I’ve just crowned popcorn as the undisputed champ of the snack world. I’ve made it a few times in the last week or two and it’s been a highlight of my food consumption recently. It’s fun to make, tastes great and is good for you!
If you’ve never made it on the stove-top before you must try it! In a 3 liter pot, add two tablespoons of oil, enough popcorn kernels to cover the bottom of the pot and heat on medium with the lid on. Wait for the first kernel to pop and then turn down heat to low-medium. Move the pot back and forth with the lid slightly ajar to let steam escape – but not too much or the kernels will escape. When the popping slows, turn heat off and continue to move the pot back and forth. When popping slows considerably, remove from heat – pour into a bowl and add toppings.
The above 3l pot has about 280 calories. Most of the calories (240) are from the olive oil and the rest from the popcorn. If you’re worried about fat – don’t. I use olive oil which is pretty good for you and you also need fat to absorb some of the vitamins in corn. Plus it’s much tastier than hot air popcorn; less greasy, chemicals and wasted packaging than microwave popcorn. It requires less than 5 minutes to make this. Not much more time than microwave popcorn. The ingredients cost only about 25 cents.
Making popcorn on the stove is like cooking – but more immediate gratification; add any topping you like – ever tried curry powder? It’s also relatively healthy! That’s why popcorn is the champ!
If you have a pot with a glass lid – you’re in for a treat! I made it recently in one and it was pretty cool. I’ll have to make it again and film it!
The original goal was to hike/climb 7th Heaven on Blackcomb mountain – which we did. However, on the way up we started collecting garbage. We found the usual objects including water bottles, beer bottles, cans, goggles, clothing, skis, ski poles, two-way radios and the best of all, $125 (US) and a money clip. Maybe that was some good karma for picking up garbage and lost objects.
During the winter season, similar objects are found every day – especially cell phones and wallets. Whistler is a fairly good place to lose thing and have them returned. I recently left my credit card in a restaurant. I didn’t discover it missing until a few days later. When I did realise where I left it, I called and they did indeed have it. I retrieved it shortly after that without any hassle of getting it replaced.
I normally don’t carry cash with me – maybe for fear of losing it? However, banking is different that what it used to be. With ATMs and credit cards, cash is almost unnecessary in large cities and popular resorts. I can’t think of any place in Whistler that does not accept credit cards; and I think every merchant does because Visa is a worldwide sponsor of the Olympics. Even my lift pass is connected to my credit card so I don’t even need to carry a credit card with me when I’m on the mountain. Replacing a lift pass is easier than replacing a credit card or wallet. I’m not sure why people still carry cash.
The set from the day is below; click on the larger image to advance to the next one. If you’re on your iPhone or can’t see it, click here.
My main meals today were smoothies, a chocolate one for breakfast, blueberry for lunch and a green (kale) smoothie for dinner. In addition, I had some bananas, oranges, a nectarine and some trail mix. This is probably the best I’ve eaten in quite a while. Nutritious, but not as many calories as I probably need considering I went on six-hour hike today. I may supplement my diet with some potato chips (only half kidding).
The new Safari interface is friendly to look at and make it easy to access my frequently visited websites. I had been using Firefox more often before this because it worked with more websites. Hopefully Apple has made it more compatible and did not only put on a new face. I’ll keep using Safari for now.
I was starting to lose faith in some Apple products after my iPhone was underperforming. I realized that it was today after it shut down in the midst of a phone conversation. Some say I talk too much, but I noticed that this has been going on since October of last year according to my photo below. After an unusually quick call to Rogers, they offered to replace my dysfunctional iPhone with a new one – hopefully that makes it all right again.
Me in my vintage ski jacket (circa 1986) on Blackcomb Mountain
It took a little over five months, but I reached the goal that I set out to achieve in November – to ski 100 days in a season. Previously, the most that I have ever skied in a season is about 30 days. Doing 100 was a personal challenge. First I needed the time, second I needed my health and third, I needed snow.
Time wasn’t an issue – I put most of my other pursuits on hold – I’ve got thousands (literally) of photos that I haven’t gone through; I’ve been delinquent in returning emails to my friends and family because all I’ve been doing is eating, sleeping and skiing. Luckily for me, my friends are understanding and patient.
