A Movie Review (Or Two) for December

One of the things I really love about Christmas is the seasonal proliferation of movies. I watch far more than can possibly be healthy for me even when there's absolutely nothing good playing, so December really is one of my favourite movie-going months. Last week I went to see two very different movies, Avatar and Invictus. I've been looking forward to seeing Avatar since I first saw the trailer a few months back. I mean, blue people, how cool is that? I hate going to see a movie for the first time if I already know what's going to happen, so I didn't bother following the online hype. I enjoyed the movie for the most part, although at the end of the day I prefer a film that doesn't bash me over the head repeatedly with sanctimonious morals. I mean I think we all (except for a few square-headed oil execs who will no doubt all move to Mars once global warming destroys Earth) get that corporate greed and the wholesale destruction of the environment is evil... And that we'd all do well to remember that we depend upon our environment and as such should care for it. I gotta say though, our society has long (and erroneously might I add) romanticized aboriginal cultures and portrayed them as all that is good and pure. I hate to break it to you folks, but it just ain't true. And I couldn't help but think as I sat there in the theatre (munching popcorn that was likely grown in another country and harvested with very large machines) that at the end of the show most people there would be hopping into their fossil fuel dependent vehicles and driving off to their energy inefficient homes. I mean let's face it: we are all part of the problem. Not to put too fine a point on it.... And on a totally different note, the one thing that came close to completely wrecking the whole movie was one tiny inconsistency: near the beginning of the movie one of the characters makes a remark about the "jungles" in Venezuela, then later in the movie another character states that there is nothing green left on their (the humans') planet. Well which is it? You can't have it both ways... You'd think with all the millions of dollars sunk into this movie that somebody, somewhere along the way would have picked up on this. My mind gets stuck on stupid little things like that, it pulls me right out of the movie. Still, the special effects made up for a pretty thin plot. Invictus was another kettle of fish altogether. Based on true (or so they say) events, it tells the story of how Nelson Mandela fostered unity in South Africa by convincing the captain of South Africa's national rugby team (the Springbokke) that they could win the Rugby World Cup. Which they then did in 1995, against all odds. And in doing so they did unite their country, at least in that one matter at that one moment in time. The first part of the movie (which concentrates on Mandela's story) was brilliant. The rest devolves into a sports movie, but overall it was a very moving and well told story. What I liked best about the movie was that it was a reminder that change is possible, that we are all the masters of our own destiny and perhaps most important of all, that forgiveness will set us free. Plus it has one of my most favouritest songs ever: Shosholoza. So. Here's my verdict. If you want to see Avatar, then go see it in a theatre unless you have a massive-screen t.v. at home. I mean the story's pretty schmaltzy, but it's a big-screen kinda movie. That is, if you don't mind pietistic Hollywood movies... As for Invictus: Go see it. Do it. It'll make you feel good about being human... And that's something Avatar can't do.

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Tire

I know, I know. Having blogged but a handful of times all year, I'm posting yet another recipe. I probably should start a separate blog for this. After all, this blog is about me, not food. But what can I say? My life largely revolves around food these days. I actually have nightmare dreams about slicing and dicing and veggies...

In any case. The following is a recipe for Tire (pronounced "teeerrrr" -roll those r's), a French-Canadian candy sent by Gitche Manitou himself. I'm not kidding, it really was. There is a legend about Nanabojo (the trickster) who was sent by Gitche Manitou amongst the people. It used to be that you could tap a maple and get quality syrup straight from the tree, but when Nanabojo saw the people getting fat off the syrup and doing nothing to prepare for winter he watered down the sap and made it hard work to make maple syrup. Good on you Nanabojo, that'll teach those layabouts. Oh wait, that's my ancestors I'm talking about... In any case. Tire is a pulled candy, so if you've never made pulled candy here's a link to a vid to show you how: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M8qFtx3ydvA . I've never actually watched the whole thing (it's four minutes long and I don't have that kind of attention span...), but I'm sure it'll give you some idea. The only vaguely specialized piece of equipment you will need to make this recipe is a candy thermometer, which shouldn't set you back more than a few bucks. So without further ado, here's the ingredients:

• 1/2 cup of maple syrup
• 1/4 cup of corn syrup
• 1 1/4 cups of sugar
• 6 tbsp of water (you already know how I feel about chlorine...)
• pinch of salt
• pinch of baking soda
• 1/2 cup of heavy cream
• 2 tbsp butter cut into bits, unsalted. Or you can skip adding the pinch of salt and used salted butter, your call...

