The Great Outdoors Eh!

CHALLENGE  ACCOMPLISHMENT # 7

THE RESOLUTION: Something New

CHALLENGE  ACCOMPLISHMENT # 1

THE RESOLUTION: Travel Stories

One of the funniest inquiries I get when I’m traveling around the world questions what Canadians could possibly do for fun when we live on a sheet of ice surrounded by hostile polar bears that want to eat our penguins!

While the stereotypes of the Great North can be downright hilarious and generally overindulged, most are seriously wrong. Yes, winters can be cold. Polar bears do roam in the upper corners of our great country, but the chances of your average Canadian running into one in their entire lifetime are, well, zero! Dog sledding is pretty much reserved for extra-curricular activity and (sadly) we have no penguins.

What we do have in extreme and stunning overabundance is the great outdoors. Mountains and valleys teeming with nature and wildlife. Lakes larger than countries and rivers that could could cut across continents. With the thawing of Spring city Canadians mass exodus to the wilderness in their short-shorts and sunglasses before the snow even gets a chance to melt. Every weekend families escape on all terrain vehicles to cottages, trailers and campsites dotted all across the vast and remote spaces populated only by deer, elk, moose, bears, wolves and an array of bird and water dwelling folk. 

Chris, Jess and baby Dan on the way

As the city temperatures in Southern Ontario roast the citizens with more than 40 degrees of heat and humidity, my friends Jess, Chris, April and I enjoy the subtle licking from the flames on this cool summer night ‘up North’. The breeze is crisp as it flows from Lake Bernard. We are hardly 15 miles from Ontario’s famous Algonquin Park. A legend amongst Canadian parks being the oldest (established in 1893)and one of the largest. With over 2,400 lakes and 1,200km of dream worthy rivers, there will always be a trail to explore whether you are hiking, climbing, paddling, or cycling. 

For us city folk, the quiet and absolute stillness of a canoe ride down the river can be a dominating factor. Of course a disturbance in the peace up here is not accompanied by the anxiety of the suburbs but by the joy and excitement of nearby wildlife. There is even the chance of encounter with other humans; this of course is met with absurdly polite greetings before continuing on our way. We are still in Canada afterall :) 

One woman. One year. 103 down. 66 to go.

Social Butterfly

Mitja, Me, April and Jonas

This last month has been jam-packed with events, socializing, comings and goings, new resolution completions and trip research for South America. The Manifesting Magic workshop (story at http://thirteensquared13.blogspot.ca/2013/06/manifesting-magic-forest-festival.html) opened a whole new world for me and took me East of Ottawa. Only one day later I was in the Rockies with family (story at http://thirteensquared13.blogspot.ca/2013/06/surprise.html & http://thirteensquared13.blogspot.ca/2013/06/graduation-surprise-part-ii.html). Upon my return, more exciting opportunities would have me back on the road touring my own backyard astride a couple of imported Harley’s and one sexy Honda Shadow. 

Couchsurfing? Crashing on random peoples couches. The cheapest and most illuminating way of traveling. To see another instance where I hosted: http://thirteensquared13.blogspot.ca/2013/05/hosting-nishant.html

Let me rewind for a moment.

As I was loading my bags into the car for my impending flight to Calgary, I received a couchsurfing request from a couple of German bikers determined to crisscross North America on their motorcycles. It broke my heart that I wouldn’t be here to meet them but I could not let this opportunity slip through. Hosting couchsurfers is much more to me than giving back to my traveler community, it’s a chance to travel and learn about the world through others. I passed on their request to April, a fellow biker and aspiring film-maker (remember the videos she’s made for ThirteenSquared? You can find them all on the YouTube channel ‘KN Extraordinary Life’). Did I mention these boys are making short films about their journey as they go? It was a match a made in heaven.  

The real surprise though revealed that Jonas and Mitja decided to stay in town for 6 whole weeks! 

My return from Alberta marked the beginning of a record breaking week for resolutions accomplishments. It all began with our very first meeting:

CHALLENGE  ACCOMPLISHMENT # 6

THE RESOLUTION: Meaningful Hangouts 

CHALLENGE  ACCOMPLISHMENT # 5

THE RESOLUTION: Food from 13 Countries

Jonas and Mitja rented a place to stay not even 5 minutes away from me. An excellent choice seeing as I would be spending more time with these two bad-ass looking bikers in the next few weeks than my usual yearly ration of socializing combined. Of course they made an excellent first impression when they invited April and I over to their new Canadian pad for a home-cooked German meal. I would surely butcher any attempt to name and positively identify the kind of bratwurst we were so generously served (there are dozens of varieties!?) Even the beer’s name had about seventeen letters in it. But the entire meal was delicious. The potatoes were soft and gooey like a dumpling (which is, in fact, a staple of German cuisine - I looked it up). There was sauerkraut and gravy. And the funnest part, the bratwurst you have to peel like a banana.

Not only was this ‘meaningful hangout’ a start to our blossoming friendship, I accomplished a fifth checkmark for food from around the world in a much more unique fashion than trying out a local restaurant. 

The stories will continue in the next episode of ThirteenSquared :)

One woman. One year. 85 down. 84 to go.

