Thursday 29 January 2015

Of beliefs, jobs, unions, OPSEU, rants, and Kathleen Wynne

Let me tell you a little bit about myself; I'm a law clerk for the Ministry of Aboriginal Affairs in the province of Ontario.

Contrary to public misconception I don't actually make a lot of money; in fact I make 20 to 40k LESS than my counterparts in the private sector. It's true I don't work the long hours that many private sector clerks work, but that's neither by choice nor due to lack of work. I've been told by the employer I'm not allowed to work overtime unless it’s considered urgent or critical.

In the private sector I would have worked for one to five lawyers max, and I would have had my own office. In the government I work for EIGHTEEN lawyers and I have a cubicle. Yes I get a benefits package; guess what? So do most private sector firms. Okay, I have a pension plan, but so do a lot of the bigger private sector places these days.

Many people think government workers have it easy. Again I remind you that one clerk works for eighteen lawyers; plus I do a lot of things not in my job description.

I'm good with computers so I'm the go-to-girl when things go screwy since IT is so busy and understaffed. Otherwise it would take days to get a response and get things fixed. I'm also the one worrying about how our records are kept, how our documents are gathered and preserved. Oh, and I sit on the joint health and safety committee so when there's an issue I have to investigate and make sure it's resolved. And I also co-chair the ministry health and wellness committee.

Did I mention that I'm a union steward and am responsible for assisting all the OPSEU members in my local with issues big and small; from the need to vent about their boss to filing a grievance and arguing it on their behalf?  But none of that gets done on tax payer time; it's done on my breaks and days off and after work. I don't get paid to do it; I do it because I genuinely believe that both what I do for a living and what I do for my union matters and makes a difference. I do it to help people.

I come from a family of civil servants, and by family I mean extended family. My father worked for Hydro, my mum was a grade school teacher; one brother works for a municipal government while another works for the LCBO. I have cousins serving in the armed forces, others working for the federal government, others who teach, an aunt who worked for Canada Post. Like I said, there are a lot of public servants in my family tree.

I BELIEVE in helping people; in working for my province and helping to make it a better place for all Ontarians to live. I BELIEVE in the work my ministry does; rebuilding relationships with First Nations, honouring the treaties made by the founders of our province and country and making right the wrongs our forefathers did to the indigenous peoples of this country.

But I'm not sure I believe that our provincial government and our leader - my former minister and the woman I voted for - believes in the work we do. Not anymore.

She says the cupboards are bare; that it's a ‘Net Zero’ increase is because they have no money to spend on their employees. And yet the government overpaid eight billion dollars in private contracts according to the Auditor General. The Wynne government has, in the last three weeks alone, given away one hundred and thirty eight million dollars in grants - free money - to private businesses.

The Ontario government cost of living adjustment, when it’s not 0%, is well below the rest of Canada and the private sector - but let's not quibble about that. According to the new Stats Canada definition of middle class, my gross annual salary is considered a poverty wage, but again - let’s not get into that. The very fact that, at 45 years old, the only reason I have any money saved at all for retirement is due to the mandatory pension plan and the fact that I got very lucky and won a contest that let me put a little away - but that’s neither here nor there.

Let’s talk about what Premier Wynne’s Net Zero wage increase really means.

If Net Zero  truly meant what it sounds like, I might be - well not okay with it but - more understanding of what my government was doing to my contract. But that's not what it means at all. It's just a catchy little ear worm meant to placate the media and deceive the public as to the true meaning of cuts the province is trying to force on us.

Net Zero means starting anyone newly hired by the government – or anyone moving into a new position – at 8% less salary than other people who started in the job even six months ago.

It means that it would take twelve years, instead of the current six, to earn their top salary. Well, actually, it means that it would take people sixteen years to get to their top salary since the employer also wants to freeze any wage or merit increase for another four years.

Net Zero means attacking and taking away our termination pay; basically letting an employee go with nothing, not even a thank you for time served.

Net Zero means cutting our long term disability as well as making us continue to pay into pension, supplementing any WSIB award, and taking a hit in how much we would be getting – 70% salary down to 66%.

