Pabellon Veggie Arepa Recipe

Serves: 4-6ppl

Toppings

Ingredients

-Pabellon Arepa
-Grilled cornmeal Arepas
-Fried sweet Plantain
-Black Beans
-Mozzarella Cheese
-Avocado
-Black Beans
-1 Spanish onion sliced in julienne
-2 Garlic cloves roughly chopped
-3 Sweet Peppers grated
-1/4 Cup Sugar Cane
-2 Cups Black beans
-Oregano
-Cumin
-Salt and pepper to taste

Instructions

-Start by sautéing the onions on a preheated pan on medium heat and cook for about 7 minutes. -Add garlic and cook until very fragrant 1-2 minutes.

-While the onions and garlic are cooking rinse the black beans on a colander and let them drain. (black beans can be soaked overnight which will reduce the cooking time)

-Add spices and cook for a few seconds. To prevent them from burning add the grated peppers and sugar cane and bring the heat to medium high.

-Add black beans and cover with water. Once the liquid comes to boil reduce to low heat and cook for 3-4 hours checking and steering regularly.

-More liquid can be added if necessary during the process.

Arepas

Ingredients

-2 cups Cornmeal flour
-2.5 cups of Water
-Pinch of Salt

Instructions

-Add water and salt to a bowl and slowly add cornmeal flour while constantly steering.

-Let the dough rest for about 5 minutes.

-Portion into round balls according to the desire size.

-Cook on a pan on medium heat for about 7 minutes each side.

Assembly 

-Open arepas with a butter knife and spread butter if desire.

-Add some slices of fried sweet plantain.

-Add a few tablespoons of black beans

-Top with mozzarella cheese and a few slices of avocado.

Visit their restaurant and be sure to check out the rest of their menu items on their website.

The post Pabellon Veggie Arepa Recipe From Arepa Cafe on Queen West appeared first on Toronto Guardian.

Blueberry the Cat

Breed: Domestic Medium Hair, Mix
Age: 4 years 8 months
Sex: Female
Size: Medium
Colour: Grey
Spayed/Neutered: Yes
Declawed: Front
Site: Toronto Humane Society
Location: Fosters

In order to ensure a smooth and successful adoption, please remember to check all the basic requirements for adopting before coming in to the shelter.

About this column:

Each week we feature animals available for adoption from local shelters in the Toronto area with the hopes that our readers will assist in finding good homes for them. If you, or someone you know, has the resources to take care of one of these animals, please do get in touch with the appropriate shelter via the links provided.

The post Help Blueberry the cat find a new family in the Toronto area appeared first on Toronto Guardian.

Writer and Director Audrey Dwyer’s Calpurnia hits the nail on the head when it comes furthering the conversation we have about race, class and what it means to be a socially aware black individual in today’s society. Calpurnia, a co-production by  Nightwood Theatre and Sulong Theatre Company, is a re-adaptation of Harper Lee’s critically acclaimed novel “To Kill A Mockingbird” under a different light that instead focuses on a wealthy Jamaican-Canadian family, their Filipino house-keeper and a dinner party gone awry.

The play begins with the audience following the daughter, Julie, as she is working on adapting Calpurnia (the Finch family in “To Kill A Mockingbird”) into a better represented black female perspective of the 60’s  (i.e. not written by a white woman in the 60’s). It makes the audience question their own opinions on race and challenges whether or not persons not of colour really understand what it means to be an “ally” to a marginalised group. And Calpurnia proves that it goes beyond just white people not saying the N-word.

Amongst the hard-hitting topics, is an underlying addition of humour that surprisingly amplifies the subject matter without trivializing it. Dwyer’s intent to have the audience confront their own subconscious racism was present in the questions Calpurnia seemed to be asking its audience to consider. As a society how do we better or contribute to these conversations about race? Calpurnia goes beyond just making the audience better social conscious thinkers but uses Julie’s fascination with proving her brother and father wrong as a way to see the contradiction in how a wealthy black woman could be so passionate about racism in the 60’s in which she has never experienced herself in a high-class upbringing.  It begs the question, do you have to have experienced slavery or lived in Black America to know black struggle? Calpurnia is a thoughtful, well-executed play, Dwyer’s  stage direction was immaculate and effectively executed enough to keep the audience’s eyes focused on all the little actions every character was responsible for, to bring the story together.

