Advertising to Kids

Last week, while we were visiting my friends in Edmonton, my daughter was exposed to more commercials than she had ever been exposed to, and it was kind of scary. My friend did not have Treehouse, and she only had three "kids" channels to choose from. YTV was not playing stuff I thought appropriate for my almost six year old daughter, so we opted for Retro Teletoon.

I am not sure who the target audience is for Retro Teletoon, but I do not think it is young children. Maybe they are trying to market to adults reliving their youth. Regardless, most of the ads were infomercials for products not geared to kids. After watching this channel with my daughter for a few minutes, she quickly told me I needed to buy several of the advertised products. Apparently, I need a No No hair removal gadget, and my husband can get one too. Our cat needs to have the Cat's Meow cat toy. I am surprised she did not encourage me to use the pay day loan service as well.

I was struck by how easily influenced my daughter was by such a brief exposure to these ads. My children do not normally watch TV with ads. At home, we watch DVDs, TFO and sometimes Treehouse. The channels we do watch only advertise their own shows. She also asked why I did not buy Frosted Flakes cereal. It must be good for us since the tiger is so sporty.

My friend took us to the library a few days into our visit and I was able to get her commercial free, french programming for a few days. I have been quite good at sheltering my children from most of the advertising frenzy geared toward children. My kids are mostly influenced by their fellow classmates and daycaremates. This exposure is plenty. My kids come home talking about products and TV shows we never watch at home. I still have no idea how my son knows about Skylanders.

I sometimes worry that I shelter them too much, but there is access to current media everywhere these days. I try to keep them watching French language shows, if at all possible. We almost always listen to French music, or Kindermusik, and their books are in French too. They are constantly bombarded by ads for toys through print, video games and movies, and I want to keep them sheltered as long as possible.

I am even quite strict on iPad use. I might be on my iPad every day, but until my kids are old enough to buy their own handheld devices, I will decide how often they play on mine. I will probably limit their access when they do buy their own too.

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Reminiscing with Good Friends

My daughter and I are rounding up a week long visit with some very dear friends of mine. The three of us met while teaching high school in Monterrey, Mexico, 12 years ago. It was an amazing experience and I count these two women as some of, if not the, best friends that I have. They are at the top of my contact list on Facebook, and we have managed to see each other almost every two years since we have been back in Canada. Considering I live in Sudbury and they live in Edmonton, I count this as impressive.

I was saying to one of the friends a sign of a good friendship is when you can stop talking about what you did in the past and enjoy each other's company in the present. Of course, after that, we got out the photo albums of our Mexican adventures and proceeded to reminisce, again. But, as the other friend said, no one else was there, and there is no one else can we talk to who will understand what we experienced.

Friendships are odd things. I have many people in my life I would consider good friends, but we do not see each other very often because we live so far apart. I grew up in Manitoba, therefore many of my high school friends are still there. We see each other about once a year. We tend to not relive the "good ole times" because they were so long ago, but whatever drew us together when we were younger is still there. We are able to spend time together, talk about our lives and let our kids play.

I see my university friends even more seldom. I went to UBC, and since I graduated, I have only been back three times. These friends rarely come out East to visit. We stay in touch mainly through Facebook. However, it is as though no time has passed when we do finally see each other. Most of these people know who I am, and love me for the good and the bad. I count myself fortunate to have travelled so much, and to have maintained these connections for such a long time.

I do not have many people near my home I would consider good friends. Last year a relationship, I had considered a family type relationship, fell apart. The women decided, over what seems like an overnight b$&&h session, that they no longer wanted me in their lives. It hurt me deeply because it was never clear exactly what it was that I had done. I still do not know what I did, and I was never given the opportunity to make up for my "failings".

It was made even more awkward because they live in our community, they were important at our wedding, and our children are still close. I do not like to talk about it a lot because I do not know how much they said to others. I also do not know how many of my circle of acquaintances know them. It made dealing with the loss difficult because I had no one to talk to about it.


