Deep Freeze

Oh, have I missed the winters in Canada: white, fluffy snow, the joy I feel when the sun reflects off of it brightening up even the coldest day! I can deal with the terrible road conditions, the slush as the snow on the road becomes brown from salting and sanding and I can even say that I LOVE the dryness and cold temperatures-even if that means my skin doesn't and/or I get sick. I know someone, somewhere is GROANING and waving their fist at me! I'm sorry!!! I'm the Canuck who actually LOVES winter!!! Yeah, I can predict the "love" I'm going to get for that statement ;)

Want to giggle??? Jimmy Fallon on the winter situation: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OoV0CAvCi0M

Now, I haven't been home for two winters and I was sooo looking forward to winter 2014-15!!! However, what a surprise I had! January was cold, but something happened in February that I was NOT prepared for: a deep freeze. It felt like temperatures dropped overnight and we went from the minus teens (degrees Celsius) to minus 20-30s (with the windchill), and OHHHHH, MAN was this girl NOT prepared (psychologically). Thank God I was physically prepared: my aunt had bought me hideous pairs of the WARMEST pajamas EVER for Christmas (Thank you, Auntie M!!!), and last fall my wonderful sister invited me to take advantage of the corporate discount she gets at the Columbia outlet store (located near Highbury Ave and the 401), so I was able to feel warmer!!!

In spite of the freezing temperatures, I went out, lol! I attended a benefit for Salthaven Wildlife and Education Centre with some good friends. The event was held at Aroma (a Mediterranean restaurant on Richmond Street): Richhttp://fginternationalcorp.com/. I LOVE the ambiance at this place! However, the food was substandard. I had a nice fish dish with a butter sauce, veggies and rice.

 The chicken dish

My fish dinner

 The vegetarian dinner

 The starter salad

 The program

 I donated a peanut butter chocolate cheesecake to the silent auction, and my "date" for the evening (my friend, and artist, K), donated artwork.

Our host, flanked by us ladies: Jeve, owner of Jeve's Pet Care (and the organizer and host of the evening), artist, K (on Jeve's right), moi and our FAVOURITE yoga instructor (newlywed and newest resident of the USA!!!), J :)

Salthaven is a wonderful rehabilitation and education facility! I enjoyed hearing the story about a rescued Canadian goose who has successfully been reintroduced to the wild! It's a wonderful cause and if you have time, energy or resources, I encourage you to give...Anywhere, really (I personally donate to the Canadian Breast Cancer Foundation). The dinner reminded me of how precious and precarious wildlife is. We deplete natural resources with little to no thought or consideration to how we impact the world around us. It made me realize how little I want to be part of the rat race many of us run today. I digress.

Jeve's Pet Care:

Please also check out Jeve's website! He's had his business for over 8 years! Well-known and loved, I'm all for supporting this local business dedicated to caring for and loving people's pets: http://www.jevespetcare.com/

Salthaven:

If you're interested in learning more about the wonderful things that Salthaven does (and has done), please check them out at: http://www.salthaven.org/home

Now, I also ended up helping a friend of mine while her sister was on vacation. I provided childcare for the three sweetest young boys! No names or information, but only LOTS of love for these three!!! I had a BLAST!!! We read-A LOT! We sang. We baked. We played. We cried-me especially as I learned how different boys toilet training are from girls! We got sick. Oh, yeah. We ALL got sick. We had fun...At least I did!!! We took pictures and did homework. We practiced vocabulary and even did some phonics! It was a blast and I got to feel like I was actually doing something important, something worthwhile. As much as I want to post pics of these three cuties, I won't since they're not my children and I respect that. However, take my word for it: they're adorable!!!

After a week of taking care of three boys-three and under-I welcomed the idea of going out dancing and hanging out with people my age, even if it meant freezing my bum-bum off walking to club from the car!

Braving the cold: Yeeeehaaaaw! We had the dance floor to ourselves!!! RIGHT ON!!!

The bone-chilling weather didn't stop life from going on, and no matter how much I tried to forget the pain of losing my mother, I had to face reality: by early March I had to contend with what would have been my mother's 59th birthday and (on the same day) my father's mother's birthday (she passed away just a year before my mother in a battle against cancer). Thankfully, I had little time to dwell on it as my sister's birthday arrived only a few days later. At her request, we went to 168 Sushi on Oxford Street West. Since I've already blogged about this restaurant, I won't go into any detail. I still like it, but for me, all-you-can-eat buffets are hardly worth the money since I can't eat a lot at one sitting (although I don't stop eating throughout the day! LOL!!!). However, I DO think that if you're a sushi lover and you eat more than 5 nigiri (individual pieces), 4 temaki (hand rolls), or 2-3 maki (log-style rolls), then you're getting your money's worth! One other tip: make a reservation!!! There is usually a loooong line! Many thanks to our very kind waiter! :)

Mid-March proved to be busier than I'd imagined: my father travelled to Japan only days after the Irish chef came to Canada on vacation, my teaching schedule was jam-packed and we had family friends over for dinner (not a big deal when it's just another night, but a big deal when it's in the middle of a hectic schedule).

