Everyday Boy

Song, Snow, Soup

Darlin' the snow is falling
Falling like forgiveness from the sky

Over The Rhine, Darlin' (Christmas Is Coming)
From Snow Angels

This album came late in the mail this past Christmas, so I pulled it back out with all the snow that has fallen in Vancouver today. Feeling a bit of a cold coming on, I was making chicken soup, with a bit of a twist (my housemate Karen has been trying to teach me to deviate from recipes) - some beets that turned it a nice shade of red. Yes, yet another Jamie recipe... and yes, the port is a nice touch:

Serves 6
1 3 1/2 lb free-range organic chicken
2 carrots, peeled and roughly chopped
2 sticks of celery, roughly chopped
1 slice of smoked bacon
2-3 sprigs of fresh rosemary
sea salt
optional: a splash of sherry or port

Put your chicken, carrot, celery and bacon in a large saucepan, cover with water and bring to the boil. Turn the heat down and simmer slowly for an hour and a quarter, skimming the white residue off the top every now and again. Add your rosemary sprigs for the last 10 minutes, then remove the chicken from the pan. It should be perfectly cooked, and will be great for salads or sandwiches or for tearing into slivers to put into the soup. Season the soup with salt and ladle it through a sieve into a bowl, trying not to disrupt the soup too much, keeping it reasonably clear. The finished thing should be a kinda clear consomme. (156)

Jamie Oliver, Jamie's Dinners

Slowing Down With Soup

Slowing down, as the Advent season suggests, becomes a lot easier when it's cold and snowing. Espeicially up here on the North West coast where snow falls so rarely. I woke up to the closest thing I imagine you can have to a winter wonderland here in Vancoouver, with at least three inches of snow covering the ground and weighing down tree limbs, car hoods and the newly repaired roof on our house. It was a pleasant surprise, and felt a bit like Christmas. It makes you want to curl up in a blanket by a warm fire with a hot beverage and a good book.

Unfortunately, I had to venture out into the slush, but later in the day I was pleasantly surprised to have our resident soup expert, Steve, bring home another batch of his weekly leftovers from school; a variation of a mexican-style chili soup called South Austin Chili. It felt like such a fitting choice of soup for such a wintry day. A soup with a little kick, to warm your insides:

South Austin Chili

1 1/2 cups dried black beans, soaked overnight
2 bay leaves
1 1/2 cups dried red kidney beans, soaked overnight
1 1/2 cups dried great northern beans, soaked overnight
2 onions diced
1 (6-ounce) can tomato paste
1 (14-ounce) can diced tomatoes
2 tablespoons chipotle en adobo, pureed
2 pasilla chilles
1/4 cup begetable oil
1/4 cup chili powder
2 tablespoons garlic powder
1 tablespoon ground cumin
2 ounces unseetened baking chocolate
1 to 2 tablespoons sage
2 cups textured begetable protein
Salt
Corn chips, for serving
Yellow cheese, shredded for serving

Several hours before you plan to serve, drain the balck beans. Put them in your soup pot, cover with fresh water, add the bay leaves, and cook the hell out of 'em over medium-high heat, adding water as necessary. After about 45 minutes of such cooking, drain the soaded red and white beans and add them, along with the onions, to the pot. From a nearby teapot, add hot water to cover, return to a simmer, then decrease the heat to medium-low, cover, and cook the hell out of this mixture, too, until the beans are all very soft, about 30 minutes. Stir in the tomato paste, the diced tomatoes and their juices, and the chipotle puree. Cover and return to a simmer over medium-low heat.
             Now, to transform ths from a pot of beans to a pot of chili: Pull the tops off the pasillas and toast the chiles in a toaster oven until light and crispy. Grind them to a poser in a coffee grinder or food processor. Heat the oil in a heavy skillet . Add the chili poser, garlic poser, cumin, and the ground pasilla and stir will. Allow the concoction to bubble like magma, continuing to stir for about 2 minutes, then add the sizzling-hot mixture to the beans.
             Stir in the chocolate, sage, and textured vegetable protein and season to taste with salt. Simmer for 10 minutes. Serve hot, ladled over corn chips and topped with shredded cheese.

