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Welcome to ContEd Express, our Continuing Education staff newsletter.
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Happy Pizza day! In this edition of ContEd Express we are celebrating pizza. We asked you to share your recipes, favourite pizza joints and any tips or tricks for tossing a perfect pie. You did not disappoint, enjoy all the drool worthy recipes and recomendations below. Thank you to all our teammates who participated and to Luisa Cruz-Milette (Program Manager) for her wonderful riddles.
If you have something you would like to share in the next issue of ContEd Express, please let us know.
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Welcome Moni Brar, Mark Labrecque and Alec Reimer
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Photo: A very happy baby Eli with his unimpressed big sister, Zara (my brother's dog)
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Moni Brar
Program Manager, Domestic Programs |
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Quirky Fact
I've had the privilege of working in 12 countries alongside amazing local colleagues. I have many happy memories from those times, and one that I can share with you is from my first overseas position in South Korea. I love cooking, especially as entry point and connection with other cultures. On a whim, I entered a cooking contest and was happily surprised to win the contest and be crowned The Kimchi Queen!
Furry Friend
I have an adorable and delightfully naughty puppy! Eli is a Wauzer (a Westie and Miniature Schnauzer cross), and he joined the household while I was on my family's farm in the Okanagan. He spent the first six months of his life chasing wild horses, digging for voles, and distracting the farm workers with his unabashed cuteness.
Favourite Books
I don't watch much tv and would rather lose myself in a good book. Some of my all-time favourite novels include Midnight's Children by Salman Rushdie, The God of Small Things by Arundhati Roy, A Fine Balance by Rohinton Mistry, and The Inheritance of Loss by Kiran Desai. Recently, I read Washes, Prays by Noor Naga, a novel-in-verse and it was unique in form and a wonderful read.
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Photo: An image of myself after my first haircut in 6 months back in 2020. I had never had long hair but the pandemic made me start a social experiment on myself - could I stand having long hair? It turned out NOT as the smile on my face attests!
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Mark Labrecque
Operations Assistant
(Microsoft Exam Centre, Information Services and Finance) |
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Quirky Facts
An interesting fact about myself - I am an aviator at heart. I learned to fly gliders through the Air Cadets when I was 16, got my private pilot's licence when I was 17 and flew with the Royal Canadian Air Force as an air navigator for a number of years. I was born in Saskatoon but have lived in a number of places, due to my postings through the Air Force.
Furry Friend
We have a dog - a senior citizen dog as she's 12 years old - and she is really my wife's treasure. The dog's name is Holly but we also call her Diaper-Dog. She has a kidney problem and so we bought doggie-diapers for her - you really can purchase anything through Amazon!
Favourite TV
I also watch the accident investigation show Mayday on Discovery but my all-time favourite has to be MASH. My daughter and I still watch it if we can find it on TV.
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 Photo: Me and my French bulldog, Rousseau.
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Alec Reimer
Program Coordinator |
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Quirky Facts
An interesting fact about myself is probably the interesting facts I shoehorn into conversations. Nuclear plant water usage? Bizarre scientific fish names (I particularly like the bogue and the rainbow trout)? Obscure historical facts? Get me talking long enough and your brain will be filled with wonderful nonsense like that. I'm also a rare born and raised Calgarian (grew up in Thorncliffe), and 3rd generation Albertan.
Furry Friend
I have a French bulldog named Rousseau.
Favourite TV
My favourite show is probably the '05-'07 HBO series Rome. An excellent tight two season drama about the fall of the Roman Republic, and the spiritual predecessor to Game of Thrones.
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Olivia Stephanie: the new baby in the ContEd Family
Steph in her own words
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| "Well, Olivia was born on December 20 at 3:25 a.m., she was 51 cms, I was in labour for 56 hours! It was so looong! I am happy to report that everything is now OK. |
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| I was very surprised - and grateful, for the level of care at Rocky View Hospital, no wonder they were named the best hospital in Calgary in 2021 and is in the top 10 in Canada. |
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| The baby is now over 1 month old. I would like to share these pictures with you. The ones you can see her wrapped like a Taquito (swaddled) are the ones when she was born, then I improvised my own photo shoot for the 1-month pics, even though I was very sleepy I think it isn't that bad, is it? I still think it would've been great to hire someone because believe me I was half asleep. |
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| Olivia is growing everyday and I am learning and growing as a mom. |
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| I want to thank everybody again for the present, I have purchased some items the baby needed. I send everybody a big hug." |
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| Stephanie Herrera |
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| See more pictures are in the staff chat. |
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Our very own ContEd pizzaiolos!
