food, visits, and Insanity
Monday, May 19, 2014
time to catch up on my blog .. let's see, where did i leave off?
ah yes .. WSET Advanced Level III .. the results are in ..
theory - pass with merit
tasting - pass with distinction
overall - pass with merit
argh! i missed an overall pass with distinction by a hair. i was actually quite disappointed with myself. usually i'm better at the theory portion but i've gained a lot of confidence in my blind tasting skills. less than 50% of the class passed so it wasn't an easy exam. my mentor was proud of my accomplishment - i went into the WSET program without having to take Level 1 or 2. i also had to learn the WSET tasting note system which is entirely different from how we took tasting notes at Algonquin. it really helped that i studied with some of the best sommelier students from my Algonquin days. the four of us would volunteer to provide tasting notes verbally at every class. the only way to get better is to participate and not be afraid to get it wrong. i think that was a contributing factor to our success. i should be picking up my certificate and pin soon - yes, there is a pin for Level III!
after the exam, i stepped away from wine. i took a clean break from it and started to focus on my health. i started hitting the gym again and did some research on food source. it led me to the world of grass-fed beef and free range pork. i'm not a vegetarian by any means and i appreciate a good steak .. but i've always wanted to know what the big deal was with grass-fed beef and free range pork. i contacted dan o'brien of O'Brien Farms in Winchester, Ontario to talk about his cattle. i drove out to Winchester one afternoon to meet with dan in person. he had quite the operation and it was so cool to see these beautiful animals up close. it was so much better than going to a regular farm even though this farm only had cows. we walked through the pen .. i saw how well the cattle were treated. the type of cow used for producing their beef is the simmental breed. they are never injected with hormones, no antibiotics, and no GMO (genetically modified) feed. they go through intense grazing in the pasture and are rotated on a daily basis. they are not packed into tight quarters so they get a lot of free space to move around in. it was kind of funny when they hear our footsteps approaching, they all come stampeding out of the pen. dan says they think it's a wolf approaching so they are running away. how cute. :) at the end of my visit, i was able to purchase some steaks at a very decent discount. at the time i didn't know it but dan's beef is sold at a premium in high end butcheries and restaurants. when i made one of the striploins, i was blown away. i've never had a striploin that was so flavourful and so tender. there was absolutely no smell when i opened the package and it cooked up nicely on my grill. i learned a lot from dan and he has become a great resource for excellent beef. most commercial grade beef is produced from cows that are corn-fed with who knows what to allow cows to get bigger faster. cattle is usually kept in tight quarters so there is little room for them to move around. the resulting product is generally bland and if there are any antibiotic or gmo injections, it's in the meat that you are consuming.
after my beef experience, i moved on to the world of free range pork. most of the pork found in regular supermarkets tends to cook up dry. i've never been able to cook a decent pork chop because it always ends up dry. ida vallincourt of Pork of Yore suggested that i go to Brian's Butchery to try their pork. the pigs at Pork of Yore are free range heritage breeds - they have two different breeds: tamworth and berkshire. free range means they roam freely in their natural environment and are given a lot of space to lounge around in. they are fed a natural feed of grass and grains but also no antibiotics or gmo products. the meat is slightly darker than what you see in supermarkets. the pork chops i bought, had this rim of fat around the meat. usually we don't eat the fat because it's not good for you, right? apparently the fat from the free range pork is good for you because it contains none of that saturated fat (ie bad fat) and boy, was that rim of fat tasty. the meat had a slight smoky (think bacon) flavour. the pork chops i had were from a berkshire pig. i met ida at the farmer's market recently and we had a long discussion about their pigs. one of these days, i'm going to head to their farm to see the piggies up close.
next up, i will be trying free range chickens and farm fresh eggs. my source? beking farms. they are known for their farm fresh eggs and i'm excited to see how they compare to regular store bought eggs. apparently there is a difference - not only in taste but in price! i don't mind paying a premium if it is top quality protein. hopefully by my next post, i'll have an update.
