Drink of the Week: Cherrykran Pom Pom

Posted on May 23, 2013 | Leave a comment

This gloomy weather makes me thirsty for something bright and pink, like spring should be. Good thing a bottle of Absolut Cherrykran just arrived on my doorstep, along with the recipe for a Cherrykran Pom Pom, a drink that packs way more of a punch than its name implies.

So pretty. Just pretend pomegranates are in season.

The Cherrykran Pom Pom cocktail is so pretty. Just pretend pomegranates are in season. Photo courtesy Absolut Vodka.

You may recall from earlier posts that I am not a fan of flavoured vodkas. I tend to think they taste rather chemically, as was the case with the UV Cake vodka. Since I am not a universal vodka-hater, and I have an open mind, I quickly unscrewed the top on the Cherrykran bottle in the name of research.

While I probably wouldn’t sip it on its own, I like that the Cherrykran has been infused with real fruit; in this case, cherries, white cranberries and plums. When mixed with lemon juice, pomegranate juice and just a touch of simple syrup, as the recipe calls for, you’ve got a slightly sweet, very tart and extremely pretty cocktail. And, just like a spring shower, it will sneak up on you without warning (read: it’s strong but you can’t taste the alcohol, so beware). I would normally tell you to stay dry, but hey, you’re drinking, so go ahead and get wet.

Absolut Cherrykran Pom Pom

  • 2 oz Absolut Cherrykran
  • 3/4 oz lemon juice
  • 1-1/2 oz pomegranate juice
  • 1/2 oz simple syrup* (or to taste — you may find the pom juice is sweet enough)
  • Pomegranate seed garnish (I de-seed 3-4 pomegranates every fall, then freeze the seeds so I always have some on hand)

Shake all the ingredients and strain over ice into a lowball glass. Garnish with pomegranate seeds.

*To make simple syrup mix equal parts sugar and water in a saucepan and heat until sugar is dissolved. Cool and refrigerate.

– Recipe courtesy Absolut Vodka

→ Leave a comment

Posted in Cocktails

Tagged , , , , ,

Hooray for hiking season!

Posted on May 21, 2013 | Leave a comment

We have been cooped up indoors for too long. But not anymore. This weekend we embarked on our first hike of the season — and our first hike ever with a dog — in Fernie. What’s more, we managed to complete the four-kilometre, two-hour hike without carrying the puppy, or either child, and before it started raining (a small miracle).

Posing with Piper in front of Fairy Creek Falls.

Posing with Piper in front of Fairy Creek Falls.

Our destination: Fairy Creek Falls, a thundering (well, this time of year, anyway) waterfall that mists you on a warm spring day. Serious hikers might pooh-pooh this trail, but except for the hills, it is kid-friendly — we saw a garter snake and a bunch of snails. It also appeals to dogs: streams for drinking water, sticks to carry. And I have to say, with its 120 metre elevation gain, it’s a good hiking reintroduction for  adults.

Fairy Creek Tral is one of Fernie's many family-friendly hikes.

Fairy Creek Trail is one of Fernie’s many family-friendly hikes.

Four clicks doesn’t sound like a great distance, but for two children and a 12-week-old puppy it is an epic journey. Piper spent the first kilometre pulling at her leash and panting maniacally; I thought she was going to keel over until we came across a small stream. Avery grumbled at the first sight of a hill (Memo: “I like hiking downhill and on flats best.”), while Bennett ambled along in the rear singing to himself and completely unfocused on the task at hand (e.g. reaching the waterfall sometime before dark).

Me: “One of us should stay back there with Bennett.”

Blake: “He’s fine.”

Me: “But what if a cougar snatches him?”

Blake: “A single older woman can have him if she wants him.”

Unlike a regular adult hike, where you settle into a nice pace and enjoy the scenery, Blake and I vied to pawn off the dog on each other, and whoever didn’t have the puppy had to make sure Bennett didn’t fall into Fairy Creek. I shouldn’t grumble, really. The fact that both kids walked the whole way themselves (and that Bennett didn’t want to hold my hand the entire time) bodes well for an active summer. And Piper will have more stamina come July and August. So, thinking positively, I look forward to sharing more hiking adventures as the season unfolds.

