A Life, Lived

Happy Birthday Paul!

Someone is having another birthday today - I'll give you a hint . . . there are 38 candles on his cake.

As is tradition, let's look back and see what was happening in Canada in the year Paul was born:

Canada started to introduce the metric system throughout the year (and after 38 years of the metric system I still don't naturally 'think' metric)

Pierre Trudeau was Prime Minister

Television cameras are allowed to film in Parliament (Canadians, horrified by the undignified behaviour of their elected politicians started to tune out of the political process) 

The beaver becomes an official symbol of Canada (causing Canada to become the butt of jokes worldwide)

The CN Tower was built, the largest free-standing structure in the world until 2008. After it was constructed people realized that it was rather phallic in shape. Opps

The Soviet Atlantic fishing fleet is banned from entering Canadian ports due to overfishing. Of course this did nothing to stop the overfishing and the fish stock collapsed 25 years later.

Ontario schools begin to teach exclusively using the metric system. A young student named Jerry DeQuetteville got lost in math and never caught up.

The SS Edmund Fitzgerald, based in Sault Ste. Marie sinks. Had it not been for Gordon Lightfoot writing a song no one would ever remember the name of the ship.

The wearing of seatbelts is made mandatory in Ontario. Dirt bags protested the government intruding on their god given right to die young and stupidly if they want to.

The famous children's story Jacob Two-Two Meets the Hooded Fang  was written by Mordecai Richler.

Anne Murray and Oscar Peterson each win a Grammy Award.

Joni Mitchell - releases The Hissing of Summer Lawns. A bunch of other mediocre music that no one has heard of since was released as well.

Saturday Night Live, produced by Canadian Lorne  and also featuring Canadians Paul Shaffer and Dan Aykroyd, premieres in the United States. this proves that it is possible for Canadians to be successful in the entertainment industry - if they leave Canada.

Michael Bublé, singer was born. How embarassing. Mind you, it is immensely superior to Justin Beiber having been born.. .

A list of people no one even remembers won the Governor General award. Well, I bet their family might remember but that is it.

In the middle of the oil crisis oil jumped to $ 13 a barrel and gas prices rose to 44 cents per gallon. people protested and gas panics ensued.

Believe it or not, "streaking" is the latest fad to seize North America. It involves running through a crowded room stark naked and at full speed. The object is to get in and get out as soon as possible, hence the name "streaking." mind you, once your inadequacies have been exposed to the world it doesn't really matter how quickly you run away, people have memories. Thank goodness we didn't have social media back then - can you imagine?

It is such a popular fad that Ray Stevens turns The Streak into a number one hit. A streaker even dashes across the stage at the Academy Awards.

The golden age of 60s music is over, and disco is still several years away. This is known as the music the world forget - deservedly so.

Something called the Arpanet has been set up by the American military to maintain communications in the event of a Soviet nuclear strike. Eventually, it will be opened to the public and re-named the Internet.

Photo Hunt Citrus

This week's Photo Hunt theme is citrus.

Last week whilst in San Antonio I enjoyed a number of delicious citrusy beverages .. .

The Arcade

Blanco – Grapefruit – Simple Syrup – Peychaud – Champagne

The famous Texan Tuna Margarita made with prickly pear juice in addition to the lime juice.

and lest you think I went all fancified on you . . .

Lots of delicious citrus in these drinks . . .

Pearl Brewing District

After my conference finished up on Wednesday I decided to head up to the Pearl Brewery complex located about 2 miles from downtown. I was struck by the similarities to the Toronto Distillery District where old turn-of-the century adult beverage making facilities were repurposed into food/shopping destinations.

The Pearl Brewing Company was a famous local brewery, established in 1883 along the banks of the  San Antonio river where fresh, clean water was available for beer making. The beer it produced was popular with the areas German and Czech population.

In 1985, Pearl's parent company purchased the Pabst Brewing Company and assumed the Pabst name. In 1999, the Pabst Brewing Company began transferring its production to Miller Brewing, on a contract basis, and closing all of its breweries. Pearl beer is still in production at Miller's Ft. Worth, Texas facility, but the Pearl Brewery in San Antonio was closed in 2001. After 118 years of brewing along the San Antonio River, the doors to the Pearl Brewery closed.

Since then the area has undergone a significant rejuvenation and is now an area full of shops, restaurants, and condos. The Culinary Institute of America has a campus on the site of the former storage shed.

