mini stream in downtown Toronto..

at the Distillery District...

I played around with Picasa photo editing options...

from flower to flower..

how awesome...

a space shuttle docking with the international space station... I hope that by clicking on the picture you'll be able to see a much bigger and detailed version...

dinner on Sunday...

for me Jay prepared an appetizer of pasta shells with leeks...
the rest had mini mushroom pasta purses in a leek and shallot cream sauce... an instant hit with Dad...
for our main Jay created a veggie shepherds pie for me and an individual turkey and chorizo sausage one for everyone else, topped with sauteed fiddle heads... fiddle heads were a first for my parents... mom says they taste like young asparagus...
for dessert a martini glass filled with strawberries, raspberries, crumbled oat and raisin vegan cookies and a dollop of maple syrup sweetened whipped cream...

Sandwiches for lunch on Sunday...

for the meat eaters... and one for me...

funky tulips...

did my mom cut it?

Dinner at Kinga's on Sunday May 16th

It was a combined belated dinner for Jay's and mine birthdays (October and December 2009)...
Kinga's pink lemonade martini...Peter's dirty martini...
flatbread or giant cracker... can't tell... but it was delicious
with homemade humus... yum... this was really tasty....
a bottle of white... the bear seems to like it...
and Peter's vegan veggie curry.... awesome... loved it...
for dessert raspberry sorbet with a touch of vodka :)... a winning combination...
and then someone traded in the pink martini and had a big boy drink... lol...not me...

so I've been thinking

Matt & Nat had a great sale section on their website. But then it disappeared... it hasn't come back., and then I found a Matt & Nat bag at Winners. So if figured maybe they just got rid of their online sale section and dumped all that awesome bag stock onto Winners. So this past Saturday Jay and I trekked to the Winners on Front St. ... and sure enough we found more bags... Jay got one for himself and I got a couple of wallets.... then just for fun and because we had time we went to the one on College and HOLLY BONANZA... Matt & Nat jackpot... it was painful not to buy one of each... but I couldn't walk away empty handed either...

the wallet... the awesome bag...

ouch...

last night I craved tempura... so I found a vegan recipe online, assembled 5 different dips, and proceeded to fry some veg... it was very tasty and satisfying... but it came at a price... a pot of frying oil is extremely hot... touching the rim with my arm was clumsy and painful... next time I feel like fried veg, I'll wait for Jay to be home and have him make it for me :)

did you know...

from May 12 to 16th Starbucks has a happy hour... all frappuccinos are half price between 3 and 5pm... I've been waiting all week to have one, it's just been way too cold (so cold for the past 3 days I wore my winter jacket)... but yesterday (Friday) the weather was perfect...19 degrees and sunny... my choice: soy espresso... yummmy...

it seems...

if you put a bit of agave syrup in a cup
then a splash of cold vanilla soy milk
then a packet of Starbucks instant coffee
and top it off with boiling water....
the whole thing will curdle...
it resembled miso soup... bubbling up... I waited till it settled down and drank it anyways... it didn't taste bad... it just looked it...

and Kinga said...

".... sometimes he makes me toasted tomato sandwiches for breakfast..."
and pictured below is what I imagined... yum

Little Miss Perfect has two bottom teeth already...

biting took on a whole different turn now... one has to watch their fingers...

on our way home from Grimsby on Sunday...

we enjoyed a gorgeous sunset...

breakfast has become my favorite meal of the day...

mostly due to company :) ... and because it's delicious, and I usually don't make it...some creamed corn on the side... we were out of beans...

obsessions...

Jay and I share one for the past couple of years... Matt & Nat bags... a Montreal company (yay Canada)... I want to own every single one... made from recycled materials, totally vegan... some look so very much like leather, gorgeous bags...but not exactly cheap (the only thing that kept me from owning one)... well I heard this urban legend that if you're lucky enough you might stumble upon one at Winners. We were shopping in Yorkville yesterday, and on a hunch I decided to go to Winners... and hanging there was this creation... I think I stopped breathing for a few seconds... It was mine the minute I laid my hands on it...
purple is one of my favorite colors... right after gunmetal gray... the lining is made using 100% recycled plastic bottles... but it looks and feels like the softest suede...
it is huge... I can fit all my mini bags in it, and still have room for more...

cold...

it is freezing today... and raining... I took the girls out for a quick walk in the afternoon... within 10 seconds it started to rain so incredibly hard... we were soaked... my hair plastered to my head, my pants dripping cold water... the girls hate cold, and even more rain... plenty of shivering, toweling off, and attitude when we got home... but after some treats and tlc... my couch and blankets became a sweet heaven for a 3 hour nap...

A pint of delicious?

well it sure was easy drinking... it is very mild, with a sweet finish, not bitter at all... I usually don't like dark beer, but this isn't your typical dark... very smooth... I might pick it up again...

trying out vegan breakfast options...

they're both quite delicious, especially with Anton Kozliks Italian mustard... but we do like the patties a bit more... Jay thinks they would make perfect little veggie sliders...

Dinner: Sunday May 2, 2010

it all started a couple of days prior to Sunday... Jay decided to try a radish martini recipe he saw in a magazine... it required soaking sliced radishes and ginger in gin for a day or so...it was a lovely pink color... didn't smell quite as delicious as it looked... and it was quite strong... but drinkable... decorated with a slice of a watermelon radish...
then some had red wine and some had beer... but all had the same appetizer: mixed greens with Jay's fabulous pickled tomato vinaigrette...
for my main Jay made me a ratatouille stuffed portobello mushroom... it rested atop some spaghetti squash, yellow carrots, and fiddleheads... yum
Jay and our guests enjoyed a side of grouper baked with Jason's secret crust... and the same sides...
look how gorgeous... there were no left overs... that always makes us happy...
for dessert... vegan vanilla cake (we both agree it's even better than the chocolate one), whipped topping, and blueberry maple sauce...

I am not a plant assassin...

look it's growing...