Net Zero means that if you get hurt at work, the government is going to hurt your pocketbook; they want to deny us the right to use our vacation days and credits to top up our salary.

Net Zero means forcing an employee on medical or disability leave back to work before they’re ready because they’ll have a ‘mandatory rehabilitation plan’ to follow.

Net Zero means the government is going to start denying it’s employees certain classes of drugs, only paying a small portion of others and, most likely, agreeing to pay 80% on only the cheapest classes of drugs. Even though we’re already having to get generic instead of what the doctors really want to give us.

Basically, that means if a doctor prescribes a class of drugs – say for chemo treatments or MS or diabetes – which isn't on the approved list it comes out of our pocket entirely or we tell our doctor to prescribe us something that is on the list. And I should mention that the person deciding what classes of drugs are too expensive for the government to allow us to have isn't even a licensed medical practitioner, just some private company with a connection to the Liberal party. What a shock.

It kind of sounds like the employer is trying to get us to die a lot faster if we’re sick.

This is what Net Zero really looks like; this is what the provincial government isn't saying in the news when they use the cute little catch phrase of Net Zero that their spin doctors came up with.

This is how much they believe in the value and worth of their lowest paid - and largest portion of the Ontario Public Service - employees.

Oh yeah, here’s one final set of numbers for you. At the last strike OPSEU was 110,000 members strong. This time around we only have 35,000 members. 

Do the math. Those are the job cuts already made; people who already lost their jobs due to government downsizing and 'restructuring'. Those are the seventy five thousand less jobs in the OPS that the government is already saving on. Those are seventy five thousand less people able to assist the Ontario public with whatever services they require to live their lives; seventy five thousand less administrative staff, corrections officers, prison guards, front line workers, law clerks, ODSP officers and vehicle safety inspectors.

So where did that money go? Good question. 

Unfortunately, what the politicians do with the money isn't something civil servants can control. We just work for them; it was the people of Ontario elected them and gave them the money to govern their province. Your tax money - yours and mine and every other OPSEU member's tax money.

They squandered it. The LIBERAL PARTY OF ONTARIO squandered, mismanaged it and used it for their own political gain. KATHLEEN WYNNE’s party frittered away Ontario's money - my tax dollars and yours. 

So my question is, why do I have to pay for the Liberal party's mistakes and misspent money when all I want to serve my province, be a good employee and make a difference in the lives of my fellow Ontarians? 

Why do any of the unions? Because all any of us want to do is be good at our jobs, serve the public in whatever capacity our position allows us, and make a difference in the lives of the people of our province.


Wednesday 7 May 2014

Superfresh Chickpea Confetti Salad and Epic blogging fail

First of all - the epic fail. It's been a month without blogging anything. That being said I was gone for 3 out of the 4 weekends in April. Still no excuse. Hope this makes up for it!


Superfresh Chickpea Confetti Salad


Ingredients

·         1 can of chickpeas
·         ½ a red onion
·         3-4 spring onions
·         1 sweet pepper of your preferred colour
·         ½ carton of cherry tomatoes
·         1 cup mini carrots
·         1 block light feta cheese
·         Handful of Italian parsley
·         2 limes, zest and juice
·         Splash of pesto oil*

* I love Classico pesto but I hate all the oil in it so I drain off as much of the oil as I can into a jar and repurpose it in vinaigrettes and for whatever else I need flavoured oil.


Directions

  1. Drain and rinse one can of chickpeas, add to bowl;
  2. Dice red onion, peppers and carrots, add to bowl;
  3. Slice green onions thinly on diagonal, add to bowl;
  4. Halve cherry tomatoes; add to bowl (there is a pattern here, no?);
  5. finely chop a handful of Italian parsley, add to bowl;
  6. Cube up feta, add to the bowl
  7. Zest 2 limes into bowl, add their juice (I’m a sucker for citrus so I always keep a bottle of RealLime and RealLemon in the fridge and add a bit more for extra zippyness!)
  8. Add a splash of pesto oil to bowl (see * above);
  9. Salt and pepper to taste;
  10. Mix well and…

Eat!

Enjoy!!

Sunday 23 March 2014

Busy bakesale baker bee!

