Dats Deli Meats Recall Widens…and Add in Some Freybe Meat Products
Posted on | July 29, 2010 | No Comments
Bad news for the meat eating crowd; more deli meats are being recalled due to Listeria contamination.
Freybe brand Ham Suelze that was purchased prior to July 28 should not be eaten, says the Canadian Food Inspection Agency.
In what I find to be a troubling aspect of this recall, Freybe products, like the Dats Déli meat are likely to be repackaged at the point of purchase, so the name of the manufacturer and best-before date may not be on the package.
Also, the recall of Dats Déli products, which began last week, has now been extended to include 29 items with best-before dates prior to Sept. 3.
Products packaged under the names Les Caprices d’Al Adhba, Les Viandes Soleil and Le Bifthèque are also included in the recall.
These meat products werea sold at deli counters in Ontario and western Canada through major grocery chains and smaller delicatessens.
To learn more about this food recall, and a frightening number of other food recalls, visit the Canada Food Inspection Agency website.
Words that Strike Fear II
Posted on | July 29, 2010 | 1 Comment
A couple new sets of words to strike fear into a man’s heart, “Some assembly required.” Or the ones that hit you on Christmas Day, “Batteries not included.”
Anybody else want to add to this list?
A Little Time on the Foodie Beat
Posted on | July 27, 2010 | 2 Comments
A couple of Foodie items today. Today I attended a late afternoon business meeting downtown Vancouver. Of course all of us who attended were missing our dinners or were expecting to be home late for dinner so the sandwiches provided for us were very appreciated.
Seeing as I am a vegetarian (a vegetarian who eats fish) I always go for the veggie sandwich. Today’s veggie sandwiches were delicious. The ciabatta bread had a great chewy crust that held together the ingredients quite nicely. Tucked inside the sandwich were roasted red peppers, thinly sliced cucumber, and tomato. The dressing was just the right amount of zippy-spicy. Well done. Congrats to the peeps at Green Mango Cafe and Catering for taking the veggie sandwich and elevating it a notch.
Also on the foodie beat, on my way to the downtown core I rode along Broadway across Commercial Drive. Riding west along Broadway, just as you cross Commercial is a hole-in-the-wall pizza place. For years I thought it was Uncle Faith’s Pizza. Today as I rode by I noticed that it is fact Uncle Fatih’s Pizza. I guess that is my mind making sense of things in its way.
And continuing on the pizza beat, I am always on the lookout for pizza by the slice places. Of course Four Brothers on Commercial is programmed into my GPS as a late night sneakaway.
My favourite in New Westminster is the hole-in-the-wall pizza place on 6th Street (I struggle with which are streets and which are avenues) just south of 8th Ave…next door to the Wendy’s Hamburger joint on 6th. I believe it is called the Mediterranean Donair House. Not too sure. But “my pizza guy” nearly always has a fresh veggie pizza with a slice or two ready to go for me.
Mediterranean Donair House
Anybody else have a favourite pizza by the slice guy? Care to add your thoughts?
Words that Strike Fear into a Man’s Heart
Posted on | July 27, 2010 | 1 Comment
Words are such a funny thing. Take for example, the words, “We need to talk.” Are there any other words that strike fear into a man’s heart the way that these words do?
As soon as a man hears, “We need to talk” he goes into a sort of frenzied internal accounting. He will wonder what did she find out? Does she know about…who told her about…they told me they wouldn’t say a thing about…whatever happened to the code of the road…what happens in Vegas stays in Vegas…
Funny the power of four little words. And no, she did not find out about…
Grief and Grieving for a Pet
Posted on | July 26, 2010 | 1 Comment
Grief and the loss of a loved one is a funny process. Yesterday while vacuuming the family-room I felt an overwhelming sense of sadness. Why is that you might ask? Because every time I vacuum in our house I feel like I am erasing more of my Little Jimmy.
In the old days, our home was full of dog hair. The carpet had a coating of dog hair. All the corners of the rooms had dog hair in them. It got to the point where I named some of the dog hair collections. The most common name was Wee Jimmy. Of course my Sweetheart was always after me to vacuum so that these Wee Jimmys could be gone…you know that whole thing about keeping the house clean and all that. Thankfully though, each week the Wee Jimmys would reappear.
Well now as I vacuum I feel a great sadness. When I vacuum the house I feel like I am erasing a little bit more of my memory of Jimmy. Back when Jimmy was with us here, after vacuuming, typically, the container on the vacuum cleaner was packed solid with dog hair. Now, the vacuum container has crumbs, dirt, food that the babies have dropped, and just a little bit of Jimmy’s hair.
Even though it has been three weeks since she has passed it still makes me sad to think of how much I miss her.
The Great Escape; A Game Changer in our Home
Posted on | July 26, 2010 | 7 Comments
Today the twins introduced what is essentially a game-changer. Months ago they figured out how to manoveur through our crudely fashioned, homemade barricade. We decided to kick things up a notch and introduce some custom built containment devices. Enter the doorway-gate.
The Great Escape Part I
Not only is this gate attractive and practical, it is fashioned from a sustainably grown and harvested grove of bamboo.
While I was at my desk this morning I heard a kind of crashing of toys. I peeked into the living-room and saw that the twins had tipped over their toy box. Hmmm…no real harm in this, I thought.
And then things got very quiet. Seizing the momentary quiet, I hammered away at my keyboard trying to get some work done while the girls entertained themselves…
The Great Escape Part II
I hear lots of little girls puffing, an indicator of much effort being exerted. I turn from my desk to look and see the girls at the doorway. Standing on the toybox.
