During the Winter Olympics I helped out at Lazy Gourmet which was very busy catering to French House, General Electric Hosting, Price Waterhouse Coopers, events for the Polish Government, Vanoc, Richard Branson and a bunch of other stuff. Given this line up, and knowing Lazy Gourmet’s reputation as being the best catering in Vancouver, I expected to be working in a high stress environment. Instead, I was pleasantly surprised to find myself in an easy-going but highly efficient kitchen full of interesting and widely varied people. I realised in the 11 days I spent working there, how much I have missed the special sort of community you get when you cook together.

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I am not a huge fan of expensive supplements when herbs and other helpful natural things are available, and this is probably all a big economic war between Big Pharma and the High-Cost Supplements Industries again, so I am not advising you to sign, unless you read it and really agree. I got ripped off joining EQUINOX in the late 90’s so I know about expensive supplements and there should be a way to avoid people selling total bulls–t, but if restrictions get placed on our ability to freely use herbs as a result of their battle (see my article on Codex Alimentarius) I will really not be impressed!

In any case it is just good to be aware of what is going on. Let me know what you think. I generally try not to get involved too much in all of the legal smoke and mirrors that goes on. The legal jargon in such things seems to mainly be used for covering up stuff and wasting time. But in the hopes that I am wrong, I have signed this letter!

The following is from the Citizens For Health website:

Introduced by Senators John McCain (R-AZ) and Byron Dorgan (D-ND) on February 4th as the “Dietary Supplement Safety Act of 2010,” S. 3002 is designed, according to the bill preamble, to “more effectively regulate dietary supplements that may pose safety risks unknown to consumers.”

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This tasty snack can be made with any nut or seed or combination of. It makes a great crust as well.

• 1c curds (ground)
• 1c pumpkin seeds (soaked, toasted and ground)
• 1/2 c sunflower seeds (ST&G)
• 2T butter or other fat (coconut, tallow, goose)
• 1/2c parmesan

Method: I don’t have a food processor, but I have a great spice grinder which I use for everything I don’t use my mortar and pestle for. I grind up my curds and seeds with this and then mash everything together with my hands. I have always loved feeling the texture of foods ever since I baked as a kid. Feel free to just use a food processor.

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There was so much going on for Valentines Day this year that I didn’t have time to think about chocolates and roses. Instead, I was thinking about joining in the celebrations to welcome in the Year of the Tiger and eager to get to Chinatown before the whole show was over since rumors said the festivities would be closed down early due to the Olympics. In fact, our bus couldn’t get through downtown, as soon as we realised this we headed for the nearest skytrain station and squeezed ourselves in among the throngs of people and headed for the Chinatown/Stadium stop.

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I am about to make another batch of this delicious mustard. I was surprised to find that I haven’t posted this recipe yet as it is one of my favorites. The cream cheese helps to preserve the pungency of the mustard, making a delicious condiment which is also a probiotic if made with home-made cream cheese as shown in this quick video.

Amounts are variable and according to personal taste. Warning! I like my mustard so pungent it clears out my sinuses with every taste, so you may want to start with less ground mustard and add more tasting it to decide how you like it as you go.

• 1T – 2T ground mustard (I like to use Colemans)
• 1/2 c (or more) home-made cream cheese
• 1 small handful dates (soaked in hot water and mashed)
• 1/2 t turmeric
• 1t ground coriander seeds
• 1/2 t ground cloves
• 1t ground fenugreek seeds
• 1t apple cider vinegar
• salt

Method: Put the mustard powder in little water and mix it around, let it sit about 5 minutes. Boil some water and pour over dates, cover and let sit about 5 minutes, then mash them up to a puree.

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I first broke ground in Vancouver BC, on June 7th, 2009. For me this was a very symbolic act. This was the day I finally got the stamp in my passport that said I was an official resident of Canada. Living in an apartment I didn’t have a piece of ground of my own, but I had been scouting out the nearby possibilities for about a year and a half while waiting for my residency to come through.

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As some of you may know from my snail mail New Years letter in December, I had a scheme to work for the winter Olympics and make a ton of money in a short time period. I used to work large sporting events (catered for the APGA golf tournament in 2000 and the NZ V-8 car races in 2004) and had found that huge sports events usually pay the best money. So I was pretty shocked to discover that to work for the Molson Canadian Hockey House, and provide the food for Concord Place during the 2010 Winter Olympics would only be an hourly rate of $15.

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The Chinese Year of the Tiger begins on Valentines day this year, making it extra special in my book… 14/2/2010. I was born in the year of the tiger so I confess to being prejudiced in this area . In honor of the upcoming New Year and because I was just going through an old folder full of some favorite quotes from years ago and discovered this wonderful tale of a lost tiger:

A tigress, pregnant and nearly ready to deliver, walked stealthily along the edge of a high cliff foraging for food. She looked over into the grassland below and spied a flock of goats grazing in the sunshine. Hungry as she was, she hesitated because the drop was precipitous. Then she took a great leap, and in the fall she lost her balance. The noise sent the goats scurrying into the forest for shelter. The neck of the tigress was broken as she hit the ground, but in her death throes she managed to give birth to her cub. Then all was silent.

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We just made a batch of these and the wonderful aroma fills our apartment. These are so delicious, you barely realise you are on the Gut and Psychology Syndrome Diet. Based on the Zucchini Muffin recipe in Breaking the Vicious Cycle by Elaine Gottschall.

• 2 c grated zucchini
• 2 c ground almonds
• 2 eggs
• 1/3 c ghee or melted butter
• 1/3 c honey (raw)
• 2 t cinnamon
• 1/2 t baking soda
• couple of pinches of salt
• A couple handfuls of frozen or fresh blueberries

Method: Mix almond flour, zucchini, fat and honey. Add the eggs, salt, cinnamon and baking soda. Mix very well. Add blueberries (or other fruit), but don’t add too many or the muffins will not hold together.

Bake in muffin tins filled 2/3 full for about 20 minutes in a 350 F (180 C) degree oven.

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I consider myself extremely fortunate to be living in Vancouver, BC for many reasons, but one of the main ones is the extremely active Ubuntu group here. Some of you may have noticed in my last post about Ubuntu that after I installed the latest release called Karmic Koala, I immediately got a warning that my hard-drive was failing and I was able to update my hardware without loosing any info–a very smooth switch, unlike many I have been through. Shortly after getting my computer upgraded the Vancouver Ubuntu group hosted a Support Saturday, and I took my computer with a bunch of questions down to get some help.

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