#22 | London Calling

So, why British food?

First of all, a society that has been around since the 15th Century has bound to have some amazing ideas.  Second, a place that has such great fashion sense must have a way to keep it all in check.  But most importantly, when I was watching Eat St. - London Edition (drooling over fresh bread pudding, scotch eggs and custard tarts) I started thinking about how British food is really opposite from what is considered normal in Canada*.

Here, we are encouraged to choose low-fat, low-sugar, low-carb foods. We eat fruit salads for breakfast, spinach salads for lunch and chicken with salad for dinner.  Pie is saved for a special occasion and accompanied by wistful sigh, "wow I haven't had pie in forever." In England, you can have 3 pie's a day: fruit pie for breakfast, egg pie for lunch and sausage pie for dinner.  Most of the people I know save their bacon & eggs for once/week. But across the ocean they add bacon everything.

Speaking of bacon scones,  Londoners have a set time a day where they relax, eat delicious pastries and drink fresh teas.  That's almost polar opposite to our society where we skip afternoon breaks, are afraid of pastries in general, and administer coffee intravenously in our veins.**

My Canadian-turned-British friend Erin confirmed my slowly forming theory of what makes British food so darn exciting,  "the thing about British food as well is that its all locally grown - all the berries, all the meats, eggs, butter, fish, etc.  Loads of farms develop their own butters and milks and stuff. Its really nice actually because they have old fashioned butcher shops, old fashioned veggie shops, etc. Its nice to go to the market and get loads of your food from the market stall." 

Fresh.  Locally grown.  Unprocessed. Protein & fat that keeps you full. After all, isn't that all the rage these days? I have a hunch that with any foods, portion size is key so I will try to be modest with this adventure.  Who knows? Maybe I will get so sick of pie that I will never want it again?

 (Did I mention that I'm going to attempt to make this gluten free?)

So, can you really have your pie and eat it too? That's what I plan on finding out.

Food Research (possibilities):

Breakfast 
Traditional British Breakfast 
Apparently Cornflakes

Lunch 
Hot Fish Loaf
Gluten Free Scotch Eggs
Gluten Free Meat Pie

Sunday Lunch Roast Beef & Gluten Free Yorkshire Pudding

Tea 
Gluten Free Custard Tart 
Scones w Clotted Cream & Strawberry Jam
Gluten Free Four Fruit Pie
Gluten Free Strawberry Tart

Dinner
Gluten Free Sausage Rolls 
Gluten Free Melton Mowbray Pork Pie
Curry Chicken

Dessert
Milk Pudding
Eaton Mess

*I know that part of Canada's charm and perfection is how we share our diverse cultural backgrounds with each other. But our peers and co-workers encourage us to eat diet foods (have you actually tried PopChips? They are not the same as chips).  Our friends say things like, "oh, you must have mistakenly chosen the full-fat sour cream, don't worry I have some low fat at home" (True story). We celebrate when we find a new diet yogurt flavoured like pie.  This discussion in itself may have to be an entire blog, or Masters Thesis. Maybe after this 101 things.

#102. Name a street.

Dear blogger world,


I will keep this one simple.

#102. Name a street. Blame my weird request on completing my "list of things to do before I die".   Will they think I am dying? Aren't we all dying, one day at a time? Am I no better than a celebrity who uses their status to get things they want? (African children).

Ok, maybe that's a little deep.  I knocked on a bunch of wood and got a splinter.

Hello Stef,              

Thank you for your email of 2012.07.20 regarding Street Names.

The City Planner, Cory Sousa contact is 780-496-6226.

Please be advised that you can research the information online:

www.edmonton.ca > City Government > Urban Planning & Design > Planning > Naming Committee Process >

Once again thank you for taking the time to email us.                                                          

Regards,                    

Gabrielle

311 Contact Centre

Email: 311@edmonton.ca

Good things! Now, to think of names. 

