Edmonton was the chilliest place in North America yesterday morning and the second chilliest in the world, says Environment Canada meteorologist By CLARA HO, Edmonton Sun:
"The Edmonton International Airport saw a record low of -46.1 C and -58.4 C with the windchill, outfreezing even the Arctic.
Only Dzalinda, Siberia, appeared to be colder, with a weather station there recording temperatures of -48 C."
Polar Panda: Is +46.1 C and +58.4 C more bearable in Kukuland.
Nose Hill Park, one of the largest inner-city provincial parks in Canada and North America, is eleven and a half square kilometers and it is located in the northwest quadrant of Calgary. By noon time, it stopped snowing and the sun climbed up in the low south. After ensuring the curry goat is simmering on the stove, I bundled myself with ski pants, snow boots, goose down coat, neck warmer, tuque and ski mittens, and I was out with my camera, straight to the Nose Hill Park, which is several hundred meters away from our home.
Most likely this is the last winter in Calgary before we head to the Kukuland, and I am so thankful to see such abundant snow before Christmas, even though the traffic has been chaotic for the past two weeks in the city.
The most difficult part of leaving Calgary are our friends and the mountains. Hiking with friends in the Canadian Rocky Mountains have left numerous fond memories.
In the summer of 2000, after a forty-eight-hour train ride from Beijing to Urumqi and another twelve-hour bus ride, we arrived at Ta Cheng, China, where seventy percent of the population is Muslims. Within six days of vacation there, my husband’s family and relatives butchered seven lambs for us. Among various ways of lamb cooking, I favored the lamb soup. Since we came back from this trip, I started to love cooking lamb. My modified lamb soup became famous among friends for past decade. It is especially delicious after a cold ski day and it goes well with some white Sushi Rice. Here is the recipe for you to enjoy:
Ingredients:
1. Alberta lamb, butchered by a Halaal, 2 pounds, chopped
The blood would be drained from the lamb meat, which would be hung in a cooler for a day or so. 2. Cooking oil, some
3. Onion, one, sliced
4. Salt, appropriate amount
5. Water, lots
6. Ginger root, one piece, size of a thumb, sliced8. Ginseng, two pieces, sliced
7. Oyster mushroom, one handful, sliced by hand
8. Needle mushroom, one handful
9. Shitake mushroom, one handful, sliced
10. Potatoes, three or four, sliced
11. Cilantro, half dozen or so, chopped
Cooking:
1. On a stove with high temperature, add cooking oil into a large pot for about half minute.
2. Add onion into the pot and stir.
3. When sizzling, add lamb and keep stirring for about three or five minutes or until the outside of the meat turns from pink to white.
4. Add water to fill three quarters of the pot and cover the pot with a lid.
5. Leave the stove temperature high until water boils.
6. Uncover the pot, and use a big spoon to scoop out the floating stuff out of the pot.
7. Turn the heat down to three or medium low, add ginger and ginseng, and cover the pot again. The intent is to ensure the water is bubbling slightly, but not overflowing.
8. Let the pot sits there for two or three hours.
9. Add various mushrooms and turn the heat to high again.
10. Once the water is bubbling, turn the heat to three or medium low, and cover the pot for forty-five minutes.
11. Add dashes of cilantro to bowls before adding lamb and soup in.
12. Some people like to add a little bit Vietnamese garlic hot sauce, balsamic vinegar, sliced green onion, or grounded pepper into their bowl.
13. Enjoy.
I love to peek out through the windows at night and watch the snow flakes dancing wildly with the wind under the orange street lights. I eagerly crawl into my warm quilt to read, or lie down beside the fire place, listening to the firewood bursting sparks like a shooting stars and rubbing Jason's little feet.
It's winter in Canada
November is deer hunting season here, and we were invited to Leon and Rose’s farm land in Central Alberta to hunt moose, elk and white-taled deer. After three empty-handed trips, we realized that hunting is not an easy task, and decided to hang up the guns and go to the gathering on Sunday morning. Six of us squeezed into our mini-van and drove out to the range road. Only after driving twenty meters, we saw a pair of antlers moving around in the nearby red willow bush. Another female deer was half lying in the bush too. A layer of light morning fog floated on the blanket of the bush. It is the mating season. Without anyone’s instruction, we reversed back the van quickly, picked up the gun from the barn, loaded it and rushed back to the willow field. The bullet whistled into the bush, the buck raised his antlers, looked around and gracefully jumped towards the South with a hint of light brown. Five seconds later, the elegant female deer raised and jumped lightly to the East. We were all stunned with mixed feeling. It is God’s Will.
