Autumn Chill at Lake Tahoe

By Cal Orey

A late night train ride from Seattle to British Columbia
is the ticket to Canada

CANADA PLAN IS MOTION... As my flight plan and hotel arrangements have been made, going to Seattle and then onto British Columbia is another fantasy that will become reality in a few months.  I can't help but ponder, "How in the world can I make this Vancouver trip as exotic as the French speaking province?" But adventure has a way of happening. I do feel a sense of calm with this journey, perhaps because it is on the West Coast. Also, since I faced many challenges, including the fear of flying, traveling solo, using a hotel safe, dealing with immigration agents, I feel empowered. Bring it on. I am ready for new fear factors--minus the B.C. ferry during winter--for the the thrill of it and to feel alive.

EBOLA, LIFE, AND AFTERLIFE...Today, my article on Ebola was published in Oracle 20/20 Magazine (pages 22-23). My goal was to stay on the fence with my take on the virus and rumored conspiracy theories since events change daily. After all, I did write countless national magazine articles on the outbreak of HIV/AIDS in the early eighties while I lived in San Francisco. I was in the middle of it as it was unfolding; met men and women who had the virus or full blown AIDs; even ARC.  I wrote about Swine Flu when it became a pandemic six as I forecasted it would. And, of course, I've penned pieces on the common cold, flu, and how to boost your immune system whatever your age or gender. Ironically, I fell victim to a cold-flu after. I beat it by Day Six with rest, herbal tea, juice, lozenges, soup, and one strong sibling that is there for me during the best and worst of times (and I'm certain my active dog duo are thankful for the daily walks, rain or shine)...

10 Secrets You  Didn't
Know About Ebola

At the time of writing the Oracle 20/20 story, Bentley the dog and his strong mistress were paying their dues. This week they reunited and this ordeal for the two troopers make me happy. On the flip side, Kaci Hickox, the nurse who treated Ebola patients and her relentless and self-serving Norma Rae-type mission ruffles my feathers. Each time I sign on to the Net she's in my face fighting a battle that could backfire. Or not. 

More intriguing is the news about a fearless woman, Brittany Maynard who chose to do it after all; She ended her life two days after her husband's birthday. Due to a terminal illness--and that is one fight that I get--I have said more than once, I too, will move to Oregon if I face death that is not easy for anyone. As a Catholic I know it's a difficult choice but I most likely would follow in this young woman's footsteps. She paved the way.

Seth, the angels took him

My heart goes out to her, her decision. (Two years ago, my beloved Brittany, Seth, six, fell victim to a neurological disorder. I chose to end his life because the prognosis was unfair to him.) Two women, two dogs touch me. 

MOUNTAIN LIFE, COLDER DAYS AND NIGHTS... 

My healling puppy will be 2 yrs on Dec. 2

After taking the dogs for a long Sunday walk it was out for errands. I found the fluffy white comforter and throw for the loveseat to add warmth to my life. A wool snow hat to keep my head and ears warm and mittens for my hand still suffice until winter at Lake Tahoe hits. The Sorels are on their way, second choice but definitely doable. Layering tee-shirts, ribbed leggings, sweaters and neck scarves are more cues it's getting colder. 

At the store I got fresh ingredients for homemade vegetable soup, wheat French bread (baguettes nowhere to be seen), bagels with sea salt, banana chips and raw sugar for muffins, buttermilk for waffles and strawberries (like I ordered in Montreal), and pecans for chocolate chip cookies. I feel like a squirrel getting into nesting mode. Ironically, if I bake muffins and cookies and freeze them, it's fifty-fifty we'll have a blackout during a real snowstorm, unlike the dusting we got Halloween night.

My pleco goes with the flow

It's chilly outdoors--as I recall Quebec was 10 degrees in September. I sit cuddled up on the sofa in between my Aussie and Brittany. Today, we set our clocks back (my chime clocks are still one hour off), and got an extra hour of sleep which I love. Still, signs of pre-winter are everywhere but it's still off season and quiet here in the sierras. Years back, I didn't have a heater for a fish aquarium. These days, as long as we don't have a blackout my pleco "Oscar" and goldfish should be happy, surviving the autumn chill at Lake Tahoe.

