Saturday 24 January 2015

Recipe alert: Easy cauliflower tabouleh

In the past, I haven't been a big fan of cauliflower. This was especially true in 2014, when it was
dubbed health food of the year, and the price tag on the hitherto humble veg soared.

But I'm revising my prejudices in 2015. Yes, the friendly cauli is quite messy, and it develops brown spots if left to its own devices for more than a day or two, but it's got lots of health benefits to make up for these deficits. Most importantly, prepared with care, it can taste pretty darn good.

You really should try this quick and easy cauliflower tabbouleh. I'm certain you'll like it. It would be especially refreshing on a hot day -- not the middle of January, which is the time I've picked to share it with you. Try garnishing it with avocado and serving it with steamed green beans or roasted asparagus and a nice salmon steak. You could also throw in some diced coloured bell peppers to give it more colour.

N.B. If you're like me, you may find the powdered garlic a bit much. In this case, try substituting finely minced fresh garlic.

Recipe alert: Baked eggs with kale

Looking for an easy and delicious egg dish for breakfast or brunch? Check out Patty Javier Gomez's baked eggs. The preparation and ingredients are simple, and the result is heaven in a ramekin.

Ingredients:
2 eggs
2 stalks kale
1/2 onion, chopped
1 tbsp. coconut oil
1 tbsp. apple cider vinegar
1/4 jalapeno, chopped
4-5 olives, pitted and diced
1 tsp. dried basil
1 tsp. chili powder
Salt and pepper to taste

Preparation:
  1. Sautee onion, kale in coconut oil.
  2. When onions are soft, add apple cider vinegar.
  3. Add spices and sautee for 3-5 minutes more.
  4. Scoop out mixture and put into small ramekins.
  5. Add diced olives and jalapenos.
  6. Crack an egg over mixture.
  7. Bake at 400F for 10-15 min. or until egg is cooked.
  8. Serve with a side of sauerkraut and avocado for a delicious breakfast/brunch!

Thursday 22 January 2015

Virtues matter

Do you ever catch yourself thinking petty thoughts or realize you're getting hot under the collar over a minor inconvenience? Blame someone because you don't want to accept your part in a misunderstanding? Or walk away from a situation in which another person could use your help?

I've been guilty of all of the above. I suspect you have been, too. It's natural, in the sense that we are all creatures of dark and light. But that doesn't mean that bad behaviour is right or inevitable.

Over the past few years, I've noticed darkness seeping into my character little by little. I've seen compassion dim, and courage take a back seat in my life (not that I was especially courageous to begin with.:)) Fortunately for me, some of my jerkazoid reactions have finally caught up with me -- at work, where the consequences of my actions will be painful and materialize faster than in other parts of my life.

This particular prise de conscience has been five months in the making. When September began, I stepped into a promotion. I was thrilled to be exchanging my old title and responsibilities for more glamorous ones. I knew my manager-to-be wasn't as alert or quick-thinking as the one I was leaving. But I wanted the promotion, and I decided I would find a way to work smoothly with her. The best-laid plans...

At first, we got along. Just. The moment I stepped into my new role, I set about reorganizing electronic filing systems, updating letters and forms, reinventing and documenting data-entry processes, and generally feeling smug about how smart I was. Manager #2 let me forge ahead, albeit with some reluctance, and I got into the habit of disrespecting her when I thought she had said or done something stupid. (I am admitting to this not because I'm proud of it, but because honesty is the best policy in a case like mine, and the only way to cure meanness.)

Five months later, I'm reaping the crop I've sown: especially scratchy brambles. It's not a happy result, but I hope it will teach me the importance of virtues like respect, compassion, courage, humility and patience.

This short chapter of my life has gotten me thinking about the meaning of character and integrity. If you, like me, are interested in  learning more more about them, I would recommend a series of essays on character and leadership that I found in the Washington Post. It's a light and interesting way to get started.

Monday 12 January 2015

Funny Monday

It feels absolutely bloody marvellous to sit at home sipping mineral water and mint tea whilst typing away quietly for a few minutes. What a day it's been!

To begin with, I have my period. This is not an earth-shattering event, I realize, but since it's an annual occurrence at most (the last time I had my P, it started on Christmas Day 2013, and before that, it had been years), I'm not as good at managing it as I might be. It also explains why, on Saturday, my body felt as bruised as if I'd had a CrossFit workout the day before. So I'm annuating. Besides that, my scalp is at its driest and flakiest. This is not a beauty week.

On a positive note, work went well today. I had gotten myself into a knot about returning to my post after Christmas; when on holidays, I tend to romanticize laze time and make up reasons why I don't enjoy my job. But now that I'm back in the groove, I can see how lucky I am to be surrounded by a team of honest, hard-working people.

My immediate supervisor is kind and hasn't the slightest tendency to micromanage. She encourages me in anything that will help me to learn or grow. Our assistant, who was a little crusty when I first joined the team in September, volunteered to help me send out a mailing this morning, and in a friendly way alerted me to the fact that bits of my scalp were coming adrift on my shoulders so I could take care of the cosmetic emergency.

Some ad copy I had come up with didn't sit well with my Ueberboss, but she pointed out its weaknesses calmly and constructively, and I was able to make the changes she asked for quickly. She is a damn good manager.

So, a funny day, a bit. I'm just glad for the cosy silence in my apartment, and for the time to put a few things to rights at home. (There was no yoga for me tonight, period oblige.)

Wednesday 7 January 2015

Je suis Charlie

Wednesday's usually my night to relax and cocoon. Now that Christmas and New Year's have passed, I'm settling back into my cosy old routine, with a twist: instead of tea on my night table, I've brewed myself a cup of delightfully dark decaf, and added a square of Lindt chocolate to complete the experience. A heavenly combination.

What's going down otherwise?

In the world culinary, I've found two recipes to test over the next few days: hunter stew and roasted butternut squash soup, both of which I discovered thanks to Paleo Grubs.

And now for more serious news... On the way home from work today, I saw a group of quiet but determined people, some wearing or bearing white signs, on the steps of the Vancouver Art Gallery and in the square immediately before it. The VAG -- gotta love the acronym -- is often the site of peaceful demonstrations. This time, a sombre atmosphere pervaded the square. There were candles glowing here and there in the small crowd, as if this were a vigil commemorating the victims of a mass murder. The language I heard as I passed by was French. When I came near enough to make out the words on a sign, I saw it read, JE SUIS CHARLIE.

A few hours later, sitting at my computer, I've discovered what the vigil meant. From what I can gather, three Islamic terrorists gunned down 12 employees of a satirical Paris weekly called Charlie Hebdo because... get this: the magazine published cartoons that made fun of the Prophet Muhammad.

I'm not generally a fan of publications that lampoon religion, and definitely not when the motive is malice pure and simple. But I have to hand it to CH, and especially to the cartoonists and journalists who lost their lives because they had the guts to point out what's wrong with fundamentalist Islam. It doesn't strike me as a faith at all, in the positive sense of the word, but rather as a cruel and humorless ideology that needs to be laughed at.

Props to CH and its brave staff, and to the people who assembled the world over to show their support for the freedom of speech.