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Set it and forget it! That’s why you want to start plank grilling. With BBQ season well under way, here’s a unique twist to your favourite summer pastime.

In The Art of Plank Grilling: Licked by Fire, Kissed by Smoke, Ted Reader, Canada’s own barbecue kingpin (GQ magazine), helps home grillers master the art of barbecuing with planks. Plank grilling infuses food with unique flavour and allows food to cook slowly in its natural juices. Traditionally used for salmon and other fish by the Native Haida People of the Pacific Northwest Coast, plank grilling is now becoming a popular method for grilling a variety of foods. As Ted says, “You can cook anything on the grill.”

Things to keep in mind when plank grilling:

* Keep the temperature low and let the food cook a little bit longer
* Plank thickness is dependent on what you’re grilling
* Always buy untreated wood
* Always soak your plank for a minimum of one hour
* Patience is very important, as is clean equipment
* Never leave the grill once you begin to cook
* Always have a spray bottle beside the grill for safety in case of a flareup

Plank grilling can also be done in your oven: Soak your plank as usual, and set your oven to 350 degrees. Place the plank in a deep baking or cookie sheet and fill the reservoir with an inch or two of water (just enough that the plank begins to float). Put the food on the plank and bake it at a consistent 350 degrees. You’ll want to make sure that the pan always has some water in it so that you don’t ignite it and set your stove on fire! You will get the smell of the type of wood you’re using throughout your house so if that’s a concern, be sure to open all the windows.

Other things you’ll learn from the book: What equipment to use, the evolution/revolution of planking, the varieties of planks, what a “Holy Plank” is, plank with legs, plank boxes, planking on gas vs. charcoal, cautionary tips, planning tips, and tons of recipes, from soups, to ribs, to cakes!

If plank grilling is new to you, Ted suggests you try out his signature Salmon recipe. Read on for details:

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It’s that time of the year again! Once you pop an icy cold and sweet dark red cherry, you know you can’t stop! Especially if that cherry is of the organic variety. If you haven’t tried, you should, and while you’re at it, support one of our local farmers. Zebroff’s Organic Farms from Cawston, BC (just south of Penticton) has been supplying Capers with organic cherries and other fruits and vegetables for 22 years! Some varietals include:

Sweet Cherries, which arrived during the Canada Day long weekend.

Bing: First to ripen. Not tart, just sweet.

Vans: A zippier type of Bing with a tart note.

Lamberts: Often called pie cherries, these beautiful, dark cherries last another 7 – 10 days after Vans and are a traditional, almost heritage variety. Their skins are more tender than Vans, so they are ideal for pies and canning.

Sams: Big, black cherries.

Montmorency: Medium large, bright red fruit with firm yellow flesh. These cherries have a rich, tart, tangy flavour and take their name from the Montmorency Valley in France where the variety was developed sometime before the seventeenth century.

To celebrate the arrival of these cherries, here are two delectable recipes that you’ll want to try out with the first local fruits of the season, courtesy of Capers Community Markets.

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Lip glosses have sure come a long way. They don’t just add some colour and shimmer anymore. Now you can find glosses that moisturize, plump, smooth, protect, AND define! This week, Beau Nelson, Creative Director of Beauté Cosmetics, shows us a very quick way to plump up those lips for an irresistibly voluminous look. Click on the image above to find out more!

For details on what tools to use, read on…

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Starting up your small business at home may cut some overhead expenses, but once you start to set up those oh so important meetings that will make or break your new venture, you may want to reconsider inviting the execs over for a cuppa joe in your living/dining/bedroom.

There are office spaces popping up around town that cater to one-person operations. You obviously don’t need to rent out an entire office because you don’t have employees, but now you have the option of simply renting out one desk space, or one small room in a facility of many. The Network Hub is one such place.

Some benefits of moving your setup to the Hub include:

* Accessibility to meeting rooms
* Internet access
* Print/Copy/Fax facilities
* A business mailing address
* Live answering services provided by a receptionist
* A waiting area for your clients while you prepare for your meeting with them

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Reena’s Tip of the Week:

To prevent table linens from creasing, install a rod just beneath a low shelf in a closet; hang linens on hangers padded with paper towels.

All solutions are to be used at the risk of the user.

Reena Nerbas is the author of the two National Best Sellers, “Household Solutions 1 with Substitutions & Household Solutions 2 with Kitchen Secrets,” available in stores across Canada. Reena is a columnist and Home Economist in a lab coat (and she’s not afraid to use it). She can be heard on CBC radio programs across Canada.

To learn more about Reena, click here.

Self-defense is all about taking advantage of an attacker’s weak points. Last week we learned how empowering it is to know about vital point striking, and we’ll be building on that foundation in the weeks to come. In today’s video, Sensei Anthony Britton demonstrates how to easily slip out of a basic wrist grab. Our reflex when restrained in such a way is to pull away as fast and as hard as we can. But you’ll learn after just one experience that all this does is force the aggressor to hold even tighter. In a real life situation, you may be too panicked to realize a very logical way out of the problem. Check out the segment to find out how, no matter what weight and height your attacker may be, you can always break free AND leave him or her incapacitated enough for you to get away.

