Tuesday, 3 July 2012
Lollygagging in the Market
Do you see the small figure in the red shirt at the top-left of this first picture? That's Nick, carrying our fruits and vegetables home from Kensington Market on Saturday. I caught him in the shot by chance and it makes me laugh. It also gives me a greater understanding as to why he says that I 'lollygag' when we are out and about trying to get things done!
It is true that I am often running to catch up to him, as he patiently waits on a corner. On this particular walk home, I can think of four places along the route home that he stood under the shade of a tree while I caught up. He wasn't mad in spite of the fact that he was carrying some pretty heavy bags, but I know it must get annoying which is why I do hurry to catch up so he doesn't have to wait long.
Sometimes there are mornings that he just wants to get out and get on with things, and knowing I'm not a 'first-thing-in-the-morning' person, he is often ready to go out and do some errands before I'm out of my pjs. These are the times he knows I won't say, 'Just wait a couple of minutes ... I want to come too!'
A quick trip to the market is particularly bad because honestly, there are so many things to look at there. No matter how many times I've been I always see something I didn't notice before. It's so easy to get caught up in the sights and sounds!
Anyway, back to the word 'lollygagging'. It's not a common term and being a lover of words, got me interested. I wondered if it was a new word or an old one. Since any word uttered by man can nowadays be found on some dictionary or another on the web, I first wanted to see if this was a legitimate enough word to find in our hard-copy of The Concise Oxford Dictionary. It wasn't! aha ... not a real word I thought. But after finding it defined in several places online, I saw a single reference to an alternate spelling, with an "A" instead of an "O". Lallygagging. And this version I did find in the hard-copy of the dictionary.
Lallygagging : 1. Loiter 2. Cuddle Amorously. Wow, I'm pretty sure I wasn't doing the second use of the word in the market. Especially after making the man wait like that!
Apparently it was first used in 1868. Synonyms include : Dither, Dilly-dally, Dawdle and Diddle.
All funny words in themselves. So I ask you, 'What would you call straggling behind, if you could only use one word?'. I think I'll go with 'dawdle'!
So here are some shots I took while dawdling in the market on Saturday.
Note the one where the girl is looking to the left. There was this guy walking down the street yelling into his cell phone. He had everyone rolling their eyes. The market is a very relaxed place where it is most uncommon to hear anyone yelling.
Monday, 2 July 2012
The Rex for Veggie-Burgers Extraordinaire
I had been craving a veggie-burger for a couple of weeks so on Friday we went to a place that we think serves the best, called The Rex.
Being a casual tavern that specializes in live jazz and blues music, this spot is not fancy by any means. We first ended up going there for lunch by chance some years ago, after being out at a meeting in the area and wanting to grab something quick before heading home. I was a bit reluctant, having only ever been inside once before, for a late-night concert with some friends. Nowadays there is no smoking allowed in any bars or restaurants in Toronto, but my memory of The Rex was of a crowded, smokey and very masculine place.
So when Nick suggested it for food I really wasn't sure, but agreed to give it a try. Turns out it was great that we ventured off our usual path, because now it has become a favourite spot to go to satisfy a burger craving. Whenever we go for this treat, we try to aim for when it's not too busy, for a late lunch/early dinner (linner?) and since it's a good walk away we get some exercise getting to and from, so don't feel badly having fries and a beer!
Not being big meat eaters, neither of us has had a real hamburger for ages, and that first time we went we had to ask the waiter to confirm that what we were eating was in fact not meat. We seriously thought they had mixed up our order in the kitchen! The extra-special appeal of the meal for me is that it is served with a little pot of home-made hummus on the side. I can't tell you about anything else on their menu though, as we've never even looked at it since that first try. We always know what we're going to have before we get there!
Sunday, 1 July 2012
Red Things Around Town
Friday, 29 June 2012
Food Friday : Smashed Potatoes with Cottage Cheese and Herbs
Ok, I'll admit that pretty well everyone loves mashed potatoes prepared in the traditional way, all smooth, creamy and buttery. But it takes a lot of work to get them nice and smooth, plus not everyone wants to eat all that cream and butter on a regular basis. That combined with the fact that they are only really good when served smothered under some sort gravy, and making that gravy takes them further into 'special occasion' territory.
So now that I've convinced you that you need an alternate side-dish made with potatoes that's easy, tasty and healthy, I introduce our 'Smashed Potatoes with Cottage Cheese and Fresh Herbs'! Select a lower fat content cottage cheese (we used 5%) and you won't even notice it's a low-fat dish, plus you get the healthy protein that the cheese has to offer.
Ingredients:
One potato per person being served. Leaving the skin on new potatoes is fine. Keep in mind that leftovers heat up nicely, so you might want to throw a couple of extra spuds into the pot.
1/2 to 1 cup of broth and/or milk (we use this product by Knorr)
3/4 to 1 cup of Cottage Cheese
2 tablespoon chopped fresh herbs. We used a combination of thyme, sage, chives, parsley and oregano because I grow them in my herb garden but whatever you have, even regular parsley and/or green onions are good, as long as you use fresh herbs.
Salt and Pepper to taste
Method:
Boil Potatoes until well cooked. Drain and transfer to a large bowl. Smash the potatoes with a masher, and add some of the broth. Add the cottage cheese and blend. Add more broth to reach the consistency you like. Stir in herbs and salt and pepper. Serve hot, warm or room temperature.
Wednesday, 27 June 2012
Oh Baby Baby, It’s a Wild World
Check out these fur babies! I recently got these shots of a young squirrel and raccoon, hanging out. I am not so crazy as to get that close to a raccoon, and the pictures are thanks to my new telephoto lens!