My friends here in Edmonton were very supportive throughout the ordeal. In fact, they are a testament to a strong friendship because we have all put our feet in our mouths with regards to each other, but we still love each other. We are like sisters, and despite the time and distance we are able to pick up where we left off, as though the years have not passed.

We were fortunate to have two visits this year because the fourth member of our Mexican quartet got married in Toronto in May. Unfortunately, he has not been as easy to stay in contact with, being a doctor now and basically eschewing Facebook. Our reunion with him was not quite the same since he was busy with his wedding (the nerve!), but we have had some good visits after Mexico when I was pregnant with my kids. We can still have a super reunion one of these years, and maybe focus on our present selves instead of our crazy, young, Mexican selves. Not that those younger versions of us were bad, but I think we have grown a lot since then, and we still like our older selves.

We are all mothers now, and our girls play together (our sons too). We are all teachers and we commiserate with each other and cheer each other on in our careers. After 12 years, we are still the best of friends, and I am so glad for the opportunity to see them as often as I do. As my visit comes to an end, I look forward to the next time. We will stay in touch through Facebook and Skype, but nothing beats being in the same room as my chiquitas!

La silla is a "pinche" mountain! ¡Jejeje!

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To Air Condition or Not To Air Condition

For some people there is no question. They must think us crazy for not having air conditioning in the summer. Generally, though, we rarely have heat waves that last longer than a few days, and usually the humidity is not too bad. We are normally able to cool our house down in the evenings by opening up all the windows. The basement stays cooler than the rest of the house as well. As a last resort, we could just lie down on the tiled floor.

This morning, however, I was wishing for AC in our home, if only to decrease the humidity. Currently, it is 32C outside and with the humidity it feels like 42C. Our house had heated up to 28C last night, and only cooled down to 26C this morning. Most of the people I met along my morning run at 7am said, "It is too hot to be running!" "Better now than in the afternoon." said I.

We are supposed to have cooler temperatures come Saturday, and if we open up the whole house, basement included, we should be able to get back to a reasonable temperature in our home. That will be up to my husband this week, as I am going away. Once we get back to having cooler evenings, we should be fine.

Our biggest problem with heating up our home is the westward facing patio doors in our bedroom. We have no trees blocking these doors, so in the summer we have light coming into the house from 3pm until 9pm. In the seven years we have lived in the house I have tried several types of black out curtains with varying success. Last year we put UV blocking film on the glass. It cut down on the heat, but we still have light getting in and that is what warms up the room, and then the house. I wanted to get an automatic blind on the outside which would prevent light from entering through the window. I suppose another option would be a gazebo on the deck.

In Europe, houses have shutters on the outside of the house which stop light, and heat from getting in. I am not sure why we have not adopted this practice in North America. Maybe it is aesthetics. Our friends had hidden shutters that would automatically roll down and block all light from entering. Seals the house up like a vault.

I often think about how my next house should be oriented with respect to home energy efficiencies. Which side of the house should have all the windows to maximize heat gain in the winter, but not in the summer? If we had a deciduous tree in front of our patio doors, it too would greatly reduce how hot our home would be. Alas, these are all things I know for my next home, whenever that happens.

For now, we are hiding in the basement, playing at the splash pad, taking advantage of friends with pools, or going to the lake. In a few days, a cold front will be coming through, and we will no longer be jonesing for air conditioning. Maybe we'll hang out at the mall tomorrow.

This is what we need. Northern Solar Screen. Now, are these available for Canadians?

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Jerk Pork Tenderloin, Pineapple Avocado Salsa and Barbecued Potatoes

I am working my way through the summer edition of Food and Drink. Yesterday, I decided to make Jamaican Jerk pork tenderloin, along with some pineapple avocado salsa. My kids ate the potatoes, which is a start. I even omitted the pepper from the jerk spice marinade so they could try the meat, but they decided to be vegetarian last night. Now, we have enough leftovers for the rest of the week. I need to start freezing stuff.