Well I taste tested these muffins last week at work with a few co-workers (the glutinous variety) so I've decided to make them for a bake sale at work tomorrow, this time gluten free. I'm about to start experimenting with different berries, next batch will be Cranberry lemon ricotta for my breakfasts for the week :)


Blueberry* Lemon Ricotta Muffins


Yield: Makes 15 muffins
Cook Time: 25 minutes

Ingredients:
  • 2 cups all-purpose flour – if gluten free at 1 ¾ cups of El Peto all-purpose gluten free flour
  • 2 tsp baking powder
  • 1 tsp baking soda
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt
  • 1/3 cup fruit sugar or sugar substitute
  • Zest of 2 lemons
  • 1/2 cup butter substitute like I can’t believe it’s not butter
  • 1 tsp vanilla
  • 1 cup ricotta cheese (whole or low-fat is fine)
  • 1 cup soy or other non-dairy milk
  • 1 large egg
  • 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
  • 1 pint fresh blueberries*
Topping ingredients:

  • 1/3 cup of fruit sugar or sugar substitute
  • Zest of 1 lemon

    *You can use another type of ‘berry’ fruit as well – blackberries, cranberries, strawberries, raspberries etc. just add approximately 1 cup of berries (more if you like a fruity muffin, less if you prefer a hint of berry with lots of muffin)

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line 12 muffin cups with paper liners. Set aside.

In a medium bowl (I use a 4 cup measuring cup, makes pouring easier), whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Set aside.

In a small bowl, add the sugar and lemon zest. Mix together well with a fork.

Using an electric or stand mixer, beat the butter and sugar and lemon zest mixture together until light and fluffy, about two minutes. Add the ricotta cheese and vanilla and beat until smooth. Beat in the, soy or other dairy milk alternative, egg, and lemon juice.

Add the dry ingredients and mix until just blended and gently fold in blueberries. Using an ice cream scoop or large spoon, fill each muffin cup with batter.

Zest remaining lemon into a bowl with 1/3 cup of sugar, mix until evenly distributed (it will have the texture of wet sand). Generously sprinkle the lemon sugar topping over each muffin top.

Bake muffins for about 25 minutes, or until the tops are slightly golden brown. Let muffins cool for five minutes in the pan and then remove to finish cooling on a wire rack

Eat!

Enjoy!!

Sunday 9 March 2014

FRICKLES (aka Deep Fried Pickles)




Okay it’s a threefer this weekend!

I had a sudden craving for Frickles, something I discovered in Cincinnati with my bff @hguthridge. It's definitely a Southern thang' y'all!

For those who love dill pickles, there is nothing like a deep fried pickle, hot out of the deep fryer, with buttermilk ranch dressing or blue cheese dressing. This is my version of it.

Ingredients


  • Sliced dill pickle chips
  • 1 egg
  • 1 cup Flour
  • 3-4 dashes of smoky paprika
  • 3-4 dashes of cayenne pepper
  • A pinch of black pepper
  • Vegetable oil - enough to fill 1/4 of a medium pot

Directions

  1.  
  2. Heat vegetable oil on stove
  3. Mix flour, paprika, and cayenne in bowl
  4. Mix egg and milk in separate bowl
  5. Drain pickles, dry.
  6. Dunk pickles in egg mixture
  7. Dredge egg covered pickles in flour mixture
  8. Deep fry in hot oil until they float to surface.
  9. Drain on paper towel
  10. Use blue cheese/buttermilk ranch for dipping sauce.
  11. Eat!
  12. Enjoy!!



DANDANMIAN (or my take on Dan Dan Noodles)


I’m a huge FoodNetwork junkie and I make no bones about it. It’s my background noise most nights, my culinary educator and the source of inspiration for many of my own recipes. (Kind of like this one!) So when Gordon Ramsay came up with his Gordon’s Ultimate Cookery show and promised to teach you how to cook without any of the hard graft (I love that line J) I was glued.

