Increasing my Timmys intake

Some people look for a crocus.

Some people wait for Wiarton Willie.

Others wait for maple syrup festivals.

But I know the true first sign pointing to the end of a Canadian winter.

Wee hee! It's back--Tim Horton's Rrroll Up the Rim to Win--that special time of year when I trebel my caffeine intake so I can get, what else? MORE COFFEE!...Oh yeah, there are doughnuts and biscuits and muffins along with other things like a barbeque, $1000 and a SUV, but it's the free coffee that keeps me going.

Tee hee--okay, so far I've not won anything this year with my three coffees (it's early--only the first day), but maybe I'll win something tomorrow :) and yes, I know I could do the decaf thing (WHY?) or I could get their tea (but not their steeped tea--that stuff is just WRONG, I don't care how much they spent to convince me that an xth-generation tea master told them that *that* was how tea was supposed to taste--I'm not the only one who has a problem with it, there's an online petition), but if I'm doing a winter drink, it has to be their coffee..hmm...I wonder if I can get a cup if I buy and iced cap--must ask the gals at my office Tims about that...oh..and if I did win the Toyota SUV (as environmentally unfriendly as it is), I'd take it (and probably sell it for something a bit better on gas)...unlike the Aztek they offered a few years ago--that was like a LeMans on steroids and twice as ugly...

Ummm...why are my hands shaking like this?

cheers!
jasmine

Restoration

It happens at the same times each year--I get too busy (work, school, life) and I desperately need to retreat to a comfy chair with a newspaper, a good cd and a hot cup of tea.

Tea is my restorative. It takes me away from everything else and lets me decompress and become more like me.

But all too soon life screams blessed murder at me and I have to tend to things, people and the more than occasional fire.

Monkey Gland posted a great piece about tea this week, which was the catalyst for my very short post. At some point I'll return to the subject of tea, but until then, I'll just finish my mug and get on to the next fire.

cheers!
jasmine

For Sara Moulton Fans

The show that first hooked me onto Food TV was Cooking Live with Sara Moulton. I loved the concept -- a chef, cooking real food, in real time while conducting a Q&A session with viewers who were also cooking the same meal at the same time. I thought her later-night show was better: similar concept, but she seemed more relaxed.

Then Alliance Atlantis developed a Canadian version of the channel and Sara was dropped. I mourned the loss.

I just found out through eGullet that Sara was dropped from the American parent and found a new home on PBS. I hope that the Buffalo affiliate will pick up the show (if they haven't already, and I've just missed it) so I can see what she's up to. Here's the link.

Her departure doesn't sound like a happy one. With a new focus on the 15-35 year-old male demographic, it no longer appears that FoodTV (I think that's what the US network is called) no longer cares for the rest of us (really? I'm shocked! You mean the really bad camera angles, short cuts, blurred focus, pumped up soundtrack and skinnyminnies who look as if they spend more time throwing up their food than cooking it, weren't meant for me?)...okay...I'm in Canada...US programmers really don't care about me/us...you know.

Food Network Canada's 2005 producer guidelines list the demographic as 25-54 year-old adults (60% female) . I just hope that our programmers retain some sense and realize that path the US parent is going down is hard to swallow.

cheers!
jasmine

tags: Food Network Canada Food TV Sara Moulton