Ichigo Sando for Strawberry season!

Unbelievably, I had entirely erased this little corner of a blog from my mind for so many years! It was part of my life and my main means of documenting it ever since I began posting on it in 2009. It was a lovely way to look through past experiences and memories to make sense of the chaos that is a camera roll. Being able to look back 15 years and so specifically re-live a memory thanks to a post I made about it feels so priceless. It's an instant way to travel back in time. Getting absorbed by life, work, love, and other social media platforms had detached me from this little safe haven for far too long. I don't have access to certain software that allowed me to more personalize my photos but I am making it a point to post all of the memories that I would have shared when they happened.

To start with, I wanted to show my love for the Ichigo Sando. I can't recall when I was first introduced to what an ichigo sando is but it is ubiquotous within Japanese culture so is hard to miss! I may have seen it in an anime but it has built quite a reputation for itself so has always been something I've wanted to try, just never had the opportunity. Until recently! I tried a cupcake recipe and had to make my own icing, the recipe required whipping cream. Although I had failed I still liked the idea so tried to make whipped cream on its own and it turned out perfectly! I then put two and two together realizing how simple it would be to make an ichigo sando! 

On my next grocery run I bought a loaf of sliced brioche bread, some strawberries, and the whipping cream. To add some sweetness to my whipped cream, I put in a bit of powdered sugar and vanilla extract. The combination was divine! I also tried using a vegan alternative but sadly the consistency was more of a yoghurt, but I will keep looking!

My cross cut isn't perfect but what a lovely treat! It has become my favourite dessert accompanied by some tea.

Recipe:

• 1/4 cup of 35% whipping cream. I like to have a little extra on the side, so I use 1/3 cup! 
• A few medium sized strawberries or other fruit.
• About 2 tsp of powdered sugar, more or less to taste.
• About 1/2 tsp of vanilla extract, to taste although less is more!

Instructions

1. Use an electric hand mixer (I never had one for many years but bought one when I saw an affordable price, it's a very good investment!) to beat the whipping cream, low to high for about 5 or so minutes. You should see it coming together.
2. Once it starts looking like whipped cream, add in the powdered sugar and vanilla extract.
3. Continue to mix until combined.
4. Take your bread slices and add a generous amount of whipped cream to each side as the strawberry will have some empty space around it to fill. 
5. Place 3 strawberries down the center diagonally with the top towards the corner, this should give a nice cross cut of the strawberry. This is where you can get creative as well! Add more or other fruits in the empty space.
6. Place that slice on top of the one with the fruits.
7. I'm not patient so I don't refrigerate it, but that is a good tip! After 30 minutes it is easier to slice. I use a serrated bread knife.
8. Enjoy! And practice makes perfect! 

A very helpful video to explain how to make an Ichigo Sando!

 

Les Deuxluxes au Parc Morgan!

On July 26th, 2017, I was at home cleaning my files and photos from my phone. I transfer everything to a folder in my laptop to make room for more picture taking. As I was going through my previous photos, I noticed one of a poster I had seen earlier that month, the day after I returned from my trip to Europe. It was next to a grocery store where I had just gotten two nectarines and a dairy-free coffee smoothie (that I

LOVE called Go Nuts from Happy Planet). It listed different dates and performers and I took a photo to look at it later.

However I had forgotten about it until then! And when I read through the list of dates I noticed there was a show the next day! On the 27th! I had never heard of the group before, Les Deuxluxes, but after a bit of youtube research, I realized this was a show I definitely would want to assist! And the amazing part I came to realize was that it was a free outdoor show! And there would be food and drinks!

So after work the next day I had a few hours to kill before the evening. I hung around downtown a bit and my wandering felt a bit pointless. I paid for an overpriced and disappointing late lunch and then had a pastry and a coffee near a metro station. I won't lie, I wasn't in a great mood and felt a bit down.. I even considered going back home! (thank goodness I didn't!!)

I watched a few more of their videos and decided that no, I was not going to miss this! Before heading to the Park where they would be playing (Parc Morgan), I stopped at a nearby forever21 because I remembered a pink velvet dress I wanted to try on but was feeling too low earlier to do so.

I didn't have much time however as the show would begin at 6:30 pm! So after I tried on the dress I was on my way!

On the way to the park while on the bus, nearing my stop, it suddenly began to rain! In the middle of sunshine! A huge downpour! I got worried because I didn't have my rainboots on and would be getting out of the bus soon. Miraculously, when I got out of the bus the rain stopped!

When I arrived at the park it was so full of people, and everyone was completely soaked! Had I been there on time, I would have been soaked, too!

Now another amazing thing was that the show had not started yet, even though I was late. I had enough time to buy a poutine and a beer to enjoy before Les Deuxluxes came on.

It was so delicious I didn't have time to take pictures!

Then the show began and it was fantastic. Les Deuxluxes are incredibly talented and have such good songs.

