tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-360908262024-03-07T14:17:08.047-05:00Melissa's MiscellanyMelissa Dalgleishhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01941383321743781790noreply@blogger.comBlogger435125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36090826.post-53423770752940656172010-06-03T12:28:00.000-04:002010-06-03T12:28:56.250-04:00Paused for thinkingMy first instinct would be to apologize for neglecting this blog as much as I have been these past few months, but I won't, because I haven't been posting for a reason. I needed a break from it, both for blog and non-blog related reasons. On the personal front, it's been a chaotic few months. I'm now settled in my new apartment with my lovely roommate, and I'm nearly done preparing for my first exam and already thinking about the next one--an immense amount of work nearly accomplished. My editing project has met with some serious crises, and we're still just figuring out how to solve those problems. My partner's mother passed away quite suddenly almost three weeks ago, and I'm now preparing for a 10-day learning trip to Victoria and Vancouver. All of those things aside, though, if I had really wanted to work on the blog, I could have found the time.<br />
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I didn't try to. And that's kind of the point here. I stopped feeling the incentive to make the time to write here, and I'm starting to figure out why. I think the blog needs a new focus, something that I'm hugely passionate about so that I continue to feel the desire and the excitement to share things with you. And the thing that I want to do the most, outside of spend time with the people in my life and do my job, is cook. I know that there's been a fair amount of food-related posting on here from the beginning, but it's time for a total change. Melissa's Miscellany is going to become a food blog. And not only that, but a natural-foods driven food blog. I'm not trying to become 101 Cookbooks, but cooking with whole foods, natural ingredients, and avoiding things like sugar and white flour have become extremely important to me. It's not even just because they're good for you--they present challenges in cooking and baking that I get such satisfaction out of rising to. <br />
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So that's my news for now. I'm doing a course on digital editing at UVic for the next week, and then I'm taking three days to check out Vancouver, and while I'm on the west coast, I'm going to do more thinking about how to make this change, and what this blog will look and function like going forward. I've already got some amazing recipes to share with you, like my chocolate-coconut-cherry layer cake, my whole-wheat linguine with shrimp, lemon, and greens, and some incredible orange-almond cookies (made without flour, sugar, or eggs). Upcoming recipes will include a pear-frangipane tart, vegan banana bread, gourmet popsicles (pineapple basil? lemon mint?), blood orange-almond cake, and more. Thanks for being patient with me--I promise that you'll be rewarded in the end with a great blog and a happy blogger. And if you're one of the people who knows me outside of the blogosphere (especially my partner and my roommate, my favourite taste-testers), I promise you this--you'll get fed . <br />
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--MelissaMelissa Dalgleishhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01941383321743781790noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36090826.post-20399413287718834932010-03-10T23:24:00.001-05:002010-03-10T23:24:08.002-05:00Girlcrushing: Marion Cotillard on Funny or Die<object classid="clsid:d27cdb6e-ae6d-11cf-96b8-444553540000" height="328" width="512"><param name="movie" value="http://player.ordienetworks.com/flash/fodplayer.swf" />
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<a href="http://www.funnyordie.com/videos/5a52180b80/forehead-tittaes-w-marion-cotillard" title="from Marion Cotillard, William Fichtner, Jake, Taraji P Henson, Leslie Ann Warren, and Seth ">Forehead Tittaes w/ Marion Cotillard</a> from <a href="http://www.funnyordie.com/marion_cotillard">Marion Cotillard</a></div>Melissa Dalgleishhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01941383321743781790noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36090826.post-33983194641047089402010-02-26T18:08:00.002-05:002010-02-26T18:08:38.129-05:00Quick Clip: Dar Robinson does the CN Tower (with Chuck Norris?)<object height="344" width="425"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/-_neYidAwNs&color1=0xb1b1b1&color2=0xcfcfcf&hl=en_US&feature=player_embedded&fs=1">
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Loves it...<br />