as i mentioned earlier, i've started hitting the gym and my friend mentioned that he was exercising as well. he started the Insanity program. hmm, really? i borrowed the dvds from him and decided to give it a go myself. omg, the first few days was brutal but i got used to it fast. am i seeing results? well, slowly .. with all exercise programs, diet plays a huge part in the success or failure of the program. they say that diet is 90% of the program. it is important to eat right so that the muscles have fuel. most people think that all they have to do is cardio or weights but when you start to exercise like that, you need to increase your caloric intake with the right foods. my weight gain was caused by the fact that i cut down my caloric intake when i wasn't hitting the gym as often. i thought .. since i'm not exercising to burn off these calories, i should just consume less so there is less to burn. make sense right? no. what happened was that by eating less, i put my body into starvation mode. i drastically reduced my metabolism (bad) and every bit of food was being stored because of this starvation mode. a trainer scolded me and said no, you have to eat and eat good fats. you need fat in order to lose weight. so i started to eat good fats like avocado, raw almonds, and greek yogurt for added protein. i cut down on rice consumption - very difficult for an Asian person. when i do have rice, it's 25% jasmine rice and 75% red rice which is better for you. i also cut down on bread and pasta. cutting down doesn't mean cutting out. i still have them, but just not as often as i used to. pasta is something i have once a week and usually on tuesday/wednesdays because i need carbs for badminton. one thing i cannot do - brown rice pasta. ugh! my sister gave me some and i tried it the other day .. it's the most disgusting thing i've made. it tasted funny. i know my sister meant well but it was not good. i feel sorry for anybody who is on a gluten-free diet. :) (side note: going gluten-free when you don't have celiac disease is not a good thing. a lot of celebrities swear by it but it's not a good diet for those who don't have an aversion to gluten).
i must say, the workouts have had a positive impact on me. it used to be tough to drag me out of bed in the morning but after the intense Insanity workouts, i get myself out of bed a lot earlier and without that feeling of dread. i have more energy and i feel quite good. that's the important part.
lastly, i made two trips back to Toronto in a span of two weeks. the first trip back, my brother was in town with his family. i don't see them that often so any chance i get, i would make the 4 hr drive to spend time with everyone. with everyone together, it was the right time to go to the cemetery to pay our annual respects to our grandparents. visiting the cemetery might sound creepy but i make it fun and educational for the kids .. i quizzed my niece Amanda on her math skills by having her determine the age of the deceased. you could see the wheels turning in her head as she would do the calculations. i also printed off some sheet music for my oldest niece Amelia - the song was "All of Me" by John Legend. Amelia hasn't been enthusiastic about piano but i wanted to give her something fun to work towards. she was excited to have the sheet music for this song that she liked. she told me that her classmates all knew how to play the song.
two weeks later, i drove back to celebrate Mother's day with my mom. we had a barbeque at my sister's place and while i was there, Amelia pulled out the sheet music for "All of Me" and played for me. she wasn't perfect but i was happy to see that in two weeks of secretly practicing, she played very well. i gave her a second song to learn - "Listen to your heart" by DHT & Kelly Clarkson. she and Amanda listened to the song and smiled. it's not from their generation but they both liked the song. can't wait to hear them play during my next visit.
mother's day was great. i took mom for breakfast at a local diner. she loves her bacon and eggs! :) i think being able to take her out and chauffeur her around makes her happy. she doesn't drive and relies on others a lot. she is never afraid to ask me to drive her anywhere .. i even drove her out to a temple on the west end of the city. she had been wanting to go to the temple to see the plaque for my grandparents. when we got to the temple, she said she forgot the plaque number. sigh .. :) luckily, she showed me the night before so it was still fresh in my head. (mom, what would you do without me?? :) we spent some time checking out the temple, i said my prayers, and we each made a donation. i wrote my mom's name and my name in the donations book. i thought it was good mother/daughter time.
anyway, that's a long update .. it's time for some insanity plyometric cardio and P90X ab ripper. have a great weekend!
