Before I get into this, I want to make it perfectly clear. I am 100% pro-vaccine, pro-mask, pro-lockdown, and this post is in no way trying to downplay the effects or severity of getting COVID. It’s no joke, and if you need any sort of proof of this, feel free to head over to the COVID-19 Darwin Awards at https://www.reddit.com/r/HermanCainAward/

Of as writing this – Jan 12th 2022 – It’s been 2 years since this virus landed in Canada, depending who you ask. Many think COVID started in March 2020, but the first COVID case in Canada on record is Jan 25 2020. My mother caught something the first week of Jan 2020 that basically took her out for the better part of 6 weeks. Nobody could tell her what she’d caught and for the first time ever I genuinely feared for her health with how she was describing her symptoms and the very slow rate of recovery. She wasn’t alone – there were a lot of cases of this mysterious long lasting flu going around during that time – was it COVID, we’ll never know.

So, despite spending the past 2 years being responsible, social distancing, keeping my bubble very small (and at times not seeing people for weeks on end), getting my vaccines as soon as they were available to me, and being diligent with my mask, I caught COVID. I can’t know for sure, but it was just before Christmas. I suspect the Omicron strain.

You know the ones.. “Hello Sir, this is MICHAEL and I’m calling you for the air duct cleaning service”. You know all the replies people give… “Yes, clean all my ducks. I have 12 of them. They are a bit fowl”, “FUCK YOU DON’T EVER CALL ME AGAIN YOU ASSHOLE”, and of course my personal favorite “Sure thing, come tomorrow! I’m at 6 Tettenhall Road, Etobicoke”. If you Google that address you’ll see why it’s funny – at least it is for me. Any thought of inconveniencing the residents of that home is something I feel warm and fuzzy about.

About a year ago I wrote my initial post shortly after I’d signed up to be an UberEats delivery “driver”, but instead of using a bike or car, I did it on foot. Walking. It’s a much lesser known way and I can tell you the past year has been a whirlwind of learning how challenging of a gig this really is. I’m going to try and remain fairly diplomatic in fear of retribution from Uber – which should tell you all you need to know right out of the gate.

Where I left off was after my second night out delivering. I was in pretty good spirits realizing I could make a couple bucks on the side just for walking around the city dropping off relatively crappy takeout food to people while burning calories. My views now are… well.. far different. As it stands today, I’m up to 1700 deliveries since late September 2020. I stopped somewhere in early May 2021 save for a few days afterwards where the weather wasn’t all that warm. I decided slugging a food delivery bag around town in the heat & humidity just wasn’t for me. As the weather got colder in October of this year, I’ve been back out getting my steps.

Here’s a few things I’ve learned along the way.

People have been stuffing peppers for as long as peppers have probably been around in their current form. Every country has their riff on it, some of them are vegetarian, while most of them contain some form of minced or ground meat. There’s a million different ways to make them, so be sure to experiment.

This is a bit of a twist on the classic North American stuffed peppers you may be used to – like mom used to make. I like to play around a bit with the spices, and think for any stuffed pepper to be interesting, it’s got to have a little kick to it. At the end of the day, you’re the boss, but don’t be afraid to experiment a bit. Remember, less is more so it’s always easier to add a bit more spice than have to try and cover it up. you can continually adjust as needed along the way.

If you’re feeling this, leave a comment with what you did for spices and I’ll give it a go on the next round.

I’ve been making my own pickles for the better part of the past 5 years, playing around with various recipes, sometimes with terrible results. However, what’s always hit a home run has been my spicy garlic dills. Some of my friends swear by them, and honestly – they’re a snap to make.

Here’s the basics. I’d strongly suggest making at least 6 jars worth, possibly 9, and up to 12 at the same time if possible. This recipe pulls off 8 jars, but there’s usually a bit of leftover brine. Your mile may vary depending on size of jars.

Once completed, be sure to let them sit on the shelf for no less than a month before opening. For best results, be sure to cool your jar in the fridge for 8 hours prior to opening (ideally overnight) to give them a bit more crunch. Happy pickling!