The List

The List:

1. Create a blog about my 101 adventures
2. Post about these adventures at least once a month
3. Complete a full dinner for more than 6 people 
4. Buy a pet (Big Turtle & Little Turtle)
5. Loose 5lbs/month for 4 consecutive months (0/4)
6. Write 5 short stories (1/5)
7. Drink only water for 30 consecutive days (30/30)
8. Actively self-publish a book  (this means binding, and soliciting business to sell it)
9. Write a kids children's cartoon book
10. Organize & complete year end accounting for Guillard Fabricators SOLD
11. See a musical
12. Go to the 3 great zoo's of Alberta (Edmonton, Calgary & Drumheller) (0/3)
13. Go to the Edmonton Symphony
14. Run a 10km race
15. See a play at the Fringe
16. Learn how to use an SLR camera
17. Learn to cook (Pasta)
18. Visit the Devon Botanical Gardens (Visited Gardens in The Gardens of the Regal Palace of Turin)
19. Bind a cook book - Project FaceCook.
20. Actively participate in a sport, club, exercise classes/activity
21. Wear each article of clothing once during 1001 days or donate. (Have a wedding dress party) (donated/sold)
22. Eat only British Food for 1 week (Figure out what clotted cream is - thick cream)
23. Learn how to make pierogi. Fill with Custard (don't tell mom).
24. Have a wine tasting party.
25. Teach English as a Second Language
26. Make a YouTube Channel and record 5 videos   (0/5)
27. Visit the Calgary Stampede
28. Purchase prescription sunglasses 
29. Eat only Spanish food for 1 week
30. Become and English teacher
31. Can 10 jars of home made tomato sauce for winter (0/10)
32. Learn how to make gluten free pasta from scratch.  Have people over to celebrate.
33. Send a secret to post secret.
34. Go on a girls trip (Venice 2013)
35. Send an anonomous gift to 10 friends in the mail (10/10)
36.  Re-learn Greensleeves for Dad's wedding
37. Go tubing down pembina river.
38. Complete an adult basic wardrobe.
39. Go to Jasper.  Hike a trail up to a lake.
40. Learn how to make bread
41. Visit friends in Lethbridge.
42. Create a spare bedroom with an actual mattress (not a futon), plants, and a reading nook.
43. Plant a herb garden 
44. Take a course, get a certificate(TESOL, Cambridge English Testing)
45. Volunteer 10 hours towards a kids charity (2/10)
46. Run a 1/2 marathon in a city I've never been to
47. Throw a pie in someone's face
48. Read 20 of the best sellers on the 2000 - 2012 best sellers list (2/20)
49. Go for a run in every single one of Edmonton's parks.
50. Organize a charity event
51. Go paperless - get all bills online and automatic
52. Buy art from Edmonton's Art Walk
53. Learn how to dive (I've given up) Build a webpage and start an online business copywriting
54. Start a composte.
55. Eat 1 salad/day for 60 consecutive days (60/60)
56. Publish a book with all those delicious salads.... salad Journal.
57. Eat the 25 Best Things to Eat in Edmonton 2012. (Turin)
58. Sky Dive.  (Just don't think about it until later)
59. Visit Saskatchewan
60. Pay off all debt
61. Wear only high heels for 30 days (not including bare feet @ home) 0/30 (why?! This is so not me) #Get a pedicure with those fish that eat your feet.
62. Learn how to use essential oils (tea tree, peppermint) (Thank you Orietta!)
63. Get my home and workplace cleansed 
64. Get a massage 
65. Give all hand made gifts (that people would want to have) for Christmas
66. Send friends birthday cards
67. Set up a "listening station" at a Cafe for 2 days from open until close (apx. 12h/day) *This one is on hold until I get back to Canada, it won't work in Italy. Plus, I do conversational classes, which is sort of like this.
68. Upload all CD's & DVD's to some organizational system (external hard drive) [Donate them.  After 1001 days, no more CD's & DVD's]
69. Go to a fancy wine and cheese dinner
70. Start a non for profit charity (English in the Park, Turin)
71. Go to a spa.  To which I mean a real spa not just to get my nails done. (Budapest Spa!)
72. Take an Italian class. Learn Italian.
73. Learn how to make Pad Thai
74. Eat "street food" fruit on a stick
75. Make a dinner party contest (5 dinners, 5 weeks, every person puts in $50, winner gets $250)
76. Go ice fishing
77. Complete firearms license renewal
78. Make a perfect chocolate soufflé 
79. Spend an 8h period only singing instead of speaking
80. Be 15 minutes early to everything for a 30 day period (keep count) #30daynewhabit (I have to be now, I'm a teacher)
81. Pay library fines.  Use library at least 50 times (10/50) (move to another country and get a new card)
82. Make photo Christmas cards and send to all contacts (also get an updated address book) (2013!!)
83. Just give up being the "winner" in a lovers quarrel.  Let it go. 
84. Go on a kayak adventure
85. Go White water rafting
86. Name a street
87. Volunteer at a charity race at a cheer station
88. Upload every single photo owned on Flicker and hope that Flicker never goes out of business (Google)
89. Put loose photo's in an album
90. Make a big wooden box to store all journals from high school/jr high and put a huge lock on it... put lock in safety deposit box so that children can never witness the angst that was teen Stefanie
91. Take a creative writing class
92. Take a ride on Edmonton's monorail (Turin)
93. Make iced cream out of coffee cans and a soccer game
94. Buy real winter tires, not just all seasons Take online courses to further Education (Enrolled)
95. Buy 20 umbrellas.  Stand outside, downtown, in the rain.  Give them out as a random act of kindness.
96. Donate kids toys to a charity
97. Get a bikini wax (I just need to know what the hype is about, don't worry I won't post pictures)
98. Go on a cruise
99. Be a kick ass MC at a wedding 
100. Assist in helping cross things off someone's 101 list. (5 things)  (3/5)
101. Make the right choice in a tough decision

