A GREETING FROM MY DAUGHTER ON MY ARRIVAL HOME FROM WORK

PICNIC TOFU SALAD

Sauteed tofu, crunchy celery and grapes with roasted almonds marinated in soy sauce and honey. A filling lunch warm or a  nice side cold for supper.

THE TUCK SHOP IN ST. HENRI WITH A GREAT CREW

This garden salad rocks! Parmesan, colourful beets in strips, slices and cubes, spinach, carrots, peppers and almond, it was amazing! Greens on top puzzle me but added a little bitterness that was interesting.

Vegetarian Pasta off menu with actual  protein! Delicious spicy tomato sauce with crunchy green beans, fresh lima beans and mushroom on a tagliatelle pasta. YUMM!

STARBUCKS SPICY CHAI LATTE

My favourite Christmas gift: a Starbucks gift card!

ANDY WARHOL INSPIRATION

TURKISH DELIGHT

It was my friend's birthday and I know she loves turkish delight. So I found a  how video called from an enthusiastic you tuber that calls her show Titli's Busy Kitchen, and gave it a try. It was fussy work but not difficult (corn starch not gelatine). The biggest challenge was finding a shape to make it in. I wanted to make 4 flavours, so a usual square baking dish was not going to do it. These were made in a mini muffin tins. The powdered sugar absorbed quickly, so next time I would use more.

The flavours were as follows:
YELLOW - lemon, BLUE - almond, RED - rose petal, GREEN - apple ice cider/cinnamon

1 1/2 cup water 
4 cups sugar
1 T lemon juice 

 2 cups water
1 cup cornstarch
1 t cream of tartar

1 T roseflower water (1 tsp in hot water makes a great beverage)
food colouring

1 cup icing sugar (plan for needing extra)
1/4 cup cornstarch


Place 1.5 cups water,  sugar and lemon juice in a saucepan and bring to boil.
Heat to 115C (softball stage), then turn off heat.
In separate saucepan, whisk cornstarch and cream of tartar into 2 cups of water to remove lumps. Bring to boil, and remove from heat once a "gluey" paste.
Incorporate small amounts of the sugar syrup into the cornstarch past while whisking between additions.
Bring the mixture to boil, and simmer gently about 1 hour, stirring frequently until amber coloured.
Divide and flavour to taste, or add roseflower water to entire batch with a few drops of food colouring.
Oil and line with parchment paper 8x8" baking dish (or mini-muffin tin as above). 
Pour in turkish delight, and cool covered for several hours.
Dust with icing sugar and turn out onto surface dusted liberally with more icing sugar.
Cut with pizza cutter or lightly oiled knife. 
Sift icing sugar and cornflour into a large storage container and add the squares of Turkish delight.
Store sealed on countertop
                 

HOMELY COOKING

A favourite meal, Naan and red curry lentils with cilantro.

Pancake faces

Fish and Chips with celery apple salad

Shitake mushroom ravioli with bean and garden salad. Learned that you don't want to keep the stems on , they are too tough. Still a very nice meal with amazing Mandarin Orange Sesame Dressing, my favourite go to.

Rice wrappers filled with raisin/nut and sautéd, then covered in maple syrup. Decadent.

Curry loaf. Disappointing but edible.

Hasselbach potatoes. Roasted are as good but less work.

VARADERO'S OCEAN LA PATRIARCA

El Patriarcha, the oldest cactus (an avocado cactus tree) in Cuba, on the property (only took us 3 days to find it, and one mother son couple never did!)

Classic view of 2 relaxed tootsies

A view to Florida!

Grasshopper made with a strand of palm leaf.

Our favourite restaurant Brasilete. 

Fish and shrimp was excellent and the vegetable pastry was also very good.

SUGARING OFF IN THE BACK YARD

TIRE SUR LA NEIGE

First you open a can of maple syrup. Then you boil it to 115 C/238 F.

Then you find some clean snow. This was freshly provided in our back yard.

Next time, pack it down so it doesn't sink in so fast! Still worked out fine!

Wait until crystals form, and rotate spoon into the tire. Enjoy, and without the taste of wood! 

EASTER EGGS

Two colour fondant

Egg shapes

The eggs looked a little too much like potatoes, so the sprinkles compensated a little!

