Edible Tulip

Thomas Homer-Dixon - Sustainability Network

You migiht think I haven't been cooking or buying or perusing vegetables and fruits and cheeses at the farmer's markets of late since I keep posting about EVENTS but I simply want to celebrate all of the wonderful open forum and community happenings that are currently going on in our city. Spring always engenders a desire in me to pick up new hobbies and follow through on all of those hare-brained ideas I dreamt up during the dormancy of winter.

Thomas Homer-Dixon is the Director of the Center for the Study of Peace and Conflict Studies at the University of Toronto. He is also an Associate Professor in the Department of Political Science and the author of a number of books, including The Ingenuity Gap, which won the 2001 Governor's General Award for Literary Nonfiction. I have a personal connection with him because I went to visit with him one fine day down in his cavernous office space in a rather medieval building on the U of T campuses. I was thinking about doing my MA in his department and I wanted to talk about a number of issues and questions I had. He was really great to chat with, very conversational, approachable, and full of insight and supportive ideas. He was the antithesis of my other experiences at U of T that very much reminded me of Queen's - elitist, patriarchal, extremely competitive, exclusive. I did not pursue my MA at U of T. At the time, I was also considering attending the Straford Chef's School. And doing a MA in Anthropology at Guelph so that I could take some interdisciplinary courses with their agricultural departments.

Anyway, the Sustainability Network, whose tagline is "strengthening management skills and building capacity in the environmental community", is hosting a breakfast next Wednesday, May 31st, starting at 7:30 a.m. and held at 215 Spadina Avenue, Suite 128. The cover charge is $10. The focus of the presentation will be "the rising likelihood fo the breakdown of the economic, political, technological, and ecological systems that sustain humankind".

The Hootenanny

Hoot Hoot Hootenanny!

When my folks told me they had bought me an extra ticket to a concert they were going to at the Avening Town Hall on Saturday night I had NO IDEA it would involve striped stockings and gas face masks and a woman wearing deer antlers and playing the saw and a wolf mask peering from behind a curtain and leather pants and a beaver hat.

If I'd known it was a hootenanny well, then, I may have come prepared for the folk fest/cabaret/ vaudeville/comic book inspired musical act that it was. My father hated it. Too Appalachian communal hippie artist backwoods inspired for his taste. He grew up in Val D'Or, Quebec, and he wants that to be the last place he ever saw a beaver hat.

The musicians are from all over Canada and they are currently on one gravy train of a tour. Oh! Susanna and Jenny Whiteley were both outstanding. And the whirl of children laughing and dancing in the front of the stage was evidence that although some of the costumes and lyrics wouldn't have been out of place at an underground sex club, the kids dug it just fine.

Upcoming Performances:

April 13, 2006 @ The Vinyl - Guelph, Ont

April 14, 2006 @ The Lawless Galery - Grafton, Ont

April 15, 2006 @ The Starlight Room - Kitchener, Ont

Seedy Saturday

Foodshare hosts this excellent event. If you have a plot of soil and care about preserving Canada's genetic plant diversity or simply just want to grow some funky heirloom tomatoes with yellow brazen stripes then come on by! You will find reams and racks of eclectic seeds that you won't be able to wait until the spring thaw to get gardening. If you happen to be someone who keeps their seeds from the prior season's harvest then you'll find like-minded individuals to swap yours with theirs and expand your garden's horizons. The fair isn't just about seeds however there are tons of eco books and lots of folks who live outside of the city who participate and show their wares - honeys and creams, knits and baskets. There's always a good, if somewhat hippie-ish (but what can one expect from a seed show!), vibe and it's a fun way to spend an hour on a saturday afternoon in March - celebrating the beauty of a seed into a glorious edible wonder.

Location: Scadding Court Community Centre
at 707 Dundas St. W. (southeast corner of Dundas West and Bathurst)
Wheelchair Accessible

Time: 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.

