Discover Canada, its foods, people, travel, life experiences through the lens of new Canadian immigrants
Meet my yorkiepoo puppy hybrid dog. A yorkiepoo, also spelled yorkipoo is a hybrid dog originating in the United States by crossing a Yorkshire Terrier and a poodle. I went to the puppy store and there were several puppy selections, including cavapoo, multipoo, javapoo, but…
These tips on roasting brussel sprouts, comes in handy for every family dinner, whether it is Christmas, Thanksgiving or Easter. Along with the traditional turkey dinner are roasted vegetables side dishes, thus the tips on roasting brussel sprouts. Brussel sprouts is a cold weather crop,…
Here are 7 skills to put on resume that can help you attract attention and gain the interview you needed. Whether you are applying for a white collar or a blue collar job, these are basic skills an employer looks for.
Have you ever find yourself in a position where you want a job, but your past experience or your education do not fit the requirements posted. You know you can do the job, you just need that lucky break. This is exactly the time when you should highlight your emotional intelligence and social skills by putting these skills on your resume.
In addition to your education and work experience, an employer looks for skills in your resume that tells them how well you can adapt in the workplace.
1. Ability to work in a team. Being good at your trade or profession is no longer enough in today’s working world. Employers are looking for social intelligence, ability to get along with co-workers and work in a team.
2. Listening and oral communications. Ability to listen to instructions and communicate with other people is an essential skill all employers look for.
3. Computer Savvy. Today’s wired world means that everyone is using the computer for emails, report writing, job estimates, project presentations.
4. Written communication skills. It is not enough to know how to speak and communicate, written skills are also important. This means that you can write and spell. Luckily, today’s software have spellcheckers that can help overcome this obstacle.
5. Quick learning skills. Today’s changing technology means that workers need to cope with new production methods, new software, new technologies. It is important to be open and enthusiastic about learning and adapting new skills.
6. Organization skills/setting priorities. There are always work demands and time constraints. The ability to organize and set priorities is an asset all employers appreciate.
7. Report preparation/presentation skills. Depending on the job you are applying for, presentation skills and report preparation can be an asset.
Here is another tip. Do you have a difficult to pronounce foreign sounding name? If so, you may want to consider giving yourself an alias. Job discrimination against foreign sounding names is confirmed based on a UBC Research Study of 6000 mock resumes sent out to 2000 online job postings in 20 categories in the Toronto area.
The Mooncake Festival, also known as the Mid Autumn (Zhongqiu) Festival is celebrated every 15th day of the Eighth Lunar month. It is the second biggest holiday of the year for the Chinese. Mooncake is a rich pastry customarily filled with lotus seed or sweet-bean paste. …
First time I tried the Sauteed Parsley dish was at my friend Kanthi Randeni’s place. She served a green leafy vegetable as a side dish, and asked me “Guess what this vegie is?”. It has a crunchy feel, nice texture, very tasty with a…
This gluten dairy free mango pudding is one of my favorite dessert. It is also our family’s favorite dessert whenever we visit a Chinese restaurant. In fact, this gluten dairy free mango pudding is often offered as a dimsum item. You can also find it served in Indian, Thai and Malaysian restaurants, albeit in different variations.
For gluten intolerants, and those on a vegan diet, they will be pleased to know that this mango pudding is gluten free, diary free and egg free. There are many ways of making mango pudding. Some grocery stores sell mango pudding powder. Just add boiling water and milk to the powder, and you can have some sort of a mango pudding. However, the mango powder is usually made with mango essence not real mangoes.
My recipe uses real mangoes. If mangoes are not in season, you can always buy mango puree made with real mangoes. There are basically 5 ingredients in my recipe. Mango, coconut milk, coconut cream, sugar and cornstarch.
Ingredients:
1 cup mango puree (2 fresh mangoes will make 1 cup of mango puree)
1-1/2 cup coconut milk
1/2 cup coconut cream
2 tbsp sugar
2 tbsp cornstarch dissolved in 4 tbsp water
Note that this recipe calls for both coconut milk and coconut water. You may wonder what is the difference between coconut milk and coconut cream. Coconut milk has the same consistency as cow’s milk. It is made by simmering one part shredded coconut with one part water. Coconut cream is made by simmering four parts shredded coconut with one part water. Coconut cream is thicker and richer than coconut milk.
If you are craving mango pudding during the off season, you can always purchase ready made mango puree from the grocery store. Here is the brand that I use.
Note: One last final tip. You can serve the pudding in different types of dishes. You can use plastic disposable wine glasses when preparing for a group. They are unbreakable and do not take up much space in the fridge. Top with some cut up mangoes or berries and add a sprig of mint for decor.
Another easy recipe to try out is our Baptist Ladies Peanut Butter Marshmallow Squares.
Have you ever thought about what your eyebrows say about you? Some of us are born with the perfect set of brows, but most of us are born with either too much or too little hair, or too dark or too light. Luckily, women can…
My friend introduced me to this Honey Lemon Green Tea and I simply love it. It is very simple to make. 1. Add boiling water and green teabag to a pot. 2. Add lemon slices to the pot. 3. Add honey (1 tablespoon per cup)…
Diversity in Canada means that we have many more exciting ways to cook our beef stew. Immigrants from different countries have different ways of tackling the beef simply by varying the ingredients and spices. Here are 5 beef stew recipes from different countries.
1. Kenyan Matoke Beef Stew – I learned about this dish from our French intern who told us her favorite dish made with plantain. Plantain is used instead of potatoes and is simmered until soft but not mushy. It is a starchy food and thickens the sauce. 
3. French Burgundy Beef Stew is a hearty stew made with red wine, onion, celery, parsley, mushroom, basil, garlic, and bay leaves. Carrots, potatoes, peas and mushrooms are common vegetables added to the stew.
4. Spicy Chinese Szechuan Beef Stew cooked with soy sauce, red chili and garlic and vegetables such as turnips, carrots, water chestnuts and Chinese mushrooms.
5. Filipino Mechado Beef Stew is cooked with soy sauce, tomato sauce, bell peppers, bay leaves potatoes, peas and carrots. Optional ingredients are okra, sweet potatoes or string beans depending on availability of ingredients.
These are just some of the variations. There are many more, such as the Hungarian Beef Goulash, Ethiopian Beef Stew made with Berbere spice mixture and served with flatbread.
Canada as a place of immigrants provide us with a rich food culture. The choice of many good ethnic restaurants in Canadian big cities is something that we all are proud of and enjoy so much.