SPRING INDOORS

My front yard maple tree lost a branch in a winter storm, and the spring was long in coming, so when I noticed that the branch was budding, I guess fed by the melting snow, we brought a branch indoors. It was thrilling to have it successfully bud while the bitter spring stayed on. And, eventually, spring would arrive, but we had seen its loveliness a little before others. 

HAPPY SAINT PATRICK'S DAY

Our tradition continues of green eggs and other green things!

MOTIVATIONAL TOOLS

Adapted from Heidelberg University's Max Weber Typology of Social Action

ENGAGE IN A NOBLE SHARED PURPOSE - appeal to the satisfaction of pursuing a common organizational goal- focus on the positive, not the negative

SATISFY SELF-INTEREST - provide rewards (financial, job security) for achieving targets, but be careful that collecting data is not used as punishment, and be aware that linking rewards to individual behaviour requires an emphasis in teamwork in addition

EARN RESPECT - leverage peer pressure to encourage desired performance- outliers will likely alter behaviour if they see their peer's performance

EMBRACE TRADITION - create standards to align behaviours, and require community members to adhere to these- inspire pride, security, communication, etiquette

SOCIAL COGNITIVE THEORY by Albert Bandura

AKA power of self-efficacy

We assess whether or not we can do something by these four ideas:

PERSONAL EXPERIENCE - I have done this before, so I can do it again.

VICARIOUS EXPERIENCE - If that person can do, surely I can do it too!

SOCIAL PERSUASION - These people think I can do it, so maybe I should try.
John Rohn says " You are the average of the five people you spend the most time with."

PHYSIOLOGICAL FACTORS - Can my body handle this?

EUROPEA

By special invitation, my friend was invited to a Taste of France evening. I have been walking by Europea for years, exiting the Lucien-Lallier commuter train station on Montagne, and drooling. She had a crazy dinner with her husband on their anniversary this year and sent me pictures. So when she forwarded the very reasonably priced menu, I said yes and booked immediately! It was a feast! And so beautiful! Here are the courses we were served.

Mini clothes line with a teriyaki sweet venison jerky, perfect warm cheese gougeres, mini cheese quiches and a delicate buttery cold cut.

Amuse bouche #1 - Black squid ink with a ball of creamy goat cheese inverted savoury pop set on a dry leaf boat

Bread #1 Olive bread, one of three choices (parmesan and simple the other options) with creamy butter 3 ways

Smoke box

Delightful Amuse Bouche #2 pastry cup with raw tuna, a drop of lemon curd, topped with ... in a well of  ...

Perfectly poached eggs in a wine reduction sauce topped with a dried red onion. Reason for bread number 2!

Showstopper dish - fleur de sel to the left, caramelized apple with spears of caramel on a bed of sweet crumble, drops of caramel, and the highlight  - perfect foie gras topped with an aspic of Sauternes (a sweet French dessert wine

A perfect bite of above on more bread (simple the best!)

Quenelle of the lake! Pike and crayfish topped with pea shoots and encircled by  pepper

A beef bourgogne with better wine than I've ever used! Burgundy no doubt. A little tending to barbecue sauce with crunchy carrots and pearl onions that explode on impact. Meat was chewier than I expected but, to testify to the greatness of the dish, this was when the fire alarm went off, and none of us were budging until we felt the heat, the need to finish the delicious dish being to great! Served with below

A perfect Gratin Dauphinoise

Cheese plate with a superb camembert, cheese cracker and ?apricot fruit jelly. I could get used to pre-dessert!

Elaborate dessert number 2! We managed only the cotton candy, arranged as a Dr Seuss forest of pink trees! I was expecting a more special flavour, but it was the usual pink cotton candy. Strawberry? Hanging in cellophane bags were fruit bellies, chocolate balls, hand dipped marshmallows and meringues. The base had macarons, marshmallows and jam filled cookies. We were groaning, ours eyes being too big for our stomachs! I'm glad I brought my loose pants!

Madeleines to take home with our poor family who were not there to enjoy!

Instructions where to break through the amazing caramel cookie covering the offset bowl.

Rich chocolate mousse with red fruit ice cream ?strawberry again with a tiny crunchy cookie bar in side

Meringue to go. Thanks Jerome, for a terrific experience!

CALICO BUTTERSCOTCH SWIRL TROUBLE WITH A CAPITAL T