Every month or two, I get the chance to write a story for my faculty’s student publication, the mitZine. It’s staffed with talented writers, editors, and illustrators, and it’s a privilege to see my work with theirs on the pages of one of Western’s alternative voices.
For this month’s issue, I wanted to write about a professor that taught a course that’s in my top 5 so far, “Police & the Media“. His name is Michael Arntfield, and he is both a professor of criminology and media studies and a full-time Detective-Constable with the London Police. His experience and insight, because of those two careers, is rare, and fascinating.
Professor Arntfield, as I know him, is building a website that will link interested citizens with his work. Check out the work in progress at profficer.ca.
It’s becoming a big week for A Transparent Life – this is the second weekly series that I have introduced!
Meet “Locality,” a series that will feature something local every week. I am from an area that is rich with heritage and culture and talent and community and agriculture and so much more. It took leaving the country for several years and then returning for several MORE years to really appreciate all that Huron County is, but it has finally sunk in: we’re not all hicks!
For the inaugural post, I have chosen to promote an activity that is part of Family Day celebrations in a town that has come to be one of my hometowns: Bayfield, Ontario.
This is a new tradition in Bayfield, but one that I hope will continue for many years to come. Please tell your friends!
Really, who wouldn’t love a winter stroll down a quaint heritage street carrying sparklers and sipping hot chocolate?!
For the schedule of Family Day events in Bayfield, go to the www.my-bayfield.com website.
You can also get Family Day event updates by RSVP-ing to the event on Facebook.
A link to a list called “you know you’re Dutch when” came to my attention this week, and I laughed and laughed as I read it. I laughed even more when I read the last line:
And finally, you know you’re Dutch when..
You’re laughing along with this list because you can relate to most it!
With a last name like Koopmans, few would be in doubt. But I swear, my mom is of British descent!
I grew up saying things like, “If you ain’t Dutch, you ain’t much!” and putting chocolate sprinkles (hagelslag) on open-faced buttered bread.
My mother saved aluminum foil, ziploc bags, plastic and glass containers that food came in, and washed out milk bags to freeze food in. You could pretty much guarantee that most of the yogurt and sour cream containers in the fridge did NOT contain yogurt or sour cream.
I draw the line at milk bags, but I do all the rest.
I have a hard time throwing out leftovers, even when there are only a few spoonfuls of corn left in the bowl.
I put water in EVERY empty food jar (spaghetti sauce, jam, mayonnaise) and shake it! When I was a kid, we used to put milk in empty jam jars and shake them to make all of the leftover jammy goodness into a sort of fruity mikshake.
We had a birthday calendar in our bathroom growing up. I don’t think the names were written in capital letters, but they were there, with the year they were born (or married) written in brackets beside their name.
You can buy this version on Etsy!
I also have trouble finding hats that fit, but I think that’s because of my hair. It’s big. (see profile photo)
I don’t know what I’d do without my special tool for cutting cheese (though they’re not exclusively Dutch – the Swedes and Norwegians lay claim to them as well).
You get bonus Dutch points if your cheese slicer is Delfts Blauw!
And then there are the delicious bits about being a Dutchie (mmm Dutchies!):
Gouda cheese!
“Paper” cookies
Stroopwaffels!
Boeterkoek!
Tai tai!
Butter on Rusks!
Meatball soup… what did we call that again?
Oliebollen!!!!!
Homemade Oliebollen... NYE 2009
Every New Year’s, I think perhaps it’s finally time for me to break out the deep fryer for my boyfriend’s family or my friends. But honestly, who wants to be up to their elbows in hot grease on New Year’s Eve?! One of these days, I will perhaps host my own party and pre-prepare the batter and dishes of icing sugar, and fatten everyone up with deep-fried balls of dough and apples and raisins (optional). Mmmmm.
I also have facecloths that I can put my whole hand into. All the better for “washing up,” which is a must-do every night before you go to bed. Or at least that’s what was expected of me when I was 3 and visited Holland with my family.
Okay, so I’m pretty Dutch. I don’t identify with EVERYTHING on that list, but enough of it. And I’m feeling proud of my heritage.
There’s only so much you can do with a digital point-and-shoot, after all. Or a smart phone. Still, every week on Wednesday, I’d like to join some members of the blogosphere in posting a photograph, with few words, if any.
The Wordless Wednesday movement was introduced to me by this mommy blogger, one of many who are attempting to share a photo that says so much no words are needed. That’s a pretty large and impressive feat for a blogger! But I’m gonna give it a try.
So. The introductory post. It should be poignant and memorable, characteristic of what you can come to expect as the weeks go by.
I’ve been thinking about what photo to share since I posted yesterday’s blog about the downside to social technology.
What I’ve come up with is…. a sentimental one.
With Valentine’s Day coming up, here’s my first ever PhotoShop-vintage-effected shout-out to my main man, Johnathan.
