Completed: #40. Make my own tofu

SoyaBella, tofu mould, nigari, cheesecloth, dried soybeans, water. It is delicious.

Original goal list posted here

Progress: #5. Go greener

Extremely belated, but on October 30, I went to see the Tanya Talaga Massey Series Lecture with my friend and colleague Ali. It was extremely touching and highly important and it's taken me a over a week to actually connect it to some other learnings that I really think I can factor into the classroom. I was most taken with her insight into the strengths of familial connection as youth suicide prevention -- and the strain or absence of these in places wracked by intergenerational trauma -- and how this is the responsibility of everyone, moving forward. She was also so dead set on education as the key to reconciliation, and her praise of teachers in being that missing link, well. Touched.

I have been thinking most, though, of her philosophical inquiry: Who are we? What are we doing here? Where are we going?

I've had the sort of week since that will take me awhile to speak about in this place, but this *will* connect -- and one of my goals here is "Do more public speaking", so, as Sarah Silverman says "Just... uh... put a pin in that."

What does this have anything to do with my goal "Go greener," you ask?

I had a doctor's appointment downtown prior to the lecture, and to bide my time, I figured I would use Toronto's Live Green Perks app to find a place to grab dinner and a place to sit and get some marking accomplished over coffee.

I found Mystic Muffin, which was actually a Lebanese restaurant with excellent falafel and high, seemingly loyal, traffic. It was nice to just sit and observe the to-go interactions. The owner also sent me away with three falafel balls in a tupperware container of mine as a first time customer gift.

The next place I attended was Cafe68, where I showed a coupon for a two-for-one medium coffee and they had no idea what the app was (new ownership since July), but honoured it anyway. I was able to get some necessary marking accomplished and also tune in to some background noise conversations about how age is only a number, anyway, so what does it matter if we are all always 18 inside anyway? It was nice.

I spent the following week, until yesterday, in Ottawa, and I tried to find a similar app - but, no dice.

I did, however, stay at The Lord Elgin, where they have this really cool Stay Green incentive program -- bypass a day of room cleaning, get a $5 voucher for their downstairs restaurants: one being a Starbucks. I (obviously) did so, and cashed them in for some vegan snacks for the train ride home.


Original goal list posted here

Completed: #20. Make 5 recipes with the dehydrator

Delicious pumpkin leather + nice, thick crackers (which I scored a few hours in, for clean cuts) made of oats, almond pulp + pumpkin seeds that would otherwise go to waste, ground flax, garden carrots + tomatoes + onions, and only a slight bit of salt. Highly addictive.

I don't know how I lived my life without this thing.

Original goal list posted here

Progress #5: Go greener

Unloaded some stuff and picked up some more at the Evergreen Brickworks Trade and Swap Market.

It was overwhelming and I wouldn't do it again, but I'm glad I followed through on my green plans this weekend.

Original goal list posted here

Progress #5: Go greener - First Field Trip

Today I took a subway trip to meet up with my good friends Tim and Megan (whom I hadn't seen in far too long!) in Toronto's Bloordale Village to check out a few "green" places.

First we went to the pick up location of Saponetti Inc. (Bloor/Dufferin)
615c Brock St. - 3-7 W-F, 10-3 S

I bought a 1L mason jar of The Soap Works hand soap, along with a pump that turns any mason jar into a dispenser.

I'm unfortunately just out of delivery range, but I think one of the Toronto Tool Factory refill stations is nearer to me.

You should definitely check this place out, GTA friends! They are wanting to turn it into a franchise and expand delivery areas, but it is catching on slower in Toronto than in cities like Vancouver. Please help support a greener Toronto!

Next we walked to Annares Natural Health (Bloor/Dufferin)
1076 Bloor St. W.

Very cool vibe, and I wanted to buy just about everything. I settled on 1. some crushed apricot seed shells for an exfoliant in the next soaps I make, and 2. An aventurine necklace charm for a friend.

Next, we walked to lunch at a place that has been on my radar for quite some time: Hogtown Vegan (Bloor/Dufferin)
1056 Bloor St. W.

I ordered the vegan mac 'n cheese, which was great -- but I'd love to stop by again sometime for some "un"chicken 'n waffles.

By chance, next, we ended up at a lovely little place two doors down called The Maker Bean Cafe.

My older sister and beloved nephew came by to meet us at Hogtown Vegan, but the latter was not feeling the bustle post-interrupted-nap and needed to take a walk. They ended up here. It was a lovely little coffee place that also does 3D print and laser woodcut designs. My nephew really took to all their 3D display pieces and they really took to him.

Nice little place, which also does workshops!

Great little day.

Original goal list posted here

Progress: #20. Make 5 recipes with the dehydrator: 1, 2, 3/5

I originally wanted a dehydrator in order to be able to make the most of my almond pulp after making almond milk. I received one as a gift from my sister last Christmas, but then got overwhelmed because it was new and left it in a cupboard until yesterday (#asdprobs).

I started simple: one tray for drying some basil I've been growing in my AeroGarden; one tray for some apple flax almond granola; and a third tray for flax almond crackers, with chopped tomato, garlic, and basil inclusions.

All were a success! I crumbled the basil into a shaker, I ate the granola for a highly rare breakfast with my freshly made almond milk, and I ate the crackers for dinner with hummus.

Next time I'd like to ease on the salt for the crackers, because they end up so flavorful already. I'd also like to add oatmeal to the granola.

Now that I have a basic familiarity with this machine, I want to make some fruit leathers soon!

Original goal list posted here

Progress: #13. Do more advocacy for ASD

Step one has simply been to just own my diagnosis -- to not be afraid to mention it, casually, in context -- because if I am stigmatizing myself, for years now, how can I say I expect anyone else not to do the same? 

Also exposure breeds understanding. If this has given myself a context to better understand myself over the course of five years -- how can I expect anyone else to understand without context?

I have not regretted this choice.



Original goal list posted here