BEST OF BRIDGES CASHEW CHICKEN STIRFRY

HAPPY BIRTHDAY!

HAPPY VALENTINE'S DAY!

My mom's marvellous cinnamon roll, my husband's cappuccino, and my daughter's shared chocolate! A decadent breakfast!

Origami with my daughter (intertwining pieces) to make a Valentine's coaster or decoration.

My gorgeous skier daughter racing to the Cabane a Sucre in Cap St. Jacques Park.

Fuelled for the finish line. 

LAKESHORE PLAYERS NOT NOW DARLING

I realized last night that I have been missing out in sharing some great events, and Lakeshore Players theatre is one of them. I have been a loyal subscriber for several years now, and this is a special year as the 50th season. NOT NOW DARLING is a funny sexy fast paced flight back to the 50s, with a Nathan Lane Lookalike with a Jersey accent, cats eye's glasses, up-dos and a James Bond pocket bar complete with roll out counter and overlapping panels.

Apparently popular enough in 1976 to play at Place-des-Arts, this theatre piece was done by Lakeshore before and voted in as the most popular choice by loyal theatre goers. Full of double-entendre and outrageous impulsive moves, this is a side tickler.

We were lucky enough to score front row seats and directed to them by the director Steve Gillam himself. It's so fun to be served by the cast and crew when they are not on stage! We had a nice glass of fruity nose tannic taste Grey Fox Cab Sauv, and were glad we had a car (often we walk) when we left in a snowstorm last night.

Well worth the cost of a ticket, you ought to see this play!

CHEZ LIEN

Off St Jean in the Blue Haven mall, Chez Lien is a welcome place on a cold winter's night. Although the excellent mains are depicted below, two highlights disappeared without being photographed! The wonton soup is perfect and the fried bananas were a crispy sweet delicious balance to a thoroughly enjoyable meal. The service was rapid and attentive. Next time, we'll plan for a longer dinner and bring a bottle of wine (there is a SAQ next door). I would skip the wontons in peanut sauce - they were watery and the sauce mealy. That'll save a few calories for a repeat performance. I'm looking forward to it!

Check out the intricate embroidered pictures along the north wall.

Gorgeous crunchy imperial rolls on a bed of vermicelli with a side of salad.

Soupe Tonkinoise (Beef)

PATATE DU FOUR/BAKED POTATO

There is a place on Pine Avenue that I have dreamed of for years. We ate there when we my daughter was a toddler and, today, we return with no disappointment! They take a generous baked potato, and with a knife, butter and mozza cheese, they make it into this gigantic potato and top it anyway you like it! Gorgeous!

Mozzarella with a side of salad. Almost too much for my nine year old and me, but I did my best to finish it off!!

Chicken, mushroom and russian salad (peas, carrots, and pickles in a mayo dressing - yummy!
). 

REDPATH MUSEUM DINOSAURS

Gorgosauruses scare the pants off me! I can't believe it took me til last week to realize there was more than just a lobby to this museum! The two floors above are amazing! Minerals, shells and curiosities! Check it out! Sunday has a bunch of volunteers and you might even meet Dinoman!

Cast of the Triceratops found in Saskatchewan and housed in the Eastend Dinosaur museum called T Rex Discovery Museum. Both places, if you ask nicely, and sometimes by surprise, you can handle 65 million year old poop officially called coprolite.

LOLA ROSA'S TUNISIAN TAGINE RAGOUT

I don't know what the spice is in here, but it is a delicious heat! I love the cabbage, roasted almond slices, pressed cottage cheese, stewed tomatoes, chick peas, plump raisins on a bed of bulgur, garnished with orange slices, pickled cucumbers and the finest julienned beets you can find! Next time I'm sitting by the window or the east wall. The seats in the middle are awkward, but serves me right for thinking I could just walk in to this busy restaurant for lunch on a thursday without reservations!

BOOKCLUB SWEDISH STYLE

Thanks, dear heart, with the decorations!

A variety of IKEA cookies: Kex Choklad and Apple Sandwich cookies, Sotsak Kakaoboll and Dammsugare (vacuum cleaner) cookies. 

Rosti, Pea soup, Meatballs, Janssen's Temptation, Jarlsberg cheese, Brod Mjukkaka soft bread, Brodmix Flerkorn multigrain bread with margarine and Lingonberry Jam, served with Glogg (a mulled red wine with raisins and blanched almonds served in the bottom). 

BOOKCLUB READ: A Man Called Ove

It took me a while to get into this book. It seemed a little too familiar, like a younger version of the hundred year old man all over again. It seemed that the curmudgeon called Ove (pronounced OH-VEH) was unsympathetic. The second chapter introduced an interesting character, and things slowly moved forward from there. The background is a tragic story of a man of integrity, and the attempts at ending his life are sorta shadenfreude-y and interesting. It picked up at the end although it felt a little like, "Okay, this is where it was going!". A pleasant read, and nicely translated, but not a revelation. It did give me inspiration to try some Swedish dishes for my book club, like Janssen's Temptation, and thanks to ikea, some great  rosti, yummy bread (Mjukkaka soft bread, buttered), swedish meatballs and imperative sauce, and amazing sweets like Sotsak Dammsugare (named after a vacuum?!) and Kakaoball. I couldn't find any saffron though, so the saffron rice will be a future menu!

VICTORIA SECRET'S CHANGEROOMS

CAP ST JACQUES IN THE AFTERNOON

PUY LENTILS ON PORTOBELLO MUSHROOM WITH A GLASS OF MENAGE A TROIS

Lunch date with my husband and my new favourite berry laden California red. Lovely!

