debaucherousness

so, basically whirlyball is the most unsafe "sport" ever.  the rink is hella shady and falling apart at the seams and is staffed by teenage boy george impersonators (that was awesome, though).  part of the electrified floor was coming up and the unflappable staff person "monitoring" our game just came down and tried to stamp it back into place.  the scoreboard was practically disintegrating before our eyes and the bumper cars had been made from rusted scrap metal salvaged from a developing country.  in other words - it's the sport of kings.  i basically just drove around in circles in my car, whizzing around blissfully ignoring the game going on and not even trying to play.  the dotytron says that i had a look of pure glee on my face.  lol! it was the funnest. i'm also kind of bruised up from getting rammed a few times (most self-inflicted)...you get some SERIOUS speed on those things and heading straight into the boards will definitely give your brain a jostle.

then we took down like 10 billion xl massimo's margarita pizzas and ate cupcakes.  

oh! on the way TO whirlyball we passed a "mary brown's" fried chicken shop. peeps in the fried chicken lovers community had been buzzing about this, with some saying it was better than popeye's. i'd never seen a mary brown's in my life (we were in the dufferin and 401 area), so i made the dotytron stop so that i could get a piece on our way to A & C's house. overall, i'm more loyal to popeye's (halal meat!). it had a thin seasoned flour coating (a little less salty and herby than the colonel's secret blend of herbs and spices) that was more flabby than crispy. it was also a little greasier than popeye's. the thing i love about popeye's (aside from the halal meat) is all that craggy, crispy, flaking batter coating each chicken piece that makes each piece about 50% fried coating by volume. that's very important. the batter in popeye's isn't seasoned as heavily, but it's offset by the spicy coating on the meat (if you get the spicy). basically, for those who favour the "extra tasty crispy" version of kfc, it's like a souped up "extra tasty crispy." don't get me wrong, sometimes you WANT just a seasoned flabby piece of skin you can roll up into a ball and pop like candy (errrrr...i do, at least), but for me, i tend to want that less than i want a high batter to meat ratio.

i love hanging with kdubsguelph cuz they'll eat whatever i make and be really excited about it. there was a fight for the last two cupcakes so we played "musical cupcakes" for it, passing them around in opposite directions while the music played as fast as we could, and when A turned the music off (he had his back to us), the two people holding cupcakes were eliminated until there were only two people left.  actually, now that i think about it, we played "hot potato" with cupcakes, NOT musical chairs...so we played "hot cupcakes."  this of course meant that the cupcakes were the mangiest things ever by the time the end of the game came around, after being handled countless times by 16 sets of hands and been squished and manhandled like a two bit trollop.  

then we opened presents.  so that means i can unveil some secret knitting! i made this scarf/neckwarmer for C:


and this one for steph:


we were going to go out but i think starting our night at like 7pm did us in so we packed up and headed home and didn't bother with the old skool hip hop...we were in bed by 12:30am, which to me is PERFECT. if only dancing started a little earlier!!!

this morning we got up, the dotytron vacuumed and i prepped tonight's pot roast dinner. here it is in situ:


i also baked off those two rosemary olive oil loaves. i added sliced potato on top, brushed the potato with olive oil and sprinkled it with sea salt. the one on the left was cooked on the pizza stone. i raised it up one level and had the stone on the rack instead of the oven floor, but the bottom of the loaf still got a little charred before it was fully done cooking. the one on the right was done in the cuisinart dutch oven, but i accidentally left it in too long so it over-browned:


for sunday breakkie we had eggs scrambled with some of the leftover grated cheddar and chopped scallions from the nachos, with refried bean and guacamole stuffed into a warmed pita.


i also prepped tonight's dinner. we're having pot roast. here it is in situ:


i seasoned and seared off some beef that bwong cut for me and tied (i forget which cut), then threw in some onions to cook in the fat and garlic. i deglazed with red wine and added some tomato sauce that wouldn't fit in the my containers for freezing (to much to top up the containers with, too little to bother freezing separately), and added some chicken stock (i'm all out of beef) and some rosemary and thyme sprigs. while i'm at dodgeball, the dotytron will throw it in the oven and midway through add some "baby" carrots and we'll boil some yukon gold potatoes and serve them alongside, buttered and tossed with some chopped dill maybe. if there's leftover beef, i'm going to throw that in the slowcooker overnight with some chopped mushrooms, celery, more onion, the leftover carrots and barley and turn that into a soup. i'll probably freeze off the soup and give it and the pasta sauce and meatballs to the dotytron's aunt, who's recovering from an operation.

finally, i also made HOMEMADE MARSHMALLOWS this morning. fun! i've never made them before, and since friday i've had it in my head to relax on sunday night with a big mug of hot chocolate with homemade marshmallows and a plate of freshly baked cookies. that's a pretty reasonable and fortifying sunday night.

i'm going to try to do some yoga.


anyway...that's it for me. i'll post dinnie pics later.

fin.

never again!

she says, unconvincingly. so...i started doing stuff at 9:30am and didn't stop doing stuff until 2:45pm. and now i feel like my weekend is half gone and i can see the spectre of work peering at me from over sunday evening's shoulder. BUNK! i got a lot done though. i made a batch of tomato sauce, i made stuffed eggplant, i made meatballs out of leftover eggplant stuffing, i made 120 crostinis (for the open house), i made dilled cream cheese (for the open house - to be smeared on said crostinis and then topped with smoked salmon), i made steamed asparagus spears (for the open house - to be wrapped with proscuitto), a batch of basil aioli (for the open house, to be the dip for said proscuitto wrapped asparagus). i started two rosemary olive oil loaves which i'm going to top with sliced potato tomorrow before they go into the oven.  i did about a billion loads of dishes, mopped the floor, scrubbed the oven, and finally, i made a batch of red velvet cupcakes for the birthday happenings tonight with kdubsguelph. this is what they look like:



i didn't add as much red food colouring as the recipe wanted...so they're kind of a weird, dusty, faded red, as opposed to the sturdy brick red that traditional red velvet cake should be. i decorated them with an enthusiasm that waned quickly, as i realized anew how much i'm not one for fussy cake decorating (as is obvious by my clear lack of skills in that department).