I had all the ingredients on hand for the jerk marinade except for the pepper, so it worked out well. Everything was chopped up in my mini food processor, starting with the onion, then the garlic, liquids and spices. The weird thing was, after the meat was cooked, the marinade did not taste like much. It has lots of ingredients, and many of them are quite strong, aromatically (garlic, cinnamon, all spice, nutmeg and ginger). Most of the flavour comes from smelling the spices prior to eating. Our brain works very hard during the act of tasting. To find out more, check out the CBC Radio One program called Think About It, the Neurogastronomy episode.

Anyway, the supper was fairly easy to make once the meat was marinading. The pineapple salsa called for chopping up a full pineapple, but you could reduce your work by using a peeled and cored pineapple if you choose. The salsa is supposed to sit for at least an hour prior to eating, and the meat should marinate at least four hours ahead. Both can be prepared the day ahead for even better flavour, so not a spur of the moment recipe.

Jerk Pork

2 pork tenderloins, trimmed of fat

1/2 large onion, coarsely chopped

3 large garlic cloves

Scant 1/4 cup each of vegetable oil, soy sauce, lime juice, and brown sugar

2 tbsp chopped fresh ginger

1 jalapeño pepper, thinly sliced with seeds

1 tbsp dried thyme

1/2 tbsp each ground cinnamon and allspice

1 tsp each ground nutmeg, craked black pepper and salt.

After trimming the fat and silver skins from the tenderloins, place the meat on a cutting board. Use a large fork to poke through the tenderloins. Make about 20 inserts throughout each tenderloin, ensuring that the fork goes through to the cutting board. Place the tenderloins in a large freezer bag or a shallow dish.

Put all the other ingredients in a food processor to make the marinade. Since I had a small chopper, I started with the onion, then garlic. I waited until the onion was chopped enough so there was room to add the remaining ingredients. Mix until everything is evenly ground.

Pour the marinade over the meat in the bag. Massage the marinade all over the meat. Remove as much of the air from the bag before sealing. Place the bag in a dish and let sit in the refrigerator for at least four hours, preferably 24 hours. If the meat is in a dish, cover the meat before putting it in the refrigerator. Turn the meat occasionally to distribute the marinade.

You can roast the pork on a foil lined baking sheet at 350F for 40 to 55 minutes. Alternately, you can wrap the tenderloins in foil and cook on the barbecue for 40 minutes. The internal temperature at the thickest part should read 155F. Remove the pork from heat and let sit for five minutes before cutting. You can serve it the next day, just wrap the whole tenderloin and refrigerate for up to one day.

Serve with Pineapple Avocado salsa.

Pineapple Avocado Salsa

1 fresh pineapple, peeled cored and chopped into bite sized pieces

1 large red or orange pepper, chopped

1/2 cup finely chopped red onion

Juice of two large limes

2 tbsp olive oil

1tbsp granulated sugar

1 tsp dried chili flakes or 1 to 2 tbsp finley chopped and seeded jalapeño pepper

1/2 tsp salt

2 ripe, but firm Haas avocados

1 cup chopped cilantro leaves

Mix together the diced pineapple, red pepper and red onion. In a separate bowl, mix together the dressing ingredients (everything but the avocados and cilantro). Pour over the pineapple mixture and set aside for at least one hour before serving, stirring occasionally.

Just before serving, drain off the liquid. Dice the avocado and stir into salsa along with the chopped ciltantro.

Barbecued Potatoes

It is up to you to determine how many potatoes you want to bake. You can use mini or regular sized potatoes. Slice them, but not all the way through, so they kind of look like an accordion. Top them with butter (or some oil/fat), spices (I used no salted added Montreal Steak Spice), and salt if needed. Wrap in foil, and cook on the barbecue.

Like I said, this meal requires marinating time, but once everything is "stewing" it comes together quickly. It is a very tasty meal, and the combination of spices is perfect for hot summer dining.

