Holiday Feast-ivities!

Last night we had a HUGE holiday feast. All afternoon that kitchen was full of music, cookie and pie baking, ham roasting, soup simmering, laughing and general merry-making. My roommates and I all invited a couple of friends, and everyone brought a dish to share- we ended up with quite the feast: Split Pea and Butternut Squash Soup, Chickpea Salad, Edamame bead and mandarin salad, roasted turnip and apples, maple glazed ham (for those carnivore types), broccoli salad, homemade buns, Moroccan oranges, maple glazed apple pecan pie, cranberry orange cookies, ginger bread cookies, chocolate clusters, milk candies, du vin rouge, and homemade eggnog!
It was a fabulous mix of friends, food, and lively banter.
After cleaning up a bit, we bundled up our full bellies and went "tobogganing" (with cookie trays and plastic sheets) on the mountain. It was a fabulous night.

Here recipes of what i made for the feast:
Split Pea and Butternut Squash Soup
- Olive Oil
- 1 large yellow onion, sliced
- 1 + Tbsp ginger, minced
- 1 tsp cumin seeds, toasted and ground
- 4 bay leaves
- 2 tsp tumeric
- 4 cups water
- 1 cup split yellow peas, dried
- 4-5 cups water and vegetable bullion
- 1 medium butter nut squash, peeled and diced
- salt and pepper, to taste
- Sour cream and chives (to garnish, and thus - optional)

Place a large stock pot over medium heat. Add the oil, onion, and cumin. Cook the onions until they start to caramelize.
Add the bay leaves, tumeric, water and peas. Lower the heat to a simmer (185 degrees F) and cook until the peas are soft, about 90 minutes give or take 15 minutes.
Add the vegetable stock and diced squash. Raise the heat until the soup comes to a light boil (210 - 212 degrees F) and cook for 20 minutes. At this point, remove the bay leaves and star anise. Puree the soup either through a wand or a blender. Return to heat and allow to simmer for another 30 minutes.
Top with sour cream and chives and serve.
Serves 4-6
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Cranberry Orange Cookies
1 cup butter, softened
1/2 cup white sugar
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1 egg
1 teaspoon grated orange zest
2 tablespoons orange juice
3 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 cups chopped cranberries
1/2 cup chopped walnuts or pecans (optional)

1/2 teaspoon grated orange zest
3 tablespoons orange juice
1 1/2 cups confectioners' sugar

DIRECTIONS
Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C).
In a large bowl, cream together the butter, white sugar and brown sugar until smooth. Beat in the egg until well blended. Mix in 1 teaspoon orange zest and 2 tablespoons orange juice. Combine the flour, baking soda and salt; stir into the orange mixture. Mix in cranberries and if using, walnuts, until evenly distributed. Drop dough by rounded tablespoonfuls onto ungreased cookie sheets. Cookies should be spaced at least 2 inches apart.
Bake for 12 to 14 minutes in the preheated oven, until the edges are golden. Remove from cookie sheets to cool on wire racks.
In a small bowl, mix together 1/2 teaspoon orange zest, 3 tablespoons orange juice and confectioners' sugar until smooth. Spread over the tops of cooled cookies. Let stand until set.
yUUUUUUUUUUUUmmmmmmmmmmmm

Its weird that this is my first post about yoga since it is such a big part of my life. I took my first yoga class at the ymca when I was in grade 7. I loved it from the beginning, and continued to take classes when I could and try a few moves at home here at there through high school. Since starting university, I started taking classes ever semester both on campus and off, and really started to deepen my practice. By “deepen my practice” I mean that yoga started to affect my day to day life- the way that I carry myself, the way that I think about my body, my perspectives, my ways of dealing with stress, the way that I respond to others…
One book that helped me to start integrating this things in my life was Living Your Yoga: Finding the spiritual in everyday life. It’s a very interesting, thought provoking read that I recommend to yogis and non-yogis alike. You definitely don’t have to have done any yoga to take some really valuable ideas and tools from it. One thing that especially sunk in from the read was importance of living in the present. To me this means being fully immersed in the moment that you are in, giving it your full awareness and attention. When I’m doing yoga asanas (poses) the act of being present becomes most clear for me. When it’s a difficult pose, presence almost becomes effortless because I my thoughts are completely in my body, coordinating my movements, breath and energy. Presence is not something that I achieve for a duration of time. I get snippets of full engagement in the present between stretches of memories, planning, worrying, reminiscing, all of which are ways of living in the past or future. Through continuing my practice of yoga however, the snippets can become longer, and my focus steadier, my mind calmer.
Today I visited Heaven Yoga Studio in the west island of montreal because I’m looking into their teacher training program. I’ve been thinking of doing teacher training for about a year now. I don’t think I’ll become a full time yoga teacher anytime soon, but I would like to teach a class or 2 a week to share yoga with others as it has helped me develop so much.
I’m really excited about the training Heaven offers. It’s a fusion of Anusara , Ashtanga and Hatha Flow. I’ve studied all 3 types, and have appreciated elements of all three, and tend to mix them all when I am practicing on my own, so the style taught is perfect for me. The training includes history, philosophy, anatomy, teaching principles and methodology. Even after just one class, I feel confidant that karen , the studio director and teacher, is very well trained and a talented teacher. I’m planning to apply for the intensive teacher training in august 2008 and am really excited to be taking this step.