I cannot wait to see them again if ever I get the chance to!

After the sudden torrential rain, a wild rainbow appeared! It was magical!

A gorgeous rainbow and a wonderful crowd cheering and dancing.

Les Deuxluxes performing.

I was one of the first people at the merch table and chose to buy a button and their two albums.

Also lucky me, the merch lady gave me back the wrong change so when I returned to get my missing money I saw that Anna Frances Meyer (lead singer and guitarist) was at the table signing things!

And so of course I took my just purchased cd out to get it signed!

She was incredibly sweet and personalized the signature by asking my name and she laughed when I told her I had no idea who they were just the day before and so happened to see a poster about their show while doing some groceries. I feel that she may remember that for a little while, I know I will for a very long time!

It was a memorable and simply fantastic day for me.

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Kampai pals

I recently re-connected with some friends I hadn't seen in a while and as we caught up we talked about whether we should go have a drink, or eat somewhere. We were in the middle of downtown so there were lots of options! We bounced a few ideas back and forth and then I remembered about a restaurant nearby called KAMPAI Garden. I had been there once before briefly with another good friend to share a lucky peach mojito pitcher at the bar and I remember the ambiance and interior design to be really unique, modern, with a bit of vintage flare. I had noticed that time that they also served food and had wanted to return at some point to try it!

And so, I suggested this restaurant to my friends and it was a unanimous yes!

We were seated by a wall bench that had a real life plant wall above it!

Although a bit blurry here, the neon lights read Edith Piaf's lyrics "non, rien de rien. non, je ne regrette rien."

We decided to order a few small plates to share, and as we waited I checked my phone for no real reason except I wanted to see if I had gotten any emails! Luckily I had paparazzi nearby to capture that exact moment!

We also ordered a passion fruit mojito pitcher to share and for the amount we were able to re-fill our glasses 3 times so it's definitely worth it. It wasn't strong on the alcohol end which was a bit disappointing but it was still enjoyable nonetheless.

I took a trip to the bathroom as one does while at a restaurant and I really enjoyed their choice of bathroom signs. A bit playful and cheeky. One thing I would comment is that the smell of beer was really strong which surprised me, I wondered if they brewed it nearby?

Soon after our orders started to arrive one by one. We had some steamed edamame beans, papas, fried tofu in peanut butter sauce, maple syrup salmon sashimi slices, and shrimp tacos on a home made corn crepe tortilla flavoured with curry. It was a delight! We had a second serving of tofu and lastly ordered a salad to share.

Looking back I think we overdid it a bit and could have been happy with a bit less! I personally was adventurous as I decided to treat myself and put it on credit to gradually pay it off later so I suggested to order more than we needed to! I feel bad now to have done this to my friends!

I would definitely return to KAMPAI Garden to enjoy that tofu, shrimp tacos, papas, and sashimi salmon again, but maybe just 2 out of 4 next time!

Halloween 2016 - Poison apple inspired!

Halloween was almost a year ago but I neglected to share my quickly put together costume that I was actually quite proud of! I didn't plan to get dressed up at first as I didn't have any plans and I would be working on the 31st. However when I saw an image of Snow White's poisoned apple online.. I started to think.. maybe I could dress up subtly for my shift that wouldn't make me stand out too much but still have a bit of fun?

So I looked in my closet and realized I had pieces that could work! All I was missing was the poisoned apple and a yellow skirt. I work at a fabric store so I got my material during a shift and made a really simple skirt I could wear leggings with.

As for the apple I searched online for a free pattern to make a plush apple and then free-hand cut out the poison skull shape in felt and hand sewed it to the apple. The result was really great! 

Blending right in. Not everyone was able to guess my costume though!

Some treats a coworker brought to share.

And my wonderful poisoned apple prop!

Spring ~ ~ Nature walk and visiting LaSalle

Spent May 22nd visiting LaSalle and spending some quality time with furry and non furry people.

Downtown outing with Julia! Day 2!

So after meeting up with my friend Julia once during her visit, I was able to see her again!

This time we went to Burritoville. I'd never been there before, it was Julia's recommendation and I really really liked it. So much so that I went back on my own on a later occasion. Sadly however it seems that is may be closing :( .. I really hope it's not true!!

yum yum

Some tea and a sweet potato buritto.

Before we went to eat however we stopped by the the Museum of Fine Arts of Montreal to check out an exhibition that was up for one last day. It was an installation of guitars and birds flying and resting on them, creating sounds/music.

On the way to, we found this wall of plushies that I had to stop and take pictures of.

Photos weren't allowed within the installation so I tried to draw some sketches.

Including a quick one of my friend :)

We continued to wander a bit and found a chandelier with peacocks on it covered in metled wax.

Installation and sculpture by Petah Coyne, titled "Trois paons".

Captioning Julia: "Aw yiss, weird Art."