Blog Archives: August, 2008
Dutch product catalog
Lana sent me this link to the product catalog of a Dutch store that she used to shop at as a kid. It’s really cute.
View comments (1) or Post a comment
Half marathon training
Running - August 2008 On September 28, I will be running in the half marathon at the Scotiabank Toronto Waterfront Marathon. I’ve been training since April now, running with my friend Dan from high school.
The image at left shows our progress so far: I’ve run 343km so far this year, with a long run of 18.23km, in preparation for the 21.0975km on September 28. The red line is my average heart rate which you can see (barring a few technical difficulties in my GPS device) has been decreasing gradually. The green line is my average pace, which is pretty steady around 10.2km/hr (including rests; moving speed a bit higher than that).
Tonight I watched the Olympic marathon, and the winning time was 2 hours 6 minutes, about the time I hope to achieve for my half marathon. One step at a time.
View comments (0) or Post a comment
Mushroom Risotto Recipe
A few weeks ago I came across a recipe for risotto that I wanted to try, so I picked up a bag of risotto rice. My first attempt was a disaster, but I tried again with a different recipe a few days ago and it was great. From the BBC, here is a tasty and easy mushroom risotto recipe.
Mushroom Risotto
Ingredients
- 3/4 cup chestnut mushrooms, chopped
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1/2 onion, chopped
- 2 cloves garlic, diced
- 3/4 cup arborio rice
- 1/4 cup white wine
- 2 1/2 cups vegetable broth
- 1 tablespoon fresh parsley, chopped
- 1 tablespoon butter
- salt and pepper
- parmesan cheese
Directions
- Soak the mushrooms in hot water for 10 minutes, then drain well. Heat the oil in a large, heavy-bottomed saucepan and add the onion and garlic. Fry over a gentle heat for 2-3 minutes, until softened. Add the mushrooms and fry for a further 2-3 minutes, until browned.
- Stir in the rice and coat in the oil. Pour in the wine and simmer, stirring, until the liquid has
been absorbed. Add a ladleful of the stock and simmer, stirring again, until the liquid has been absorbed. Continue adding the stock in this way, until all the liquid has been absorbed and the rice is plump and tender. - Stir in parsley, butter and salt and pepper. Serve with freshly grated parmesan cheese.
Makes 2 servings.
View comments (2) or Post a comment
Beijing Olympics Lego
Lego Olympic Stadium This is awesome: the venues of the Beijing Olympics made out of Lego!
View comments (0) or Post a comment
Summer Reading: Shake Hands with the Devil
Shake Hands with the Devil Earlier this summer I read Shake Hands with the Devil, an account by Lieutenant-General Roméo Dallaire of his time as commander of the United Nations Mission for Rwanda (UNAMIR) during the Rwandan genocide of 1994. A fascinating and compelling book that I can barely do justice, it is a must-read.
It’s heartbreaking knowing the ending as the tragedy slowly unfolds page by page. So much could have been done to avert the genocide but wasn’t. I couldn’t believe how much pushback there was to every single thing that could have made a difference — and not just pushback from the antagonists in Rwanda but by the United Nations, United States, France, and most other governments. In the end, there was just a token UN peacekeeper presence in the country, with little they could do but bear witness to the events that unfolded. The western world can do so much more to make peacekeeping work, but it must have the will.
View comments (2) or Post a comment
Bike trip to Elmira
West Montrose covered bridge Yesterday, I biked to Elmira to visit my friend Connie (I biked up to Elmira last October as well). After meeting her in Elmira, we biked east to West Montrose, home of the last covered bridge in Ontario. Take a look at pictures from the ride and the map of my route (below) as recorded by my GPS computer.
As of this post, I’ve also done a little bit of updating on my blog. I’ve improved the picture galleries. Some of them will start to be hosted on Google Picasa Web Albums, although you shouldn’t notice much difference. Some pictures will also be geo-tagged, meaning the locations will be recorded with the picture, and in the gallery you can see where they were taken with the “View pictures on Google Maps” link. Finally, I’ve also figured out how to embed Google maps in my blog. The map below shows my bike route to Elmira.
Happy Civic Holiday!