then i gabbed on the phone with my friend T from b.c...one of only THREE friends i came out of undergrad with (I in montreal, and the roomie being the other two). she's coming to visit in december and i'm all in a tizzy over it. AND she's bringing her man, J! i've only hung with him over an evening almost 5 years ago when i went out to b.c...they'd only been seeing each other for a few weeks at that point. then i talked to G and M from work to see how life is with their new (adorable) bambinos. my friends have the cutest babies. i don't know how they do it, but they do!

tonight we're going to play whirlyball with the kdubsguelph crew for S and C's combined birthday. then a massimo's pizza dinnie chez A & C, then maybe going to peep never forgive action at the drake underground, or staying in to overshare and laugh our butts off and watch squirting videos. either way, parker lewis can't lose.  i'm so pumped!!!!!!!  i'm in complete denial about the things i technically have on my plate for tomorrow.  

fin.

friday i'm in love

p-u-m-p-e-d for friday business, sons! this weekend is a busy one and it all starts now with some minimal holiday prep and maximal hanging out and enjoying a roomie-less house (we do love her, but sometimes it's nice to have the run of the apartment) with the dotytron.

healthy eating night is commencing with a not-so-textbook entree of nachos! fried corn chips topped with melted cheddar cheese and chopped scallions and served with sour cream, roasted spicy tomatillo salsa, guacamole, and refried beans. if i get EXTRA ambitious tonight i might make us some homemade sugar cookies to be enjoyed with a cold glass of milk. or maybe i'll bake off some of the cookie balls i've got frozen. i've had a hankering for cookies and milk ALL week. something about winter and xmas around the corner cries out for cookies and milk with an unremitting insistence that must be heeded.

i'm going to start 2 more loaves of rosemary olive oil bread (with sliced potato on top this time) and make some pecan shortbread and the aforementioned sugar cookie dough (the dotytron's kids this year are getting sugar cookie cutouts decorated with some of the swag in that tin i got from M and L for my birthday).

then i'm going to ease up hard and kick back with the dotytron and watch gossip girl and knit and eat cookies and milk and be happy together. bliss!!!

in other news...north 44 catering is run by a bunch of jackals (or some other disorganized animal equivalent). i called them way early in the month and spoke to someone and asked for a quote. she said she remembered me from my time there and would send me a menu. flash forward three weeks, i call again to see what's going on, and in my customarily polite way am EXTRA nice and apologetic, "i realize this is a bad time for you with the holidays coming up, so if you want me to call back in the new year..." etc. then she says, "ummm...who is this?" [after i introduced myself with my full name] so i repeated myself and she goes, "ohhhhh...yes, yes. ummm...we're actually having a computer problem right now so i can't access your file, can i get back to you later today?" so i say sure. she doesn't get back to me later that day, but the NEXT day, i get an email with her "proposal" which consists of 8 hors (some of which are truly lame - bread sticks with grated parm; asian glass noodles with thai spicy sauce; water chestnut potstickers with spicy soy) for $89.95/person. EIGHTY NINE NINETY FIVE per person for EIGHT APPETIZERS! SOME OF WHICH HAVE A FOOD COST THAT'S PRACTICALLY NEGATIVE. plus $275 EACH for 2 chefs (meanwhile, when i used to work caterings for them, at the end of a 17 hour day i walked out with $120) plus rentals and waitstaff (which are technically provided by our venue). what a gank!

so i've contacted jamie kennedy catering and two of the preferred caterers for our venue. if we go with someone that ISN'T on the richmond's preferred caterer list, we get charged 15% on top of the final catering bill (as A said, that's some mafioso s**t). everyone else has told me that $75/person for hors is insane. now, don't get me wrong...we got no problem paying. we're doing cocktails because we think it's more fun to mingle and you get to try more ish and the standard roast-beef-or-chicken-with-three-potatoes-and-mixed-veg isn't our style. so we're not doing passed apps and cocktails as a budget measure. jamie kennedy sent me a quote for $40/per person for hors d'oeuvres and 3 courses, just to give you an idea. anyway, one of the preferred caterers got back to me with a list of hors that's SIX PAGES LONG and was super on the ball and super nice and super helpful. so right now i'm leaning towards her. i've got calls in to thuet catering as well, and we'll see what jamie kennedy catering shoots back at me...but so far...SIX PAGES OF POSSIBLE HORS! and a lot of them sound really good and thanks to my catering experience...i have a fair idea of what food costs are like and what i'm getting for my dollar.

i'll post pics of dinner later. i'm so excited to be home i feel like i might asplode!

fin.

subway encounters...

and a run-in with a skeezeball from the united way (!!!!!)

i have no pictures of last night's dinner to show you because i ended up coralling the dotytron into going to sushi delight with me. this was because i ended up going to that silent auction. it was a little awkward. because of the way the library is set up...we don't really get to meet a lot of people outside of our division through the course of our day, so i didn't really know anyone and didn't have anyone to go with. i went with some of our researchers across the street whom i don't know very well...the silent auction was super crowded with $2 martinis but not a lot of food. i bought a $20 raffle ticket to win super bowl tickets, or a GIANT barrel of various scotches, or a weekend getaway.

