Friday in

One night together alone.  That's all Conrad and I were getting in between trips.  Van and I got back on Thursday in time for all of us to have pizza.  Tonight Van and I are off to see Odesza in concert.  Conrad heads to Chicago tomorrow morning.  So last night was it for us.

I think we did a good job of making the most of it.

Mid-afternoon we headed to Bristol Farms to pick up some groceries.  I got us an assortment of seafood, mostly shellfish, and a few other things.  Once back home, I set to work on making a pumpkin seed sauce in the style of a pipian, seared some wedges of pattypan squash, and made a little fresh corn salsa.  I cooked the seafood directly in the sauce, then distributed it and the squash along with the sauce into two bowls.  I garnished each with some corn salsa.  Dinner!

Oh, and Last Words.  You know us!

A nice evening, smiles all around.  We added on some wine, and that was a little indulgent, I would admit.  We ended up sleeping a little later this morning, but we went for a nice little walk and our usual Amara breakfast. 

Hooray!

And now it's almost a week apart for us.  The summer travel is kicking into gear.  Here's to a lovely summer ahead!

36-ish hours in the homeland

Prior to this past Sunday, I had been up to Canada once - only once - since the end of 2019.  I have now doubled that number.  Yes, two whole visits to the homeland in 3.5 years.  It's just so odd for me to realize that.

Conrad and I, as long time (ha!) readers of this blog may know, have owned a condo in Vancouver since 2007. 

We used it as a second home, a vacation retreat for a number of years, but in 2019, we were forced to rent it out to long-term tenants or else be liable for the empty homes tax.  For almost 4 years now, we have not used the condo ourselves, and after all this time, we decided we no longer wanted to hold onto it.  Accordingly, we recently began working with a realtor up there, and this past weekend we met her in person at the condo.  The sale will move forward.

That was the reason for this most recent visit:  business.  Oh, we squeezed in other things as well.  But we kept ourselves to 36 hours up there, that's all.  I have work obligations, and the hotel room rates are TERRIBLE.  Cruise ship season, right?

We flew in on Sunday afternoon and got ourselves settled into the hotel.  A little spartan, perhaps, but nice enough. 

Conveniently located downtown, so we appreciated that. 

After unpacking and refreshing, we met our friends Steven and Jenny for dinner.  I didn't photograph the food, no - it was almost secondary to us enjoying catching up with them after so long without seeing them.  After the dinner, we went out walking past the Pan Pacific and Canada Place and on down into Coal Harbour,

getting some gelato, admiring the views as the sun went down. 

So good seeing them again.

Conrad had a Monday meeting, so I set out on foot toward Stanley Park,

delighting in a fine summer morning before it was time to get to our meetings related to the condo sale.  Ah, the condo.  First time in almost four years seeing it, and it breaks my heart a little.  It's not our home, it's the tenants' home, but I wish we could reclaim it and spruce it back up and use it again.  Alas.

Conrad and I fit in a short swim after that, then met Marie for a drink at the club before the three of us headed to Chambar to meet Chris and Allister for dinner. 

I had only ever been to Chambar once, and I recall not being that into it (it was a brunch, it was ok).  I really liked our dinner, though.  We were able to have a nice chat with the bartender before heading to our table, and he gave us some insights into the gins.  That shaped my ordering, and I had a Rolling Tide (a seashore-forward martini garnished with nori)

and then a cocktail he made using the salal-infused gin. 

We shared charcuterie,

I had a bit tub of mussels with fries (and we had some thick, toasted slices of sourdough, too),

and then I ordered the cheeses

for dessert simply because I knew Conrad wanted someone to share them with him.  I was already full.  I wanted Marie's pavlova instead. 

No matter.  We dined plenty well, believe me!

Conrad and I got out on foot again on the Tuesday morning - we had plenty of time before our departure.  We also had another short swim, and oh man oh man, my muscles hate me for not swimming more often.  Packing, airport, delay, home.

36-ish hours visiting Vancouver.  We'll next be up that way for Labour Day weekend.  I can't wait.

things happened in the past month: mussels

Back and forth I go with this blog. Hot and cold. Name your opposites.

I've had a couple of worthwhile conversations recently with friends. Should I blog, should I not. The blog will always be here, whether or not I blog. It's a durable record. Yes yes, "always" is an exaggeration. But the point is, I can return to this so long as Google lets me. And I think it will for a while to come.

The other point that was mentioned to me was that it's a good thing to get down my personal thoughts on how various experiences were. The recent Aruba trip (to be blogged) is a case in point: I have photos on Flickr and I've sent a note to my colleagues (it was a work trip), but I haven't spoken about how the trip was for me personally.