Health wasn’t too much of an issue. Since moving here, I’ve cut down on my consumption of alcohol, eat better and get more sleep. In the city, I tended to stay up way too late and I wasn’t the fittest sitting behind a desk most of the time. When in Whistler, I get up on the mountain daily. I’m not sure what drives me, but I think it’s a combination of the fresh air, sport and the spectacular view. Even today, I mentioned to a friend that I still am in awe of the view from the mountains.
Weather was probably the biggest challenge. This is something that nobody had any control over. December was quite dismal. It was cold and there wasn’t much snow – Vancouver received more snow than Whistler in December. The season started slowly and it wasn’t really winter until late February. It all came together in March and it’s been pretty steady since. However, I think the season will end on the Victoria Day weekend when Blackcomb Mountain closes. Whistler Mountain is set to open, but I’m not sure how the can as the snowpack is less than prior years and there seems to be a general disinterest for skiing this spring.
If this is true, there is 12 days of skiing left in the season. My friends will be glad that I won’t be constantly talking about skiing any longer. However, if Whistler reopens, then this will be continued.
Stats:
First day of skiing: December 3, 2008
100th day of skiing: May 5, 2009
Days on Whistler Mountain: 19
Days on Blackcomb Mountain: 67
Days on both mountains: 12
Days at Revelstoke: 2
I don’t have green smoothies that often as I prefer to eat my greens. After making my first one last year, they’ve grown on me and now I have them on a regular basis.
They aren’t always as bright as the one pictured above, sometimes they come out a murky green colour. The bright green one reminds me of kyrptonite – but it has the opposite effect! The colour is affected by the type of vegetable and other ingredients I use. Regardless of the colour they usually are pretty tasty (to me).
Here’s how I made the one listed above.
Ingredients
1 apple, cut into chunks (or other fruit)
handful of frozen cranberries
1/2 bunch of green kale
2 tablespoons ground flax
lemon juice
cayenne pepper (another one of those secret ingredients)
water
Instructions
Put everything but the flax in a blender and blend on the highest speed.
When well blended, add the flax.
Add more water to the desired consistency.
If you want your smoothie to be a bright green colour, substitute the flax with 1/6 of an avocado. I also sometimes add dulse too – this will change the colour to a muddy brown-green colour. Red kale does the same thing. If you want a bright green smoothie, don’t use these ingredients.
Edit [August 15, 2010]: Here is the nutritional information…
It’s difficult to sum up the last five months in one word, but I can do it in three – eat, sleep, ski. That’s basically what I’ve been focused on for the past five months since I arrived in Whistler – that’s why I haven’t posted to this blog, my food blog nor flickr. I took today off to recuperate and give my body a break and thus I have the time to post.
Over the five months, I’ve achieved most of the goals I set for myself – as crazy as some of the were – like ski 100 days in a season; ski an entire month (February) and become a certified ski instructor. I’m a few days shy of 100, but will have achieved that in the next week or so. The season will go another three to six weeks, so there are many days left to ski.
Within my ski days, I’ve learned much more that I could have ever imagined. My skiing has been deconstructed and been put back together again – with the help of some great instructors. I ski better, more confidently and have more fun. I can’t wait to take more lessons next season!
Skiing for 28 days in a row in February was a physical challenge, but it was also fun. I could have gone 39 days in a row, but my bus from Vancouver had mechanical problems and didn’t arrive in Whistler until the end of the ski day. In all, I skied 38 days out of 39 before I went on a road trip with a friend. The photos in the link are incomplete because I haven’t had time to post them.
However, after spending five months here, I realize that there is much more to the mountain experience than skiing. There was the breathtaking view of the mountains, some of the best sunrises and sunsets I’ve witnessed and being able to see stars on a clear night. There was also the endless stream of friends, visitors and the people that I met who share the same passion for this place.
In some ways this winter, it was like being in school again. As the warmer weather approaches, so does the end of the ski season. Several people that I’ve met this season will be returning home or traveling to some other city by the end of the month. Some lasting friendships have been formed and I know some of them will return – that’s something to count on.
