Saturday 28 February 2015

Vía Orgánica …





 an Awesome Eating Experience...
                                                              Naturally

A haven of food that grows from nature’s nurture

If you get to San Miguel de Allende, please step into the organic haven of Vía Orgánica – an astounding restaurant where the food is grown,  and created in dishes that reaches your taste buds  to promote instant health; each menu delight is 100% natural – from the earth, the plant, the fruit, the animal and more.
In fact, you get a visual taste of what you are about to feast on by looking at the more than 1000 products  and produce set on shelves in two areas attached to the  restaurant’s  two store shelves before. They are snatched up by clients who come on a regular basis to give themselves an immediate health/taste boots through the amazing made-to-measure drinks they concoct.
Super food offers include fermented vegetable which are high in probiotics and optimize gut flora: sauerkraut, ginger beets, cortido, green beans, carrots and pickles. What I love about this restaurant is the dedication to making tasty dishes that come from mindful preparation to keep it all natural.
I had their fresh beet, ginger and carrot drink and also imbibed their guava drink. I had a go at their melon one too. I could not get enough of them. Some are actually made without water, yet they are liquid lovely.
I ordered Vía Orgánica’s mushroom, baby spinach and poached eggs special. Of course the eggs are organically farmed, as is everything that sits on your plate. The spinach cream sauce was utterly silky heavenly and it swathed an impressive amount of mushrooms.

 

The menu displays a magnificent array of eight sensational salads that hold the promise of palette pleasing pleasure. One includes a variety of goodies, including tahini, lentils, lemon with pita chips and olives. Locally made goat cheese finds its way into several savoury preparations. Seven Mexican plates along with five Vía Orgánica specialties left me speechless, yet my mouth was open, ready to receive it all.
Via organic sells gluten free bread, rice bread and cookies in its store section, but tantalizing tamales of corn, zucchini and veggies along  with manchego-filled quesadillas of a gluten-free gourmet rarity in any restaurant. Tortillas with chia and spinach, grass-fed beef, sage-seasoned turkey, lentil pecan veggie burgers and a host of other meat options are really wagging tongues. I can’t get into their omelets, frittatas, desserts and then some, because I would need a booklet to do Vía Orgánica justice. Vía Orgánica is a non-profit organization whose mission it is to promote organic agriculture, fair trade, health and sustainability.
The restaurant has its own ecological ranch, educational program and a theater show performed in the campo to educate all about the dangers of the Monsanto foods.
They have cabins and horseback riding, and all that delicious food grown to keep you living longer with a very satisfied belly! 

 



 The restaurant is located at Margarito Ledesma #2 Col. Guadaloupe.
Call (415) 152 -8042. Their email is info@viaorganica.org.



Friday 27 February 2015

Bram Brought it on

and We Sang Along in Benefit Concert




by Nancy Snipper



They say when we reach a “certain age”, we revert to being a kid again. We laugh a lot, we rediscover wonder in the world, and we sure love having fun. We also sing more because we feel like it.

On Monday, February 23rd, Bram Morrison traveled down memory lane with a marvelous medley of many famous signature songs that almost every kid in Canada knew off by heart. But this time, it wasn’t our kids – or our grandkids who were singing those iconic Sharon, Lois and Bram songs inside Teatro Santa Ana that evening – but us; and we sure had a hoot doing it.  
Bram is as brilliant as ever; his voice is gentle and soothing, and his humour as wholesome and folksy as the lyric demands. The song about chickens a rooster was prefaced by the revelation that no rooster in the world says a four-syllable, “cock-a-doodle-do”.  In fact, it makes a three-syllable sound that Bram brazenly demonstrated. That brought on lots of laughter, as did his song about an unlucky worm whose girlfriend was not a worm, but a caterpillar. She hit the sky as a butterfly.  Not only was his heart broken, but he ended up in pieces, thanks to a lawn mower.
We sailed away with his sad sea shanty song, but belted out the chorus of his Eerie Canal ditty whose rhyming lyric took us into a storm; sinking into water or a bottle of gin seemed to be our only choice.   
 Singing in English, Spanish and French as well as in a host of accents, including a West Indian one – with the song written by his pal, the late Peter Kastner, Bram brought us a Barbadian beauty in the figure of Louisa, a cashier who worked in Cambridge, Massachusetts who inspired Mr. Kastner to write the lyric; he asked Bram to write the music.
 In contrast, sadness cast its own melancholy in the lyric taken from the

19th-century diary of a down-and-out, hard working housewife toiling away during the Civil War. It moved us. Bram composed the music for it. 

 Evocative, and entertaining, Bram’s performance percolated our youth, bringing out our playfulness.  However, there is a highly serious aspect to this concert – one of utmost importance. The proceeds from the concert will be used to help fund these Amistad Canada projects:  the scholarship project at the Biblioteca, CASA’s Antiviolence Project and funds will also assist in support staff salaries at the Midwifery Hospital.
 Bram’s next sing-along benefit concert which lasts nearly two hours, including an intermission takes place on March 9th at 5pm at the Teatro Santa Ana. Tickets go for 200 pesos. By singing along, you’re contributing to the great work Amistad Canada does right here in San Miguel.


Queen KA Chrysalides





Montreal premiere of her second show February 26 and 27 2015
at the Quat'sous Theatre (100 Pine avenue East) as part of the Montreal High Lights Festival.
Première Montréalaise de son deuxième spectacle les 26 et 27 Février 2015
au Théâtre de Quat'Sous (100, avenue des Pins Est) dans le cadre du Festival Montréal en Lumière.



 










"14 poems (six of which are on Les Éclats Dépareilles + eight new ones), but their mutation on stage is CHRYSALIDES." Spoken word performance with instrumental and soundscape backing by: Blaise Borboën-Léonard et Stephane Leclerc.
« 14 poèmes (six qui sont sur Les Éclats Dépareilles + huit nouveautés) mais leur mutation a la scène c’est CHRYSALIDES ». Performances de spoken word avec le soutien instrumental et ambiance sonore par: Blaise Borboën-Léonard et Stéphane Leclerc.


"Chrysalides: The pupal stage whereby a caterpillar metamorphoses into an adult butterfly – a state of hibernation between the end of a phase and the beginning of the next."
« Chrysalides: Le stade de pupe laquelle qu’une chenille se métamorphose en un papillon adulte – un état d'hibernation entre la fin d'une phase et le début de la prochaine. »

Queen KA (stage name for Elkhana Talbi) has been performing her poetry since 2006 after completing her studies in interpretation of dramatic art. Since 2008, Blaise Borboën-Léonard and since 2010, Stéphane Leclerc have written and performed (on guitar, violin, keyboards and electronics) the music that has accompanied Queen KA”s poetry. Captivating, her words and their music carry the listener to an imaginary land where all is possible and beauty abounds – ambient, classical and progressive – a show not to missed. Playing at same venue tonight @ 8pm (tickets 38$ - taxes & fees included).


Queen KA (nom de scène pour Elkhana Talbi) joue sa poésie depuis 2006 après avoir terminé ses études en interprétation de l'art dramatique. Depuis 2008, Blaise Borboën-Léonard et depuis 2010, Stéphane Leclerc ont écrite et interprétée (à la guitare, violon, claviers et électronique) la musique qui a accompagné la poésie de Queen KA. Captivant, ses paroles et leur musique transporter l'auditeur à un pays imaginaire où tout est possible et la beauté abonde ambiante, classique et progressif un spectacle à ne pas manquer. Jouer au même endroit ce soir @ 20:00 (billets 38 $ - taxes et frais inclus).