PORTOFINO - SUPER POPULAR AND TERRIBLY DISAPPOINTING

Mushroom soup was very underwhelming but the garlic oil was very nice and the rolls were warm. Why can't all restaurants do this?! 

Risotto as pablum. Very disappointing - no texture, drowned in cheese, pre-digested! DO NOT ORDER! Fast waiter , which I feel silly to criticize, but if you are putting your spoon down when the main course is served, it feels a bit rushed! Turned out okay because we were freezing by the door to the west - not winterized!

Very good cappuccino with biscotti.

Although I regret bidding on a gift certificate at Portofino (I confused it with another local restaurant Portovino), if I was recommending a decent cappuccino or feeding a kid pasta, this place would cross my mind. So take your kid out for a delicate bowl of cheesy (alla inglese) and have a cappuccino and enjoy. But don't go here for a family meal even if someone else is paying. There are too many great italian restaurants to waste any more time on this one! (See Scarpetta)

SCARPETTA ENOTECA, A TASTE OF SICILY ON PARC

A Sicilian Kiss with the personable owner Antonio while I wait for my (very) late colleagues  at Scarpetta on Parc.
Check out the bathrooms. A conversation starter at the very least. I'm trying to figure out how to build one in my basement! 

Pollpettine di melanzane  - Eggplant with pesto - Delizioso!

Paccheri alla Norma- a spicy tomato-ey sauce - yum!

So glad I made room for dessert! Cannoli with candied oranges and a Caffe Americano. Perfetto!

TAVERNE ON THE SQUARE IN WESTMOUNT SQUARE/ MIES VON DER ROHE

I had plans to eat here the week before I did. A blizzard later and the supper was cancelled. But the stars aligned and when I suggested it for a supper place before plans to see a show at the Comedy Club, it turned out a friend worked across the street from the restaurant and agreed with the recommendation. Unfortunately we only had time for one course and a glass of wine before we had to go, but I was not disappointed. I love a good homemade pasta, especially if it's filled with butternut squash, and this version with a maple syrup and hot pine nut decadence. With an oaky chardonnay and a couple of fun friends, it was a great dinner on a cold night.

Interesting factoid: This restaurant is housed in a complex of tall buildings called Westmount Square, designed by a famous German - Chicagoan architect Ludwig Mies von der Rohe. He is famously quoted as saying, "Less is more" and "God is in the details". Curiously, he is recognized for designing a Barcelona chair, that I recognized far before I ever saw a building he had designed! Another curiosity is that he was born (Maria) Ludwig (Michael) Meis, but added his mother's maiden name when he divorced.  He is famous for buildings you may have seen but not yet learned to recognize (like yours truly!) like the Seagram building on Park Avenue/52nd in NYC, and a "Twin Towers" on the Lakeshore Road that can easily be missed in the beautiful skyline from Chicago's Magnificent Millennium Park.

BIRTHDAY PARTY AT THE ECOMUSEUM

What every 9 year old girl wishes for her birthday - snow, animals, friends, food, music, and presents!

My daughter wanted to make cookies with me instead of the traditional cake. These were some of our creations made with love and 5 attempts at icing vehicles. Reusable wilton bag won! 

VALOIS COUNTRY CLUB

I wish I had lived here when this club existed. Maybe Dorothy Parker visited before it burnt down?!

VAN GOGH TO KANDINSKY: Montreal Museum of Fine Arts

Pointillism - Theo Van Rysselberghe's Beach at Low Tide

Polynesian inspired oil by a female German painter Paula Modersohn-Becker, Girl With Flower Vase 1907 

What Tom Thompson could do with a rainbow!
Christian Rohits' Birch Forest

Pollard Willows at Sunset - a spectacular Van Gogh

Daughter Marcella as model - love the pose and the colours

Stables by Franz Marc: How many horses can you count?

Surreal Paris: Robert Delaunay's Red Eiffel Tower

ELIXOR RESTAURANT IN DDO

The appetizer I would order for my last meal!

A vegetarian's best friend - fresh pasta in a mushroom sauce!

PANCAKE BATTER IN A SQUEEZE BOTTLE! BRILLIANT!

PLACE-DES-ARTS ART EXHIBIT: DANCERS AMONG US

This is an amazing collection of dancers in real life by Jordan Matter.

SUSHI SHOP MAKES GREAT SUSHI!

STRAWBERRY MARGUERITAS

I doctored the recipes I found to a 1 oz version each.
1/2 cup strawberries, frozen
1 oz tequila
1 oz triple sec
juice of 1 lime, medium
sugar to taste
salt to rim

A TASTE OF NEW YORK IN MY KITCHEN

My favourite cupcake in New York is the red velvet signature cupcake. What is remarkable to me is that I have eaten this cupcake on many occasions despite the rare habit of an american franchise displaying the calories and the incredible number of calories that are in it! A whopping 550! They are so good, that despite that fact being displayed as a warning, I keep seeking them out. I no longer try to eat it between meals, but eat this cupcake as a meal!

So when my dear brother and sister-in-law, who love NYC as much as I do, found this package for sale in Manitoba, they found my perfect Christmas present! So I made a batch, as a more reasonable size and weighing in at 250 calories. The magic is in the brown package. When we put in the oil, it looked brown but a little milk and the red colour popped! It was like a Christmas miracle! The cupcakes were delicious, down to the cream cheese icing and sprinkles, but look below to see my pinterest fail!

Order yours on line!

Nailed it!