Hot Shots - February 21, 2025
Charmaine Yam

Hockey Night in Canada! Go Team Canada, Go!

Eytan from our accounting department proudly strutted in Thursday morning with a Canadian flag so big you could use it as a napping blanket. As he draped it over a pole—before we even decided where to hang it—I felt an odd sensation. A warmth rising. An urge. A strangely strong need to run over, grab the makeshift flagpole, and start waving it with pride. Instead, I blurted out, “Ooooo… Let me help put that up.”

And then my mind ran wild. We need more. More!!!

Shortly after, I posted a photo of Team USA forward Matthew Tkachuk (19) and Team Canada forward Brandon Hagel (38) mid-fight during the 4 Nations Face-Off, along with a shot of the Team Canada locker room—jerseys neatly hung, waiting to be adorned. Coworkers walked by, chanting “Fight! Fight!” Vincent casually recalled, “Lisa on Ice” is the eighth episode of season six of The Simpsons. “Kill Bart! Kill Bart!”

The office was buzzing with patriotism. It was electric. At that moment, I realized… we have the ability to manipulate the force. [cue Star Wars music]
If you caught all the references above, congratulations—you’re not old. You’re just a movie buff escaping daily reality.

In other news, every few weeks, a few of the gals’ lunch breaks happen to align, and when they do, we each try to bring a dish to share. So far, we’ve had themes like Soup for Days, A Dip to End All Dips, Dat Hot Sauce Competition, and most recently, Where My Sandwich At?. We’ve devoured an egg-xcellent sando, stewed beef on ciabatta with pineapple sauce, a veggie wrap packed with tangy slaw, and shrimp salad rolls with homemade peanut sauce.

I’m incredibly grateful to be able to share what I love doing—and even more so that people choose to spend their breaks together. In a world where most people are too absorbed in their work to think about anything else, having others dedicate this time to connect feels like an unspoken privilege. It’s a gift I can’t fully express, but it’s something that truly touches my heart.

I firmly believe you can tell a lot about a person by how and what they cook—the flavors they highlight, how boldly they season, the presentation, and the madness behind it all. It’s like tarot card reading for food geeks… or maybe a personality test, but edible.

But let me be clear: this is a safe, relaxing lunch space. No one shall be judged… unless, of course, we all agree to it. [rolls up sleeves, sharpens knives, makes full eye contact, and winks]

Okay, yeah. Now I see why people might be a little intimidated. But seriously. We cool.

Let’s see what I have uncovered this week:

Red Cipollini Onions from **Two EE’s Farm** - product of BC

Honeynut Squash from **Covilli** - product Mexico

Broccolini from **Josie’s** - product of California

Blackberries from **Meraki/Homegrown** - product of Mexico

Despite their name, blackberries are not actually berries in the botanical sense. They are an aggregate fruit, meaning each "berry" is made up of multiple small drupelets (tiny fruitlets) clustered together. True berries, like grapes or blueberries, develop from a single ovary of a flower.

Red Cabbage from **Capay Farms** - product of California

Green Beans from **4Earth** - product of Mexico

Shallots from **Snow Farm -** product of BC

When eaten raw, shallots have a more intense heat than onions, sometimes approaching the spice level of garlic. This is due to their high concentration of sulfur compounds. However, cooking them transforms their sharpness into a soft, sweet flavour.

As I was thinking about cooking fried chicken (I’ve been wanting to test a few saucy new ideas: Salted Egg Yolk Glaze and Creamy Yuzu Hot Honey), my computer screen began to rattle. At first, there was that split-second confusion: Was that a tremor or just a really aggressive coffee break? (For those of you who didn’t feel it, it was like someone gently nudging your chair, but the plants were definitely into it.)

According to Earthquakes Canada, the quake struck at 1:26 p.m. PT, with a magnitude of 5.1 and a depth of one kilometer. The epicenter is located northeast of South Pender Harbour on the Sunshine Coast. Small earthquakes, which occur frequently along plate boundaries—especially at divergent (spreading) plate boundaries—are considered good for releasing tension in tectonic plates, gradually relieving built-up stress without causing major damage.

Are all our island dwellers okay? And with that, it’s time for me to check up on friends, family, and pets.

Wishing you all an amazing weekend!

- The Compliance Officer

Hot Shots - February 21, 2025

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