Lorrie Goldstein: Think Monty Python, not Tobe Hooper

I'm not a fan of Lorrie Goldstein. His opinions do not mesh with my opinions. And it's no wonder as his take on the world doesn't mesh with mine. For instance, where he sees a "scare" tactic, I see a famous example of a failed attempt at extreme humour. The failure of the little promo, which turned out to be an anti-promo, is something we can all learn from.

In a recent opinion piece, Goldstein mentions an ad created by an environmental group in the U.K. that he claims used the tactic of fear to promote the group's stand on climate change. He claims the film showed school children having their heads blown off for refusing to take part in a climate change initiative suggested by their teacher.

The resisting student explodes, completely annihilated.

Not true. It's worse. The students are completely annihilated in the explosions. They are obliterated.  It is all very messy.

The short, No Pressure, was written by one of Britain's most respected comedy writers, Richard Curtis. The writer of Blackadder, Four Weddings and a Funeral, Notting Hill and more. The short was suppose to be funny. Some thought it was. Many didn't.

The film was removed from the 10:10 group's website just hours after its release and the 10:10 group found itself forced to issue a statement saying:

We wanted to find a way to bring this critical issue (climate change) back into the headlines whilst making people laugh. . . .

At 10:10 we're all about trying new and creative ways of getting people to take action on climate change. Unfortunately in this instance we missed the mark.

When I worked in the newspaper industry, there were editors who were amazing. The amount of stuff with which they were familiar was a source of constant amazement. I can think of a couple of editors who would probably have known immediately the film to which Goldstein was alluding and would have known Goldstein's take on the film was open to question. They'd have removed the reference to the film from opinion piece.

If Goldstein had made an issue of being edited, these editors might have told Goldstein that his attack left hardly a scratch on them and if he wanted to continue his attack they would bite his legs off. Why might they say such things? Because making reference to Monty Python and the Holy Grail might be the perfect response in such a situation.

I do have to thank Goldstein for one thing: He made me think about the 10:10 group. The film cratered but it did not take the group with it. If you care about the world, if you consider yourself green, you might find their Website interesting. When I posted this link, the 10:10 site was proclaiming there were "real signs of a brighter future. . . . We're collecting signs of the shift to a low carbon world."

In the group's own words, the stories the group is posting are about "things going right." Whatever one believes about the tactics the group used in the past, scare tactics are certainly not the tactics the group is using today on their Website.

Independent cheese producers are a dying breed

My wife and I have been buying locally produced Bright Brand cheese.

Recently, a local journalist surprised me by tweeting: "Really wish @LoblawsON would stop displacing quality Canadian products like Armstrong Cheese from its shelves with yet more PC brands."

I was surprised for three reasons: One, I've never been all that fond of Armstrong Cheese. Two, I'd assumed  Armstrong Cheese was what I call an industrial cheese made by either Saputo or Parmalat. And three I would not be surprised to learn that both the PC cheese and the Armstrong cheese are from the same cheese producer. (I'm not saying they are. I'm only saying that it would not surprise me.)

As a boy, my parents used to vacation in eastern Ontario. My father was raised there and after he married my mom they had a farm so near Alexandria that the town railway station could be seen from my parent's farmhouse. One of my uncles stayed in the area and my parents still had lots of friends living there and so we visited regularly.

One of my parent's friend was a cheesemaker. I loved going to his cheese factory and sampling the still warm cheese curds floating in the remaining whey. I was a kid who understood well what Miss Muffet was enjoying when surprised by the spider. She was eating squeaky cheese.

Today, that cheese factory is gone. It was bought and closed by Kraft Foods, I was told. My dad's friend made out O.K. Kraft paid him a fair price but the factory and the local jobs it provided disappeared. It was a loss for the community and for the area.

The story of Kraft Foods is a whole other story. Follow the link. It's an interesting tale. Kraft is credited with inventing processed cheese. I had a friend who worked for Kraft in Montreal and he was amazed at the magic the company could perform with cheese. It was good cheese in and Velveeta out. An amazing, if somewhat backward, process.

Today the three big names in the cheese industry are Saputo, Agropur and Parmalat. When I think of Saputo it may not be fair but I think of cheese plant closures and loss of solid, long-time, community jobs. Saputo bought the Armstrong cheese company some years ago, moved production to Abbottsford, BC, and closed the century-plus operation in Armstrong, BC. 73 local jobs were lost.

