What to do in Toronto when it's -17C out

Brazilian friends are visiting Toronto this week and I'm suddenly struck by how much my experience of Toronto revolves around food. The first place I take visitng friends and family is to Ethiopia House for an authentic Ethiopian meal. It's great because it's not just different food, but it's an entirely different dining experience. It's very communal and hands-on and incredibly tasty.

Vegetarian Bayaanatu, Tibs and Kitfo Special

It's always tricky when you order a meal, especially for more than two. You always think it's not going to be enough, and over order. In this case we had far to much food, and couldn't finish it all. Such a waste to throw any of it away, and yet you can really only eat so much...

And then after our meal - the coffee ceremony! It's really a must for first-timers, even if you don't like coffee. Again, it's all about the experience. The coffee ceremony begins with the serving staff bringing roasting coffee beans (in a utensil that looks a bit like a enclosed ladle) to your table and letting the aroma of the roasting beans fill your nostrils. That's as you're eating your meal. After you finish your meal, the servers bring a basket of plain popcorn, and a service tray with the coffee urn and little handle-less cups.

And with the coffee, the servers also bring a pillar with burning frankincense.

After our delightful dinner we pulled out the maps and brochures to see what there is to do in Toronto. And that's when I realised it. Aside from the usual touristy things (CN Tower, ROM, AGO, Casa Loma, etc.), the things I really enjoy about Toronto involve food or eating - whether it's going out to a restaurant, or grocery shopping at the markets (Kensington or St. Lawrence) or specialty stores (Whole Foods). The great thing about Toronto is that there's so much variety. You can find just about any ethnic food you could imagine here, and I've done my best to try as many as possible. But it's a little embarrasing when asked what there is to do in Toronto, and the only thing that comes to mind is eating (and that's after eating an enormous dinner!). Granted, I was talking to Brazilians, and it was -17C outside last night. Even if I came up with something else, it would've meant being outside, and they weren't prepared for that. I'm going to suggest skating when the temperature goes up to -1C.

Weekend Indulgences

1. Waking up early (yes, you heard me - early!) to enjoy a leisurely morning, which this morning meant reading in bed and occasionaly dozing, and then once I actually got up and dressed making a dash to the corner to TimHorton's for a chocolate chip muffin.
2. Listening to CBC radio 1 and taking the time to read through my email and my list of blogs and get caught up, not to mention doing a bit of "window shopping" on eBay and craigslist. - Found nothing of immediate interest.
3. Going to Whole Foods to pick up some grocery items I really don't need and taking advantage of their gourmet samples. Today I picked up the remaining Indian/Nepali spices, as well as a few other things - a baguette to go with the really tasty pesto I bought at WF last week, juice, and some produce.4. Making the time to do a little cooking. I usually do my main cooking on the weekends and freeze several meals for weekdays, or stock the fridge with cooked foods for the rest of the week. Today I finally tackled a recipe from my Nepali cookbook - Kauli Chana ko tarkari or Chickpea Curry. I think the cookbook might have a typo, Kauli is the word used for cauliflower, and according to online sources Kabuli Chana is the word for chickpeas. But who am I to argue... (Note to self: use less chili powder and more cumin next time I make this curry). 5. Enjoying a good meal. Either homemade or take-out. Today I stuck with my grocery purchases and the chickpea curry. (Trying to save a few pennies and I went out with S. to Sun Lok for Chinese last night).
6. Cleaning or purging something - whether it be an overfull laundry basket that needs to be tackled (wash, dry, fold and put away), or some papers that accumulated in a pile over the week. Today I purged my fridge. I got rid of the the spoiled spinach I had put off using, the expired milk and the leftover mouldy tomato sauce that got pushed to the back of the fridge and forgotten. I almost hate to admit it, but I enjoy doing housework on a Saturday. There's something refreshing about it. And I often find I'm too tired and unmotivated to clean during the week (that is, unless I'm procrastinating from doing something else).
7. Relaxing to a good movie at the end of the day. This weekend I rented two: Cape of Good Hope, and Eve and the Firehorse. Tonight I watched the former - Cape of Good Hope - and quite enjoyed it. It was uplifting and thoughtful, but not too heavy. There were several sub-plots that all wove together throughout the movie, that worked with the underlining message: Love connects us all. I laughed and I cried (only a little). The music was excellent too. I think I'm a sucker for movies set in Africa with good music.