(41)

From The Soup Peddler.

One of the few regrets I have about my whole New York experience last year was missing out on tasting soup from the Soup Nazi, made famous by one of my favorite television shows, Seinfeld. Unfortunately, he was away on vacation the whole five months I was there. And so, as I wait to go back and take up a friends' offer to take me to the Soup Nazi, I have happily discovered some good soup here. Steve showed me the cook book that he extrapolated the recipe from; a wonderful book by David Ansel called The Soup Peddler's Slow & Difficult Soups: Recipes & Reveries, which has both delicious soup recipes and entertaining tales from his community in Austin, Texas.

Ansel writes that he called the book Slow & Difficult Soups as a not-so-subtle dig at the fast-food culture, and because of his very slow and difficult means of conveyance to deliver soup to (his) customers: a bicycle. He continues:

(The recipes are) meant for you to perform whilst savoring time with your loved ones, not to whip up after work. They're meant to cook up a pot so big that you're forced to invite friends over, perchance to catch up on the week's events... This book is about how the mundane aspects of life, such as food and work, can be utterly consuming and rewarding, as long as they are humbly infused with your spirit and creativity. It's about how, when you involve your neighbors and friends in this joie de vivre, your community becomes an inspired and inspiring place. Finally, it's about how sharing yourself in this way foments tikkun olam, the repair of the world, which is a hopeful, participatory theory unto which one must cleave when civilization appears to be in rapid decline. (1, 7)

Hops, Crusts & Other Goodness

Give a man a case of beer and he drinks for a day,
Teach him to brew and he drinks for a lifetime.

On a pamphlet on how to make beer.

Just to give you a flavor (no pun intended) of the house and neighborhood: Thanks to a good man by the name of Dan over at Dan's Brewing Supplies, two of my housemates in the basement here, Dave and Steve, have begun brewing some beer.  It's their second go round, and if all goes well, their twenty-four dollar investment will have translated into forty-eight pints of a nice stout ale.  Looking at the instructions confused me even more about the whole process, so I'm happy to just be a taste tester at the end of it.

Another benefit for the ol' belly has been the goodness created by Annie, a friend of the household who lives just down the block, and has taken it upon herself to bake pies for us every once in awhile.  Yum.  A couple of apple pies and a meat pie has crossed our table, with secrets and recipes being passed along from person to person, and thankful forks pressing in on all sides.   I'm hoping to roll up my sleeves one of these days and learn some pie making techniques too.  Home-brewed beer and home-made pie - what more could you ask for?

Well, I also discovered two wonderful local bakeries that make delectably sweet desserts, so I bought a light chocolate cheesecake, and a rich caramel chocolate cake for a couple of dinners this past week.  I've been trying to faithfully live up to my previous designation of dessert monk; a tradition I've been happy to carry through wherever I am.  I think what I've loved about all the neighborhoods I've lived in the past couple of years are these market streets full of fruit and vegetable stands, small cafes and restaurants, and local bakeries highlighting the cultural flavor of the neighborhood.

Car Free Day

I'm taking another look at David Suzuki's Nature Challenge.  I think I'm going to work on eating meat free meals one day a week, buying locally grown and produced food (I'm looking at Green Earth Organics or SPUD), and biking more than driving.  The newsletter from the Nature Challenge this past month was on smog and being air friendly, and coincidentally there was a street festival in Gastown yesterday with music, performances and displays to promote and celebrate reduced car use and alternative ways for folks to move around.  I must admit that I haven't been very good in keeping my car use down to a minimum.  I do finally have my mountain bike here to putz around town - especially to and from work, but I've been quite lazy about it, especially with the cooler Fall weather these days.

Feeling Like Summer

We made a trip out to White Rock today, which has a great stretch of beach, boardwalk and shops - only forty minutes from Vancouver.  It was a beautiful sunny day with lots of people milling about.  At one section of beach there was a kite festival of sorts happening, with about fifty of them soaring high above in the light breeze, all sorts of colors, shapes and sizes creating patches of kaleidoscope sky.  It was a joyful sight to see, kids and adults alike maneuvering their creations around or others just letting their kite strings sit under rocks and have them find their own way.

