Personal Accounts

Yes, Serve Wine at Your Super Bowl Party!

Beppi Crosariol, wine and spirits critic for the Globe and Mail, Canada's National Newspaper, has launched a weekly video series called Decanter. This informative series covers all things wine in two minutes flat!

In this week's segment, Beppi talks strategy for avoiding post game bloating by avoiding beer and serving wine instead.  Better taste, less filling. 

Suggested Food Pairings:

• Overall Pick:  Red Zinfandel is generally recommended for superbowl buffets, but is specifically great with chili.  Suggested:  Dancing Bull.

• Overall Pick:  Riesling - generally great for buffets, but specifically good for enjoying your veggies and dip.  Suggested:  Inniskillin Reserve Series

• Chicken Wings:  Reserve Baco Noir is fantastic with chicken wings.  Suggested:  Henry Pelham.

• Guacamole:  Beaujolais is a good pairing for guacamole and chips,  Suggested Jadot Moulin-a-Vent.

• Pringles:  Albarino is also good with guacamole and chips, especially Pringles.  Suggested: Lagar de Cervera 

• Pizza:  Barbera is the best pairing for pizza.  This wine is consumed in tumblers all over Italy at lunch time:  Suggested Michele Chiarlo La Court,

To view this video link below

SuperBowl Grapes

Smoking Scotch

Beppi Crosariol, wine and spirits critic for the Globe and Mail, Canada's National Newspaper, has launched a weekly video series called Decanter. This informative series covers all things wine in two minutes flat!

 

In this week's segment, Beppi talks single malt scotch, just in time for Robbie Burns day.  

• what is peat, anyway and how it makes scotch smoky.
• three featured smoky scotches: 
  • Laphroaig Quarter Cask Single Islay Malt, C$63.95
  • Lagavulin 16 year old Single Malt, C$124.95
  • Ardbeg Uigeadail, C116.99,(only in BC) world wiskey of the year for 2009
  • Arbeg 10 year old, C$100.00 available widely across Canada)
• Islay is the island where these scotches are produced
• Quarter Cask means the casks are smaller so there is more exposure to wood, giving it a richer taste

Click below to view the video.

Smoking Scotch

My Favorite Runs

Pamela Powered

While runners are known to travel in packs, many, like myself, enjoy the solitude of the daily run as valued time for personal reflection.  We develop favorite times of day, seasons, and routes. When we are lucky enough to travel we get to discover new parts of the world. My mind wandered recently, as it often does when you run, to some of my favorite runs.  I thought about a top ten, but couldn't narrow it down, so instead I grouped them by type of run. 

Historic Runs

Eiffel Tower, Paris: more memorable than long, it is thrilling to run the park around the Eiffel Tower, as I was fortunate to have stayed a couple blocks away for five glorious days; the loop is really only 2.5 k long so you get dizzy after a few laps.    

Northwoods, London: This was a fun run I enjoyed this summer while visiting friends in London whose property bordered a golf course.  They were not runners, but their border collie knew his way around so lead the way through the wooded area, right in the middle of the city.

Plains of Abraham, Quebec: rolling hills where Canadian history unfolded. You can imagine the forces advancing on the battlefield all those centuries ago.

Beaches

Veradero, Cuba:  if you like to check out all the hotels along the strip to see how yours compares, this is the place to do it.

West Wittering, England:  the southern most point of England.  Keith Richards has a place there. Not the most warm beach in the world, but a nice long beach run, no less.

 Puerto Vallarta, Mexico:  the shoreline seems to go on forever.  If you are in the hotel zone you can run all the way downtown, just out of reach of all the vendors peddling wares all the way.

Hilton Head, Georgia: not just for golfers, this resort has some amazing beach running to keep you fit.

Brisbain, Australia:  A nice run along the water if you can find a good point to start.

Inspirational Runs

Kona, Hawaii:  you really have to run in this part of the world to really appreciate just how challenging the Iron Man competitions are.  It is hot, exposed to the elements and hilly in parts.