8. Staying up late to blog. :)

"Thursday's child has far to go"

My favourite day of the week is Thursday. Now, I don't mean to say that I don't like the other days of the week -- particularly Saturdays and Sundays, of course -- but Thursdays are different. By the time you get to Thursday you've gotten through over half of the week already. You've past Wednesday (aka "hump-day"), and you only have one more day to go before the weekend. The end of the week is near, but there's still time to get work done and finish with a sense of accomplishment. There's a hope and anticipation for the weekend that builds until Friday night when you suddenly realise that the weekend has already started, and you're not ready for it.

Paydays are on Thursdays.

TV is better on Thursdays.
I love Thursdays.

Monday's Child

Monday's child is fair of face,
Tuesday's child is full of grace,

Wednesday's child is full of woe,
Thursday's child has far to go,
Friday's child is loving and giving,
Saturday's child works hard for a living,
But the child that's born on the Sabbath day
Is bonny, blithe, good and gay.

FYI : I'm a Saturday's child.

This post was brought to you by Mrs. Gita Kumari (Lama) Khadgi

I discovered a recipe book at Ten Thousand Villages that I'm really excited about! It's a Nepalese cookbook, published in Nepal by Kumbeshwar Technical School to celebrate their 20th Anniversary.I'm really excited because I love Nepali food, and the recipes look somewhat simple. I haven't tried any yet, but I plan to try at least one this weekend. I have a potluck on Sunday and I want to make something different than my usual (macaroni & tomato, baked beans, etc.). I'm especially interested in trying to make paneer and rice pudding.

So a couple nights ago I made a trip to my local Loblaws for supplies - mostly spices. I needed a lot of spices: aniseed, coriander seeds, cardamom, garam masala, mustard seeds, tandoori masala (not on the list but I bought it anyway, I was on a roll!). And I still need to get: meat masala, fenugreek seeds, horseradish powder, green cardamoms.

I'd post the recipes but all proceeds from the sale of this cookbook go directly to the school. And as per the copyright note, "no part of this publication may be reproduced, stored by any means electronic, mechanical, photocopy or otherwise, without prior permission of Mrs. Gita Kumari Khadgi. "

Hinterland Who's Who

Remember these? I remember them from the 80s, though I think most of them were produced in the 70s. They're informational vignettes about Canadian wildlife and are probably most recognizable by the first few flute notes. Well, I was washing my dishes one evening this week with the TV on in the background and I heard those notes again - the first time in a very long time! They're back! It takes me back to my childhood each time I hear one.

This made me laugh

As I was walking along Bloor on my way to Future's Bakery to meet up with friends, I passed by the Hot Spot Cafe (formerly Shakespeare's Cafe) and noticed something strange. There was a yellow glow coming from it's windows. When I got closer, I noticed that the windows were covered on the inside with yellow tissue paper. My first thought was that the Hot Spot Cafe was closed due to a failed inspection. You see, Shakespeare's Cafe didn't have the best reputation for inspections (they had regular yellow "conditional" passes). I checked for the green PASS sign from Toronto DineSafe. What I found was this notice below. Read it carefully.
Made you look! This is obviously some kind of joke. I suppose the Hot Spot Cafe is closed for renovations or something. The notice made me laugh out loud on the street.

So on I went to Future's to meet up with my friends and to have a slice of their yummy cake.
I should also mention that we're still having unseasonably warm weather for January in Toronto. It's been 8-10 C these last few days, and raining just like it was Spring.

Lacing up again

It's the first day of 2007 and an absolutely gorgeous day! It was about 9 degrees Celcius and sunny (with a few overcast moments) for most of the day. A perfect day for lacing up the skates. Apparently everyone else thought so too. We were not alone at Nathan Phillips Square. The surface of the ice was a bit wet, but if you don't fall it doesn't matter. :)