…some colourful Easter goodies from Eataly in Toronto
Before our trip to the ROM a couple of weeks ago we stopped in at Eataly for a bite to eat. The Easter goodies were on display and very tempting but the prices made us think twice. In fact we put the Easter chocolates back when a small bag (about 6 small Easter eggs) weighed in at $12.00. It was feast for the eyes only that day.
Happy Easter to all my Ukrainian friends.
…Friday, July 1st was Canada Day
Friday morning I started the day at the lawn bowling club where we had a fun time with a 4,3,2,1, game of lawn bowling. After a couple of hours we were treated to a BBQ of burgers, hotdogs and salads and of course cake. Everyone was instructed to wear red and white.
After lawn bowling I attended a garden bridge party with another BBQ after the game. Great company and great food. Thanks Mary.
On Saturday I went back down to the art gallery where my show is being held and I welcomed 15 more friends and family members to my exhibit. Another successful day with four more paintings being sold and lots of cards. I have one more week at the gallery starting tomorrow. Here are some of the paintings that have sold.
On Sunday I went to visit a friend to pick up a book and we ended up having lunch together in her lovely backyard. I picked up some yarn from her to pursue a new hobby. I’m going to attempt to do some weaving to add to some of my new art projects. The rest of the weekend is pretty much a blur.
Plans for this week? Not sure but I am going to go back to the gallery on Wednesday with a friend who didn’t have a chance to get there earlier. I don’t need to be there for people to see the show but I’m happy to make the trip for anyone who’d like me to be there. Thanks to all who have already made the trek downtown to see my show. I loved seeing all of you.
Carol
…last Friday a good friend hosted a Ukrainian lunch
Patricia is of Ukrainian descent and loves to share her culture and food favourites with her friends. Last Friday she did just that and asked that we make a donation to a charity of our choice that supports the Ukrainian people.
The table was all decked out with a beautiful table cloth and a wheat sheaf. Before lunch we were treated to kielbasa and slices of buttered rye bread as we got caught up with the comings and going of our lives. This was the first time in over a year that we got together in person.
When we sat at the table we were greeted with a beautiful bowl of homemade borscht, followed by cabbage rolls and pierogies with sour cream and mushroom gravy. The meal was topped off with coffee or tea and poppy seed cake. A lovely meal and all for a good cause.
When I got home I found a charity that was matched dollar for dollar.
If you’d like to donate to an organization that feeds the Ukrainian refugees here is a link for the World Central Kitchen, donations@worldcentralkitchen.org
….bread making
Now that may not be your cup of tea but for me it’s fun and it helps support activities at Montgomery’s Inn (an 1840s-era inn operated as a museum by Toronto Cultural Services at 4709 Dundas St W (at Islington Ave) in Etobicoke, Ontario, 416-394-8113, montinn@toronto.ca.).
Every Tuesday I go to the inn to help prepare the dough for six to seven different types of bread. There are no preservatives in the bread and most of them are made with specific bread flours that are ordered from specialty mills. I’m usually in the kitchen for about 2 1/2 to 3 hours.
On Wednesday I return to the inn where anywhere from four to seven volunteers shape the dough, fire up the outdoor brick oven, prepare two sourdough breads and one or two batches of focaccia. Wednesdays is always a longer day because it takes anywhere from two to three bakes to get all the bread baked and ready for the Farmers’ Market where a another group of volunteers sell the bread. Typically on Wednesday we’re there for five to six hours and lunch is always prepared for us by our ‘boss’ who makes some of the most amazing meals from scratch (homemade soups and stews, sausages with homemade buns, pasta and salads, baked beans, etc.).
This week I took some photos of our beautiful and delicious bread.
….crazy weather didn’t keep us from baking outdoors this week
A couple of weeks ago the weather forecast was dismissal so the Farmers’ Market was cancelled. A lot of vendors come from out of town so with their safety in mind calls were made and notices went out to the community that Montgomery’s Inn would be closed for the market.
This week the weather looked grim again but we went ahead and prepped for the market. On Tuesday morning the snow was coming down pretty heavily so I opted to forgo driving to the Inn. Luckily three of the other bakers braved the snowy roads and prepared a smaller batch of dough than normal. Instead of 7 breads they prepped for 4. The turnout to the market has been down this winter because of bad weather so the decision was made to make less and hopefully have less waste. Not that the bread is wasted. In the end whatever doesn’t sell goes into the freezer or is given away to the other vendors.
On Wednesday the sky didn’t look promising but I drove to the Inn to join my colleagues and get ready for the market. Everyone showed up so I was in charge of making lunch. All the ingredients for a homemade lentil soup had been bought so I started preparing the onions, carrots and celery. It’s a pretty basic soup and the lentils don’t need to be soaked ahead of time. I added a small diced smoked sausage, about a cup of tomato sauce and some leftover mashed potatoes along with the broth and water. Then I let it simmer for a couple of hours and before serving I seasoned it with salt, pepper, basil and thyme. It turned out to be a very hearty soup. Perfect on a cold winter day.