So I decide to let this scenario play out…let’s see what they are going to do…
The Great Escape Part III
The Great Escape Part IV
And finally…
The Great Escape Part V
Maybe the girls were paying attention on those late nights of watching Steve McQueen in The Great Escape.
Don’t Forget to Turn Off the Baby Monitor
Posted on | July 25, 2010 | No Comments
Well now that was embarrassing. We currently have two house guests. Two very lovely lady friends of my Sweetheart. And late this afternoon I went upstairs for a little privacy time. I just wanted to get away from the hubbub of all the visiting and being nice and all that goes along with that. So I went upstairs to get away from all the smiles and stuff and to just kick back and read my book (The War Room by Warren Kinsella) a little bit.
I lay back in my bed to rest a little, maybe shut my eyes a little…and my nemesis, the fat orange cat starts yowling at my door. I guess it wanted to get away from all the niceties as well. Unfortunately I did not want to have the cat in the room with me; you know how cats are, they are never content to sit beside you and purr. They have to get right in your face or sit directly on top of the book you are trying to read. Just plain annoying.
Instead of getting up and letting the cat into the room I let a string of expletives that include many words beginning with “F” and other assorted rude foulities. Of course my nemesis does not care, he continues to yowl at the door. So I get up, open my door and use my foot to encourage the cat to move along and do some unmentionable things involving procreation, gravel driveway, dough-nuts and so on. The cat leaves me alone.
A little later I decide to come back downstairs. As I enter the living-room everybody looks at me with shock and horror. I look over at the coffee table and notice that the baby monitor is on…with the other part, the listening part, at the top of the stairs, basically just outside my bedroom door. Oops.
Store Brand Vs Name Brand Products
Posted on | July 24, 2010 | 3 Comments
Last night I stopped at our local “Chopper” grocery store (somehow, I have no idea why, that is what we started to call the local No-Frills store when it opened a few months ago). While I was at the Chopper I remembered that we needed more baby powder at home.
Seeing as I was in the Chopper and they had their store brand baby powder right there beside the Johnson & Johnson baby powder, and seeing as the store brand powder was a dollar cheaper than the John & Johnson powder, I thought, why not save a dollar?
Fail. I grew up with Johnson & Johnson baby powder. You tip the bottle up and the powder comes out. Everytime. The store brand baby powder does not flow. In order to get the powder out of the bottle you have to shake the bejeezly bottle and pound on the bottom of the bottle. All this while I am trying to hold a squirming baby on the change table.
Next time I will spring for the extra dollar. Sometimes cheaper is not a better value.
Melissa Etheridge Custody Battle
Posted on | July 23, 2010 | 1 Comment
Under the file name “Things that make you go hmmm…” is this “news” item that recently came out of court papers in the Melissa Etheridge Vs Tammy Lynn Michaels separation/child custody fight.
Melissa Etheridge’s ex is asking for $1500 a month for groceries, $50 for laundry, $800 for eating out…I’m not touching this one, and $4300 for childcare so that she (Tammy) can get a job.
Rent the Musical at the Evergreen Cultural Centre
Posted on | July 22, 2010 | 1 Comment
Last night I attended my first ever performance of the musical Rent. The performance I saw was at the Evergreen Cultural Centre in Coquitlam. I have to begin by saying that this was not a Broadway level of performance, nor was I expecting it to be. However, it was an incredible community theatre performance that was full of passion, energy and a first class demonstration of the cast and crews love for the story of Rent. Fabulous, simply fabulous.
Evergreen Cultural Centre
Before describing the performance though, the theatre, which is inside the Evergreen Cultural Centre, is in its own right quite spectacular. The lobby of the theatre opens onto a grassy slope that runs down to Lafarge Lake; a pretty cool setting for a theatre.
Upon entering the Evergreen I was pleasantly surprised to see a youthful crowd. All too often live theatre performance audiences are filled with the blue hair crowd. Not last night. There was loads of excitement in the house. It was a real treat to see such energy in a theatre.
The Stage Set for Rent
And now to the performance. It was obvious from the opening scene that this cast loves the story of Rent. Their enthusiasm and energy were inspiring. Rent is a modern day adaptation (a rock opera) of Puccini’s opera, La Boheme. I have seen La Boheme performed at the Queen E Theatre and I have to admit that last night’s performance was far more emotionally draining for me than La Boheme ever was. Perhaps it is because the characters in Rent are living and dying in the shadow of HIV/AIDS instead of the catchall disease of “consumption” that adds to its power.
Watching the trials and tribulations of the young bohemians in Rent carried me back to the heady days of my youth. The struggles to pay the rent and have enough money to share a beer or two with my fellow bohemians…ahh…the good old days. The cast of Rent sang their songs of love and despair and struggle with heartfelt conviction. They were not always in tune or on key but for what they lacked in skill they made up for with their conviction to the program.
Of course the other factor that must be considered is that virtually the entire cast and crew is composed of 15 to 22 year old volunteers. These are youth who do this because they love theatre. I applaud them for their conviction. To see this incredibly youthful group tackle the issues of poverty and homelessness, HIV/AIDS and death, drugs and addiction, artistic merit and seeing your loved ones “selling out”…such powerful issues for such a youthful cast.
If you have the opportunity, get yourself down to the Evergreen Cultural Centre and see Theatrix’s performance of Rent. This performance is only on stage until July 25th so you really do need to act if you want to take in this performance. This is a fabulous performance. Fabulous.
Disclaimer; My ticket to Rent was sponsored very generously by Theatrix Youtheatre Society. I am not obligated nor expected to write this review entry, but I certainly feel that my readers would benefit from attending this play because it is an excellent performance. In any review I write or publish on my site, I retain editorial control at all times. Should you have any questions or concerns, contact me at editor@theleftcoast.ca
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