225 replies to this topic

[Kouign Aman]

The vicarious travel is such a wonderful part of these blogs. This blog is amazingly photo-rich, including a beautiful child and beautiful cats. Your Sam looks like a tom cat I used to own - big soft and in charge.

[Kerry Beal]

The vicarious travel is such a wonderful part of these blogs. This blog is amazingly photo-rich, including a beautiful child and beautiful cats. Your Sam looks like a tom cat I used to own - big soft and in charge.

Sam's actually the siamese, and female. But she is in charge. Toby is the very, very, very fat black and white, he's second in command. Widget is the terrorized cat, he lived under the bed for the first 2 years we had him.

[Ling]

Great blog, Kerry. I can't wait to see the birthday treats!

[John DePaula]

Vietnamese Chicken Thighs
...

Oh Kerry, that looks absolutely D-LISH! Can't wait to try it. BTW, if I can't find the Chinese Brown Sugar Candy, is there an acceptable substitute? Thanks!

[Kerry Beal]

Vietnamese Chicken Thighs
...

Oh Kerry, that looks absolutely D-LISH! Can't wait to try it. BTW, if I can't find the Chinese Brown Sugar Candy, is there an acceptable substitute? Thanks!

I'd probably use just brown sugar, or maybe palm sugar or something of a similar colour.

[Kerry Beal]

So things are coming along finally for the party tomorrow. I have made the chocolate cake and the buttercream, I'll just have to assemble it tomorrow.

I am currently making a Lentil du puy and black olive dip to serve with pita, and my baba ganouche has had to be scrapped.

I had cooked the egg plant, it was lying on a plate on the counter, totally pooped, when I realized I have no tahini, no sesame seeds to make tahini, and of course it's the middle of the night and the only stores that stay open late around here have milk, chips and videos.

The eggplant is on it's way to becoming bathenjane. I sauted an onion in olive oil, added the eggplant, some cumin, garlic, salt and pepper, some tomato paste and water and it is bubbling away in a frying pan on the stove. I would normally bake it, but since the eggplant was already cooked I'm trying it a bit differently. It will also be served with pita.

[snowangel]

Did Kira like the chicken thighs? Heidi would eschew them in favor of rice with the sauce...(with perhaps a bit of finely diced chicken mixed in; oral motor problems).

[Kerry Beal]

Did Kira like the chicken thighs?  Heidi would eschew them in favor of rice with the sauce...(with perhaps a bit of finely diced chicken mixed in; oral motor problems).

Actually with me working in the ER today, dinner got made after she had already eaten. She was eating some Petite Danone yogurt things, and she was gagging and choking. I turned to see why she was choking and Malou announced that Kira was fine, she just didn't like it. Sure enough, Malou tried it again a while later and she gacked. The critter is developing taste buds.

[jayt90]

Can you tell us about the people on the island? Some of the locals, or ER drop ins?

And the fall produce, and what they like to do with it?

[Kerry Beal]

Can you tell us about the people on the island? Some of the locals, or ER drop ins?

And the fall produce, and what they like to do with it?

The population here is very interesting. Like any island it has a whole lot of rugged individualists. The kind that don't come in until the limb is rotting off and even then, only because the smell was bothering the wife.

Entertainment runs to smoking, drinking and making babies for a part of the population. However there are also large number of artists on the island, and a contingent of folks from the big city who come up for a summer vacation and never leave. Some of the city folks don't make it past the first winter, others do just fine.

There are a number of large reservations on the island and on Friday I will be working in Wikwimikong and you'll get to meet some of the locals. There is a huge issue of diabetes on the island, not limited to the natives. I think the natives are genetically programmed to a feast or famine way of life, so their bodies very efficiently store food when they get it. These days there isn't any famine.

Fall produce on the island would be cattle corn, human corn, apples, pears, some berries, squash, tomatoes, zucchini, beets etc. Blueberries are available on the mainland but don't tend to grow on the island for some reason. There is a small farmers market in town on Saturday that we will try to make. There is also an organic garden that you can join, your box shows up on Friday, containing whatever was harvested that week. Several of the docs belong, so I often benefit. Last year it was swiss chard as I recall.

[Abra]

Thanks so much for the recipe, Kerry. I had to laugh at the 1/2 tsp of sriracha. Does sriracha come in amounts that tiny? I'd probably sextuple that.