Cost: FREE (but recommended donation of $2 which goes to Seeds for Diversity)

WORKSHOPS (scheduled from between 11 am to 2 pm)
1. Soil Making 101 with Krista Fry
2. Screening and panel discussion of the documentary, "From Seed to Seed" with Roberta Stimac
3. Seed Starting - drop in at the greenhouse
4. Seed saving internationally. A farmer's right to save seeds with Kate Green from USC

I've Caught the COOTIES (otherwise known as being tagged)

Apparently there's this online activity that people do and it's called "tagging". It appears to be similar to the chain letter in that someone chooses you to be on the receiving end of a challenge presented in the form of a written letter or questionnaire.

I was "tagged" by Francesca of Spoon and Stem who sent me such a nice email about my blog to notify me of my recent infection of the Meme virus that I now feel obliged to participate even though it goes against all of my natural instincts which are to AVOID any organized group activity because it always leaves me feeling like I'm in a train of people wearing identical Nike t-shirts running and cheering their way to the temple to have a bit of Hallejuia sermoned up their arses. Call me cynical.

Four (out of 87) Jobs I’ve had in My Life:
1. Hot dog vendor dressed in a beaver outfit at the sleazy exhibition circa 1988
2. cemetery lawnmower
3. trailer park groundskeeper
4. Club Med G.O. in the Caribbean

Four Movies I could Watch Over and Over:
1. The Double Life of Veronique
2. Waking Life
3. Baraka
4. Rear Window

Four Places I’ve Lived:
1. Farmhouse in the Ottawa Valley (Lanark, ON)
2. Cabin on a river (Dunedin, ON)
3. Moscow, Russia
4. Echevronne, France

Four TV Shows I Watch:
I got a TV (for free from the curbside) a few months ago but I don’t watch much TV still. I watch CSI for mindless indulgence on occasion.

Four Places I have Been on Vacation:
1. Turks and Caicos
2. Dominican Republic
3. Costa Rica
4. Les Trois Vallees, France

Four Websites I Visit Daily:
1. www.kerismith.com/blog
2. www.superherodesigns.com/journal
3. www.yahoo.com for my email
4. http://weatheroffice.ec.gc.ca/

Four of My Favourite Foods:
1. Rapini cooked in garlic and olive oil tossed with farfalle pasta and freshly grated parmesan and sprinkled with hot chili flakes
2. An everything bagel with health food smooth peanut butter and my mother’s strawberry-rhubarb jam
3. A giant salad of mixed greens (purslane, arugula, radicchio, leaf lettuce, endive, escarole) and mixed herbs (chopped mint, parsley, tarragon) with olive oil and a squeeze of lemon and ground pepper and coarse salt
4. Mutsu apples in the Fall

Four Places I would Rather Be Right Now:
1. Having a beer with my friend Dave who I miss dearly and daily
2. Sitting in the town square of Krakow drinking coffee and smoking cigarettes
3. In an after-hours medieval cellar watching Cabaret in Paris
4. Sitting in a lawn chair in the Noisy River under a big straw hat reading

Four Tags to Continue this Meme (and I’ve chosen fellow Canadian foodies):
1. http://www.alacuisine.org/alacuisine/
2. http://www.lexculinaria.com/
3. http://www.oswegotea.com/
4. http://kitchensavvy.typepad.com/journal/

Eating our Words

Since I have a bad habit of eating my words, I'm glad someone's come up with a panel discussion based on the theme. George Brown is hosting the event and this is the blurb from their website:

Eating Our Words
On the evening of Tuesday December 6th, 2005 George Brown Chef School will play host to a truly delicious literary panel. Canada's culinary luminaries will gather for an evening to discuss the tricks of the writerly trade. Panelists for the evening include James Chatto, Naomi Duguid & Jeffrey Alford, Gina Mallet, Elizabeth Baird, John Allemang, Bonnie Stern, and Marion Kane. The evening's moderator is the intelligent and affable Ian Brown of Globe & Mail and TVO fame.

Tuesday, December 6, 2005, 6:30 pm - 9:00 pm
Reception: 6:30 pm - 7:00 pm
Panel Discussion: 7:00 pm - 9:00 pm

I suggest you register now to avoid disappointment. Hope to see you there!