This morning I discovered that someone I know routinely consumes an entire bag of chips, a whole container of dip and a litre of pop as a matter of course. As awful as that sounds, I can do some pretty serious damage to a bag of chips too, especially if there is French onion dip nearby.

My other guilty pleasure is Pizza Pops – a junk food snack designed for 10-year old boys. I don’t know how or why I first tried one of these things. I think, actually, it all began when I wandered into a grocery store 11 years ago completely bombed and bought whatever seemed to be loaded with salt and fat. They’ve remained on my “guilty-pleasure” list since then. I shudder to think of what my Italian boyfriend would say if he tasted what passes for “pizza” here in North America.

Despite my weakness for these little pre-wrapped calzones and French Onion dip, I also have a passion for making food from scratch; in some cases, the more ambitious the better. Previous attempts have included making my own pretzels -- which was a fail (in the pictures they look pretty hard and crunchy, which is exactly what they were) – and homemade pizza pops (which actually worked pretty well, but they took a long time to make and I haven’t attempted it again for nearly two years.

Other successful approaches to homemade junk food have included candied peanuts, but they require pretty consistent attention with constant stirring.  And let’s face it, a desire for junk food and laziness often goes hand in hand.

One of my greatest successes was with homemade cheese dip, made with leftover bits of cheese and a little white wine from a wine & cheese party. To make this I followed Alton Brown’s recipe. It takes very little effort: simply gather up the bits of leftover cheese (for this recipe you will need a pound of cheese) and throw them into a food processor. If you have any particularly hard cheeses, such as parmesan, grate it first. Add 1/4 cup dry white wine (or a little more), 3 tablespoons of unsalted butter, a small handful of parsley, and one small clove of garlic (grated). Blend in the food processor until smooth. That’s it!

This cheese dip gives you that great sense of indulgence. And it might be high fat, but at least you’re leaving out that long list of chemicals and crap that come with a container of dip (simply compare the long list of ingredients with the few I’ve mentioned here and you’ll see what I mean.) And you can always refer to the health benefits of real cheese, such as calcium.

The dip is great with crackers or a crusty baguette. It will last in the refrigerator for days, but it tastes better when super smooth and the colder temperature actually takes away from its creamy temperature. So it’s the perfect excuse to eat all of it at once.

( picture here: http://saverqueen.com/2011/04/13/veggie-burgers-revisited/ )

Although I now eat just about anything, I went through a large period of my life where I was vegan or vegetarian, and my passion for vegetarian cooking stuck with me. People who are used to eating meat at every meal don’t get it, but I think that once you get used to eating vegetarian, you realize that there is a lot of flavour and texture to be had in legumes and vegetables.

Vegetarian cooking is great because, if done well, it pushes you to boost the amount of healthy stuff in your meals – relying on an assortment of veggies, beans, lentils and other nutritious foods. But vegetarian cooking is not only good for you; it’s also easy, healthy, often less work than cooking meat, and much, much cheaper.

Having said all that, if you’re vegetarian, it doesn’t mean you don’t have the same cravings that non-vegetarians do, or that you don’t want to participate in the fun of BBQ’ing. Now that spring is slowly making its appearance, so are BBQ’s, and you don’t want to miss out on the fun. The answer? A great homemade veggie burger.

Good veggie burgers are hard to find. There aren’t a lot of choices out there. If you buy something pre-made at the store you risk winding up with something rubbery that bears very little resemblance to real food.

As such, I have perfected my own veggie burger recipe. Let me be upfront by saying that these do not resemble the texture of meat. But that’s a desire only new vegetarians cling to. If you’re eating vegetarian, be prepared for a big change. Vegetables are not meat. It takes a lot of processing to get them to feel or taste like meat. Committing to vegetarianism is about letting go of your expectations and being able to appreciate the unique tastes and textures that your new diet has to offer.

These patties are soft, because they are made with lentils and mushrooms, and are not firm and chewy like a hamburger patty. But who cares? They are delicious. They are healthy, packed with fibre, protein and other nutrients (unlike hamburger meat). They are easy to make. And they certainly quench my desire for a hamburger (especially when paired with delicious, albeit fattening, toppings, and French fries or chips, just like a real burger.)

I cannot take credit for this recipe – I found it in an LCBO magazine – but I adapted the recipe, modifying the ratios somewhat and making a few other changes to make them less crumbly.