→ Leave a comment

Posted in Outdoor Adventure

Tagged , , ,

Idea of the Week: Take Our Children to the Park and Leave Them There

Posted on May 17, 2013 | Leave a comment

I’m not a free-range parent per se, but I like a lot of the ideas put forth by American mom Lenore Skenazy in her book Free-Range Kids. I’ve had the pleasure of interviewing her twice — once for a piece I wrote for the Calgary Herald about safe neighbourhoods, and again for a feature I wrote for Avenue magazine about the free-range philosophy, running in an upcoming issue.

Skenazy is a bastion of common sense. And spunk. I like her. So, when she e-mailed me yesterday morning to let me know that Saturday is Take Our Children to the Park…and Leave Them There Day, I thought, this is a holiday I can get behind.

Playing "Leaf Monster" = fun!

Kids love playing outside, so take them to the park and leave them there.

The premise behind the 4th annual event, spearheaded by Skenazy, is simple: Our children are much more sedentary than generations past and childhood diabetes and obesity are on the rise. The antidote is turning them loose in nature and outdoor play spaces, an idea supported by a whack of studies that show how kids benefit from time outdoors. If you think parks and playgrounds aren’t safe, says Skenazy, think again — evidently, more children go to hospital from falling out of bed than from falling out of a tree.

But Skenazy doesn’t just want you to take your kids to the local playground. If they’re seven or eight or older she wants you to leave them there unsupervised, for a half hour or for the afternoon. Part of the free-range philosophy says that children need time for free play unsupervised by adults. It may sound a little Lord of the Flies, but it’s actually good for them to negotiate games and play activities on their own without adult intervention — this kind of collaborative play with peers hones decision making skills and spurs creativity. If you’re still feeling anxious, remember they won’t be alone — they’ll be with other kids and perhaps even the parents of children too young to be left at the park.

Avery just turned eight and she’s been walking our puppy by herself in the field across from our house. Maybe she’s ready for some play time away from me at the local playground…with some friends, of course. What do you think? Take Our Children to the Park…and Leave Them There Day — yea or nay? 

→ Leave a comment

Posted in Outdoor Adventure, Parenting

Tagged , , , ,

Thank goodness for doggy daycare

Posted on May 15, 2013 | Leave a comment
Want to play?!

Want to play?!?!

As I alluded to in an earlier post, our puppy Piper can be hyper. After she wakes up from a nap she wants to chase toys, pounce on things and generally chew the crap out of whatever’s on the floor. In other words, I need to constantly monitor her so I can correct bad behaviours (growling at her hippo squeak stuffie, digging in houseplants) and take away toys she’s trying to “kill” (by shaking her head spastically with them in her mouth). Plus, she now whines by the door to go out. At first I thought, “Great, she’s housetrained! She must have to go pee!” but now I realize she mostly just wants to go into the yard where she can chase balls, pounce on leaf litter and generally chew the crap out of the cedar chips. My point is: it’s impossible to get any work done with hyper Piper on the prowl.

So I was pretty excited when our neighbours told us about Hounds Lounge, a dog daycare in Inglewood. You can drop off your pooch for the day or half day where she plays hard with other dogs and  comes home completely exhausted. Staff there are also on top of doggy interactions, putting the kibosh on things like barking, growling and other dominant behaviours. The price is right too (way cheaper than human daycare), with a full afternoon (up to six hours) costing just $20.

Since we’d institutionalized our children early on I figured 10 weeks old was a good age to cut the apron strings with the puppy. I sent her into the giant indoor playpen with 12 big dogs and let her run with the pack for an afternoon.

At first I worried the big dogs would bully Piper, but it was actually the other way around.

At first I worried the big dogs would bully Piper, but it was actually the other way around. She’s the one in the middle being held.

When Blake picked her up five hours later the woman in charge had some interesting observations about our confident puppy. Evidently Piper is a very dominant dog and spent the day trying to get on top of all the big dogs. She showed reckless initiative (and no fear at all) when engaging them to play. This is a good thing insofar as it means she’s probably a good dog for Bennett  (she doesn’t cower from him when he tries to pick her up by the neck, or back leg). But it’s also a bad thing because it means more work for the family to make sure her dominant tendencies don’t turn into aggression toward smaller dogs or children when she’s an adult. The whole incident had me wondering what Cesar Milan would make of Piper.

Beyond this strange world of dog socialization, where a butt-sniff equals a handshake and pinning another dog is akin to staring someone down, my main priority with doggy daycare was realized: I got a lot of work done for the first time in three weeks. As a bonus, Piper returned home exhausted and slept for 12 hours straight. Thank goodness for doggy daycare.

A happy dog is a tired dog.

A happy dog is a tired dog.

