CURRENT MISSION

Heal, make music (same thing), affect change within and without.

ABOUT ME

i'm a laidback lady with a love of love, music, sunshine, dancing and food... hit me with a new topic and let's discuss... i don't think silence is a bad thing... let's watch an episode of Planet Earth or Arrested Development... museum, paint my coffee table, or ultimate frisbee anyone?... i want to learn one song on as many instruments as possible... David Sedaris truly touches me... you'll never get anywhere without a sense of humour.

i am a non-obnoxious, all-inclusive vegan - although i've been caught being vegetarian on occasion, when opportunities for freeganism arise, or a goat offers me her milk directly! i will always want to check out the anarchist scene in a new city, find Food Not Bombs and dumpster diving buddies, and poke my nose into a friendly squat.

while i love LOTS of music and art, you need to heed this NERD ALERT: i sing in the barbershop style (a capella 4-part harmony baby!), and love to contra dance! so bring out the fiddles!

PHILOSOPHY

if you start with respect, you can only live in a lovely way after that. respect humans? be kind, be flexible, give second chances, make eye contact, assume competence, support local business, send recycled postcards to friends. respect animals? oppose cruelty by refraining from buying pet store animals, don't keep your dog in the car on a hot day, buy animal-friendly household/personal products, stay away from eating factory-farmed animal products. respect the earth? compost, bring tupperware to dinner in case of leftovers, ride a bike, put away the gas-guzzling sea-doo and get out the canoe, buy dolphin-friendly tuna (if you buy fish at all), turn off the water when you're brushing your teeth. respect yourself? get out of the house, sing loudly, respect your own boundaries, challenge yourself, eat healthily, eat junk food, follow your heart.

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

HOW I PARTICIPATE IN COUCHSURFING

i offer my couch and love to wanderers, teachers, lawyers, journalists, seekers, lazy people, artists, eco-knowledgeable people, dancers, players, nice people, magicians, astronomers - and YOU!

COUCHSURFING EXPERIENCE

my "hosted" and "hosted by" list was getting long and complicated, as my hosts became my friends and my friends became my hosts... so i'll say that CS has widened my ideas, my friend circle, my love. thank you CS!

Interests

music, rescue animals, quantam physics, giving, outer space, vegan baking, the health of the planet, learning new things, jump rope, faeries, poi, food ethics, teaching peace to kids, eating disorders etiology and awareness, juggling, writing songs, contact improvisation, anywhere with water, contra dance

• animals
• pets
• dogs
• fish
• arts
• writing
• singing
• make up
• dancing
• ethics
• dining
• cooking
• recipes
• coffee
• baking
• vegetarian
• vegan
• crafts
• juggling
• dumpster diving
• painting
• music
• violin
• cycling
• fishing
• hiking
• canoeing
• scuba diving
• business
• physics

Music, Movies, and Books

classical.jazz.folk.funk.buck 65.joni mitchell.broken social scene.toronto and montreal indie bands.i loved playing in my band.mother mother.simon and garf.beethoven. i love films of crime/adventure/nature docs/comedy/foreign/romance/drama/weird stuff. books are the second love of my life - after music. the beach, 1984, time traveller's wife, hitchhiker's guide, kurt vonnegut, farenheit 451, the phantom tollbooth, gregory maguire, david sedaris, the world acording to garp, Rumi, socially aware children's literature, the play Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead, wilde, craptons more.

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

- Hiked a billion miles into and out of (thanks goodness) the Haleakala crater on Maui. Was imagining my funeral. Shorter hike next time.
- Was a spectator to firey explosions at the ocean entry of the Kiluea volcano on the Big Island of Hawai'i. Possibly the most magical night of my life. (Thanks to Sam, my partner in awe.)
- played Oh Danny Boy on the violin
- grown as an individual

Teach, Learn, Share

How to Replace Eggs in Cooking and Baking:

** decide what you want your egg replacement to do, cuz eggs have different uses - sometimes they are used for binding, sometimes for fluffing, or sometimes just for the taste, like in custard. do you want to replace a whole egg, or just the yolk or just the white? this helps determine what to use instead.

** try any high pectin content fruit. bananas and applesauce are good. usually 1/4 cup of (or half a normal sized) banana will replace 1 egg.

** soft tofu is fabulous cuz it adopts the flavour of whatever you are cooking. as a general rule, 1/4 cup of tofu will replace 1 egg. whip or beat it before adding it to the recipe so it's not chunky.

** this is my favourite: FLAX SEEDS! cuz they're nutty and healthy to boot! put together 1 tbsp flaxseed (ground up or not - i like it ground better cuz it's more bioavailable that way) with 2-3 tablespoons of water to replace one egg. you gotta make sure that the mixture has gelled before using it for uber-eggyness. i highly recommend simmering the two items together. so, like this: put the water in a pan, then put the seeds in the pan. mix 'em around. put the element on medium then wait for the water to boil so the bubbles are pretty big. when you scrape it out, it'll be pretty gooey. that's good.

** to get an "egg white," mix 1 tbsp plain agar powder (get it from health food stores/Chinese stores etc) with 1 tbsp water. whip 'er together, chill it and then whip it again.

** another egg replacement is 2 tbsp water mixed with 1 tbsp of oil and 2 tsp of baking powder. mix together really well before adding. whipping it helps. this doesn't make a nice omelet, so don't try.

** if you're cooking real food for dinner, maybe a savory recipe like a loaf of sorts, try binding agents like mashed potato, tomato paste or rolled oats. these help to thicken AND gel with the other stuff. also bread crumbs, cornmeal/flour, arrowroot and whole-wheat flour are good substitutions. i'm a wheat-freeK so i use kamut and spelt flour a lot - and barley is good too!

** i mentioned apple sauce already... but canned pumpkin or other mashed canned fruit of choice - all of these can be used as an egg replacement in baked stuff. they'll leave their own flavour of course, so make sure this won't be odd. fruit CAN make the baked item heavier, so add a little baking powder if this concerns you. but it'll be more moist, and can be a natural sweetner so you don't need to add sugar!! try different blends (peach/apple, strawberry/apple) etc for delicious muffins.

** contrary to popular belief, it IS possible to make pancakes without eggs! in fact, any flat baked product that requires only 1 - 2 eggs can usually survive without an egg with no problems. the main thing is to add a little extra liquid ( 1 - 2 tbsp) to make up for the lack of egg. there are differing recipes (some just with flour, some with fruit such as mashed banana), so it is best to use a search engine to find a recipe you like. they totally work, so try them out, just be sure the pan they are fried in is seasoned, as you would with normal pancakes. and maybe some extra oil. crispy edges never hurt anyone.

** craving an egg sandwich? you're in luck! you can use tofu - i use firm tofu, then mix in vegan mayo (i like the grapeseed oil one that isn't soy-based and is sugar-free!), sweet and spicy mustard, salt and pepper, turmeric, lemon or lime juice, grated carrot, and maybe some chopped pickle or something. i like zesty things. add all these things to your liking.

** and scrambled tofu in the morning - or even better, for BRUNCH! - is awesome. crumbled firm tofu with onions and garlic - then make it italiano with green herbs, or try curry powder, cumin and mustard seed. DIVINE!!

What I Can Share with Hosts

I'd love to bake and cook with you, swap music, do crafts with your kids or clean your kitchen while you aren't looking! ;)

Countries I’ve Visited

Argentina, Austria, Canada, Costa Rica, Egypt, Germany, Ireland, Israel, Peru, Spain, United Kingdom, United States

Countries I’ve Lived In

Canada, Israel

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