Lentil Walnut Burgers

1 cup red lentils

2 cups water

1 tbsp olive oil

1 cup finely chopped onion

4 cloves garlic, minced

1 tsp ground cumin (freshly ground is best)

1/2 tsp each s&p

3/4  cup finely chopped walnuts

1.5 cups finely chopped cremini mushrooms

1/4 cup finely chopped fresh cilantro

1/2 cup fresh bread crumbs

1 . In a small saucepan, bring lentils and water to boil over medium-high heat. Reduce heat to maintain a simmer, cover and cook until all the water has been absorbed, about 15 minutes. Remove from heat and let cool.

2. In a skillet, heat oil over medium-high heat; cook onion until tender, about 5 minutes. Stir in garlic, cumin, s&p; cook 1 minute. Stir in walnuts and mushrooms; cook until mushrooms are completely tender and no liquid remains, about 5 minutes. Let cool slightly. Stir in cilantro, bread crumbs and lentils to combine. Form into patties.

3. Grill over medium heat on greased grill, turning once until crisp and golden on each side, about 12 minutes. You can also use a frying pan – also on medium heat for the same amount of time. Only flip once; otherwise you risk breaking the patty apart.

4. Serve on grilled whole grain buns with desired toppings: I recommend garlic or curry mayonnaise, grilled mushrooms, and cheese.

Makes 4 large burgers (or 6 small ones).

On Saturday, April 16, Bob Leahy posted a piece on social media in the HIV field,  noting that slowly but surely, AIDS Service Organizations (ASO’s) are dipping their feet in the water and gradually getting comfortable enough to play in the social media pool. Some are doing it well and having a great time. Others are stumbling so awkwardly, it’s painful to watch.

The way we use social media has to be adjusted according to our organizational goals. Social media strategies are not a one-size-fits-all sort of situation. Non-profit organizations might use social media to raise funds or raise the profile of the agency, to promote festivals or events, or in our field, to promote sexual health messaging. Often, though, a big component of the work involved is building relationships with others. To do so requires the development of trust and the show of some authenticity.

Many people are sceptical of organizations with slick presentations and impenetrable brands. I believe that organizations need to learn how to use social media in ways that represent the values and mission of the organizations, but retain a personal touch. Part of what “accountability” in the non-profit sector means is to demonstrate that there are real human beings working behind the scenes, who care about the cause, make wise decisions on behalf of the agency, and are willing to own up to and correct mistakes when they happen.

The field of HIV & AIDS uses social media a little bit differently from the rest of the non-profit sector. The goals of using social media in an ASO might include the solicitation of funds, volunteers, or event participants, but it’s also likely to focus more on promoting messages. Figuring out how information shared on Twitter gets used and acted on is a complex process, but we begin by putting it out there and responding appropriately to the kind of response we see returned.

I’m happy when I see ASOs and other organizations in this field taking the plunge and starting to use social media. But I see mistakes happen all the time, and it drives me crazy. I don’t think that you need to do it perfectly – sometimes learning by doing is the best form of education – but social media is conducted in a public platform, so mistakes can have far-reaching consequences.

Here are just two tips to correct missteps that I see happening all the time on Twitter:

1.   Learn how to properly use Twitter before you start. Take a look around at what other people are doing before you take the plunge. Do other people post links without captions? No, they don’t. Do other people post links that are 100 characters long? No, they don’t. Then neither should you. Figure out what’s appropriate to tweet, what short forms are well known and understood, how to shorten links, how to retweet properly, what hashtags make sense for your topic, and take it from there. It doesn’t take a lot of effort to figure these things out, just a little bit of attention.

2. Do not ignore everyone else and stop tweeting only about yourself. Ever been on a bad date with someone who only talks about themselves? It’s just (well, almost) as bad on twitter. Furthermore, if someone reaches out to you with a comment, question, or compliment - respond! I can’t tell you the number of times that I – either in my work or personal accounts – have DM’d or mentioned an organization on twitter only to be ignored. If you wouldn’t ignore a phone call or email from someone reaching out in the community, you shouldn’t do it on twitter or facebook, either.

For more tips, I suggest this simple & straightforward plan by Robin Stephenson, “Twitter Community Organizing Rules for Non Profits” on “Beth’s Blog” – a great blog written by nonprofit social media guru Beth Kanter.

The advice is so simple, but many people using twitter in an organizational capacity ignore these fundamental (and somewhat obvious) tips. My only caveat is regarding tip #1 - “follow-back”. Indeed, twitter is social, but be strategic with who you follow. Only follow those who represent your agency well or have a legitimate interest in your organization. You are indirectly endorsing those you are following. You don’t want to endorse people who are tweeting inappropriate or irreverent material. Aim to follow people who will support, be receptive to, or endorse your cause, or will provide you with useful information. If you fill your feed with people you’d rather ignore, you won’t find anything useful in your twitter stream. Also, forget auto-follow programs. You will only end up with mountains of spam that’s tough to get rid of.