as i was moving among the tables, this dude intercepted me (he was a man-dude, not a boy-dude) and enthusiastically shook my hand. he asked me what i did, how long i'd been working here, the usual pleasantries. seeing that he was wearing a visitor's pass, i asked him who he was with, and he replied, "oh, i'm one of the paid representatives of the united way, but i just have to tell you that you are absolutely gorgeous" *still shaking my hand* i gingerly extricated my hand from his grasp and demurely demurred. then he talked about his wife (!!!!!) but left me with the parting words that i was "absolutely beautiful" and that maybe he'd see me near the end of the night (!!!!!) gross!!! anyway, i dip-setted out of there after half an hour of being crushed in a throng of semi-drunk political staff. too much loud talking!

then on the subway on the way home, i pulled out my knitting. across from me was a lady of considerable girth (i say this without judgement) who was wearing a rainbow scarft, a jean skirt refashioned from a pair of pants, old lady sandals (the geriatric version of birkenstocks), and those construction worker socks (the kind they make sock monkeys out of), with a rather beatific look upon her face. she commented on my yarn and we struck up a conversation about doing crafty stuff. she said that she wanted to get into knitting, being an already accomplished knitter, even though thus far she had "only made costumes for my medieval live action role play - you know, tudor skirts, armored breastplates" which to me begs the question -what is it about medieval live action role play that seems to attract a disproportionately high ratio of people of considerable girth? again, i say this without judgement...it's an observation about which i'm rather curious.

the next subway story i recount fully loaded with judgement. the other morning, i entered a crowded, close, belligerent subway train and stood close to a gentleman who didn't look like he was in reduced circumstances (from the surface and to my untrained eye). he then took out of his pocket, what appeared to be a handful of fish scales (they were round and vaguely translucent but weathered - almost like fingernails) and dumped them on the floor of the subway. the whole place then started to stink like dried fish - the thing with smells in the train is, that the close quarters and all the bodies really result in smells being amplified and there's nowhere you can go for a breather. the poor lady seated next time was trying to delicately hold her nose in an ubtrusive way). then, he STUCK A FISH SCALE THING UP HIS NOSTRIL. at which point, the train spit me out at my desired stop. the endless indignities of ttc transportation know no bounds.

these are my fingerless mitts (fashion show backdrop courtesy of sushi delight). they're fantastico! first time cabling worked out pretty well...there's a small slip in the left hand mitt (the one i'm covering up). i like wearing them on my walks to and from the subway (no more fumbling with a billion things while grabbing a token) and while i'm grocery shopping. they'll also be nice in the cold gym when i'm warming up for dodgeball. i think i still need a pair of thrummed mittens for the dead of winter when my fingie tips have to be protected...but i really love these:



tonight we're going to the scarborough hospital general meeting to support my mom and possibly cause some s**t. another meal at the food court tonight at scarborough town. our regularly scheduled healthy, home-cooked food chronicles will resume tomorrow.

fin.

wonder of wonders

my mum DIDN'T bail on us last night! she stopped by and picked us up, had me witness something for a client, and then we went to il fornello in the beaches because she had a g/c for $60 that had to be used up.

my mum is the CUTEST. she's probably the most styling lady over 40 that i know personally (her and my current supervisor M are the only two who make the list, but my mum takes more risks than M and is totally unafraid of colour - M's wardrobe consists entirely of black, grey, and white). yesterday my mum was wearing a cute patterned dress in red, black, and white, with a brown swing cardigan, black tights, and ankle boots (not like, club kid ankle boots with a stiletto heel...classy, sensible, cole haans for my mater, thankyouverymuch). and a fur coat. lol! she's so bourgeois! dr. rei and i were talking on sunday as we covetously petted the vintage coats on the rack that neither she nor i see anything wrong with wearing fur. the animals are bred for it! i mean, ideally you would like the animals to be treated humanely...but you hope that in any case...and lots of people i know personally who are against fur see nothing wrong with striding around in leather or suede. ESPECIALLY vintage fur...the animal is dead and long gone...what are you going to do?

in exciting news...my mum's getting a cochlear implant!!!!!!!!! she's trying to figure out whether to do it before or after the performance, as she wants to have hair for it. i don't care what my mum looks like (she keeps her hair super short anyway) as long as she can kinda sorta hear again...she has less than 20% hearing and it's been like that for almost 20 years. the doctors think she might always have been deaf but it's deteriorated to the point where she has less than 20% in one ear and practically nothing in the other. she's super high functioning though and can read lips like nobody's business. but i'd be lying if i said that it wasn't hard and frustrating for us (and i can't even imagine how much for her) to have to yell and rephrase stuff a billion times and remember to speak slowly...or how isolating it can be for her when all my siblings are together and we're going a mile a minute and talking over each other, or not being able to hear her grandkids. she's going to need a lot of support to get over the hump when the implants go in...but i'm so excited for her and she's the toughest lady i know.

she told us all about her ongoing battles on behalf of scarborough and it's so inspiring. she's raised so much money for the scarborough hospital and she really embodies the spirit of the community, grassroots action, and civic engagement. she helped to oust the scarborough hospital board and she works so hard and she's so principled about it...further evidence that i come from a long, long line of s**t disturbers.

we filled her in on the performance details and then she came over and tried on the hairpieces and my new headband...they looked EQUALLY amazing on her. so cute.

il fornello (at least in the beaches) was GROSS. we ordered mussels as an appetizer to share, the server plunked them down on the table, and we talked for 2-3 minutes before trying one. some of them were ICE cold. not even room temperature - literally, straight out of the fridge, cold. and the sauce on top was lukewarm...they had obviously pre-cooked the mussels, heated up a sauce, tossed them all together and dumped them on the plate, without thoroughly warming everything together. it was GROSS. when we flagged down our server, she came to the table and i said, "um, these mussels are cold" and she says, "that's because they've been sitting for a while" which to me, wouldn't be my FIRST go-to response. i would generally go to something like, "oh, i'm sorry, i'll fix that for you" so we just canceled the order. the pizzas were dried and overcooked and looked like they had been made at least a week ago...all in all, it was pretty disgusting. it was also one of those places that smells like bleach when you walk in...i find that really off-putting. i guess it's good in a sense because you know they clean the place but honestly, i'd rather have it smell a little cooked-in than bleach-y. i hate bleach smell.

