Friday, January 30

Blah.....



I hate Aunt Flow...I don't care who you are, what corner of the planet you inhabit, what your personal beliefs are.... you must know every woman has had a day where she wants to scream at the top of her lungs

"Aunt Flow.....GO THE HELL AWAY!"

I know we are suppose to embrace it and love it and feel all womanly about it, but ya know what??? I don't..and what is more, I think that philosophy was designed by men so we would be less cranky and snappish or at least feel guilty that we are cranky and snappish!
No guilt here..sorry boys...I like my snappish couple of days, thank you very much! I am not going to pretend I feel all sunshine and unicorns about it.

The most peaceful pacifist, the earnest menses loving earth Goddess, the gymnast in white leotards, the mother on the run, the single girl...
We all have this in common ..and you men....you are lucky it only involves a few days of cranky......really we are entitled to so much more!

Blah!

Thursday, January 29

Harlo Haiku




Harlo, black white star
stretches, winter sunbeams wide
Kaleidoscope eyes


Wednesday, January 28

I sit , I type...

I committed to writing SOMETHING every day when I started this blog. I haven't always done that, but am honestly trying now.

Sooooo..ummmmm.........what do you write about when your head is full of knights and round tables, scripts, and stage movement?

"Hail"......that is what I have for today..."Hail ye lads and lassies"....
The old English had some beautiful wordsmithing going on.

My favourite old English turn of phrase may well be

" and I of ladies most deject and wretched,
that suck'd the Honey of his music'd vows
now see that noble and most soverign reason...blasted with ecstasy!
O woe is me, to see what I have seen, see what I see"
( Ophelia, Hamlet)

It is just so drippingly dramatic and perfect, a winning combination of consonants and vowels and pathos.

And that is how I shall endeavor to speak for the rest of the day....


Hail, ye lads and Lassies!

Tuesday, January 27

I am wondering....


if there is anyone out there that thinks TV has gone to the B movie blahs?

I miss the great days of well written television on the main stations, CBC, ABC, NBC,CBS, and still watch them on reruns..
Frasier, Friends, Will and Grace, The Gilmore Girls, etc etc....top quality actors, directors, writers...the A squad of television.
It is unfortunate that some of our best shows now are on specialized channels, HBO, for example.

This chasing 15 minutes of fame and creating a whole show around it just makes me sad in lots of ways.
Now I don't mind the actual talent showcase shows, "So you think you can dance", The Idols", Rockstar....but the shows that are simply there to share the odd and surreal lives of people intimately, kinda disturb me.
It seems like the B string of writers, actors, or non actors as is often the case, have taken over our airways.

"Life imitating art, art imitating life"....hmmm..when did that become "life not art" on tv?

Sunday, January 25

Greek food






What can I say about the food tasted in Greece.......well.........yumm!
Greek food is just good.
That is really all there is to it.
It is fresh, uses simple flavour blends, lots of lemon and let's talk about that goat cheese.



Why can't we get goat cheese like that here in North America? Why? And you are served big slabs of it, dripping in olive oil and herbs, darn my mouth is watering....


Let me just name a few of my faves, sampled from various parts of Greece, the islands and the mainland...


-Dolmades, both grape leaf and squash blossom



-Greek yoghurt and fruit for breaksfast lunch and dinner, prepared in our self catering kitchen by moi on Santorini


-delicious savoury and sweet loafy deliciousness...my fave the sausage loaf from the local bakery on Santorini
-Calamari, fresh from the water that day
-Gyros with french fries in them...now THAT is something we need to catch onto , best sit on the beach food ever....

and the rice pilaf I had on Crete in an old Turkish bathhouse, now a restaurant known as Tammam



Oh dear i could go on and on but instead, I am going to serve myself up a little Greek yoghurt, fruit and nuts....thank heavens for the mediterranean grocer.

Friday, January 23

Morning Sunshines....

Two of my friends who met up with me in Greece are coming home this weekend.

They continued off to Turkey to follow their artistic, musical muse, while Sarah and I continued onto Chania on Crete, and then myself alone from there, so I have not seen these two since September.

Friends, red wine, great music and talk of travels and of places far away...a perfect evening.

Wednesday, January 21

go on..ask him a question...see how well it goes for you!