Contest: Win Olive Oil New Book--Advance Copy!

By Cal Orey

Contest Rules: It's easy. Play it forward: post this blog post on your own blog, Facebook or Twitter wall. Keep me in the loop by telling me where you spread the news via comments on this blog post or my Twitter/FB wall so I can keep track.

Three winners will be notified in early December and mailed a signed advance copy of The Healing Powers of Olive Oil, Revised and Updated (and one Coffee or Honey book) before Christmas!  A super gift for you or yours. 

Released December 30, 2014

Discover Olive Oil's Extraordinary Powers!

Revised and updated, this indispensible book reveals why chefs, doctors, and nutritionists all love extra virgin olive oil, a key ingredient in the Mediterranean Diet--and why other healthful oils from vegetables, fruits, and nuts are not far behind. You'll find easy recipes for satisfying foods like Pizza Baguettes with Garlic Oil, Fudgy Coconut Oil Brownies, Honey-Citrus-Olive Oil Fruit Kabobs, and Macadamia Nut Oil Cookies. Also included: home cures that beat colds and reduce pain, beauty and household secrets, and pet care tips that really work!

 Deliciously healing surprises. . ..

The art of using olive oil for mind, body, and spirit goes back 6,000 years. Hippocrates, "the father of medicine," used olive oil in over 60 healing remedies.

New research confirms that olive oil can help lower the risk of heart disease, cancer, and type 2 diabetes, and it can stall age-related diseases.

Combining olive oil with other oils (like nutrient-dense seed and nut oils), can help combat fatigue, infections, and insomnia, and help you fight fat and shape up!

Bring on the butter--especially the right kind and right amount. When paired with oils, this twentieth-century "forbidden" saturated fat is a new twenty-first-century health food.

About the Author

Cal Orey, M.A. is an author and journalist. Her books include "The Healing Powers" series (Vinegar, Olive Oil, Chocolate, Honey, and Coffee) published by Kensington. Her website is calorey.com.

The Undressed Cake for Halloween

By Cal Orey 

'Tis Time for Comfort Food to Feed Your Spirit

It’s Oct. 31 — the week of Halloween activities including decorating, carving pumpkins into Jack-o’-lanterns, apple bobbing, haunted houses, and watching horror movies. Trick-or-treating is also traditional celebration for kids on this special night, a time when little ones dress up in costume and trek through a neighborhood, house to house, asking for candy by asking, “Trick-or-treat?”

Rustic Gingerbread Cake in cute ramekins for that
European look paired with pumpkin spice coffee

In my childhood this big day was a big deal. Throughout the years in the suburbs, I morphed into a cat, scarecrow, farm girl, and beatnik. My mom would purchase different types of candy, including mini chocolate bars and candy corn. And if the day fell on a weekend we were sure to get baked goodies, too — that included homemade gingerbread but we called it “gingerbread cake” and it was drizzled with warm lemon sauce.

Gingerbread is a semi-dense single-layer sweet cake that calls for syrupy molasses, brown sugar, and a myriad of spices. History tells us that it has a popular European history that goes back centuries. It made its way to America and is still a winner, especially during the holiday season. While it’s often served for Christmas and New Year’s Day for good luck, its dark color and sweet and savory flavor makes it an ideal goodie for autumn (with its brown and orange hues of falling leaves) and Halloween with black, orange and white as prominent colors, thanks to pumpkins, ghosts, witches, and black cats.

Store bought or homemade whipped cream
sprinkled with nutmeg or cinnamon

Last year on Halloween Eve, I was on deadline working on my olive oil health-cookbook. I baked gingerbread (but it was semi-homemade since I used a box mix and added my own ingredients). Instead of turning on the porch light, and dishing out candies to children, I played a trick. I turned off the lights and went to the cozy bedroom with my fur kids. Instead of having them bark at every knock on the door — it was calm. I watched sci-films, sipped hot herbal tea, and enjoyed a piece (okay two) of gingerbread cake sprinkled with powdered sugar. And this week it will be a sequel. But note, I made gingerbread cake from scratch. My mother would be proud.