Of course I couldn't help put to compare things to the similar facility in Toronto. Whereas the Distillery District has more of a focus on the arts and has preserved more of the historic buildings the Pearl Brewery District had tons of free parking and many condos which would make the community seem vibrant and alive after the shops were closed. I also loved the fact that the area food culture was being enriched by the CIA and their wide selection of food programs. I also loved how the Pearl complex was well connected to the natural environment - the San Antonio river - whereas in Toronto you have little sense of what the pre-development environment must have looked like.

All in all it was a brilliant place to spend a late afternoon!

Mission San José y San Miguel de Aguayo

The other day, after my sessions finished for the afternoon I hopped into the car and headed south along the river to the original settlement in the area. Founded in 1720, the mission Mission San José y San Miguel de Aguayo was named for Saint Joseph and the Marqués de San Miguel de Aguayo, the governor of the Province of Coahuila and Texas at the time. It was built on the banks of the San Antonio river several miles to the south of the earlier mission, San Antonio de Valero (the Alamo).

Its founder was the famed Father Antonio Margil de Jesús, a very prominent Franciscan missionary in early Texas.

San José, as it became known, was the largest of the missions in the area. At its height, the community contained about 350 Indian neophytes, sustained by extensive fields and herds of livestock. Viewed as the model among the Texas missions, San José gained a reputation as a major social and cultural center. It became known as the "Queen of the Missions." Its imposing complex of stone walls, bastions, granary, and magnificent church was completed by 1782.

So rich an enterprise was a natural target for Apache and Comanche attackss. Although they could not prevent raids on their livestock, the mission itself was almost impregnable. In his journal, Fray Juan Agustín Morfí attested to its defensive character: "It is, in truth, the first mission in America . . . in point of beauty, plan, and strength . . . there is not a presidio along the entire frontier line that can compare with it." The danger was when working the fields or during travel to and from the ranch or other missions. With technical help from the two presidial soldiers garrisoned there, San José residents learned to defend themselves. Already proficient with bow and arrow, the men also learned the use of guns and cannon

Having fallen into disrepair and partial ruin over the years, the San Antonio Conservation Society and the Federal Government among others, undertook to restore portions of the mission community in the 1920s and 1930s. The church, which had lost its dome, bell tower, and a wall, was rededicated in 1937.

In 1941, Mission San José was declared a State Historic Site, and later that same year, a National Historic Site. When the San Antonio Missions National Historical Park was established in November 1978, the Spanish colonial mission was assured of protection in cooperation with the Archdiocese of San Antonio and the parish.

Texas Pride BBQ

Texas is known for its BBQ...especially the Central Texas area between Austin and San Antonio. Some of the best BBQ in the country comes from this area of the state. I was bound and determined to try as many different ones as I could in my time here.

You may wonder...what makes Texas BBQ different from BBQ around the country? For one thing, BBQ sauce is optional...and the meat is seasoned simply and smoked low and slow, until the meat is fall-apart tender. Texas BBQ sauce tends to be on the thin side, with lots of pepper and vinegar. And it's always served on the side to be added at the table. Texas BBQ purists shun sauce, but I like it...especially on brisket.

One of the places I had read about was Texas Pride located in Adkins, about 25 km SE of San Antonio.

I arrived early, hoping to beat the crowds, and the smell of smoky goodness greeted me in the parking lot. That's always a good sign when you arrive at a BBQ joint! I stepped inside, got in line, and placed my order. I ordered the three meat special with brisket, house-made sausage, and ribs. It came with two sides so I ordered cole slaw since vegetables have been a missing quantity so far in my Texan adventure and the cheesy potatoes because, well, cheesy potatoes - what more needs to be said?

The portion of smoked meat was piled high on butcher paper, another Texas tradition...some places don't even offer knives and forks, so you have to eat with your hands. I stopped by the condiment bar to pick up the requisite pickles, onions, and jalapenos to make sandwiches. Bottles of sauce -- regular and spicy -- were waiting at the table.

This was amazing BBQ! The pork ribs were fall-off-the-bone tender, the brisket was smoky and juicy, and the sausage was perfectly spiced and not the least bit greasy.

If you find yourself visiting San Antonio, make sure to put Texas Pride on your list of "must visit" places to eat. I promise you won't be disappointed!

Travel Tuesdays - Wandering San Antonio

It has been a brilliant time so far in San Antonio. Since I am here right now it seems as if a good spot to feature for Travel Tuesdays.

Be sure to pop on over to Sandi's blog to see what else is happening on Travel Tuesdays!

Gruene

My goodness, yesterday was what I like to call a 'full day'.