The closure in Armstrong was not the only Western Canada closure announced at the time. A total of 254 workers were affected, the CBC reported. Recently, Saputo has been busy closing dairy operations in Eastern Canada. In March the Cape Breton Post reported the closure of the Scotsburn Dairy in Sydney. "It was such a sudden announcement that people are mostly in shock . . . . " 100 workers were affected.

Along with the Sydney closure, other closures were announced in Princeton, Quebec, and Ottawa. In all, 230 workers will be laid off. According to the company, it will realize a savings of approximately $23 million annually after all the closure expenses are covered.

So do you buy Saputo products? Think: Alexis de Portneuf, Armstrong, Baxter, Dairyland, Danscorella, De Lucia, Dragone, DuVillage 1860, Frigo, Kingsey, La Paulina, Neilson Dairy, Nutrilait, Ricrem, Saputo, Stella, Treasure Cave, HOP&GO!, Rondeau and Vachon. Is that the whole list? Not at all. For instance, late last year, Saputo acquired Woolwich Dairy, famous for its goat's milk cheese and Saputo may by the cheesemaker behind many private label products.

If you, like me, thought Black Diamond had the earmarks of an industrial cheese, you may have been surprised to see Black Diamond missing from the above list. Don't be. Black Diamond appears on the Parmalat list of holdings: Astro, Balderson, Beatrice, Black Diamond, Lactantia are all Parmlat-controlled brands.

From the long list of cheese brands all being produced by only two giant cheesemakers, it is clear that quality cheese can be made by the big outfits. So, it is not the quality that is the issue for me. It's the jobs. It's the way of life that is being loss.

So, what does one do? Me, I try and buy from a smaller, independent producer. I like Bright. This is cheese  made by a co-op located in the Bright, Ontario, area near Woodstock. The Bright plant has been in the same location since 1874.

I've even introduced my granddaughters to the fine flavour of a grilled cheese sandwich made with Bright extra old cheddar. I don't make a big fuss about the flavour, I don't draw attention to the fact that this cheese is different, and the two little girls respond by loudly proclaiming their cheese sandwiches are "delish." Of course, it also helps that the Bright cheese I use is a reassuring orange.

The Springs Restaurant: a good luncheon choice in London

My wife and I went to The Springs Restaurant for lunch. I've been wanting to sample their fish and chips lunch. Judy went along and even order the same. We both had a plate full of calories for lunch.

The fish portion was large, the beer batter flavourful, the french fries crispy and the pickle just the right degree of sour. All in all it was exactly as anticipated. Now the ale, that was a pleasant surprise. I had a bottle of Ransack the Universe IPA from the Collective Arts craft brewery in Hamilton. It was just as advertised; It was crisp, but not bitter, with overtones of citrus. The citrus flavour was clearly evident but not overpowering. Loved it.

But the best part of the lunch was our waitress. She was a delight. We'll be returning next month for another lunch. There are two items on the menu that caught our hungry eye: Teriyaki Prawn Penne (Jumbo prawns and forest mushrooms sautéed with a julienne of peppers and sweet onions tossed with a spicy sweet teriyaki cream sauce. Served mild, medium or yeow.) and Grilled ‘Northern Harvest’ Cilantro ‘Tzaziki’ Salmon (Served with a tomato/cucumber quinoa salad with sautéed kale.)

One of the sandwiches also caught our attention: Grilled Avocado Buttermilk Chicken Sandwich (a sumac scented chicken breast with a creamy fresh avocado & buttermilk dressing, onion sprouts, greens and sliced beefsteak tomato on grilled sunflower bread.)

Like I said, we'll be back.

Dr. Oetker pizza dressed for dinner

Tuesday night is pizza night for my wife and me. It has become a bit of a tradition. Whenever Dr. Oetker pizzas go on sale for less than three bucks, we buy four or five. With a Dr. Oetker 4-Cheese pizza as the base, we add our own toppings

The pizza tonight had diced hot turkey pepperettes from Oegema's on highway 4 near Talbotville plus red, green and orange sweet peppers, mushrooms, black olives from Remark off Hyde Park south of Oxford St. W. The artichoke came from Costco and the rings of hot peppers are Loblaw's President Choice brand.

