Self-Isolation Week 27

 Weekend Cooking is now hosted by Marg at The Intrepid Reader!

Sunday Salon
Seasons

September 2020 - Toronto ON

AROUND TOWN

Surge in cases means Ontario won’t change COVID-19 restrictions for at least a month.

Weekend Roundup Letter K

Thursday Art Date

T for Tuesday

Tuesday Treasures from last week's outing to Yorkville

Monday Mural from last week on Danforth

The weekend was the usual, no outings just enjoying ourselves at home. Monday was Labour Day so most things were closed.

New towels and diffuser.

Weekend traffic going into the city east bound. Lake Shore is closed for pedestrian social distancing, running, biking and walking.

What we don't understand is where are they going?? In "normal" times there would be sports events, concerts, theatre, weddings, parties, street festivals, indoor restaurants etc. But now??? No gatherings bigger than 50 and that is a max not a goal. 

Tuesday John did a Costco run using the 2X$100 gift cards I had gotten with points.

Then he headed off for some dental surgery and I waited for Best Buy guys to show up and assemble this work of art. In thinking about it we are going to turn it around towards the other wall. That bench folds up.

I had to text this photo to my BFF to show that our favourite lunch spot is finally opened.

While I was looking for a new mural (not yet found) I came across this. I'm just east of Yonge St. south of College.

Tucked away behind a building.

The old Dominion Bank Building at 380 Yonge Street, on the southwest corner of Yonge and Gerrard Streets is one of the most elegant banks ever built in Toronto. It was designed in 1930 by John M. Lyle, who championed the beaux arts style. During past decades, his work enhanced many a street corner in Toronto. The Dominion Bank at Yonge and Gerrard survived for years as the “Elephant and Castle Pub.” 

Alas  it is now a cannabis shop.

In behind Yonge again, mural on back of a Ryerson University building.

The early stages of construction are prepping the site of what will soon be one of Canada's tallest buildings 85 stories, coming to the corner of Yonge and Gerrard (I'm in the laneway running parallel to Yonge).

Yonge Street Mission photo taken 2019.

John's replacement putting green arrived.

Thursday looked like this when we got up.

We decided to go to Yorkville in the afternoon. John hasn't been there since the winter, pre-Covid.

A cool looking barbershop.

I posted this mural a couple of weeks ago, this was John's first time seeing the new installation.

The weather was sweater weather for the most part unless the sun popped out.

Over to Charles St. for ice cream!

This was a new mural in 2019, showing the relationship between Frankfurt and Toronto in the glasses.

And Nani's ice cream is next door.

We both had the green grapes, it was okay but I wouldn't repeat it. My second choice was ricotta and pear, delicious!

John had to grapes too and the chocolate and orange which was fabulous.

Walking down Yonge St.

WHAAAAAAAAT? Our longtime pizza place since the early 90s is gone!!! It was called Olympic 76 and had been around since 1976, the year of the Montreal Olympics.

We often drove over from our old house to pick it up. I first went here (it was actually across the street in 1991) as part of a work lunch. 

Across the street is also under the condo hammer.

I headed to the AGO Art Gallery of Ontario on Friday morning. My timed entry tickets were for 10:30.

Across the street as I waited to enter.

This is what I wanted to see.

Dropped in here. Love social distancing! No one around me.

I don't usually see these rooms without people.

WIP

Back on Dundas.

Finally reopened after major renovations.

Cut into Kensington Market as I thought I would get some fish, but there was a lineup.

Home.

COOKING

My last two batches of pancakes have been a flop using my trusty Betty Crocker recipe so I decided to go to the horse's mouth and use the GFJules flour recipe since that is what I was using and it worked out well.

Saturday is usually a quick and easy dinner. I had chicken thighs and needed to use up some mushrooms, so I tried this recipe along with mashed carrots,broccolini and potatoes. 

The mushroom gravy was so good I added it to my recipe box.

The chicken, however, was a massive fail and it failed to cook all the way through, even though it was on for twice as long as the recipe said and I even put it back on when we discovered it. 

Sunday was pork belly with sticky sesame cauliflower. It was a good recipe but not enough sauce and I'm not sure you need the flour coating. I found another recipe that just roasted the cauliflower for ten minutes, flip and leave for another ten minutes. 

The batter was very thick, I should have added a little more milk. Someone suggested lime juice in the sauce.

Monday I made a chicken soup from homemade frozen broth, chopped some carrots and celery, added the chicken from Saturday, some frozen rice and the end of a bag of corn along with Saturday's spoonful of leftover mashed vegetables.

I don't think the upper oven (convection) is working properly. The fan is noisy and things are taking way longer to cook than normal, as in the chicken above and a few other things.

I had made cauliflower potato au gratin on Friday and the potatoes were still hard even though I had deliberately put them in earlier because I feel it is taking longer to cook.

So those leftovers went into a soup today as well with some celery and a small piece of the cauliflower that was sitting with no purpose.

Since John had dental surgery on Tuesday and is on soft foods for a while he has finished the soups above and I made a tomato soup on Wednesday.

I had salmon with lemon butter on Tuesday.

Wednesday I made colcannon without onions and a fried egg for both of us.

Thursday I had a chicken thigh and leg with mashed potatoes and tomatoes while John finished the colcannon.

Friday pasta carbonara, sticking to a soft food.

READING/WATCHING

AGO Toronto - September 2020

I came across this book, Umami, while looking for another with the same name so I thought I would borrow it and flip through it. It is very scientific so I just skimmed it. The section on MSG and "Chinese restaurant syndrome" was especially interesting.

I am reading Atwood's The Testaments which is quite enjoyable. BUT it is not The Handmaid's Tale. 

There are three storytellers. Agnes Jemina, brought up in a commander's household in Gilead; the infamous Aunt Lydia and her villainous ways and finally Daisy, living in Canada with her parents - but with a secret identity.

Aunt Lydia's story is the most interesting.