Share the road!

I have taken most types of transportation in Toronto including the streetcar, bus, subway, biking, ebiking, driving, roller blading, walking, taxi, and go-train.  I haven't skate boarded, and don't plan to, but respect those who can!

My issue (yes, another first world complaint, but I have a statement to make so bear with me) is the amount of animosity that people taking various forms of transportation expel towards each other.  I've seen people yell at each other on the bus, bikers yell at drivers, drivers yell at bikers, runners yell at drivers, and of course drivers yell, curse, honk and be aggressive with other drivers.  I'm sick of always having people get angry with me, especially when I'm actually following the Highway Traffic Control Act!

While biking, when I followed the law that the driver turning right has right of way, I've had bikers glare at me and roll their eyes, or yell "you shouldn't stop like that!" despite having stopped at a slow enough pace to have not endangered other bikes.  I've had a taxi driver yell at me to "be safer" because I signaled that I was moving to the left hand side of a lane while biking because there was a parked car, then watched the same taxi driver cut off several cars and speed through an amber light.  I've had a driver honk at me and give me the finger because I was riding my ebike in the vehicle lane (where it is legally supposed to be) because I delayed him in reaching a red light by about 10 seconds since I was going up a hill and could only go about 20km/hr.  I've had a car come so close to me it swiped my handle bars of my bike.  I've seen a man fall over on the street because he didn't look before crossing the street and stepped right in front of a biker who couldn't stop fast enough.  A driver has honked at me when I made a full stop at a stop sign in my car.

We all have to use some form of transportation, no matter how frustrating it is.  We all have places to go, and we all have something to complain about in terms of the subway delays, short-turning streetcars, crowded buses/streetcars/subways, lack of bike lanes, too many bike lanes (though you'll never hear me say that!), congested traffic.....we find millions of thing to gripe about.

Firstly, I'm addressing my fellow Canadians:  we are privileged to be in Canada!  Yes, there are many people who are struggling living in Canada, and I do not downplay the struggles people experience whether it's poverty, racism, homophobia, or for those living on Aboriginal reserves where some experience overcrowding, inadequate housing, unsafe drinking water, exposure to gas leaks, addictions...and so on - but the reality is that for the majority of people who moan and complain and yell, curse, yell expletives, and give the finger during transportation, I doubt they have daily hardships that can compare to that of 80% of the world's population.

Secondly, Canadians need to face the fact that we're not as nice as some people think, or as much as Canadians tout themselves to be.  A lot of Canadians are assholes!  Maybe you feel like it's mostly people who live in urban areas who get at each other's throats, but guess what, most of the Canadian population lives in urban centres!

Despite slamming Canadians, I certainly have met many, many very friendly Canadians, and I am Canadian.  People have offered to help me carry a heavy suitcase when I had hurt my knee and was taking the stairs from the subway very slowly, one step at a time.  I've chatted and laughed with strangers on public transit.  A pedestrian has stopped and picked up my bike light when it came off when I went over a bump while biking.  There are many very friendly people living all over Canada, and (gasp) yes, in Toronto.  But just keep in mind how much more of an impact a negative experience has on people (being yelled at, being given the finger) no matter how good of a day someone could have been having.

If you've made it this far, congratulations!  You've made it to the slightly more positive part.  This is my  request for everyone:

bikers:  wear a helmet for goodness' sake!  (if you have a brain injury or die in a bike accident -which can happen instantly no matter how careful you are - your hair won't matter, and it really doesn't even wreck your hair as much as you think a helmet does)  be predictable, stop at red lights, and respect the bike queue (don't pass bikers at red lights after they've already passed you because they're faster!).

vehicle drivers:  slow down!  Pay attention!  Check your texts later or send your texts later when you're not driving!  Or pull over and do it.  Watch for bikers.  Don't open your door until you look for bikers.

pedestrians:  watch for bikers!  We can't stop on a dime!  Quit j-walking and standing in the middle of the road as traffic rushes by you.  Pedestrians die each year!  It CAN happen to you!

ebikers:  don't be dicks.  Follow the law.  Don't cut off bikers or vehicles.

Those are my thoughts for the day.  Share the road.  Be patient.  Take a deep breath.

