c9 | Entries tagged with food

Fascinating look at local food options and how the big chains can't/won't offer them due to cost, paperwork, cost, auditing ability, cost, and did I mention cost? Remember that your decisions in a grocery store are your vote: if a company is selling more organic stuff, more local stuff, less chemical stuff, they will react to that. Check out how the organic section has grown in your store in the past few years!

Buy-local push prompts Ontario grocers to go independent [CBC.ca]

Five Sobeys grocery stores in southern Ontario have left the Sobeys chain so they can offer local meats and produce -- I just wish they were closer to Toronto!

We do have an independent meat store a couple blocks from our house (Fresh From The Farm) which we're going to try visiting more often (and they do online ordering!) plus we just signed up for Front Door Organics which will deliver local produce right to our house on a schedule we set at a pretty good cost. Fun!

Two -- *two!* -- expired cans of Diet Pepsi the other day. I'd forgotten Diet Pepsi expires, and then they just threw their awful taste in my face! Or mouth! Or something!

I've been struggling with how to describe the taste of expired Diet Pepsi. I think I've settled on tonic water mixed with soda water mixed with PC cola. Or something like that. I like PC cola though, so I need something better there, and less excessive than dishwater or sewage. Hmmm.

Go miscellany!

I got on the elevator in the lobby this morning, and it was empty. I looked forward to the quick trip to the 12th floor. Until on the 3rd floor the elevator stopped and someone got on, pressing the button for 4. At the 4th floor, she got off and someone else got on, pressing the button for 5. At the 5th floor, he got off and nobody else got on. I am glad the pattern stopped.
Wells' Third Law states that on any given issue, Canadian politics will tend toward the least exciting result. However, there are occasional exceptions, such as this one. Short version: this shady character is probably about to be extradited to stand trial in Germany for something, but he paid our former Prime Minister $300k in cash for nobody's-really-sure-what, and the former PM didn't really tell anybody about it (even in his recently published memoirs) until he was kinda forced to, so now everybody's running around in circles. He was trucked in against the government's wishes (minority governments have this situation sometimes) and then said he isn't willing to talk until his appeal about extradition is dealt with. And by dealt with, I'm pretty sure he means 'made to go away now thank you.' It's vaguely circus-like.
My favourite lunch restaurant, Lettuce, was out of poppy seed dressing today. My Soho Salad tasted very weird with their recommended alternative, and I have filed it as edible, but unsatisfying.
I would like a winning lottery ticket. Not a big one -- I'm not greedy -- but a winning one. I figure it's time. This whole real world thing is no fun.

Eatery
Factory
Mill
Parlour (Beef only)

This morning I had a meeting which went so long that I missed out on the doughnuts that our office has for students*. When I got to the kitchen, there were only bagels left. They always have cream cheese, but today there was also raspberry jam**. So I had half a bagel with cream cheese and then raspberry jam on top.

It was really quite good. It's a good thing it's not often available, or I'd really be in trouble. The doughnuts alone*** are giving me pimples.

* and me
** and not the "double the berries half the sugar jam type spread" which we have at home, which is totally awesome BTW
*** my willpower may be part of the equation too, but I don't care.

I was introduced to a yummy lunch option yesterday: Lettuce! Not the vegetable, but the restaurant! It's a salad bar from heaven, with like 100,000 options and chef-designed salads for under ten bucks!

$9.86 (including tax) got me: spinach, walnuts, goat cheese, red onions, celery, apples, light poppyseed dressing, smoked bacon, a couple large chunks of whole wheat bread, and probably a couple other ingredients I've forgotten. Addictive! The salads are huge, about 1.3L of volume. (How's that for making you go "huh?" ?)

Today they forgot to put in the apples. I was unimpressed. But still stuffed.

Lineups threaten to stall Fredericton's hot samosa market

Two vendors at Boyce Farmers' Market in Fredericton are apparently becoming victims of their own success now that they are being told to take the lineups for their samosas outside.

