Kelley Bromley

I’d like to say that I’m into fitness… I’m not where I want to be aerobically yet (I wanna get a kickass time in a 10k and I’m honest with the fact that I’m really a jogger, even though I call it running), but I’m satisfied with my upper body tone. I could use some more squats and lunges, but I’m getting there. But seriously, after seeing the movie “300″ about the Spartans, when I left the theater I just wanted to run and run, and then when I couldn’t do any more I wanted to lift boulders and learn to fight with a sword, LOL. Seriously. Watching the movie made me want to get in the zone… when you’re so worn out that you think you can’t do any more, but you push yourself further anyway so all your thoughts and mental energy are going into staying on your feet and giving it all you’ve got.

The actors in that movie did a crazy workout, where every day they did a different exercise, never focusing on single muscle or using machines, but doing things that gained real, usable strength as opposed to just aesthetics - pull ups, push ups, rings, tire flips, box jumps, dead lifts. Always switching up the routine so they wouldn’t adapt. They were trained by Mark Twight of Gym Jones at his exclusive invite-only gym - no air conditioning, no mirrors, just hard work. Crazy.

I have no delusions that I could do such a workout, but it’s very motivating. It really makes me want to push my workouts harder and increase my lift load because I know I don’t go to complete exhaustion. So I’m going to ramp it up! We’ll see how it goes :)

Quick summary: I’ve been in the hospital for 5 days now (since Thursday). Since Friday afternoon, I have had only broth, apple juice, tea, and jello, and most times the jello may or may not come. I’ve had 3 popsicles.

Today, supper is my first meal back on REAL food! It is such a relief to not starve anymore that it is worth blogging about, LOL. For supper: cream of celery soup, fish cakes, brocolli, mashed potatoes, orange cake, apple, and tea, plus leftover apple juice, broth, and jello from my liquid-only days, heh. Woooooooo! I’m stuffed

Recently, after talking with Lionel about Easter with my family when I was little, I remembered Marshmallow Peeps… the yellow chicks in particular (for some reason the bunnies never appealed to me). Since then, I have been longing for these delicious marshmallow cuties. Now that I am in the hospital and have only had broth, apple juice, and jello since Thursday, I am become quite obsessed with them… well, Peeps and a massive, greasy, cream filled danish from Tim Hortons… which, I should add, is an odd thing for me to crave… usually I crave things like cake and muffins, or rice chips or crackers for something salty, usually not fatty things. I’m thinking it’s the starvation talking. Anyway, where was I? Ah yes… my budding Marshmallow Peep obsession.

I’m odd that way - I get an interest in something and I go full swing into it. Like scrapbooking. Took an interest, thought “why would anyone want stuff like eyelets?” but before I knew it I was suffering from massive eBaying, have hundreds of different kinds of eyelets, and at least 100 pounds of paper and cardstock. It only rivals my Sailor Moon collection from grade 8…. but that’s neither here nor there… (actually, it’s in a tote at my Mom’s house in Newfoundland, LOL.)

So yes… I was thinking if you took a Peep and roasted it on a fire the outside would get like crème brûlée and the inside would get all ooey-gooey in that delectable way only roasted marshmallow can. Mmmm… I have shared this fantasy with both Lionel and Hiu Ming, and while Lionel thinks me odd, Hiu Ming found me quite humourous and agreed to partake in Peeps Salem-style in a bonfire on a beach this summer when we go back to Newfoundland. I am sure others will follow. Hopefully I’ll get out of the hospital by tomorrow so I can buy up the supply of clearance Peeps for this wonderfully adventurous dining experience. (And apparently others have thought of this too!)

I wanted to find more about Peeps and logged onto the official Peep website, which was fun. But not clearly as fun as Peep Research! To a scientist like myself, this is where it’s at!

But this is not the end of it. I feel the need to express my love for Peeps. I have turned to eBay. This usually ends badly, lol. I have found Peep Soap, Peep keychains filled with lip gloss, Peep stuffed toys, and Peep t-shirts! W00t! I will let you know of my findings… fortunately, I have some time on my hands…

When Lionel and I went home for Christmas we tried some of the wines dad made. I’m not a big fan of red wine, but Lionel really wants to get into it and has developed a bit more tolerance than me, heh. Anyway, the only one I liked was “Bergamais.” After getting back to BC we went to several liquor stores and asked if they carried Bergamais, and every time we were referred to the “wine guy/gal” who subsequently looked at us as if we had two heads and have never heard of it. Well. So we continued to buy Merlots, and Pinot Noirs, in the hope that maybe we could find it in Newfoundland when we move back there someday….

