One more reason why I am happy to be a Canadian

Today, October 2, 2008 as the world and most of Canada watched the much hyped debate between Sarah Palin and Joe Biden, a lot of Canadians tuned into the election debates in Canada.
For unlike our cousins down South - we are a true democracy - we elect governments to represent us and when they stop doing that we have a no-confidence vote and throw them out. In the past 4 years we have had 3 general elections. And as Canadians, we can easily continue on this path because no politician here in their right mind would think of spending close to 1bn dollars and 2 years running for a 4 year term. This time around, the politicians had about a month to prepare for general elections, and without much hype and expenses, here we are ready to vote next week. See, up here, we are just more efficient.

But this is not why I love being Canadian. I love belonging to the True North because here we can actually voice our opinions. No one in the debate shied from calling Mr. Harper a "liar", no one felt they had to talk about God and make false statements about how they supported something when really they didn't - no sir! Here in Canada, we call a spade a spade, and a liar like Harper is called a "liar". I wish CNN would broadcast the debates to the US - it would show them how really to talk about issues and allow themselves to get all pent up about things that matter. We had none of the Hollywood production, or the million dollar sets - our guys went to the TV station, sat around a round table and hacked it out with a referee. No audience, no million dollar suits - just a bunch of goofy politicians doing their job.

And in this bunch there was a pleasant surprise for me. Elizabeth May. Leader of Canada's Green Party I had pretty much written her off but she totally surprised me. Intelligent, articulate and not scared to voice her opinion, Elizabeth really showed the men what the issues that matter to the people were all about. Just seeing her on TV, wearing a suit which looked like it was straight from Zellers (our version of Walmart), unkempt hair, no makeup, and glasses which look like they belong on a school teacher in the 60s, showed me the prime difference between us and the US. In the US, Hillary and now Palin, spent hours getting their hair and makeup done, they wear designer clothes, they "dress for success", millions is spent on creating a product out of them. Still - they lack substance. Hillary with her wishy-washy stand on all things, and Palin who believes dinosaurs and my grand dad co-existed and hung out at the local Burger King. Elizabeth May showed us what Canada is all about - we are all about substance. The expensive paparazzi stuff we leave to those south of the 49th parallel. Here we focus on the mind.

When the election campaign in the US started last year, I remember thinking how lucky the US was to have a pick of such outstanding candidates. Fast forward to to, and I feel deep pity for a country that seems to not have any choice. No one really stands for anything there. McCain used to be anti-change and pro-experience, now Sarah Palin bashes Biden's age and she is now the agent of change (maybe she will now make my grand dad and the dinosaurs enjoy their meals at the local Thai restaurant now). Obama was "anti-off shore drilling"in the middle east, now he realizes he needs to win more votes so he is "pro-off shore drilling, McCain was the biggest de-regulator of all times and now he is saying that the reason the banks failed is because there was not enough regulation. What garbage is this? The sad part is the average American cares more about abortion than if his daughter will have a house to sleep in. America is slowly turning into a 3rd world and all the politicians can talk about is how they have to "win the war in Iraq"! It is a sad state of affairs there, and I am particularly happy that we are not in the same boat as them.

Let them have their fancy politicians, we'll take our dowdy ones who can actually discuss real issues.

Apple Wasabi Coleslaw

This is probably one of the best coleslaw's I have tasted.

Serves 4

Ingredients:
1/2 cabbage finely chopped - about 5 cups
5 apples finely chopped
2 spring onions finely chopped
2 stalks celery finely chopped
2 tablespoons mayonnaise
2 teaspoons wasabi
juice of 1 lemon
salt to taste
few pinches

Method

1. Mix together the cabbage, apples, onions and celery.
2. Mix together the lemon juice, salt, pepper, wasabi and mayonnaise. Mix well.
3. Incorporate the mayonnaise mixture with the cabbage mixture and spread evenly throughout the slaw.
4. Refrigerate for at least 2-3 hours.

Palin

I just saw Sarah Palin at her inauguration speech at the Republican National Convention. It brought an uneasy chill. Now, before I get accused yet again for not "standing up" and being "too tough" on women, I have to say, I welcomed the fact that McCain was smart enough to put a woman on the ticket - but for heaven sakes couldn't he have found one who is qualified.

She is tough - no doubt about it. Ruthless, and will likely give Obama a run in the next few months. An attractive lady who like Hillary, knows how to get a crowd ready - but what does this woman stand for and can you take someone like her seriously. She seems to stand for "American Values" but the more I hear that term, the more I ask "What is that?"

Her 17 year old daughter does not get sex-ed in school because Palin abolished it by cutting all funding for sex-ed in high school. So, she gets pregnant. At 17, she is expected to marry a boy who proudly calls himself a "redneck", and to start a family with no high school education or understanding of the world. Of course this is much easier for her because her mum will get her a bunch of nannies and Bristol will likely show up for occasional visits from university. As for the "Christian Values" thing about having a Down Syndrome child - for Christ sakes - I strongly question the judgment of a woman who gives birth to a special needs child and parades him in front of thousands of people for her own political mileage. Did Sarah Palin ever sit to wonder how women of far fewer means would be able at age 17 to take care of a baby, or for that matter a special needs child. All this in a country that shamefully does not have universal health care , and where one third of the population is losing their homes??? What message is she sending girls today? They won't even get decent paying jobs - because Palin doesn't believe in equal pay for women! Welcome to the dark ages!