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<embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/CCXqOFjsiZs&hl=en_GB&fs=1&" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="480" height="295"></embed></object>Melissa Dalgleishhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01941383321743781790noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36090826.post-17171048959140388352010-02-19T21:41:00.000-05:002010-02-19T21:41:07.263-05:00While I should be studying...Alas, dear readers, you're going to have to put up with lame-bloggerness until at least the beginning of May. The deal is this: I'm writing my first comprehensive exam. What does this mean, you ask? I'm sure I've explained this before, but a recap is always good. It means that I need to read and remember a list of 100-odd texts (poems, novels, essays, plays, books of theory and criticism), and then spend three days regurgitating what I've read in creative and insightful ways. It is, in a word, rough. And it is, in a word, soon. May 5-6 and the week following, to be exact, but when I'm also teaching, editing a book, applying for funding to edit a digital archive, attempting to start an academic journal, moving (more on that in a moment) and attempting to have a life, time is tight. Hence, blog suckage. So, instead of real posts, you will get lists, videos, songs, maybe recipes, and then some seriously kick-ass, thoughtful-as-hell posting come the end of May. 'Cause oh, I forgot to mention, I'm spending two week at Trent after my exam doing editing classes. Sigh. I'm bloody well nuts.<br />
<ul>
<li><a href="http://this.org/magazine/2010/02/01/urban-mobile-web/">My friend Nav</a> on new ways mobile technology lets us engage with where we live. Could also be titled "Why Melissa wishes she had a smartphone, although she can't afford one." </li>
<li>An exciting addition to my repertoire of cookery websites: the French version of AllRecipes, <a href="http://marmiton.org/">Marmiton.org</a>. Duck confit shepherd's pie, anyone? </li>
<li>My crazy-cool new <a href="http://static.panoramio.com/photos/original/22249507.jpg">apartment building</a>, circa 1965. Did I mention that I'm moving back to Toronto? Like, tomorrow? I'm maybe a bit too excited, but I really do miss the city to bits, and living in the 'burbs is silly when I spend six out of seven days downtown anyway.I'm now walking distance to the library I spend most of my time at, as well as both my salsa and yoga classes. And how fun is it that I can see <a href="http://www.casaloma.org/">Casa Loma</a> from my shower? </li>
<li>Go see <a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1174732/">An Education</a>. Even though I'm not British, an ingenue, or dating a 35-year-old man (wait, scratch that. I am, but I'm not 17), it really felt like it was about parts of my life, especially the age-old question all academics face: What's more important? More school education, or more life education? </li>
<li>I spend inordinate amounts of time at the <a href="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/ff/JohnW_GrahamLibrary,TrinityCollege2.jpg">John W. Graham</a> library. Where else can you spend ten hours a day curled up in an armchair in front of a fireplace, and not feel like an "I'm still at home in my jammies at 2 pm" slacker? </li>
<li>AG, otherwise known as my boyfriend (Yes, dear readers, I have invited a male of the species back into my life. Wish me luck.), is a big tea drinker, and he's introduced me to a new favourite which goes by the wonderfully loopy name of Beautiful Foolishness. Coconut, berries, white tea and citrus, made by <a href="http://www.teainthesahara.ca/">Tea in the Sahara</a>, a local company. Oh so good. AG picked it up somewhere in Roncesvalles, but I'm hoping to find a new stash closer to home. </li>
<li>You will wear these shoes and refer to yourself as Mary. Just watch <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YtKkyrZtUaM&feature=player_embedded">this</a>. </li>
<li>I bought real dishes yesterday. Honest-to-goodness china department at The Bay dishes. They're Sophie Conran (daughter of Sir Terence) for <a href="http://www.sophieconran.com/Portmeirion_Classic.asp">Portmerioion</a>, and they're gorgeous. Dear, but gorgeous. I got the white, because you can't convince me that anything other than white is good for everyday (it's all about how the food looks on the plate), but I think I might have to get a few random pieces of the blue-green for fun. It is my favourite colour, after all. </li>
<li>Salsa class is a hoot. Maybe it's because most of the class is made up of women and gay men (it's an LGBTQ class run out of the local university), I don't feel like an idiot looking like an idiot, or having sweaty hands, or stepping on people's toes, and so it's just fun. And I'm actually starting to get the hang of it, which is a big deal for klutzy old me. </li>
</ul>Melissa Dalgleishhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01941383321743781790noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36090826.post-56288006207884627662010-02-09T14:00:00.002-05:002010-02-09T14:00:46.733-05:00The Four HorsemenI'm currently working on a lecture on bpNichol, Michael Ondaatje and Gwendolyn MacEwen, so I thought I'd share a video of Nichol performing with his sound poetry group "The Four Horsemen." Toronto was so cool in the 70s. Not that it's not cool now, but I generally do work on the Toronto poetry scene in the 1950s, when it was <i>sincerely </i>uncool. <br />
