Since our Chili cup event is coming up, I decided to collect some tips on how to enhance your chili experience at home.

1. If you chili is too thick, don’t use water to think it out.  Use broth instead.  Water deludes the flavors but the broth add to the flavors.

2.  If your chili is too thin, you could add some tomato paste to thicken it.  If this doens’t work, the next step is to add corn starch or corn meal.

3.  Most folks use green jalapenos which are sold at the grocery store to give the chili its hotness.  Apparently, there are many types of chiles with different names like: Anaheim, Poblano, Serrano, Santa Fe Chiles, etc.  Basically, we can experiment and have fun with the whole process by trying different chiles.  It is possible to use a combination of chiles as well.

4.  The first step we take is to cook the meat.  You need to brown the meat before you add the liquids to the recipe.

5.  The better the quality of the meat, the better the chili.  If you get meat that is less tender, make sure you cook the meat longer to soften it up and consider using a meat tenderizer.

6.  Use fresh vegetables, not canned.  There is a major difference.  (This makes sense!)

7.  Cook the chili the day before you plan to eat it.  This way you give all the flavors in your chili time to blend. If you don’t have enough time to cook it the night before, prepare it in the morning and let it simmer all day.

8.  Use your own mix of spices, herbs and chiles  instead of using a prepackages mix.  Prepackaged mixes have a lot of salt and preservatives which can change the taste of the chili.  The batch of chili spices you make can be stored in your freezer for up to one year.

9.  Don’t use old spices for your chili (or for any other cooking….for that matter).  If you happen to have old spices, make sure they have been on the shelf for less than a year.  After one year, spices loose flavor.

10.  Have fun!  Making chili takes time, but it can be a lot of fun as well.

It’s that time again. The third annual Chili Cup is set for November 14^th. If you’ve missed the first two competitions, here’s what’s going down at the Culinary Smack Down of the year.

If you want the chance to have your name engraved on the Chili Cup you need to register online.  Chefs will cook up a Mega Crock Pot worth of Chili that they will take to the Selkirk Lounge (NDC) for the cook off.

If you don’t want to compete, you can come and sample all the chilis and vote for your favourite. It costs $3 to come as a taster with all proceeds from the event going to the Students’ Association Food Bank – just in time for the holidays!

If you don’t work at the Notre Dame Campus, you’re still eligible to take part – or to host another cook-off at your own campus. Talk to your manager or leave a reply to this post if you’re in that boat.

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James Slade (1st), Derek Kochenash (2nd), Jason McMaster (3rd)

The first annual Red River Fun Run has come and gone, and there were many winners.

James Slade displaying the winning time.

The fastest runner of the day was James Slade who completed the race in a time of 25:44 over the 5.8 km distance.  James also helped out immensely organizing the race, and did well to nab one of the randomly drawn prizes, a $25 gift certificate for the Prairie Lights.Filling out the podium were race winners Derek Kochenash and Jason McMaster. Derek and Jason are both part of the RRC Run Club which started up in the summer and regularly had 5-20 staff members out walking or running every Wednesday.

So while we’re at it, let’s throw a bouquet to Run Club members like Sara MacArthur, Judy McMullen, Laurie Musick, Chau Le, Michael Whalen, Dayna Graham, Margarita Rowley, and Alison Ivey who got it all going in the summer.  Some of the other regulars like Jackie Wood wanted to run, but work got in the way this day.

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The Red River Fun Run is set to kick off on Wednesday (Oct 10^th) at noon at the bus loop  on the NDC campus. If you want to see the expertly mapped route, courtesy of instructors James Slade and Michael Whalen, check this out.

One circuit is 2.9km.  The full race is 2 times around (5.8 km) for runners and one loop for walkers. Of course, you can opt to run once around if that’s what you’re up for (if you want to round off, this is like a mini-marathon…though a bit shorter in distance).  The course has been marked with stakes that have orange flagging tape on them, making it a bit less likely for you to get lost / confused/ run the wrong way.

Next year, we’ll plan this race for September when it might be warmer…but this year, we’ll have to brave the elements.  There will be some random prize draws for participants. The SA has donated 2 student prizes, and the Wellness Committee has some prizes for staff. To be eligible for a prize please register for the race online.

In anticipation of next week’s First Annual Red River College Fun Run, we asked several regular RRC runners to recollect their own best and worst races.  If you are interested in taking part in the Fun Run,  the race will be held on October 10th (noon start) at the bus loop on the Notre Dame Campus. Click here to register.

James Slade – Instructor

Best race: No question, Boston Marathon, 2008 where I had to run with one contact lens missing (lost it in the pool the night before) in the blazing sun (who the heck thinks of sunscreen in April???) and desperate for a port-a-potty (yup…me and the other 25,000 runners…get in line).  What was it that made it the best?  The crowd was the absolute best!  I was at least a km away from Wellesley College and thought I could hear water running, then about 500m away I realized it was not a waterfall, but the famous Wellesley Scream Tunnel!  You get through that, you go on another 17 km or so and enter the city proper to more screaming fans, on both sides of the road, and by the end of that stretch, my ears were ringing!  You simply cannot quit amidst all that support.

Worst race:  So many it’s hard to pick just one, y’ know?  Was it the torn hamstring that went ‘pop!’ at km 4 of the 10 k that slowed me to a snail’s pace, looking for ice at the finish line to discover NO first aid facilities whatsoever?  Or was it the race I showed up late for…so late when I arrived, everyone else was finishing? (just screwed the time up, no one to blame but me).  I could go with, not a race but rather, my first really long run starting my marathon training that was all of 6 km, and hurt so bad I had to walk down stairs backwards for the next two days!  Here I am still running and still looking for more ‘worsts’!  In the grand scheme of things, I always figure that if this is the worst thing in my life right now, then life’s pretty good!