Recipes and tips for tossing the perfect pie from our team. If you have another great recipe please share it in the ContEd Teams Chat.
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| Mark Labrecque |
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| We had pizza the other night - 2 kinds: regular and keto-friendly. Our secret - we make our own crusts (as we have done for the last 35 years, wearing out a number of breadmakers along the way!) for the regular ones and dress it up! Here's my images of the recent pizza-fest - don't drool on the images please! |
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| Shiela Lahud |
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| This is my favourite pizza dough recipe. I use it all the time !!!! |
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| I have tried this with regular flour which gives a fluffier and thicker crust, but my all time favorite flour is double zero 00. It makes a crispier crust like a Margarita pizza. I don't use a stand mixer. My hands and or a wooden spoon work just fine. Plus I like kneading the dough. |
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| My typical toppings are Mozzarella cheese, cheddar cheese, rosemary ham, black olives, onions, mushrooms. Once it is out of the oven I sprinkle on some pesto and Cholula hot sauce. |
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| Delicious! |
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| Ryan Lawrence |
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| This recipe is similar to what Megan and I normally do, but the chef includes resting time in the fridge, which I've recently learned is a good way to go. |
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| Click here for an amazing pizza making video using an Ooni oven. |
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| MacDonald Oguike |
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| My favourite pizza is homemade pizza. It is always a fun activity at home to build the pizza from scratch, and the kids love putting whatever they want on the dough. |
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Unfortunately, I don't have pics of it because we ate it all before taking pictures (it was that inviting
:-D) |
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| Clik here for the recipe I follow. |
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| Gabriela Santamaria |
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What about pizza leftovers?
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| "Well, I reheat the pizza in the broiler, a few minutes upside down, a few minutes right-side up, I usually prepare a salad (I only eat salad with leftovers) And I seasoned it with Valentina hot sauce and sometimes with Worcestershire sauce too. When we prepare pizza, one ingredient that cannot be missed is smoked oysters, and now we do Spicy Chili Smoked Oyster, I you haven't tried it, you should!!!" |
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Our favourite Pizza joints!
Recommendations from our team for ordering the perfect pie. If you have another great pizza joint to recommend please share it in the ContEd Teams Chat.
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| Moni Brar |
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| I love pizza in all forms! This is the most unique pizza I've ever had--a Japanese fusion pizza made with a tempura rice crust topped with avocado, sriracha mayo, and sesame seeds. It was delicious! |
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| Jody Edwards |
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| I have two favourite pizza joints:
Spiro's pizza (Also my grandfather's favourite, a must try!) and A Plus pizza (see image).
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| I feel like an honourable mention should be Gus's pizza near the University. Thank you ContEd for Gus's pizza lunches! Yum. |
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| Patsy Knutson |
| My favourite Calgary pizza joints for pick up are:
Jeanne's Pizza Pantry and Bella Roma Pizza and Steak House (see image).
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| A good pizza on decent GF crust from Panago - Chicken Taqueria: Chipotle cilantro sauce, grilled chicken, fire-roasted corn, red onions, feta, mozzarella, avocado cilantro drizzle and shredded cabbage. |
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| Rob Wensveen |
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| A few years ago, I was a tag-along with my wife Cathy, as she was working a trade show in Denver Colorado. We went out for dinner one night and had Giordano's deeeeep dish pizza.....and we were absolutely blown away. It was incredible...like no pizza we have ever had before. We only ordered a small pizza, but we were sooooo full..!
Chicago's Famous Stuffed Deep Dish Pizza | Giordano's |
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| Closer to home, we have been meaning to try what looks to be a similar style of pizza...but for some reason this has not happened yet. I wonder if anyone in UCCE has had this pizza and can comment on it..? POW! - Detroit Style Pizza |
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Riddle me this from Luisa
- When you buy me, I am costly. But the only use I have is just hanging around. What am I?
Answer___________?
- I can be red, pink, yellow, orange or white, but I'm not a crayon. I smell nice but I'm not perfume; I get put in water but I'm not dirty. I have a stem but I'm not a wine glass. What am I?
Answer___________?
- You can touch me, You can break me, You should win me if you want to be mine. What am I?
Answer___________?
Look for the answer on Friday February 11th, in the ContEd Teams Chat.
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Happy Birthday!
Celebrating birthdays in February:
- Tafadzwa Bamhare
- Jody Edwards
- Karen Fofonoff
Celebrating birthdays in March:
We hope you all have a wonderful birthday!
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Visit the ContEd Teams Chat in Microsoft Teams
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