Day 54: Bath Oils and Scrubs Workshop.

Posted on April 23, 2012 by LaLa

As a woman, I like to indulge in things that smell pretty, including sticking my nose into every bunch of flowers I pass wherever I go.  In my daily routine, I typically use a body spray followed by a spritz of perfume.  It just seems to bring a dash of colour into my otherwise monochromatic morning.

However, the more I read, the more I am learning about how our beauty products and fragrances are becoming increasingly laden with toxic chemicals, preservatives and carcinogens.  Oh my!  Seriously, you need to bookmark this link to EWG’s Skin Deep Cosmetics Database.  It will probably make you want to inspect and purge most of the cosmetics you currently possess.  Can’t say I didn’t warn you…

Apparently, your skin is one ginormous porous membrane that absorbs everything you topically apply to it, before sending it straight into your bloodstream, where your cells are not exactly delighted with everything they encounter, like plastic particles.  I mean, there’s even a birth control patch now, for chrissake.  Which got me to thinking that, like our food, if there are natural and organic alternatives without all the crap in them that are more or less equally effective, why shouldn’t I at least give them a try?

It was precisely this kind of mindset that led me to notice the chalkboard in front of the Grassroots store, advertising a Bath Oils and Body Scrubs workshop.  I had been in the shop a few times over the years, in particular after reading the entertaining yet informative book ‘Sleeping Naked is Green‘ a while back.  It’s a great place to treat yourself to some hemp clothing, natural cleansers (bring your own reusable containers), or a baby gift for that first time neurotic mom in your crowd.  I have met a few people in passing who made their own creams and lotions, and they seemed very pleased with the results, so I thought, right, how hard could it be?

Tracey, our beloved Oil and Scrub Guru.

Well, tonight, I made my very own bath oil and body scrub, and I have to say, it was actually much easier than I imagined.  Who knew?  Not Hu, but this lady: Tracey TieF, Certified Natural Health Practitioner, and the energetic, Jill-of-all-trades behind Anarres Natural Health.  She first of all walked us through the key components of a detoxifying bath or massage oil, which are:

  • An essential oil – which assists in eliminating toxins from the body, as well as leading to healthier skin, scalp and hair; it is added in very small quantities, lending a scent to the finished product (I think we used no more than a dozen drops in a 60 ml glass bottle); and
  • A carrier oil – which can also contribute to healthier skin, scalp and hair; the carrier oil makes up the bulk of the finished product.

That’s pretty much it.  We were also given a crash course in making a body scrub, which has a few more moving parts, but basically consists of:

  • One or more salts – for their mineral content; typical examples are Epsom salts (Epsom is a place in England, by the way, in case you were curious), Dead Sea Salts (which amazingly attract moisture from the air), and Himalayan Pink Salt; the coarser salts can be ground more finely using a pestle and mortar; evaporated cane juice can also be used;
  • Clay – added mainly for its mineral content, but also for its colour, used in relatively small amounts to avoid staining or ringing the tub; we used about an 1/8 of a teaspoon for our body scrub concoctions; varieties range widely in both colour and origin;
  • Sugar – recommended options here are raw honey or vegetable glycerin (which is incredibly sweet, and a by-product of making soap; do not confuse it with regular glycerin, which is a petroleum oil by-product);
  • Exfoliant – crushed sandalwood, or ground walnut husks work wonders here;
  • Vitamin E – optional; in its liquid form, it is bright red – who knew?;
  • Carrier Oil – recommended options are castor, grapeseed or almond oil; and
  • Essential Oil – for scent.