then we came home and watched the first two episodes of "dexter" it's aight. i don't love it. it's fine. i find it a little heavy-handed with the grade school pop psychology. and the sister is dumb. and the voice over is annoying. i think you can kind of divide the world by the types of shows people are into. there's the "six feet under" crowd (hated it - snoozefest to the MAX), there's "the wire" crew (staunch supporter), the "buffy"/joss whedon camp (ditto), the jj abrams section (niet), etc etc.

we finished "the wire." the last episode is a powerhouse and somehow manages to make up for the complete implausibility of the major story arc for season 5...would have liked to see some favorites like cutty show up...but the wiebe cameo was hype. i can't say enough good things about the show...i'm a sucker for love stories to hulking, dirty, imperfect beasts and the city of baltimore (at least as david simon depicts it) is as fitting a dickensian protagonist as any flesh and blood individual that i befriended over "the wire's" ambitious 5 season run. i really want to own it...it's something i could watch again and again.

tonight i'm working the late shift and then checking out the silent auction for united way hosted by one of the divisions. apparently the raffle every year is for tickets to the super bowl...so they actually get really good stuff. then i'm doing some grocery shopping, coming home, and doing holiday prep, making dinner, knitting (the usual). i finished my fingerless mitts...if i can get a nice outside shot i'll post them later tonight.

i think for dinner we're taking a page from nany dotytron's book and having pasta with rose sauce and ceasar salad. i'm feeling kind of poochy lately (lots of eating out, not as much cooking) so i'd like to nip that in the bud...especially as we gear up to holiday madness (aka cookie fest). i haven't gone for a run in forever, but dodgeball twice a week is keeping me reasonably trim...i need to step up on the yoga though...not stretching is permanently tightening my muscles (or at least, that's the way it feels).

i'll post pics of dinner later.

fin.

somtimes it gets all jumbled up in my head

readers of the fairer sex might be able to commiserate with me here, or perhaps see themselves (during their weaker moments) in the story about to be regaled. friday nights are always a little stressful if we're doing stuff. i did some grocery shopping, dropped off pants to get re-hemmed, picked up dry-cleaning, and then had to get home and shake off work-brain before heading out with the dotytron to meet A & C for dinner. doing this all when it's dark and bitter cold outside only conspires to make one veer a little too close to grumpytown.

anyway, i was giving the dotytron (i'm the social convener in the relationship) the run down of what we had on deck for the weekend. ie. "okay, saturday you're going to work, i'm getting my hair cut, and then i'm meeting dr. rei and doing vintage shopping, and then tomorrow night is my boyfriend's party" to which he responded, "just a head's up i might bail on that" to which i responded with BARELY CHECKED AND POORLY CONCEALED RAGE, "why?!? that's ridiculous! i go with you places i don't want to go to all the time!!!" to which he responded, "i don't want you to go places with me if you're not going to have fun" to which i responded (my voice starting to escalate and reach dangerous levels of fury/hysteria): "but i do it because it's important to YOU! *insert examples of me going to jazz shows* to which he responded, "you're dancing around the issue here, the point is, if i don't feel like it, i won't go" and then we argued about it for a good five minutes with me getting more and more shrill and acerbic and frantic. meanwhile, did i mention that this ENTIRE exchange transpired while he was fiddling on my computer and i was on a yoga mat at his feet doing crunches? ANGRY crunches?!? so really, it played out more with me, hissing/yelling at him with my hands at my ears as i used my core to raise myself. finally he said, "look, do you just want me to go because you want me there?" and i huffily said, "yes!" at which point he said, "then why don't you just SAY that instead of acting like a freakazoid?" lol. it's a good thing that the dotytron knows what's really going on in my tornado dustball brain sometimes. the best part of the story is me doing the angry crunches.

yesterday was fun! after doing some online research i ended up going back and getting a feathered headband from that one store as my performance headpiece. i'm going to get a birdcage veil and jerry-rig the two together. while there, i picked up another hat consisting of a coiled piece of wool-cashmere...it's very 40s and absolutely delicious and i impulse-bought that too. i'm wearing it at work today and i've gotten some strange looks but vocal admiration. i'm rocking an "intrepid girl reporter" look. grey wool pencil skirt, high waisted, with a white button down shirt tucked in, fishnets, black semi-pointy flats and the hairpiece. i haven't washed my hair since S cut it...it's so straight and sleek that i'm loathe to mess it up. after the dodgeball double-header tonight methinks i won't have a choice. i'll post a pic of the headpiece later...it's adorable and i'm kind of obsessed with it.


dinner at C & C music factory's place was awesome. we ate delicious ribs and sweet potato fries, and a salad with a yummy mustardy vinaigrette. my rosemary olive oil bread turned out very tasty...i burned the bottom of the loaf that was sitting on my clay pizza stone on the bottom of my oven...i think next time i'll put the stone on the lowest rack and try it again. i baked the second loaf in my enameled dutch oven and it turned out splendidly. the crumb was a little tighter and it had a less noticeable sour taste...i think next time i'll up the rosemary or top it with some thinly sliced potato (i love potato bread!). it was delicious served warm and slathered with salted butter.




here is a picture of the sweet potato pecan pie we had for dessert. i effin' LOVE this pie.