Inspired by my friend Sarah Kramer, that was inspired by her friend,
I thought I would ask Daiv a few questions....here is ummmm how it went.....

Kimmee:
"Hey daiv, what is your full name?"

Daiv:
"My full name ? What do you need to know my full name for.. (looks at me suspiciously)
David -e------ G----n ( edited to protect the innocent), that's what it says on my birth certificate anyways, not that I ever use it."

Kimmee asks...
"what's your favourite food?"

Daiv:
"ummmmuuhhmmmm"
my favourite food, like an ethnic variety of food or a particular dish...what?....(long silence while crickets chirp)

"ummm..Mexican" ( sounds like this is a revelation)

Kimmee:
"What's you favourite colour?"

Daiv:
"ummm how about a midnight blue ? " ( yelled back to me as he gets up to take Sage out)

Kimmee:
"What do you like to do apart from playing poker?" ( as he pauses to make computer poker moves)

Daiv:
"be creative" ( he says cheekilly)

Kimmee
"What else do you like to do?"

Daiv:
"don-know.. answer any and all questions that Kimmee asks me?"

Kimmee;
"...haha...What's your favourite animal?"
(thoughtful pause...)

Daiv:
"killer whales"

Kimmee:
"who's your favourite wifey?"

Daiv;
"my favourite what? ........wifey?" ( pretends to be hard of hearing..irritating boy)
"Umm..Michelle Obama..( he laughs, I scowl)
".....I guess that would be Kimmee"

"Can I ask you some more questions?"

Daiv:
( moans unintelligibly)
"mm hmmmmm"

Kimmee:
"What would you like people to know about you?"

Daiv:( repeats questions..he is such an active listener)
"That I am one of the last great minds of the 19th century"

Kimmee:
"Umm. Daiv ya know it is the 21st century right?"

daiv:
"What's that got to do with anything."

Kimmee:
"What are you most proud of?"

Daiv::
...ummmmmmm.... I guess that I am capable of creating hand done photograghs"

Kimmee:
"Can you explain more?"

Daiv:
"I am good with a paint brush, put it that way?" ( sounding impatient )

Kimmee
"Is there anything else you would like to share?"
( ... waits for response...

...still waiting......
ummmm waiting...insert more crickets here )

"Perhaps you could stop playing poker for a moment and answer?"

Daiv:
"Ummm....I'm thinking, I'm thnking...
Always fold the losing hands and bet on the winning hands."

Kimmee (groans)
"What do you most dislike?"

Daiv
(Repeats again...ugh... active listening)
"What do I most dislike?
Questionaires"

Kimmee:
"Would you like to be done now" ( smiles nicely and veeeeeeerrry patiently)

Daiv:
"Why?
Is there more?"

Kimmee
"No Daiv we can be done, would that make you happy?"

Daiv:
"Oh I am always happy, ever since I had my operation."

Kimmee:
"Thank for playing"

Daiv:
"...you"re welcome Kimmee"

and back to a word or two about food.

We have looked at foods from Spain and Paris....now let's fly across Europe and land on Santorini and talk about Keftedes/tomato balls.
This may seem like a strange thing, but oh my goodness....they are a Santorini speciality that is not to be missed.

My journey to these began in a potter's gallery on Santorini, along the caldera.
We met the owner, a Greek/Canadian from Winnepeg who is back in Greece now with her family, and creating some beautiful things in clay.
I sent a boxful of bowls and art home.

My wise and wonderful friend Sarah thought to ask her about food and the local specialties that should not be missed....she recommended tomato balls/keftedes.

Hmmmm....I don't really like tomatoes so this was hard to imagine enjoying, but being game to try almost anything.......I went for it at the next available restaurant.

Tomato balls/keftedes are not really a ball, more of a patty, and made up of mint, veggies, courgettes, cheese and ofcourse tomatoes ( no kidding hey :) ) some mystery ingredients and then deep fried. They remind me a bit of pakoras....and they are seriously delicious.




We all enjoyed them in Fira, high atop a cliff spilling white and blue onto the landscape, and watching a train of Donkeys being driven down the road.



Mythos beer and Tomato balls/keftedes.......yes please.