We got to try a lot of carrier oils on the backs of our hands, and sniff all of the the other ingredients Tracey brought with her, to help each of the eight of us choose what we felt were the right combinations for us.  Apparently, there are no wrong answers.  Tracey is a firm believer in tinkering with what appeals to you, on a trial and error basis until you end up with something that really works wonders for your own skin.  These are all natural ingredients that really cannot do you any harm, except for a handful of the essential oils, which can, in fact, be quite deadly when ingested or made into a tea.  Right.  Time to pay attention…

For my bath oil, I personally opted to try a lemon essential oil, which reportedly stimulates white blood cells, is beneficial to the liver, and brings clarity to the mind, all the while eating away your dead skin.  Sounds good to me!  I paired that with a very light walnut carrier oil that was already infused with frankincense (the gold and myrrh were curiously absent).  Other than spilling the lemon oil and overfilling my container, the end result seemed fairly decent.  I was pleased.

For my bath scrub, well, I do love to experiment with random ingredients, and I fear my enthusiasm may have gotten the better of me.  I have repeatedly been told ‘less is more’ in my adult life, but this contradicts the ‘more is more’ lesson I have had ingrained into my brain by my parents from an early age.  In any case, I ended up with a concoction of Dead Sea salt, Epsom salt, Himalayan salt, vegetable glycerin, and some zeolite clay.  To that, I added many drops of the uber-fragrant rose geranium essential oil, and dumped in some ground walnut husks and vitamin E for good measure.  Now that I think about it, I’m pretty sure I forgot to add any carrier oil at all… ah, details.  In any case, I’m sure it will be just fine to exfoliate and soak in a tub for a half hour or so tomorrow, so it’s all good!

NEWSFLASH:  If you have a t-zone with combination skin, that makes you human, not special.  And with that juicy tidbit, I bid you good purging.  It is spring, after all.  Enjoy!

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Day 53: Walking Tour of Little India.

Posted on April 22, 2012 by LaLa

Jalebi: Indian word for syrup-drenched fried dough worms.

My name is LaLa, and I’m a foodaholic, or, as I like to think of it, someone with hyperactive taste buds.  The twisted part is that, as a human, I have to eat in order to survive (I don’t know about you, but I have a hard time believing breatharians are for real… Unicorns and gremlins, though?  No problem).

I mean, it’s kind of like telling an alcoholic that they shouldn’t drink too much, but then serving them up three cocktails a day, or optimally, five small shooters, because we all know that’s healthier for your liver, and then giving them the keys to the liquor cabinet.  Self-control is constantly at odds with over-indulgence.  So, I try not to judge others in hopes that they will return the favour (as I write this, I’m snarfing down the entire bag of maple nuts I bought the other day at the Total Health Show.  A quarter cup serving?  Please.  That’s like a handful).

Arvinda and Preena, mother and daughter dynamos.

All that to try and explain how today’s new thing came into being.  Essentially, I was browsing through some on-line food porn, looking for an Indian cooking class, when I came across Arvinda’s.  This is a remarkable woman who started her homestyle Indian cooking school in her Oakville kitchen in 1993.  Since then, her talented and dynamic daughter Preena has joined forces with her not only in the cooking classes and tours, but also in bringing their proprietary spice blends to the gourmet market, with the help of her brother.  It truly is a family affair.

Unfortunately, the upcoming sessions were all sold out, but lo and behold, what did I spy with my little eye smack dab in the middle of the page?  A walking tour of Little India, which happens to be the second largest such community outside of Asia.  I was immediately intrigued.  For someone who lives less than half an hour’s stroll from Gerrard Street East, I knew precious little about the neighbourhood.  I mean, I’d eaten in a few of its restaurants over the years, but I’d always felt like a bit of an outsider there, as though I’d arrived on a magic carpet ride.

Toot your own paper masala dosa.

I was delighted when we started the tour with a cooking demonstration in the kitchen at Udupi Palace.  They made the most incredible Southern Indian specialties right before our eyes, including a paper masa dosala, which is similar to a razor thin crepe, that was positively translucent, crispy and delicious.  We were then treated to a sit down multi-course vegetarian meal that was simply spectacular, served with the best mango lassi I have ever tasted!

Yum with a side of yum!