→ Leave a comment

Posted in Potpourri

Tagged , ,

The best Mother’s Day gift

Posted on May 13, 2013 | 1 Comment

Before I had kids I didn’t really get Mother’s Day. Sure, I loved my mom, but I didn’t understand why we dedicated a day to pampering her with flowers, breakfast in bed and coupons for a massage.  I mean, why all the fuss over how she cooked our meals and drove me to gymnastics and French braided my hair while I complained she was tugging too hard? Wasn’t she just doing her job? It’s not that I was a bad daughter, I was just a little clueless about what the mommy role entailed.

Now that I’m the person doing those tasks — plus getting up with sick kids in the night, helping them navigate tantrums and hurt feelings, walking them through math problems, reading them bedtime stories, enforcing bath time (and bedtime), shopping for the stuff they need, listening to the occasional sass and the endless complaints about broccoli and mashed cauliflower and “I hate shrimp!” — I wish there were several times a year when I would wake to flowers, breakfast in bed and coupons for a massage.

Being a mom is hard work and sometimes feels like a slog, but it’s also so rewarding, and never more so than on that magical day when your kids finally get it. Evidently, I was a little slow in that department as a child. My daughter, on the other hand, seems to understand (and I hope it’s not because I’m always grumbling about all the stuff I do for her). This year for Mother’s Day she made me a card that spelled out how great she thinks I am:

Avery made me this amazing Mother's Day card. I'm going to frame it.

Avery made me this amazing Mother’s Day card. I’m going to frame it.

It’s not like I need constant high-fives and reinforcement about my skills in this area, but it’s great when your kid tells you and it comes from the heart. What touched me is how she captured more on the card than the mom part. Yes, she thinks I’m a “magical” and “terrific” mama, and she appreciates that I’m silly and that I plant flowers with her (that’s how we spent our Mother’s Day afternoon). But she also sees me as a person beyond my mommy-ness — as a writer and blogger and above all, a human.

So thank you my sweet Avery. I wish there was a Daughter’s Day so I could tell you all the things I love about you. Wait, never mind. I try to tell you these things in little bits every day. Like how I love how kind and caring you are, how it’s so sweet you have such empathy for your little brother, how you try so hard at tasks until you find an answer or complete them. And I love that you told me you loved me what sounded like 50 times between your birthday and today. I love you too.

→ 1 Comment

Posted in Parenting

Tagged , ,

Drink of the Week: Farmer’s Martini

Posted on May 10, 2013 | Leave a comment

I finally made it to dinner at Downtown Food last weekend at the suggestion of friends. After eating what I can only describe as the best — and most creative — meal out I’ve had in a long time, I have to wonder what took me so long to get there. So, if you get a chance, go.

The restaurant also has an interesting cocktail list, featuring a drink with sake, one with lychee liqueur and three different martinis (not of the sweet variety). I opted for the Farmer’s Martini, a wise choice given my penchant for gin and elderflower liqueur.

What a pretty drink. Tastes good, too!

The Farmer’s Martini at Downtown Food is such a pretty drink. Bonus: it tastes good, too!

I’m guessing the name is a nod to its two farm-fresh ingredients: cucumbers and sage. No matter — this drink is awesome. Gin and cucumbers are meant for each other, but add in  lime juice, elderflower cordial and a hint of sage and you’ve got a savoury drink that’s both creative and refreshing. Enjoy!

Farmer’s Martini

  • 2 oz gin, preferably Hendrick’s
  • 2 oz cucumber puree*
  • 1 oz fresh-squeezed lime juice
  • 1 oz elderflower cordial
  • 2-3 sprigs sage
  • 4-6 ice cubes
  • Top soda water
  • Lime wedge and cucumber slice garnish

In a shaker combine sage cucumbers and ice and muddle to crush sage. Add gin, lime and elderflower cordial. Shake, then strain into a martini glass. Top with soda water to taste. Garnish with a lime wedge and cucumber slice. (Drink should be bright green with flecks of sage and cucumber.)

*Cucumber puree: Using a hand mixer or in a Magic Bullet, pulse cucumbers with a bit of water or lime juice to make a puree.

– Recipe courtesy Darren MacLean, owner and chef, Downtown Food

→ Leave a comment

Posted in Cocktails

Tagged , , , , ,

Why I love the Amazing Race

Posted on May 7, 2013 | Leave a comment

I know season 22 of the Amazing Race wrapped up on Sunday night, but I didn’t watch the two hour finale until last night. It reminded me why I have continued watching this particular reality TV show since it debuted in 2001.