These samosas are the best I've ever had. Also the first but I don't care. Whenever I have the differently-cooked, super-expensive, just-plain-wrong ones in other cities, I am disappointed.

<Little Chrissy> "Won't somebody please bring me some samosas!" </Little Chrissy>

I'm throwing out all our big plates, and buying only single-colour M&Ms!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GQ_eFZ6SE6A&eurl=

(h/t

sassy_red_head)

Wednesday: "All you can eat meat!!" More horrifying words I haven't heard in, well, weeks anyway. Korean Grill House. $8.99. They bring you little bowls of raw meat and fish, and you barbeque them yourself using the big flaming hole in your table. I was sitting on a gas line that fed this thing. It was odd. It was also exclusively meat. My supper, as a way to bring some balance: raw string beans, and a cheez whiz and pickle sandwich on PC-Blue-Menu multigrain bread. (I was surprised to learn recently that almost all bread has sugar as its third ingredient. This one does not, and is tasty.)

Tuesday: I had to lay off an employee. Well, to be more accurate, I had to witness as another manager laid off someone who works for me. Since I've only managed for months, not years, and I've never laid anyone off, it was decided (with my support) that someone else do the actual deed. It was the least fun I've had at work ever. As you'd probably imagine. It really set a negative tone for the rest of the day, so I ended up going home early and working from home and talking to the cats rather than punching a wall or snapping at a coworker.

Monday: I have no idea what happened on Monday. I did some laundry. I also watched the previous week's episode of Prison Break. I keep wanting to write a parody of Prison Break in my journal: it would feature these over-the-top characters, ridiculous plot twists that look like a plate of spaghetti, and brain-melting dialogue. But then each week that's what shows up on the next episode so I don't write anything at all. It's like trying to satirize politics when politics is outrunning you.

Sunday: No offer on the condo, even though we were kind of expecting one. [still no offers today either] It's incredibly frustrating to have to wait for some stranger to discover your wonderful condo and discover their willingness to pay for it. I'm worried that a) it will take 60 days to sell, leaving me with a completely destroyed-by-commuting husband, or b) it will take a big price cut to sell, which will leave us both unhappy living in like Lower West ~~Pubnico~~Scarborough or something.

It feels like it's been a million seconds since I last updated my blog, but in fact it's only been 288660. Phew.

Friday: Vincent's interview in Toronto was delayed but very positive, and we suspect a job offer and a high-speed condo-polishing and sale is imminent. Anybody know how to do floor tiles? Do you want to come do some? We'll buy you pizza and beer. If you hurry, schnitzel (see next item).
Also Friday: Oktoberfest! This year we went to Transylvania Club, which has more mature crowd and is a bit more traditional than last year's "go get drunk in an arena" approach. Far more entertaining. I won a stuffed owl, ate Oktoberfest sausage and all the schnitzel I could eat ("two"), and we watched hot male German teenagers perform a traditional Oktoberfest dance with each other and -- I swear I'm not making this up -- pick each other up and spank each other.
Saturday: Port Credit! This year's Thanksgiving feast was held at a friend's place in Mississauga, in the company of many friends (new and old). Yummy! I didn't find the two-year-old reading The New Testament quite as jolting by the end of the evening either.
Sunday: Home Hardware! We purchased some ██████ and some ██████, and then blatantly abused our friendship with Matt to get the painting done. Or mostly done. We ran out of tape, time, patience, and sunlight, so it's all first-coat done.
Monday: ~~Home Hardware~~, ~~Canadian Tire~~, ~~Rona~~, ~~Zehr's~~, ~~Chapters~~, Starbucks! Twice! Damn holiday. Since we are out of painter's tape, and we even used up the neighbours' tape, we got very little painting done today. But we have high hopes for tomorrow.

P.S.

leapfish says "Hi!"

I regret to inform you that Earl's, the lunch place downstairs in my building, has not learned their lesson.

It's a sad day. Also very rainy.