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<embed allowfullscreen="true" allowscriptaccess="always" id="VideoPlayback" src="http://video.google.com/googleplayer.swf?docid=5612038396750923797&hl=en&fs=true" style="height: 326px; width: 400px;" type="application/x-shockwave-flash"></embed>Melissa Dalgleishhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01941383321743781790noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36090826.post-65038955111269518732010-01-24T11:39:00.000-05:002010-01-24T11:39:13.786-05:00TTC Trip PlannerThe TTC is due to launch its trip planner website later on this week, and Spacing seems to have found the pre-launch version online <a href="http://tripplanner.ttc.ca/">here</a>. I gave it a go with the route I'll take from my new apartment (if I get the one I want, fingers crossed; won't find out until Feb. 1 at the earliest) to school, and it performed perfectly. I've been using the Crazed Monkey <a href="http://crazedmonkey.com/toronto-transit-map/">TTC map</a> for a long time now, but the TTC trip planner has the benefit of telling you how long a trip will take, along with what routes you'll need. City of Mississauga transit, which I used regularly as a teenager, has something similar called Click'nRide, and I'm excited to see that Toronto is finally doing the same. Now if only the major GTA transit systems could come up with an integrated system for those of us who occasionally, or regularly, travel across city boundaries, we'd really be getting somewhere! <br />Melissa Dalgleishhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01941383321743781790noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36090826.post-61686255135767102010-01-23T12:07:00.001-05:002010-01-23T23:45:05.347-05:00Proper post to come, I swearI don't know what happened, but the blog just kinda' fell off the map this month. There's been a lot going on which I'll give you all a quick update on in lieu of a proper post, which is coming (on Margaret Atwood, the new decade, The Globe and Mail, and Canadian nationalism. Stay tuned.) <br />
<ul>
<li>My editing project is ramping up big time. I'll deliver 5 polished chapters on Monday, and I'm hard at work at securing copyright permissions and finding people to write essays. If you're an Ernest Buckler scholar, please post a comment with your contact information because I'm looking people to author articles on <i>The Mountain and the Valley </i>for a new critical edition. </li>
<li>I'm currently playing mom to a 140 lb St. Bernard named Kubota (after the tractor company). He's a handful. He hasn't destroyed the house, but he's very high energy for a St. Bernard, and he's HUGE! He also sheds like nobody's business, so I'm currently covered in both his hair and my own. Fun times. It is nice to pretend to have a pet for awhile, although I don't think I'll be wanting one of my own anytime soon. </li>
<li>Looks like the SSHRC is a no-go, which I'm actually kinda' pissed off about, as my proposal was really very good this year. However, I did just find out that the modernism consortium that I'm affiliated with is offering a $20,000 PhD fellowship. I'm all over that one! They've also got a postdoc program; I'm keeping that in mind for when I finish. I'm so lucky to have been supervised by who I was in my Masters; besides being brilliant and a lovely person, he opens so many doors. I also need to look at the Northrop Frye Centre fellowship; money, <i>and </i>dedicated office space at UofT? Sounds good to me! <br /></li>
<li>After all sorts of wild and crazy dating stories that will not be shared online, things have settled down considerably, and I've been seeing someone who I really like for awhile now. And like the person I went on a few dates with who grew up on my childhood street, we're connected in ways that we didn't initially realize, but never ran into each other. Toronto really is a small place. </li>
<li>The moving back to the city plan is progressing nicely; my good friend Sonia is in need of a new roommate, and that's going to be me. We're off to see four apartments today, and hopefully one of them will be a winner. I'm voting for the one that's upstairs from our friend Katie, although she's going to kill me when I start pestering her to study for her comp (we're writing the same exam at the same time) and can do it from three feet away. </li>
<li>My formerly-ensconced-in-Berlin friend Mariecel is home for good (or at least for the foreseeable future), which is fantastic. It kinda' feels like she never left! Now if we can get get her husband Jan here (he's in the process of immigrating from Germany) and get her jerky ex to drop off the face of the planet, all would be well! </li>
<li>The (ex)hubby and I had a nice catch up last week; I'm very proud of us for how well we've handled this whole thing. The divorce will be final sometime this summer, and it'll be nice to have it all finalized. People continually ask me if my experience has made me rethink the whole concept of marriage, and I have to say, it really hasn't. In my case, the issue wasn't marriage, but the specific person I was married to. I think I'd like the chance to try again and maybe get it right when I'm a bit older and wiser. </li>
</ul>
Alright--off to play "let's imagine what it would be like to live here" for a few hours. Hope we find a good fit! <br />Melissa Dalgleishhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01941383321743781790noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36090826.post-70713107806763161952009-12-31T11:29:00.000-05:002009-12-31T11:29:22.338-05:002010: The year of....<ul>
<li>passing both of my comprehensive exams, one in April (Canadian), and one in December (Modern)</li>