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Mint. My Favourite Summer Herb.

Yes, I know, it grows like a weed. It will take over your entire garden if you are not careful, but I love the stuff. I have been taking advantage of all the chocolate mint I have growing in the yard. It has found its way into most of my recipes of late. The turkey mango salad and the wheatberry apple salad from my previous post, both called for mint. Today, I made another meal full of mint. Plus, there are the mojitos.

Dinner tonight had a bit of a Middle Eastern flair. Chicken kebabs, Persian rice, grilled zucchini and easy tzatziki. The recipes come from the Summer 2013 Food and Drink magazine, but I will give you the quick and easy versions.

CHICKEN KEBABS

1 package chicken thighs (6 to 8 thighs per pack)

1 lime

1 lemon

2 garlic cloves

1/3 cup chopped mint

1/3 cup chopped coriander

Couple grinder twists of salt

Chop the chicken thighs into bite sized pieces, and put into a glass dish for marinading. Zest the lime, and sprinkle over the chicken. Squeeze the lime and the lemon juice onto the chicken. Mince or grate the garlic cloves, and add them, the chopped herbs, and the salt to the chicken. Marinade for 30 minutes at room temperature or leave in the refrigerator for up to 24 hours.

Thread the chicken onto presoaked bamboo skewers. The kebabs can be grilled on a hot barbecue for 12 to 15 minutes, turning frequently.

Serve with tzatziki. I did not have time to make the full out version of homemade tzatziki, so I improvised. I mixed a couple tablespoons of greek yoghurt with garlic powder, lemon pepper seasoning, a squirt of lime juice and some chopped up cucumber. You could add some fresh mint and dill if you have it on hand. It tasted like the premade dip.

PERSIAN RICE (The recipe calls for basmati rice, but we did not have any at home, so I substituted brown rice instead. It worked out well.)

1 cup Uncle Ben's brown rice

Pinch of saffron

1/2 tsp cinnamon

1/3 cup chopped coriander and/or mint

1/3 cup chopped dried apricots

1/3 cup dried cranberries

1/4 cup dried sultana raisins

1/4 cup slivered almonds

1 clementine

1/2 a lime

2 tablespoons olive oil

Pinch of salt

The original recipe calls for currants and pistachio nuts, but I had raisins and almonds in the house.

Cook the rice in two cups of water, with the pinch of saffron, until the rice is done and there is no more water in the pot. It should take about 20 minutes. Put the cooked rice into a serving dish and mix in the cinnamon, herbs, fruit and nuts.

In a separate bowl, zest the clementine, and squeeze in the juice. Add the juice of 1/2 a lime, the olive oil and the salt. Mix the dressing, and stir it into the rice.

You can serve the chicken kebabs on top the persian rice for a fancy presentation. The dishes are portable, and can be enjoyed at room temperature. Therefore, they are great for a picnic or to bring over to someone's house.

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Summer Lunch Menu

Since both my husband and I are teachers, we have the flexibility of entertaining other teacher families during the week. No need to wait for the weekend to make a lunch date. It also becomes easier to plan get togethers as the kids have soccer three times a week in the evenings. A lunch date will be over by the time we need to be heading out to the soccer fields.

I am always raving about the recipes from my favourite (free) magazine, Food and Drink, from the LCBO. This time, I found a couple sweet and savory salads from the turkey cookbook insert that came along with the magazine. Really, get togethers are an excuse for me to try new foods, and not worry about having leftovers for over a week. I am hoping we will be able to entertain a few more times this summer, but I could always try out new recipes when we are visiting my parents or my friends in Edmonton.

Both recipes have meat (turkey or chicken) in them, but could easily be made vegetarian. Both recipes also have similar ingredients (mint, coriander, citrus), so they complement each other. I served them deconstructed because my husband does not like cold meat, but our guests enjoyed the meal. Of course, my children did not try either salad, and opted for bread, cheese and hummus. I had a fruit and veggie tray on the side as well.