Here's how it went - travel to a dive in New Braunfels for what were called the best breakfast tacos in the area (they were amazing, breakfast cost 5.47 and the place was a DIVE), visit Gruene, head to San Marcos for the third biggest outlet mall in the world, back to San Antonio and a search for a new Smashburger restaurant for a late lunch, back to the hotel (after a fight with the GPS), rest, ead over to the conference centre for the conference opening and keynote address, set a group world record during said keynote, dinner at a food truck park, sleep.

See what I mean? A FULL day!

I'm going to focus on Gruene - a lovely, sleepy village on the banks of the Guadalupe River. I had briefly visited Gruene when I was last in San Antonio but my trip was marred a bit by a work crisis which had me spending a good 45 minutes with a hysterical colleague on the phone. Yesterday I was determined that work would NOT interfer.

Arriving in Texas in the mid 1840s, German farmers became the first settlers of what is now known as Gruene, Texas. Ernst Gruene, a German immigrant, and his bride Antoinette, had reached the newly established city of New Braunfels in 1845, but acreage was scarce. Thus, Ernst and his two sons purchased land just down river, and Ernst built the first home in Gruene in early fachwerk style. His second son, Henry D. Gruene, built his home (now Gruene Mansion Inn) and planted his surrounding land with cotton. Having become the number one cash crop, the cotton business soon brought 20 to 30 families to Henry D.'s lands.

Henry D. built houses in various styles -- a Victorian cottage (now Lone Star), a large brick home, and a frame house (now Gruene Haus) for the foreman of his farm. The first mercantile store (now Gruene General Store) was built in 1878 and a cotton gin (now Gristmill River Restaurant and Bar) powered by the Guadalupe River was added soon after. Further construction during this profitable time included a dance hall and saloon (Gruene Hall), which became the center of the community's social life.

As the town continued to prosper, a new mercantile building (now Gruene Antique Company) sprang up in 1904. However, the death of Henry D. in 1920 marked the downfall of Gruene's development and good fortune. In 1922, the original cotton gin burned and was replaced by a modern electric model down the road (now Adobe Verde). Yet, the economic disasters of the boll weevil and the Depression were too much for the family businesses and they went under, except for Gruene Hall, which never closed.

Today, Gruene is once again a thriving community, but for decades it was little more than a ghost town. This changed the day that Pat Molak, frustrated with big-city life, wandered into town and began to breathe life back into this piece of Texas history.

Molak purchased Gruene Hall in 1975. A few unavoidable repairs were made to the Hall, but little else was necessary. Left uncorrupted, the 6,000 square-foot, open-air dance hall became a virtual magnet, a starting point for many of Texas' up-and-coming performers, and once again, the heart of Gruene.

With the help of his friend Mary Jane Nalley, he worked to preserve the authentic, turn-of-the-century look and feel of Gruene by purchasing and repairing several of the town's most notable structures and transforming them into thriving businesses. These developments seemed to rekindle the spark of Gruene, and soon the town's familiar charm began to shine again.

Gruene itself has been added to the National Register of Historic Places, and many of the buildings that were rescued by Molak and Nalley have been awarded a Texas medallion from the Texas Historical Commission. It has also been recognized by the Texas travel industry as a premiere attraction for visitors, which is no surprise to its merchants and guests.

Back to San Antonio

It has been close to 5 years since I was last in San Antonio for a conference. I had enjoyed my time in the city so much that when I spied another conference I wished to attend located there I quickly put in my application. With the hectic pace of work and life this year I hadn't done much more but book flights, hotel, conference, and a car. Really, what more did I need?

Yes, I know. It is me talking.

The flight was god awful - I left Toronto at 6:30 am, connected through Chicago, and arrived in San Antonio early at 11:00. I always curse myself for booking those early flights but in this case I saved ETFO $ 300 so it seemed worthwhile. Mind you, when the alarm went off at 3 am I wondered about that.

When I arrived in Texas my luggage was first off of the belt. I walked out and a shuttle bus (AKA the freezer - I have never l felt air conditioning like that) to the car lot was standing by the curb. I had booked a mid-sized car, the attendant looked at me and said 'sir, we don't have any of those itty bitty cars here in Texas, take whatever you want for the same price.'

OK

Now I am tooling about in a brand new SUV. They had LOTS of SUVs in Texas.

I was hungry - it had been 9 hours since I had had anything to eat (not including the Garretts popcorn at O'Hare)  so the first stop needed to be lunch! I had read about a BBQ pit located near the airport so I plugged it into my GPS and I was off!

Texas brisket - pit cooked over oak + a beer = happy Jerry!