Rustic Gingerbread Cake

• ¾ cup dark brown sugar

• ¾ cup molasses

• ½ cup European-style butter (1 stick), melted (save a tablespoon for greasing baking dish)

• 2 ½ cups all-purpose flour

• 2 organic brown eggs

• 2 tablespoons European-style butter, melted

• 2 teaspoons baking soda

• 1 tablespoon ground ginger

• 1 teaspoon cinnamon

• ½ teaspoon allspice

• 1 cup hot water

In a large mixing bowl, combine sugar, molasses, butter, and eggs. Stir until smooth. Set aside. In a medium-sized bowl, mix flour, baking soda, and spices. Combine dry and wet ingredients. Add water. Mix thoroughly. Using the unused butter, grease an 8” by 8” square baking dish. Pour batter into it and spread evenly. Bake at 350 degrees for about 50 minutes or till the top is firm. Cool. Makes approximately 12 servings. Garnish with a dollop of store bought whipped cream (or make your own by using heavy whipping cream and sugar and beat until creamy). Sprinkle with cinnamon or nutmeg.

Dress it up with cream cheese frosting

Once I put the gingerbread cake into the oven and turned on the light I knew this recipe was easy as pie. It’s quick to make. It’s an easy recipe. It’s a keeper. When it was done, I sliced a small square without cooling it and it came out perfectly. The thing about this cake is that it’s versatile. It can be dressed up or down. Eating it plain, with whipped cream, or topped with fresh berries drizzled with honey is festive. Also, frosted with cream cheese frosting (mix two cups confectioners’ sugar with 1 cup cream cheese, and a capful of pure vanilla extract) decorated with candy corn pumpkin candies, chopped walnuts, or crystalized ginger pieces can make it a sublime Halloween treat dressed right for kids and adults.

California #Author-Intuitive Sees Seattle-B.C.

By Cal Orey

As an author-intuitive I believe in signs, whether it be a dream, gut instinct or image. Last week when I was booked at the Seattle/Bellevue Barnes and Noble bookstore for a reading/signing of my forthcoming book The Healing Powers of Olive Oil, Revised and Updated (and other Healing Powers Series books), I sensed it was a cue to prepare an itinerary to go farther north into Canada. And that is what I'm in the middle of doing.

Challenging to plan trip when
getting over cold-
contemplating flu shot

One night, one day in Seattle

IT IS SEATTLE TO VANCOUVER, B.C... Today, on Halloween, the days of spooky spirits, I woke up early, thanks to my early rising fur kids, and realized: "I'll only have a few long days in Vancouver! Not enough." So, I called the airline people and added one more day. While holding on the phone for the switch a catchy song played:  "Best Day of My Life" -- it was a message to me that I was meant to extend this business-vacation trip for another day. And I did just that. 

Vancouver Sky Train is for me

After the Bellevue book signing on January 10, 2015 it will be early evening. It may be worth it to check out of the nearby hotel near downtown Seattle and take an Amtrak night train ride to Canada.  It sounds romantic, sort of. This way, I can savor Vancouver for three whole days--Sunday, Monday, and Tuesday. Come Wednesday I can take an afternoon delight train back to Seattle and do the city for the night--Pike Place Market as I visited in 2006 after the downtown Barnes and Noble signing with geologist Jim Berkland. Then, it's up early to catch an early flight back to Northern California, my native home.

As noted in my last blog post, I nixed the B.C. ferry winter ride due to potential rough air and choppy water to avoid "Sea Sick City" and stay warm and healthy. Instead, experiencing sub-Mediterranean climate in Vancouver without rushing to get to a chilly island via water seems right for me right now.  But Vancouver Aquarium is a must-see for me--since the first time I went wasn't long enough. 

Used to writr for Tropical Fish Hobbyist
Definitely I will revisit VA

A visit to Stanley Park, making my way to Commercial Drive with its shops and restaurants, checking out Chinatown and Gastown, to hitting Davie and Denman streets are all on my excitement list.  Coffee, gourmet chocolate, and food--fresh and Mediterranean eats are not to be ignored.