Chris took us to what he tells us is the best fish and chip place in White Rock, and it certainly lived up to it's reputation, both in it's tasty food and funky ambiance - it's walls and ceilings strung up with all sorts of funny signs, pictures and memorabelia.  If you're ever in the area be sure to eat at Moby Dicks Restaurant.  You can eat in or take a bucket of fish and chips out to the beach... yup, I think we're going to make it a habit of visiting the area as often as we can this summer.

A Little Art, A Little Food, A Little Fun

... enter into the life of the trees.  Know your relationship and understand their language, unspoken, unwritten talk. - Emily Carr (1871-1945), Hundreds and Thousands: The Journal of Emily Carr (30)

This past Saturday we visited the Vancouver Art Gallery, chock full of local artists and collections: two floors of Rodney Graham, photographs from the collection of Claudia Beck and Andrew Gruft, and an ongoing exhibition of Emily Carr.  I found Rodney Graham's work funny, bizarre, and rather puzzling - all of which Leroy seemed to enjoy as it gave him ideas for his own exhibition of performance art.

I enjoyed the photography of Robert Frank, with his beautiful portraiture in the everyday, and not so everyday events of life: an elderly man in a suit and hat sitting on a park bench, pondering, as a crowd of young graduates walk by in commencement; a man shining shoes in a public washroom glittering with white tiles; and the aloof statuesque beauty of a fashion model, with her head turned in disapproval.  His images tell a story in an instant and are burned into my mind.  Jack Kerouac writes: with that little camera he raises and snaps with one hand, he sucked a sad poem right out of America onto film, taking rank among the tragic poets of the world.

I was pleasantly surprised to see some of Emily Carr's work on display - her charcoal sketches, and her swirling paintings of trees and skies.  My favorite was Above the Gravel Pit.  It all really made me want to pick up her journal Hundreds and Thousands:

Everything is green.  Everything is waiting and still.  Slowly things begin to move, to slip into their places.  Groups and masses and lines tie themselves together.  Colours you had not noticed come out, timidly and boldly.  In and out, in and out your eye passes.  Nothing is crowded, there is living space for all.  Air moves between each leaf.  Sunlight plays and dances.  Nothing is still now.  Life is sweeping through the spaces.  Everything is alive.  The air is alive.  The silence is full of sound.  The green is full of colour.  Light and dark chase each other.  Here is a picture, a complete thought, and there another and there...

Afterward we went to Tanpopo's for some excellent sushi, and our favorite gelato place around the corner (where they had new flavors I've never seen before: Guinness stout, rice and Vegemite!).  We then crashed at home to finally watch The Incredibles.  Good times...

Good Friday

My sister got into town early this morning so we caught up over a tasty breakfast at a local Mediterranean restaurant and bar called Scoozis where we had eggs Benedict and french toast.  In the afternoon we went with Leroy to watch an excellent documentary called Born Into Brothels: A tribute to the resiliency of childhood and the restorative power of art, Born into Brothels is a portrait of several unforgettable children who live in the red light district of Calcutta, where their mothers work as prostitutes. I highly recommend it.  For me it demonstrates very well how living in a neighborhood, and investing oneself in the daily lives of the people around you can bring about change and hope.  You can see a gallery of photos by the children here.

A Traditional Chinese Meal

Josh prepared a wonderfully colorful and tasty Chinese meal for us tonight, consisting of crisp green baby bok choy and pea sprouts, thin slices of red beef, chicken, and pork, white fish balls, meatballs, tofu and noodles - all cooked in a steaming shallow pot of chicken broth, ginger, and water boiling gently in the center of the table.  We each prepared a bowl of sauce made of a Chinese barbecue paste, a raw egg, and soy sauce, to happily dip the food in.  I enjoyed the communal aspect of the meal - much like fondu; arms stretched out and stomachs full... 