I also love the mix of contestants they get. I mean, a guy with a permed mullet, hockey players, country singers and father-son cancer survivors, among others.

I love the mix of contestants they get: a guy with a permed mullet, hockey players, country singers and father-son cancer survivors, among others.

1. It’s still about travel and seeing the world

Yes, the show gets into the human dynamic a little bit — alliances are formed, teams dislike one another, there’s some drama around the U-turns — but I think people tune in because all of that happens against a backdrop of beautiful scenery from far-flung locales, taxi rides through congested streets and famous sights and monuments (in the season 22 finale we saw the White House, Lincoln Memorial and the Washington Monument, not to mention sights in Edinburgh and Belfast). Of course, the teams competing on the race hope to win the million bucks, but they’re there for the travel experience. And most teams that get eliminated don’t spew vitriol or voice regrets, they say things like, “This has been an amazing experience,” “It’s brought us closer,” or “I wouldn’t trade the travel for anything.”

Exploring the Okavango Delta, Botswana by dugout canoe.

Exploring the Okavango Delta, Botswana by dugout canoe.

2. The challenges rock

I stopped watching Survivor after about the 8th season because I got bored. It was the same scheming, hard-bodied 20-somethings doing the same challenges while Jeff Probst said the same cliched phrases (“The tribe has spoken,” etc.). You’d think the show’s creators could get a little more, ahem, creative instead of making teams do the giant puzzle, weird food and water relay challenges every edition. In 22 seasons of the Amazing Race (which works out to almost 500 challenges between Detours and Roadblocks, given there are 11 legs each race) the show has never duplicated a challenge except once (the giant hay bale unrolling challenge). In this latest installment we got to watch teams dig for live scorpions, play bagpipes and go bog snorkelling — all activities that reflect what locals do in the various destinations. Awesome!

Bog snorkelling in the U.K. -- so weird and kinda gross, and yet so genius!

Bog snorkelling in the U.K. — so weird and kinda gross, and yet so genius!

3. The good teams often win

Not to rag on Survivor, but it always bugged me how the most scheming, back-stabbing contestant would win (or at least make it to the final two). I found it hard to watch a show where I didn’t like the people and wasn’t rooting for anyone. For whatever reason, on the Amazing Race, at least one (if not two) of my favourite (or at least tolerable) teams makes it to the final three. And probably a third of the time my favourite team has won: Bates and Anthony, Nat and Kat (the doctors from season 17) and the “hippies” from season 9, among others. I don’t know what this means exactly; maybe that good people like to travel?

Did the right team win season 22? I'd say yes.

Did the right team win season 22? For Canadian fans I’d say yes.

4. Phil is awesome

I had the opportunity to interview host Phil Keoghan when I worked at the Calgary Herald for a “behind the scenes” travel story that ran in advance of the premier of season 5. He was hilarious during our telephone interview, a personality trait that doesn’t always shine through when he grills contestants on the Pit Stop mat. But even though he’s often serious, I love that these interactions don’t seem scripted and that he calls it like he sees it. When the surfer team didn’t use their Express Pass during the most recent season and got eliminated because of it he said, “Oy vey,” on the mat, shamed them about it by pointing out that they were the first team to ever get eliminated without using the pass, and then raised his famous eyebrow and said, “Really?” when John claimed it was no biggie, they didn’t need a million dollars. You gotta love Phil.

5. There’s going to be an Amazing Race Canada!

As most fans know, the Amazing Race is currently filming a Canadian edition. No, Phil likely won’t be the host and unfortunately Canadian contestants will only be travelling in Canada (not that I don’t love this country, but a lot of the fun of the original show is watching Americans fumble in foreign countries… sorry fellow Americans…), but it’s still cool we get to have an Amazing Race. The teams aren’t racing for $1-million, but the prize is still worth racing for — a $250,000 cash prize, 10 free trips in executive first class anywhere Air Canada flies and two 2014 Chevrolet Corvette Stingrays. The Canadian version premiers July 15 on CTV (the show is filming right now).

Canadians finally get to compete on the Amazing Race -- in Canada.

Canadians finally get to compete on the Amazing Race — in Canada.

As for me, I’m holding out for when the original Amazing Race decides to let Americans living abroad apply for the race. If that doesn’t happen, I may have to move the family to the U.S. for a year so that Blake and I can compete. We’d make a great team, no?

→ Leave a comment

Posted in Travel

Tagged , , , ,