I have to confess something – I couldn’t stand Gordon Ramsay until this show. He struck me as a big, bullying prick. I get he was supposed to be mean, it made for good TV, but as someone who has struggled with low self-esteem for most of her life, watching this man - who was supposed to be a role model - scream derogatory insults at people who were trying their hardest just struck a negative chord with me. His new Ultimate shows have shown him as a real person, at home in his own kitchen, with family and friends  without any of the ‘reality tv’ feel and I thought _finally_ here’s the real guy, the one I actually like. And then he turned out to have such a similar culinary taste to mine I went ‘wow, how did I not know this?

This recipe is the perfect example of that – I ADORE Asian cuisine – any Asian cuisine. This particular one is a Chinese street food that is not only spicy and delicious but actually so much more healthy than North American street food. I _want_ this in Toronto. Seriously! Give me a Dandan truck and I’ll be a happy girl. I sat glued to the episode that this was from and had to try it right away. And of course trying it meant I had to play, experiment and adapt to my own tastes. This is what I’ve come up with.

There are asterisks in this recipe – the cooking notes are at the bottom of the recipe J I’ve also included a link to Gordon’s recipe at the bottom.

 

Ingredients 

  • 1lb ground pork (or other ground meat *)
  • 1 thumb-sized piece of ginger root, peeled and minced
  • 2-3 cloves of garlic, minced
  • 1 carrot, ribboned
  • 3 tbsp Chinese cooking wine
  • 2 tbsp low sodium soy sauce, or tamari if you’re gluten free
  • 2 tbsp sesame oil
  • 2 tbsp Sichuan peppercorns **
  • 3-4 thai bird chilis (adjust to your heat level)
  • 2 tbsp sambal olek
  • Rice vinegar, to taste
  • Cooking spray with a few drops of sesame oil for frypan
  • Chinese duck egg noodles or rice noodles if you’re going gluten free


To garnish before serving:

  • Fresh coriander (cilantro) chopped
  • 3-scallions, thin sliced on diagonal
  • 1tbsp toasted sesame seeds
  • Fresh limes cut into wedges 

Directions


  1. Put your ground meat into a bowl and add the cooking wine, soy sauce/tamari and sesame oil. Stir lightly to coat and set aside to marinate for at least 10 minutes or in fridge to marinate for a few hours.
  2. Take meat out of fridge before you start preparing the other ingredients to come up to room temp.
  3. Prepare the garlic and ginger. Peel you carrot and use the peeler to shave off long ribbons of carrot, give it a rough chop to make bite sized.
  4. Saute in fry pan with cooking spray and sesame oil for 1 minute. Add in thai bird chilis and cook for another 30 seconds.***
  5. Add in marinated meat and brown.
  6. Add your Sichuan peppercorns, carrot ribbons and sambal olek, and a few splashes of rice wine vinegar; cook for a few more minutes.
  7. Taste and add more soy/tamari and rice wine vinegar if needed.
  8. Prepare your egg noodles/rice vermicelli according to their directions.
  9. Top noodles with some of the meat mixture and garnish with some fresh chopped coriander, scallions, and sesame seeds and squirt the lime wedge on top.
  10. Eat!
  11. Enjoy!!


Cooking Notes


 *I’ve tried this recipe with ground chicken too. Personally I don’t think chicken holds up under the intense flavours of this dish but if you aren’t a pork person you might try ground turkey instead – it’s a much heartier and robust meat to chicken.

** If you’re like me, you habitually forget to put Sichuan peppercorns on your shopping list so here’s an easy cheat. Crush your regular black peppercorns with a mortar and pestle, grate in the zest of one lemon, mix together and you have faux Sichuan peppercorns!

***The chilis give off very pungent fumes as the oil releases that can cause much choking and coughing – I speak from experience on this! So make sure your kitchen is well ventilated and don’t cook longer than 30 seconds to a minute just to get the oils flowing before adding in your ground meat.



Sichuan Pork Noodles a la Gordon Ramsay

Banana Date Muffins and playing with your food

There is something incredibly visceral about pitting your own dates.

My fingers press and separate the jammy, sticky flesh to pluck out the seeds and it hearkens me back to my childhood making mud pies and playing in the wet sand, the way it clung and squished.

But, unlike my childhood, when I’m done I can lick my fingers and taste the sweetness of the Middle Eastern sun baked into the dates. Yumm!