mission accomplished. hot water and patience did the trick. i was even able to ride it home and it was kind of fun biking in the snow. makes me tempted to try winter biking eventually... too bad a don't have my semi-truck like Gt Palomer anymore, it handled really well in snow, could have been really good in montreal if i could have winterized it.

in other news, i'm still keeping busy even though i'm finished with my class-work is going well, although i'm not getting as many hours as would be ideal. have a meeting and planning for MIE this week and some work to do for MA language program.

i'm getting super excited for this weekend and next week. this weekend holiday house party- decorating our adorable 3 foot tree (which is making our living room so nice and piney) ((pictures up soon)). and, next week a good friend is coming to visit from waterloo! it will be tons of fun to show her around town.

bisous

my bikecapades

conditions have worsened for my bike retrieval. I was working all weekend and i wasn't able to get it. monday was going to be the day. BUT, sunday night "un tempet de neige" descended on montreal. covering us in 2 feet of snow.

still, after my final class at mcgill for the term (whoopie!) yesterday afternoon, i was ready and determined to retrieve my bike. I waded through the thigh deep snow with a thermos of hot water in hand to get to my locked bike. i pulled out my key, jammed it into the icy keyhole, and started pouring water over the shaft of the lock. it seemed to be working, but still the key wouldn't turn. in my impatience, i pulled the key back out, and noticed that as i had been jamming it in, i had bent the rather flimsy key a bit. without thinking i tried to bend it- AND IT SNAPPED! S*&^ D**^#@^^%$(*&**FFFF
I walked home defeated yet again. luckily, my lock came with two keys, so its not as bad as it could be. but i think i'm going to try to get the 2nd copied before i go breaking it. today i'm going to go try a third time (hopefully the charm). i'm going to try to warm the lock more slowly, and not jam the key in. the worst part is that if i ever do succeed in unlocking my f-ing bike i'm going to have to trudge with it about 2k back to my apartment, and then carry it up 3 flights of stairs. pauvre pauvre moi.

i haven't brought my bike in for the winter yet. optimistically, i was hoping that there might be one last warm spell before winter really set it. actually, mostly its just i've been too lazy to carry it up the 3 flights of stairs to the storage room. so, this afternoon i i was running a bit late for class, and it was sunny, so i figured, why not use my bike one last time before december?
well as a descended from the plateau towards the mcgill getto, the sky started looking less sunny and the wind was ripping at my ears. i peddled as fast as a could, wishing i was walking and generating more heat rather than losing it. anyways, i made it to class on time.
however, when i got out of class an hour an later there was about a half inch of snow on the ground. and when i went to unlock my bike, my sturdy U-lock was frozen solid, i could hardly get the key in. to make a long story short, i walked home, and my bike is still sitting on campus.
any suggestions of how to unfreeze a u-lock would be ever so appreciated.

bon weekend!

its been a busy last couple of weeks- starting the new job, keeping up with the other job, finishing up last papers for the school term, and working on MIE stuff. i just haven't had much energy to write something interesting or reflective on here. so, how about another recipe? i made this one up myself! tell me if you think i should make some adjustments.

spicy sweet potato fries
mix:
- 1/4 c+ olive oil
- 1/4 c maple syrup
- 1/2 t cayenne red pepper
- 1 t cinnamon
- 1 t salt
spread over
4-5 sweet potatoes, cut into wedges
make sure that all potatoes are coated, if it doesn't seem like enough, just add some olive oil.

bake/broil on high heat (400) until golden brown and crispy on outside and soft on inside. turn them over ever 5-10 minutes. should take 30-45 minutes to bake.

p.s. congrats saners!!!!!!!!! josiah is beautiful. i can't wait to meet him a boyne!

smashing the fluffy pink duck

no, it wasn't real. yesterday was my housemate amy's birthday, and normally on housemates birthdays we make a meal or go out to eat. but amy said she wanted to drink beer and smash a cute pinata. this was a brillant idea. we had a blast!

