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Friday, April 9, 2021 7 Brooklin Town Crier North Ward Councillor Steve Lee Take a hike - literally! Over a year since our first lockdown and we're now into the third one with Covid-19 numbers rising again. This is mentally draining and indeed we're all sick of it. There are, however, still things we can do and enjoy. Recently I headed north for a bit of a personal tradition. In past years in April, I've gone camping in Killarney Provincial Park which is difficult enough to book in normal times, let alone during a pandemic. It's one of Ontario's most popular parks and always full. A little-known fact is that while the park's gates are closed all winter and early spring, the park is actually open year-round for camping and no reservations are needed. This year, we were fortunate enough to have the entire park, yes, all 140+ sites, to ourselves. Well, us and some very hungry and determined raccoons - but that's another story. You don't have to drive five hours and camp in freezing temperatures to get out of the house and enjoy some fresh air and nature. Whitby and Durham Region are lucky to have many trails and conservation areas close by. As the weather improves, I encourage you to check out some of the great options we have. Heber Down Conservation - 5 km of trails through forests. Also an off-leash dog park. Lynde Shores Conservation Area - 5 km of trails include a paved path and the famous song bird trail. If you hold very still and keep quiet, you can feed the birds right from your hand. Please feed only the songbirds and only with seeds. Enniskillen Conservation Area - 5.5 km of trails with meadows, ponds, the Bowmanville Creek and more. Glen Major Forest & Walker Woods - With over 20 km of trails, this property has 3700 acres of land in the Oak Ridges Moraine and the Duffins Creek watershed. Long Sault Conservation Area - Over 18 km of trails that are part of the Oak Ridges Moraine Trail system Durham Forest - Over 16 km of trails in four loops as well as many smaller secondary trails providing lots of options for hiking and biking. For more about our conservation areas, visit www.cloca.com/conservation-areas For Whitby trails, visit: www.whibty.ca/trails Get out and enjoy our trails and conservation areas. Happy exploring, everyone! Plant-Based Eating by Sheree Nicholson What do I eat One of the things I enjoy about plant-based is that it's opened my mind to a whole new food world. Rather than it being a limiting way of eating, I've found it to be more expansive. People ask what I eat if not meat. For some reason, the question stumps me every time. So here's my answer. I eat everything but animal products, including vegetables, seeds, nuts, and legumes. I've always said that breakfast was the easiest meal to give up animal products and so I cycle through a lot of the same foods. I also eat oatmeal with various toppings, smoothies, toast with peanut butter, and recently scrambled tofu. Lunch is generally salads with various toppings. Sometimes it's a combination of whatever is in the fridge: leftovers, hummus with brown rice and veggies, or a wrap with scrambled tofu. I'm big on food prep so my fridge is usually well stocked. Fun dinner Dinner is the most fun as I've committed to making a new recipe every week. I try to cook a few dishes on the weekend which means I have leftovers during the week. In a pinch, I make the pasta recipe below. It's fast, easy and full of nutrients. Another favourite lunch or dinner is the traditional falafel sandwich. I recently bought an authentic one from Alborz, a restaurant in downtown Whitby. With many cultures eating little or no meat, I try recipes from other cultures or go to different restaurants (pre-covid). A favourite is Ital Vital, a Caribbean vegan restaurant in Scarborough. Due to the popularity of plant- based eating, it's easier to find vegan options on menus. For example, State and Main in north Whitby has a separate vegetarian menu, including some vegan options. Here's that recipe. Easy Peanut Noodles (3 servings) Ingredients: 2 cups broccoli florets 8 oz linguine or spaghetti Sauce Ingredients: 3 tablespoons peanut butter 2 tablespoons soy sauce 3/4 tablespoon lime juice 1 tablespoon sesame oil 1-2 garlic cloves, minced Crushed red chili flakes (optional) Garnish with cilantro or parsley Method: 1. In a large pot, bring salted water to a boil. 2. While water is coming to a boil, prepare the sauce. Place all sauce ingredients (peanut butter through red chili flakes) in a bowl. Add 3 tablespoons of water, and whisk everything together till a sauce forms. Set aside. 3. When the water boils, add the broccoli florets and continue boiling till the broccoli is bright green and crisp-tender, about 1 minute. Using a slotted spoon, remove the broccoli from the water and to the side. 4. Bring the same water back to a boil. Add the pasta to the water and cook according to package instructions. Drain well. 5. Add the drained pasta back into the pot with the broccoli. 6. Pour the peanut sauce all over the pasta and toss well. Taste the pasta, if it needs more salt, add soy sauce half a tablespoon at a time, tossing and tasting as you go. 7. Garnish cilantro or parsley. Serve warm or cold. Sheree's Hack: To make this recipe gluten free, substitute tamari for the soy sauce and GoGo Quinoa spaghetti for the pasta. Business Roundtable With MP Turnbull Highlights Issues Cont'd from page 1 Business owners and managers, some of which are relatively new, expressed their frustrations with everything from how federal subsidies are meted out to the very real impacts on those run by women to employees getting more money to stay at home and receive CERB (Canadian Emergency Relief Benefit) money than go to work. After Turnbull completed his opening remarks, the floor was opened to participants to comment or ask questions. As he noted, some of the issues were in the provincial domain though he did admit to delving into that sphere on the vaccine issue given what he called "conflicting messaging" on the topic. One manager of a local food establishment wondered about the feasibility of having employees vaccinated, an issue that Turnbull couldn't fully address of course. The inequality of shutdowns was another thorny issue, pitting these small businesses against the large ones like Walmart. One owner wondered why Walmart, for instance, couldn't cordon off departments to force shoppers into just the food aisles, a suggestion she said Premier Ford had nixed because, he allegedly claimed, it would be too difficult for them to do. Yet, the owner said she cleans everything in her establishment thoroughly by herself. Another local business representative wondered about the longer term impact to Brooklin's downtown. "It's hard to have a culturally rich downtown in these circumstances and I don't see it getting better." On that point, Turnbull noted that statistically it was clear that it was the highest earners who've been able to work from home. How nice it would be for them to head to downtown Brooklin for lunch. There were questions about the hospitality industry, why extra careful owners of personal care businesses can't open, and how the federal government could assist those businesses whose own suppliers are falling by the wayside. An owner commented how one supplier has completely folded while another's costs have risen 20%. In the end, without making promises he couldn't keep, Turnbull promised to advocate for many of the key points business owners brought up by discussing them with Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland. "The more businesses we get through this," he said, "the more robust the recovery will be."