IMPORTANT: Please use extreme caution when practicing these moves. Remember that with the right amount of force, you can severely hurt somebody. These techniques are to be used for self-defense purposes only. All self-defense moves and tips are to be used at the risk of the user.

Don’t forget to check in next Monday! We’ll be learning how to escape a weapon attack.

On the day of Al Gore’s global Live Earth Concerts, I thought it fitting to address a growing problem in modern politics, exemplified perfectly by the battle over global warming and the environment. I call it The Battle Between Ideals and Reality, but you might as well call it The Inconvenience of Science.

Unless you’ve been living in a cave for the last several years, you know what global warming is. You probably also know that there is an overwhelming consensus amongst scientists that our excessive CO2 emissions are largely to blame for climate change. One would think that with such conclusive evidence, everyone would be clamouring to buck the trend. Yet an alarming number of people still trivialize the issue and often contest the science with more or less dubious claims of conspiracies, alternate theories and blatant misinformation.

The battle over global warming is a perfect example of the clash between political ideals and harsh reality. The word “ideal” was used by the Ancient Greek philosophers Plato and Aristotle to define perfection itself. In their minds, the human quest was to get ever closer to that ideal in all aspects of life. Today’s definition is pretty much the same, although the principle of constantly evolving one’s theories to get closer to the ideal has been lost. Today’s idealism – political, religious or otherwise – has become dogmatic and those that follow it are more like a creed than a group of independent thinkers.

Political theory – or idealism – is not necessarily founded in reality and will not necessarily lead us toward a perfect world.

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What’s a comprehensive blog without a tech category!

In the first of many segments to come, technology journalist Akash Sablok of AndNowYouKnow.net will showcase the latest and the greatest in the ever changing world of gadgetry. Today’s feature covers a few of the fun new products in the entertainment department, as well as a couple of cool toys for kids. There’s something for everyone.

Akash is a regular guest on Citytv’s Breakfast Television and on G4TechTV’s Lab with Leo. Check in often for his tech reports!

For details on the featured items, read on…

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The theory is genius in its simplicity, but then again, isn’t that the basis of all great ideas?

It’s no great revelation that the mind and body are intimately connected. So if the mind is suffering, the body can’t help but share the pain. Doesn’t logic therefore dictate that equal attention must be paid to the body when releasing the mind? That is the idea behind Yoga Psychotherapy.

Danielle McDermott discovered in a yoga class at age 19, that certain stretches and poses induced unexpected emotional releases. Realizing that body movements can help release pent up feelings, she knew this discovery was worth exploring, and so began a path that would lead to her present career.

To get a strong footing in the understanding of psychology, she set out to get her Masters in the field, which she then followed with a certification in yoga therapy to develop her own unique approach to counselling.

What this entails is traditional talk therapy coupled with certain yoga techniques. When we experience emotions, we experience them with our whole body, so it holds a lot of tension. Think of how tight your neck and shoulders get when you’re under a lot of stress. Those with anxiety or anxiety disorders chronically hold a lot of tension in these areas and the buildup often manifests itself as indigestion, back pain, and other “psychosomatic disorders.” The benefit of yoga psychotherapy is that in addition to addressing the underlying emotional or psychological issues through talking, it also helps release the physical tension with concurrent stretches and poses.

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DABBLER GIVEAWAY DETAILS AT THE END OF THIS ARTICLE!

A title like that is bound to attract a lot of interest. In our ever faster-paced world, quick solutions are more and more in demand. Pair that with the expertise of Carmindy, the makeup artist for TLC‘s What Not to Wear and you won’t be able to resist picking this book up. I don’t wear makeup and I still found the book intriguing. I’m sure a familiar and very likable talent has a lot to do with it, but I think there’s an allure to makeup that draws in all women, whether they like to apply it themselves or not. The aesthetics are pretty difficult to resist and if you like beautiful things, the images in this book are a definite hook.

It’s an extremely easy read. It’s so uncomplicated and full of vibrant colours that it could easily be a coffee table book. You would be able to pick up a quick tip just by opening to a random page. I just gave it a go and got page 74, which is a section of the book that has advise for Asian women (now THAT is an insane coincidence!). In addition to the topics within each chapter, “Quick Tip” and “Fast Fix” boxes are interspersed throughout the book. In this particular page, the Fast Fix reads:

“Asian eyelashes tend to point downward (that’s me!), but if you curl them, you’ll create an eye-opening effect. For best results, don’t use a conventional lash curler that crimps your entire upper lash line at once. Instead use a small, half-inch (or so) curler. It better allows you to follow your natural lash-line curve for beautiful results. Afterward, apply waterproof mascara, which will hold your curl longer than regular mascara.”

I found these random tidbits of information quite enjoyable. They’re fun and provide bonus information that you didn’t even know you needed. Here’s another taste from the “Skin Essentials” chapter:

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