More B.C. streets to walk

NOT AS FOREIGN AS QUEBEC CITY... Ironically, another signal came to me in September while en route to Quebec. When I got off the plane from Salt Lake City to Atlanta, I realized in the airport I left something important on the plane. "I left my books behind: The guides on French Sayings and Montreal/Quebec City Sites" are gone." At first I felt I was lost. But it was meant to be. So, I winged speaking French and followed my animal-like sixth sense for finding sites rather than using a structured plan or tour guide.

This time around in Canada, ideas of where to go and what to see will suffice, too. I do like excitement of getting off the grid (takes me back to when I was young and hitchhiking across America and through Canada) in a foreign city. I'm sensing that crossing the border via Amtrak will be a cake walk in contrast to the dealing with the mean-spirited French Canadian Customs Agent who grilled me, the California girl. Note to self: Find something spontaneous to do to add the wow factor to this PNW trip.  

Dec. 2 is Skye's 2nd B-Day;
Groundhog Day is when we met
He was 12 lbs. vs 50 lbs.

LAKE TAHOE, AUTUMN TO WINTER... And this weekend we fall back and turn our clocks back, while tomorrow is November 1 and a new month greets us. That means there's less than two and a half months before my departure to the Pacific Northwest. So far, two more Barnes and Noble book signings--one in Sacramento mid-November and the other in Reno, a week before Seattle--will proceed the trip to Seattle/Canada.
It's time to chill, enjoy autumn at Lake Tahoe: A first snowfall promised tonight, fire in the fireplace, going back to my swims at the resort pool, and promoting the upcoming release of OLIVE OIL and its counterparts (Vinegar, Chocolate, Honey, and Coffee) for the holiday season. Canada and novelty will be there for me in January, the first month of 2015. I see some weather challenges and lots of adventure en route and throughout the trip. 

UPDATE: I did go to Seattle/Canada twice after this post. Most likely in the upcoming months I will return to British Columbia and go to Victoria.

Author's Winter Getaway: Seattle to Vancouver Canada

Saturday with onset symptoms of  a
cold-flu

By Cal Orey

Seattle is my first and foremost stop

Decided no way am I taking a ferry to Victoria in the Pacific Northwest winter! After talking to locals on the phone, they're telling me grueling tales of choppy water to storms tagged "Seasick City"!  Plan B, a turboprop was off my table of viable modes of transporation to Victoria after a quick online search to verify my gut instincts about small aircraft in the wintertime. This fall-cold bug is a kick of reality and blessing in disguise. Yep, I will go to Seattle for the book signing; and the next day take the train to Vancouver, Canada--done. I made up my mind during this bout of a cold. I will pass on nightmare-ish plane and boat rides.  

On Saturday night I felt feverish and my throat was raspy. Come Sunday the aches from head to toe hit. A cold-flu paid me a visit. Was it getting up in the early morning every day to feed the cat and let my dog duo do their business and enjoy their breakfast? Or perhaps it was the weekend neighbors who left their flood light on all night, forcing me to play the character in that film "Insomnia" trying to barricade the windows for needed darkness to sleep. Maybe I didn't wash my hands after store runs. And there is always the chance it was our temps plummeting to 28 degrees and soaring to the upper 60s in the day.  Welcome to cold season--it's a sign.

Vancouver Canada is a fine destination

What was I thinking? On the weekend in between sneezing and drinking herbal tea and honey for my sore throat, using a heating pad for my aching back, I booked a flight and hotel for my trip to Seattle in January. At first, I announced it would be a Barnes and Noble reading/signings in Bellevue, then onto Vancouver via train. In my mind and to friends, I didn't stop. I boasted that I was going to hop onto the chartered bus for 1 1/2 hours to catch a B.C. ferry and in another hour or two be on an island--Victoria.  Then, a few days later, it would be back on the cold, choppy winter waters (providing they didn't shut down due to poor windy conditions)  to catch the bus, train, and two plane rides, shuttle bus, cab to my cozy warm home. Am I crazy? Do I want to work hard to land on a strange island when I live in paradise?