In other words, stay tuned.

So let me blog a bit this week while Conrad is out of town. Things I've done since mid-March. And there have been a few things. Starting small, then...

March was unseasonably (and to many, delightfully) warm. Temperatures hit the upper 70s and low 80s on several days. And restaurants set up outdoor seating. For all that I'm not actually tickled by the relative absence of winter, I do enjoy sitting outside for a nice meal. That in mind, Jeff (our neighbour) and I headed over to Hearty for all-you-can-eat mussels night.

First off: great price.

Second: tasty beer.

Third: Jeff kicked my butt, something like 6 servings to 4.

Fourth: good fries. And mussels.

Fifth: the dessert overpromised and underdelivered. Really tough and dry monkey bread and in bad need of that sauce. Good sauce, though!

So yes, I (we) have been dining out quite nicely in the past month. My waistline bears testimony to that. Thank goodness for running!

this week on the balcony

Readers - all three of you - I am lazy. It has been said before, and I have just restated it. And here: I am lazy.

Summer brings it out in my. That's my excuse this week. OK to stick with it until October and the start of Christmas music season?

How lazy? Monday I prevailed on Conrad to pick up sushi for us. Tuesday? Cornish game hens.




Yesterday was a one pot/one bowl dish: mussels. I made a salty, peppery, saffron-y tomato and fennel broth and cooked the mussels and some vegetables in that. We had a bottle of a Portuguese white wine, and followed it all with mixed nuts for dessert.
Lovely lovely evening outside.

Tonight? Also simple. I sliced up pre-made chicken (turkey? Wow, I really am getting absent-minded) sausage and tossed it with tomato, fennel, shallots, red pepper, seasonings. Baked it all at a high temperature in a parcel of parchment (secured with foil). Served it with a bit of corn and very simple salad.

Martinis to sip. Heaven out on the balcony, though a little cold.

Dessert? Swedish fish that TK sent to Conrad.

;-)

Saturday night will be date night at home, and I will try harder then, I swear. Let's hope the weather holds out well enough for another evening on the balcony!

these are two of my favourite things

I actually had it in mind to cook scallops for Tuesday night dinner. Season them, sear them. Serve them with rapini, some other things.

Darn them for being a not very good price.

No matter. There are many things I love greatly when it comes to food. Rapini is one. It's right up there with asparagus in the pantheon of vegetables I enjoy. Oh, and parsnips. And fava beans. I'll stop.

I ended up picking up some mussels. I do like scallops for the way they take a sear, but mussels are about the easiest thing imaginable to cook ever. Conrad likes them, too, so we were good to go.

I gently sauteed diced red onion, garlic, red pepper, salt, pepper, and saffron. When is was softened, I turned up the heat and added sherry (note to self: buy more sherry). Reduced that a little, then added chicken broth. Brought it to a fast simmer and added in the mussels. Simplicity.



I was pleased. Conrad was pleased. All in all, perhaps not an expected combination, serving the mussels (a Spanish hint to them) and rapini (more Italian), but it worked well for us. Cookies aside, I haven't been very pleased with my cooking lately. This was a step back in the right direction for one night.

red curry mussels

While the handsome other guy handles the dishes (not too many, so no sympathy for him!), a quick Friday night note. We've been having a nice dinner:

• gin martinis
• salted mixed nuts
• mussels steamed in a red curry sauce
• Oregon Pinot Blanc
• brown butter mango tart

You know, I really do cook well once in a while. The mussels were wonderful. The only improvement would have been a bit of bread or white rice. Yum Good stuff.



A short post - we're cracking ourselves up with season 2 of Big Bang Theory. Night!

return dinner: mussels

We had NO groceries in the fridge when we got home Monday night. No, scratch that: Tuesday morning. 2:00 AM almost when we got in the door. Jewel may be open at that time, but we're decidedly not buying proteins from there, thank you. So then, it was off to Whole Foods on the way home from work yesterday, and a need to make up a reasonably quick dinner. Not long after we got home, I had a couple of bowls of mussels in a thick tomato, saffron, and basil sauce set out before us. Ah, for the days when we used to mop up meals like this with good, tasty bread.

A nice meal with a French rose and a handsome man out on the balcony!

bouillabaisse and rhubarb cake

I'm kind of knackered here, so this will hardly be the most graceful prose I've committed to blog.

We haven't seen Frank much lately, so we grabbed an opportunity to dine with him tonight and ran with it. No sooner was I home from breakfast/groceries at Whole Foods than it was into the kitchen with me, baking up a rhubarb and anise upside down cake.
First attempt at the recipe, but I think it's a keeper. Not at all difficult to make, and ultimately fragrant and tasty.