Tomato balls - (tomatokeftedes)
Category:appetizers
INGREDIENTS
1 kg. tomatoes cleaned and mashed
2 courgettes grated and drained
4 spoons grated cheese
2 beaten eggs
2 minced onions
Flour
1 spoon dried mint
Salt
Pepper
Oil for frying

METHOD
In a large bowl, mix all ingredients. Add flour and work the mixture until it thickens. Heat olive oil in a frying pan. Drop teaspoons of mixture into the oil. Fry them on both sides and serve hot or cold.

Tuesday, January 20

History unfolds...

Today, I am home watching the coverage of the inauguration.

It is a moment in time I want to remember and particpate in and would love to have your comments about what this means to you, as you are taking this in from all over the world.

People I know in the states have asked me,
"why does the world care so much about the election of the states?"

Well, it is a big question.... as I travelled through Europe during the final weeks of the election, I had the priviledge of speaking with many global perspectives.

The bottom line for everyone is easilly summed up in one word "HOPE"

There is a feeling of deep exhalation and hope for the first time since,well....since we all sat waiting for the recounts in Florida to put Gore in office.

Sharing this day of hope with you all.

Saturday, January 17

and a new creature to love appears....

As you all know, we lost the matriarch of our family, "Abby" in early November.

We did not intend to get another kitty...we going to just leave things with status quo .

Then we watched nessa, ou littlest kitty getting lonely, and clingy and needy....



...and trying to make friends with a cranky "Flame , our oldest crankster cat.



Then I was clearing away some of Abby's medical links and clicked on one by accident and off that page popped the eyes of a beautiful cat who needs us as we need her. As Nessa needs her...as the house needs to come together.

We ignored the signs at first "we aren't ready, we don't need another cat" and yet, something kept calling me to her......her story is one of abandonment and sadness, the kittens she saved and rescue....

Today she is coming home and we open our hearts to another spirit.


Friday, January 16

ask and you shall receive...

I found this online that looks exactly like what I am talking about :)
Let me know if you make it and how it works out :) Happy tortilla..highly recommended with a glass of sweet vermouth.
A Recipe for Spanish Tortilla
by Santiago G.H. (santigh@correo.uniovi.es)


A few facts about tortilla to start:

- There aren't two tortillas that taste the same.
- Two people with the same ingredients do different tortillas
- Tortilla is best if you don't expect it
- Tortilla is best if you did it yesterday
- Tortilla is best as a midday plate and not as a main dish. I don’t know if this makes sense out of Spain.
- Tortilla can be a dream or a horrible dish.
- The key is in the inside. I prefer them in the liquid side :-)
- The person that makes a tortilla could be called "tortillera" but you don't want to ask for the "tortillera"
while in Spain, even if you just want to thank her for the tortilla.

Some of this facts lead me to a disclaimer:
This is not but the way I make tortilla. I do not claim this recipe as mine in the sense that I learnt from my
mother, and she learnt from her mother, and so on. Also, I don’t claim this as the only way to make a
tortilla.


Ingredients (4 serves):

4 medium sized potatoes of a good variety for frying.
4 eggs, preferably if they are from free grain-fed hens
half an onion (medium size), finely chopped
ExtraVirgin Olive Oil (EVOO) of a soft variety such as
Hojiblanca
salt (about a teaspoon, but it would depend on your
taste and the amount of onion you use)



1. Preparing your ingredients
Peel the potatoes, wash and dry with a cloth.
Cut them in halves through the long axis
Cut them in slices, about 2mm thick
Put in a bowl, add the chopped onion and salt, stir.

2. The first Frying
Fry them in EVOO in a pan, with not much oil. If you
put a lot of oil you'd get crusty french fries and you
want them to be soft and tender, so you have to be
very careful with the oil temperature and the amount
of oil. I usually set my vitro ceramic at about 6/12. It
is quite possible that they get stuck amongst them.
After all, they don't have so much space in the pan.
Cook for about 15-20 minutes, depending on the
variety of the potato.

3. The Mixing


Put the eggs on a bowl and give them a few strokes with a fork. A key for
success is not to get them perfectly beaten.
Take the potatoes out of the pan, trying to avoid an EVOO excess. I usually put
them directly in the bowl with the eggs.
Let the potatoes rest with the eggs for a while, perhaps 5 minutes will do. This
way, fried potatoes will absorb part of the lightly beaten eggs, making it even
more yummy.