Read more...
ah yes .. WSET Advanced Level III .. the results are in ..
theory - pass with merit
tasting - pass with distinction
overall - pass with merit
argh! i missed an overall pass with distinction by a hair. i was actually quite disappointed with myself. usually i'm better at the theory portion but i've gained a lot of confidence in my blind tasting skills. less than 50% of the class passed so it wasn't an easy exam. my mentor was proud of my accomplishment - i went into the WSET program without having to take Level 1 or 2. i also had to learn the WSET tasting note system which is entirely different from how we took tasting notes at Algonquin. it really helped that i studied with some of the best sommelier students from my Algonquin days. the four of us would volunteer to provide tasting notes verbally at every class. the only way to get better is to participate and not be afraid to get it wrong. i think that was a contributing factor to our success. i should be picking up my certificate and pin soon - yes, there is a pin for Level III!
after the exam, i stepped away from wine. i took a clean break from it and started to focus on my health. i started hitting the gym again and did some research on food source. it led me to the world of grass-fed beef and free range pork. i'm not a vegetarian by any means and i appreciate a good steak .. but i've always wanted to know what the big deal was with grass-fed beef and free range pork. i contacted dan o'brien of O'Brien Farms in Winchester, Ontario to talk about his cattle. i drove out to Winchester one afternoon to meet with dan in person. he had quite the operation and it was so cool to see these beautiful animals up close. it was so much better than going to a regular farm even though this farm only had cows. we walked through the pen .. i saw how well the cattle were treated. the type of cow used for producing their beef is the simmental breed. they are never injected with hormones, no antibiotics, and no GMO (genetically modified) feed. they go through intense grazing in the pasture and are rotated on a daily basis. they are not packed into tight quarters so they get a lot of free space to move around in. it was kind of funny when they hear our footsteps approaching, they all come stampeding out of the pen. dan says they think it's a wolf approaching so they are running away. how cute. :) at the end of my visit, i was able to purchase some steaks at a very decent discount. at the time i didn't know it but dan's beef is sold at a premium in high end butcheries and restaurants. when i made one of the striploins, i was blown away. i've never had a striploin that was so flavourful and so tender. there was absolutely no smell when i opened the package and it cooked up nicely on my grill. i learned a lot from dan and he has become a great resource for excellent beef. most commercial grade beef is produced from cows that are corn-fed with who knows what to allow cows to get bigger faster. cattle is usually kept in tight quarters so there is little room for them to move around. the resulting product is generally bland and if there are any antibiotic or gmo injections, it's in the meat that you are consuming.
after my beef experience, i moved on to the world of free range pork. most of the pork found in regular supermarkets tends to cook up dry. i've never been able to cook a decent pork chop because it always ends up dry. ida vallincourt of Pork of Yore suggested that i go to Brian's Butchery to try their pork. the pigs at Pork of Yore are free range heritage breeds - they have two different breeds: tamworth and berkshire. free range means they roam freely in their natural environment and are given a lot of space to lounge around in. they are fed a natural feed of grass and grains but also no antibiotics or gmo products. the meat is slightly darker than what you see in supermarkets. the pork chops i bought, had this rim of fat around the meat. usually we don't eat the fat because it's not good for you, right? apparently the fat from the free range pork is good for you because it contains none of that saturated fat (ie bad fat) and boy, was that rim of fat tasty. the meat had a slight smoky (think bacon) flavour. the pork chops i had were from a berkshire pig. i met ida at the farmer's market recently and we had a long discussion about their pigs. one of these days, i'm going to head to their farm to see the piggies up close.
next up, i will be trying free range chickens and farm fresh eggs. my source? beking farms. they are known for their farm fresh eggs and i'm excited to see how they compare to regular store bought eggs. apparently there is a difference - not only in taste but in price! i don't mind paying a premium if it is top quality protein. hopefully by my next post, i'll have an update.