The appetizer platter was superseded by a zesty potato stuffed dosa, followed by three dishes served with perfectly cooked basmati rice that we devoured so quickly, that I forgot to take pictures of them.  Whoops!

At this point, we waddled out of there to begin our much needed walking portion of the tour.  Throughout the afternoon, Preena and Arvinda peppered the discussion with interesting tidbits about the history of the neighbourhood, Indian ingredients, kitchen tools and cooking techniques, that left the ten of us feeling both dazzled and culturally enriched.

Is your third eye checking out those bedazzled shoes?

Our first stop was at a deceptively large sari store that was literally right next door, which was nice, since the weather outside was a bit chilly (or maybe that was because all of the blood had drained from my extremities to help my stomach digest the sizeable amount of food I had just ingested – hard to say).

Next, we followed Preena  and Arvinda past an outdoor vendor offering small bites and freshly pressed sugar cane juice to a neighbourhood vegetable stand and grocery shop, where we learned about the staples that every good Indian kitchen should have.  I liked the bottle-shaped gourd and the vast selection of lentils available.

Everybody limbo! Me first.

Did you know that poppadoms are actually flexible before they are cooked (usually deep-fried), and that turmeric looks like finger-sized ginger?  And that if your rice isn’t properly cooked, don’t even bother, because that alone is a serious enough offence for your guests to brand you as a poor cook, no matter what else comes out of your kitchen.

From there, we sauntered down to another restaurant that does a lot of take-out business, in addition to supplying Indian sweets to the neighbourhood.

This is how to get kids to eat more grapes.

While Arvinda picked out some tasty treats for us, we proceeded across the street to what looked like a local variety store.  In addition to carrying all the latest Bollywood blockbusters, it also specialized in making fresh paan, which is something that has been chewed by East Indians for a very long time.  It can be spit out or swallowed, and typically contains an addictive tobacco, which is optional.

Made to order paan, fresh from Bollywood North.

The most popular variety is sweet paan, which many of us buy to try, as it is also known to freshen your breath and aid digestion – sign me up!  I can honestly say I have never tasted anything quite like it.  The bowl of colourful seeds and candy looking sprinkles available at the end of your meal at some Indian restaurants does not even come close.  While I don’t hate it, I can’t say I will be rushing back to buy more anytime soon.

Sugary goodness!

Finally, we made our way into a couple of housewares and general kitsch stores that really do sell just about everything.  Preena pointed out the various stainless steel kitchen utensils and dishes that are commonly found in Indian kitchens for ladling curries, spooning out rice, and storing ghee and masala spices.  Afterwards, we returned to Udupi Palace for some hot chai tea, to accompany the desserts Arvinda procured for us earlier.  Needless to say, the sugar coma that ensued helped me to levitate all the way home in what felt like an instant.  Pure bliss.  I am already looking forward to my next delicious dosa dining experience in my newly re-discovered ‘hood.

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Day 52: Climb the CN Tower.

Posted on April 21, 2012 by LaLa

Seriously.  Really friggin’ early this morning, we’re talking 6 am on a Saturday, before my body could even figure out what the heck was going on, a good friend of mine hauled my butt downtown to do a charity walk up all 1,776 steps of the CN Tower.  That’s 113 stories, in case you were wondering.  This is an event that I have considered doing, and then talked myself out of doing, multiple times over the years, but it finally became a rather sobering reality today.  I was originally going to do the climb with my friend Klodia, but she unfortunately had to back out for medical reasons.  So, climbing by myself it would be – well, along with tens of thousands of other nut jobs, that is.

