Archive for the ‘Toronto’ Category

  • The Last St. Lawrence Saturday

    Date: 2007.07.07 | Category: Toronto, What's for Dinner? | Response: 2

    Or at least the last one for a good long while.  I love the St. Lawrence Market. It is pure foodie heaven.  Some people love going there for the ready-made food and I have to admit they have darned tasty vendors. I desperately love the veal sandwich from the Italian place.  And the Chinese place has awesome bbq pork.  And there’s a deli that makes a mean pastrami on rye.

    I had to start off my excursion with breakfast today though. I walked down Jarvis to get there and grabbed 1/2 pint of fresh Ontario raspberries as I walked by the North Market. Then I tromped downstairs to the Stonemill Bakery to grab an almond croissant. And to the Everyday Gourmet for the best, and possibly cheapest, cappuccino downtown. Of course I had to go outside and sit at one of the picnic tables.  Mmmmmmmmm

    Mostly I love the market more for the yummy things I can take home and prepare. There’s very little you cannot find at the St. Lawrence Market. It’s been my go-to place for a tasty home cooked meal.

    I can never pass up Scheffler’s Deli.  I’ve bought the vast majority of my cheese there over the last couple of years.  Piper is developing a very extensive cheese palate. I’m moving on Tuesday so it should have been just a trip in and out but somehow I left with three different types of cheese (yes, I will be travelling back to Montreal with a cooler, lol).  Who can turn down 1000 day old Gouda? Or Gouda with jalapenos? Or a wedge of Leerdammer Dutch cheese?  Apparently not me.

    And of course I had to pick up a fresh bottle of Kozlik’s Amazing Maple mustard. Nothing is better on a bacon sandwich (especially if you use maple bacon…mmmmmmmm).

    And then I had to decide on what to make for dinner tonight.  Witteveen’s Meats are always very tempting and there bourbon beef kabobs can’t be beat, but I’ve got limited cookware.  I’d have loved to have make wasabi crusted tuna but again, limited cooking.  So fresh pasta from St. Lawrence Ice Cream and Pizza with some of their yummy combo pasta sauce (alfredo, pesto and I think marinara all combined).

    I also gave myself one last treat. I’ve looked at the jewelry that local artists make and I bought myself a necklace as a little moving away gift.

    As I walked back to the streetcar I couldn’t resist stopping for more fresh raspberries to eat for dessert tonight. Yum!

  • Recycling

    Date: 2007.04.04 | Category: Toronto | Response: 2

    Toronto is considering progressive garbage fees to try to get people to generate less garbage and recycle more.

    Gee…maybe if recycling was collected more than every other week people would actually recycle more? Because we all have so much room in our apartments and condos and houses to store it right?  Or I don’t know…maybe make recycling in condos and apt buildings mandatory?

    But what do I know? I’m just a taxpayer.

  • In case you needed more proof

    Date: 2006.12.04 | Category: Toronto | Response: 1

    In case you needed more proof that Canadians are insane I give you:

    Toronto Santa Speedo Run

    Be sure to check out the pictures. Notice the snow on the ground?

    Projected temperature for this comming weekend? Between -4C and 1C.

  • People on the TTC

    Date: 2006.08.26 | Category: Toronto | Response: 4

    In a city of 4.5 million people I’m bound to encounter some weird things. Especially since I use public transit. The TTC is nothing if not interesting some days.

    Like yesterday. I get on the subway and take a seat. I notice that the middle-aged man across from me is slouching oddly. Whatever. He’s probably tired. Who’s not? Then a couple of stops later I notice movement. From his sweater. His rather misshapen man boob is MOVING. Then there is something grey and furry coming out of this shirt!

    WTF?!?!?!

    I’m on a subway. Grey + furry immediately brings to mind a RAT. My body is getting ready to transport me very quickly to the other end of the subway when I realize it’s not a rat.

    It’s a little bunny.

    The man had a bunny in his sweater. His weird man boob was actually a bunny.

    That was far preferable to the trip home last night. I was in a subway car, and then a bus with a HERD, yes a HERD of semi-drunk (or in some cases, really damned drunk) teens. I would guess their ages to be about 16. Maybe 17. And by herd I mean at least 20 of them. They were very loud. And annoying. And loud. And I was stuck with them for about 25 minutes. It was not fun.

    I’ll take the bunny man boob over drunk teens any day.

  • AIDS

    Date: 2006.08.14 | Category: Toronto | Response: 0

    The 16th annual International AIDS Conference commenced in Toronto yesterday.

    CBC News In Depth: AIDS

    Conference Diary 

    Put power in the hands of women

    CTV article on it opening without Harper (further proof that he SUCKS)

    Canoe article about women and aids (with links to other Canoe stories such as Where Was Harper?)

    Michaelle-Jean’s opening speech (I like her as GG I must say)

    The Official Conference Website

    If I have time today I’m going to search for audio of the keynote address by Melinda Gates (she and dear ole Bill donated half a billion bucks to AIDS research this year). From the snipets I’ve heard on the radio it sounds quite good.  I wouldn’t mind getting audio of Michele-Jean either.

