El Sistema in New Brunswick

El Sistema is expanding its reach. It is now in New Brunswick. Recently, Robert Irving of the Irvings of New Brunswick came to a concert of tyro Sistema orchestra of pre-adolexcent children, most of them form Moncton's economically challenged neighbourhoods. He loved the concert and asked the instrumentalists to play at a Wildcats game. That was a thrill for the musicians.
Capturing hearts is an El Sistema specialty. The Orchestra based musical education system founded by the musician-economist Jose Antonio Abreu in the slum of Caracas, Venezuela in 1975 has captured the hearts and minds of people like Simon Rattle who has stated that something important musically is happening in Venezuela.
This is a project that continues to spread. How wonderful.

Curried Winter Vegetable and Bean Soup

Curried Winter Vegetable and Bean Soup

Warm up a frosty winter evening with this low-fat, nutrient-loaded broth. For the beans, a canned or frozen mixture is convenient but any cooked beans can be used (red, white, pinto, Romano, black-eyed peas, chickpeas etc.)

1 tbs (15 ml) vegetable oil
1 large onion
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 tsp (5 ml) minced fresh ginger
1 tbs (15 ml) curry powder
4 cups (1 L) chicken stock
1/2 cup (125 ml) drained canned tomatoes, crushed
1 each medium carrot and potato, diced
1/2 cup (125 ml) frozen or canned corn kernels
1 cup (250 ml) drained canned or frozen mixed beans
2 tbs. (30 ml) chopped fresh parsley
salt and pepper to taste

(When I cooked this, I used the whole can of tomatoes, corn and beans and the taste was excellent. When you use the amounts suggested the soup is watery while with the amounts that I used, it is a hearty soup.)

In a large heavy saucepan over medium heat, heat oil. Add onion and cook until softened but not browned. Add garlic, ginger and curry powder, cook, stirring for about 2 minutes. Add chicken stock, tomatoes and carrot. Bring to a boil, reduce heat, cover and cook until carrot is slightly tender, about 3 minutes. Add potato, corn and beans. Return to boil, reduce heat, cover and simmer for about 15 minutes or until potato is tender. Stir in parsley. Add salt and pepper as needed. Makes 6 servings. ( A little more when using the amount of tomatoes, corn and beans that I used.)

Homemakers December 99
Made December 5, 1999. excellent, flavourful, hardy

Garden Socieites!

An newspaper article that I saved mentions Garden Societies and their many virtues. They have experts who want so share their knowledge, plant sales and tours. I am already planning to attend my garden society's sale as well as help with the Garden Tour. Visit your local garden society for advice. The Ontario Horticultural Society will be happy to direct you to local garden societies. There are many. When I helped at Canada Blooms, I was amazed at how many there. My job was to help people find a garden society near them.
I hope that none you in these cold areas were fooled by the weather and started planting too soon. We are getting snow tonight. As someone mentioned to me last week as we stood outside after a garden club executive meeting in spring jackets, it will snow. It always does before the end of March. This is cutting it close but he is right, snow is arriving tonight.
Enjoy the bulbs and hope that the Magnolia blooms do not get hurt even more.

Greg Payce at the Gardiner

If you read my posting about the stolen purse, you read briefly about the fact that I visited the Gardiner Museum yesterday. What a lovely visit. We went to see the Greg Payce exhibit. He has worked with urns of different styles and medium to create human forms using negative space. It is interesting how the urns create the form of males and females when placed side by side. Greg Payce, who resides in Alberta has made quite a study of this form. It is worth the visit to the gallery to see the exhibit. Tuesdays there are tours led by volunteers and they are definitely worth it.
Go and enjoy the Greg Payce exhibit.

Watch your purse!

Yesterday, I went to an art exhibit at the Gardiner Gallery. I will write about that later. Right now I want to warn people to watch their belongings. My friend and I went for coffee after the exhibit and we were in Second Cup right across from the Museum. My friend put her purse on the floor between her and the wall, I put my purse and bag on a chair beside me. I could see my purse at all times. Unfortunately she could not see her purse and someone came up while we were having coffee and grabbed her purse. We did not even notice it happen. The person certainly had nerve and must have been a woman since a man would have drawn attention to what he was doing carrying a purse. I think that I know who it was since there was someone behind us and she moved close while we were drinking coffee. No real need for that. Unfortunately, I could never point her out.
My main point is watch your bags and try to be careful what you put in your purse.

School in High Park

When I lived in the High Park area, we would sometimes walk through the park on the way to the playground, the zoo or the gardens, all attractions to me and my grandmother. I would see beds and benches for students. I don't remember seeing the students but the article that I read in Renaissance, the Retired Teachers of Ontario Magazine suggests that there would have been students.
The school functioned Monday to Saturday each year, May 1st to October 31st. In the time that passed, I sometimes thought that it was my imagination that there were students in the woods. How remarkable to find out that there really were students studying in the woods. I understand that tuberculous is not the problem that it once was but won't it be wonderful to be able to study under the trees in High Park. Too bad that they closed the school down.

Cornmeal Muffins

Back to baking. All our previous muffins are finished. Today, I baked cornmeal muffins since they are one of my husband's favourite. Tried a new recipe from cooking without recipes.

The pattern for Muffins:
3 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons sugar
2 cups flour, measured after sifting
1 egg
1 cup milk
2 to 4 tablespoons fat, melted or liquid (The more fat, the more tender the muffin.)

Combine dry and liquid ingredients and fill greased muffin pans two-thirds full. Bake in a preheated hot, 400o F, oven about 20 minutes. The muffins have finished baking when a cake tester inserted in the center comes out clean. Makes approximately 12 muffins.
Cornmeal Muffins
Substitute 1 cup cornmeal, stirred before measuring, for 1 cup of the flour in the pattern for Muffins.