culture

Blog / Stories & News

Death of a Clown

It’s hard to climb the corporate ladder in size 22 shoes.

Despite not being able to drink because we just started the GAPS diet two months ago, we had a very special and wonderful St. Patrick’s Day this year. We spent the evening busting our sides at a play by Sebastien Archibald called The Death of a Clown. I found it especially pertinent at this time with the Olympics over and Vancouver settling down to think about the debt we now have to pay for our two weeks of extravagance.

Humour is always a good way to get your point through and I spent the whole evening laughing (except at the end). I thought everyone did an excellent job and was just wondering why there wasn’t a bunch of folks taking photos and recording the whole production–I wish I had gotten some good photos! We were fortunate to see it, because the play was only in Vancouver for one night before it goes on tour to Gabriola, Tofino, Saltspring and Victoria by April 4th, 2010. The full schedule and details can be found on the ITSAZOO Productions website.

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March 19, 2010
Blog / Travel

Egyptian Generosity

Ancient DoorwayI have had quite the exciting, travel-filled, and busy month which I will regal you all with presently. However, I have been thinking for the past few months that I need to talk about the generosity of the culture here. It really is quite remarkable the extent to which this generosity is a part of the everyday life of the people.

I wanted to make sure that I knew a little bit more about the culture before I talked about it, because I wasn’t sure how different my experience as a foreigner would be from the average Egyptian. Although my experience is certainly different as a foreigner, I don’t think that this takes away from the culture as a whole.

In Cairo, and probably some of the more touristy places where they are used to foreigners it is common for people to try and take advantage of the foreigner. So for the first month this was mostly my experience in Egypt. I had to make sure I knew how much things should cost so that I wasn’t charged extra for being a foreigner. And there are some touristy places, like the pyramids, or the Egyptian Museum where foreigners actually have a separate entrance price than Egyptians. I understand that these places take up-keep and that foreigners in general have much more money that Egyptians, so I understand why they have this policy, but it still meant that I had to be aware.

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January 16, 2010
Blog / Stories & News

Coptic Orthodox in Egypt

church3I figured since I have been living at a Coptic Orthodox center in the church compound I should probably write about what the Coptic Church is exactly. Although what I know of the Coptic Church is mostly from my observations and conversations I have had with people, I have only read one book on the subject so this is mostly my opinion.

Although I consider myself to be fairly educated, especially about Christianity as a whole, I did not realize until much too recently that the Middle East contained an indigenous Christian population which traces its routes to the first disciples. The Coptic Orthodox Church is one of those Christian populations and traces its roots to the apostle Mark. It currently makes up about 10% of the population in Egypt.

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December 15, 2009
Condiments / Fermentation / GAPS/SCD / Grain-Free / Recipes / Vegetarian

Cranberry and Date Chutney

Now here is a great alternative for cranberry sauce for Thanksgiving, especially if you like the flavors of Asia this is modeled on Sally Fallon's raisin chutney recipe in Nourishing Traditions. 1 lb (500g) fresh dates (pitted) 1 lb (500g) fresh cranberries 1 t red chili flakes 1/2 head garlic, crushed 2 T coriander seeds 1 T cumin seeds 1…

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November 15, 2009
Food Preparation / Traditions

Traditional Water Kefir

I stumbled across this really practical and well done video on how to make water kefir. Although I have been reading about kefir for years, I hadn't had an opportunity to make it myself until this year when my sister brought some up to me from a friend who had given her some. This stuff is fantastic. Convenient, quick to…

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August 4, 2009
Read more about the article Old Fashioned Homemade Pickles
Food Preparation / hellaD / Traditions

Old Fashioned Homemade Pickles

Published August 2009 in Healthy Options magazine, New Zealand Recipe for homemade lacto-fermented dill pickles. Lactic Acid Fermentation: Symbiotic Man's Secret Ingredient for Health and Longevity Many years ago, I worked at the Inya Lake Hotel in Myanmar which also does catering and events for the various embassies in Yangon. It was Korea's National Day and the embassy was having…

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August 3, 2009
Food Security / Our Food

Stone Soup Festival 2009

Planting Pumpkin

The Stone Soup Festival at Britannia on Commercial Drive, Vancouver BC fell on Mother’s Day weekend this year. We arrived at the festival just as the jolly Carnival Band was rambling around the park and were soon planting pumpkin and sunflower seeds, feeding the chickens at the Backyard Chicken information desk and munching on a bowl of hearty FREE stone soup.

This was my first time at the festival and I was really impressed and surprised that although there were a few vendors selling honey, dehydrated vegetable crackers, pottery, gourmet foods and plants, the main content of the festival was information.

I stopped at a mason bee exhibition and was impressed to discover that even though I could buy a very affordable bee home and bees, I could actually make the same thing myself from bamboo and just put it in a sunny spot and let some prayers drift on the wind in hopes that some mason bees will make it their home. I felt no pressure to spend money, but I did get a great mug for my mother while there.

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3 Comments
May 12, 2009
Basics / Fermentation / GAPS/SCD / Grain-Free / Medicinal / Recipes / Vegetarian

Raw Honey Vinegar

This is an amazingly simple recipe and results in a delicious, high-quality white vinegar with the flavors of the honey you have chosen to use. Try basswood or buckwheat honey for a darker, richer vinegar. Use raspberry honey for a lighter fruitier vinegar. 8:1 Water : Honey Eight parts water to one part honey Wild yeast Method: Place in a…

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August 14, 2007