in further tales of how my little nephew is awesome...my sis told me that the little dude (who's 2!) started tearing up watching "wall*e" on dvd!!! so cute!!! he's such a sensitive, little lumbering oaf. he's a sturdy, rough'n'tumble bobbin who loves nothing more than roughhousing and playing catch, but at the same time, freaks out and is inconsolable if there's a bug in the car. as the dotytron put it, the kid will eat sand, sneeze it out, get covered in grime, and then five minutes later realize what a filthpig he is and then be fastidiously concerned with how "messy" he got, gingerly picking at his shirt in a feeble attempt to clean himself up and repeating, "messy, mama, messy!"

tonight i played a dodgeball double header and then went to my boyfriend's house with some of the team for foods. we picked up food from this place george's (across from bathurst station). i won a bet!!! i ate two hamburgers and a quarter chicken and my boyfriend paid for my meal in exchange. i was getting a little shook for a bit but by the end of the second burger (i did burger then chicken then cheeseburger) i was fine. beyond fine. i was able to eat dessert...wasn't even fazed. i made a pineapple upside down cake (because i do those kinds of things) and managed to replicate the handsomeness of the one i made for dr. rei. homely pineapple upside down cakes appear to have been banished from my domicile! the best was that just after striking the bet, the dotytron (who came and played with us) and i were walking side by side, and i was sussing out just what i had signed myself up for (ie. "well, it can't be that bad, if the burgers are the size of big macs, it's over...i've got this one in the bag") at which point he turned to me under the shelter of our giant golf umbrella and said, sweet and low, "i love you so much right now" lol!



i increasingly feel foolish submitting an xmas list to the dotytron's mater and pater. i just feel like i'm pushing 30...it's kind of ridiculous and these dire economic times call for fiscal restraint, belt-tightening, and rejoicing in the simple pleasures of communion with loved ones around a table heaped with a bounty for which we are grateful. anyway, i don't think forgoing presents is going to fly, but i figure it's worth a good ol' college try every year. i think the only thing that's going to stop the xmas morning calvacade of prezzies is me and the dotytron popping out a bambino...and then all the love will go in that direction.

apparently, i've been told that i'm difficult to shop for. this to me seems outrageous. i have SO MANY HOBBIES! how can someone find ME difficult to shop for? i'm crafty (knitting, quilting), have a keen interest in most art forms (books, film, art-art, music), i cook (cooks have oodles of toys and could always use more - more knives, more heatproof rubber spatulas, a glass pyrex 4 cup measuring cup) and love novelty items. you can't really go wrong. granted, i'm not the best recipient for clothing or anything that smacks too much of personal style and whatnot (ie...home decor items and dresses are probably not the best ideas) since i'm VERY particular about personal aesthetics, but other than that i think i'm pretty easy. a lobster claw harmonica would send me over the moon! this year's list ranged from the prosaic (pint glasses, a subscription to "gourmet" and a subscription to "food and wine") to the random (an antique globe with the stipulation "must have ussr" - the way the world should be! -), some of those prints i posted a while back, oval frames for said prints, and antique letters (like, typography or from old signs, not like handwritten missives).

finally, take a look at this spectacular fiber optic installation by bruce munro:






fin.

epic!

okay, yesterday ended up being the most epic day of all time, so i didn't get a chance to post. because of this, i'm going to have to make this the most epic post of all time, cuz i got some catching up to do.

first things first: the black hoof review.  we loved it.  it's a teeny, tiny, little room and we had to wait almost 45 minutes for a table and the poor chef/owner (the dude i worked with at canoe)  has to cook on an electric (home) stove.  it's crazy!  i thought we got great value for the dollar and i was totally impressed.  we started with some shared platters:

this is the large charcuterie platter. i can't remember all the stuff that was on it...it was arranged from mild (to the left of the picture) to strong/spicy.  there was jamon iberico (iberico ham, fed exclusively on acorns), a pheasant and cherry terrine, beef and dill, bison in puff pastry, venison, salami sec, the little ramekin had a chicken mousse, there was salami from salumi artisan cured meats (mario batali's dad's place in seattle), and chorizo.  i could eat piles and piles of everything...each flavour was better than the last...although the jamon iberico will always have a place in my heart...it's so sweet and porcine and fresh and light tasting, without any of the salty grease of proscuitto.  dear lord.  

the cheese platter (small) was a little more boring (to me), only because i have the (possibly irrational) expectation to have cheeses i've never had before.   from the top, there was brillat savarin (a triple cream) with some kind of berry compote, then we had a 4 year old manchego with a quince accompaniment, and finally morbier with a hazelnut butter (some kind of nut butter, maybe A or C can correct me if they remember).  it's clear from the cheese platter that the chef's strengths are in charcuterie...to me, that's not a particularly well designed platter, but it's people-friendly and accessible.

the dotytron had (top dish) the pastrami cured pork belly which came with a cole slaw type dressing and two slices of bread with tomato and emmental. the pork belly was REVOLUTIONARY. crusted over with a pastrami cure that gives way to the sweetest, softest, melting pork fat shot through with flaking ribbons of meat. it was phenomenal. i could eat pounds and pounds of that ish.

we also split the cabbage soup with bone marrow. i love me some bone marrow...my only complaint is that there wasn't enough in the bone (but that's something you leave to fate and ruminant genetics, i guess). the cabbage soup coaxed an improbable amount of flavour out of a humble vegetable...it was creamy and rich and intensely delicious.

i ordered the duck confit sandwich - shreds of tender duck confit pressed in a toasted, buttered, crusty white roll. it was delicious. the soup was $8, and most of the "entree" type plates were about $13. what a deal!