I'll be the one to ask what I'm sure everyone's dying to know, the story of Kira. Is she your birth daughter? Can she communicate with you in some way? is it possible that she'll "catch up" and be telling you off about the yogurt some day?

[Pan]

Dr. Beal, you must be very popular at the office! I think you're the first doctor I've heard of who bakes muffins for the staff!

I didn't realize Manitoulin was the largest fresh-water island. It must be really big! I've visited Pulau Samosir, a sizeable island in Lake Toba on Sumatra. I had an amazing experience there that involved food, but it's probably pretty irrelevant in this blog.

Your remarks about the genetic tendencies of First Nations people (we call them Native Americans in the U.S.) to retain fat for times of famine ring true to this Jew. I think the same thing is true of Ashkenazic Jews, African-Americans, and indeed many other peoples around the world (Malays included, apparently). Obesity is the product of excellent adaptation to times of scarcity and high levels of physical activity (migrations on foot, hard labor, etc.), isn't it? I don't mean to hijack your blog, but since you're a doctor and brought this issue up, maybe you'll want to elaborate on it as relevant. It's your blog, so it's up to you.

Enjoy your week of blogging from such a picturesque place!

[Edit: I forgot to mention that if there are any yellow haws on the island, they are great as sweet preserved fruit! I got some in Beijing and loved them! The Chinese preserve the red haws much more often, and they're also not bad at all.]

Edited by Pan, 19 September 2006 - 01:03 AM.

[Kerry Beal]

Kira opening her birthday presents, and of course trying to eat the paper.



Today for work I'm taking snickerdoodles.



Kira's cake frosted with buttercream, now where are the damn candles?

I'm off to work now, I'll try to answer some questions while I am there.

[Kerry Beal]

Thanks so much for the recipe, Kerry.  I had to laugh at the 1/2 tsp of sriracha.  Does sriracha come in amounts that tiny?  I'd probably sextuple that.

I'll be the one to ask what I'm sure everyone's dying to know, the story of Kira.  Is she your birth daughter?  Can she communicate with you in some way?  is it possible that she'll "catch up" and be telling you off about the yogurt some day?

The million dollar questions!

Kira was adopted from Vietnam. Our first trip to see her was when she was 5 weeks old, then we brought her home at 3 1/2 months. We met her birth parents and extended family on both trips. Her mother, a very beautiful woman with gold eyes flecked with copper, was very ill. She likely had rheumatic heart disease and was apparently in congestive heart failure when she delivered. Kira was likely born 11 or so weeks early. She was only 2.1 kg when we first saw her. Her mom has since died. Kira has 3 siblings in Vietnam. Men in Vietnam don't do well raising children by themselves, hence the need to give Kira up for adoption.

I worked in a clinic in Hanoi while we were there on our second trip. I was on call on New Years eve, while all the other docs were out drinking. When the shit hit the fan with an HIV positive german tourist who developed encephalopathy (brain infection) I had a drunk doc on the other end of the cell phone helping me arrange transport to the clinic. In Hanoi you can't just call 911 and get an ambulance. It was a very interesting locum, let me tell you. I got paid very little, but it allowed me to write off the trip.

Kira was developing slowly, but apparently normally until 7 months when she had a day of seizures. She was placed on medication, never had another seizure, but it was a year or so before her EEG normallized. She spent a couple of years on medication, but is on no prescribed medication now.


Does Kira communicate? I tell people she can whine in 5 languages. She is getting much more efficient at letting us know her needs. She starts to whine, we hold a drink in front of her, if she kicks her feet and smiles, that's what she wants. Pretty rudimentary, but we are starting with some sign language. She seems to have a pretty good grasp of 'all done'.

I dare to dream that some day she might catch up, she has certainly made huge progress since the start, and we see signs all the time. But the folks at the big developmental assessment centre, who can't tell us what is wrong with her, have clearly stated that she will be dependant her entire life. Hope she will prove them wrong.

It always interests me what comments that people make. The first question I always get asked is "is that your granddaughter?" I've been gray since high school, and I'm no spring chicken these days, but on the odd occasion it really bugs my ass.

The next best was the retired doctor who was in her 80's I was taking care of in hospital a couple of weeks ago after she had a small stroke. She had all her facilties, but her body was a bit weak yet. I bring Kira with me on hospital rounds on the weekend, I have since she was a baby. Well, the old dear says to me that I should get Kira into an institution as quickly as possible so my husband and I can get back to our lives. I have to allow for the fact that she was a product of her times. I laughed and asked if she knew where I could find one of these institutions in this day and age. That kind of brought her up short, as I guess she was unaware that even the parents who desperately need to find a facility for their child are unable to do so these days.