4. The Shaping (or Second Frying)


Now put a small pan (smaller than the one you used for frying the
potatoes) and a very small amount of EVOO. Let it gain temperature, drop
the mix from the bowl and stir a bit.
Now let it sit for a while, because you want the external part to fry while
the internal remains tender and wet.
As soon as you feel you can put it upside down... do it.
I usually turn it with a plastic apparel I bought specially for that matter,
sort of a plate with a handle in the center, but you could do it with a plate
and a bit of training.
Also, I usually turn it about 4 times.



5. Tortilla Española as a result

Thursday, January 15

Tortilla Pie.....torilla pie....if I don't have some I think I'm going to die!...

My very good friend kirstie ( pictured below) who now lives in the north of Spain, turned me onto really good homemade Tortilla Pie in the 90's.

This is a large thick potato, onion, egg , omellette type dish that gets better and better the more you eat.

I have craved this meal often and luckilly for me, have a patient friend in Kirstie who has taught me how to make it for myself....twice :)

While in Spain , I was also introduced to vermouth bars.
The vermouth sits in wooden casks and then ingredients are continually added to it so you have a continuous base, like a sourdough, you keep using.

The vermouth, so beautifully amber and flavourful....mmmmmmm.........

When you order bevvies inside wine and vermouth bars in Asturias, you are also served an accompanying dish at no extra cost, meatballs and bread, ceviche and bread, etc.
My first day out excursioning in Oviedo, I was given TORTILLA PIE with my glass of vermouth....exquisite yumminess, a perfect pairing and solved the "noonsies" tummy rumbles beautifully til our main meal during siesta was served.

Wednesday, January 14

and let's talk about the things you can find...

in those fabulous European Market places........or in Spain...Supermarketo!


here are a few pics as I strolled the streets of Europe..I will let the pics tell the story...








food...France...yummmm

Continuing with my food yumminess, I next want to discuss my time in Paris and the mmmmmmmm.....tasties I had there.

My mom "Mumzie" has always given me escargot, since I was a little Kimmee.....escargot and spaghetti usually, a funny combination for sure, but after 7 weeks of travel, I was craving a little "taste of home...

So I took myself out for dinner in the Opera De Les Halles District, where I was staying and had dinner here...


I ordered...drum roll please....

Escargots and lasagne.........mmmmmmmmmmmmm funnilly enough, it tasted like home and Paris at the same time.
Combined with a yummy Pinot Noir and fantastic crumbly bread for dipping, what is escargot for if not garlic/butter sauce drenched bread, I was in heaven........mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm.

Now let's talk pastries and Paris....oh man..could I eat enough yummy things from street vendors?
I don't think so. My fave was a little stand outside the Louvre in the Tuillerries, where I ordered "un paine de chocolat et un quiche de fromage, s'il vous plait"

Best Quiche I have ever...ever...ever...had.
Sigh..no pics sorry, but trust me it tasted fantastique!

Let's Talk European food...

My next few posts will be about some of the exquisite flavours I was able to take in while traveling this winter.

I am going to start with Spain cause.....well....it is just soooooo good.

BEANS.....Fabada- first tasted in Oviedo, Spain
Fabada is a large white bean dish with blood sausage, chorizo sausage and ham hocks........all is steeped in Pimenton and served up like a stew with gargantuan breads, crunchy, moist, and tearable in hunks for dippining and dripping....


Tie that together with a "nice Chianti" and slurp....slurp....slurp....I am sending a big freeze dried bag of ingredients home for later...




and when I got home....I made it, almost but not quite as delicious.

Pimenton would follow me about and ask to be sent home ........now it follows me about here :)

Monday, January 12

stitch in time....kitty paw, stitch in time....


I Knit .....Therefore I am


...with kitty upon shoulder supervising every stitch. I could not do it without her.
Kitty pie...Kitty pie....kitty pie....kitty pie.......ra ra ra!!!!!!!

what you say...what am I talking about?.....weeeeeellllllll go to www.etsy.com and search for me.."Seachild Comforts"


... knit a little talk a little...knit a little ..talk a little........