Home-made Yogurt!

Nothing goes better with a bowl of home-made granola than home-made yogurt. Oh my my.
Making yogurt is about a scientific as I can get. I’m talking sterilization, bacteria, monitoring temperature, incubation…
No, actually, its pretty simple.
1. heat milk to kill any existing bacteria. I recommend putting your pot of milk, inside a pot of water which you place on the boiler, less risk of burning. Heat it 180 degrees F.
2. let milk cool down to between 110-120 degrees. Add 1/2c powdered milk if you desire thick yogurt.
3. next add, in a jar put several Tbs of fresh, plain yogurt (or from your last batch). Add a couple Tbs of your warm milk. Mix. Then add the rest of your milk. Mix.
4. heat your oven to about 125 degrees, turn it off but leave the light on. Put in your jar of milk + bacteria.
5. Now give your milk some privacy, the bacteria are basically going to have a big orgy and reproduce like there’s no tomorrow. In about 6 hours, they’ll have transformed your milk into delicious yogurt!

For more detailed directions I recommend consulting this fabulous wiki how page .

And as always, I recommend organic, hormone free milk form happy free range cows.

Saturday, I spent the afternoon at a brainstorming and planning session of MIE (Mouvement Intercultural pour l'Environment). MIE is a new non-profit org that was envisioned by several workers at Éco Quartiers . In Montreal, each borrow has an Éco Quartiers that serves to educate constituents of recycling programs, provide composting materials, do environmental education and conduct workshops on environmental issues. MIE was created because several Éco Quartiers workers felt that environmental education is often not culturally sensitive and applicable for different cultural communities in the city. Here is MIE’s noble mission statement:

Intercultural Movement for the Environment is an environmental non-profitable organization that aims to incorporate culture as a part of environmental thinking, and integrate environmental consciousness in all cultural communities. Our role is to provide a platform that allows for active dialogues and exchanges of knowledge between all stakeholders, and at the same time, foster home-grown environmental culture. We welcome diverse points of view, ask for cultural and political sensitivity from all members, and place emphasis on communication.

I see great value in the mission and aspirations of the organization, and I’m really excited about its potential! It seems like a perfect fusion of my interests of anthropology and environmentalism. So I jumped right on board- I have taken the position of Secretary for the brand new board of directors of MIE. It should be a fabulous experience of learning how starting a non-profit works, reflecting on and promoting environmentalism and multiculturalism, and getting to know a diverse group of people who have similar interests to me. As secretary one of my tasks is getting/keeping the MIE blog updated. So check back there soon to hear about our plans and up coming events!

what does a language assistant coordinator do?

This has been a busy week for the MA Language Program . It has been registration week for the next 6 week session of French and English classes. This means that we have certain times when new student can come in. They complete paper work, take a written test and then spend 5-10 minutes chatting with a professor to determine which level they should be placed in (we have 4 levels). My job in all this was preparing and copying forms and tests, information to hand out, registering students in classes once their level was determined, taking their money. Once all registration was finished I’ve been entering all the data on students into our database and making attendance sheets and the like.
The MA program fills a special need in Montreal. Although there are lots of language schools around, many of them are targeted at business people and aren’t very affordable. Likewise, the adult education commission has some great programs, but these are not available to those without permanent residency. The MA program is fairly unique in that all of our teachers are volunteers. Therefore prices of classes kept low, at only $65-85 for a 6 week session of 8 hours of class a week. We also offer a substantial discount for refugees, only $25 a course with proof of status.
I really enjoyed work during registration this week seeing the broad demographic of students joining the program. There is such a diverse group of people both accessing the service and volunteering to make the service possible. A large majority of students enrolling are Mexican, but beyond that I registered Haitians, Chileans, Cubans, Sudanese, Algerians, Guineans, Japanese, Chinese, Taiwanese, Americans, Canadians, French, Columbians, Brazilians… such diversity must make for interesting classes, as most of the classes are conversations based. Furthermore, many of the teachers are immigrants as well.
Overall, I’m finding it to be a great job. I get the opportunity to work in primarily in French, interact a variety of people, see the inner workings of a non-profit and the hours are quite flexible. Definitely better than working at McDo’s!