Getting the wood oven to heat up turned out to be a bit of a challenge this week. Since the oven hadn’t been used in two weeks it was ‘stone cold’ and it took quite a while to get the inside up to temperature. When it finally did reach the desired temperature the snow and the winds picked up and we had to proceed with putting the loaves in the oven during the worst part of the day. We decided to score the bread inside to keep our stay outside to a minimum.
The bread turned out exceptionally well this week. I don’t know how many people showed up for the market but hopefully the bread sold. At least the vendors and those who showed up had a nice warm fire to cozy up to inside the inn.
…..thanks to Cee for hosting Share Your World
Complete this sentence: I’m looking forward to….
….doing more painting and art projects. I’ve been reorganizing my studio space for the last few months and even though I’m still not finished I have started to work on small projects.
What is your favorite comfort snack food?
My favourite comfort food is anything with carbs but I’m not suppose to eat them too often because when I start I can’t stop. My all time favourite comfort food is pasta.
What was one of your first moneymaking jobs (other than babysitting or newspaper delivery)?
I remember working in my parents’ milk store when I was 14. I did that till I was 16. When the store was held up for a second time and I was working that night my parents gave up the milk business and opened a fabric store.
What inspired you or what did you appreciate this past week? Feel free to use a quote, a photo, a story, or even a combination.
This past week I spent time with a friend who is going through a tough time. I helped her check out nursing homes for her partner and I consoled her on the phone. It made me realize how quickly life can change and how important it is to live life to the fullest. I also spent time with a couple of other friends. With one we went out for lunch together at a really nice restaurant in a hotel and afterwards we walked downtown and browsed around in a few stores. With the second friend we drove to the mall and had lunch and did some shopping for a gift. Then we went to Costco and did our shopping together. We ran into another friend from our teaching days and quickly got caught up with what was happening in our lives. Each moment with all these friends was special in it’s own way.
On Sunday my sister came to visit with her daughter, son-in-law and her baby grandson. She lives about 3 1/2 hours away and she had to cancel a couple of times after Christmas because of weather. I knew that my husband and I had a funeral to attend on Sunday but I didn’t want my Dad to be disappointed again so I didn’t call her back to let her know we wouldn’t be there. Luckily they arrived before we had to leave so in the end we had a short but sweet visit and my father was able to finally take them out for lunch.
At the funeral we were able to reconnect with some of my husbands cousins, got caught up with up was happening in their lives, learned a few things about the family which we didn’t know and promised each other that we wouldn’t wait for the next funeral to get together.
…thanks to Cee for coming up with new questions for Share Your World
What household chore do you absolutely hate doing?
I really do not like cleaning the bathroom, any bathroom but I don’t like a dirty bathroom, either.
At what time in your recent past have you felt most passionate and alive?
I think I feel most passionate and alive when I’m doing things for other people and when I’m celebrating with friends and family. Last summer I never felt more alive when we travelled to Italy with the family to celebrate our son’s and daughter-in-law’s wedding.
How many times have you moved in the last ten years?
I have not moved once in the last ten years. In fact, I haven’t moved in over 38 years. I have, however, moved my father three times in the last two years.
What inspired you or what did you appreciate this past week? Feel free to use a quote, a photo, a story, or even a combination.
This past week I’m grateful for time spent with my friends, Liz and Michele, and my granddaughter, Winnie. I normally travel to Hamilton at least once a week to spend time with my daughter, Gaelan and granddaughter, Winnie. Last week our plans changed slightly and I ended bringing the two of them back to Toronto. We went for a long walk to the library and had dinner together here at the house.
As you know from my recent posts, I made an advent calendar for Winnie and her family. When I picked them up I dropped it off at their house and Gaelan has send me photos of Winnie with some of her gifts. I think it’s been a bit of a challenge for Gaelan to keep Winnie from opening all the gifts in one sitting.
Last week I also spent time with Michele. We met at Sherway Gardens where we did a bit of Christmas shopping together and then I treated Michele to lunch at the Keg to celebrate her birthday that took place earlier in the month. Later in the week, Liz and I drove downtown to the CBC to take part in Sounds of the Season. We lined up to see Tom Power (host of CBC’s Q) and were thrilled to hear Lydia Persaud, Ruth B and Whitehorse perform. After the show we walked over to The Canteen and had a great lunch.
This was also a very important week for our son. The project he has been working on for almost three years has finally come to fruition. In his own words:
Kaboom!!!! 3 years of work, a deep dive into the V&A’s collection of 2.5 million objects, 16 trips to China, working with the dream team of Sam Jacob Studio, with Fraser Muggeridge Studio and Alice Masters, and here it is: A glorious V&A Gallery in Shenzhen, full of strange and wonderful things, materials, and spaces.
