All you need is love.

Okay, so I'm going to make a confession that is going to inevitably lead to some taunting. As I mentioned it's been a crazy, crazy week full of conferencing and networking and people and being "on". Being an introvert (albeit with extroverted tendencies), this has left me with a desire to be reclusive this weekend and get a little "alone time" in.
So what have I done?
Nothing.
I've got my patio garden started, so the weekend wasn't a total bust, but aside from that this weekend certainly lacked any productivity. Instead I puttered and relaxed, and watched a movie. Here's where the confession comes in. The movie I watched is one that I've seen many times and each time it elicits the same emotional response - outright sobbing. The movie? I Am Sam.
Laugh and taunt if you will. I don't care. I still love this movie, and it's likely I always will.

I remember the first time I had seen this movie was in Toronto, in 2001, with S. It was the late show, I remember that much, because it was really late and cold (I think it was in January) when we walked back to our homes and I clearly recall being so incredibly emotionally drained from sobbing almost through the entire movie. But then, after a hard first semester, an emotional release was probably not a bad thing.

I had often thought about buying this movie, but I don't buy movies very often and I certainly don't pay full price for them if I can help it! So a couple of months ago I found the movie in a discount bin, ridiculously cheap...and I bought it. Since then, I've watched it a couple of times and enjoy it just the same, even though it makes me teary every time.

So what do I like so much about it? The underlying theme: All you need is love. The plot is about a mentally disabled man who tries to be the best father he can be for his daughter despite his lack of financial resources and his low IQ. All the while society is telling him that his best is not enough. The plot is heartwrenching (naturally), but also very well executed. All the while we're following Sam's plight, we get glimpses into his lawyer's life and see the other side of the dichotomy: a life of affluence and privilege, but without love. Also, when or if you watch it, look at how colour is used, specifically red, the colour of "love". I know full-well that this movie is highly criticised, and many of the critics complain of it being too manipulative and contrived, but who cares what the critics think! While I appreciate hearing what other people think, I can make-up my own mind, thank-you-very-much. Laugh if you will.

The hunt for kale....and how I organize my recipes

I have a confession: I went to Pete's Frootique today. I know it's Sunday, and usually I try to keep Sundays as a shopping-free day, but yesterday was busy and I didn't get a chance to get into stores at all. Instead, I spent the day with my grandparents, and even got snowshoeing!


But back to Pete's Frootique...

For those who aren't familiar with Pete's, it's a market-style (organic) grocery store filled with wonderful things! Pete Luckett is the fellow that started it all, and he has a farm in the Valley. For my Toronto friends, Pete's is a lot like Whole Foods or Pusateri's. It's an experience, more than a grocery store! The market is beautifully laid out, the displays are artfully done, and you can find a lot of imported food, mostly from the UK.

Today I was on a mission though. About a month ago, I went to the Wolfville Market with a friend, and picked up some kale. After about a week of sitting in my fridge I decided it was about time I did something with it. I'd never cooked kale before, but it's supposed to be one of the healthiest foods to eat, so I thought it'd be worth a try! I found a recipe online that sounded decent: Sauteed Kale with Garlic Onions & Lemon. (I didn't get to participate in Sherrie's food challenge this week, but if I had this would've been my entry for Thursday's vegetarian recipe.) It was delicious!! In fact, I had to restrain myself from eating the full amount of sauteed kale in one sitting! Since then, I've haven't been able to find kale - I tried my local Sobey's and Superstore, the Halifax Market and Wolfville Market (to find locally grown), but no luck. Well, fortunately, Pete's had lots! I bought a big bunch of kale for 2.49. Yay!While at Pete's I picked up a few other things (it's almost impossible not to!): a new tea, Clipper Organic White Tea with Raspberry, grapes and pineapple. And I also stumbled upon a rack of recipe cards. So here's my 2nd confession of the day: I'm not at all creative when it comes to cooking. I need inspiration, and I need instructions. So when I come across recipes that look good, I'll try to make sure I get a copy of that recipe. The result has been an accumulation of so many scraps of paper, labels and recipe cards that were stuffed in my recipe book. Each time I picked it up, a million scraps of paper would fall out.

So here was my solution: Now, I know this may be a bit too obsessive-compulsive for most people, but I thought this was brilliant. I spent an evening in front of the TV, putting together this recipe box system. Sure, it took a bit of time to figure out what groupings I wanted, and to print and trim the labels to fit (thank goodness for my label maker!), but the end result was worth it.

Supplies: box with lid from Dollarama ($1), 3 pkgs of card dividers (only 1.5 used) from Dollarama ($1 ea.), blank coloured recipe cards from Dollarama ($1).

And here they are in their permanent home: I think there's a lot that can be said about someone from their recipe collection. My recipe book is full of family favourites, and recipes I've gotten from family (like great-grandmother's molasses cookies, or Bear River chocolate cake...). It's also full of my regular rotation of recipes - meatloaf, baked beans, risotto, etc. And often the pages are splattered with batter, and then there was that one unfortunate incident where I left a can of frozen orange juice out on the counter overnight and it exploded leaving a sticky orange goo all over my recipe book and walls..... .
So, I'm curious to know what other people do with their recipes. Do you collect recipes? transcribe them onto cards or in a book? where do you put/stash them?

(It's probably the Archivist in me that makes me just a little bit curious about how you organize your recipes.)

A moment of weakness...

I went into Winners looking for a backpack, and came out with...

...Cute red patent mary-janes! Oops!