Category Archives: food

insta…

12 Sunday Jan 2020

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I’ve seen lots of ads for the Instant Pot, but felt that I didn’t need another appliance in the kitchen…

and now that I’m retired I have all day to prepare food…

but… my daughter showed me hers and told me all the things it can do which made me think about it more seriously…

apparently, it could replace my egg cooker (which is currently not working), be a rice cooker (which I’ve wanted), act as a crockpot (which I have, in purple), act as a steamer, sauté things, keep things warm, and even be a sterilizer…

we made salmon (from frozen) and smashed potatoes with spinach in about half an hour… and it was delicious…

we also made white and wild rice with chicken thighs (again from frozen) in about 45 minutes from start of prep to eating…

and mushroom soup, and risotto…

think I just might have to buy one now that I am home…

hosts…

10 Friday Jan 2020

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recently I flew home from Ottawa… I spent the majority of the trip with my eyes glued to the window… it was like the entire sky was filled with a sunset for the entire flight… what a gift…

I had the most wonderful visit with my daughter and son-in-law… also had a fun time meeting and getting to know his mom…

it was quite a different Christmas for me… flew out on Christmas Day and celebrated New Year’s there as well… his mom was with us for a week and then I spent another six days with the kids…

had so much fun… the kids are wonderful hosts* and offer up all kinds of interesting things to do… I stayed in their AirBnB room which was very cozy…

while I was there we ate great home cooked meals, fed birds out of our hands, went to see butterflies, had afternoon tea, went to the Market and restaurants, spent a day at the spa, had a photo shoot, and two chocolate tastings…

and enjoyed great conversations…

now I am home and able to begin retirement living…

*AirBnB Cozy Blue Room Ottawa

market…

08 Wednesday Jan 2020

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on Sunday we had breakfast out at Stan’s Diner, which seems to be similar to the “A”…

then a trip to pick up mushrooms, maple syrup, bread, a raspberry scone, and squash…

we also tasted truffle butter and truffle ice cream;-)…

then home for a relaxing day…

Atelier…

07 Tuesday Jan 2020

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what a wonderful treat it was to go to Atelier for dinner…

my daughter took me to celebrate my retirement… her hubby acted as chauffeur for the evening;-)…

it is a twelve course tasting menu and every course is more impressive than the last…

we also shared a wine pairing… this worked well as I only wanted a sip of each offering…

our appetizer was on a plate which rotated while we were enjoying the three different bites… it was very cool…

one of my favourite courses was the sable fish… it was very tasty…

every course came on a different plate… apparently the chef collects dishes from all over… many of the ones we had this time were different from the last time I was there… because the restaurant is intimate they don’t need tons of each dish…

at the end of our meal, we had the opportunity to meet with Marc Lepine, chef/owner of Atelier…

next time I’m in Ottawa I will be sure to check out his new offering – Thru… it is only open on Tuesdays and has seating for six with a menu of 50 items… it uses QR code’s to order… sounds very fun…

what a special gift… it was a magical evening;-)…

Tulip…

05 Sunday Jan 2020

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I always try to work in some public transportation while I am visiting my kids, lol… I love bendy buses and for the longest time we didn’t have any in Winnipeg… they also have double decker buses here… and recently the train has been added…

so, took a bus and the train to get downtown where we had lunch at Tulip, in the Hilton Garden Inn…

the modern decor is amazing… tons of purple and beautifully done… delightful space to be in…

we had two appetizers… polenta and tuna, both were delicious…

our mains were not as exciting, or a tasty, and unfortunately they didn’t have the dessert we had been looking forward to, but we had a wonderful time together and fun with buses, trains and even a bit of walking to finally get home;-)…

afternoon…

30 Monday Dec 2019

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yesterday we had a delightful afternoon tea at Zoe’s in the Fairmont Chateau Laurier…

we dressed up a bit… nothing like when we went for tea at the Empress a few years back… at that time we even wore white gloves;-)…

the host took great care to seat us at a window with a lovely view of Rideau and McKenzie Street… we saw lots of bendy buses drive past;-)…

the settings were reminiscent of days gone by with lovely old cups and cute tea strainers… tea was delicious… between us we tried three different varieties and they were all tasty…

we shared two towers of treats and were very full by the time we were finished… we even brought home some of the dainties… our server, Dave, was extremely attentive to all of our needs and even recommended a few other places we might go…

my favourite item was the scones with clotted cream and freshly made strawberry jam…

we are having a delightful time and being treated like royalty by the kids;-)…

meeting…

28 Saturday Dec 2019

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had a great time making Christmas dinner a few days ago…

made the stuffing, cooked a very small turnip and simmered the neck and liver for hours to make a great stock for the gravy…

after the turkey was stuffed and in the oven we enjoyed the smell as we set the table…

potatoes were mashed, gravy was made, turkey was carved, sides turned up on the counter, and dinner was served…

it has been lovely to get to spend time with Ron’s mom… in all the time they’ve been married we’ve never met… we ended the evening with some selfie fun…

celebrations…

27 Friday Dec 2019

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yesterday we celebrated Christmas… I arrived here the evening before, so we put Christmas off by a day, lol…

when we got up in the morning – not until 7 am;-)… we opened the very full stockings and then all the gifts under the tree were distributed… our family tradition is that the youngest passes out the presents and they are opened one-by-one around the circle so that we can see what everyone got…

the same process is followed for stockings (which come from Santa) and that happens first… it was a wonderful time and the gifts were all carefully chosen…

then we prepped for our Christmas breakfast… crepes, made the night before, in the crepe pan that my beloved gave the kids a number of years ago… to fill them there were scrambled eggs, cooked onions and peppers, turkey bacon, grated cheese, strawberries with whipped cream, apples and cinnamon…

delicious meal after all the fun of sharing gifts…

bubbly…

26 Thursday Dec 2019

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yesterday I travelled from Winnipeg to Ottawa to spend Christmas with my daughter, son-in-law and his mother… the flight was jam packed and I had the sweetest little person sitting beside me… if she asked why once, she asked a hundred times, lol…

when I arrived, we had a lovely dinner of appetizers… there were fancy cheeses, chocolate salami, coconut shrimp, chicken wings, many types of fancy crackers, fruit, veggies and hummus as well as a variety of home-baked cookies…

we had bubbly to celebrate my retirement…

stockings were hung on the mantle and the tree looked ever so festive with lots of gifts under it…

a wonderful start to my visit;-)…

integral…

23 Monday Dec 2019

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up way too early to get ready for my BS buddies who were coming over for brunch and sharing of Christmas gifts…

everyone brought something for the meal… there were avocados, breads, cheeses, jam and eggs… delicious…

lots of great conversation and some wonderful gifts were shared…

home baking, jam, eco wrap, chocolate, handmade aprons and donations… love throughout…

these women have been an integral part of my life for over 30 years… through all the good and bad times…

what a wonderful time we have together;-)…