I try to keep my cholesterol below 50 mg/dL for the day. According to the nutritional info on the box, two slices of this pizza contain only 40 mg/dL of cholesterol. The stuff we added is mostly plant stuff and plant stuff doesn't contain any cholesterol. The turkey sticks are incredibly low in cholesterol. That's why we buy them. This is a heart healthy dinner.

And why the Dr. Oetker pizza. It's made in London.

The true breakfast of champions

Before getting into today's post, let's make a few things clear. One: I am not a doctor. Two: I do not have, and never have had, a serious diverticulitis event. And three: If you a senior, do not make big changes to your diet without consulting your doctor. Increasing the fibre in one's diet is generally not recommended for those presently suffering a severe diverticulitis event. Whether fibre is good or bad for those attempting to fend off another event is an open question.
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Yesterday I had a fierce chest pain. It doubled me up and left me somewhat dizzy and out of breath. I told my wife: Mistake number one. At her insistence, I called our family doctor: Mistake number two. When I mentioned the pain started in the front of my chest and moved to my back, I was ordered to go to the hospital. It was recommended I call an ambulance. I was ordered not to drive myself. I had my wife drive me.

On entering the hospital, blood was taken almost immediately and rushed to the lab for analysis. With the blood sample taken I was off for a CAT scan. A dye was injected into my arm making me feel hot and flushed. For a moment I forgot the chest pain that was now a nagging ache.

It wasn't long before the emerg team knew I was not facing my immediate demise and they lost interest in my medical problems. There were others who needed immediate care and so I was wheeled into a screened off area and left to age like a fine cheese. It would take some time to get the complete report from my CAT scan and blood test. Until the report was ready, I was pushed to the side. I didn't mind. I was relieved.

It was after five when I got the report. It was an extensive, three page document. I will give a copy to my family doctor and to the lead doctors on the medical teams that keeps me alive. I'm not an easy case. I have an ICD/pacemaker in my chest for my arrhythmia and bradycardia, I have micro-bleeding in the brain, I often have TIAs, commonly called mini-strokes, and those are just the three most obvious medical problems I face.

On page three of the report I read: "Very mild sigmoid and descending colon diverticulosis." Diverticulosis means one has small, bulging pouches forming in the digestive tract. These pockets are called diverticula. The greatest number of diverticula develop where the colon is the narrowest, in the sigmoid.

According to the Harvard Medical School, diverticulosis is one of the most common medical problems in the United States. Two-thirds of Americans have it by age 85. This wasn't always the case. A hundred years ago diverticulosis was rare and it is still uncommon in the developing world. Why? Diet. The typical American diet lacks sufficient fibre. In other words, North Americans eat too many refined carbohydrates.

According to Harvard:

 "dietary fiber is a mix of complex carbohydrates found in the bran of whole grains and in nuts, seeds, fruits, legumes, and vegetables . . . dietary fiber has little caloric value — but it has plenty of health value." 

Dietary fibre keeps the colon healthy by drawing "water into the feces, making the stools bulkier, softer, and easier to pass. Dietary fiber speeds the process of elimination, greatly reducing the likelihood of constipation." The Harvard medical folk couldn't say enough good things about fibre.

Steel cut oats go well with fruit and chopped nuts.

Which brings me to my breakfast. It's healthy, packed with fibre, delicious and inexpensive. Meals like this keep diverticulosis from developing and if it does the fibre may prevent the progression to diverticulitis and irritated, inflamed, possibly infected pouches.

Ingredients

• 1/4 cup steel cut oats
• 3/4 cup water
• 1 peeled, cored, and coarsely diced apple
• 1 tbsp maple syrup
• 20 grams dried blueberries
• 2 Brazil nuts
• 5 or 6 cashews
• 1 mashed banana
• dusting of cinnamon

 

Instructions 

I boil the water in my microwave at high for 2 minutes 10 seconds. When boiling, I add the steel cut oats, swirl the oats in the steaming hot water and put the mixture in the microwave to cook  for five minutes at 40% power.

