Sunday, Dec. 9th, 2007

6:45 am at King and Spadina

We had our first snow storm this year... started at about 11pm the night before (Saturday). I wasn't put off by it as much as I thought I was going to be. It's pretty first thing in the morning, when it's nice and quiet, and traffic, and salt haven't ruined it. Walking to the streetcar stop was a nice work out, because it was powdery kind of snow, wind either blew it off the sidewalk totally or I was knee deep in it.... fun...

Vanilla extract from the Dominican Republic.

A little treat Tammy (Jason's sister) brought back for us from her vacation… can't wait till exams are over so I can bake something with it.

Looking at the weather outside, I wish I was enjoying a sandy beach, and a fruity rum based drink somewhere sunny and tropical. I'm so not looking forward to 5:30 am tomorrow.

Shoeless Joe's

Opened last week, minutes away from us on Queens Quay. Place looks great (of course it's brand new), food was outstanding as was the service.

The biggest Caesar I ever had. I didn't finish it, the skewer was a meal in itself.
Peppercorn Burger: topped with Madagascar peppercorns, portobello mushrooms Monterey jalapeno cheese and sautéed onions… along with the staples of tomato, pickle, and lettuce, with a side of house salad.Single order of traditional chicken wings tossed in sticky sweet sauce. They were delicious, fried extremely well, crispy and dry, like chicken jerky… I love them like that.
Loaded baked potato. Wowzers, skin on this sucker was unbelievably crispy, I love potatoes, I want to go back for another one.

CN Tower... all dressed up for the Holidays...

Bad picture I know… but it was just too bloody cold to play around with the camera… my fingers were numb.

Simple...

Strawberry-orange smoothie...Pasta with grape tomatoes, buffalo mozzarela, mushrooms, and pesto sauce..
yummy bread sticks...

Meatball sandwich...

Little meatballs stuffed with mozzarella cheese and other delicious additions frying up ....homemade tomato sauce bubbling away...
fresh basil is a must addition...
time for a flip...
together at last... simmering away...
Jay's own pickled hot peppers... they have a kick ass bite...
assembly is complete...
paired with a nice cucumber and greens salad... yum.

Crazy weather on Tuesday...

I got an orchid at IKEA...

Orange dinner.

Fried chicken, cheddar cheese biscuits, and pumpkin and butternut squash soup.

My mini office is messy around exam time... but comfy for a piggy that doesn't want to go for a walk...

Fat Cat

Jason has told me that all work and no play makes me ... well... not very pleasant I guess. He picked me up at school one day this week and we went out for dinner to Fat Cat. The restaurant is pretty small, around 50 seats, very pretty, clean and romantic. The bar has only 4 seats. The kitchen is open concept; it does not take away form the charm of the place.

Our meal was great, the menu is quite small but very varied in its offerings. For our appetizers,

Jay had:
citrus and juniper cured smoked duck breast with butter lettuce, red onion, toasted pinenuts and orange segments

and I decided on:
dungeness crab wrapped in house smoked atlantic salmon radish pea sprout salad

Delicious. Refreshing. Light.

For our mains Jay went with:
roasted breast of pheasant on a smoked pork hock, wild mushroom and savoy cabbage broth

and I with:
pan roasted east coast halibut, smoked tomato dill broth fingerling potatoes and sauteed spinach

The were both delicious. Presentations were simple and clean.

Dessert changes daily so the desert menu contains different after dinner aperitifs, wines, coffees and teas. The restaurant is small as I've already mentioned and does not have a cappuccino machine. I thought it's rather brilliant there is only french press coffee. The beans ground when you order your size.

The waiter informed us of our three dessert choices

Jay had a Banana Cobbler with Ginger Ice Cream and I had a Vanilla Pot de Creme. Both yummy.

It was a great meal. We're already looking forward to our next one there, and maybe next time I'll have my camera with me to snap some pictures.

We had our first snow today.... it's shoe time...

I made pizza for dinner on Tuesday... yummy

I almost felt bad that I had to wake her up for our morning walk...