What did Sarah say other than beat up on Obama? Did she say what her policies are on health care? Did she say where she stands on Iraq?Iran? What are her policies on anything except teenage pregnancies? Wait - she did explain her energy policies - let us not focus on green energy, let's start drilling up in the Arctic and destroy whatever pristine land there is left so that Americans can continue to drive their large cars and pollute the world even more.

What is wrong with the Americans? They have a 301 million people (150.5 million women) and the best they could find is a woman who ran a rural town of 5000 in Alaska and who thinks on the PTA prepared her for the White House! I don't care if she has had to make "executive decisions" - when you are dealing with a small, non-controversial town of 5000 - you can't really need a lot of serious executive decisions in that setting and it speaks to her "executive decision making" that she left the town with a big deficit.

This race started out with 10 excellent candidates - to think that the fate of 301 million people now rests in the hands of a woman who has never done anything significant on the world stage, and who thinks Americans should be walking around with guns and the bible.
Crazy! Crazy! Crazy!

Hearty Country Style Gazpacho

This is by far the easiest soup I have ever made. The key to getting the soup right is to use ripe, fresh ingredients. This dish showcases mother nature's flavour.

Serves 3 as main course or 5 for a starter

Ingredients:
1 kilo fresh tomatoes - cherry tomatoes are better.
2 small cucumbers peeled and chopped
1 large red pepper chopped
5 cloves of garlic peeled
1/4 onion chopped (for the soup)
1/4 onion chopped (for the garnish)
2-3 slices of bread (whatever you have at hand)
2-3 tablespoons chopped basil, parsley or other herbs you like
1 tablespoon vinegar
1/2 teaspoon Tobasco sauce
generous pinch of salt

Method:

1. Take all the ingredients except the herbs and the onions for garnish. Put it in a blender and blend until it is well blended.
2. For a more refined version, you can put the soup through a sieve and strain out all the seeds and skin - but for the hearty version enjoy as is.
3. Refrigerate for at least 2 hours until it is cold.
4. Serve cold, garnish with the chopped onions and herbs. For an extra kick add a dash of Tabasco.

Emie's Japanese Chicken and Egg Melody

Part of my friend Emie's usual dinner repertoire, this is the fastest, yummiest chicken I have had in a long time. The Mirin (Japanese Rice Wine) and the Memmi (Japanese Soup base) are imperative to use to get the flavoring right. In Toronto, I found these at the Japanese store "Sanko" on Niagara & Queen.

Serves 3 as a quick hearty meal

Ingredients:
1 onion chopped up
2 chicken breasts cut in 1 inch cubes.
1 cup veggies (use either mushrooms, beansprouts or red peppers) cut in bit size pieces.
1/2 cup Mirin
1/4 cup Memmi (for cooking the chicken)
3 tablespoon Memmi (for additional flavour on top)
3 eggs
2 tsp oil

Method:

1. Heat the oil in the pan. Add the onions and cook on MEDIUM for about 4 minutes until the onions are translucent.
2. Add the chicken pieces and saute until the chicken is slightly brown on one side. Turn and cook on the other side. Add the vegetables.
3. Add the Mirin and Memmi and continue cooking. Cover and lower flame to LOW and cook for about 5 minutes.
4. Beat eggs slightly, add to the chicken and stir until eggs are almost cooked. Remove from the heat and allow the eggs to cook in the residual heat of the pan.
5. Serve immediately over hot rice. Sprinkle a tablespoon of Memmi on top of the chicken.

Things to do before I die

Of late a lot of people have been advising us to get our wills made. On top of it, everywhere I turn I see people making "life changing" decisions, and determined to "live it up" only once, and generally declaring what they want to see before they greet the wonderful old man who lives up in the heavens. This started me thinking about what I would like to accomplish. After much consideration, here is my list of what I would like to do before I die.

1) Learn to play the piano well enough to perform in a local repertoire.
2) Learn how to dance the Tango like they do on TV and dance it with my husband.
3) Help organise the menu at our daughters wedding.
4) Paint at least one painting that I am 100% happy with and where I would not change anything.

Lamb Kabas with Parsley and Dill

Makes about 12 patties

Ingredients:
500g Ground Lamb
1 onion chopped
4-5 cloves of garlic
2 tsp paprika
1 cup fresh breadcrumbs
1 egg
1 cup chopped flat leaf parsley
1 cup chopped dill
salt to taste
2 tbsp olive oil

Method:

1. Make fresh breadcrumbs by grinding bread slices in a food processor. You can use whatever kind of bread you like or have at home. Make crumbs until they are smooth, fine and consistent. Remove crumbs and place in large bowl.
2. In the food processor blend the onion until it is smooth. Do not add any water to it. There is enough liquid in the onion. Add the garlic cloves and continue blending.
3. Wash and chop up the herbs so that you have a total of 2 cups of herbs. Add to the breadcrumbs.
4. Add the onion mixture to the bread + herb mixture.
5. Add the ground lamb and mix everything together until it is evenly distributed.
6. Add the salt and the paprika and remix.
7. Add the egg and blend with the rest of the mixture.
8. Wet your hands and dive the mixture into 12 patties.
9. Heat the oil in a pan and fry the patties in 2 batches on MEDIUM HIGH heat for 2-3 minutes until brown on one side. Flip and cook on the other side until it is brown. When browning is complete. move the patties with a spatula from the pan to a baking dish. Repeat the steps with the remaining patties.
10. Cover Baking dish with aluminium foil and put in the oven at 300C for about 15 minutes to finish cooking.
11. Serve hot.