A & C had the foie gras and brioche and the pork merguez sausage. the foie was super-generously portioned at $20 and the merguez sausage was porkly delicious with the traditional merguez spicing and slim, snappy form. dinner for 4, with 3 beers (while we waited) and a bottle of wine, came to $200 including tax and tip, which i thought was a fantastic price for what we got. keep in mind, charcuterie is something that takes a LONG time to make, and has to sit and age. it's a transformative process, with a lot of volume and raw material loss during the aging, so your yield isn't much. i think the black hoof is a great place and i'd highly recommend it.

yesterday i woke up with the dotytron, saw him off to work, banged out the beginnings of 2 rosemary olive oil loaves using my sourdough starter and nancy silverton as my inspiration, 2 trays of cheesecake brownies, 1 batch of chocolate crackle cookie dough, and 1 tray of raspberry jam bars. then S came over and gave me the BEST haircut of life...i'll try to get the dotytron to take a picture of it later...i chopped off a good 5" and S did an amazing job of straightening it...the goal was too look more professional instead of rocking my bushy, flowing, wavy locks of gibraltar. apparently i look more sleek, but also younger. oops! i love it though...i never want to wash it because my hair is NEVER this straight.

then i met up with dr. rei to do some shopping and xmas prep and gabbing. she wanted to show me some head pieces that are kind of in line with what i want for the performance. i'm thinking very retro-y, cocktail hat, fascinator, or some kind of hairpiece with a birdcage veil. we found one feathered piece that was really dramatic and cute...but i didn't get it. we'll see. this is kind of what i'm looking for:







i think i definitely want something dramatic and modern and abstract like the first, second, and third ones - more feathers than floral. and i don't want a faceful of veil like the fourth one...the style of veil for the third is more me. i just want a bit of veil kind of coquettishly over one eye or rakishly tilted off to the side.  and DEFINITELY not white.  first of all, white symbolizes death in chinese culture, and even if i wasn't going to get all juju superstitious about it, i look gash in white and it's not my thing.  

anyway, then i came home after first stopping off at work to pick up containers for my baked goods that T was loaning to me to transport stuff into work for the  holiday open house (yes, i'm baking for the open house) and then came home.  i was exhausted after walking around in the cold all day, but somehow, i mustered up the reserves of energy enough to resist the urge to spend money and buy take out and instead, make dinner.  we had fried rice with chinese sausage, egg, napa cabbage and peas, and those fried eggplant sandwich things i make (thinly sliced eggplant, sandwiching a ginger pork mixture, dredged in batter, deep fried, and eaten with sweet chili dipping sauce - it's awesome): 



then, we somehow, miraculously got up the nerve and energy to brave THE BITTER COLD OF OUTSIDE to actually ATTEND my boyfriend's 30th birthday party at his place.  it was fun, but we were twerps and totally showed up at like, 9:30pm with the express intention of being home in bed by 11pm!!! lol!!!!  they had a keg and the dotytron got to play this videogame called "left 4 dead 4" on their super ginormous flat screen tv (seriously, the thing is HUGE) and then we gracefully said our goodbye's and wandered out into THE BITTER COLD OF OUTSIDE to try to find the concord cafe where c64 was playing at the "breakcore elimination challenge."  i didn't find out the address though so we half walked over one big city block and realized that we left the car behind, so we wanted to go get the car and drive closer to where we were supposed to be (wherever that was) but then when we actually got INTO the car, the logical thing was to drive our little butts back home as fast as we could so we could climb into our flannel pjs and flannel-sheeted bed and eat cheesecake brownie edges and watch "the wire" season 5 in bed.  LOGIC!  

today i made a pineapple upside down cake (again) and a sweet potato pecan pie and baked off my loaves of bread (i'll post pics later).  i'm going to do some knitting, then meet up with dr. rei for some vintage shopping/trying on headbands again and then play dodgeball and then go to C & C music factory's place for dinner and then come home and then finish watching "the wire" season 5 and go to sleep and start a week of work all over again.

fin.

bed & breakfast

the roomie is sleeping in my room while i make a racket preparing xmas stuff upstairs.  i'll post a review of the black hoof (abridged version: it was good!) and what i did today, later.

fin.

obsessed

okay, i'm currently OBSESSED with bb dakota clothes.  the clothes are so me! contemporary, classic cuts with little details that put each piece over the top. some gentle retro references and bold colours.  the stuff is perfect for work or recreational...i'd buy the whole line if i could and the pieces are SUPER affordable. like, ridiculously so...$70 for a dress, $80 for a jacket and the quality of the clothes is top notch...unlike places like urban outfitters, where you're paying $160 for a lux dress that's the thinnest possible material and is already falling apart at the seams.  anyway, i'm currently lusting after the following:

the red jacket is probably highest on my priority list...i just think it looks so smart and would be great paired with jeans or a skirt and tights.

i think it's time to upgrade my "practical" everyday winter jacket...so these two from spiewak are on my short list...i can't decide. i love spiewak coats because like carhartt, they started off making industrial/work clothes before stealing the urban clothing market. my last spiewak coat fit fantastically...great cut, simple, nice, slim lines, and lasted me from 2002. so i've narrowed it down to these two:


i like the toggle detail on the second one, and when buying an everyday winter coat your natural instinct is to go with black, but i like the more streamlined style of the first, i love the colour (still an easily matchable neutral) and i love the slight fishtail at the back. decisions!