Calpurnia runs at Buddies in Bad Times Theatre (12 Alexander St)  until February 4th. For tickets to the show visit their website.

The post “Calpurnia” at Buddies in Bad Times Theatre in Toronto appeared first on Toronto Guardian.

Tokens4Change has programs running all year long that are run by Youth Without Shelter (YWS) and its partners that share information about the needs of disadvantaged youth in Toronto with students, aiming to put a dent into youth homelessness. The program’s big day is Tokesns4Change Day, a day whose mission is to end youth homelessness one youth, one step and one donation at a time. This year’s goal is to raise $101,000. To date, Tokens4change has raised more than $550,000.

Here are some of the highlights and best times to catch some of the performances:

-8:30 am – 12:30 pm at Ryerson Amphitheatre: dance performances by Central Toronto Academy students

-8:30 am – 12:30 pm at Yonge-Eglinton Centre: spoken word poetry by Havergal College students

-10:00 am – 1:00 pm at 10 Dundas East: Live mural creation by Hodgson School students

-11:00 am – 1:00 pm at Spadina Station: theatre performances by Crescent School students

-1:30 pm at Tangerine Downtown Toronto Cafe: huge arts showcase, featuring 
several student performances and inspiring words by youth who have experienced homelessness

Full list of Tokens4Change TTC Stations:

Bathurst, Bay, Bloor-Yonge, College, Don Mills, Downsview, Dufferin, Eglinton, Finch, Islington, King, Osgoode, Queen, Queen’s Park, Sheppard-Yonge, Spadina, St. George, St. Patrick, York University.

Full list of Tokens4Change PATH, Office and School Locations:

Bay-Adelaide Centre, Bloor Islington Place, Brookfield Place, Hudson Bay Centre, Royal Bank Plaza, Ryerson University Amphitheatre, Yonge-Eglinton Centre, 10 Dundas East.

For more information on how to get involved visit YWS.on.ca and Tokens4change.com

The post Tokens4Change city-wide student art activism event helping end youth homelessness appeared first on Toronto Guardian.

Born in Montreal to a Newfie father and Trinidadian mother, she’s got a unique mix of European flair and North American sensibility and hustle. Camille spent her younger years growing up in a Montreal suburb before moving to the Toronto area.

With a diploma in journalism and more than a decade’s worth of theatre and film training, Camille has developed her life around being a creator. Learning about the world through extensive travel has added to her impressive ability to tell stories full of authenticity with a fresh perspective.

Her current project Her Story (In Three Parts) was produced in part by ACTRA’s YEAA Shorts residency and is being shot across the country (Toronto, Montreal, Vancouver) to take advantage of Canada’s incredible pool of talent. The series is about the shame associated with sex, sexuality and sexual assault. Camille wrote it and is directing and starring in it. The project is aimed at the international festival circuit.

She recently moved into a converted shortbus to travel the West Coast with her partner and their cat. She splits her time between Toronto and Vancouver.

***

What ‘hood are you in?

Between my condo on Fort York in Toronto and all over with my old renovated bus in Vancouver.

What do you do?

Actor, writer, director, professional wine drinker and cat squeezer.

What are you currently working on?

I’m directing and starring in a short film series I wrote called Her Story (In Three Parts). It’s about the shame associated with sex, sexuality and assault.

Where can we find your work?

Facebook: Camille Hollett-French
camillehollett-french.com
Instagram: @thiscity0fmine
Twitter: @thiscity0fmine

The post A Day in the Life With Actor and Director, Camille Hollett-French appeared first on Toronto Guardian.