Day 51: the best day of the season so far was on February 25 (day 51)
I skied my 60th day of the season yesterday – more days than the last four seasons combined. Living in a ski town certainly helps. I’m well on my way to skiing 100 days this season. Even after taking a vacation from my vacation, and if the weather cooperates, I will reach my goal by the end of April – right around the Telus Ski and Snowboard Festival – more reasons to celebrate.
Fifty days slipped by rather easily as winter really began on February 22nd (day 48). It was a good month; however, the snowfall is much less than the last three seasons which would be considered epic seasons. The best day that I’ve had, probably over the last four seasons was on February 25 (day 51) where it snowed over 30 cm. This combined with my powder skis made for a very enjoyable day!
I also managed to somehow ski 28 days in February and 29 days in a row. The streak was broken when the bus from Vancouver was delayed. February was all about skiing, eating and sleeping – and not much else.
In the 60 days I also took five lessons which dramatically improved the way I ski. I took lessons before, but my days on the mountain were always limited to practise what I learned. I also think the quality of the instruction at Whistler Blackcomb made a difference. This was the first time I took lessons here and the style was much different than other resorts in North America. This combined with the positive attitude of the people that work here is probably why WB is consistently ranked as one of the best ski resort in the world.
Today, day 61, is also my birthday, I think I’ll celebrate by going skiing! :^)
My flickr set of my days on the mountain so far. Click on the larger image to advance to the next one.
On this day when the greeting card, florists and confectionery companies (and society in general) tell us we should be together and happy – many of us are probably alone. However, when my friends tell me they are lonely – I usually tell them to go outside – there are six billion people out there. However, the video (above) showed me that I’m wrong – we don’t need to go outside because we are never alone.
Even though I live more than 3000 km from where I did three months ago; I still phone, text, email, skype, facebook, blog, twitter, yelp, IM or [insert your technology of choice] with my friends from my former hometown more than daily. It’s like I never left.
When I’m skiing, (I do this almost daily) I meet and speak to someone new on an hourly basis. They are a captive audience for about 10 to 20 minutes when we ride the gondola, chairlift or t-bar. People in ski resorts are generally very happy and glad to be there (regardless of the weather) and most are glad to talk. Sometimes I’m their captive audience. Occasionally, we end up skiing a run or two and even end up at the pub for après.
Personal interaction is so much better than any technology could try to emulate. I’m not sure what these technologies are achieving; but it make me yearn to be alone.
Instead of going outside to avoid being loney – maybe we need to go outside to be together.
The first month of the year is done and the winner is the smoothie. I managed to consume more than one per day. Close behind was salad and then oranges was a distant third.
All I seemed to be doing in January was skiing, eating and sleeping – three very important events. I noticed that started craving(?) and eating pasta again because I felt hungrier than normal – probably attributed to the amount of skiing that I did.
The breakdown of what I ate:
39 smoothies (24 chocolate, 12 fruit, 3 green )
32 servings* of salad (mostly kale salads)
16 oranges
12 grapefruit
10 servings of pasta
6 bags of chips (2 bags of tortilla chips)
5 bowls of popcorn
4 visits to Corner Tandoori for Inidian
2 bowls of noodle and soup
2 burritos from Red Burrito
2 subs
2 energy bars
1 visit to a Malaysian/Thai restaurant
1 pizza
1 piece of birthday cake (Anf’s)
lots of trail mix
…and surprisingly, no french fries!
Included in all of this also included countless bananas, strawberries, avocados and almonds.
The thing I enjoyed most was the chocolate smoothies and the least enjoyable thing was the barbecue and dill flavoured chips. Close behind was the iceberg/romaine lettuce salad at Boston Pizza. But at least the salad might have had some nutrition in it.
* When I say servings, it is generally two or more because I tend to eat more than most people. Unless I am in a restaurant, I will generally eat more than one serving of whatever I’m eating. The 32 servings was probably consumed in 16 or less meals.
Here’s the flickr set of what I ate in January. To see all of the photos at once, click through to the set by clicking here. Otherwise you can click on the large image below to advance to the next image.
Blogroll, Environment, Food, Photography, Recipe, Vegetarian | Garry August 27, 2009 | 
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