[hathor]

Next million dollar question: do you sleep??? You certainly seem to take on huge tasks and do them very, very well. Brava!!

Ok, now for a 25 cent question: what is sriacha? I just saw this on the dinner thread, and now here. That chicken dish looked delicious!

Thanks for blogging. Some very interesting stuff going on in your life! Is the island as flat as it appears in the pictures? What happens when it storms? Is flooding an issue?
Sorry. I'll stop asking questions. For now.

[Kerry Beal]

Dr. Beal, you must be very popular at the office! I think you're the first doctor I've heard of who bakes muffins for the staff!

I didn't realize Manitoulin was the largest fresh-water island. It must be really big! I've visited Pulau Samosir, a sizeable island in Lake Toba on Sumatra. I had an amazing experience there that involved food, but it's probably pretty irrelevant in this blog.

Your remarks about the genetic tendencies of First Nations people (we call them Native Americans in the U.S.) to retain fat for times of famine ring true to this Jew. I think the same thing is true of Ashkenazic Jews, African-Americans, and indeed many other peoples around the world (Malays included, apparently). Obesity is the product of excellent adaptation to times of scarcity and high levels of physical activity (migrations on foot, hard labor, etc.), isn't it? I don't mean to hijack your blog, but since you're a doctor and brought this issue up, maybe you'll want to elaborate on it as relevant. It's your blog, so it's up to you.

Enjoy your week of blogging from such a picturesque place!


[Edit: I forgot to mention that if there are any yellow haws on the island, they are great as sweet preserved fruit! I got some in Beijing and loved them! The Chinese preserve the red haws much more often, and they're also not bad at all.]

Oh god, you call me Dr Beal, it makes me nervous. I'm Kerry to everyone. I never have done formal very well.

I have been baking stuff for the staff since my residency. Our Behavioral Science (read family doc psych) instructor gained 20 lbs over the two years that Anita Wong and I were in residency together. We would bring all sorts of treats every week. For years every emerg shift I worked in Grimsby I would bring treats. I'm starting to work back there in a month or so, and I don't think I'll get back to baking every shift.

So can I hear your amazing island experience that involves food? I think this is a perfect place for it, being on an island and all.

I have lived an a couple of islands in my life. I was in the military for a while (not something that worked for me) and lived on the Queen Charlotte Islands for 3 years. I lived on Vancouver Island for a year after that. Islands are a world apart.

As far as the diabetes goes, it just blows me away how many diabetics there are on this island. 8 year old kids are non insulin dependant diabetics. Here in Little Current we can't do surgery, but we have a 5 bed dialysis unit. I have seen more amputations, gangrene and serious sequelae of diabetes here on the island in a 4 week period, than I do in over a year at home.

Serious accidents are an almost daily occurance here. with alchohol playing a major role, and deer being another cause. You get charged by the RCMP if you flinch and swerve to avoid a deer, causing an accident. That being said I treated a cop this summer who had an accident swerving to avoid a deer.

Funny you should mention the chinese hawberries, I have bought them in the past and tried them (the red ones), but they aren't very exciting dipped in chocolate. I'll keep an eye out for the yellow ones.

[Kerry Beal]

Next million dollar question: do you sleep??? You certainly seem to take on huge tasks and do them very, very well. Brava!!

Ok, now for a 25 cent question: what is sriacha? I just saw this on the dinner thread, and now here. That chicken dish looked delicious!

Thanks for blogging. Some very interesting stuff going on in your life! Is the island as flat as it appears in the pictures? What happens when it storms? Is flooding an issue?
Sorry. I'll stop asking questions. For now.

Sriacha sauce is a hot chili sauce found in Vietnamese restaurants and markets.



Actually Manitoulin isn't flat. There are lots of hills and flooding is not a problem. This summer they had quite a storm though, the power was out for 5 days and a whole lot of barns and outbuildings got blown down.

I do sleep, usually I'm in bed by 11 or so, up around 6:30 or 7. I just kind of plug away at things, and have everything where I want it in my kitchen so I can put things together quickly when I want to. I do get carried away with projects. Something catches my interest and I get really involved in it for a while.

I haven't told you guys about the vacuum microwave project yet. Mostly because I haven't got it to work they way I want yet.

