Chocolate Wonderful Chocolate

Hello and happy Easter to all of you who celebrate it. We had our special dinner yesterday when we went for a drive to visit my parents. It's an hour and half each way which is a fair drive for dinner, but Nick was in the mood to take his baby (aka his car, a silver Mustang) out for a spin.

We had a very nice visit and a really good dinner at my favourite restaurant in their town, so we were glad to have made the trip. I got some pictures that I'll post another time, but today I will show you some pictures of a terrific chocolate shop, called Delight, where I bought Nick his Easter treats!

This store which sells only organic fair-trade chocolate, was actually Nick's discovery when he bought me a chocolate Santa for my stocking at Christmastime. Then he went back to get an assortment of chocolates as a gift for my mother, for me to take to her when I visited in February. I got to sample some of them when we carefully cut them in half so we could both experience the flavours. They were divine and very different, not at all filled with typical centres.

So I had to get Nick's Easter presents there, and the cute shop-keeper let me take some pictures while I was at it!

A Tisket A Tasket, a Cat got in my Basket

My cat Eddie is really into finding new places to hang out, so when I put this basket on the floor, he just jumped right in and made himself comfortable. He's my funny bunny Easter Cat!

Food Friday : Asparagus and Mushroom Stuffed Crepes

c="http://www.loulou.to/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/asparagus-mushroom-crepe.jpg" alt="" title="asparagus-mushroom-crepe" width="640" height="480" class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-6647">What vegetable says springtime like asparagus? And what says Easter Brunch like savory, easy to prepare crepes stuffed with asparagus and mushrooms and topped with a velvety cheese sauce? Wow, I feel like a Better Homes and Gardens article. But what I'm trying to say is, delicious brunch entree recipe coming up ..I've described how to make crepes before so I'll just cut and paste that part:This recipe will make 4 servings (with extra for the first one or two, which might get ruined … see below), but can easily be doubled/tripled for more.Crepe batter:2 cup milk, 2 eggs, 1 1/2 cups flour, two pinches of saltMix the milk and egg together in a bowl. Then whisk in the flour and salt. (Mixture will have lumps so don’t worry about them.)To make the crepes:Heat a large frying pan over medium heat. Once it’s hot, add some corn oil (about a teaspoon) and swirl it around to coat the bottom of the pan. Remember this motto: “Hot pan, cool oil … food won’t stick”. With a soup ladle, add a scoopful of batter and swirl pan again to coat bottom. Cover the pan and cook for about a minute. The top of the crepe will form bubbles on it, which are a good indication as to when it’s time to flip your crepe, but you can also slip your spatula under a bit and see if it’s lightly browned on the bottom. Once flipped, cook for another 1/2 minute or so, then slide onto a plate. Repeat until you’ve used all the batter, keeping the ones you’ve already made in a warm oven. Please note: it is very common that your first crepe doesn’t work out nicely. This happens to everyone for some odd reason! I remember reading this once: “The first crepe is always for the pan”.Filling:For each crepe, steam 16 stalks of asparagus that have had the hard part of the stems trimmed off until they are quite soft. Thinly slice 16 mushrooms and finely chop one small onion. In about 2 tablespoons olive oil, saute the onion until soft and then add the mushrooms. Saute until cooked and then add 1/8 teaspoon of salt (or less depending on taste). Notice how adding salt suddenly causes the mushrooms to release liquid, making a bit of a sauce. Add 1 teaspoon balsamic vinegar, 1/4 teaspoon dried thyme and generous grinding of black pepper and let mixture sit covered until ready to use. If they get cold, heat them up again before serving.

Close But Yet So Far

This is an impromptu post inspired by a few minutes of grabbing my ipad and sitting in a sunbeam with my coffee this morning. My favourite fashion blog, (aside from that of my online-friend Style Marmalade) is The Sartorialist. I'm sure many of you also love this blog, where a photographer with a fantastic eye for style, takes pictures of everyday people out on the streets of a wide range of cities. His photography is great and I really like to see what real people are wearing when they're out and about.

But his post from yesterday afternoon particularly caught my eye. Why? Because the photo is of a pretty girl in Paris who is wearing almost the same outfit I wore the other day when I wore the new scarf I made and my new(ish) coat, seen here. Her scarf is bigger but the same colour as mine and we're both wearing a hooded duffle coat with toggles.

How I wish I had gone with these boots I had on the other day (outfit seen here) that I honestly came oh-so-close to putting on but then put on my walking shoes instead because we were going for a pretty long walk. And believe it or not, I was wearing my jeans rolled up like hers with my boots just the other day!

Source: The Sartorialist

Themed Thursday : Bunnies, Lambs, Chicks and Ducks

Hello! I was quite surprised by how many things I had around the house that suit an Easter theme. I don't remember actually setting out to collect the array of tableware that are in the form of chickens and ducks. Most are things I've had for ages that I found too cute to part with or that have sentimental significance. Oh, those darn sentimental feelings ... they make for crowded cabinets!