Why in the world would I bundle up and bundle all this traveling in the wintertime? Maybe if I didn't get this cold I'd feel more adventurous. I sense this pesky bug is a cue from the weather gods whispering to me: "You are not 21! Yes, you are normally healthy and have energy but be sensible!" So, I negotiated in my mind: "The flight plan will include a cab to the shuttle bus onto Reno for a flight to Utah then onto Seattle...another cab ride to Bellevue. A few days in Washington, then a cab to the train and four hours later in Canada. That is a long, long trek. Done!"

Back to SLC Airport is just the
tip of the journey

After all, I vowed to revisit B.C. all by myself, not with an incompatible travel mate. I will revisit Vancouver Aquarium as well as enjoy the diversity of the city, organic food markets, and swim at the hotel in a foreign city. No need to get onto a ferry and weather the elements to get onto an island. Water will be all around me. I live in the mountains with a cold climate in the winter that includes shoveling snow and making fires. Why do I want to work harder than I have to during a business-vacation? 

People travel to Tahoe in the winter...   I won't be gone for long
Why would I go to Whistler when I have snow here

Saving Victoria and the fickle ferry for a fall time getaway. Gosh, dealing with a cold-flu virus is not fun. It would be easier with one cat. True, my dogs give me so much but at times, like now when I don't feel my energetic self, it's like taking care of two-year-old twins. But as my grandma used to say: "This too shall pass." And then I will continue to envision my trip to Seattle and Canada. That is doable and will suffice.  Caveat: If the weather is dry and the wind is calm (I forecast it will not be), I may change my mind in a heartbeat and book a B.C. ferry for the thrill of experiencing Victoria.

Coming back home to Tahoe--my home--complete with snow, a crackling fire in the fireplace, swimming at the resort pool in early mornings (to dodge ski-goers) and cuddling up with the fur kids will be nice, too. It's mindful to save Victoria for a crisp autumn day. Where is my heating pad? The Brittany and Aussie are staring at me again. They want more food, a walk. I feel sicker than a dog. Fine. I'm getting up.  

Here Comes the NEW Olive Oil Book with Surprises!

By Cal Orey

Discover Olive Oil's Extraordinary Powers!

Revised and updated, this indispensible book reveals why chefs, doctors, and nutritionists all love extra virgin olive oil, a key ingredient in the Mediterranean Diet--and why other healthful oils from vegetables, fruits, and nuts are not far behind. You'll find easy recipes for satisfying foods like Pizza Baguettes with Garlic Oil, Fudgy Coconut Oil Brownies, Honey-Citrus-Olive Oil Fruit Kabobs, and Macadamia Nut Oil Cookies. Also included: home cures that beat colds and reduce pain, beauty and household secrets, and pet care tips that really work!

Pre-order by clicking your mouse right here

 Deliciously healing surprises. ...

The art of using olive oil for mind, body, and spirit goes back 6,000 years. Hippocrates, "the father of medicine," used olive oil in over 60 healing remedies.

New research confirms that olive oil can help lower the risk of heart disease, cancer, and type 2 diabetes, and it can stall age-related diseases.

Combining olive oil with other oils (like coconut and macadamia nut oils), can help combat fatigue, infections, and insomnia, and help you fight fat and shape up!

Bring on the butter--especially the right kind and right amount. When paired with oils, this twentieth-century "forbidden" saturated fat is a new twenty-first-century health food.

"Orey gives kudos to olive oil--and people of all ages will benefit from her words of wisdom." --Dr. Will Clower, CEO Mediterranean Wellness

California Food Author--Canada Dreamin'

By Cal Orey

UPDATE: 
Vancouver Downtown-my dream coming true! 
then to  charming Victoria B.C.
 (after a Jan. 10  Seattle 
Barnes and Noble 
book discussion/signing)

Today. Tuesday, marks one month since my out of country trip to Quebec, Canada. I'm over the post-travel blues but I've got finding a new, improved adventure on the brain.  In September it marks a time in my life that I left my fear of the unknown at home and experienced life...

