weeks of training Nicole and I didn’t really see much of each other until the Christmas party. After the dinner a group of us decided to hit up Blues on Whyte, a local blues pub on our trendiest of avenues. Nicole had brought her boyfriend, at the time. Lets call him Bernie. Nicole and Bernie looked so in love. And they were. On the dance floor he seemed as if no one else in the world existed except her. Another friend and I made a guess that they would be announcing an engagement sooner than later.
Nicole and Bernie were very much in love. But Nicole, like many of us do including myself, was making compromise after compromise for this special person in her life. Her natural way of setting people at ease was being spent fast and costing her dear. She was loosing grip on the things she loves that make her who she is. For example, she loves to tinker and create in the kitchen. Before Bernie, she would try her hand at making foods from all over the world with exotic ingredients and spices. She was adventurous and excited to try anything. Bernie was not. Bernie was meat and plain potatoes kind of guy. In his mind, things like saffron and quinoa could make him catch the hipster.
It wasn’t just her culinary life that was being eroded of its zest. “Our relationship as a whole was a lot like our relationship in the kitchen, it was nourishing for him and I catered to his needs. But I was neglecting my own style of nourishment, which I needed. I was forced to sacrifice my sense of adventure, and ultimately halted my personal growth.” Eventually their fairytale love that we had gushed over at the Christmas party loosened at its seams. Bernie could not take the heat, so he left the kitchen.
By this time Nicole and I had started a new year of the SA coordinator life at the City Centre Campus. She took the break with Bernie a lot better than I expected. I sensed that she had grown tired of pleasing him and saw that she had forgotten that it was just as important to please herself. She was angry and hurt, as any of us would be, but she knew things were going to get better. And they did.
She rekindled a relationship with a past love, lets call him The Dude, because he is pretty damn cool. The Dude lives and works south of the boarder. He was, and still is I am sure, many of the things a woman wants in a husband. Attentive, supportive, providing and down-right fun. They had a blast together rekindling their fire and exploring new adventures, starting with food. (So far as I know, but lets keep this story G-rated.) They first thing they made together was a curry. She later made it for me and it is fantastic, and the recipe follows this story.
The Dude and Nicole broke off their romance for the second time. The distance was just too trying but they remain friends. (I secretly hope he moves back here, they get married and I get to help plan the wedding, but its not about me.) Their time together reminded Nicole of what she wants, deserves and is capable of creating for herself. “It felt very freeing to make this recipe and to try new things in the kitchen. I am now single again and loving my new found sense of adventure, not only in the kitchen but also in my life.”
People, especially naturally nurturing people like Nicole, often make too many accommodations and comprises for the people closest to them. Making them happy and comfortable begins to move from being rewarding to being costly on the old soul. By working to over please we loose the pieces of ourselves that not only made us who we are but the pieces that attract people to us; however, balance is not the easiest venture to conquer.
From Nicole I am reminded to give freely but always include myself in the list of people to give to.
Goddess Curry
Ingredients:
* 3 tablespoons olive oil
* 1 small onion, chopped
* 2 cloves garlic, minced
* 3 tablespoons curry powder
* 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
* 1 teaspoon paprika
* 1 bay leaf
* 1/2 teaspoon grated fresh ginger root
* 1/2 teaspoon white sugar
* salt to taste
* 2 skinless, boneless chicken breast halves - cut into bite-size pieces
* 1 tablespoon tomato paste
* 1 cup plain yogurt
* 3/4 cup coconut milk
* 1/2 lemon, juiced
* 1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
Directions:
1. Heat olive oil in a skillet over medium heat. Sauté onion until lightly browned. Stir in garlic, curry powder, cinnamon, paprika, bay leaf, ginger, sugar and salt. Continue stirring for 2 minutes. Add chicken pieces, tomato paste, yogurt, and coconut milk. Bring to a boil, reduce heat, and simmer for 20 to 25 minutes.
2. Remove bay leaf, and stir in lemon juice and cayenne pepper. Simmer 5 more minutes.
Serve over rice and/or with nann bread.
I met Nicole in August of 2010 at our coordinator training for the Students’ Association of MacEwan University, fondly referred to as the SA. She was a second year SA veteran then. I noticed her right away. She has one of those welcoming personalities that draws people in and makes them feel welcomed and at home. Though we didn’t really become friends until the following summer. We were both just too busy and too wrapped up at our separate jobs at our separate satellite campuses, she at MacEwan South Campus and me at Centre for the Arts and Communications.