Pad Thai

Recently, my husband and I made pad thai based on a friend's recipe.  As we were eating, I coughed on some of the spiciness.  I coughed again, and could feel some of the spice burning at the back of my mouth.  I ran to the bath room.  I thought I might vomit, but just barely held back.  I could feel the burning move to my nose.  When I determined that I wasn't going to vomit, I went outside and walked my dog, and tried to get over the feeling.  As I walked, I could feel my nose starting to run.  I frantically searched all my pockets, but couldn't find a tissue.   I looked around, seeing that no one was there, I dabbed my nose with my sleeve.  My nose continued to be a faucet.  I looked around again.  I resorted to the "farmer huff"; I placed one finger on my right nostril and blew out of my left nostril hard.  An inch of rice noodle came hurdling out of my nostril and lay to rest on the sidewalk.  My nose felt a hundred times better, and I knew I wouldn't be eating pad thai again for a while.


Now that I've whet your pallet, here's the pad thai recipe!

Fry half a pack of firm tofu until golden brown.
Add three chopped shallots, three cloves of garlic, and two green chilies (obviously adjust the chilies as you like for desired spiciness).
Allow the spices to cook slightly.
Add rice noodles that have been soaking for 10min in hot water
stir in 3tsp of fish oil, 3 tsp brown sugar, and 3Tbsp tamarind paste.

Top with green onion, cilantro, bean sprouts and garnish with lime to taste.


I've also started really liking this dessert which is gluten-free and sugar-free:
This is a slight variation from a recipe from Vibrant Lifestyle (www.vibrantlifestyle.ca).
Hemp and coconut balls:
10-15 pitted dates (preferably soaked in water for 30min first to soften)
1/2 c cashew or almond flour (I've used tapioca flour with success)
3Tbsp coconut oil
1/2c hemp seeds
1/2c coconut flakes
3Tbsp cocoa powder
pinch sea salt

Mix everything together in a food processor and roll into balls.  Cool in a refrigerator or freezer prior to serving. (photo from http://brooke-bakes.blogspot.ca/2011/10/chocolate-coconut-balls.html)

Almond Milk

Given that some readers of my blog may not be interested in my exaggeration and stories, I'll also post a recipe.

I'm thankful to Mel who shared this with me.
Soak 1cup of raw (not roasted/toasted/seasoned) almonds in 4cups of water overnight (or obviously just use a 1:4 ratio).
Add 1tsp of vanilla, 1 tsp agave and pinch of sea salt.
Blend.
Strain out the chunks, cheese cloth works well.
And that's it!  You can also remove the skins after soaking and dry the remaining almond chunks by laying them out on a pan and putting them under broil in the oven, then grind to have almond flour.  It takes a while to remove the skin, but is definitely cheaper than buying almond flour.

Shopping has never been my forte.  I feel like it started when I was six, and I needed a snowsuit.  My dad, for some reason, was assigned to this task.  He was just as dissatisfied as me about the situation.  He wanted to be out skiing, I wanted to be out tobogganing.  But alas, he was stuck with a little person who needed a snowsuit and about as much of an attention span as he.  We scoured store after store, but couldn't find something suitable.  I don't remember why.  I can't imagine being too picky at six, but maybe I was.  My guess is that we couldn't find a matching coat and snow pants combo that was reasonably priced and wasn't pink or purple since my parents were determined to teach us to challenge gender roles and didn't want three daughters with all pink and purple wardrobes.  Finally, after twelve stores, a few tears and temper tantrums from both of us, we found a suitable snow suit.  I don't know, maybe this scarred me.  Maybe I was just never born to be a super shopper.  Maybe my Mennonite roots create so much guilt inside of me when I want to buy something, instead of sewing a loosely fitting black dress myself.  Whatever the reason, I'm not big on shopping.

This is mostly a good thing though, since I believe living simply is important and that it's important to not focus on material items.  My disinterest, however, can be challenging when I need to replace clothes.  I used to shop at a lot of used clothing stores, primarily Mennonite Central Committee Thrift Stores.  I would certainly replace my clothes, however, I usually bought more than I needed since it was such a good price, and the clothes didn't really actually fit me or I didn't really actually like the clothes...but it was such a good price!!!

I had procrastinated enough.  Both my jeans had holes in them from riding my bike.  It was time.

Preparing to shop is like preparing for a race for me.
-have a snack with a good balance of protein and fast burning sugars for energy
-bring a bottle of water, comfortable shoes, light clothing
-don't eat anything too gas-producing in the hours before hand (to avoid embarrassing change room exits)
-visualize the route
-stretch

I made it to the mall, kept to my route, and achieved my goal.  The only bump in the road was that I forgot my water, and I was so cold from foolishly thinking I could wear a spring jacket in the end of April (ridiculous, right?!) that I caved and bought a hot chocolate.  A four dollar hot chocolate.  Bah.  Never mind, I succeeded in buying pants, and will not have to flash anyone with the holes in my current jeans.

