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Interview with Catherine Beddall, AC Instructor/Pastry Artist & a Chance to Win her Book!

Catherine Beddall was recently featured on myAC to highlight her story in the Food section of the Ottawa Citizen dated Wednesday, October 26th, 2016, entitled Haunted Gingerbread by Laura Robin.

Catherine is an Instructor in the Baking and Pastry Arts program at Algonquin College and has successfully combined her graphic design and pastry chef skills to create anything gingerbread in her recently released book The Magic of Gingerbread. Catherine is amazed and very grateful; since the Ottawa Citizen article was published, her book has topped the best seller lists in both of Amazon’s “Cookie” and “Holiday” categories!

For a chance to win this 176-page book full of illustrations and gingerbread making secrets, kindly donated by Catherine, please send an email by noon on Thursday, December 15th, with your name and contact information to: livelaughlearn@algonquincollege.com

Catherine is always careful to include a sincere acknowledgement to her colleague AC Professor Toni Bond, former owner of Devon Bakery in Manotick, for sharing his knowledge and inspiring her career change.

Catherine is a two-time winner of the CMHC/Habitat for Humanity’s gingerbread house competition and 2011 winner of the Canadian Gingerbread House Championship. She also runs her own business creating custom cakes and gingerbread pieces for weddings and celebrations. To see her magical creations you can also visit: Facebook.com/cbedibleart or www.catherinebeddall.com

Catherine is kindly sharing her CHOCOLATE GINGERBREAD recipe with us, below … Enjoy!

200g / 7oz / 1 cup shortening

200g / 7oz / 1 cup granulated sugar

160g / 5.5oz / 1/2 cup molasses (regular or “fancy,” not blackstrap)

3 tbsp water

480g / 17oz / 3 cups all-purpose flour

25g / 1oz / 1/4 cup of cocoa

4 tsp ground ginger

1/2 tsp baking soda

1 tsp salt

For chocolate gingerbread, add 25g/1oz/1/4 cup of cocoa and a teaspoon of water

1. Preheat oven to 350° F

2. Using a stand mixer with paddle attachment or a sturdy hand mixer, beat the shortening and sugar together until light and fluffy

3. Add molasses and water and beat until incorporated. Scrape down bowl and beat again for another 30 seconds

4. Sift dry ingredients together and add all at once

5. Mix on slow speed until the dry ingredients are incorporated and the dough appears crumbly

6. When you press the dough with your hands, it will stick together

7. Once the dough has come together firmly in a ball, it’s ready to roll out

ROLLING THE DOUGH

1. Lay a sheet of parchment paper on a flat work surface. The sheet should be no larger than the size of your baking tray

2. Transfer the dough from your mixing bowl onto the parchment paper and press down slightly to spread it out a bit

3. Place another sheet of parchment paper on top

4. Roll out the gingerbread, occasionally turning your rolling pin to ensure even spread of the dough, until it’s about 1/8” thick. Don’t worry if the dough has come past the edges of the parchment paper—you can just cut the edges away

5. Remove the top piece of parchment paper, and there you have it—a smooth, even sheet of gingerbread dough ready for cutting shapes.

CUTTING SHAPES

1. Place the cutter directly on the dough and push down firmly. Remove the cutter. Cut as many shapes as desired or as the sheet of dough will allow, leaving about 1/2” of space between the shapes

2. When all the shapes are cut, use the tip of a paring knife to pick up the excess dough and lift it off the baking sheet. Continue

until all the excess dough has been removed (the excess can be gathered together and rolled out again)

3. Holding an edge of each side of the parchment paper, lift and place it directly onto the baking tray

4. The shapes can go straight in the oven. They don’t need to be refrigerated first

5. Bake until the edges of the cookies are just slightly darkened (about 12-14 minutes)

How to Remember

In early November, the College announced the ‘Lest We Forget’ project.

The project was a slide show to honour the memory of veterans related to — or friends of — employees and students. The slides were shown on digital screens across the college on Remembrance Day, as well as on monitors in the Marketplace Food Court during the Remembrance Day ceremonies.

‘Lest we forget.’

The author Elie Wiesel suggested, “To forget the dead would be akin to killing them a second time.”

According to Veterans Affairs Canada, as of early 2014, 88,400 Canadian Second World War veterans were still alive, although most were over the age of 90. The Calgary Sun reported that figure at 91,400 a year earlier, in March 2013. In fact, reports suggest that at least 50 die every day — obviously a figure that portends exponential growth.