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Some of us like our chocolate very much.  Who said that chocolate recipes can’t be healthy? Apparently, chocolate doesn’t have to be a guilty pleasure. Here are some recipes I found. I hope you like them!

All Charities Event Week at a Glance

All Charities Event Week will be held from October 1 – 5, 2012.  All Charities is quite unique in that it truly is what the name implies: “All Charities” are eligible to receive donations … any one of the 80,000 registered in Canada!

During the week there will be events held at the Notre Dame Campus and Roblin Centre.  Staff will also receive a pledge form for donating to All Charities. You can browse the catalogue to find a charity that you’d like to support or check out their general website for more information.

Guide to Notre Dame Campus:

October 1 – Pizza Day from 11am – 1pm in the Library Hallway

October 2 – Charity Tables from 11am – 2pm in the Library Hallway – Bring loose change to donate to the Charities

October 3 – Bake Sale from 11am – 2pm in the Library Hallway

October 5 – Proceeds of a Feature Dish in the Voyageur goes towards All Charities

50/50 Draw will be running all week with the winner announced at 2pm on Friday, October 5, 2012.

Guide to Roblin Centre:

October 2 – Charity Tables from 11am – 2pm in the Atrium – Bring loose change to donate to the Charities

October 3 – Bake Sale from 11am – 2pm in the Atrium

October 5 – Pizza Day from 11am – 1pm in the Atrium

50/50 Draw will be running all week with the winner announced at 2pm on Friday, October 5, 2012.

Last year, Red River College raised just over $128 000.00 and up 9% from the past year.  Please help to make this year another amazing success!

I would also like to challenge all departments to put a container out for Loose Change during the Event Week – The Change in your pocket will change a life!

2012’s most relaxed Red River Rebel Rider

On September 9, 2012, the 9th day of the 9th month of the 9th anniversary of the Red River Rebel Riders (rrrr…), Gurdeesh Ghuman from NDC Security stunned supporters when, in his very first year with the team, he became the youngest Sikh in history to place last in the MS Riding Mountain Challenge, arguably Manitoba’s most prestigious cycling event. His time? 4½ Hours.

Team captain Guy Dugas was quick to waive off allegations that the 34-year veteran of the Indian infantry had taken banned substances to reduce his performance. “Absolutely not! In fact, if it hadn’t been for a large coffee at the last rest stop, he might have taken even longer to come in.” For his part, Gurdeesh attributes his success to a strict training regime (he used to cycle daily to and from school in India) and a healthy bladder.

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The past weekend marked the official “End of Summer”.  Shorts are still permissible on warm days, but otherwise it just gets cooler from here on.  The heat was very nice for most folks who enjoy hot weather and sunny skies. On the other side, we saw very little rain from July onward resulting in a drop in standing water across much of our landscape. So with the beginning of Fall, I figured it was a good time to step back and appreciate summer.

Hanging around the Pond

We have a small pond out back that is home to a variety of gold fish and Koi, as well as some nice aquatic plants.  This year was the first one that I’ve seen pond lilies in bloom – a very interesting flower that would intermittently open and close with the sun.  Just below the flower, you can see a fish swimming past. As an aside – fish are notorious liars – who always tell you they’re hungry, even if they ate 2 minutes earlier.  So don’t be fooled.

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I remember walking in the neighborhood in Vegas where I lived when I was 18 years old.  I was enjoying my walk and smiled at the people passing by.  I decided to do my own experiment.  When people smiled back, if felt great.  If they didn’t, it was still all right because I was doing what felt right.

Did you know that we smile even while we are in the womb? 3-D technology now shows that developing babies smile.  After babies are born, they continue to smile (at the beginning in their sleep) and even blind babies smile in response to the sound of the human voice.  Isn’t that fascinating or what?

Have you ever wondered why being around children who smile frequently makes you smile more often? There is a high chance when we smile for people to smile back.  It would be very challenging to frown  when looking at someone who smiles.  Charles Darwin developed the Facial Feedback Response Theory which suggests that the act of smiling makes us feel better.  This theory is supported by a research done in Echnische University in Munich, Germany.  In 2009, scientists used fMRI (Functional MRI) imaging to measure brain activity in regions of emotional processing in the brain.  They found out that facial feedback changes the neural processing of emotional content in the brain and concluded that our brain’s circuitry of emotion and happiness is activated when we smile.

Unlike lots of chocolate, lots of smiling can actually make you healthier.  Smiling has therapeutic effects and is associated with reduced stress hormone levels (like cortisol, adrenaline, and dopamine), increased health and mood enhancing hormone levels (like endorphins), and lowered blood pressure.

I am not finished yet.  It seems like smiling is one of the best things we could be doing.  Smiling makes us look good in the eyes of others.  A study at Penn State University confirmed that when we smile, we not only appear more likable and courteous, but we are perceived to be more competent.

Here is a brief summary of the stats about smiling:

• When you smile, you look good and feel good
• When others see you smile, they smile too
• When others smile, they look good and feel good, too.

Well, we can all together start a smiling revolution! One thing, though, the smile you give has to be big and genuine.

In conclusion, smiling can improve not only your life, but also the lives of others.  It helps us live longer, healthier, and happier lives.

Mother Teresa said: “I will never understand all the good that a simple smile can accomplish.”