We all need to eat and drink to stay alive. But having a meal is more than eating and drinking.  It is celebrating the gifts of life we share.  A meal together is one of the most intimate and sacred human events.  Around the table we become vulnerable, filling one anothers' plates and cups and encouraging one another to eat and drink. Much more happens at a meal than satisfying hunger and quenching thirst. Around the table we become family, friends, community, yes, a body. - Henri Nouwen, Bread For The Journey, February 15

Days As A Poet

I want days as a Poet. Not the workaday life of the prose-writer. I am still on the longbook job. The workhorse day is never over. You can make yourself write prose into the evening, and on into the night, Rise before dawn to elude the people you live with. Think, think, think, plot, plot, write, write, write. Faithfully go at it. Apply yourself to a question, explain things, follow the characters wherever they go. Labor away, and there will be yield - the longbook.

The Poet's day will be moment upon moment of gladsomeness. Poets do whatever they like. They take off whenever they please - to the garden or the shops or the park for strolling or rollerblading. They dine with friends. They go dancing. They go to the library, and read a book that has nothing to do with research. They nap in the hammock, cook, have tea and cookies, invite people over, visit them, pick up the ringing telephone, play music, watch T.V., do nothing, do nothing but breathe. The Muse will find you, and hand over poems. The writing down will be short, and the day long, hardly any of it spent actually writing. The poem comes unworked for. You just pick up the gold fountain pen or the glass pen with the spiral nib, dip it in ink, touch the find linen laid paper, and out flows the poem. - Maxine Hong Kingston

I've been in a bit of hibernation this past month.  I've found it difficult to invest myself in building up another community in another city, but I'm slowly coming out of my shell again.  It's been a lot of cooking and watching television for me the past couple of weeks.  I've also done a lot of card writing, and reflection over the past year.  I finally completed a small year in review for 2004.  If you want the CD to accompany it, just e-mail me at ddallong@hotmail.com.

I've also been doing a lot of thinking about what I want to do in the weeks and months ahead - whether or not to recommit with my volunteer work, go back to school, perhaps apply for a staff position, or explore other options.  There are a lot of questions for me still lingering, but the path is becoming a bit clearer as I go along.

I do hope to get out a bit more and explore the greater Vancouver area.  I've been here two months and I feel like I don't even know my neighborhood too much.  I'm thinking it's time to start running - again.  I'm going to try and get out of the city on the weekends and do some trail running in the woods.

I continue to enjoy good food.  Last Saturday the shelter had a Summer in January staff party at the Vancouver Lawn Tennis & Badminton Club.  It was a fun night where folks dressed up in Hawaiian shirts and their summer's best, and we sat down for cocktails and a formal dinner.  There was an interesting carrot and apricot soup, chicken or salmon in a pineapple sauce, and apple pie for dessert.  They also had a raffle draw - Starbucks cards, movie passes, cash and gift certificates - and then a dance afterwards.  It was an enjoyable evening of food, drink and laughter.  Then this past Monday, Chris, Josh and I found a funky Cuban restaurant called Havana, where they let customers carve their names into the wallpaper.  We all sampled a seafood dish: jambalaya, a seafood stir-fry and a seafood bake.  All very tasty!

All in all, work has been busy, challenging, draining, exciting, and fulfilling... still lot's to learn - especially how to keep a healthy balance between work and play.  As for the days of a poet - I'm still trying to find my Muse.

Food & Film

Last night we had a good visit with my cousin Jess and his wife Sara who both cooked up a beautiful meal for myself, my sister Aicee, and her fiance Mark. Jess ended up warming up the barbecue and cooking us up some juicy steaks. Then this morning I caught up with my friend, Maija (an amazing artist with great artistic vision) - for breakfast at a funky retro place called the Diner Deluxe. And then tonight I went with my friend Coralee to a new Asian fusion restaruant that's popped up in Calgary since I've been away, called Open Sesame - famous for it's stir frys. Afterwards we caught the movie The Aviator, which I found interesting but quite long.

So as usual, I'm having my fill of good food with family and friends - with the occasional movie thrown in for good measure. This past week I also saw Harry Potter & The Prisoner of Azkaban, which I didn't enjoy as much as the first or second movies - but thought was fun nonetheless, and Spanglish - which I found quite funny, and appreciated the not so predictable ending. I'm behind on my movie watching ever since leaving New York, but luckily the good food has stuck.