102. Start a volunteer organization for students (English in the Park) 
103. Add experience to writing, translations 
104. Found a writing exchange program for students (Italian/English exchange)
105. Learn how to make bread from scratch 
106. Learn how to make tortillas from scratch 
107. Start over 
108. Get a pet (Turtles!) 

Introduction (& a little history too)

I love writing.  I used to have a blog years ago, by blog I mean online journal of my deepest fears and feelings shared by only a few people. I use the term 'journal' loosly and wonder if there were a term for a 'messy emotional rant'. I thought editing was cheating, making yourself look glossy and put together like models on a magazine cover. I would hope that I have grown up a little since then. I am still known to go off on tagents and I enjoy a run on sentence much more than the average person.  But how are you going to get better if don't practice?

I thought of some of the blogs I love to read and wondered if anyone else struggled with this same issue. Jacqui, one of my dear friends described her own blogging journey to me and I knew I was not alone. She said, "I used to blog mostly as a shared diary of events... now I try to blog with a broader theme that appies to anyone who might read it and it's simultaneously much more challenging and rewarding."

So by (some might even say divine) inspiration, my new project started to take form.  I thought of things that I am interested in. Cooking, travel, photography, crafts, writing, research.... everything.  So how do you write about everything?

I rstumbled upon an interesting idea from The Simple Dollar  about organizing your thoughts into managable tasks. For the person who wants to write about everything the first step is to write it all down.

The 101 Things in 1001 Days - Adventure

The Inspiration: The "Bucket List"
Over the last few years, I've been fortunate to cross a few major things off my "bucket list". I've gotten married, ran a 1/2 marathon, took Personal Training at NAIT, started to practice hot yoga and travelled across the country. Looking at my list in recent months, I've noticed that most of the things left are travel themed. I know that I will go to Greece one day, and Fiji, and Hawaii, and Tokyo, and Alaska. Trips like those aren't going to happen in the next 5 yrs and I'm not about to quit the job I love to blog "Eat, Pray, Love".(Except I did.)

I created a list of all the things I want to accomplish in the next 2.75 years. But then, on November 11th 2012 my marriage dissolved and by December 1st 2013 I was living in Italy working as an English teacher. 

Things change. This blog is about all the lessons I'm learning as I'm fumbling through this adventure of life.