<li>learning to run and running at least one 5k (the Bread & Honey, in June)</li>
<li>getting a SSHRC? We'll keep our fingers crossed on that one</li>
<li>writing a coherent collection of poetry and getting some of it published</li>
<li>working on my still-very-hazy cookbook concept <br /></li>
<li>moving back to the city and NOT moving again during 2010. Or 2011. Or 2012, if I can manage it. </li>
<li>avoiding unnecessary drama in my personal life and enjoying it instead</li>
<li>travelling as much as I can afford to (Montreal in April and maybe again in May, possibly England in August)</li>
<li>actually playing my guitar, rather than letting it sit in its case <br /></li>
<li>continuing my ongoing project of learning to relax, have fun, and be productive at the same time</li>
</ul>
Sounds like a good year to me! <br />Melissa Dalgleishhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01941383321743781790noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36090826.post-9145024505719097822009-12-28T23:26:00.002-05:002009-12-28T23:29:05.794-05:00QueryTo what extent is blogging your goals for the New Year likely to make you attempt to achieve them? Or to what extent is blogging your goals for the New Year likely to embarrass you? <br />
I feel like this one might need some kind of pie chart. The goals get a graph. Seriously. I am that OCD. But this is coming from the girl who has a fully worked out 12-highlighter colour-coding system, so you shouldn't really be surprised, now should you?<br />Melissa Dalgleishhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01941383321743781790noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36090826.post-13944100042651973632009-12-24T18:36:00.003-05:002009-12-24T18:36:52.154-05:00Quick Clip: FlashMob GleeI know, I know, video overload. I promise I'll stop, after one more. Two of my favourite fun times: flashmobs and <i>Glee</i>. Jumpy claps!<br />
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<object width="425" height="344"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/NhbK2bMTRbI&color1=0xb1b1b1&color2=0xcfcfcf&hl=en_US&feature=player_embedded&fs=1"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowScriptAccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/NhbK2bMTRbI&color1=0xb1b1b1&color2=0xcfcfcf&hl=en_US&feature=player_embedded&fs=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowfullscreen="true" allowScriptAccess="always" width="425" height="344"></embed></object>Melissa Dalgleishhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01941383321743781790noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36090826.post-32499514669052896152009-12-24T14:05:00.001-05:002009-12-24T14:05:54.185-05:00For the Record: Classic Christmas CheeseWhat, you didn't think that I'd let Christmas pass without the necessary dose of Christmas cheese, did you? Mariah Carey's "All I Want For Christmas Is You<i>" </i>never fails to put me in the Christmas spirit; Hayley and I belt it all December long. Nothing more festive than big hair and white go-go boots!<br />
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<object width="500" height="315"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/8N43Y6PHwp4&hl=en_GB&fs=1&color1=0x5d1719&color2=0xcd311b&border=1"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/8N43Y6PHwp4&hl=en_GB&fs=1&color1=0x5d1719&color2=0xcd311b&border=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="500" height="315"></embed></object>Melissa Dalgleishhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01941383321743781790noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36090826.post-43321255631328124412009-12-22T14:22:00.000-05:002009-12-22T14:22:09.041-05:00Quick Clip: The Last Goodbye at Summerhill<object height="344" width="425"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/SPDs9DYPcYc&color1=0xb1b1b1&color2=0xcfcfcf&hl=en_US&feature=player_embedded&fs=1"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowScriptAccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/SPDs9DYPcYc&color1=0xb1b1b1&color2=0xcfcfcf&hl=en_US&feature=player_embedded&fs=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowfullscreen="true" allowScriptAccess="always" width="425" height="344"></embed></object><br />
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Aw. See the story about this short film on Torontoist <a href="http://torontoist.com/2009/12/sometimes_the_yellow_line_makes_us_blue.php">here</a>.Melissa Dalgleishhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01941383321743781790noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36090826.post-67865854643249873732009-12-21T12:33:00.002-05:002009-12-21T12:38:37.249-05:00Yuletide Tradition: The Swedish ChefI'm sure I've mentioned on here before how crazy and ridiculous my family is at Christmas. This year, there will be 25+ of us on Boxing Day, which is our big Christmas celebration. We get into all sorts of nonsense, which in the past has included a dramatic reenactment of my Nanny's life, interpretive dance, people in their twenties playing hide-and-go-seek, and of course our ritual walk to the park and play on the swings. But one of my favourite Christmas traditions is my cousin Jeff's Swedish Chef impression. It's "eggnog coming out of your nose" funny. I'll leave you with the original, but I swear, Jeff is funnier.