While the oats are cooking, I measure 1 tablespoon of Qi'a (a chia, buckwheat and hemp dry cereal) into a small bowl. I add two tablespoons of 1% milk to soften the Qi'a. While the dry cereal softens, I turn my attention to peeling, coring and coarsely dicing an apple. I add the apple chunks to the bowl of Qi'a and dribble one tablespoon of maple syrup over the apple.

At this point the microwave is beeping. I stir my oats and hot water and put the mixture aside for a minute to cook the Qi'a topped with apple chunks and maple syrup for a minute on high. After the apples have softened with the slight cooking,  I return the oat mixture to the microwave for another four minutes at 40% power.

With the oats again gently cooking, I coarsely chop 20 grams of dried blueberries plus a couple (2) Brazil nuts and five or six salted cashews and I mash a banana.

If the oats need more cooking, I give them from 45 seconds to a minute on high in the microwave. At the end of this time all the water should be absorbed with the oats looking very moist, almost soggy. I add the Qi'a, milk, apple and maple syrup mixture, the blue berries and nuts, and finally I add the mashed bananas and stir. If the mixture isn't hot enough, I heat all on high for an extra 45 seconds. It's done, I stir it to get rid of any hot spots the microwave may have created and it is ready to eat.


My doctors tell me a breakfast like this fights diverticulosis. As my problem is still in the early stages with the diverticulosis described as very mild, I may be able to avoid progressing to the more serious diverticulitis with inflammation and possibly infected pockets. It's a pity I didn't eat like this all my life.

Sadly, when I was younger I used to eat stuff like "the breakfast of champions." Humbug.

(According to the Website Fooducate, Wheaties is low in fibre. The cereal still earns a rating of B+ overall but in the fiber category it is a dismisal D+.)

Buy ingredients on sale and keep it cheap to eat

The shrimp is the wild Argentinian kind caught in the Southern Atlantic Ocean. I like it better than the farmed shrimp from Southeast Asia but there are questions about the sustainability of the Argentine shrimp fishery.

Thankfully studies are underway to understand the fishery and ensure its health well into the future. But protecting the earth's abundance is a difficult task. The Argentinians can only protect the shrimp fishery in their own waters. A lot of shrimp is caught in waters not controlled by the Argentinians. Reportedly, over-fishing in the international waters is common.

My wife and I picked up the shrimp on sale some weeks ago. The sweet peppers we got at Costco on sale today. The bright red and yellow peppers came from an Essex County hot-house.

The asparagus came from the neighbourhood asparagus farm. The stuff is so fresh and so tender that with just seconds of cooking it is ready to serve. We always buy two pounds in order to get the best price.

I'm sure you are getting the idea. Buy your food ingredients either on sale or grown locally and in season to get the best value. I'm retired and the paper carries articles now and then telling me how poorly many seniors eat. I cannot understand why. Use your head when buying the stuff you eat and you will eat well.

At the moment eating well means asparagus. I buy more the moment we run out. The little, local farm is not open all that long. I pig out on the green stalks as long as I can. I try to buy as little asparagus from Peru as possible. The way a lot of the South American stuff is grown is an environmental disaster.

I'd provide a recipe with this post but I can't. The idea for this Cajun shrimp stir fry came from Weight Watchers. Google Cajun shrimp and you'll find something similar, I'm sure.

Fiddleheads make a nice change

Fiddlehead greens, the furled fronds of a young fern, make a fine vegetable alternative. Low in fat, with no cholesterol (no vegetable contains cholesterol), a small 100 gram serving supplies 10 percent of one's daily potassium needs plus eight percent of magnesium, 72 percent of Vitamin A, 44 percent vitamin C, 7 percent of iron and 9 percent of one's protein requirements.

The polenta served yesterday with tomatoes and asparagus.

Served here with polenta topped with a tomato sauce containing not only tomatoes but egg plant as well, this dinner would please my heart and stroke doctors. Admittedly it does contain some beef, a no-no, but there are only two, small meatballs. The meatballs were coated with fennel seeds and gently fried in their own oil. This removed some of the fat from the meatballs

The polenta was a leftover from yesterday. At that time my wife and I served company the polenta with grilled tomatoes and steamed asparagus.

All in all the polenta made for some very inexpensive meals. It delivered eight full servings and tasted wonderful as leftovers.