Sunday, July 29, 2012

Holidays

A few shots from our holiday.


A palm tree made from shells



Storm across the Gulf of Mexico but beautiful on our side





Looks like Hemingway at the bar.


Sunday, July 22, 2012

The Ice Cream Chronicles - Cite aux Glaces

Yesterday, the wee man and I started our ice cream chronicles. We went to Cite aux Glaces at the Atwater Market next to the Lachine Canal.


Apparently, there is the same ice cream shop at the Jean Talon Market that has lots more flavors than the one at Atwater Market. We only had the following flavors to choose from:

 - Dulce de Leche
- Chocolat Noir
- Creme Brule a l'erable
- Vanille
- Pistache

There were quite a number of sorbets, but we wanted ice cream. I took the creme brule a l'erable and the wee man had dulce de leche. And the verdict is - both disappointed. I had heard such good things about both of these flavors, but neither one of us finished our cones. We found the dulce de leche to be wayyyyy too sweet. The wee man said he felt that after a few licks he was eating cookie dough (and not in a good way). I found the creme brule to have a bitter after taste even though the initial taste was sweet.



I'm just not sure that we picked the right flavors to say outright that we give it two thumbs down. So, we will go back this weekend and try again. This time I will choose either the vanille or the pistache. The wee man wants to try the mango sorbet. I wasn't going to include sorbets in our taste test, but why not? Bilbouquet in Westmount has a killer mango sorbet so we have something to compare it against.

To make up for the disappointing ice cream tasting, we went boating on the Lachine Canal. That was probably the best part of it.

Monday, July 16, 2012

The Best Lobster Rolls


I'm not a huge lobster fan, but I have a weakness when lobster is mixed up with a little butter, a little mayonnaise, some salt and pepper and put on a toasted hot dog bun, otherwise known as the lobster roll.

The only problem is that most places away from the ocean believe in death by mayonnaise, which makes me crazy. You can't taste the lobster at all. And isn't that the whole point of a lobster roll?



Then last summer we found, quite by accident, MuvBox. It's a shipping container that becomes home to one of the best lobster roll take out places I have found this side of New England for the months of May - Sept.



The perfectly toasted hot dog bun loaded with tons of lobster that is light on mayo and has just enough butter. And all for the grand price of $10.95 (it went up a $1 this summer). Match it with their not too shabby clam chowder made with chop clams and bacon and it's a great meal. It's just missing the chilled bottle of Chardonnay.

Sunday, July 15, 2012

I'd forgotten how much I like weddings


The husband's younger brother was married yesterday in a vineyard in Ste. Dorothee.


The temp was 35C but there was a breeze and it really didn't feel that hot.

His daughters.


His daughter, Gabrielle, about to play the love theme from Romeo and Juliette on her violin.

 The groom



Friday, July 13, 2012

Ice Cream


My whole family loves ice cream. I adore ice cream, and being lactose intolerant doesn't stop me. I am willing to put up with a little discomfort for that dish of creamy goodness.

When we travel, one of the first places we seek out is the ice cream parlor, especially in Maine and Massachusetts where they have the most amazing flavors. Who can resist a flavor called Moose Paws? I especially love blueberry ice cream from Maine. And grapenut, which is not so easy to find anymore.

Last summer when we went to Florida we found a couple of really good ice cream shops and visited on several occasions. But since we spend the majority of our summer in Montreal, I thought it might be a good idea to expand our repertoire away from our local neighborhood ice cream shops, especially since there are some really interesting places opening up with intriguing flavors.

I suggested to the men that we try a different place in a different neighborhood every week. So this is the list, more of less, of the ice cream parlors that we will try this summer. The only rule being that we each have to try a different flavor.

1. Creme Glacee Bo Bec
2. Havre-aux-Glaces
3. Kem CoBa
4. Leo le Glacier
5. Les Givres
6. Cremerie Meu Meu
7. Point G
8 Ripples

And just because they are in our neighborhood we will also re-visit the following:

9. Ben and Jerry's
10. Bilbouquet

Bon Appetit!

Tuesday, July 10, 2012

Summer hats

I love hats, but always feel a little weird wearing one if I'm not at the beach.

My go to beach hat is one with a big floppy brim that I bought at Ogilvy years ago, but I decided to upgrade this year before we leave for Florida. I've sent for this hat from Amazon with SPF +50, hopefully it will arrive this week.


I need to get this one from Tilley for the wee man before we leave. He's so fair the sun is brutal to his skin. The husband also has a Tilley hat, but for some reason he insists on wearing this weird, geeky hat that says Gloucester, Mass. on it. I try to pretend that I'm with someone else when he wears it.


I hope this tastes better than it smells

Yesterday the husband brought home a bottle of Marmite and dared me to try it. I don't know if you've tried it, or like it, but damn it smells bad.



So I let the wee man try it. I took from the spitting noises into the sink he wasn't that crazy about it.



So I stuck to my mojito, which was amazing.

Monday, July 9, 2012

Painting the deck


I decided that I was going to redo our deck this summer. It's a fair size deck that has a painted brick wall (white) and a blue railing. We have a round dining table with a taupe umbrella where we eat on occasion. We used to eat outside more, but I am finding that we now don't eat out so often. It also overlooks our garden that I have worked very hard on this summer. While the colors of the deck are ok, we've never been that keen on it but just didn't know what to do with it.

Then I had the inspiration the deck needed to become a different type of outdoor room. We love to sit outside, so I  thought that it might be good as an outdoor living room. I decided to strip the paint off the brick wall and leave it exposed and paint the deck black and put wicker sofas with lots of greenery. And even put up a gauzy curtain for privacy.

Then I tried stripping the paint off the bricks. The paint comes off fine. The primer, not so much. I am really disappointed as I was hoping that this would work out and I would have an exposed brick wall. I'm not afraid of a little elbow grease, but I just don't think that the primer will come out of the brick. Now I"m not sure what to do. I discussed it with the husband and we will strip the rest of the paint and then prime and possible paint a glossy black. But a black deck and a black wall. I'm not so sure. Especially in winter, it might look very harsh.

I have to decide over the next week or so. Any suggestions are welcome.


Thursday, July 5, 2012

New/old furniture


Don't get me wrong, I love new furniture, but I also love having furniture that has some personal history to it. When friends move I usually find some room in my house for a piece of furniture or a knick knack that keeps the memory of them and I am always reminded that they are not that far away.

The latest piece I have acquired is this old washstand from my friend, Jennifer, who recently moved to Winnipeg. When she had it in her house, she didn't put the back towel rack on it, and I thought at first that I would prefer it without the rack too, but I put it on one day to keep it out of the way and it has grown on me.

The only thing is that the bottom cabinet has a latch to keep it locked and somehow Max has figured out how to open it.