TURKEY MANGO SALAD

Prep Time: 20 minutes

Cook Time: 15 minutes

1 tsp (5mL) sesame oil

1 8-oz (227g) extra lean ground Ontario turkey

4 cloves garlic, minced

2 tbsp (25mL) fresh ginger, minced

1 tbsp (15mL) fish sauce (or sodium reduced soy sauce)

2 mangoes, peeled and chopped

1 small red bell pepper, chopped

2 tbsp (25mL) fresh cilantro (or basil) chopped

2 tbsp (25mL) fresh mint, chopped

2 tbsp (25mL) lime juice

Pinch granulated sugar

Dash hot pepper sauce

In large nonstick skillet heat oil over medium-high heat and cook, turkey, garlic, ginger and fish sauce, stirring often, for about 5 minutes or until no longer pink inside. Remove from heat.

In large bowl, blend mango, pepper, cilantro and mint. Add turkey mixture to bowl and stir. Drizzle with lime juice, sugar and hot sauce; stir to combine.

Makes 4-1 cup (250mL) servings.

I left the hot sauce on the side, not knowing how spicy our guests like their food. Plus, if it is not spicy enough, they can add more.

Unfortunately, I did not take a picture the day of the meal, so this does not do it justice. One of the mangoes was ripe, the other was green, but it was nice to have to contrast of the sweeter mango with the more tart, green one. Trinidadians make a dish called mango chow, that uses green mangoes, peppers and lemon juice, so I am partial to the flavour of green mangoes.

 

APPLE WHEATBERRY TURKEY SALAD

Prep Time: 15 minutes

Cook Time: 1 hour 12 minutes

Makes: 7 cups (1.75 L) or 7-1 cup (250 mL) servings

1 cup (250 mL) wheat berries (hard or soft wheat kernels)

1 apple, cored and diced

1 orange, peeled and diced

2 green onions, chopped

5 tbsp (75 mL) each chopped cilantro

2 tbsp (25 mL) chopped fresh mint

1 cup (250 mL) orange juice

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 pkg (about 400 g) Ontario turkey breast slices or tenders

2 tbsp (25 mL) canola oil

2 tbsp (25 mL) cider vinegar

2 tsp (10 mL) Dijon mustard

Pinch each salt and pepper

In large pot of boiling water, cook wheat berries partially covered for about 1 hour or until tender but still slightly chewy. Drain and rinse under cold water until cool. Drain well and place in large bowl. Add apple, orange, green onion, mint and 2 tbsp (25 mL) of the cilantro; set aside.

Bring the orange juice, garlic and remaining cilantro to boil in a skillet. Add turkey, cover and simmer for about 10 minutes, turning once or until no longer pink inside. Remove turkey from orange mixture and chop into bite size pieces. Add to wheatberries.

Bring remaining orange juice mixture to boil for about 2 minutes or until almost all the juice is evaporated. Whisk in oil, vinegar and mustard and pour over turkey and wheatberry mixture. Toss to coat evenly and stir in salt and pepper.

Tip: This salad can be covered and refrigerated for up to 2 days.

Cook wheatberries ahead and drain and let cool completely. Place in resealable bags and freeze for up to 3 months. Let them thaw before using in the recipe.

I used chicken breast instead of turkey, and served the chicken cut up on the side. This gave my husband the option to heat up his meat, and the guests could select as much meat to put on their salad as they would like. I did not have access to wheatberries, so I used barley instead. It did not require a full hour to cook. If you let it simmer in a broth for 45 minutes, you should be fine. I also served the dressing on the side.

When entertaining, make sure you are careful about serving drinks. Our guests brought their own beer, as we do not have a lot of alcohol in our home. They only had one each, and left a few hours after finishing them. I made some homemade watermelon iced tea (from David'sTea) which went along nicely with the mint and citrus flavours of the meal.

Looking forward to some more summer get togethers to try out new recipes!

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