P.S. I just found out the sweet little sausage thingy wasn't even bratwurst! It was something something/w?$#???? *()!@>????wurst :) Ya, something like that. 

Brain Food

CHALLENGE  ACCOMPLISHMENT # 3

THE RESOLUTION: Cook / Bake

Kale

Now here is a vegetable that has never made it into my kitchen before. I didn't even know it existed until recently which is a bit of a surprise considering how it's jam packed with vitamins, antioxidants and bursting with health and immune system benefits. 

According to WebMD (www.webmd.com)

"One cup of chopped kale contains 33 calories and 9% of the daily value of calcium, 206% vitamin A, 134% of vitamin C, and a whopping 684% of vitamin K. It is also a good source of minerals copper, potassium, iron, manganese, and phosphorous."

In addition, it is rich in anti-cancer and eye health antioxidants AND lowers cholesterol and risk of heart disease! 

WOW! 

As for cooking these long, leafy greens, well there is no shortage of options. My first attempt will be: Sautéed Kale.

Ingredients:

• Kale
• Broth
• Virgin Olive Oil
• Red wine vinegar
• Garlic

Coarsely chop Kale. Heat oil and garlic until garlic is soft. Raise heat, add stock and kale. Cover and cook for 5 minutes. Season with salt and vinegar. 

The kale bunch I cooked produced over 4 cups of this awesome health potion and I actually have to admit... for a vegetable, it was quite good. 

Eat your heart out Popeye! :P 

One woman. One year. 99 down. 70 to go

Sautéed Kale on the bottom, Chicken Teriyaki up top.

CHALLENGE  ACCOMPLISHMENT # 4

THE RESOLUTION: Cook / Bake

Chicken Teriyaki

Making it yourself is sometimes the only way to improve upon an old favourite. Steak teriyaki has always been a go-to meal for me as a way of improving my vegetable consumption. Alas, there was no steak in the house which in a way increases the health value even more by eliminating the hard to digest (but still my favourite food in the world), red meat. At least the chickens still came out to play! (I'm a bit of a carnivore in case you haven't picked that up yet.)

There is no set recipe. Or even a list of ingredients per say. 

• Choose your meat and chop into bite-sized chunks. Drown it in soy sauce and let it soak up the sauce for a bit. 
• Select all the colourful vegetables you can get your hands and chop those up too. 
• Sautee some onions and garlic in virgin olive oil then add the meat. 
• Once your meat is cooked properly, add vegetables (make sure you use the largest pan in the house. 
• In a separate pot, cook 1-2 cup of your preferred rice (Remember: 1 cup of rice = 2 cups of water)
• Add soy sauce or alternate spices to your giant bowl of meat and vegetable and continue stir-frying until you can't hold back the drool. 
• Also optional is adding some flax seeds to the mix (as if it wasn't healthy enough already).
• Serve over rice. 
• Also try adding the above sautéed kale to the mix.

Review: Best meal I've ever made and works with water random,   pasta, meat and vegetables you have around the house :)

One woman. One year. 98 down. 71 to go.

By Any Means

CHALLENGE  ACCOMPLISHMENT # 3

THE RESOLUTION: Read 13 Book

By Any Means is the second book I've read out of a three book set written by Charley Boorman, which includes Race to Dakar, By Any Means and Right to the Edge. I picked up these easy reads specifically for this blog because if I am seriously expected to read 13 books this year (and I am!), I need to keep my selections reasonable. Aside from the actual book choices it does seem I am always reading something; news articles, travel stories, blogs, research documents and of course I am constantly reading and re-reading my own work to weed out the issues and improve my writing everyday. 

By Any Means is the story of a 20,473 mile journey by, well, by any means. Charley and his team set off from Wicklow, Ireland hoping to arrive in Sydney, Australia in 100 days. The catch? No commercial flights. In fact, they tried to find as many different possible manners of transport as they could in the journey across 25 countries in 3 continents. On the way, they also took up several volunteer mission for UNICEF, an organization which Charley praises proudly for their empowering work with women and children around the world. 

The book is fast paced, there is literally a lot of ground to cover and with 112 different form of transport, it remains engaging as the team experiences many of the whoas of travel. From visas struggles and physical injuries to getting entangled in the constant and unavoidable political unrest and natural disasters that accompany all peregrination. Nothing new to a seasoned traveler, but a great introduction of high and lows for world dreamer.  

My entry on ‘Race to Dakar’:

http://thirteensquared13.blogspot.ca/2013/04/race-to-dakar.html

Other books I’ve read:

- Many Lives Many Master 

http://thirteensquared13.blogspot.ca/2013/03/january-in-review-part-iii.html

Charley’s site: 

http://www.charleyboorman.com

One woman. One year. 82 down. 87 to go.

Thrilling, Awesome and Exciting News

Remember that resolution amendment I created a while back? I introduced travel stories to ThirteenSquared because traveling is my passion. More importantly, I hope to imprint my love for the world and its endless cultural, historical, gastronomical and geographical wonders through my writing. No better place to practice my travel writing skills and showcase my developing talent than on my very own personal growth blog.