Candace Shaw

Hearty Ham and Bean Soup

January 22, 2011 in Recipes | No comments

Coming home from an afternoon of cross-country skiing, I was ravenous and craving something hearty and piping hot. Thinking over the things I had in my fridge (some leftover ham, a cup or so of navy beans, some vegetable stock, half a bottle of rosé), I decided to try making a soup. The result was this beauty, a soup so delicious I’m glad I don’t have to share it with my vegetarian sisters (sorry, dudes!). Read the rest of this entry »

Good Advice

January 21, 2011 in Advice for Musicians, Articles, Community, Ideas | No comments

There’s never any shortage of people who are ready to give you advice.

When I was in high school, the advice, invariably, was to go to university. For what, to what end, and how you were going to pay for it didn’t matter; you should go to university, case closed. If you did, you’d be set for life. No one seemed to have any information past that, but it was confidently stated, and since they seemed so certain, it only troubled me occasionally. It was my plan: Step 1, get a B.A. Step 2, apparently set for life.

I did, however, have to learn to be more practical.
“In the Real World,” they’d say “they don’t make exceptions or give extensions; you have to follow the rules.” Read the rest of this entry »

Quiet Time

January 7, 2011 in Advice for Musicians, Articles, Ideas | 1 comment

About 2 years ago, I felt constantly harassed. My cell would ring, my landline would ring, email kept ticking in to my various email addresses, and people had just begun to treat Facebook as email as well (this still faintly horrifies me). I was busy and stressed; I was running late to meetings and feeling guilty that I wasn’t engaged in my various endeavours as much as I’d like to be. Worst of all, I wasn’t forwarding my own goals at all, I had no time for my own artistic practice, and I was mentally worn down, almost to the point of uselessness.

I’ve never really been one for the telephone; as Stephen Fry says, it’s a fantastically rude device that interrupts you no matter what you’re doing. There may have been a brief period in high school (just before the Internet reached my little village) where you may have found me on the phone for hours at a time, but one can hardly be held accountable for the stupid shit one gets up to in high school. Read the rest of this entry »

Movin’ on Up: C’mon lucky 11!

December 31, 2010 in Articles, Ideas | No comments

I’m always kind-of at a loss when it comes to these year-end things; do I make lists? Do I look back, or forward? It’s hard to strike the right note.

There’s a lot on my mind these days. Architecture. Cholera. The way cities disintegrate and rejuvenate, like fields cycling through harvest years and fallow years. How to be in the right place in the right time. I just finished reading Malcolm Gladwell’s Outliers, which was a great read and chock-full of fascinating ideas. I’ll probably write more about it in the future. Read the rest of this entry »

Salted Golden Caramel Bars

December 22, 2010 in Recipes | No comments

I’m not really sure where this recipe came from; I think it’s from a magazine. Wherever it came from, it’s a fabulous recipe – simple, quick, and completely irresistable once it’s done. A pan of these rarely lasts more than a day at our house.

The other great thing about these bars is that they’re essentially vegetarian Rice Krispie Squares. Not too many prople realise that marshmallows aren’t vegetarian, but most are made from gelatin, and strict vegetarians don’t eat them.

Ingredients

Vegetable oil
8 cups rice krispies or similar cereal
3/4 cup corn syrup
2/3 cup sweetened condensed milk
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1/4 cup sugar
4 tablespoons butter
1 teaspoon sea salt
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Directions

Using vegetable oil, coat a large mixing bowl and a baking dish (9″x13″). Place cereal in the bowl and set it and the dish aside.
In a medium saucepan over medium-high heat combine corn syrup, condensed milk, sugars, butter, and sea salt. Allow mixture to come to a boil while stirring continuously until the mixture becomes a light golden colour (5 minutes or so).
Remove mixture from the heat, stir in vanilla, and immediately pour it over cereal. Stir to completely mix, and then evenly spread in the baking pan.
Set aside to let it cool; cut into squares and serve.

Tags: vegetarian

My First Hammam

November 15, 2010 in Articles | 1 comment

My trip through Morocco has been terrific so far, with many serendipitous encounters and lots (and lots, and lots) of interesting, friendly new people.

Last night at my Fez guest house, Pension Dar Bou Inania, I met an American woman who’s also traveling solo. Melissa joined myself and some other Canucks for breakfast at Cafe Clock (my home-away-from-home in Fez), and asked me over pancakes and fresh-squeezed orange juice if I’d be interested in joining her at the Hammam this afternoon. I’d tried to get to a hammam with some other travel friends in Meknes, but had missed the appointment, so I was happy to find a companion for our first time in a communal Moroccan bathhouse.

Going to a hammam is one of those cultural experiences that I really wanted, but was a little trepiditious about because (especially as a Canadian), I don’t want to step on any toes, do anything wrong, or offend anyone. It seemed like a room full of naked women just trying to go about their business is a prime place for a dumb tourist gaffe. But pretty much everyone in Morocco has been very kind, especially the women, and I was determined to do it. But it certainly helped to have Melissa there, also on her first hammam trip, to share the experience. Read the rest of this entry »

Tags: Fes, Fez, hammam, Maroc, Morocco, sidi Azouz, tourist, travel, travelling

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Bon vivant, actor, writer, music professional, filmmaker, singer, creative genius, cultural commentator, social media consultant, community organizer and well-rounded individual, Candace has a wide range of interests and abilities. She writes about her personal experiences, culture, art, music, history and heritage, film, ideas, communities in the real world, and professional practice. “Never explain, never retract, never apologize. Just get the thing done and let them howl.” – Nellie McClung