 

Day in Day Out

Travelling around the world is great, but your daily run is what keeps you going throughout the year.  My local running routes over the years. I have moved over the years, but never fail to visit my old running grounds when I return.

Chastain Park, Atlanta:  this is a memorable route for me as it was the the path around the golf course which got me started in running in the first place. 

Jericho Beach, Vancouver:  much nicer run than Kits Beach as it is mostly gravel paths, not paved.

High Park, Toronto:  Nice Hill Training and run through the woods in the middle of Canada's largest city.

The Beaches, Toronto:  Not a particularily long run, but charming boardwalk.

Endowment Lands, Vancouver:  careful, I have found myself lost here more than once, but a wonderful feeling of playing Alice in Wonderland, running through a dence forest by the University of British Columbia.

Where are your favorite runs?

Oprah had her wagon of fat...I have a fish

   Pamela  Powered

 It really is interesting for me to watch all those weight loss program commercials that compete for air time with the fast food spots.  That actually is an interesting topic for another blog, but let's focus on weight loss here. 

The observation I wanted to share is that I now can identify with those who have done their time and succeeded in losing and keeping off weight.  It really does feel fabulous, you really do feel more confident, with a feeling of accomplishment.  The sad thing though, is that unless you have gone through that experience, a 20 second testimonial really isn't going to get most of us off our couch and into the clinic.  I suppose that the commercials must be somewhat effective since the whole part of advertising is to keep pitching the message so when you are ready to buy you know where to go.

For me though, it was seeing success around me which really jumped started my resolve to take my fitness and nutrition discipline to the next level and get serious about losing pounds which I wasn't happy carrying around.  I was already a runner, and eating healthily, but for some reason I just could not get the scale to move to where I wanted it to.  I had seen the preventable illnesses my parents generation were facing due to poor diet and lack of exercise so that helped motivate me to chose to live a healthy lifestyle so that I could enjoy a long, happier life.

In the end you have to be ready and already healthy to lose weight quickly.  Always be sure that your doctor is on board with the program.  I chose was Dr. Bernstein, with clinics across Canada and in some parts of the United States.  A few co-workers had lost weight on the program, the clinic was right across the street and our company subsidized weight loss as part of a health plan so all the ducks were in a row.  The first thing they tell you is that it is a diet, contrary to what  other programs tell you.  You see a nurse each visit, committing to public weigh ins, B12 injections 3 times a week and a urine sample to confirm you are in keytosis, meaning your body is burning fat. There is blood work done every 6 weeks and a doctor's consultation once a month.  You cheat and you are kicked out of the program, but they will have already taken some of your money so they aren't totally sad to see you go. 

Another friend lost weight with Weight Watchers and in comparing notes the nutritional advice is about the same, just a  different approach and you are pretty much doing the program on your own, but with the "online" support of other members.  I am a self-disciplined person to begin with, but having someone else you are accountable to every other day was a key factor.  I was a bit competitve and would wear my light clothes to weigh in, stuck to my guns and lost 35 pounds in 30 days.  The fish in the photo is a 36 pound Tyee Spring Salmon, and I am at my heavier weight, so I call it my Oprah shot.  I have tried on subsequent fishing trips to catch another of that size at my new weight, but the fishing gods have yet to smile on me. 

It is sad for me to see Oprah, a woman of immerse power and success still struggle with weight .  What keeps me motivated is the fear that I would have lost all the time, energy, and this time pay my own money to do it over again.  But once you undersand the power of lean protein, lots of vegetables, water and for me, the potential danger of carbohydrates, you have the proper tools to stay healthy and happy.  Some of my co-workers who did Dr. Bernstein also fell off the wagon, but my dear friend who made me say "wow, how can I do that?" is just as fit and healthy two years later.  I am just as proud of her as I am of myself.

