Traditional food

            I live in a community highly influenced by French-Canadian culture. Old Quebecian lumberjack culture. We have plenty of local maple syrup producers, so we're pretty fortunate there. Even have some friends that invite us over when they make their first batches for the season.

           One of the holiday staples of the culture is a food called Meat Pie. It's pretty much what it sounds like: pie crust with meat filling. Good stuff. There is of course more to it than that. My mother's recipe (my favorite) has equal parts ground pork and beef, diced onion, roasted garlic, clove, cinnamon, salt, pepper, poultry seasoning (celery salt, sage, thyme, savory) and; here's the chef boyardee moment, a package of onion soup mix. You cook all this up, skim or drain the fat, then fold in some mashed potatoes. Fill the pie shell, pie shell over the top. Bake.

          There are two arguments that go along with meat pie. The first has to do with what you eat with your meat pie: gravy or ketchup. I like both, but ketchup is always more readily available. I had it once with a mushroom gravy that was phenomenal.

          The other argument is on the meat used in the pie. Some state that only ground pork should be used, while others state it should be equal parts pork and beef. I prefer the latter. However, this past week I experimented by making one the way my mother did, and the other with ground turkey. I wanted to practice this in preparation for this weekends Christmas festivities with my girlfriend's family. Her parents for health reasons can't eat red meat, so I figured a turkey meat pie would be a nice alternative. Once finished, I could hardly tell the difference, and I thought both were equally delicious.
Both were enjoyed by my co-workers and I the next day.

           So for the holiday festivities I'm going to make one turkey meat pie, and the other I'm gonna experiment a little more with. I'm going to make the second one with tofu, caramelized onions and portabello mushrooms to substitute the meat part of the pie, partly cause I'm curious on how well it can turn out and also because of Marjie's sister and her husband are vegetarians, the same ones I mentioned who had the bad experience at the fancy pants restaurant a few months back. I promised I'd make a dish they could truly enjoy, and this former chef intends to deliver.

          I have one more present to wrap that hasn't been delivered yet. Otherwise my wrapping is done. Looking forward to the holidays.

Too cold to ride...

               This time of year I get a special issue of "Motorcycle Cruiser" in the mail. The 2012 Buyer's Guide is filled with pics and specs of all the new cruisers the big companies are now selling. It provides me with all kinds of eye candy to dream about during these cold months where I can't ride. I like to think about which ones I'd actually like to own, and fight back the thoughts of trading in the VTX for something else. I have a feeling that anything I'd trade the VTX for would in the long run be a disappointment. If I can't ride, I can at least get into some good books.
         
                I completed "Passing Time" by Ron Roy last month. I thoroughly enjoyed this book. This fictional story, based on the author's time working in the local paper mill  in my hometown of Berlin, NH,   gave me a glimpse into the world of working in the paper mill that was the center piece of our town for decades. The characters and dialogue were well written, and it was interesting to read the descriptions of different places in town. He changed some names, but it was pretty easy to figure out where he was talking about. Towards the end there's a twist that I didn't see coming, but made for unique and interesting overall story. Once again, I highly recommend this for anyone from the Berlin/Gorham/Milan area. It's time for Christmas shopping, and I think this book would make a good gift for anyone that worked in or around the paper mills in the north country.

            Another book I finished, "Aikido and the Dynamic Sphere" by Adele Westbrook and Oscar Ratti, gave me an excellent look into Aikido. The book was published way back in 1970, and I was very impressed with the many illustrations by Oscar Ratti, who worked as a professional illustrator. Simply beautiful drawings that went along with the text. Kept this former comic book geek entranced. The authors go into the core history and philosophy of the art before they show an abundant set of basic  aikido techniques, once again beautifully illustrated with style and detail. I only encountered one or two flaws in the illustrations as far as technique goes, but overall very well drawn and described. Anyone interested in the art of Aikido should check this book out. The authors wrote a book on the Samurai that I'll be checking out later, and the illustrator wrote a series of graphic novels that I will also purchase soon , if I don't get said items for xmas or my birthday.

             Currently reading the first of Taekwondo Master Doug Cook's books. I read his most recent book a few months back, "Taekwondo: A Path to Excellence". He's a proponent of traditional martial arts focusing on self defense and improvement of self mentally and physically, along with promoting the history of martial arts. Enjoyed his most recent book so much, I wrote him an email to tell him how much I appreciated it. I got a prompt reply thanking me for the feedback and to keep in touch.
His first book, "Taekwondo: Ancient Wisdom for the Modern Warrior" is also quite enjoyable for a martial arts geek like myself. It's encouraging to read a book from a martial artist that shows how much he cares about the style he has chosen to devote his life too, along with the respect and admiration he shares for other styles and cultures. He has one other book that I already bought, and I will read this after the next book I'm gonna mention.

            "Allegiance of a Soldier", the first part of "The Betrayer" series by a young local author, Kyle Newton. Looking forward to this one. Kyle is only 20, and it's pretty cool to see somebody that young take a bold move and write a series of novels. I haven't gotten to it yet, but soon. I've heard some good things from a friend that finished it.

             Once again people, support your local authors! It's Christmas shopping time! "Allegiance of a Soldier" and  "Passing Time" would make excellent gifts!

Jukebox

             For as long as I can remember, I've almost always had a song in my head. Like a radio station that is always on at a low volume, it would almost always go with whatever mood I'm in. I first noticed this back in high school, when my mind was ripe for being overexposed to grunge and alternative rock. Good stuff. Still love it.

            It's not a bad thing overall. The only time it bugs me is if I'm trying to meditate. Then it's  a conscious effort to turn the subconscious jukebox off in my head. This will annoy me in the fact that I'm trying to empty my mind, but struggling too hard in the process. When I can't turn it off, I go back to some of my favorite music that played in the old School of the Silent Warrior. Jethro Tull, Joan Osborne, or some relaxing Native American flute music will do the trick.

            So I can change the song in my head with just a little concentration. And it's more or less a loop of certain parts of the song that are present. I'm glad it's something I can deal with , especially if I get a song from a commercial in my head.

             I've only mentioned this oddity to a couple friends. One of them will ask every once in a while "what's playing in your head"?   I wonder if anybody else has this odd little tic. Right now I got Tom Petty's "I need to know" going on in my head, mostly the chorus. Good tune...