Autumn at Lake Tahoe but craving Canadian adventure

I left my fur kids, flew a long distance all by myself (munching on purple grapes and cheddar cheese, gabbing with fellow passengers, including a passionate doctor (who confided in me about her marriage) and generous attorney (claimed he didn't have a fear of flying but Bach and drinks seemed to be his remedies), both from Georgia; was grilled by a no-nonsense young, Canadian customs agent who asked me: "Do you have pot?"--and was on a mission to irk me; stayed in a 28th floor hotel room (which I arrived at 2:00 A.M. after traveling 3000 miles) and wasn't scared to be all by myself; survived a fearless cabbie whom drove 100 mph; and I learned that I can trust a hotel safe for money and passport.
In the dark, cold morning air I will always remember how I sprinted solo, clad in warm clothing with mittens, scarf, and a hat, on a downtown street and caught the 6:15 early (business class) train to Quebec City, and not to forget a spontaneous horse and carriage ride in the French-speaking town of Old Quebec. Whether it was "rough air" on the plane or weathering 10 degrees on September 18 when I awoke--I did it. And I'm ready to go do it all over again.

Rural Quebec en route to Quebec City

City Room view that'll cherish

I miss Quebec City and the French speaking people

HOME AT LAKE TAHOE... Living at Lake Tahoe I realize my life is isolated and lacking excitement. I miss the city life (as I had going to S.F. State University) and new experiences. Fifteen years ago, it was my dream to leave the San Francisco Bay Area, move to the mountains and make the transition from magazine journalist to book author. Done. Now I feel I want to spread my wings. I'm not sure if it's the fact that I want to move to Canada or just flirt with the different provinces as I did in my early 20s. Now, via phone as an intuitive reader for the networks, I can tell if a caller is from Canada. It's not an accent, though, it's an air of sophistication that I can pick up 95% of the time. And I love my Canadian clients from all the provinces (yes, I can sense which ones, too).

I've settled in during the days and weeks and it's been a challenge. The firewood arrived and is stacked in the garage. The chimney cleaner is coming tomorrow at 9:00 A.M. I wanted to return to my swim routine but today's report is the resort pool is cold. Too cold for tourists or locals.

Lattes and shopping were part of the city life; I have a
cross necklace and black and red checkered jacket
from Quebec City; a black leather purse and navy
infinity scarf from Montreal

It was bliss to wake up naturally with a city view of Montreal--I felt like a princess--and to grab the phone for room service. I'd rang up a Gaufre/Waffle. Translation: a large waffle with hand whipped cream, Quebec maple syrup, powdered sugar, and fresh strawberries; and a carafe of coffee. Back home, on Sunday morning, I did whip up homemade organic chocolate chip pancakes and a pot of of mocha flavored coffee. It was comforting but not Quebec syrup.

Hot organic pancakes at home

I should have stayed longer in QC

Yes, it was sublime with my warm fur children amid me.  The clock(s) do chime as the I heard in Quebec City, the place with a European vibe. 

At Tahoe, my new earthy, chocolate brown blinds are up and make me feel cozy. Pumpkin spice candles are everywhere next to baskets of pine cones. The pine trees outdoors are showing vibrant hues of yellow and red. It's Mother Nature at work. But something is missing for me here in Northern California. I yearn to click my mouse and; book a flight to another city in Canada, somewhere different.

BRITISH COLUMBIA, I AM COMING TO YOU... Years ago, I did go to Vancouver. It was a weekend trip with a friend. I fell in love with the city but wasn't thrilled with my controlling traveling partner. I vowed to return alone. I have chosen the flight plan, pondering the hotel to befriend and sights to see and I forecast it is likely I will take the trip before 2015 arrives.

Meanwhile, I sit here next to two dogs and a cat. I look at my treasures: A Via Rail ticket stub,  a greeting card to my hotel room (with memories of a fruit basket gift from the manager) and kind words: Nous vous souhaitons un excellent sejour et une magnifique visit a Montreal! And indeed, I did have a great stay and a wonderful visit in their lovely city... It's getting close to that time when I book another flight--the West Coast of Canada; I hear you calling my name... Unless I can find a big aircraft that will land in Toronto.