then there's the part of me that wants to go completely frivolous and add to my mountain of nice, lady coats with these numbers:

the first one is also in the running to be an everyday coat IF IT WASN'T SOLD OUT...GRRRRRRRRR...i like sweatshirt cuffs and collars on coats because they're soft and cozy and keep a tight seal to block out wind. the first one is made by lambretta, which is this uk company that like other uk companies (fred perry and ben sherman, i'm looking in your direction) has a tendency to get a little too high on its' own uk juice sometimes (ie. too many mod/scooter/hail britannia references). the second one i love for the vintage styling and for the eye-popping, rich colour, and we all know that i love me a dramatic collar like few other things in life, but i feel like it's a little too typical, and i need a new trench like a need a hold in my head. i've got my houndstooth sarah jessica parker bitten one ($8!!!), a black one, and a long, black plaid ben sherman one. in other news, i'm kind of heartbroken that steve and barry's, the chain that houses sarah jessica parker's line and is the dotytron's preferred source for starbury $20 sneakers and novelty tshirts, is liquidating. boooooooooooooo. i loved the cheap tshirts and clothes there. and allow me to repeat EIGHT DOLLAR JACKET!

i'm going shopping with dr. rei this weekend. i want to stock up on grandpa cardigans and basics and hopefully some casual clothes because my weekend wardrobe is suffering from two years spent cultivating work outfits...really, though, i need a new pair of black pants for work as MY OTHER ONES SHRUNK IN THE WASH. so frustrating!!! i spent a good chunk of money on 'em too...so now they're too short. i'm taking them to the tailors tonight to see if they can let down the hem. i'm nearly as fastidious about the length of my pants as i am about the cleanliness of my green bin. i like my pants to just barely graze the floor (maybe 1-2mm of clearance, if that) with just a bit of shoe peeking out (like raver pants). that's why i could never really get behind skinny jeans...the inevitable bunching at the ankle kind of grieves my soul. i love the line of a flared, trouser cut pant just skimming the floor, although i can appreciate how patrician and crisp lean pants look tucked into a pair of boots. i'm currently keeping an eagle eye on these vintage boots:
aren't they divine? i had to ask the seller to check the circumference of the shaft because my calves are MONSTROUS. seriously, i measured them last night...14.5" around. i'm worried about the slipperiness of the soles though. i used to only want slouchy suede boots but i've gradually come around to the appeal of leather (or leather-looking boots). these steve maddens are on my short list for a black pair (again, people have complained about them being really slippery):

finally, i'm kind of in love with this sweater, but i'm worried it's a little mumsy looking:

in other news...i've signed up for gwyneth paltrow's ridiculously named GOOP newsletters. i can't really express how dripping with patronizing faux-plebian, "it's just us girls chatting" privilege they are or how painfully oblivious she is, so i'm going to leave it to the fantastic girls at gofugyourself to do the work for me:

"I don't know if any of you have signed up for Gwyneth Paltrow's new lifestyle newsletters on her hideously named Web site, GOOP, but they are hilarious in ways that I do not think she intended them to be. They're all basically about how she is pretty sure she's really interesting and has a lot to teach -- Martha Stewart crossed with Oprah's Favorite Things, multiplied by that random friend you have who won't let you finish your stories before she tries to interrupt and one-up you with her more profound experiences. They come out every week, and tell us all about how to "nourish what is real" by eating non-dairy buckweat pancakes, staying slim (summary: do not eat anything white), clothing ourselves (save money by wearing your $1200 Louboutin shoes with a Topshop dress!), and buying "off the beaten track" kitchen stuff from... Williams-Sonoma. "

in other other news...i find it hard to express how BAD "top chef" season 5 is. they're in NYC, american food mecca and the contestants (even the ones they're trying really hard to show have skills) are TERRIBLE. like, worse than anything i've seen in my years in the kitchen. also, "30 rock" has also been kind of uneven. too much liz and jack, not enough of everyone else.

tonight we're having dinner with A & C at the black hoof on dundas west. it's a charcuterie placed opened up by this dude i worked with at canoe. i'm pumped for the company, cured meats, and cheeses. it's been getting rave reviews (but that might be due to the charcuterie zeitgeist right now), so i'm excited to see what kind of yummy business is in store.

i'll post a full review with pics tomorrow.

fin.

bring on the cold!

rumour has it that it's unseasonably cold of late in toronto - a state that as an avowed winter fan, i welcome with open arms.

last night we checked out the alternate spot for the performance...i think we're going to go for it. the place is called "the richmond" it's the perfect amount of space and you don't really need to do much to the room to make it look nice and dress it up. the lady there has done hundreds of events and was super friendly, in a kind of brash, mother-hen, bossy kind of way - you really got the sense that she was looking out for your best interests and was bringing loads of experience to the table (even though she totally busted my balls when i tried to dance around the nature of the party - "what kind of party" "a party" "for what?" "ummm...our love?" "is this a wedding" *stalling* "is there going to be a CEREMONY or SOMETHING FORMAL?" "ummmm...maybe?")

they're run as a non-profit and they're also socially conscious (a portion of our fee goes towards a different charity each month) and eco-friendly (they run on bullfrog power, donate all leftover food, don't allow bottled water, etc).

unfortunately, they don't have the date we wanted available so i had to get a new permit for the park and we have to change the date to the following saturday. that's okay though!

then i trooped home simply ravenous and cooked up one of my all-time favorite meals - macaroni and cheese (except sub penne for macaroni). i used to make this a baked dish, but then i cottoned onto the fact that i much prefer a slump of noodles bathed in gooey, warm, cheesy sauce as opposed to the firmer, drier result you get with the baked version. to replicate the breadcrumb topping (nothing is better than carbs topped with carbs), i just toast off some bread crumbs with some thyme, olive oil, salt and pepper and spoon as much as i like onto each serving.

you can sub in whatever cheeses you like...i tend to keep it fairly consistent with fontina (for smooth melting) and cheddar (for flavour)...all cheddar mac'n'cheeses tend to get a little grainy and texturally weird for me.

i made a salad too (radicchio, fennel, red onion, romano beans, orange juice, olive oil, salt and pepper), but ended up skipping eating salad for TWO GIANT helpings of mac'n'cheese. it was soooooooo good. the noodles continue to absorb the sauce as it cools, so it firms up quite a bit (another point in favour of not doing the baked mac'n'cheese thing).


tonight i'm planning on making seafood (clams, mussels, maybe some salmon) chowder and having that with leftover salad and a slice or two of the whole grain sourdough that the dotytron baked off today. i'm feeling slightly more in control of the holidays...i've made up menu plans for my family's 3 day extravaganza and the dotytron's family's breakfast and dessert (those are my traditional contributions)...i know what i'm doing for gifts, and i made another double batch of cookie dough that i balled up and froze off (gingersnaps).