Why do I bother trying to wear heels?
I recently bought a pair of fabulous green heels.  They are cute and  add some colour to my usual grey/black drab outfits.  They were also on sale, too.  Points for me.

The problem is, I don't know how to walk in heels.  I want to know how.  I've practiced.  I've tried.  I'm getting there, but I still generally look like I'm teetering and walking incredibly slowly.

The other morning I awoke to realize that I had no clean pants.  Or at least wearable pants that are appropriate for the office.  I put on a grey pair of dress pants that were hanging up, and soon remembered these were the pair that had ripped along the seam right from the bottom to the top when they got caught on the spikey part of my bike chain...I clearly don't know the technical word for it... it was ever so helpful that I had reminded myself to sew the pants by hanging them up with the rest of my clothing...on to the next option...a pencil skirt.  Oh pencil skirts.  They look so great on models, and on actors on TV and movies.  I bought this skirt for more professional occasions.  Then I gained about 5lbs and realized I can barely walk or breathe while wearing it, and have an indentation across my stomach for the next five days after wearing it.  But today, there were no other options.  So I put on my pencil skirt and my new heels.  I looked so fabulous.

I checked for the next bus - another 29min. and I was already running late for work.  There was no way I could bike in this, and I only had to go 1km.  It wouldn't be that bad.  I grabbed my jacket and work stuff and ran out of the house - well, took many small fast steps out of the house that is.

As I walked along the sidewalk, I began analyzing my practical vs fashionable choices for the morning.  Skirt:  fashionable, winter jacket with hood:  practical, heels:  fashionable, pom pom hat: practical, back pack:  practical, biking gloves with holes in them:  practical....I began to realize I looked like a highschooler meets budding professional.

As I walked, I could feel my shoes squeezing my feet.  My hips and butt hurt both from being contained by the stupid skirt and from playing badminton two nights before.  I pictured ripping through my skirt and being able to do karate kicks and doing kart wheels and running to the office.  I couldn't burst through my skirt into comfy yoga pantsvthough using magical powers .  So I continued to waddle.  My chest became tight, and it was almost hard to breathe.  I felt like I was cheering myself on the way I would in a half-marathon to finish.  Almost there, keep your eyes on the end.  Ignore the pain, get to the end.  Twenty minutes later, I had walked a whole kilometre.  *Eyes roll*  I limped into the office, and took my heels off as soon as I could.  Never again.  Until I run out of pants the next time.

Juicing remnants = muffin ingredients
I've been stashing the pulp remnants from my juicer in my freezer until I actually take the time to use the pulp.  I made a batch of muffins last summer that were...edible, but not tasty.  The muffins were a bit dry and too salty. I had used a recipe I binged (no, not "binged" as in ate too much, but as in the Microsoft search "bing" in the past tense).  I tried the muffin recipe again today, and I think the muffins are more tolerable.  I added chocolate chips to a few of the muffins to see if my husband would eat any.  Given that the muffins contain kale, and my husband's body goes into vomitous convulsions at the word kale, I thought perhaps chocolate chips may be of assistance.

This is the general (though approximate) recipe I used:
1cup juice pulp (I had kale, broccoli, carrot, apple)
1/4cup coconut oil
1tsp vanilla
1tsp nutmeg
1tsp cinnamon
1cup of date puree (I used 1cup dates, 1 cup water to soak in for 30min)
3 cups flour
2tsps baking soda
1/4tsp salt
2cups water
1/2-3/4 cups unsweetened apple sauce

I had already mixed the water when I realized I didn't have any agave and instead would be using date puree.  I think the mix was a bit too moist, and would reduce the amount of water.

I'm quite happy with how they turned out!  They're nice and moist and not too salty like the previous batch :)

Smoothies

I really love drinking smoothies, and find it a great way to have something healthy.  I love how friends have various recipes!  Here are some thoughts:

Hilena's smoothie:
avocado
Kefir (fermented milk)
flax seed
blueberries
banana

Joel's smoothie:
avocado
kiwi
flax seed
strawberries
milk
hemp protein

Leanne's smoothie:
banana
almond milk
peanut butter (just nuts)
Isagenix chocolate whey protein

Vicky's smoothie:
almond oil
peanut butter
soy milk
banana

Anjana's smoothie:
finger millet (English name for Indian grain that's full of protein and makes a bitter tasting oatmeal)
honey
berries
buttermilk

Mel's smoothie:
banana
coco powder
coconut milk
pinch of sea salt
almond milk