Two writers of my acquaintance have written stories in the last couple of weeks about the downside of social media, one about losing balance in their life, and the other about the potential for depression. As someone who has been accused of being too social-network-centric, and of occasionally (my word, not theirs) ignoring the real […]
Wine is one of those things my boyfriend thinks I’m a bit snooty about. I maintain that I merely have discriminating taste, about wine and coffee and, well, many other things.
I believe that most wine-drinkers would agree that all wines are not the same. Some are too sweet, others are too bitter. Some don’t have enough body or are too sharp, etcetera, etcetera.
While I know all the terms (nose, bouquet, legs), I am NOT one of those people that insists upon aerating and spitting, though if you’ve ever done a proper wine tasting, you’ll understand how that ridiculous-looking behaviour actually does help you truly taste the wine.
Frontera’s Merlot Cabernet/Sauvignon (Chile) is a red wine that pretty much anyone can enjoy. It’s always drinkable, stays fresh longer than some other reds, and is consistently smooth and flavourful.
Okay, that’s enough of the wine babble. Suffice it to say that, if you like red wine, this is one to try.
Did I mention that it’s affordable, too? A 750 mL bottle sells for about $11 at the LCBO. The 1.5 L bottle is about $15.
I am lucky enough to have four brothers, three of whom I hope to be able to hang out with for many years to come. The youngest, Mark, passed away two and a half years ago. I hope I get to hang out with him again someday, in a land far away.
Peter is the second youngest, but is a bit of an anomaly in that he was kind of also the baby of our family. Though Mark was the true youngest, he had a severe form of spastic quadriplegia, rendering him unable to speak or walk, so Peter naturally assumed the role of family comedian and mama’s boy, in a completely non-insulting sort of way. Peter, who I fondly call Petrovski, was the only one of the six of us to be born with mom’s colouring: brown hair and brown eyes. The rest of us were born blonde with blue eyes.
Little bro grew up to be taller and bigger than the rest of his brothers – strange how that happens! He also developed a healthy ability to charm pretty much anyone. That charm makes him great company. Or possibly it’s because he has good taste in music, and great fashion sense, and likes to shop that makes him good company.
Either way, I’m lucky to have him as a little brother, and today, I want to wish him a very happy 23rd birthday!
Here is Peter, with his friend Jess and his fantastic style:
Today I published A Transparent Life’s 200th post!
Just thought you should know and celebrate with me. 🙂
Have you noticed that I’ve actually gotten better at posting regularly? In case you haven’t noticed, there’s been one post every day for two weeks now! Yes, I’m proud of my accomplishment, but I won’t be really satisfied until I’ve been at it for at least a month… wish me luck!
If you’ve never had Thai black rice pudding, you really must either make some, or go find a chef to make you some. The black rice doesn’t look like it could possibly be delicious, but each grain sort of pops in your mouth, like a tapioca pearl (bead? I don’t know what you call them) that is sweet and smooth and a bit chewy… mmmm!
Thai sticky black rice pudding, ready to eat!
The chef/owner at one of my favourite restaurants, which also happens to be a seasonal place of work for me, the ArtSee Cafe & Bistro in Bayfield, Ontario, gave me some black rice to try to make my own, since I love his so much. He makes a mango sticky black rice pudding for dessert when he makes Thai food for his Culinary Expeditions dinners, and it is to die for. Or at least drool over. The other servers and I always beg a taste.
Finally, months after I put the rice away in my cupboard, I decided to complement my boyfriend’s yellow Thai curry with a black sticky rice pudding. So I did an Internet search and came up with an easy recipe.
First, put 1 cup of black rice in a big saucepan with 3 cups of water and 1/4 tsp. salt.
Look at that! Black rice!
Bring it to a boil, then let it simmer, tightly covered, on low for 45 minutes. The rice will be cooked, but still wet.
Steaming pot of black rice...
Add these ingredients:
Quarter of a teaspoon of salt, a half cup of sugar, and a cup and a half of coconut milk.
Allow to cool for at least 30 minutes before serving.
Spoonful of pudding
And voila: delicious!!
The version that the chef at the ArtSee serves includes pieces of mango stirred in at the end, but a friend of mine and fellow sticky rice pudding-lover says that almost any fruit would be good. Try it and let me know what you think!
Yummy Thai black rice pudding!
The recipe:
1 cup black rice (which you should be able to find at an Asian foods store)
3 cups water
1/2 tsp. salt (divided in half)
1/2 cup sugar
1 (13 – 15 oz/400 mL) can unsweetened coconut milk, stirred well
Bring rice and water and 1/4 tsp. salt to boil in a large heavy saucepan.
Reduce heat, cover tightly, and let simmer for 45 minutes. Rice should be cooked but still wet.
Stir in sugar, a “scant” 1/4 tsp. salt, and 1 1/2 cups coconut milk.
Bring to a boil over high heat, then reduce to low and simmer, uncovered, stirring occasionally, until mixture is thick and rice is tender but still slightly chewy (think “al dente”), about 30 minutes.
Remove from heat and cool to warm or room temperature, stirring occasionally, at least 30 minutes.
Just before serving, stir pudding and divide into portions (up to 8). Stir remaining coconut milk and drizzle over pudding.
A Transparent Life 