Politics to Food

It’s been quite a while since I posted anything that didn’t express my concern and fear about the political situation in Canada, my concern at so many people being left behind because of the badly frayed fabric of our social safety net.  With the election of the Liberals led by Justin Trudeau, we know there will be change but it remains to be seen whether Trudeau’s government will be throwing out a lifeline to those who need it or whether his concentration will be on the middle class.  Time will tell.

One of my primary interests, my volunteering, my time - revolves around food.  For instance, at the Milton Seniors’ Activity Centre:

• I’m in charge of the cafeteria's once-a-week lunch. I plan the menus, do the shopping and with volunteers we put together a full lunch once every week, all year long.  A full lunch is only $8  for members.  Good comfort food.  This week's menu features Bangers and Mash - sausages and potatoes, veggie, dessert, and coffee or tea.  Pretty well everything is made from scratch.
• Special Events: I plan the menu, do the shopping, and again, with volunteers, we put together a full meal in accordance with the theme.  Entertainment is usually part of the event, and bar service is usually offered as well.  Our next event is the Annual Christmas Dinner, December 11.  $25 for members for a full turkey dinner with all the trimmings, entertainment, prizes and surprises. 
• Then there is my baking class, Baking with Jan.  It’s a lot of fun.  Once a month, September through June, a different baking topic is offered - I demonstrate the offerings, after which we sit down together to eat what was produced.  I believe the class is $5.75 for members.
• And earlier this year, I was selected to join Allrecipes Allstars Canada, which is a NEW, select group of volunteer home cooks who are inspired to discover and share the joy of home cooking with Allrecipes.ca.   We’re always cooking, rating, reviewing recipes, posting photos, and telling everyone about our favorite website via our social networks.

This month we got our first sponsor – Barilla Pasta, #CAAllstarsBarilla, #ad, who provided us with some of their products to try out.  To be honest, I’ve always bought the cheapest pasta on the store shelf.  With Barilla Pasta I've found that there is a difference in quality.  My favourite way to prepare pasta now is to sauté some minced garlic in butter, add the cooked pasta and some fresh grated Parmesan and we’re good to go.  You get to taste the pasta more so than when covered in a sauce. 

A variation is this Linguine with Black Pepper and Pecorino Romano Cheese from Barilla - try it, I think you will like it.  The link is to the recipe. 

Barilla has made a dramatic turnaround since its chairman's stupid anti-gay statement. In the space of one year, among other things, they've expanded health benefits for transgender workers and their families, contributed money to gay rights causes, and featuring a lesbian couple on a promotional Web site.

Tougher Rail Safety Regulations needed

An article in today's Star (April 4, 2015) speaks of Toronto's Mayor and 17 councillors writing the federal Transport minister asking for tougher rail safety regulations.  Kudos to them.

Milton Mayor and councillors should also be demanding the same thing. One train length can block three Milton intersections at one time.  I don't recall how many level crossing there are across Milton but there many.  Currently there are two grade separations under construction but with price tags of multi- multimillion dollars it's totally impractical and unreasonable to treat all crossings the same way.

But constructing grade separations won't make the tracks safer.  It's the basic infrastructure, rules and regulations, and training, that need to be addressed, that need the investment. I would personally also question the number of employees on any one train.  There have been considerable cuts to manpower over the years: are we getting by (legally to be sure but is it enough) with too few to take the train from point A to point B?

After Lac-Mégantic  and other rail disasters, we shouldn't have to plead for better rail safety regulations.  It's well past time when funds should have been invested into critical infrastructure - or have the rail companies determined that it's cheaper to pay off lawsuits than to make the repairs, as the automobile industry* has been known to do? 

"CP has stated it is on pace to move 70,000 carloads of crude oil this year (2014) across its North American network, up from 53,500 carloads last year."  For the sake of every life, we need the assurance that that cargo is being moved safely through our towns, cities, villages and farmlands; across rivers and streams; through the mountains and across the plains.

Back to my opening paragraph, it shouldn't be a case of the loudest voices getting the best response- or the squeaky wheel getting the oil.  Our Transport minister and the entire government should be standing up for all Canadians to ensure our collective safety BEFORE there's another Lac-Mégantic . It's the ethical thing to do. Even the loss of one life to negligence is one life too many. 


* from https://hbr.org/2011/04/ethical-breakdowns.