So, how do we remember? How do we prevent fact from bleeding into fiction? With fewer and fewer veterans, how do we become viable sentinels?

Humility

Considering Veterans Day, the editorial board of the New York Times examined the role of silence. “The simple stories we tell ourselves about why we go to war, every soldier who has seen combat knows there is no simple story. The dead have taken that awareness with them, but the living carry it, usually silently, within them. That, too, is the strangeness of this day — to honor men and women who know things about living, dying, and the character of war that we can never really imagine. It should arouse a humility in all the rest of us, and in humility there is a silence, too.”

Humility? Dictionary definition — “Humility comes from the Latin word humilis, which literally means low. [However] someone who spends his life taking care of others shows humility. Although it’s related to humiliation (which makes you feel low in a bad way), humility is usually used to talk about a lack of ego.”

There we have it. With a perspective inured to media onslaught, we find that “in humility there is silence.” Wisdom becomes gratefulness, and a sense of thanks that always seems inadequate.

We must remember never to forget.

December book club gathering a happy annual tradition

By Jamie Ledoux
Professor in Tourism & Travel Program

Our annual Christmas book club meeting was always met with warm expectations. Year after year a brave book club member would volunteer to host the holiday gathering in her home. In addition to book discussions, the December meeting included a variety of spirits to sip, tasty potluck contributions and a Christmas tree ornament exchange. This middle-of-the-month meeting provided a relaxing refuge from the craziness of December. Great friends, memorable holiday treats, lots of laughs. And sometimes we remembered to discuss a book!

Christmas Holidays with my Ottawa Book Club

by Catherine Lee

My Ottawa Book Club has been going for more than 20 years, and most of us have been through so many of life’s happy and as well as more challenging events together. We have our traditions that have been going for just as many years as well, and many of them are designed to celebrate the good things in life, to raise a glass to coming through life’s rough spots, and most of all to share joy in our enduring friendships.

Our Book Club meets once a month. We take turns choosing the book and hosting in our homes, and the food is mostly casual and full of appetizers and munchies, some dessert, and of course wine and chocolate. We talk, we laugh, we solve world and not-so-world problems, and we mostly get around to chatting about the book as well.

But in December, one of our firm traditions is an event we call Ulla Mary May’s Christmas Extravaganza. Our friend Ulla has special permission from all of us to put on a full multi-course dinner (as long as the rest of us don’t have to produce the same sometime). Ulla does a complete Martha Stewart on her dining room and formal table, and decorates the entire house, creating themes on tables, in the foyer, in corners, on the oak staircase, and even in the guest powder room. It is magnificent. We all look forward to it, and we dress up in our finest holiday attire accordingly. And the Book Club members who have moved out-of-town always try to come back for this amazing gathering.

This event is the best way for our group to celebrate the highlights of the past year, to raise a glass to each other in celebration of Christmas and the holidays, and to share in the gift of wonderful friends. We feel very lucky.

Black Friday Madness or Shift Your Shopping?

As the annual Christmas holiday season approaches, many of us are lured into marketing messages that pervade this time of year, and the allure of getting the best “Black Friday” deals online or at the mall. “Black Friday” falls on the Friday after U.S. Thanksgiving, which is November 25^th this year, and is one of the 10 busiest shopping days of the year in North America according to Wikipedia.

A counter-cultural movement toward more “conscientious” consumerism and challenging society’s obsession with consumption is bubbling up. The first “Buy Nothing” day originated in Canada in 1992 and has spawned similar types of campaigns, such as “Occupy Xmas.”

Over-consumption is easily linked as a contributing factor in what is so “unsustainable” about much of our modern lives and modern economy. This topic is vast and fascinating and is well-explained by experts such as “The Story of Stuff” visionary Annie Leonard.

Using a “sustainability lens,” I prefer to look for simple, and positive, approaches to frame my own decision-making on consumption on a daily basis. I know that as a consumer, I have POWER with the decisions I make. With every dollar I spend, I want to encourage more “good” (environmental, economic and social) and get away from the things that continue to contribute to negative social, economic and environmental impacts.

“Shift Your Shopping” is a slogan I can get behind! A grassroots movement came up with this one as a “buy-local” campaign. (check out the amusing video created in 2013 with actor Kevin Bacon https://youtu.be/Ax5QOnVoZY0)

So, how will I shift my shopping this holiday season? What would an Algonquin College/Ottawa/Sustainability “Shift Your Shopping” effort look like?