…..thank you Cee for four more thought provoking questions
If you had a shelf for your three most special possessions (not including photos, electronic devices and things stored on them, people or animals), what would you put on it?
I don’t own many family heirlooms. My mother was very much a bare bones kind of person when it came to decorating the house. She, herself, didn’t own a lot of special possessions because so much of what they owned was lost in the war so growing up the only things I remember my mother cherishing were her photo albums. When I got married my grandmother gifted me a blue decanter that she managed to save from the bombings and when my mother passed the only thing that I wanted was an old silver serving spoon with the date 1909 stamped on it and the initials WS. The third item would be a collection of things my children made over the years, such as, paintings, photography assignments and hand made toys. 
If you had a box labelled ‘happiness’, what would you put in it?
I would fill it with photos of my family, music, paintings and art supplies and books.
What do you want more of in your life?
I want to travel more, spend more time painting and take classes to learn new art techniques. I also want to spend more time with my family. If I had unlimited resources I would travel with my family and visit my family across the ocean.
Daily Life List: What do you do on an average day? Make a list of your usual activities you do each day.
Bonus question: What are you grateful for from last week, and what are you looking forward to in the week coming up?
I’m grateful for a wonderful day spent with my granddaughter. The weather has been warm and there is no snow and on the weekend I managed to get in 30 000 steps over two days. I’m also pleased that I’ve finished proof-reading report cards. On Sunday I met up with 7 friends from high school and we had a great lunch at a Thai restaurant. Then two days later I went out for Winterlicious and enjoyed a scrumptious dinner of South American fusion food.
I’m looking forward to a quiet weekend. I’m hoping to relax, buy a dress for my daughter’s wedding and clean a small corner of my bedroom. The thing I’m looking most forward to is the wedding which takes place next Wednesday.
…..join the fun and Share Your World with us
What type of music relaxes you the most or do you prefer silence?
Sometimes I need complete silence. Being surrounded by children all day can take it’s toll. I do, however, love music. It can inspire me to paint and motivate me to move but if I need to relax I need, for lack of a better term, ‘spa music’. I know that there is a word for this type of music but i’m having a ‘_________’ moment. Maybe you can fill in the blank or come up with the name I’m looking for.
Show us a two of your favorites photographs? Explain why they are your favorite. If you are not a photographer, think of a two favorite scenes in your life and tell us about them.
This is hard because I’ve taken thousands of photos. I’d probably have to chose recent photos. One that stands out for me was the photo where I was able to capture a water drop coming from a faucet. It’s not a perfect shot but capturing that split second gave me quite a thrill.
Another photo that I like is one that I took yesterday. People were feeding the seagulls down by the lake and there was quite a feeding frenzy. I love being able to catch birds in flight and in this shot a seagull flew in front of my shot just at the right moment.
What is your favorite tradition? (family tradition, church tradition, whatever)
Our favourite family tradition is having everyone over on Christmas Eve. It’s a German tradition that my husband adopted when we were married and one he refuses to give up. My husband prepares food all day long. The menu varies from year to year. We often have mulled wine, a shrimp ring, and a cheese and meat platter. Those are standard items. Some years we’ve had a hearty homemade lentil soup made with a pork hock. One year my daughter brought over Chinese steamed buns and another time my husband made Jamaican roti and a Guiness punch. We nibble all night long and we slowly open gifts. Christmas Day is more low key. Some years when all our children are at the homes of their significant others we order in Chinese food and go out for a movie.
If you could go back and talk to yourself at age 18 what advice would you give yourself? Or if you are younger than 25 what words of wisdom would you like to tell yourself at age 50?
If I could go back to being 18 I would tell myself to listen to and learn from my elders and spend more time with them. I know that sometimes parents say the strangest things and I couldn’t wait to move away from home when I was 18. When I graduated from university I got married right away so I never did live at home again. I would also tell myself to put away a certain amount of money every month and never touch it until retirement. We started doing that but life doesn’t always go as planned and our nest egg disappeared. Luckily I have a very good pension fund as a teacher. I would also tell myself to pay off my credit cards in full every month. The last thing I would tell myself is to never count on an inheritance to feather your own nest. The unexpected can happen and generally people live longer.
Bonus question: What are you grateful for from last week, and what are you looking forward to in the week coming up?
I’m grateful for the long Easter weekend and time spent with my family. My husband made a delicious pork roast and roasted vegetables and homemade cheese biscuits. My youngest daughter made a tasty Caprese salad with homemade mozzarella cheese and my oldest daughter baked a scrumptious plum cake that she served with homemade roibus tea ice-cream. I set the table and made the place setting cards.
This week I’m looking forward to lunch with friends from high school. It will the first time that we’ve all gotten together since the passing of our dear friend Marcia last July. It was because of Marcia that we all reunited in the first place and we vowed that we would continue to see each other at least once a year, if not more often.
Mama Cormier 