Ottawa Trippin'

The BF's sister has also moved out east, to Ottawa, to complete a Master's degree at Carlton University. We actually shipped lots of her stuff out with us, back in July, with the intent of driving it up to her after she got a place. So that's what we did. 

I've never driven in Ontario before, never mind on the 401. We rented a car from Enterprise on Yonge near Eglington last Friday and proceeded to be just as terrified of driving in Toronto as predicted. Within 2 minutes, I had accidentally cut off 2 pedestrians, managed to turn the wrong direction and had to go around the block to correct it, and I had to manoeuvre around 2 tow trucks, a cop car and a honda civic, which had spun crashed up onto the sidewalk on Yonge. Two Minutes. The rest of the drive to the apartment was much less eventful but I was wary nonetheless. 

We packed up the car (expertly, however I forgot to take photos...) and hit the road. Now, having been a passenger on the 401 before, I was rightly terrified. Driving it is another matter. Yes, it's true, that no one ever goes the speed limit. In fact, most people didn't just go 10km over, like in Alberta. They were going 30km over. In the slow lane. I am not joking. Bumper to bumper traffic going 130 km/hr in the slow lane. I had big 16 wheelers going at least 160km/hr passing me. See above photos for my incredulous muppet face. There was a congestion issue in Ajax, forcing people to slow down (yay!) and after that the traffic lightened up (or at least spread out).

I think I was talking to Matt's mom about Ontario when the statement "There are a lot of trees" came up. Regardless of the origin of the conversation, it's stuck in my mind, even more so now, because it is correct. There are a lot of trees here. I'm used to the highways in Alberta, lined with fence posts delineating cattle pastures and canola fields. All the gravel range roads that shoot off the main highway towards the visible roofs of old barns or new houses. Here, there are a lot of trees. 

We took the 401 across to Kingston and the 416/417 up to Ottawa. After the 401, I felt I could probably drive anywhere. Well maybe not. But it was a definitely confidence boost. Matt's sister rents a house in the Glebes so we parked at her place and went to find some Canadian dinner, poutine style. It rained pretty epically that night so we decided to unpack the car the next day, Saturday. 

Eggs poached in a spicy tomato sauce. So Good.

Eggs poached in a spicy tomato sauce. So Good.

After an amazing breakfast, we unpacked the car and then headed to Ikea for some more supplies. The Ottawa Ikea is the biggest in Canada and it definitely shows it. It's three stories and has it's own underground parking lot. It even has four elevators, each the size of a small apartment, to get you and your stuff (couch, pfft, entire living room set!) to the ground. Pretty neat!

After unloading Ikea, we set off to explore Ottawa. I have been before, when I was a little kid. All I really remember was a lot of tours. So we walked along the Rideau canal, up to the locks and the entrance at the Rideau River. Then we walked to the Parliamentary grounds. After a bathroom break, we walked to see the national gallery and the de Champlain viewpoint that over looks the river into Hull, Quebec. Very Pretty. 

We ate dinner at a pizza place (The Grand?) at the ByWard market and then headed back to Parliament for the final showing of Mosaika, a light projection show projected onto the Parliament building. It's neat what they can do and what the eye thinks it's seeing. 

Sunday morning, we walked to Carton University, down Bank Street. We were driving home Sunday so we left early afternoon so as to beat the lake traffic, which is apparently a thing here. The trip back on the 401 was a non-issue, now that I was a veteran of the road (hah). Even coming back into Toronto, the sun setting, was more relaxed. 

Thanks to Manon for having us! It was a fun weekend adventure!

-Andrea

The Half-Assed Hobbyist

 

Apricots and Oven Testing

During the trip to the market last week I also bought a basket of apricots. The trouble with buying a basket of one thing is, with only two people around, typically whatever it is starts to go bad before it's gone. This was the unfortunate case with my lovely apricots. They were juicy and firm and delicious, but they were ripe and ready and we couldn't eat them fast enough. 

Step in stage right, fresh fruit cakes. I'm not quite sure the history of upside-down cakes but whoever masterminded them hopefully realized how incredibly convenient they are. Got too much fruit but don't want to make a pie crust or crumble? Well then, make a lazy coffee cake. 

Also, more convenience, this afforded a perfect opportunity to test my new oven! Double win!

I got this recipe from my Grandmother's 1932 General Foods cookbook. It may be almost a century old but it still makes a cake that tastes amazing!

Apricot Upside-down Cake

12 small apricots, blanched, skinned and sliced

4 TBSP butter, melted
1/2 cup brown sugar
(1/2 tsp ground cinnamon, optional)

1 1/4 cup flour (cake flour, if you have it!)
1 1/4 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
4 TBSP butter
3/4 cups granulated sugar
1 egg, well beaten
1/2 milk
1 tsp vanilla

8X8X2 inch baking pan (Or a 9 inch circlular pan.)