*edit here are pics of the chowder and the bread

this loaf turned out a little flatter, a little less sour, and more moist, with a denser, wetter mie. i think it must have been the 12 hour counter rise instead of the 24 hour fridge rise that did it, even though it rose much more during the quicker, warmer rise at room temperature. i think i might prefer the first batch, but it's kind of splitting hairs because they're both delicious.

in other news...my dodgeball team now has its own messageboard. LOL. i kind of like private messageboards...besides...wading through ten billion emails every time we started to get on a tear wasn't good information management.

fin.
-------------------------------------------------------------
mac'n'cheese of the gods (carbs on carbs!)
makes 4 giant servings or 2 me and dotytron size servings

breadcrumb topping
2 c. of panko breadcrumbs
1 T. of fresh thyme, chopped (strip the leaves from the woody stems, first)
1/4 of olive oil
salt and pepper

1 lb - 1 1/2 lb. penne pasta (or any short, tubular pasta)
4 T. unsalted butter
1/4 c. all purpose flour
4 c. of milk (any percent)
400 g. of fontina cheese (danish, the kind with the red wax on the outside), grated
250 g. white cheddar, grated
(any other cheese you think will taste good or have on hand - i've used asiago, parm, romano, but the cheddar and the fontina are the constants)
salt and pepper

- rub all the ingredients for the breadcrumb topping together, until everything is pretty much moistened with the olive oil, season with salt and pepper
- pour into a shallow pan and toast in a preheated 400F oven for about 10-15 minutes, until golden brown (stir periodically), set aside.
- melt the butter in a big saucepan and when it's melted, whisk in the flour. whisk this for a minute or two over medium or medium-high heat. slowly whisk in the cold milk (do this slowly at first so you don't get any lumps of flour/butter [roux] in your bechamel [finished milk sauce]). once you've added all the milk, increase the heat slightly and continue stirring until the mixture starts to bubble and has thickened.
- turn the heat lower and add the cheese, stirring until melted...keep the sauce warm on low heat
- meanwhile, cook the pasta in boiling salted water and drain.
- toss the cheese sauce with the pasta
- taste for seasoning and adjust with salt and pepper (keep in mind: cheese is salty!)
- top with breadcrumbs and house it.

continuity issues

well, savvy and eagle-eyed readers (all two of you) would notice a glaring continuity error in yesterday's post, giving away the fact that while i generally post everything all in one shot in a maelstrom of linguistic prowess, i sometimes get caught composing at various points in the day, and get interrupted, thereby having to fill in details and images as my schedule allows.

to wit - the caption accompanying yesterday's sunday breakkie image states:  "today for sunday breakkie we just had a simple eggs over easy, toast, and peameal bacon affair," when any sunday breakkie afficionado worth their eggs florentine could clearly see plain as day that those are scrambled eggs on my plate.  dun dun duuuuuuuuuuun.  there, i've been caught!  red-handed, calling a breakfast audible and making the rare decision to sacrifice gooey, oozing yolks for custardy curds.  

yesterday i had the rare pleasure of sharing court time with the dotytron as he accompanied me to dodgeball and promptly won the hearts of my teammates with his semi-natural lanky and somewhat counterintuitive athleticism.

dinner chez dr. rei was like being wrapped in a flannel blanket near a roaring fire in some alpen chalet.  the shepherd's pie was properly mumsy and accompanied by a delicious roasted beet, baby spinach, and blue cheese salad.  her cousin S and boyfriend B brought along a delicious and appetite-whetting spread of italian cheeses and salumis of various persuasions and my pineapple upside down cake was as delicious as it was comely.  reducing the cardamom to 1 t. gave it a roasted, vanilla-scented warmth, helped along by caramely notes of golden rum.  gently coddled in a warm oven and heaped with a small snowcap of whipped cream, it was a fitting end to a homey meal.



i have to say though, that the real star (in my own prideful eyes at least) was the sourdough bread, which emerged from the oven looking like real-deal business.  i slashed it with an exacto knife (didn't have a single-edged razor on hand - who does???) and fussed about the oven like a particularly anxious expectant mum.  lo and behold, it emerged crisp-crusted, dense-but-tender mie'd, and possessing an umistakable sour tang grounded by the hearty richness of the rye and whole wheat and spelt.  slathered with salted butter it was a thing to behold and now the dotytron is exhorting me to continuously churn out freshly baked bread (he loves his carbs, that one).  

i have to admit to being as smug and pleased and chuffed as a broody hen over it...having nurtured my starter for almost a month now...


whew...i'm exhausted.  it's 11pm and i just got home from TWO games of dodgeball (we subbed in when one of the teams playing after us didn't show).  it was so much fun!  i had some pretty ace moments where improbable things would happen (getting three people out in the space of 5 seconds, getting two people out at once) and it was really fun to play...i'm super achey and tired now and i'll be paying for it tomorrow for sure.

the added bonus was that this team of hot, tattooed bikers (they ride bikes, not hogs) who i've only spotted once before played after the second game so i got to ogle them.  they're foine.  

tomorrow after work we're checking out this alternate site for the performance...i hope everything lines up!!!

fin.