And here's the method:

1. You will need a large heatproof surface to work the candy on. The countertop will do if you clean it well first (wash off those chemicals though, unless you want them in your candy) and don't mind getting it all oily and/or sticky. Or you can use a marble slab if you have one. Either way, oil or butter (I use butter) the surface really well.
2. You will also need a well buttered heat-proof spatula or bench knife to work the candy and a pair of well buttered scissors to cut the candy once it's done.
3. Line a large baking sheet with parchment. Butter it and set it aside.
4. Reduce the half cup of maple syrup to 1/4 cup in a 3-4 quart pot, over low heat. This should take about 10 minutes. I never re-measure to make sure it's a 1/4 cup on account of my laziness, I just time it. And look, cause you can see it getting thicker...
5. Once it is reduced, add the corn syrup, sugar, water, salt and soda. Increase heat to medium and stir until the sugar dissolves. Continue to cook without stirring until the mixture reads 235°F on a candy thermometer.
6. Add the butter and cream, stirring once or twice to evenly distribute it, then continue to cook without stirring until the thermometer reaches 255°F. Remove the pan from the heat immediately and pour onto your oiled worksurface.
7. Let the candy sit for a couple of minutes, then using your oiled bench knife, flip the edges in towards the middle. Keep doing this until it is cool enough to work with your hands.
8. Butter your hands well, and keep more butter close at hand as the candy is still very hot and you really don't want it sticking to you. Grab the candy with both hands, pull it apart into a rope-like blob, then fold it back on itself, putting the two ends together. Keep doing this, it will gradually harden and turn lighter shade of golden brown.
9. When it begins to harden, roll it into a log about 20" long on your oiled surface. Cut into four pieces of equal size. Working quickly (as it is now starting to set) stretch and /or roll each piece until it is about 1/4" thick.
10. Using a pair of well buttered scissors cut the candy into bite size pieces. Put the candy pieces on the baking sheet and let them harden. Wrap the candy in bits of wax paper (I usually let it sit a few hours before I do this to let it really harden) or put it into an airtight container between layers of parchment paper. Enjoy, but do be careful of any fillings you might have and try not to eat it all at once, you'll go into diabetic shock.

So there you have it, homemade candy the Canadian way... I know the thought of home made candy is a bit overwhelming, but trust me it's so way better than anything you can buy. This recipe is easier than most because you don't even have to stir. It's candy-making for the lazy-assed.

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Soupe Savoyarde

So.... Recipes... Kinda put my foot in it haven't I? Now I have to actually provide recipes.... Dang it. Don't get me wrong, I'm not all secretive about recipes I use. It's more sort of I don't actually use them all that often. To make things worse, I usually cook in gargantuan quantities... I'm pretty good at predicting how much soup I'll need to feed 50 people, but I'm going on the assumption that you (yes my quasi regular readers this recipe is for you!) will not actually want to make soup by the gallon... I suppose I could test the smaller recipe, but I'm just gonna wing it. Really it's more fun this way isn't it? Isn't it? So here goes nothing....

