Life is Too Short for Boring Food

Fresh off the...er...plane I'm sitting to write this. Flew in early this afternoon, got home and started cooking for the week. I had a great time in Vancouver, and am grateful for my business there. The people I work with are competent, and fun; and it's always so restorative to be on the west coast of Canada- especially when the sun shines, as it did for my entire trip.
Why did I jump into the kitchen, while my bags sit mostly still unpacked? Because as I began to unravel my life from my suitcase I ran across my plunder from South China Seas Trading Co.
Chipotle peppers, Amchur, Ancho . No those last two are not typeface sneezes- they are 2 of the 3 spices I picked up from this well-stocked and artfully ran specialty market.
A combination of all three spices already made it into a pureed tomato salsa stewing on the stove as I type. The chipotle adding a smoky flavour, while the Ancho and Amchur spiced and sweetened respectively. Ancho powder is made from a spicy, fleshy pepper and is best used in dishes which are stewed or simmered to bring out it's rich but subtle spice. If you're dipping your toe into spicy food, but don't want to dive in, try Ancho. Amchur is harder to find, and is a greenish-yellow powder of dried mangos. It has great tenderizing properties, so is used well in marinades. It adds a sweetness to your cooking without adding a sickening sugar high. I'll try marinating chicken in it next, with perhaps some sesame or peanut oil.
All of my colleagues left heavy handed from The South China Seas Trading Co. location in Granville Island while I was in meetings all day; so I persuaded them to take me to their second location on Victoria Dr. at Grant St. (just off Commercial Drive- a fab little cafe neighborhood). I was initiatied into this market's spice and hard-to-find-item greatness at this quaint location, and the others added more to their stock from this store. Black bean sauce, fresh succulent cactus leaves, aduki jelly and home-made vietnamese fish sauce walked out with us- all in our newly purchased reusable shopping bags which reflected our thoughts as we enjoyed our treasures- "Life is Too Short for Boring Food".
Must go!

Quiet, still, unassuming...peaceful.
Naropa University- quite picturesque isn't it? Small, perhaps, but what is going on inside those brick walls is big...really big.
For so long, education has existed within the plane of assessments, attendance records, desks facing an instructor, and more recently in history- death by power point.
Using a foundation of Contemplative Education, Naropa embodies an enlightened path to learning. Contemplative education is learning, alongside awareness. If you are interested in an undergraduate, or graduate degree programs take a look at this University in Boulder Colorado. Based on Buddhist practices, any student would find this style of personal or professional advancement glaringly different from the education system in place that is failing students every day. I know I'll complete a program there- it's too bad I missed their session " A Conversation with Danny Glover" when he attended it in April 2008.
Too often I find myself restricting...myself...to learning in the classical sense- acquiring knowledge for the sake of 'keeping' it. What good is that? There is no test to take. It's as senseless as acquiring 'things' for the sheer purpose of having them. Learning can exist so far beyond the content/skill/ability levels. Think about it, and you will know what I am talking about.

Tick Tock

Oh, for a room full of ticking clocks and a mallet. I could forgoe the hook appendage and alligator stalker though. Tick Tock...time goes by.

What am I doing with all this time on my hands since I stopped training for the 1/2 marathon. It's only been one day and the results are 'good for me'. I got 8 hours of sleep last night, I did an hour of yoga this morning and mediatation for 30 minutes before work. Tonight I'll be hosting a mid-week dinner party with a good friend and her daughter. (I'll try to post the recipes: Cranberry-Pear, Walnut Rice Stuffed Chicken breasts, Garlic sauted Kale and Roasted Zucchini and Pepper salad).