    If anyone else finds audio please let me know.

    Technorati Tags: AIDS, Toronto, International AIDS Conference

  • Toronto Island

    Date: 2006.08.11 | Category: Photos, Toronto | Response: 7

    So last week I went to Toronto Island with one of my coworkers. He actually lived on the Island when he was a kid. There are still people who live there but the community has been downsized. Here’s some pictures.


  • Full

    Date: 2006.08.11 | Category: Toronto | Response: 0

    I made a yummy, yummy dinner. Chicken fajitas made with some of my butchers cilantro-lime marinated chicken. YUM! The Mexican rice didn’t turn out so well (so I won’t subject you guys to that recipe).

    But the winner of the night was Maria’s guacamole. I need to play around with proportions a it but mmmmmmm it was tasty.

    I hadn’t tried making guacamole in my mini food processor before. I give it two thumbs up!

    Actually the guacamole was so tasty I ruined my appetite snacking on it.  Tee-hee! Oops!

  • My butt hurts!

    Date: 2006.08.05 | Category: Toronto | Response: 0

    Today I went biking on the Toronto Islands with a coworker who is in town for the long weekend/short vacation. I’ve only been on a bike once in the last 10 years (or quite possibly longer). I spent the better part of 3.5 hours on one today.  My butt hurts! Actually my back is a bit achey as well. But I probably saw a lot more than if I had gone on my own since he used to live on the island (back when it used to have more inhabitants and schools and stuff).

    I did pretty good at not getting a sunburn. I have a ring around my neck because that’s the one place I didn’t really reapply (not on purpose of course). It kinda adds new meaning to ring around the collar.  I did at least remember to reapply sunscreen to my ears (I had ummm some-degree of burn on them right after high school – what ever degree blisters???).

    The islands were interesting. It’s odd to think of people living in an area where they can’t have cars (essential vehicles only on the islands).  The entire island isn’t inhabited, just a few sections. Most people appear to get around by bike. And there are no stores on the island either! If you forget or run out of milk or toilet paper you’re screwed!

    You have to ferry over to them which is cool. I love ferries!
    I’ll upload some pictures soon. :)

  • Heat wave

    Date: 2006.07.31 | Category: Toronto | Response: 1

    So…we’re having another heat wave here.  And like every other heat wave they keep talking about energy usage.  And how we’re getting close to setting another “consumption” record.

    Now maybe it’s just me but I have to wonder if they are challenging us.  Yes, I know it’s important that we try to conserve energy. I get it. Really I do.  And I often feel bad about having the lights on all day but I live in a basement and it’s lights or tripping over everything and going blind from trying to read in the dark.

    And I know that there are stupid people out there. Like the store owners that have the a/c cranked and their door wide open.  It makes me scream internally when I see those stores. I don’t shop in them.

    But yes, every time I hear them talk about how TODAY MIGHT BE A RECORD I feel like they are challenging me.  And I’m tired of hearing it every darned day.  It’s hot. We use a lot of energy. I get it.   How about talking about tips to REDUCE energy consumption along with those warnings.

    (All that being said I really don’t find it that bad. I don’t have a/c. In fact, I haven’t even used a fan this summer, except to help dry my laundry when the dryer was broken. I may be some type of mutant…)

  • Need more beer

    Date: 2006.07.28 | Category: Toronto | Response: 4

    I do…really. Tonight was a serious drinking night and I only had two pints. I wish I had some beer at home. Oh well.

    I do feel much more destressed. Coming home to find the evil vile landlords doing laundy and the laundry room smelling suspiciously like MY LAUNDRY DETERGENT didn’t even piss me off that much. I just took my laundry detergent into my apartment and said they were jackasses (not to them but to the boys who stopped by b/c Jony was borrowing a book). Why so calm??? Because after Tuesday or Wednesday they won’t be my problem anymore!!! Woohoo! (Well…mostly…I foresee them leaving a PILE of trash to be cleaned up and take to the curb).

    Anyway, tonight I wandered through part of the Beaches Jazz Fest. We didn’t get in very far. Didn’t even make it as far as Kew. On the way there we stopped at Murphy’s Law for a pint and some food. After that we wandered through the first part of the Jazz Fest. It was pretty busy.

    We stopped for a bit by the Firkin and listened to a cool band. Kit-Cat loves Firkins (at least she told me that if she ever comes to visit she wants to go to one) so I took this shot for her.

    Then we went to Lion on the Beach and had another point. I’ve gone there for brunch a few times. I’ll never understand why pubs thing that carpeting is a good idea…the place smelled a bit funky. But it has decent food and cold beer so it’s not all bad.

    And really what’s a trip to the jazz fest without stopping at Vespa in the Beach???

    They had the nicest green and white second hand Vespa. It was all vintage and soooooooooo me. Only $5000. Unfortunately I don’t have a spare $5K lying around to buy a vespa. But ummm…yeah. it was really me… The boys even said so. I like Vespa. They are little and just um me. Maybe someday…

    And then it was time to go home. Ohh I didn’t get pictures but there were LOTS of firemen. *le sigh*

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