THE DAY I BECAME A VEGETARIAN - MAY 2006

It's a little surprising that I never considered vegetarianism before. I guess being brought up in a meat and potatoes house was the main reason. So it was a process, brought on by motherhood, the book Fast Food Nation and the movie Food, Inc. and the preparation of a frozen salmon to serve this Jacques Pepin special (the puff pastry was homemade, with butter cubed by my own hand) to my friends. I was unable to eat it that day, and have been a vegetarian ever since!

SO I MARRIED AN AXE MURDERER

When I moved away from my childhood home, I soon realized that I would spend a lot of Christmases without my family.  So I started some traditions on my own, all of which I try and keep still. Athough it usually happens that I spread them over the advent, and even up until the epiphany, I now share them with my new family. Over the last couple of years, the hardest tradition to keep is the watching of this movie, So I Married An Axe Murder, because I nearly always fall asleep at some point! So here I am, watching the last half of the movie I started on Christmas. I find it amazing that I still enjoy it, although it is the only one I can think of that I have watched over a dozen times! Just in case you are wondering, it all started in a hot little apartment with a miniature Christmas tree and a too short phone call with a long night ahead alone. Videoconferencing has made that no longer possible, but I still drink eggnog, eat chocolate, mandarin oranges, a pomegranate and watch this movie, in honour of that, the loneliest Christmas tradition. And why this movie? Can you believe that I have no idea anymore why this movie is the one?! It's not the best movie ever, and it dates itself a lot, but I have to say that I still love it! When I visited San Francisco a couple of years ago, I was able to retrace the movie's highlights, and every year, I revisit the city again in my mind while I watch. When I was San Francisco, I even found the scene of the movie's ballet dance at dusk, and adored the rich history of the residual buildings of the Panama-Pacific International Exposition of 1915. It is an enjoyable travelogue of the city! Check it out, if you've never watched it.

FOODIE FRIENDS AND FINE CUISINE

I am lucky. I know a lot of ladies who know a lot about food. Back in the day, I had a few tricks up my sleeve. Now, I'm a little hit and miss. Luckily, my friends are not. Here are a few highlight over the last few years.

Dining at friends

http://healthishappiness.com/2012/12/09/amazing-vegan-bowl-recipe-with-nutritional-yeast-sauce/

I USED TO BE BETTER - AND, BOY, I'M HUNGRY!

MARION KEYES COOKBOOK

When I was on maternity leave, I was very tired and had a lot of time on my hands in a seated position. I read a lot, one handed. I devoured biographies about Castro, read fantastic gothic books like The Shadow of the Wind (or as I like to think of it, The Library of Forgotten Books), and Love in the Time of Cholera (pedophilia warning), and then came the phase of what I refer to as "pink books", more commonly referred to as chick lit. Marion Keyes was my first. If I imagined her Irish accent, it was even more fun. I started with Sushi For Beginners and have read since almost her entire collection. This was a different kind of discovery. She has a great website: www.mariankeyes.com/. It talks largely about her characters, and she comes across quite clearly as a character herself, but she is honest in her struggle to overcome depression, and this cookbook is a result of one period of self-discovery with baking as therapy. It's a little biographical, and a lot pretty with more than a few good ideas. I have, alas, tried to avoid baking as therapy since I hit my 40s, but I hope to get though the highlights over the next few years. Get yourself a copy, if only to read and drool, but I suspect you might be tempted to a little therapy yourself.

RAINBOW LOOM ADDICTION

My daughter got a rainbow loom from Santa this Christmas. I hadn't realized that she liked it so much, and in her disinterest, I started making different patterns and colours to order for her and her friends. Then she got a rainbow loom for her birthday, and finally she was free to "have her own"! I didn't realize I was holding her back!
Here's a sampling:

PINTEREST FAIL?

My daughter's birthday was this past weekend, and yet again, I found myself the day before attempting to make cake pops that my daughter requested - owls and ice cream cones, peppermint flavoured. This year she chose the inspirations very seriously, and she was very pleased. I'm not so sure I deserved her admiration. I think it was closer to a Pinterest fail, but you can be the judge! Actually, the ice-cream cones were pretty reproducible, and all tasted great to a pack of 8 year old girls!
Check out Bakerella.com for some really admirable stuff!  Last year was the 2nd attempt with the panda bears. The first year was not recorded, as I think not one survived to be witnessed (not for popularity, but because the cardinal trick of chilling before mounting on the stick was not known to me, and every single Hello Kitty head was skewered through to devastating effect!)
No wonder I was up so late last year - I even made cupcakes for the family party! The last photo was an attempt to fancify the rice krispie cake. I think more even cuts might have improved the aesthetics a little!

MERRY CHRISTMAS!

This is a cool little kit! It looked impossible that the icing would be enough, but it was!

Here is the kit we used last year, with some extra Halloween fancy leftover!

O Tannenbaum!

Snow men and icicles

Botanical Gardens decorated for Christmas

Cutest gingerbread ever, with a cup of Good Earth tea.

Here is what we left for Santa and his Reindeer this year!

NATIONAL CAPITALS AND CUPCAKES

I wanted to take my daughter to Ottawa to stay at the Chateau Laurier, so when I got asked to be an examiner at a nearby venue, I found a rate that matched my reimbursement amount, I was ready to invite my princess to visit her castle. I set up a treasure hunt for her in the lobby (there are cool hiding spots out in the open, and a piano that plays on its own) and she swam in the art deco pool with her dad while I worked. It's an easy walk to Byward Market, where we ate at Zak's Dinner with friends, had a Bellini at Milestone's, and The Grand Pizzeria, which made us think of Napoli! I can also recommend Mama Grazzi, The Earl of Sussex Pub, and Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory from previous trips!

What a beautiful hotel! What a great city!

I love Ottawa. This is us in front of the Centennial Flame/ Parliament Buildings.

The Cupcake Lounge and their beautiful handiwork. Day olds are excellent for half the cost.

SEATTLE GOURMET WEEK NOT TO MISS!

I returned to Seattle with a friend for a conference and loved being a tourist there again.  We hit the highlights, learned a lot, and happened on a great week to be in Seattle; Gourmet Week!

If you've never been and like romantic comedy, take a look at Love Happens with Jennifer Aniston and Aaron Eckhart. Of course, Sleepless in Seattle spends some time in Seattle, but mostly in NYC. The Twilight movies are set on the west coast, as is the addiction netflix series The Killing.. Grey's Anatomy does a nice job of seeing the suburbia and some of Puget Sound.

Thanks to my previous visit with an amazing package through expedia, I had a suite last visit at the Fairmont Olympic Hotel, and I dreamed often of returning just for the tomato bisque soup and the unique mozzarella croutons shaped in a tube! It was amazing! Alas, it was not being served when we ate, but at The Georgian, we had a gorgeous meal, very reasonably priced, being lunch, and part of the Gourmet Week Prix Fixe Menu. I had a delicious silky heirloom tomato soup with truffle foam and rosemary "toasty", a beautiful spinach salad with local cheese, a  creamy wine risotto with crispy cheese wafer,  and rich mousse for dessert. This time, we stayed at a friendly well located Hotel Vintage Park, and enjoyed each evenings wine tasting and morning coffee. Both stays were an unforgettable experience. I'm just waiting for the chance to take my family to visit next!

Gum wall off of Pike Place Market

Bread worth eating with chilled creamy butter

Risotto with parmesan crouton

Perfect end to a perfect meal

Tomorrow night, maybe?