All in all, it was an easy dinner to prepare for. I didn't have a lot to do in the kitchen, and that gave me plenty of time to tidy up around the place and get the table set for the three of us.


Frank came by at around 7, bearing gifts of cheeses from Pastoral. This was a little wicked of him, especially the Spanish blue, and we could have really spoiled our appetites badly just by munching all the cheese before dinner. As it was, we tucked in without too much difficulty. Bouillabaise tonight, or, at least, a simplified version. None of this buying $150 of fish and shellfish just to boil the carcasses and shells down into a stock. Clam juice was the base, and it turned out quite fine. We had had some Seresin Sauvignon Blanc with the cheeses, and we opted for the Seresin Tatou Pinot Noir with the meal. Both were lovely, especially the Pinot Noir (ah, to have the Marama Sauvignon Blanc again...).

Frank digs in.


I was pleased with the dinner. The seafood was not overcooked. The mussels were especially plump and good.I followed it up with a simple salad, and we polished off most of the rest of the cheese before dessert.

Ah, dessert. Upside down cakes rock. I'm not fond of the dry cake/syrupy pineapple things in a square pan that are a rare recollection from childhood. Oh, I'll eat them, but they aren't that remarkable. The plum cardamom upside down cake recipe I have is much better, if a bit sloppy. This is a good alternative for spring. I think I may make it again when Bradley and Dan come for dinner on Tuesday. Ooo, and we can take some to Rachel's tomorrow!

Served warm with a generous dollop of whipped cream - mmmmm.

Vermilion

In fact, there are some good things about being away from our neighbourhood. Goodness knows that we are huge fans of Yoshi's (and we did have brunch there today), but it is good for us to try other restaurants as well. Have some good new food and experiences, and in the process, we learn not to take the familiar for granted (or so we hope).

Relocated to River North, we pondered our dining options earlier this evening. Thanks to Opentable.com and the opportunity to get 1000 points for a meal, we opted to go one block over to Vermilion. I can't say as I've really heard anything about this place. I don't know anyone who has dined there and told us about it. The menu online looked interesting, though, and the location was terrific for us. We set up a 6:30 dinner.

Let's dispense with the odd, off, or bad. The room seems like it needs a little more something. It's too stark and seems either unplanned or unfinished. Just a little more flourish - flowers on the table, a bit of colour or print in the tablecloths - would do the trick. It was quiet when we arrived save for a loud group of UVa alums in a curtained off area, so we were the objects of overwhelming attention by the waiter. Seriously, we thought it endearing that he would describe so many menu items at such length, but hey, he has to sell us stuff. He deserves a tip. We would have preferred a little less, but we didn't begrudge him it, and overall we thought the waitstaff was quite friendly.

I think we would go back, though. It wasn't the cheapest meal (though not the priciest ever, either), but the menu was loaded with intriguing combos. Some sounded like they shouldn't work (a Latino/Indian fusion), but mostly they did. We'd just like to try some of the other items when we're a little hungrier.

We opted for small plates to share so that we could get a nice variety. I started with a glass of the A to Z Pinot Gris, and Conrad had the first of two glasses of the Mont Gras Carmenere(I had a glass of it after I had the Pinot Gris). The food, then:

Artichoke pakoras with an eggplant chili coconut sauce.Nicely salty, and the little bits of pickled pepper added some good zing.

Blue corn crusted scallops on a kali mirch latin calabasa goat cheese puree.The pakoras were better, but this was quite decent.

Mint-ginger tropical ceviche bejeweled with passionfruit cumin piloncillo.Bejewelled is THEIR description. I didn't detect the passionfruit at all, to be honest, but there was a good amount of seafood included, the cherry peppers were a great accompaniment, and the slivers of ginger were a good touch.

Chili mussels in a coconut cilantro sauce infused with curry leaves and mustard seeds.We should have had some bread or rice. We slurped up the broth directly. Mussels? Who cares?! The broth was terrific!

A side of garlic spinach. Fine, not overwhelmingly garlicky.

Chicken kabab and minced lamb kebab.Served with a carrot and radish salad. The mango and jalapeno chutney drizzled over had some kick. I thought these were a little plain and boring.

Shahi tukra.This is the item that clinched it for us. I told one waiter it needs to come with a privacy screen so that patrons can lick the bowl clean of the saffron and cardamom sauce. Bread studded with pistachio, fried crisp and placed in the sauce. Just superb.

I'm curious now about the entrees we didn't try: the goat, the butter chicken, the tamarind-glazed ribs among others. I hope we get back there one day, and when they do, that dessert darn well better be on the menu still!