Home-baked oatmeal chocolate-chip cookies are wonderful.
Studio 60 is totally The West Wing but in Hollywood. Freakin' awesome so far.

This is my latest attempt to start a meme.

Three Tiny Stories About Cereal

Fruity Pebbles cereal is not available in Canada. Its catchphrase is "Barney, my Pebbles!"
Shreddies cereal is only available in Canada, the UK, and New Zealand. Until one minute ago I thought it was Canada only. Neat! Its jingle is "Good Good Whole-Wheat Shreddies!"
I had my very first bowl of Lucky Charms yesterday. I was more of a Pac-Man Cereal kinda guy in elementary school, and a couple years ago I ate President's Choice Dino-Stars (which was translated into French as the very-amusing-to-Cam Guimauves-o-saurs) regularly. It appears to have been discontinued, and I was so sad I decided to blow my $4.59 on Lucky Charms. Surprisingly healthy, considering the contents of the box.

Do you like stories? Tell three tiny stories on your journal!

1. Every time I walk by the payphone at the office, it has on the screen, "Please lift receiver." Seriously 100.0% of the time, I think of

jdhorner's story of confusion over why Montrealers kept walking up to phones, lifting the receivers, then putting them back again.

2. More recently, whenever I take two inner slices of bread from the bag, and return the heel of the loaf to its end position, I think of

msvu20's belief that it has a supernatural protective power, protecting the other slices from harm.

3. We have a squeegee in our shower, which we use to reduce the effect of the horrid, horrid KW water on our not all that special really shower tiles. Being a good geek, I have a pattern to using it. Every time I reach one spot in this wiping pattern, I think of my little brother. I have no idea why.

4. Our cat Lucky has similar colouring to a cat I had in high school named Winnie. I often almost call Lucky by her name instead. We have a program on the computer that cycles through our digital photos and displays them on the desktop while we're working (it's called Vital Desktop in case you're curious). In the collection there is only one picture of Winnie, but oddly when I see it I never recognize her. She doesn't seem familiar to me at all. It's like my brain has decided that Lucky looks more like Winnie than Winnie did.

5. The disposable cameras at our wedding were of a low quality (Loblaws brand; I'm cheap), and the lenses were not very good in some, leading to warped images. It's only visible when a person is on the edge of the frame. There's a picture that we love of

leapfish and our friend David (his best man David's boyfriend -- yes, David & David) smiling at the camera, but Vin is on the edge of the frame and is stretched slightly. Every time I look at this photo, I think of Quentin Tarantino. Just a little.

I dare you to think up things that remind you of things but not include any sex-related ones.

I forgot to mention that I tracked down nutritional information for my other ridiculous beverage of choice, the Second Cup Icepresso Chiller. It's been added to the chart.

Verdict?

McDonald's is evil due to being a corporation. But it's convenient and cheap.
Starbucks is evil due to be being a corporation, but good due to being ethically sound and nice to its employees.
Second Cup wants to be an evil corporation but will probably get squashed between Starbucks and Tim Hortons*.

Health Verdict?

McDonald's: unhealthy in every way but fibre.
Starbucks and Second Cup: essentially equal in their "more healthy than McDonald's but not quite Health Food" status.

* which I note has officially lost the apostrophe in both languages.

I forgot to include two items in my recent post about the trip to Winnipeg. It looked like a post about an airplane, but I have two non-airplane bullets to share.

Best part of trip: discovering that Subway offers a shaker of oregano now. Maybe it's been there a while. But it's new to me. I'd kinda soured on Subway between the bad cleanliness for vegetarians, the end of the Sub Club stamps, and having just overdone it in the past. But now it's a whole new ballgame.
Worst part of trip: the cut I got on my lip. Caused by a taxi. Ouch. I got out of a cab a little quickly and my face met the door in an undignified way.

[Poll #742427]

I was a fool. An East Side Mario's and Second Cup patronizing fool. And now I'm full.

