Weekend Cooking

June 2016 - Toronto ON

Saturday was our usual at home day. Still on an organizing kick so I made new labels for the jars and spices in the kitchen, I know, so exciting!!!

I baked these orange blueberry oatmeal squares. They were good when just baked but went very soggy after that. This was a Starbucks copycat recipe. I actually had to throw them out a day later.

Sunday we had planned to have pizza before the theatre but John saw they didn't open until 4 on Sundays so we opted for smoothies at home instead.

I had bought tickets on an impulse for Forever Plaid, it's been around since 1989 but we had never seen it. Very enjoyable.

Here's the promo clip with the performers we saw.

I also found this adorable film version done a few years ago. 

Tuesday we headed to the movies but not at a huge chain with Hollywood blockbusters. We went to the TIFF Lightbox, 

The Toronto International Film Festival has become the launching pad for the best of international, Hollywood and Canadian cinema, and is recognized as the most important film festival after Cannes.In September 2010, they opened TIFF Bell Lightbox, which enabled TIFF to expand to truly become a creative, community and global leader.

We saw High-Rise based on a book I had read a few years ago by J G Ballard. It is set in the mid 70s in England and it was enjoyable but disturbing. 

Here's a clip outlining the history of the Lightbox.

Then it was time to go to the market as I wanted to try a new recipe I had seen on a new TV show called Fish the Dish.. I found several recipes in two episodes that looked delicious. There's a link below to the recipe and I didn't take a photo of our version!! But it is definitely a keeper.

Here is the image from the website. Check out some of the recipes.

The rest of the week passed with the usual mundane activities of daily life. 

I went shopping for some embroidery thread as I had run out on a project and ended up stopping into a couple of places along the way.

I stopped into the CBC Canadian Broadcasting Corporation building.

Discovered they had a free museum dedicated to their TV shows from the 50s and 60s. I never really liked any of their kids' shows.

Then over to the 401 Richmond building which always has different art displays.

401 Richmond is one of five Toronto galleries are presenting a career survey exhibition by pioneering artist-activists Carole Conde and Karl Beveridge. This grassroots initiative will be the artists first large Toronto exhibit since their controversial AGO show in 1976 at the outset of their collaboration. Featuring their staged photography, Public Exposures also examines the scope and influence of their activist collaborations in the areas of artists rights, cultural policy, and labour arts.

This meant I had to investigate the history of these photos.

Oshawa – A History of CAW Local 222 (1982-83) a history of the first major industrial union organized in Canada in 1937, focusing on the role played by women in the union. Oshawa 1938 – 1945 is one section of a large work on the history of Canadian Auto Workers (CAW) (*1) Local 222, whose members work at the General Motors plant in Oshawa, Ontario. It covers the history of the union from its founding in 1937 up to the beginning of the ‘post-industrial’ era in the mid 1980′s. A major focus of the work is the changing role played by women in the workplace and the union.

The section shown here covers the period of the Second World War when married women were first allowed into the plant and women first entered non-traditional jobs on the line. At the end of the war, married women were forced back into the home and single women returned to the traditional jobs in the upholstery and electric wiring departments. The series also focuses on the home as a site of production indicating the double workload faced by these women.

Click here to see the photos.

Click here to read about Linda.

Standing Up (1981) About thirty women had held the picket line at a Radio Shack warehouse in Barrie, a small town an hour north of Toronto. Many of the workers had already crossed the line and returned to work. The strike finally ended when the courts ruled that Radio Shack had bargained in bad faith and forced them to recognize the union. It was one of several strikes in Ontario lead by women. All were notorious for their anti-union activities that focused on the social bias against working women.

Condé and Beveridge started the project about six months after the women had returned to work. They met with nine of the women several times over the winter of 1980-1981 and recorded their stories as a group. The group interaction functioned as a collective memory. As the women spoke they would remind each other of different events and reactions to those events. Each experienced hearing some of the stories for the first time, as there hadn’t been much free time during the strike and it’s immediate aftermath.

Back on the street I spotted this adorable bird house shaped like a food truck called Cheep Eats.

I did make oatmeal raisin cookies on Thursday.

DINNER

Saturday - Chinese ground pork and beans

Sunday - liver, potato, parsnip and carrot mash, fried bacon and onions

Monday - hot Italian sausages, salad and baguette
Tuesday - Macadamia nut crusted swordfish with salad. Definitely a keeper. Next time I would also make the mango salsa.
Wednesday - John normally stays for dinner after golfing but opted to come home so I made a beef stew as it was freezing cold out.
Thursday - leftovers
Friday - steak, onions, peppers and mushrooms garlic bread.

EATING LUNCH AROUND THE WORLD (IN TORONTO)

Vietnam Pho soup at Green Mango Boys Cloverdale
Italy pizza at Olympic Bloor/Yonge

International Burgers at Batch in Financial District

New England Clam chowder at St. Lawrence Market

Chinese General Tao Chicken at Sawtow in Chinatown (Spadina)

Thailand Thai curry soup at Noodles and Co. in TD Centre Financial District (twice)

Mexico tacos at La Carnita John St.
Poland Cafe Polonez cabbage roll, pierogis and potato latkes.
India Aroma buffet
Asian Pork won ton noodle soup
England Afternoon Tea

Fun Friday Favourites 

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