Milan Kundera


I know there has been some recent contraversy about him, my favourite author, and speculation that he actually informed on his close friends etc, 60 years ago in the Czech Republic, but....
he still remains one of my all time favourite authors, made even more so having visited Prague in October and feeling the energy and historical context of the people, world he wrote of.

Today I share a great movie of his writings with a friend....."The Unbearable Lightness of Being"....it is worth viewing and even further, worth the read.

Sunday, January 11

La De Da....


and a Sunday whiles away gently with Daiv, coffee, furries and friends... and yes i wore my pajams til I had to change out of them :)

Anyone seen " Milk"? I am about to step forth into yonder world and check it out.

Friday, January 9

I want to know....please add comments...


What it is about jammies and slippers and what makes them socially unacceptable at a certain point in the day?

I mean, they are clothes, sort of......the are comfy, and if you spend your days working from home...why the guilt after a certain time, that you are still in your jammies?
Is it my own warped guilt kicking in or do you feel this way too?

It is the same thing I wonder about taking sick time and naps. Some ( and I am thinking more about older generations here) see illness and the need for naps as a weakness. A personal judgement that you are somehow "less than" if a cold catches up with you or you can take time to have a siesta.

I am telling you..Europe, especially the hot areas, have this well figured..I am down with noonsies and siestas and late dinners....

This work work work, look pretty all the time and don't show weakness, is just bullshit.

That said, I am sitting here in my jammies, may have a nap, and ponder this a little further...

Thursday, January 8

Vote for Sarah Kramer...Vegan Goddess


My really good friend Sarah Kramer, Vegan Cookbook author Goddess....www.govegan.net...has been nominated for a Libby award. please go to www.peta2.com -libby awards, and vote for her fabulousness and discover others in other categories as well.....

Tuesday, January 6

song for peace...


These Playing for Peace songs are such a breathtaking accomplishment....enjoy...and if my link doesn't work....run to youtube and search for ..."Playing around the World,song for peace,Stand by Me"

or copy and paste this into your browser bar..
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Us-TVg40ExM

Monday, January 5

The thing about Friendship...

.....is that it is always there.

Time can pass, lives can carry you in different directions and it is not always possible to be tightly connected.
Those free school day dreams are hard to maintain as we get older and our lives are full and the time to simply "hang" keeps evaporating.

Then you see each other and it all just washes away.....the time,. the space the distance...that is the thing about friendship.
When it is real,.......it is unchangeable.
You pick up the pieces as though no time has passed...



A wise teacher in Grade 4 told me ..."a good friend is there til the end".
She was right.

Sigh, I heart my friends...and you all know who you are .

Sunday, January 4

Snow Dogs....



Daiv and I are watching the movie "snow dogs" and giggling at their antics......I remember when Sage was a puppy and she got into EVERYTHING.
Mascara bunny comes to mind right away...a poor little stuffy that Sage thought needed makeup so she chewed on my mascara and then wiped it all over bunny's face....poor mascara bunny...
Nothing could keep her conatained, she opened doors, and latches and crate lock and you name it, she escaped it.....
We would leave the house with her contained in a puppy safe zone....with locks and gates etc, and come home to find mounds of pillow fluff that she had sucked out of the corners of all our silk cushions.....igh....it is a good thing she is so cute :)



Now she is older and less apt to eat pillows, however, everytime the dogs bark and howl on TV, our Niko and Sage join them in song and ...it makes it a little challenging to watch the movie :) but worth every bark.

Friday, January 2

New item notice....



As my kitty pi factory takes off for the new year, I have aded a few new features to further customize the kitty pies I am making and selling-now pawprints and your furries' names are a great option...25% of all proceeds continues to help animals in need :)

You can check it all out here....
www.etsy.com
then search for Seachild Comforts

That is me and my little shop :)

Please drop by and tell me your thoughts and then tag me as your very favourite shop in the whole world.

Thursday, January 1

tee hee...



It came........It was lovely...it involved friends, and music and celebrating and now it involves water consumption....:)

I was home earlier than years past...2:00am instead of 4:00...must be cause I am 40!... lolololol!

As for resolutions?...The whole resolution thingy is not for me...I like to make little ones throughout the year so have nothing specific picked for today.

Did anyone do the polar bear swim????