Soupe Savoyarde is my most favouritest Fall/Winter soup ever. You can find recipes for it all over the place, so if you're super-chicken about trying an untested recipe I suppose you could look it up elsewhere. Here's what you need ingredients-wise:

• 1 turnip of medium size, peeled and diced. I favour yellow-flesh turnips. I suspicion they may be called rutabagas in other corners of the world...
• 3 large-ish potatoes, peeled and diced. Russets are nice but not necessary.
• 1 medium to large sized celeriac (celery root) peeled and diced or you can use celery (1 bunch, chopped) if you must. But it's awesomer with celeriac, so make a little effort k? Try the organic food store if you can't find it elsewhere.
• 2 biggish leeks, thinly sliced.
• 1 biggish onion, chopped.
• 1.5-2 quarts of stock. Which, if you want the soup to taste any good at all, you will make yourself. Relax, I'll tell you how.
• A quantity of hard white cheese (so cheddar, gruyere, parmesan which you personally have grated and that has not been sitting all dessicated in a green kraft jar since the beginning of time all work well).
• Homemade croutons, or if you're all lazy like me, some rounds of french bread sliced and toasted.
• Completely optional, but incredibly tasty, some nice streaky bacon. Mmmmm, bacon.
• If you're anti bacon, and let's admit it, there are a lot of reasons to hop on the pig-free wagon, use butter instead.
• 2 cups of milk.

And here's the method part of this recipe.

To make the stock you need a pot large enough to hold 8-10 cups of water plus a whack of vegetable matter. Put in the pot, in no particular order:

• 8-10 cups of cold water. Preferably not all full of chlorine, but it's your soup, so do what you want.
• The dark green ends of the 2 leeks
• The peelings from the turnips and the celeriac. Or if you're using celery instead, toss in a couple of stalks and the leafy bits from the centre.
• A carrot if you have it. But if you don't it's not essential.
• The outer skins from the onion. And maybe another small onion chopped in half. The outer skins are gonna make your stock a nice pretty colour, so even if you think they have no flavour (which I don't know, maybe they don't) put them in anyways. If you are feeling inspired, cut the base out of the small onion. If not, then don't. Your soup, remember?

Bring this fabulous mix to a full rolling boil, reduce the heat to somewhere between medium and low, and cook it uncovered for about 1/2 - 1 hour. Strain out the vegetable matter, reserving the liquid (it's your stock, don't throw it down the drain).

While the stock is simmering away happily, you can start on the rest of the soup. Dice the celeriac, turnip and onion. Size is not so important as consistency. Try to get the pieces about the same size from one veggie to the next, otherwise by the time one is cooked the other will be total mush. Make sense? Slice the leeks thinly. In a large soup pot, either fry the bacon (four slices should do it) until it starts to get all soft, or melt the butter. Whichever you are using do not burn it. Brown the sliced and diced veggies in the bacon/butter. Turn the heat way down, cover and let it cook gently for about 15 minutes. Check your stock it's probably done by now. And just in time! Add your 6-8 cups of stock to the pot. Peel and dice your taters, add them to the pot. Simmer until all the veggies are done, depending on the size of dice this should take 30-40 minutes. Taste your soup. If you used bacon you might not actually need to add salt. If you used the butter, you almost definitely will be wanting a little. Either way, season to taste with salt and pepper. Temper the milk with some hot liquid from your soup (if you don't chances are it will curdle). Stir in the tempered milk and bring the soup back up to temperature but don't let it boil(mmmm.... curdled milk). To serve, place the croutons or toasted bread on the bottom of a soup tureen, cover with shredded cheese (I leave the amount up to you), and pour the hot soup over it. If all goes well, the croutons should float up and be all covered in melted cheese. If this sounds way too complicated, you can put the soup in the tureen, put the toast/croutons and cheese on top and put it under the broiler to melt the cheese. Or you can just toss some croutons and cheese in your soup bowl. Or skip on the croutons and have some nice crusty bread with it instead (this is what I usually do).

So anyways, that's it. I hope it didn't seem too intimidating. It's really a very simple recipe, shouldn't take more than an hour or so to make. Well, maybe just a bit longer. But for the last 30-40 minutes you can sit on your butt and watch t.v. or make a salad to go with it... The soup I mean, not the t.v. I (oh frabjous day) have my camera back, but I have no actual photo of this soup... I'll try to take some food-related photo in the next few days to add to this post for visual interest.