The other day when we were buying wine I noticed a French wine called “Beaujolais” and thought to myself, “Self, this wine also starts with a B and has the same number of syllables… could it be?” and we bought it. Got home, opened it up - fantastic. Even good after a few days in the fridge, while other reds usually taste worse each day following. Lo and behold, an internet search after the fact by Lionel revealed that Beaujolais is indeed Bergamais! Now I am armed with the knowledge that wine made with Gamay grapes is awesome… and now, I just did a search and found out that Gamay grapes are grown in the Burgundy region of France… and way back when we first started buying wine we picked up a cheap bottle of “California Burgundy” that we also liked! A wine labelled Burgundy is most likely Pinot Noir; however, regulations allow them to contain up to two thirds Gamay grapes! Freaky! I never thought the day would come that I could identify my favorite wine by grape but it seems to have arrived… if only by a series of cool coincidences ;)

Dine out Vancouver is this annual event held in Vancouver where hundreds of restaurants put out fixed menus ($15, $25, or $35) which include a choice of 2 or 3 appetizers, entrées, and desserts. Basically it’s a chance to go t a place where you’d normally pay $100 for such a meal! So Lionel and I went to the CRU last night, and it was awesome. Our menus were as follows:

The food was very delicious! The onion torte was tough and the knives were edgeless butter knives and the torte flew onto my lap when the knife slipped, but other than that I was good company I loved the balsamic reduction, it was syrupy and sweet, but the smoked tuna and beets were better. The lamb was rare and the sauce was good, there just wasn’t enough of it. There were about 6 green beans on the plate, lol. I tried a truffle for the first time and while they are unique (like a really potent mushroom) and have a fantastic earthy flavour, I don’t know what all the fuss is about. The crème brûlée was definitely the better dessert because the torte was very very rich; however, I have never had such an experience as the torte! It was a cake texture, but as soon as it hit your tongue it melted into a liquidy blast of dark chocolate. If you had each piece with a bit of the cream and the citrus coulis it was much better because the tartness of the citrus balanced the richness of the torte.

The restaurant itself was like a long hall - quite small, but interesting and warm decor. The plating was beautiful! It was a bit too fancy for either of our tastes though . . . we asked for bottled water and they gave us the choice of sparkling or non-sparkling, so we chose non-sparkling and it turned out to be this imported French spring water (apparently distilled or reverse osmosis is too lowly for this kinda place, lol) and they put the 1L bottle on our table like they would a bottle of wine. Beautiful bottle, but still! It was $7! We could get 43L of distilled water for that, LOL. Also, the tea they served us ($6) was regular Stash Tea that we have at home! It’s $4 for a whole box! Anyway, the atmosphere was nice, and the presentation was cool, but we won’t be going to a fancy place here again I don’t think, heh. We have another reservation with a $15 place which is supposed to serve larger portions meant for filling you up and not just for display :P

After much research, Lionel and I are going to start cooking Mediterranean style. There was a very provacative graph in the “Eating to Live” Special Edition of Scientific American (2006) which showed the relationship between fat intake, as a percentage of overall calories, and coronary heart disease (CHD). They showed that in Eastern Finland, where saturated fats from butter and milk are prominent, fat intake is 38% and 30% of men get CHD in a 10 year period. In Japan, where fat intake is only 10% and comes mainly from fish, only 5% of men get CHD in the same time period. The cool thing was that we just think of this as low-fat being better, but in Crete 40% of calories come from fat, mainly the monounsaturated fat of olive oil, and only 2% of men get CHD! So it’s actually not the amount of fat but the type. Also, it so happens that Mediterranean dishes are extremely rich tasting and full of flavour, so we’re making the switch… which brings me to Parthenon Importers…

This place is quickly becoming my favorite store in Vancouver. They have freshly made pitas, which we drizzle with olive oil, salt, oregano, and onion powder and bake to delicious goodness… and all kinds of meats and fresh cheeses, a vast array of Mediterannian dips and sauces made in house, and lots and lots of Greek goodies! We had a massive bowl of soup each while we were there today - for $2.25 you get about 3 cups worth - the two soups on the menu were lentil and lima bean and they were fantastic.