It is actually pretty simple! Here are a few starting points:

Nothing says “local” like the “Keep it on Campus” campaign from Ancillary Services. Operating as a “social enterprise,” Algonquin’s Ancillary Services “profits” go toward supporting the expansion and enhancement of Algonquin College services, programs and facilities. Connections has great choices for hostess gifts, stocking stuffers, electronics and, of course, AC swag.

Phil Rouble, Associate Director, Facilities Planning and Sustainability, is one of the many regular contributors to SEATS fundraising with delicious Camino fair trade chocolate sales. The “mini’s” are 55% dark chocolate at 3/$1.

Be kind to the chocoholics in your life and buy fair trade. The grassroots sustainability group for staff, See Earth Action Team for Sustainability (SEATS), continues its sale of delicious fairtrade chocolate bars and hot cocoa mixes from our local (Almonte) chocolate company, Camino. The fair trade chocolate story is very compelling (http://www.lasiembra.com/camino/) and SEATS is using this fundraiser to support United Way, the AC Green Team and the students’ Spread the Net campaign.

Now back to “less stuff” — give the gift of an experience rather than more stuff. Last year, I gave my father-in-law a year’s supply of my homemade granola. At 93, he definitely does not need more stuff. My talents are limited, but I can make a nice batch of granola and I get quality time with mother-in-law in this labour of love on a monthly basis (this gift gives twice!) For those who are short on ideas for experiences, the Algonquin College community again offers many options: Restaurant International or AC Spa gift certificates or ticket to one of the many musical or comedian performances hosted at the Algonquin Commons Theatre.

Happy shifting your shopping!

Sarah Dehler
Sustainability Coordinator

Winter Interiorscaping with Greenery

By Rachel Rhoades

When decorating your home for winter — whether you celebrate a religious holiday or just want to spruce it up for the season — consider the pros and cons of live plants, cut plants and faux plants.

The benefit to using live plants is that they last longer than cut plants, are fairly environmentally friendly and are easy to dispose of when the season is over. They will need care — but it’s minimal. Just the occasional watering. Poinsettias are a popular option. What was once a standard red plant now comes in a variety of colours, including pink, white and burgundy, and you can get variegated or painted poinsettias — which come in blues, purples and glitter. They may need to be watered a few times a week. Once the colour has worn off, and the plant drops its bracts (brightly coloured leaves, often perceived to be the flower), the plant can be composted in your city’s green bin or in your back yard.

Potted evergreens tend to be smaller than cut trees, and those celebrating Christmas can decorate them as they would a cut tree. They are a good option for apartments as they tend to be smaller, and are a houseplant rather than a “real tree,” which is forbidden in many apartment buildings. They can be moved outdoors in the spring and planted in the landscape although they might take a few years to fully adjust after having spent a winter indoors. They may need to be watered about once a week. If you don’t have anywhere to plant it, you can always offer it up for free to a neighbour or friend for planting in their landscape.

“Christmas cacti” are a succulent that blooms around the end of November and can be found at most flower retail locations. The bloom will come back every year if the plant is kept on a natural day-length schedule — shorter days make it bloom so, unlike the other live plant options, these can be kept as a year-round houseplant.

Fake greenery is one of the lowest maintenance options for your home. It’s often the best choice for people whose pets would otherwise consume real plants or for people who may be travelling for extended periods. However, it can be detrimental to the environment, and the environmental cost of production as well as the landfill waste at season’s end should be considered.

Cut plants are another great choice, and there are more options from which to choose than for live plants. Evergreen boughs can be used to frame photos, decorate stairwells and liven mantel pieces. Vase arrangements or wreaths can be made from cut evergreens, pine cones, dogwood and willow branches. And, of course, there is the typical live-cut tree option for those celebrating Christmas. Everything can be topped off with some decorative berries, such as juniper, holly or the classic mistletoe.

Many of these are available from your local farmers market — they’re often one of the last items for sale before season’s end. They can also be found them in flower shops. Avoid picking these items from public spaces. Trees and shrubbery can be quickly damaged when the entire city heads out in full force to decorate their homes. However, if you have family or friends who maintain wood lots or live in the country, ask them for permission to harvest from their land. In this way, city trees and national parks are left to grow for another season.

The down side to cut greenery is that it can become a fire hazard if it gets too dry (hence the reason live trees are often forbidden in rental units). If you have a cut tree, water it daily with fresh water. Mist any other natural greenery with water to keep the plants from desiccating. After your winter holiday is past, you can put all your natural greenery on the curb for green bin pick up.

Happy Holidays and Happy Greenscaping.