<br /><br /><object width="425" height="344"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/Z2C4yRG-r-0&hl=en_GB&fs=1&"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/Z2C4yRG-r-0&hl=en_GB&fs=1&" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344"></embed></object>Melissa Dalgleishhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01941383321743781790noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36090826.post-37400377785597369292009-12-21T11:18:00.002-05:002009-12-21T12:01:12.295-05:00Recipe: Mushroom Parmentier<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.foodtv.ca/DMM/M/U/Mushroom_Parmentier_003.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 460px; height: 230px;" src="http://www.foodtv.ca/DMM/M/U/Mushroom_Parmentier_003.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a>Saturday night was our department's annual holiday shindig, and it was oodles of fun and silliness. Just how we like it. We being the social committee, of which I am one-third, who decided that it would be more cost-effective and less stressful to hold it at someone's apartment rather than having it at a bar as we did last year. Now the opportunity to embarrass ourselves singing karaoke at The Gladstone did add a certain <span style="font-style: italic;">je ne sais quoi</span> in 2008, but I liked this year's better. Not only was the party great (almost everyone spent Sunday nursing a considerable hangover, which is the sign of a job well done, and many people didn't head home until at least four), the day spent cooking and getting ready was lovely and cozy: the perfect non-academic bonding time with people I like and who I don't get to see enough of. Five us of got together on Saturday morning and between us, we shopped, cooked, moved furniture, assembled the perfect party playlists, and then drank three bottles of wine, ate pizza, and played Trivial Pursuit. What other choice did we have, being so efficient that we were completely prepared for guests at 5:30 when the party didn't start until 8:00?<br /><br />We decided to keep the menu entirely vegetarian, as there are a fair few vegetarians and vegans among us, and it seemed easier not to require people to worry about what was in their food when they were too busy having a good time to care. Along with homemade spanakopita and olive tapenade, Kristen made a delicious looking lasagne that I did not sample, as I was saving my appetite for a recipe which I've been meaning to try for awhile: <a href="http://www.foodtv.ca/holidays/RecipeDetails.aspx?dishid=9109&C=VegetarianFriendly&K=cooking">Laura Calder's Mushroom Parmentier</a>. In English, it is better known as mushroom shepherd's pie. It was, in a word, scrumptious. How could something that consists largely of potatoes, mushrooms, red wine, and butter not be delicious? I made the recipe vegan by substituting soy milk and margarine for the milk and butter, and omitting the cheese; I'm sure it will be even more delicious in its original form. And it was the easiest thing in the world to make.<br /><br />If you haven't seen <span style="font-style: italic;">Julie & Julia </span>yet, and you like food, do give it a watch, even if only for this one piece of advice: don't crowd the mushrooms. It is the key to this dish, and to any dish with mushrooms, really. Treat them like meat: give them space to brown so they won't steam, and you'll be pleased every time. I've given the recipe in its original form below, but I've also added the substitutions/omissions I made to veganize it in brackets.<br /><br />INGREDIENTS:<br /><br />Filling:<br /><span id="pbdTemplate__PageTemplate_innerHolder_Genericxslcontrol"><ul class="Recipe_Ingredient_Lines"><li>2 lb. assorted mushrooms: cremini, shiitake, portobello, oyster, porcini, but not button<br /></li><li>3 tbsp butter (v: lactose-free margarine)<br /></li><li>2 tbsp olive oil, more as needed</li><li>1 large red onion, finely chopped</li><li>3 cloves of garlic, minced<br /></li><li> A handful of chopped fresh thyme leaves</li><li>1/2 cup red wine</li><li>1/2 cup vegetable stock or water</li><li> Salt and pepper</li><li>1 tbsp flour</li><li> A handful chopped fresh parsley<span style="font-weight: bold;"></span></li></ul>Potato topping:<br /><ul class="Recipe_Ingredient_Lines"><li>6 medium floury potatoes (anything labelled 'baking potato' usually works well)<br /></li><li> 2 to 4 tablespoons butter (v: lactose-free margarine)<br /></li><li>1/4 cup milk (v: plain soy milk)<br /></li><li> Salt and pepper</li><li>4 oz grated Comté or Gruyere cheese (v: omit, or substitute soy-based cheese)<br /></li><li>2 tbsp Parmesan cheese (v: omit, or substitute soy-based cheese)</li></ul>INSTRUCTIONS:<br /><span style="font-weight: bold;"></span><ol class="RecipeDirections"><li>Clean and quarter or slice the mushrooms. Heat two tablespoons of the butter/margarine with one tablespoon of the olive oil and sauté the mushrooms until cooked and golden. Don't be afraid to jack the heat up quite high, and use two pans if you need to; if they start to release their juices, you need to turn the heat up and give them more room. Remove.</li><li>Heat the other spoonful of olive oil (adding more if you need it) and sauté the onion until soft. Add the garlic for one minute. Deglaze with the wine and reduce to no more than a spoonful. Add the stock, the thyme, and the mushrooms, season with salt and pepper, and cook until the stock has reduced by half.