I hope to see more ASO’s use social media, but I hope to see even more use it well. Starting with the same basic rules we exercise in face-to-face communication is the first start.

In our office at ACG, the morning buzz often has to do with reality TV. My eyes glaze over whenever I hear my colleagues start to go on about Big Brother, The Bachelor, The Shore, The Hills or the Kardashians. I don’t keep up with any reality shows except for my favourite show, Top Chef. I love the food on this show, I love the challenges, I love the judges, (especially my crush, Anthony Bourdain) and, for the most part, the personalities.

But one particular reason why this show is great is that it is incredibly queer-positive.   Correct me if I’m wrong (I will again refer to my non-television owning, otherwise non-reality TV watching self), but Top Chef features more LGBT participants than any other show. In each show, at least ¼ of the contestants are gay, lesbian or bisexual . Although there are many gay men on Project Runway, home design and real estate shows, it’s worth drawing attention to the fact that lesbians and bisexual men and women are often absent in television, including reality television. I’m hard pressed to think of shows that feature lesbian women, especially ones where their sexuality is neither hidden and nullified, nor portrayed in the context of heterosexual male viewership and desire. Bisexuals are often invisible. In Top Chef, however, lesbian and bisexual contestants are often present, and frequently take a starring role.

The queer contestants often end up taking centre stage – not because of their sexual orientation, but because of their talent. For example, in the first season of the show, two out of the three final contestants were LGBTQ.   Neither of them won the title, but Dave Martin, a gay man, and, Tiffany Faison, a bisexual woman, were the two other finalists.  In the third season, the winner was a bisexual man (Hung Huynh) and one of the other two finalists was a gay man (Dale Levitski). 

In season four, there were three lesbian contestants, including Lisa Fernandes, who was also a top three finalist and came very close to winning the title. The list goes on.

Occasionally LGBT issues surface on the show. In Top Chef: Las Vegas (season 6), Ashley Merriman, a lesbian,  spoke about the unfairness of having to participate in a wedding challenge when at least 3 of the contestants are gay (two women, one man) and, because the show takes place in the states, are not allowed to get married. (That being said, in season one, the contestants were asked to cater a wedding - really a commitment ceremony - for two men.) But generally speaking, the different sexualities appear in the show as they should in all forms of media – as another aspect of human diversity. All sexualities appear as normal and not extra-ordinary or peculiar. They are not hidden; the contestants talk and joke about their sexualities (for example, in season 5, three gay characters formed “team rainbow” which later became the subject of a t-shirt produced by Bravo.)  And in season four, two women were actually in a relationship together.

But nor are the gay characters portrayed as obscure or unusual. Sexuality does not dominate the contestants’ images on the show. It’s very refreshing to have a popular TV show feature gay, lesbian and bisexual people as PEOPLE, who have unique talents, personalities and histories and are not tokenized or reduced to only their sexual orientation.

As a final note, gay and lesbian judges also appear. In addition to returning gay guest judges Ted Allen and Art Smith, the talented Elizabeth Falkner, a lesbian, is a returning judge. Chef Falkner also appears as a contestant in Top Chef Masters, along with Anita Lo, another lesbian chef.  (Top Chef Masters also features prominent gay and lesbian judges and chefs, such as the amazing Susan Feniger in season two .

It’s one more reason why I continue to enjoy this rare gem in a sea of otherwise bad reality TV. And the refreshing inclusion of talented lesbian and bisexual individuals makes this show a winner.

In my last post , I discussed the term participant versus client. The other thing you may have heard discussed lately, if you’re an avid conference goer, is the issue of using “PHA” in workshops and presentations. On multiple occasions I have heard people who are living with HIV & AIDS argue that the term PHA should not be tossed around as often as it is. And I agree. Acronyms can make sense in certain context, like in a clinical sense, or in research, or grant proposals, but can be simply dehumanizing when applied to real people.

If we want to talk about people living with HIV & AIDS then let’s talk about people living with HIV & AIDS. I think that when we want to capture a group of people, it’s best to do it by starting with the word, “people.” If we start with that, at least we’re starting with a person. It might be people who live with HIV, or people who use injected drugs, or people who access our services. But whatever people do, or have, or say, they are people first.

One night I was lying in bed and found myself counting and comparing the syllables in “PHA” and “People living with HIV and AIDS.” (Hey, I mentioned right off the top that I am a geek – don’t judge me.) PHA has three syllables. People living with HIV and AIDS has 10.

Is seven syllables really worth dehumanizing someone?