[Kerry Beal]

Lest anyone get the opinion that Manitoulin is made up entirely of unsavory types who would drink and drive, I do want to correct that thought. You must remember I'm spending a lot of my time in emerg and seeing a rather selected population which is in no way representative of the entire island.

There are a lot of cottagers on the island, a huge number of retirees, and for the better part of the year a whole lot of tourists. An interesting thing I've noticed in the years I've been coming is the number of european tourists. Speaking a bit of german would be very helpful. I think what attracts the europeans is the hiking trails (we are on the escarpment that runs from Niagara Falls), the gorgeous natural views and the water. There is water everywhere, lakes in the island, lakes around the island.

The sunsets here are phenomenal, and the number of stars you see at night are neverending.

[Kerry Beal]

oh yeah, and crosscountry skiing, Cafe in the Woods, quilting, weaving, lacemaking, painting, potlucks, powwows, fishing, hunting, birdwatching, Misery Bay, Carter Bay, Bridle Veil Falls.

(I had a little help here)

Tomorrow for lunch we are going to go to a funding raising event and have Indian Tacos. This will fit nicely with Flocko's blog, cause these are frybread with taco fixings same as he mentioned. And they are quite delicious.

I'm inserting a little something here that was just e-mailed to me, describing a potluck on the island.

"At the cross country ski clubhouse, and we had Persian
dishes, German dumplings, Moose, Bear, Sushi, Herb
Roasted Potatoes, Lasanga, fresh bread & bannock, and
the usual assortment of salads and side dishes.

Where else would you get Moose, Bear & Sushi on the
same table?

I was just thinking of that!

Ahhhhh Memories!"

[annanstee]

Hi Kerry,
Tell us about Cafe in the Woods!
My husband is from S. Ontario, and we keep meaning to visit Mantoulin. You have given extra motivation. Looks beautiful.

Edited by annanstee, 19 September 2006 - 01:04 PM.

[Kerry Beal]

Hi Kerry,
Tell us about Cafe in the Woods!
My husband is from S. Ontario, and we keep meaning to visit Mantoulin. You have given extra motivation. Looks beautiful.

Cafe in the Woods are a series of small, intimate concerts held at the cross country ski clubhouse during the late fall and winter. Artists and bands come and play to a group of about 40 people. European style desserts and coffee are served. The audience is often heavily weighted with musicians and they frequently end up jamming with the band at the end of the evening. It is a great night out, and the price is right.

Where in S. Ontario is your husband from?

[snowangel]

Kerry, how does Kira figure into meal planning? I know that I try and make things accessible for Heidi for meals, but that she won't eat meat readily or easily, so I usually try and have something available that I can add bits of very chopped meat to for meals. If all else fails, I add hard-cooked eggs to smushy dishes. And, where does the nanny fall into play?

[mizducky]

Kerry, your little snapshot tales about island life are reminding me of a song done by a folk trio called "Women, Women & Song," hailing from Vashon Island (in Puget Sound, near Seattle). The lyrics of the song, entitled--what else?--"Island Life," concentrates on an apparent foible of the Vashon community, that all the residents seemed to be related to each other--if not by blood, then by marriage (and divorce, and marriage, and ... )

(Somewhat) more seriously: I too am digging the idea of an international potluck featuring wild game and sushi.

[maggiethecat]

Well, I got close while trying to identify the location of this blog when Susan posted the teaser pics -- I said Great Lakes. I was chickening out -- I really meant to say The Bruce, where I summered every year until I was twenty. Close enough. I'm thrilled to have this trip to Manitoulin Island, a place of myth and wonder to me when I was growing up -- I think I then believed it was completely populated by First Nations citizens.

I'm confused: why can't you swerve to avoid hitting a deer? The forelegs of a deer once smashed through my windshield, and I wish, for its sake and mine, that I'd swerved!

[maggiethecat]

In my Manitoulin musings I forget to ask my question: When did you know you loved patisserie et confiserie? Was your Mum a splendid baker, or your grandmother? Who were your mentors?

[Kerry Beal]

Kira's birthday is going to have to wait until tomorrow for posting. I spent two hours arranging everything, added a couple of extra photos, which requires jumping back and forth between 2 accounts and everything I was working on disappeared.

I can't face the thought of spending another 2 hours at it right now. I'm sitting on this hard wooden bar stool, cause I don't have a remote modem at the condo here, and my ass just won't take it.

I'll answer questions right now, then in the morning when I'm fresh I'll try again.