<br /></li><li>Knead together the flour with the last tablespoon of butter/margarine and stir it in. Cook until the liquid has thickened to a sauce--this will be brief. Stir through the parsley. Spoon the mixture into a gratin dish.</li><li>Meanwhile, peel the potatoes, cut them into pieces of roughly the same size, and boil until fork-tender. Drain and mash with the butter/margarine and (soy)milk until very smooth, adding more (soy)milk if needed. Season with salt and pepper. Stir through the grated cheese. Distribute evenly over the mushroom mixture, and smooth with the back of the spoon. Sprinkle over the Parmesan if you're into cheese, which I certainly am.</li><li>Heat the oven to 425°F. Bake the gratin until bubbling hot and golden on top, about 15 minutes. If you're worried that the centre won't be hot, test it by inserting a knife and holding it there for a few seconds. If the knife comes out hot, it's ready.<br /></li></ol></span>Melissa Dalgleishhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01941383321743781790noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36090826.post-72825132930659177452009-12-15T17:08:00.002-05:002009-12-15T17:16:03.374-05:00For the Record: The Temper Trap/Arcade FireNo reason for posting these, other than I love them.<br /><br /><object width="425" height="344"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/m3b9E1p9uOA&color1=0xb1b1b1&color2=0xcfcfcf&hl=en_US&feature=player_embedded&fs=1"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowScriptAccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/m3b9E1p9uOA&color1=0xb1b1b1&color2=0xcfcfcf&hl=en_US&feature=player_embedded&fs=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowfullscreen="true" allowscriptaccess="always" width="425" height="344"></embed></object><br /><br /><br /><object width="425" height="344"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/DEKC5pyOKFU&hl=en_GB&fs=1&"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/DEKC5pyOKFU&hl=en_GB&fs=1&" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344"></embed></object>Melissa Dalgleishhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01941383321743781790noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36090826.post-14148830075017606912009-12-15T14:31:00.002-05:002009-12-15T14:43:43.280-05:00Culture on the CheapI'm a student. I'm poor. But I still love the chance to partake in all of the great cultural activities that Toronto has to offer. Hence the fact that, if for no other reason, the students discount I get at all sorts of places makes my continued poor-student status valuable. Take the Toronto Symphony Orchestra for example. Until I'm 35, I get $12 tickets. Twelve dollars. That's cheaper than going to the movies. So you can imagine how excited I was to get to go see Philip Glass, one of my favourite composers, on Wednesday night. Actually, I wasn't all that excited after the performance--I feel like he's losing his touch, or else he's done what he can with his particular brand of minimalism and needs to move on--but the first piece, Christopher Theofanidis' <span style="font-style: italic;">Rainbow Body</span>, was fairly fabulous. And yes, the cheering is supposed to be there--Theofanidis wrote it into the score after an early performance.<br /><br /><object width="425" height="344"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/bpuXPz07mlo&hl=en_GB&fs=1&"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/bpuXPz07mlo&hl=en_GB&fs=1&" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344"></embed></object><br /><br />Another great cheap Toronto cultural fix is Soulpepper; a couple of school friends and I are going to see <span style="font-style: italic;"><a href="http://www.soulpepper.ca/performances/09_season/civil_elegies.aspx">Civil Elegies</a> </span>on Wednesday, which I've been wanting to see for ages. Check out the video preview, if you get a chance. It's getting great reviews. And Soulpepper is right next to <a href="http://www.somachocolate.com/SOMA_home.html">SOMA chocolatemaker</a>, which means that I will definitely be arriving early and making a pitstop. I love this city.Melissa Dalgleishhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01941383321743781790noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36090826.post-42771112671564523532009-12-01T14:13:00.001-05:002009-12-01T14:13:40.571-05:00Gaga for Nerds<object width="425" height="344"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/xHCu28bfxSI&color1=0xb1b1b1&color2=0xcfcfcf&hl=en_US&feature=player_embedded&fs=1"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowScriptAccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/xHCu28bfxSI&color1=0xb1b1b1&color2=0xcfcfcf&hl=en_US&feature=player_embedded&fs=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowfullscreen="true" allowscriptaccess="always" width="425" height="344"></embed></object>Melissa Dalgleishhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01941383321743781790noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36090826.post-6113460397031015892009-11-30T22:38:00.003-05:002009-11-30T22:40:49.406-05:00Just when I thought it couldn't get any better...