Kids in the Hall alum Bruce McCulloch is still writing KITH skits on his website. I found this, and it amused me:

Music: GET OUT OF MY DREAMS by Billy Ocean plays. Bruce and Mark - roughly resembling the seminar guys - bound out on stage.

MARK
Wow! What a great group!

BRUCE
And what a great song!

MARK
And what I love about that song is - it isn’t technically part of the scene so we don’t have to pay royalties for it.

BRUCE
What I love is its theme. The theme of dreams. You know I have a dream.

MARK
You do?

BRUCE
Sure I do. Each morning I wake up and I say, Today, I hope that my pants fit.

MARK
Well you’re not alone - I think a lot of good Americans are feeling that way these days.
News flash.

MARK AND BRUCE
America – you’re getting kinda chubby.

(From Spigot)

I also heartily recommend Movie Buddies.

When we got here, Kitchener had only two things to offer. At least, that's what it seemed like. Everyone who discovered that we had just moved here told us about the Farmer's Market and Oktoberfest. Then they would stop telling us about things Kitchener had to offer. At first it was amusing, but then it got a little sad.

In my opinion, only the Market is really that great.

Tonight, my list of things doubled! Niko Niko opened today. This is a sushi restaurant just two blocks from our condo, and on my way to work. We had the Dinner for Two A: sixteen (!) pieces of tempura, twelve (!) pieces of sushi (nigiri, specifically), seven pieces of California Roll (a.k.a. maki), salads, and soups. We were their very first dinner customers, so we also got edamame for free, plus some tea. All this for $26. That's really good, FYI.

First night jitters: they forgot to give us our soup (and we forgot to ask for it), they forgot to bring us little soy sauce bowls, they were discovering how to serve multiple customers at one time... lots of fun. For those who dined at Jane's in the early days, you know exactly the combination of "first day" things and yummy food.

Best. Monday. Ever.

They're friendly, the food is tasty, they have lots of space... it is almost exactly what we needed to appear in our neighbourhood to really help us start to like Kitchener a bit.

Funniest item: realizing that we were in a German-ancestry city, in a formerly Italian restaurant, eating Japanese food, drinking from Swedish glasses (IKEA) that were made in Italy, under several Christmas wreaths. At least the soundtrack made sense (heartfelt Japanese pop ballads).

Took

leapfish to 20 King for his birthday, and it was yummy. Our menu:
- Half a litre of Pinot Grigio, Santi, Sortelese, Alto Adige, Italy, 2002, very yummy
- free pork skewers that were hot off the grill and very peppery
- ‘20 King’s Caesar Salad’ Warm Double Smoke Bacon, Parmesan Cheese and Croutons
- Grilled Black Peppered Calamari With Wilted Frisée
- too much fresh bread
- Saffron Linguine with Lobster, Asparagus and Shell Peas In a Tarragon Lobster Broth
- Lime Crusted Ahi Tuna on Shiitake Ravioli, Lemon and Cilantro Vinaigrette
- Lavender-scented Crème Brulée
- Chocolate Nemesis Cake with home-made peanut butter ice cream

I think it was "use up the pepper" night. While I thoroughly enjoyed every bite of everything, almost everything was strongly peppered. Unusual. Also, my lobsters were pretty small (though large for Ontario, I suppose) and polka-dotted. Can anyone explain that? The chocolate nemesis cake proved to be stronger than I, as I could not finish it. Think the chocolate cake at Jane's. Mmmm.

I am now SO fat.

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Entries tagged with food

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Grocers Have to Leave the Chain to Offer Local Food

Inane Post #234574-B

Like seriously dudes.

Places my husband refuses to eat:

I am so weak.

Lettuce be friends!

I want my samosas!

That's it!

Recap in Reverse

Updates

it happened again!

Sunday Night Pleasures

Three Tiny Stories

5 Things that remind me of Things

Beverages Update

Best and Worst

I'm afraid to see the results...

Soooo fulllll

Kitchener now 100% better.

Birthday Dinner

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August 2015

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