Linking up at Marg at The Intrepid Reader
May 2021 - Toronto ON
Gerrard St. E Toronto ON
The province of Alberta is in a really bad Covid situation, so I suppose we shouldn't complain about our lockdown, as they opened up way too early.
When we were in Paris on May 1 in 2019 lily of the valley was being sold on every street corner.
In France, May 1st is a national holiday – it’s their ‘Labour Day’. One of the ways the French celebrate this holiday is by offering a small bouquet of lily of the valley (“muguet-du-bois”, in French) to loved ones and friends, to symbolise ‘good luck’ and ‘love’. 
Saturday we headed to Hamilton for a fish and chip fix.
The sign looks very retro.
Tuesday we did a quick run to Longo's downtown for items we can't get at Costco.
And then movies on a rainy afternoon with popcorn and licorice.
Wednesday another grey day as we puttered.
Thursday we took a drive for murals and lanes in Cabbagetown.
This place smelled delicious!!! I emailed the Butter Chicken Factory and asked if they were gluten free. They replied immediately that they were gluten free other than their breads!
The houses in this area are just gorgeous and many have historic plaques. I need to go back and wander these streets.
There are many hidden laneways. We needed to park to find some of the lanes as there is a labyrinth behind the houses.
Blurry zoomed photo from the car of this strange guy.
I have seen him on the subway over the years. I snapped this photo of him a few years ago in the financial district.
First ice cream gelato of the season, from Nani's, of course. John had pistachio, strawberry lychee, and espresso.
Nani's mission is to revolutionize gelato flavors by infusing them with Asian & Indian inspiration. And they do a great job of that!
I had Thai green tea and vegan hazelnut.
Our under counter lights arrived, they come with two remotes and they also dim. The ones from Ikea never worked.
I got the balcony cleaned, first cleaning and we put the geraniums outside. I rearranged some plants around the condo. I also emptied the current liquor cabinet and was able to fit everything in the glass cabinets so we can judge how much space we want in a built-in.
I completed the mandatory Canada census online, pretty routine questions. Name, age, sex at birth and sex we now identify with, how much English/French we speak. That was it, kinda odd...
John brought sushi home for lunch!
SOPHISTICATED SHAKERS
We got a head start on Cinco de Mayo this week as went with a Mexican theme - jalapeno margarita.
Ingredients serves 4
¾ cup good tequila¼ to ½ jalapeño pepper, plus extra slices for garnish
¼ cup Grand Marnier
½ cup fresh lime juice, plus lime slices for garnish
¼ cup simple syrup or fresh squeezed orange juice
a few splashes of sparkling water
handful of ice
Instructions
Pour the tequila into a mixing glass or small pitcher. Add the sliced jalapeño, ¼ to ½ of it, depending on how spicy you want your margaritas. Set aside at room temperature for 15 minutes (the longer you let the jalapeños infuse, the spicier it will be).
Make the margaritas by mixing together the jalapeño-infused tequila, Grand Marnier, lime juice and ¼ cup simple syrup or orange juice. Taste. If you’d like a spicier margarita, add more jalapeño and let it it sit a little longer. Pour into glasses and add lime slices and jalapeños for garnish. For a lighter margarita, fill the glasses ½ full and top with sparkling water.
COCKTAIL CIRCUIT - TO DATE
Mai Tai with orgeat which is new to us
Tequila Sunrise
Rob Roy required bitters which we had never bought
New York Sours
Gin Fizz
Rusty Nail
Vodka Sidecar
Vodka Cosmopolitan
Negroni
The Perfect Storm
Boulevardier
Side Car
I forgot to mention that we sampled two of the new bourbons last week.
This week we tried Legent.
WATCHING
I am watching 2021 MasterChef Australia on DailyMotion.
Yotam Ottolenghi was on an episode where he challenged them to use three of his flavour bomb sauces. Ma La Numbing sauce, fenugreek marinade, and chipotle peanuts.
I was really interested in his prawn and lettuce dumplings - I have to try this.
I am really enjoying Conor, Pete and Brent!
Tuesday At the Movies
Without Remorse is a Tom Clancy convoluted conspiracy theory movie with lots of action.
Followed by the weird thriller Wander, another conspiracy theory movie set in the desert of New Mexico.
The Forger 2015 a thriller crime, starring John Travolta and Christopher Plummer. Rotten Tomatoes score of 9% but entertaining in a way.
Thursday evening we watched Escape from Pretoria 2020 which we both enjoyed, John had just finished reading Trevor Noah's book Born a Crime.
COOKING
I had ordered cheeses, Paris ham and pate from Sanagan's for tonight's dinner.
Sunday we made pizza. I also made an apple crisp with apples and frozen cranberries.
Monday slow cooker beef stew with onions, carrots, turnip and celery served with mashed cauliflower, spinach potatoes.
Tuesday fish chowder with salmon, haddock. shrimp and clams. Loosely based on Jamie's recipe, sometimes I add the corn sometimes I don't.
Wednesday Cinco de Mayo
The Mexican Slow Cooker cookbook I mention below also did fajitas in the slow cooker.
Thursday air fryer fried chicken and salad. The chicken turned out really well in the air fryer.
Friday steak (air fryer) and baked potatoes.
LEARNED ONLINE
“My mother taught me to remove tea and coffee stains out of teacups by rubbing them with salt — it’s almost like a little scrub and it works so well! But my favourite all-purpose cleaner is a citrus-infused vinegar. It’s a great no-waste recipe: I put any used orange or lemon peels in a glass carafe and top with white vinegar to infuse for a couple of weeks, then you can strain it, dilute it with water, and put in a spray bottle. It’s a great cleaner for the stove, the fridge, wooden chopping boards, for example. I also use it undiluted with baking soda to clean the taps and sink and it works better than any bought product for shine.” — Emiko Davies, author of Florentine, The True Cuisine of FlorenceBOOKS
On my laptop The Mexican Slow Cooker Cookbook lots of good soups. The book also has a good selection of street food. The tortilla, quesadilla and gordita recipes are gluten free as they use masa flour. I love the sweet gorditas we get with breakfast in Mexico.
I was especially excited to find Sinaloan dried shrimp broth. As she mentions in the book this soup is often served as a free appetizer in restaurants along the Pacific coast. We had this at the Shrimp Bucket in Mazatlan and I would love to make it as a base for a fish soup.
I need to be able to get to the Mexican stores in town to get dried shrimp (I think I can also get it in Chinatown) and authentic cotija cheese.
On my phone When No One is Watching is about racism, social injustice around the theme of gentrification. I did enjoy the characters and the history of Brooklyn, but I wouldn't really call it a thriller until the end.
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