Ingredients


  • 1 ½ cups of all-purpose flour
  • 1 cup of whole oats
  • ¼ cup fruit sugar
  • 1 tbsp chia seeds
  • 3 tbsp flax seeds
  • 2 tsp baking powder
  • 1 tsp baking soda
  • ¼ tsp salt
  • 1 tsp cinnamon
  • 1 tsp cardamom
  • ½ tsp fresh grated nutmeg
  • 1 egg
  • 1 cup soy milk
  • ¼ cup of vegetable oil
  • 1 tsp vanilla
  • 3 mashed bananas
  • 1 cup pitted, chopped dates


Streusel topping

  • ½ cup plus 3 tbsp ap flour
  • ¼ cup brown sugar or brown sugar substitute
  • ¼ cup butter or butter substitute
  • ½ tsp cinnamon
  • ¼ tsp fresh grated nutmeg
  • ½ tsp cardamom

Directions


  1. In a large bowl combine all dry ingredients and whisk together.
  2. In a smaller bowl combine all wet ingredients, including mashed banana.
  3. In a third bowl combine all ingredients for streusel topping – use fingers or cut with pastry cutter until it resembles coarse sand/ small pebbles and set aside
  4. Gradually add wet ingredients to dry and mix until just combined.
  5. Add in chopped dates
  6. Using an ice cream scoop, scoop batter into muffin cups (it will be a wet batter)
  7. Top with streusel.
  8. Bake at 375 degrees for 20-25 minutes or until lightly golden brown on top and a toothpick comes clean.
  9. Cool
  10. Eat
  11. Enjoy!

Sunday 2 March 2014

The perfect comfort food


Cheesy Shepherd’s Pie

  
Ingredients

  • 2lbs of potatoes, scrubbed and cubed – I buy Yukon gold and leave the skin on for added nutrients
  • ¼ cup of milk
  • 1 stick of unsalted butter, cut into chunks, less 1 tbsp for the gravy
  • Salt and black pepper to taste
  • A splash of olive oil
  • 1 red onion, diced
  • 1 cup, frozen peas and carrots
  • 1 tray sliced cremini mushrooms
  • 1 clove garlic, minced
  • 1 lb ground beef
  • 1 lb ground lamb
  • 1 pint beef stock (salt free)
  • 2 tbsp finely chopped Italian parsley
  • 1 tbsp all purpose flour or gluten free flour
  • 1 cup of grated cheddar cheese



Directions

  1. First start by making the mashed potatoes
  2. Boil until soft and place in colander. In the pot heat milk and butter less the 1 tablespoon reserved. Once melted add the potatoes back in and mash, adding salt and pepper to taste.
  3. Cover and set aside.
  4. Add oil to frying pan and add onion. Saute them for 5 minutes and add garlic. Saute for another few minutes
  5. Add the ground lamb and beef as well as 1/3 of the beef stock. Stirring constantly until the meat is all browned.
  6. Add remaining stock, parsley, mushrooms and frozen peas and carrots. Season to taste
  7. Cover and cook for 15 minutes
  8. Add the flour to the reserved butter and mash into a paste. Add to meat mixture in small chunks to thicken the sauce, takes about 5 minutes.
  9. Pour into oven proof dish and top with the mashed potatoes.
  10. Sprinkle the grated cheese on top.

 You can now refrigerate once the pie has cooled slightly or you can bake in a preheated oven at 400 degrees for 30 minutes.

Remove from oven and rest for 5 minutes then serve.

Eat! Enjoy!!

Sunday 23 February 2014

It's been a while hasn't it... but here's a new recipe!