We ran out of feta before we went to St. John’s. Now, we normally buy the 1kg bag from superstore, but Parthenon has a counter with eight different kinds of feta! We tried goat feta and sheep feta - the goat is very creamy and complex, while the sheep is less creamy and more tangy, like lemon. We went with classic Canadian cow feta and some goat feta. It’s amazing!

Today we also looked at tungsten carbide wedding rings for Lionel. He had his finger sized and he’s a 8.75, but his hands were really cold. We think we might order the ring online, which costs only a third of what the jeweler sells it for, and get the 8.75 and a 9 so on hot days he can wear the other size, lol.

I was working in the lab today and Lionel offered to come pick me up when I was done at around 4:30, but instead of him picking me up I asked him to meet me in the village for a little coffee date We went to Blenz and ordered a Rooibos Chai Latte and a Dark Belgium Hot Chocolate, which is made by dissolving real chocolate in steamed milk. We both agreed the rooibos was a better choice, although the chai flavours were too strong for the subtleties of the rooibos. The hot chocolate, although dark, was still really sweet.

So for awhile we weren’t grad students, but just a couple enjoying some beverages. It was nice, but the chairs were too far apart to make the place feel cozy - we were probably 8 feet apart from each other if you sat in the big chairs, lol. But we had a nice chat about my website, and about Lionel’s dream tea store. It would be a huge investment, but I know he would enjoy it so much. It would be a swanky place, with big comfy couches and a cozy decor in warm colors with irridescent lighting, playing jazz or classical music. People could sit and order tea and waiters would bring it, and they could go further into the store to buy the loose teas. You never know, it might happen some day! ;)

I haven’t really been keeping up with my blog lately. My few loyal readers (Hi mom and dad, lol) probably don’t even check the site anymore. Every day I think of something I can write - how I saw my first raccoon and first skunk (unfortunately I smelled that too), and about the weather. I’ve been working insanely lately though… I work in the afternoon, get lunch, go back, work until 8pm or 9pm, have supper, and go back until midnight. Exhausting! By the time I get home I just go to bed. I haven’t even used my desktop computer in a week! Nuts!

Anyway, I’ll try to post more often. I know all blogs eventually come down to people saying that, but I will try. For now I’m going to post my pictures from my Quebec conference back in June. I may even go back and type some blog entries in retrospect if I have time.

Lionel has been wanting a new non-stick pan for some time now. We looked in many stores like The Bay, Zellers, Walmart, and Sears, but couldn’t really find anything good for less than $80. When we were in Costco on the weekend and we saw this great non-stick anodized aluminum set and couldn’t resist! It came with the following:

• 7.5L stockpot with stainless steel steamer and lid
• 0.94L saucepan and lid
• 1.8L saucepan and lid
• 2.8L saucepan and lid
• 5.2L saute pan with lid
• 25.4cm flared edge skillet (stockpot lid fits this)
• 31.7cm flared edge skillet (saute lid fits this)
• 26.6cm griddle

Well, I tell you, I have made the best omelets in the frying pan… they come off easily, don’t break, and have perfect, uniform golden surfaces. My crepes cook instantly with no spots, and not even left over oatmeal sticks on the pans. I feel more like I’m in a home rather than a cramped apartment with these things :D We kept our stainless steel set because you just need that for certain things, but we had to get rid of our Chinese dish sets to make room. We really don’t use them so we’ll try to sell them. The only thing is, they aren’t all that special here in Vancouver, LOL. They’re more like regular kitchen ware! Maybe someone on eBay will take ‘em

Well, we were going to go to the Bayswater Tea Company on the weekend but never got around to it, so we went after work today. We had a quick supper of meatballs and veggies and off we went! We got several new varieties of rooibos, and I’m so excited to try them! Here’s our list:

• 50g of Dragon Heart Rooibos, it has dried dragon fruit and strawberries and a hint of spice, it’ll make a nice ice tea.
• 50g of Fire and Spice, a nice mild chai without the cardamon pods and chunks of bark, lol.
• 50g of harvest moon, with pumpkin and papaya, also will make a nice ice tea.
• 50g chocolate and orange peel, a lovely dessert tea.
• 50g Latte Macchiato, with cocoa and coffee beans, smells like dessert!
• 100g Cream Swirl, a rooibos with dehydrated yogurt which is supposed to taste like plain rooibos but have a rich texture.

I normally don’t go for the fruity teas but they had a rooibos ice tea sample which was fantastic, but too much sugar, and I’m willing to bet these will make a refreshing drink :)