My sister and I made dinner:

 Appetizers!!!

Beef chow mein, chicken spring rolls, miso soup and salad with sesame dressing. SOOO YUMMY!!! 

Luckily, the warmer weather arrived just as the Irish chef did. He arrived later in the month of March for only a short trip while the students were on term break. Have I told you that? That the Irish chef is teaching in Saudi Arabia? While he was enjoying temperatures in the high 20s to mid 30s, while we just started to see the temps rise just above zero. I made sure I bought him warm clothes and my Aunt had bought him a comfy pair of Roots jogging pants for Christmas that he hadn't yet had the chance to wear. I felt terrible when the cold first hit him...and then hit him and he hadn't recovered even by the end of his trip...Welcome to winter in Canada? :(

His cold, however, didn't stop us from eating!!!

Brunch at Black Friars (http://www.blackfriarsbistro.com/): I'd never had brunch at Black Friars and it was AMAZING!!!  I think it's one of the BEST restaurants in London, and the Irish chef agrees! The brunch menu can be found here: http://www.blackfriarsbistro.com/brunch.html.

 The Irish chef chose an open-faced warm pork sandwich with a variety of mushrooms and jus, complete with a Caesar salad :)

 My dish was warm egg whites over a bed of rice with red Thai curry sauce and fresh papaya, orange, apple and strawberry!!! It was incredible!

My sister chose the apple stack pancakes made with Ontario apples, warm caramel sauce and a dollop of whipped cream on top. It was heavenly.

 My father loves his seafood and opted for a special: shrimp spanakopita

 The Irish chef was in need of some good home cooking and had this dense chocolate cake with Kahlua sauce. It was fantastic and I don't even like chocolate!

My father loves fruit in his dessert. He chose the fruit cobbler and it was sooo yummy!!!

After my father left for Japan, the eating never stopped ;)

Dinner at Mythic Grill (http://www.mythicgrill.ca/) with the Irish chef and my sister:

Appetizer #1: Greek salad

 Appetizer #2: Dolmades

 My sister's favourite: spanakopita, sans shrimp, lol!

 The Irish chef chose a special: sea bass

 My favourite: moussaka!!!

Look at how tall it is!!! LOVE!!!

I always enjoy the food at Mythic Grill and the service is always good, but for some reason, it felt like dinner was lacking this time around. Not sure exactly WHAT it was, but it just wasn't as great as I remembered it. If I'm being totally honest, my best friend's mother's dolmades are MUCH better ;)

I couldn't NOT take the Irish chef out for brunch at the Little Beaver (a favourite of his) and The Church Key:

The floating/rotating buffet, meaning it changes each week. These were the options last weekend

 The Irish chef chose the Mediterranean Seafood Gnocchi

 My breakfast was the Thai "Benedict" Bowl: prior to dumping the "Hollandaise" sauce

After pouring the sauce all over breakfast! YUM!!!

Lastly, my group of friends decided to have a wine and cheese par-tay!!! We showed up with wine, cheese, crackers and Asahi (beer, for the men). Ohhh, man. Was the cheese AMAZING! I picked mine up at Angelo's (http://www.angelosbakery.com/), but my friend and her husband got theirs from a spot very close to the Western Fair grounds and I'm SO SORRY I can't remember the name of the shop ( T_ T )  <<<That's me crying.

 The wine: I brought the one in the front (silver label). It was tasty, but I was driving, so none for me!

I have grown to adore red wine and my favourites are Argentinian and Chilean Malbecs as well as (Argentinian) Mendoza wines! \( ^ - ^ )/

 We brought the Irish Guinness cheddar (we HAD to!), and the Wensleydale with cranberries. The caramelized onion cheddar was to DIE for!!!

 The spread: Ohhhh, yeah!!!

There was brie baked in that bread-warm, gooey brie cheese!

When my partner left, the weather cooled, turned grey and rained, as if it could tell how it felt to see him leave. However, we hope he will NOT return to Saudi Arabia any time soon. We have received some troubling news and, as a family, need to make some changes. Who knows what the future will hold now. Just when I thought I had (some of it) figured out, lol! Not so fast, Mik!