After our two weeks of training Nicole and I didn’t really see much of each other until the Christmas party. After the dinner a group of us decided to hit up Blues on Whyte, a local blues pub on our trendiest of avenues. Nicole had brought her boyfriend, at the time. Lets call him Bernie. Nicole and Bernie looked so in love. And they were. On the dance floor he seemed as if no one else in the world existed except her. Another friend and I made a guess that they would be announcing an engagement sooner than later.
Nicole and Bernie were very much in love. But Nicole, like many of us do including myself, was making compromise after compromise for this special person in her life. Her natural way of setting people at ease was being spent fast and costing her dear. She was loosing grip on the things she loves that make her who she is. For example, she loves to tinker and create in the kitchen. Before Bernie, she would try her hand at making foods from all over the world with exotic ingredients and spices. She was adventurous and excited to try anything. Bernie was not. Bernie was meat and plain potatoes kind of guy. In his mind, things like saffron and quinoa could make him catch the hipster.
It wasn’t just her culinary life that was being eroded of its zest. “Our relationship as a whole was a lot like our relationship in the kitchen, it was nourishing for him and I catered to his needs. But I was neglecting my own style of nourishment, which I needed. I was forced to sacrifice my sense of adventure, and ultimately halted my personal growth.” Eventually their fairytale love that we had gushed over at the Christmas party loosened at its seams. Bernie could not take the heat, so he left the kitchen.
By this time Nicole and I had started a new year of the SA coordinator life at the City Centre Campus. She took the break with Bernie a lot better than I expected. I sensed that she had grown tired of pleasing him and saw that she had forgotten that it was just as important to please herself. She was angry and hurt, as any of us would be, but she knew things were going to get better. And they did.
She rekindled a relationship with a past love, lets call him The Dude, because he is pretty damn cool. The Dude lives and works south of the boarder. He was, and still is I am sure, many of the things a woman wants in a husband. Attentive, supportive, providing and down-right fun. They had a blast together rekindling their fire and exploring new adventures, starting with food. (So far as I know, but lets keep this story G-rated.) They first thing they made together was a curry. She later made it for me and it is fantastic, and the recipe follows this story.
The Dude and Nicole broke off their romance for the second time. The distance was just too trying but they remain friends. (I secretly hope he moves back here, they get married and I get to help plan the wedding, but its not about me.) Their time together reminded Nicole of what she wants, deserves and is capable of creating for herself. “It felt very freeing to make this recipe and to try new things in the kitchen. I am now single again and loving my new found sense of adventure, not only in the kitchen but also in my life.”
People, especially naturally nurturing people like Nicole, often make too many accommodations and comprises for the people closest to them. Making them happy and comfortable begins to move from being rewarding to being costly on the old soul. By working to over please we loose the pieces of ourselves that not only made us who we are but the pieces that attract people to us; however, balance is not the easiest venture to conquer.
From Nicole I am reminded to give freely but always include myself in the list of people to give to.
Goddess Curry
Ingredients:
* 3 tablespoons olive oil
* 1 small onion, chopped
* 2 cloves garlic, minced
* 3 tablespoons curry powder
* 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
* 1 teaspoon paprika
* 1 bay leaf
* 1/2 teaspoon grated fresh ginger root
* 1/2 teaspoon white sugar
* salt to taste
* 2 skinless, boneless chicken breast halves - cut into bite-size pieces
* 1 tablespoon tomato paste
* 1 cup plain yogurt
* 3/4 cup coconut milk
* 1/2 lemon, juiced
* 1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
Directions:
1. Heat olive oil in a skillet over medium heat. Sauté onion until lightly browned. Stir in garlic, curry powder, cinnamon, paprika, bay leaf, ginger, sugar and salt. Continue stirring for 2 minutes. Add chicken pieces, tomato paste, yogurt, and coconut milk. Bring to a boil, reduce heat, and simmer for 20 to 25 minutes.
2. Remove bay leaf, and stir in lemon juice and cayenne pepper. Simmer 5 more minutes.
Serve over rice and/or with nann bread.
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