After the pit stop (pun intended) I hopped back into the car and headed to the hotel. I was booked in the Plaza Marriott which is about 2 blocks from the convention centre on the edge of the historic King William district. It is a lovely hotel with a huge garden where peacocks wander. My room is on the main floor with a terrace overlooking the garden.

Later, I was to discover that peacocks are freaking loud during the night.

After settling in I popped over to the convention centre to register and get my bearings. The downside of these huge convention centres is that you can generally not find a single place you need to be by the time you need ot be there. If things go as they normally do I'll finally find my way around on the last day - just in time to come home!

On the way back to the hotel I decided to wander about La Villita. Located on the south bank of the San Antonio River, La Villita was San Antonio's first neighborhood. It was originally a settlement of primitive huts for the Spanish soldiers stationed at the Mission San Antonio Valero (the Alamo). After a flood in 1819, brick, stone and adobe houses replaced the earlier structures. In 1836, La Villita was the site of General Santa Ana's cannon line in the Battle of the Alamo and a map from early that year showed the village to be of considerable size. 

Late in the 19th century European immigrants from Germany and France moved into the area. These pioneers became San Antonio's business leaders, bankers, educators, and craftsmen. The cultural mix that occurred at this time is best illustrated by the variety of architectural styles reflected in La Villita's buildings. The architecture portrays the evolution of buildings from palisado to Victorian Houses. 

The first part of the 20th century saw La Villita decline into a slum area. In 1939, as ground broke on the San Antonio River Walk development, city fathers led by Mayor Maury Maverick acted to preserve this colorful part of San Antonio's history. Today La Villita is a thriving art community that stands as a monument to San Antonio's past.

After wandering about for a few hours I headed back to the hotel where I relaxed in the gardens until dinner.

In addition to a BBQ feast one of the things I wanted to enjoy when I was in San Antonio was a Mexican feast! When I was last in the city I enjoyed an amazing meal at Rosarios so I headed back there for dinner last night.

It was every good as a remembered . . .

the salsa made with roasted jalapenos had a wonderful smoky taste. . .

The Margaritas a happy kick  . . .

and the carnitas were brilliant!

I was in bed by 8:00 San Antonio time but after a day of travel, adventure, too much sun without my hat, two margaritas, and a 2 hour time change it was a well-deserved early night!

Photo Hunt - Day Dream

This week's Photo Hunt theme is day dream.

When the weather is nice I sit here in the garden and day dream ...

Five-Spice Quinoa with Toasted Almonda

I know all of the stories about how our new-found passion is destroying the local economies of the farm areas where it is grown. I know that I should likely stop using it. The problem is it is just so darn tasty and good for you!

I bought a HUGE bag at Costco and we have gradually been eating our way through it.

I made this to serve alongside some grilled salmon the other week. It uses five spice powder which is a seasoning that usually includes star anise, cinnamon, licorice root, fennel, and black or Sichuan pepper. It plays well against the slight nuttiness of quinoa. To add yet another layer of flavour you toast the quinoa in a little oil.

I'll admit that this takes longer than your average qunioa recipe to prepare, but wow - is it ever amazing!

Five-Spice Quinoa with Toasted Almonda

4 cups vegetable broth
1-1/2 Tbs. soy sauce
1/2 tsp. toasted sesame oil
1/2 tsp. salt
2 cups quinoa
1-1/2 Tbs. olive or canola oil
3 Tbs. minced scallions
1-1/2 Tbs. minced fresh ginger
1/2 tsp. five-spice powder
1/2 cup toasted sliced almonds

Combine all ingredients for the sauce in a bowl.

Rinse the quinoa, if necessary, in a bowl, using your hand as a rake, and drain in a sieve. (Rinsing is recommended if the quinoa is sold loose or in bulk. If you buy the quinoa in a package, you can skip this step).

Heat the oil in a medium saucepan with a lid over medium-high heat until very hot, about 20 seconds. Add the scallions, ginger, and five-spice powder and stir-fry until fragrant, about 1 minute. Add the quinoa and stir-fry for 2 to 3 minutes. Add the sauce and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to low, cover, and cook for about 15 minutes, until the liquid is absorbed. The quinoa should be tender to the bite. Remove from the heat, uncover, and fluff with a fork.

If the almonds aren’t toasted, cook them in a dry skillet over medium heat, stirring constantly, until golden brown. Let the quinoa cool slightly and then stir in the toasted almonds. Taste for seasoning, adding salt or soy sauce if necessary. Serve warm or at room temperature as a staple dish instead of rice or couscous.