<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5nN1kE-Xqoqe7g8n7kMVSMNBUZaVGUjaCsLtjXQoShwZtZmLSmcm_KjMdD1XRu5KA2wQys5tyMMvHtEvH8cTKGpK1XSxXC-RZdmA34TL5TzmwsuVTA9d4tpkBNuOSRpxZW42b/s220/ST1_2b.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 220px; height: 198px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5nN1kE-Xqoqe7g8n7kMVSMNBUZaVGUjaCsLtjXQoShwZtZmLSmcm_KjMdD1XRu5KA2wQys5tyMMvHtEvH8cTKGpK1XSxXC-RZdmA34TL5TzmwsuVTA9d4tpkBNuOSRpxZW42b/s220/ST1_2b.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a>I'm a little obsessed with Stephen Fry's Twitter feed (www.twitter.com/stephenfry), and just when I thought it couldn't get funnier, I found this: www.twitter.com/mrsstephenfry. I'm going to have an aneurysm, I'm laughing so hard. God, I love that man. The blog--http://mrsfrysdiary.blogspot.com/--is pretty hilarious too.Melissa Dalgleishhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01941383321743781790noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36090826.post-25980992815012742892009-11-30T22:14:00.001-05:002009-11-30T22:14:12.927-05:00Colin Take 2<object width="425" height="344"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/IoWVaWkhUnA&hl=en_GB&fs=1&"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/IoWVaWkhUnA&hl=en_GB&fs=1&" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344"></embed></object>Melissa Dalgleishhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01941383321743781790noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36090826.post-48935459797586261232009-11-30T19:28:00.002-05:002009-11-30T19:30:08.528-05:00For the Record: Bon Iver--"Skinny Love"This is from probably my favourite album of all time--Bon Iver's <span style="font-style: italic;">For Emma, Forever Ago--</span>and while I know that I've talked about it on here before, if you haven't got it, you must get it<span style="font-style: italic;">. </span>It never gets old. How have I still not seen them live?<br /><br /><object width="425" height="344"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/JfAS6nwYc9g&hl=en_GB&fs=1&"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/JfAS6nwYc9g&hl=en_GB&fs=1&" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344"></embed></object>Melissa Dalgleishhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01941383321743781790noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36090826.post-48282721834857723562009-11-30T19:27:00.001-05:002009-11-30T19:53:51.051-05:00For Belinda, Adrina, and MariecelYou're welcome!<br /> Update: video has been removed. I'll find you another one, I promise. It was really that good.<br /><object height="344" width="425"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/rBFq5mvk99U&color1=0xb1b1b1&color2=0xcfcfcf&hl=en_US&feature=player_embedded&fs=1"><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"><param name="allowScriptAccess" value="always"><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/rBFq5mvk99U&color1=0xb1b1b1&color2=0xcfcfcf&hl=en_US&feature=player_embedded&fs=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowfullscreen="true" allowscriptaccess="always" height="344" width="425"></embed></object>Melissa Dalgleishhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01941383321743781790noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36090826.post-33673165756731141962009-11-14T18:26:00.002-05:002009-11-14T18:34:34.075-05:00Today's Lessons<ul><li>Backing into someone's car doesn't have to be a tragedy, especially when they're your super-nice neighbours.<br /></li><li>The properties of a can of paint are truly magical.</li><li>When you spend your life in your head, a day of manual labour is always a good idea.<br /></li><li>Patience really is a virtue--it keeps you from driving your neurotic self insane.<br /></li><li>Nothing smells better when I'm hungry than my sister's homemade tomato sauce on the stove.<br /></li><li>Chocolate milk isn't just for kids.<br /></li><li>Sometimes, The Man isn't out to screw you. Case in point: Adam Giambrone extending the student discount on Metropasses to university students. Finally! </li><li>Staying at home on a Saturday night and catching up on a week's worth of missed TV is only lame if you think it's lame. </li><li>People still have the ability to suprise me, and most of the time, it's in a good way. The world isn't going to hell in a handbasket after all.<br /></li><li>No, your parents will never understand your taste in music. "Mel, is your CD skipping? Oh, no, wait...that's just how it sounds."<span style="font-style: italic;"> </span>Animal Collective and Bibio have been on deck for most of the day.