Saturday Snapshot

Saturday Snapshots is hosted by West Metro Mommy. 

September 2014 - Toronto ON

I had heard about this bookshop Ben Mc Nally on Bay St. in the financial district and finally went to check it out. It took all of my self-control not to spend any money! I try to get my books from the library.

Who wouldn't want to spend hours in here?

This couple even got married here.

The sign says "ben mcnally read the fine print".

Weekend Cooking - Liverpool

Beth hosts Weekend Cooking where you can post anything food related.



And over at Joy's Book Blog for British Isles Friday.


May 2010 - Liverpool England

Taking a wander down Memory Lane today.

After checking into our hotel we wandered over to Albert Dock in Liverpool. We settled on The Pump House for a late lunch in the Dock's former pumphouse, originally built in 1870 it has been restored into a public house.

It is a very relaxed pub which gets quite crowded in the evening. We had a late lunch the first day and then returned for dinner the next day.

This was a trio of seafood shooters. Delicious and I am going to copy this presentation.

An Indian Sampler

Cheeseboard

Club Sandwich

Grand Canyon

Wordless Wednesday

My Recipe Box - Pumpkin Coffee Cake

This was a really good cake according to my husband. I don't like anything pumpkin (sacrilegious) other than pumpkin soup. Oh and I do like pumpkin seeds in salad.

I had leftover pumpkin and sour cream so went looking for a recipe which I found on this blog.

I forgot to take a photo!

PUMPKIN COFFEE CAKE

cake
½ cup (1 stick) unsalted butter
¾ cup granulated sugar
3 large eggs, room temperature
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 cup sour cream
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp baking powder

filling
15 oz can pumpkin I used pure pumpkin
½ cup granulated sugar
1 large egg
1½ tsp ground cinnamon
¼ tsp ground ginger
¼ tsp ground nutmeg

topping
5 Tbsp unsalted butter, cold cut into cubes
½ cup brown sugar
⅓ cup all-purpose flour
1 tsp ground cinnamon
½ cup pecans, finely chopped
pinch of salt
powdered sugar


Place a rack in the center of the oven and preheat to 325 degrees. Spray a 13" x 9" baking dish with cooking spray and set aside.
Cream the butter and sugar together until light and fluffy, then add the eggs one at a time, mixing each egg in completely before adding the next. Stir in the vanilla and sour cream, then sift the dry ingredients on top of the wet ingredients and fold to combine. Set aside while you prepare the filling.
In a separate mixing bowl, stir together the pumpkin, sugar, egg, cinnamon, ginger and nutmeg until completely combined. In a third bowl, use a fork to combine the butter with the sugar, flour, cinnamon, pecans and salt until the butter is incorporated and the mixture is crumbly.
Spread the batter evenly into the bottom of the prepared baking dish and sprinkle about ¼ of the pecan crumble over the top of the batter. Spread the pumpkin mixture over the batter and smooth into an even layer. Use a butter knife to gently swirl the pumpkin mixture together with the batter.
Sprinkle the remaining pecan mixture evenly over the top. Bake 50–60 minutes, just until firm in the center. Remove to a rack to cool slightly, sprinkle the top with just a bit of powdered sugar.

Monday Mural

October 2014 - Toronto ON

In a lane way off Spadina by ELICSER, a well-known Toronto artist.

And To Think I Saw It...Oct 18 - Oct 25

LAST WEEK'S EDITION

BUD AND BLOOM

This week's bloom is from Yorkville.

WELCOME TO THE NEIGHBOURHOOD

Some views from our condo.

Walking along the lake

For the birds!

TORONTO LIFE
Click on the links for more Toronto.

Monday Mural
Song-ography A Perfect Day
Friday My Town Shoot Out - The Zoo Weekend Cooking Scavenger Sunday
Saturday Snapshot - Nuit Blanche

Tuesday was lunch and shopping with a GF. We wondered about Yorkville until it started to rain heavily.

Thursday I went down to Queen's Park. I came upon all kinds of interesting things especially these memorials to fallen police and firefighters.

Friday we went to the new (since October 2013) Ripley Aquarium located in front of the CN Tower and next to the Rogers Centre. It is a great aquarium and lots of fun to visit. Seeing sharks swimming over your head was amazing.

BON APPETIT

Saturday was a lazy day. I made a sticky date cake and we had a roast pork with mashed turnips and carrots with roasted mushrooms and potatoes.

Sunday was salmon.

Monday was home made pizza.

Tuesday and Wednesday we had shepherd's pie, with lots of vegetables, peas, carrots, turnips and kale.

Thursday was ham with colcannon.

Friday we had dinner out with friends at the Real Sports Bar. John Tory, running for mayor, walked in at the same time as we did. He had an entourage with him.

I also made a cranberry bread but this recipe will not be going into my recipe box. Even as I put it in the pan I knew it was too dry.

The ocean Spray site has tons of raving reviews so I googled to see if anyone else had the same problems as I did, dry, and tough. Found a blogger who had the same reaction. She posted her version and I will try that.

I DID make this pumpkin coffee cake and it will be going into my recipe box. It is a keeper according to my husband. I hate pumpkin so I didn't try it LOL.

MY RECIPE BOX
New entries in my recipe box this week.
Sticky date pudding


HOUSE AND HOME
Some kitchen photos.
Dave came and hung the mirror in the en-suite bathroom. What a difference!! It feels huge.

Bought a lamp for our bedroom.

SUNSET
A couple of shots of the partial eclipse from our bedroom.
There is a reflection of the moon on the window.

TRAVEL

Links to posts I wrote this week about various travels.

Rubbish Tuesday - More Route 66
inSPIREd Sunday - Point Prim PEI

THIS TIME LAST YEAR

Casa Loma part 1 and part 2.

Lunch at Osgoode Hall with friends.

inSPIREd Sunday

Sally hosts inSPIREd Sunday!

May 2012 - Prague Czech Republic


Beautiful St. Nicholas Church at the Old Town Square was completed in 1735. It replaced a parish church, mentioned in records dating back as early as 1273.
St. Nicholas is a Baroque church, decorated with sculptures by Antonín Braun. The interior design was inspired by the chapel of St. Louis-des-invalides in Paris.
In 1781 decorations inside St. Nicholas were removed after emperor Josef II ordered the closure of all monasteries without a social function.
From 1870-1914 St. Nicholas became Russian Orthodox. Then, during the second World War, Czech army units were stationed here and artists were set to work restoring the church.
After the war, St. Nicholas was handed over to the Czech Hussite movement, with whom it remains today. It now serves as both a church and a magnificent venue for classical concerts.

Scavenger Hunt Sunday

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  I'm joining the Scavenger Hunt Sunday sponsored by Ashley.
  
  The rules are simple:
  
  
1. Anyone can participate.
2. You’re encouraged to take five new photos this week for the challenge. Creativity is also encouraged!
3. If you get stumped, you may use one photo from your archive (although I’m not too strict about it – I do my best to take fresh shots).
4. Link up here on Sunday (or Tuesday at the latest) – you can use the button above.
5. Leave comments for at least five entries around yours (with so many new participants each week, it’s the only way I know to be inclusive
6. Have fun

October 2014 - TORONTO ON

• Paint -  John painted our bathrooms last week after we had the new cabinets installed.
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• Pumpkin - flora display at the condo next door.
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• Family - it was Canadian Thanksgiving last week and we had two family dinners.

• Looking Cute - my cousin's daughter getting dressed up.

• Photographer’s Choice - the butterflies are prolific at the moment so I had a lot of photos to choose from.
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