Now, if you are not familiar with the CN Tower, then you are clearly not Canadian.  It’s as simple as that.  Even if you are, here are some interesting factoids about it that you might not know:

  • Built in 1976 for C$63 million, it officially became one of the Seven Wonders of the Modern World in 1995 (according to the American Society of Civil Engineers).
  • It is the world’s tallest Tower at 1,815 ft 5 inches = 553.33 m (where Tower is defined as ‘a building in which less than 50% of the construction is usable floor space’).
  • It is still the tallest free-standing structure in the Americas.  For other ‘mine is bigger than yours’ phallic building comparison trivia, click here for the wikipedia details.
  • The glass floor was opened to the public on June 26, 1994.
  • The 360 Restaurant was opened to the public on April 25, 1995.
  • It takes 72 minutes for the 360 Restaurant to revolve all the way around once.
  • 1,330 super bright LED lights were added to the tower’s elevator shafts in June 2007.
  • In 2011, The Edge Walk around the outside roof of the 360 Restaurant at the CN Tower opened, and has been officially recognized by those lovely Guinness people as the highest external walk on a building at 1,167.97 ft = 356 m above the ground.  The only appropriate reaction to reading that and seeing the photo below is WTF!?!??

I'm stupid and I know it.

Registration queue in the Atrium.

Getting back to that point about the magical 1,776 stairs, which, by the way, is a big part of what makes it the tallest metal staircase on earth, I have a bit of a bone to pick.  The ‘core’ part of the stair climb, between the points where they stamp your time card, consists of 144 flights of 12 steps each.  That number does not take into account the ‘bonus’ stairs you need to climb to get out of the parking lot, or into the Atrium on the skywalk in the first place, nor the stairs up and down to go around the current aquarium construction to get to the main entrance.

Must... be... sub... 8... minutes! Because I'm crazy and I know it.

What it might include, though, are the absolute bull-shite extra 10 or so mini flights of stairs tucked away behind hidden door number one, that you only go through after they stamp your time card and you think you’re all done.  I have never come so close to throwing up on someone merely out of spite in my entire life.

To be fair, I’m pretty sure that they recommended doing some kind of training for this event.  Oh, I don’t know, like maybe a few months of serious cardio, preferably on a stair master, might have been a splendid idea…  As much as all that effin’ hot yoga helped with my flexibility, no amount of tree poses were going to help subside the pounding in my head and aching in my lungs from the sheer effort of breathing during the climb to that altitude, which was past the point where my ears popped.  I still managed to record a slightly above average time of 27:44 (that’s in minutes), which I am delighted with, all things considered.

The highlight of the day for me, though, had to be when I told my friend to wait for me at the base of the tower, saying that I should be done in about half an hour.  Well, after a full hour went by, she started to get somewhat concerned, knowing that we had been out for drinks the night before, that we had gotten precious little sleep, and that I had not really done any cardio training whatsoever.  In fact, this led her to bet money against me being even able to walk after the climb for like a week.  So, naturally, she asked if there had been any ‘extractions’ from the climb under my name.  Hilarious!  That did somewhat help to explain the look of amazement she had when I did finally re-emerge.  The delay was in large part due to the lineup in the women’s toilet at the start (naturally), but mostly to the lengthy queue at the top to get the elevators back down.

How you doin', Panda?

So, will I ever do it again?  As much as I like to believe in never saying never, I am fairly confident that my answer is a resounding ‘hell to the no!’.  I mean, why would you when there are perfectly good elevators available?  And it’s not like there’s a giant wheel of cheese with a side of porto or anything waiting for you at the top, or even a snuggly live baby polar bear (did I mention that the charity was the WWF?).  Now imagine what an incentive it would be to have live bears chasing you up the staircase… THAT would definitely help to improve my personal best.  But there’s probably some kind of rules or whatever against that…  Ah well.  In any event, I feel completely justified in taking the rest of the weekend off from any form of exercise besides lifting my elbow.  Hope to be walking again like a regular person real soon.  Cheers!

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Day 51: Total Health Show.

Posted on April 20, 2012 by LaLa

What’s funny (at least to me) about today’s post is that a long-time dear (I refuse to say old) friend of mine was in town on business.  We met up with some colleagues of hers for a couple of happy hour drinks, before heading to the Total Health Show at the Metro Toronto Convention Centre.  I’m fairly certain we were the only tipsy ones in there.