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And It's Lovely Rice Pudding For Dinner Again

So... I've been working as a chef in a conference/retreat centre for the last few months. As with most things in my life, it's something I just kinda fell into. It marks the very first time in my experience that I got the job because of who I know and not necessarily because of what I know. Which is not to say that I can't cook. As it happens I'm damn good at my job. And the biggest surprise of it all? I really, really like being a diva chef. I always thought it would suck to be in charge, as I've never liked telling other people what they should do. I think it boils down to the fact that I really hate it when someone (just about anyone) tells me what to do... But anyways. The whole not liking to tell people what to do really doesn't work when you're trying to run a kitchen. I'm no Chef Ramsay (he's just plain mean) but the kitchen really can't be a democracy. So I've learned to give directions to the rest of the staff, to juggle menus (not literally -there's not often time for that kind of crap), and to tread lightly in the minefield of interpersonal relationships in the workplace. It's taken me a while to get truly comfortable with the job, and I'm sure that time will continue to throw curve balls my way. God knows I've struck out a time or two. I just about caused WWIII by telling the prep cook that I didn't really care how the tomatoes were diced so long as they got diced in the very near future... In any case. I guess that's it. I was thinking about writing this whilst mopping today -not one of my official job duties, but I end up doing it most days anyroad. I'm sure I had some kind of quasi-coherent ending planned out, but I no longer recall what it might have been... So I guess I'll just end it now. Abruptly-ish. And hey, I'm thinking of posting some of my recipes. Lemme know what you think ok? I am still without my camera so a picture will just have to wait...

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Holy Cow

It's been so long since I blogged I find myself incapable of beginning in any coherent fashion... I mean, it's been a while hasn't it? Don't really know exactly why it is I stopped blogging... It's not that I didn't think about it. Mind you, it was usually really late right before I fell asleep and I'd think about something to say, but apathy just seemed to take over and nothing got done. I started a few posts, which will now never see the light of day, but just couldn't find it in me to finish them. I think maybe I'm developing severe ADD or something... Not that I can't concentrate. All I've been thinking about these last few weeks is SNOWBOARD SEASON IS ALMOST HERE. And yes, I have been thinking about it in bold, italicized, rainbow-coloured capital letters. I really don't know what to say, my obsessions rarely last longer than a year or so. Except for my travel/photography/kayaking/tai chi obsessions. Those seem to be terminal cases. In any case. I have a new goal in life folks: I am going (how I'm not entirely sure) to snowboard my way around the world. I figure I can kill three obsessive birds with this stone: travel, photography and of course, risking life and limb sliding down ridiculously steep snow-covered surfaces with both feet strapped to a slab of fiber-whatever it is they make snowboards out of these days. I have half-assedly planned my route: Start the season at home (hidden motivation: not to miss Christmas with the family -guaranteed to make me happy to be on the road for several months) and make a quick detour through the States. Then Europe starting west in Scotland (I have this vision -granted probably completely unrealistic- of hottie scotties boarding in kilts) and working my way east across Andorra, France, Switzerland, Italy, Austria, Turkey and the like, before heading into Asia. Russia, Kazakhstan, India (sweet Buddha, how I love that country), China, Hokkaido... A short break back home just to remind me why it is I love to travel and then head way south: Chile, Argentina, Australia and New Zealand... Now I just need to find funds for my trip. Personally I think it would make a pretty rocking reality show: "Solomon Slip-Slides Around the World". The tagline could be "How many concussions will it take before permanent obvious, lasting brain damage sets in? Tune in next week..."

Well. I guess that's it. Nothing more to add. Except, I bought a new boarding jacket off ebay today. Pretty psyched about that. And I'm buying a banana board in time for Mt. Washington to open... I have no really good pics to put up, and certainly nothing relating to snowboarding my way around the world, so I'll put up one of my favourite photos from this past year...

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