Confetti Citrus Quinoa Salad



INGREDIENTS 
·  2 lemons, zest and juice
·  2 lime, zest and juice
·  ½ cup of real lime juice (if not citrusy enough for you.)
·  1 block of light feta cheese, diced
·  2 cucumbers, seeds removed and diced
·  3 green onions, sliced
·  ½ bag of baby carrots, chopped
· 1 pepper, diced
·  ½ cup of fresh Italian flat leaf parsley chopped
·  1 cup white quinoa
·  1 cup red quinoa
·  4 cups water or no sodium vegetable or chicken stock or a combination of
·  Salt and pepper to taste


DIRECTIONS

1.      Bring 4 cups of stock to boil. Add quinoa, bring back to boil, reduce heat to medium and cover, simmering for 18-20 minutes until water is absorbed.
2.      When liquid is absorbed, remove from heat, fluff with fork, cover and let sit for 15 minutes.
3.      While quinoa is cooling chop up vegetables.
4.      Zest citrus directly into cooling quinoa and add juice of lemons and lime + extra lime juice so it’s absorbed into the quinoa while cooling
5.      Add vegetables, parsley, salt, pepper and diced feta once cool.
This makes about 8 cups of salad - which is my lunches for a week :-)

To make this a lunch portion, add ½ a diced avocado and ½ a can of water packed chunk light tuna just before serving.

Eat. Enjoy!


Wednesday 16 October 2013

Thanksgiving Flavours in a chili.... yum yum

I didn't have turkey for Thanksgiving - I had Chinese because I spent the weekend at  The Salute to Supernatural convention, geeking out. Like my button says - "Fangirl - Has been known to squee without warning. Approach with caution!"

However, this meant I was craving my turkey and my pumpkin. Sadness :( 

But instead of making a full blown Thanksgiving dinner I decided to make chili instead!



Turkey Pumpkin Chili


Serves 6

Besides adding a sweet nutty flavor to dishes, pumpkin is a ready source of vitamin A, which boosts the nutrition content of this offbeat chili.

Ingredients: 

2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1 medium onion, chopped,
2 sweet bell peppers, cored, seeded and chopped
1 carrot, diced small
2 celery ribs, diced small
2 jalapeños, seeded and finely chopped
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
1 pound ground white or dark meat turkey
1 19 oz can diced tomatoes, with their liquid
1 (15 ounce) can pumpkin purée
1 cup vegetable stock
1 tablespoon chili powder
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon salt
Ground black pepper, to taste
1 can black turtle beans, rinsed and drained

Method: 

  1. Heat 1 tablespoon of oil in a large pot over medium high heat.  Add onion, sweet bell peppers, jalapeños and garlic and cook, stirring frequently, until tender, about 5 minutes and remove from pot.
  2. Add 2nd tablespoon of oil into pot and brown ground turkey.  
  3. Add the onion bell pepper mixture back in along with tomatoes, pumpkin, water, chili powder, cumin, salt and pepper and bring to a boil.
  4. Reduce heat to medium low and add beans.
  5. Cover and simmer, stirring occasionally, for 30 minutes more.
  6. Ladle chili into bowls and serve. I like to serve mine over whole wheat macaroni.

(here’s a trick – if your chili is a little too runny for you add a couple of teaspoons of cornmeal to thicken it up!)

Garnishes you can add: a dollop of sour cream, pickled jalapeños, shredded cheese, hot sauce.

Nutritional Info: 
Per Serving:280 calories (110 from fat), 13g total fat, 2.5g saturated fat, 55mg cholesterol, 580mg sodium, 23g carbohydrate (8g dietary fiber, 7g sugar), 20g protein

Sunday 6 October 2013

Fall is here and crisp apples scent the air

It's a rainy fall day outside my window but nothing says comfort like the smell of baking apples. So here's an easy peasy recipe to make your kitchen smell like fall in the nicest kind of way.


Spiced Harvest Apple Chips

adapted from Leann Bakes


Ingredients:



Apples. Any number of any variety. (You can't really mess this part up.)
2 tsp of cinnamon
1 tsp of fresh grated nutmeg
1 tsp of cardamom
½ tsp of ground ginger
¼ tsp of allspice (optional)
2 tsp of fruit sugar (optional)

Directions:



Preheat oven to 220F, and line two large baking pans with parchment paper.

Using a knife, or a mandolin if you have one, slice apples as thin as possible. Lay them side by side on a baking sheet, being careful not to overlap, lest you want conjoined chips.


Mix your spices together and pour into a clean spice jar and gently sprinkle a thin coating of the spice blend onto the apple slices.

Bake for one hour, flip the slices, and bake for one hour more. Place on a wire cooling rack. Chips will crisp up as they cool.

Eat!

Enjoy!!