More about Dr. Bernstein

Some weight managment tips

Fitness can be habit forming...find out why

January is a bizarre month. There is something about the start of a new calendar year which shocks us to the reality of the passage of time.  For many, it provides renewed enthusiasm to get back on track at full speed: back to work, back to the gym, back to schedules which were temporarily put aside to take time to connect with colleagues, friends and family for holiday cheer.  My personal view is that we should all be making time for others throughout the year (sans all the calories) but that is a subject for another posting.    

I am not particularly fond of the fitness resolution people who hit the gyms with abandon in January only to return to their old habits by the end of the month. Great intentions, but the real benefactors are the fitness clubs and us regulars who thank you for keeping our membership fees down and giving back the equipment to the gym rats.  Sad really, and it really could be prevented.

Yes, I too, have been there and jumped on that band wagon.  Luckily after many years dedicated to fitness, my current goals now are to fine tune the experience, to explore new ways to keep me fit, motivated and feeling great.  But when you are just starting out, you do need to realize that you need more than the change of year to commit to a fitness program.  And since running is my favorite activity, a good analogy is that you really have to pace yourself and carefully plan how you are going to attack the path ahead so that you can finish the race. And by the way, the finish line should be ten, twenty, thirty years down the road, not the next five pounds if you are really going to reap the benefits of a long and healthy life.

There are alot of things you need and that may be determined by what makes you tick and keeps you motivated and it is true that you need 21 to 28 days to create new habits.  What it really comes down is finding at least 3 motivators to get you up and running.  Some things to consider:

From my personal experience, once you can figure out what drives you, you can begin to find the right program for you.  As with all fitness programs, your first visit should be to your doctor to get a clean bill of health.

• The fitness club can become very boring very quickly unless you grew up loving the jungle gym! 
  Closet cheer leader? Then definately join a class.
• Love the outdoors?  Than go out for a walk.  In the winter snowshoeing, skating are great ways to enjoy the outdoors.
• Have a hard time getting motivated?  You may want to splurge on a personal trainer, but a couple of friends to work out with (you should have a backup if one bails on you) will work just as well.
• Want to develop some sexy moves?  I have done a pole dancing class which is a ton of fun, but unless you want to build one in your home you are only likely able to practice in an empty subway car.
• No time to make exercise?  Then improvise by walking an extra block to work, take the stairs instead of the elevator.  Every little calorie burned counts.

So why should you exercise?  What is the secret?  The real payoff for exercise is not the fitness benefits.  A great side effect, but the secret is how great you feel. Endorphines released in your system can be just as satisfying as orgasms or even eating chocolate as it triggers your pleasure centres. No wonder us fitness buffs keep coming back to get that high.

Gastronomy: Adventures in Food

A new year with a few new twists.  I have always had an interest in food and culture. In some form or another each culture has its own connection to food as a way to gather, share and show love. I suppose as a single person have more time, energy and financial resources to devote to this past time. Not that Cheerios are not worthy of study in their own right as a perfect food for everyone from Toddlers to Seniors, but there is much to learn and share.  As an example, the holidays means making and sharing my fabulous swiss chocolate truffles with friends, colleagues and family.

I looked up Gastronomy in Wikipedia as a starting point and the foundation for this part of my blog. OK, I think I may expand to include wine since it seems to a natural companion to food:

Gastronomy is the study of the relationship between culture and food. It is often thought erroneously that the term gastronomy refers exclusively to the art of cooking, but this is only a small part of this discipline; it cannot always be said that a cook is also a gourmet. Gastronomy studies various cultural components with food as its central axis. Thus it is related to the Fine Arts and Social Sciences, and even to the Natural Sciences in terms of the digestive system of the human body.

A gourmet's principal activities involve discovering, tasting, experiencing, researching, understanding and writing about foods. Gastronomy is therefore an interdisciplinary activity. Gastronomy is about everything to do with food.

So stay tuned for an ongoing discussion of great food experiences. The holidays in particular are a time when tradition, food and company co-mingle to create that special experience which is what Gastronomy is all about.  Feel free to share with me.

LINKS:  A good friend and fellow foodie blogger:  http://kitcheninspirations.wordpress.com/

Bon Appetit.