as i mentioned earlier, i've started hitting the gym and my friend mentioned that he was exercising as well. he started the Insanity program. hmm, really? i borrowed the dvds from him and decided to give it a go myself. omg, the first few days was brutal but i got used to it fast. am i seeing results? well, slowly .. with all exercise programs, diet plays a huge part in the success or failure of the program. they say that diet is 90% of the program. it is important to eat right so that the muscles have fuel. most people think that all they have to do is cardio or weights but when you start to exercise like that, you need to increase your caloric intake with the right foods. my weight gain was caused by the fact that i cut down my caloric intake when i wasn't hitting the gym as often. i thought .. since i'm not exercising to burn off these calories, i should just consume less so there is less to burn. make sense right? no. what happened was that by eating less, i put my body into starvation mode. i drastically reduced my metabolism (bad) and every bit of food was being stored because of this starvation mode. a trainer scolded me and said no, you have to eat and eat good fats. you need fat in order to lose weight. so i started to eat good fats like avocado, raw almonds, and greek yogurt for added protein. i cut down on rice consumption - very difficult for an Asian person. when i do have rice, it's 25% jasmine rice and 75% red rice which is better for you. i also cut down on bread and pasta. cutting down doesn't mean cutting out. i still have them, but just not as often as i used to. pasta is something i have once a week and usually on tuesday/wednesdays because i need carbs for badminton. one thing i cannot do - brown rice pasta. ugh! my sister gave me some and i tried it the other day .. it's the most disgusting thing i've made. it tasted funny. i know my sister meant well but it was not good. i feel sorry for anybody who is on a gluten-free diet. :) (side note: going gluten-free when you don't have celiac disease is not a good thing. a lot of celebrities swear by it but it's not a good diet for those who don't have an aversion to gluten).
i must say, the workouts have had a positive impact on me. it used to be tough to drag me out of bed in the morning but after the intense Insanity workouts, i get myself out of bed a lot earlier and without that feeling of dread. i have more energy and i feel quite good. that's the important part.
lastly, i made two trips back to Toronto in a span of two weeks. the first trip back, my brother was in town with his family. i don't see them that often so any chance i get, i would make the 4 hr drive to spend time with everyone. with everyone together, it was the right time to go to the cemetery to pay our annual respects to our grandparents. visiting the cemetery might sound creepy but i make it fun and educational for the kids .. i quizzed my niece Amanda on her math skills by having her determine the age of the deceased. you could see the wheels turning in her head as she would do the calculations. i also printed off some sheet music for my oldest niece Amelia - the song was "All of Me" by John Legend. Amelia hasn't been enthusiastic about piano but i wanted to give her something fun to work towards. she was excited to have the sheet music for this song that she liked. she told me that her classmates all knew how to play the song.
two weeks later, i drove back to celebrate Mother's day with my mom. we had a barbeque at my sister's place and while i was there, Amelia pulled out the sheet music for "All of Me" and played for me. she wasn't perfect but i was happy to see that in two weeks of secretly practicing, she played very well. i gave her a second song to learn - "Listen to your heart" by DHT & Kelly Clarkson. she and Amanda listened to the song and smiled. it's not from their generation but they both liked the song. can't wait to hear them play during my next visit.
mother's day was great. i took mom for breakfast at a local diner. she loves her bacon and eggs! :) i think being able to take her out and chauffeur her around makes her happy. she doesn't drive and relies on others a lot. she is never afraid to ask me to drive her anywhere .. i even drove her out to a temple on the west end of the city. she had been wanting to go to the temple to see the plaque for my grandparents. when we got to the temple, she said she forgot the plaque number. sigh .. :) luckily, she showed me the night before so it was still fresh in my head. (mom, what would you do without me?? :) we spent some time checking out the temple, i said my prayers, and we each made a donation. i wrote my mom's name and my name in the donations book. i thought it was good mother/daughter time.
anyway, that's a long update .. it's time for some insanity plyometric cardio and P90X ab ripper. have a great weekend!