See? Life is just one big wheel of cheese.

Now, don’t get me wrong, I’m a fan of trying to lead a healthy existence.  I try to practice yoga on a quasi-regular basis, I walk just about everywhere I go, and I don’t eat meat; however, I can’t go more than a few days without wine, cheese, dark chocolate and seafood.  Not to mention fries, and the spongy goodness that is bread.  I mean, why would you want to?  Life is about balance, and I truly believe that Mom was right when she said ‘everything is fine in moderation’.  At least, I think that’s what she said… Or maybe that was Oprah?

It's all a matter of perspective.

In any event, the stress of trying to live a perfect life simply must outweigh the health benefits, not to mention rob you of all that extra happiness.  Life’s too short not to eat the cheesecake.  Just ask the women on the Titanic who passed on the dessert cart.  Oh, wait…

But I digress.  Again.  Back at the Total Health Show, this was the first time in its 34 or so year history that I attended it, and we were starving, so after finding the loo, we were lured into a cooking demonstration by being handed a bowl of freshly chopped salad with yummy dressing.  We soon discovered that it was a promo for Kitchen Craft, reportedly the best cookware in the entire world!

I will dazzle them with my chopping skills!

Unfortunately for the charming and patient man working the crowd, neither of us was in the market for new pots and pans, so we ate our freshly cooked samples, and skulked off to quickly explore what the rest of the show had to offer.  And we were not disappointed.

My buddies at Fresh City Farms were there with quite a sizeable booth display.  They were next to the central food area, where we sampled a Mexican cold chocolate drink.  Yes, it was as good as it sounds.  We also loaded up on some Canadian made and tasty granola bars, plus some maple coated nuts that were incredibly delicious!  By then, we were getting close to the 9 pm show closing time, which is the golden hour when vendors start discounting whatever food they have leftover.  One rather large plate of Indian food from Govinda’s?  Don’t mind if I do.  Cha-ching!

The remainder of the walkabout unearthed some rather rare gems, like the booth that touted the opportunity to have your auras and chakras photographed.  Oh, so tempting…  Another offered, well, I’m not really quite sure what, but it had invisible pyramids no doubt giving off all kinds of healing energies.  Plus the ubiquitous crystal bed.  I mean, who doesn’t have one of those?  Okay, so maybe I was just in a bit of a giggly mood, but if you can’t laugh at yourselves, then frankly, you’re doing it wrong.  Part of total health in my view is enjoying life to the fullest, and being happy.  So lighten up!

In any case, it’s Friday, and tomorrow will bring an entirely new meaning to things looking up…  Stay tuned!

Your aura is worth a thousand words.

This is not the $25000 pyramid.

I thought you said crystal meth?

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Day 50: Vegan Baking Workshop.

Posted on April 19, 2012 by LaLa

I know for some people, the word vegan brings to mind an almost entirely different species of extreme granola hippie types, who step over ants in an attempt not to harm any living creature, on their way to rescue baby chicks that they will adopt as pets, in their clothes made out of recycled potato sacks, all in an effort to save our planet and every single animal that breathes its air.  In fact, I may even be closely related to a few of these assertive, bacon-loving carnivores with just such a mindset.  The reality is that vegans are people, too, and not all of them have granolier-than-thou attitudes, constantly trying to espouse the merits of beans and tofu.  In fact, some of them just have digestive problems or allergies, and this type of diet keeps them in their happy place.

So when I read about a vegan baking workshop happening at the Evergreen Brick Works (EBW) as part of their Green Bites series, my curiosity was piqued.  As a purveyor of scrumptious cookies and cakes for pretty well as long as I can remember (which usually isn’t saying much, but in this case, I’d put that back to when my birthdays were still counted in single digits), the concept of baking something without eggs, milk, butter or cheese was downright mystifying.  The clincher that pushed me to enrol in the class was that the desserts were also going to be gluten-free.  Between my goddaughter being vegan, and one of my best friends being diabetic, I figured there was something here that I should learn.

