WTF NO POLAR BEARS

We have a forecast high of 11C today. This is January in Toronto (I think). Let's hope this isn't a repeat of 2003 when an unseasonably early spring was followed by a cold snap that cut the grape crop by 75%.

Book meme

Book Meme:

1. Grab the nearest book.
2. Open the book to page 123.
3. Find the fifth sentence.
4. Post the text of the sentence in your journal along with these instructions.
5. Don't search around and look for the coolest book you can find. Do what's actually next to you.

Anno domini 1643 at the fight at Newbury, my Lord Falkland being there, and having nothing to do decided to charge; as the two armies were engaging, rode in like a madman (as he was) between them, and was (as he needs must be) shot.

John Aubrey Brief Lives (very brief in this case)

Hunting and gathering

The St. Lawrence Market, up the street from chez Chickenfeet, is wonderful for "European" foodstuffs but isn't all that crash hot when one's tastes run Oriental or Hispanic. However, Toronto being Toronto, one doesn't need to venture too far afield and so today I headed West (Waggons Ho!) to the Kensington Market and Chinatown. Besides much excellent cheese and a tasty lunchtime empanada, I scored two kinds of Chilean chorizo, morcilla, corn tortillas, avocados and poblano chillis at the Kensington market. The Thai market in Chinatown yielded green chillis, coriander, Thai basil, green mangoes, pork hock, fish balls, apple eggplants, fried beancurd and long beans. So I'm thinking a green curry of fishballs, apple eggplant and basil, green mango and shrimp salad, long beans stir fried with beancurd and pork hock soup tonight. Tomorrow I'll probably cook up some beans to go with chorizo and tortillas and some kind of veggie dish, maybe chillis rellenos.

anayjay has made me nostalgic for red beans and rice too so maybe tomorrow I'll pick up a smoked pork hock from the Hungarian pig guys and some red beans and make a big vat of that for the freezer.

I think I am probably batshit insane

So I did the Thai thing tonight as planned but it was more work than I reckoned on. I think I started cooking shortly before 4pm and we ate at 7pm and I don't think I got more than a few minutes break at any point. Still the good news is that there are lots of leftovers, probably enough to form the basis for at least two more meals.