[Kerry Beal]

Kerry, how does Kira figure into meal planning?  I know that I try and make things accessible for Heidi for meals, but that she won't eat meat readily or easily, so I usually try and have something available that I can add bits of very chopped meat to for meals.  If all else fails, I add hard-cooked eggs to smushy dishes.  And, where does the nanny fall into play?

Meals are a challange when we are out and about in the car. You need bibs, spoons, dishes, food. It often means that you wait to do things until after she has eaten.

However she is getting better at eating various foods, so we can now often find something she will eat if we get stuck. Of course that's as long as we have the bibs, bowl and spoon. Things aren't as spontaneous anymore.

The nanny is the best thing that ever happened to us. She allows me to work without worry, and when we go places together we make a great team. Not to mention, that even though she is not a physio (2 previous nannies were) she is the best hands on physio we have ever had. She has an instinct for it.

[Kerry Beal]

Kerry, your little snapshot tales about island life are reminding me of a song done by a folk trio called "Women, Women & Song," hailing from Vashon Island (in Puget Sound, near Seattle). The lyrics of the song, entitled--what else?--"Island Life," concentrates on an apparent foible of the Vashon community, that all the residents seemed to be related to each other--if not by blood, then by marriage (and divorce, and marriage, and ...  )

(Somewhat) more seriously: I too am digging the idea of an international potluck featuring wild game and sushi.

When I lived in the Queen Charlottes they used to say there are no women on the islands, just men with no balls. Described most of us pretty well. Hard to determine male or female in a plaid jacket.

[doc slaughter]

Kerry your daughter is absolutely beautiful,is her name a take off of yous? I'm so glad you are brave and confident enough to share her with us and everyone else in your life, it teaches people to be more tolerant when they meet others that are maybe a bit different. I have a daughter with Down Syndrome and we started signing with her when she was 6mo. old and it was one of the best ideas that anyone ever gave us for so many many reasons. My daughter Rachel was the 1st child with a disability ever to be (Included ) in our school district from pre kindergarden thru 8th grade. She is now in 10th grade in our local High School and swims for the Special Olympics and her mother and I are very proud of all she has done and continues to do. Now to keep this about food I must confess that she has a weight issue and is almost Willie Prater snydrome in some ways. She would live on nothing but Carbs and some protein if left to her own choices for meals. I think if she could have it her way she would have Mac & cheese for breakfast ,lunch & dinner with mashed potatoes or scrambled eggs thrown in ever other meal for dessert. The most positive about her diet choices is that she loves any kind of seafood you'll give her especially shell fish which because of her other medical issues are not real great options. Anyway I think that this just might be on of the more interisting blogs I've yet to follow. Thank you. Bill.

[Kerry Beal]

Well, I got close while trying to identify the location of this blog when Susan posted the teaser pics -- I said Great Lakes. I was chickening out -- I really meant to say The Bruce, where I summered every year until I was twenty. Close enough.  I'm thrilled to have this trip to Manitoulin Island, a place of myth and wonder to me when I was growing up -- I think I then believed it was completely populated by First Nations citizens.

I'm confused: why can't you swerve to avoid hitting a deer? The forelegs of a deer once smashed through my windshield, and I wish, for its sake and mine, that I'd swerved!

You can't swerve because you will hit another car head on. So if the deer dies or you die, it's OK, but you can't endanger another human.

Where did you spend your summers on the Bruce?

Manitoulin, while not entirely populated by natives as you had once believed, certainly has a fair number. An interesting thing is happening here, all the towns are changing their names to native names and the natives are changing their last names back to native names. When the Jesuits came to 'convert the heathens' they changed Indian names to something easy for them to pronounce, so you have a lot of Coopers, Recollets etc. Native names are composed of different vowel/consonant mixes than we are accustomed to and some names are rather long. I was doing a physical on a woman one day, and you have to fill out the name on a little glass side. Her name was 26 letters long. I got up to about the 8th letter and asked her to continue to spell it for me. Unfortunately she herself got lost after about the 10th letter.

I was talking to a woman here one day, she said she had moved around a lot as a child. I asked the usual question about whether she was an army brat, and she got rather quiet, and said "well no, it's not very socially acceptable to talk about these days, but my parents were missionaries". I remember as a kid thinking how romantic it would be to travel around the world, meeting all kinds of people. Living with my head in the clouds as I do, I hadn't realized it had become politically incorrect to be a missionary.