Upon arriving, we were greeted with vegan and gluten-free cornbread that was made even more delectable by spreading a local savoury pear and roasted garlic chutney on it.  Besides love, the cornbread was made with dried chanterelle mushrooms, of all things!  The vegan twist was the use of brown rice milk, guar gum, coconut oil and maple syrup instead of the usual suspects (although agave nectar could have been used instead of the maply goodness).  As many of the ingredients as possible for everything in the workshop tonight, including the chutney, were sourced at the EBW market this past Saturday by Lesia Kohut, our instructor and owner, as well as head cake baker, at LPK’s Culinary Groove (which, if you haven’t been and tried their (not-quite-vegan) spicy chèvre noir shortbread, you have been missing out big time – they are simply incredible!).

Now that the dragons in our bellies had subsided their growling, we were able to focus on the next activity, which was to prepare a vegan and gluten-free chocolate fudge cake.  The chocolate smelled amazing, and was courtesy of Chocosol, a company that promotes horizontal trading, which takes ethical, fair trade to an entirely new level.  This was also my first experience using a ‘vegan egg replacer’, which comes in a box, and resembles cornstarch in its consistency.  It gets whisked with water until smooth, and looks nothing at all like eggs.  The other vegan elements that would not normally find their way into my mixing bowl were cane sugar, shredded beets, tapioca starch, gluten-free flour (a blend of brown rice flour, chickpea flour, potato starch, tapioca flour, and sorghum flour), and, once again, the guar gum thickener.

After double-checking that we had used all of the ingredients and in the right proportions, we mixed it all together, and scooped the resulting molten cake batter into muffin tins.  We were encouraged to taste the concoction, after being forewarned by Lesia that it would not be what we were expecting.  Did she ever get that right!  I got a mouthful of beet flavour, which my brain and stomach simply could not reconcile with the beautiful, shiny rich brown liquid that looked so luscious.  Needless to say, kids would not be licking this bowl clean.

How do you like them apples?

With the cupcakes in the oven, we moved onto our final recipe, which was vegan and gluten-free apple crisp.  We all helped to slice the apples, and seasoned them to taste with cinnamon, nutmeg, vanilla, lemon juice, and apple cider.  We decided the apples were sweet enough, so we skipped the agave nectar.  Only the tapioca starch struck me as unusual here, along with some of what went into the streusel topping besides the oats, which included coconut oil, coconut sugar, and some of the gluten-free flour mix.  The apples were first roasted before the topping was added.

Now I know how they get all the goodness inside!

While that was happening, Lesia let us frost some chocolate cupcakes she had pre-made and brought with her.  The icing contained a shortening made from a blend of cooking oils, powdered sugar, vanilla bean, and, surprisingly, a little beet juice to make it a pretty shade of pink.  It was perfectly fluffy, creamy and delicious, and, fortunately, tasted nothing at all like the batter.  We each devoured our cupcake in no time flat.

We then took the ones we made out of the oven, and packed each one up into tinfoil, with a side baggy of frosting to add once it got a chance to cool.  We similarly packed up a serving of the apple crisp to take away with us.  It smelled heavenly!  I was already wondering how hard it would be to eat it while driving, and decided to put it on the back seat of the car to avoid temptation on the way home.

I have to acknowledge that I am delightfully surprised at just how tasty everything was.  Most guests would not have a clue if you served them these desserts that they were vegan and gluten-free.  We’ve certainly come a long way from the shockingly upsetting taste of carob chips in the health food stores my mom took us to when I was a kid.  They are supposedly a substitute for chocolate chips, and are touted as a ‘safe chocolate alternative for dogs’.  Whatever!  I’d bet even dogs would spit them out, although they would certainly gobble up every last morsel of the desserts we made tonight.  Not that there’d be a crumb for them to get off of my plate.  Yum!

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