</li></ul>Melissa Dalgleishhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01941383321743781790noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36090826.post-61450588602035425712009-11-12T09:17:00.004-05:002009-11-12T09:23:22.726-05:00For the Record: J. TillmanI caught the J. Tillman show at the Horseshoe last night, and it was an entertaining change to see him play live. <span style="font-style:italic;">Cancer & Delirium</span> in particular is the epitome of mellow singer-songwriter indie, but there were some high-energy "wall of noise" moments last night that were a good antidote to too much mellow. It must be nice to be both the drummer of a fantastically popular band (Fleet Foxes), and have a successful solo career. And probably all the women he can handle. One day, I too will have my dream career...or not. <br /><br /><object width="540" height="330"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/M5s3H7EyHPs&hl=en_US&fs=1&"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/M5s3H7EyHPs&hl=en_US&fs=1&" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="560" height="340"></embed></object>Melissa Dalgleishhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01941383321743781790noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-36090826.post-9333783022365995772009-11-08T13:28:00.006-05:002009-11-08T14:43:57.783-05:00On DatingIn the decade since I was last single (I've been in two long-term relationships, pretty much back-to-back, since I was 16), the dating scene seems to have changed somewhat. No longer is it enough just to be places, to go out and meet people. No--for a lot of people, that's too relaxed, too casual, too scary. Getting rejected in person (or getting up the courage to talk to someone new) is too much of a risk to take, unless you're too schnockered to care. Dating people at work also seems to be off-the-table for a lot of people. For me, it could get kinda' hairy, as everyone knows everyone, everyone gossips about everyone, and if things go bad, there's no way out (which isn't to say that it isn't done, because it is, but discretion is the key phrase here). That and pretty much everyone is either living with someone, married, gay, or the mysterious upper-year who no one has ever actually met, which leaves a grand total of about one person I'd be interested in. Singles cooking class/pottery class/birdhouse-construction class is a whole 'nother issue, and I don't go to church. In a world where we no longer have traditional small-town community events and culture to bring people together, we have to do it ourselves, and the options are endless. And as so many things have, dating (by which I mean meeting people) has moved online. I don't know how I feel about that. <br /><br />Being the good little grad student postmodernist that I am, I'm highly skeptical of the ability to convey a sense of my all-too-fragmentary self in 1000 characters and three photos. And how am I able to trust that others have any ability to do it either? When I get to the point of reading other people's profiles, which is better: the person who writes as much as possible to try to compensate for the inability to effectively introduce themselves over a data connection? Or the person who doesn't even try, either because they realize the futility, or because they can't be bothered? And all of this is not even accounting for the fact that people lie, which compounds issues of self-representation. It takes a fair bit of trust, and a fair dampening down of the judgmental aspects of oneself, to make online dating work. <br /><br />A nice thing about bars is that they only hold so many people. A dating site could ostensibly hold every single person on the plant. It is incredibly overwhelming! At any given moment, there are thousands of men online (thank goodness I'm limited to one gender, or this would be doubly overwhelming) who fit the most basic of my criteria. I thought that online dating would be a time-efficient way to meet people, which is why I'm trying it despite my skepticism--and it is, as long as I don't actually do anything, by which I mean sit back, relax, and let people come to me. If I were to actively browse through all of the people who meet my criteria (and the issue of setting criteria is another contentious one), it could turn into a full-time job. <br /><br />Yes, online dating is slightly weird, and fraught with complication, but then, what aspect of dating isn't? And it seems to work on some level. I met someone a couple of weeks ago who not only seems smart and thoughtful (we've only been out once), but who grew up not only in my neighbourhood, but on my childhood street. And we probably would never have met if not for the online factor. Signing up for a dating site also gets rid of some issues that go along with conventional dating, like the always tricky question of when an outing with a single person of your preferred gender is just an outing, and when it's a date. Everyone has at least that card--I'm not here just to make friends--on the table. And being the visual/verbal person that I am, it's nice to be able to easily weed out people who can't string together a coherent sentence with two hands and a flashlight. <br /><br />Despite the endless list of things that I could be making a big deal about, mostly it's just fun to be doing this again. What am I saying--for the first time. I've never done the "dating" thing (i.e. just trying out a bunch of different people), and I like that I get another chance now, when I'm so much better at meeting new people and trying new things than I was when I was really young. I'm also much better at being relaxed about things than I was when I was younger: I meet someone, I meet someone. I don't, I don't--I'm perfectly happy on my own. And I'm not looking for Prince Charming, 'cause he doesn't exist. So I'm just going to have some fun, and who knows what will happen when I'm not paying attention?Melissa Dalgleishhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01941383321743781790noreply@blogger.com0