  1. To blanch apricots: ash apricots. Set a pot of water to boil. Also, set out a bowl of ice water. After the water is boiling, immerse apricots in the boiling water for no more than 30 seconds. Using a slotted spoon, scoop them out and place them immediately into the ice water bowl. Let them cool completely.
    To skin apricots: After the fruit is cooled, using your hands, peel off the skins of the apricots. They should come off easily. (Note: if the apricot isn't ripe, the skin will not loosen.) 
    To slice apricots: With a sharp knife, make a slit around the centre of the apricot, all the way around. Remove the pit. Slice up the rest of the apricot flesh. 
  2. In a microwave safe bowl, melt butter. Add brown sugar. Mix thoroughly. Pour sugar mixture into the bottom of your baking pan. Arrange the sliced apricots on top of the sugar mixture in the baking pan. Set aside.
  3. Preheat your oven to 350'F.
  4. In a bowl, combine flour, baking powder and salt. Set aside. 
  5. In an electric mixer, cream butter. Add sugar and beat until butter is light and fluffy. (It will literally change colour. From butter yellow to a light white yellow.)
  6. Add pre-beaten egg. Stir. 
  7. Now combine flour and milk in with the sugar/egg mixture, alternating milk and flour mixtures. Mix each part until smooth before adding the next part. 
  8. Stir in vanilla. 
  9. Pour cake batter on top of apricots in the baking pan. Smooth the top so all the apricots are covered. I found it easier to carefully scoop batter rather than spreading it around. 
  10. Bake for ~50 minutes or until a fork inserted into centre of cake comes out clean. 
  11. After it's done baking, let cool for an hour before you flip it out onto a serving platter. Serve warm or let cool completely and top with icing sugar. 

I definitely was too impatient to wait for it to cool enough and as a result most of the syrup leak to the bottom of the cake, making it stick to the serving plate it was on. Oh well. Still tasted amazing! I even froze some of it so we'll see if it keeps well. I was hoping to save it for a while... but a have a cake hankering just writing this post. Haha. Also my oven has passed it's test with flying colours. It seems to bake evenly and keep it's temperature very well. Thank you kitchen gods!

Cheers!

-Andrea

The Half-Assed Hobbyist

Markets full of Mushrooms

Settling into the kitchen now. I went to the weekday market (held on Thursdays) and bought all the things! (And for cheap, double score!) There were these radishes that were absolutely massive. They must be grown at 0 gravity because I've never seen radishes that big before. 

Anyway. I also bought a bunch of mushrooms and thought I'd try my hand at making a mushroom risotto. I had accidentally bought a whole bag of glutinous rice last week and what better to use it up that a ridiculously time consuming lunch! (I don't have a job yet, so why not.)

Now, I may have mentioned in previous posts how much I loath making risotto. It takes forever and is probably the most boring thing to make. Except it tastes soooo gooood. I typically order risottos at restaurants so that I get to enjoy the rice-y cheese-y deliciousness without the boredum of stirring rice constantly, for 45 minutes. But it had been a while since I tried my hand at it so my silly brain thought 'Why not?'.

Mushroom Risotto a la Andrea

2 TBSP oil
1/4 white onion, finely chopped
1 tsp garlic, minced
18 mushrooms, sliced thick
2 tsp Worchestershire Sauce
Fresh ground pepper
2 cups glutinous rice
6 cups broth, simmering (I did chicken broth but beef or vegetable works too!)
1/2 cup sharp cheddar cheese, shredded

  1. Wash, slice and chop all the things. 
  2. In a large skillet or frying pan, heat oil over med-high heat. Add onion and fry until clear. Add garlic and mushrooms. Stir well to coat all mushrooms in oil. Add Worcestershire sauce and fresh ground pepper (to your liking). Cook mushrooms, stirring frequently, until they are golden brown. (This can take up to a half hour.)
  3. While your mushroom mix is cooking, put on your broth to boil. I usually make mine out of OXO cubes. After the broth is boiling, turn it to a simmer. Keep it simmering. 
  4. Add the rice to the mushroom mix. Stir and fry the rice with the mushrooms until the rice starts to brown. 
  5. Ladle simmering broth into the frying pan. Fill enough of the pan with broth to just cover the rice. Stir the mixture until the rice absorbs all the water. This takes FOREVER. Seriously. From the first addition of broth to the risotto rice actually being cooked it will take about 45 minutes. 
  6. Continue adding ladles of simmering broth to the rice, and stirring, until the rice absorbs all the broth. You'll notice a change in the way the rice stirs when it's almost done. Instead of individual grains of rice being stirred, the rice will start to stick together (this is why glutinous rice is used). Glutinous rice differs from regular long grain rice in the type of starch in contains. This particular starch gets sticky and forms a kind of gel when it cooks. Perfect for risottos. 
  7. Check that your rice is done by testing the rice. If it's soft, it's good to go to the next step. If it's still crunchy At All, keep adding broth and stirring. Don't turn up the heat or you'll risk burning the rice. 
  8. When your rice is done, take your pan off the heat and add your cheese. Stir touroughly, until the cheese is mixed in. 
  9. You're ready to serve! Portion out your risotto and garnish with green onion. Nom! (Makes about 6 servings.)

From start to finish, making risotto take almost an hour and a half. But the deliciousness can't be rivalled. It's still one of my most favourite meals and with so many options and combinations of ingredients, you can keep making up new recipes using the same basic technique. 

The market goes until October, I think, so I'll be going back next week to see what I can find. Maybe homemade broccoli-slaw with those gargantuan radishes? Mmm. Yes. 

-Andrea

The Half-Assed Hobbyist

 


 

 

The Moving Adventure

It has been a crazy month. Moving across the country is not something to be taken lightly (despite what people might say...looking at the BF right now). This all started back in May when Matt signed the paperwork to work at IBM in Ontario. 

The planning began, rather slowly (a little begrudgingly) at first. I had lived my whole life in Alberta and had just found out that the only relative I had in Toronto was moving back to Alberta the month before we left. Swapsies!.

Matt and I had agreed that container moving was probably the best option to us, as we had no apartment destination yet. We'd be flying out to TO and finding a place. So I started collecting boxes because, having never moved before, I thought it would give me more piece of mind to pack the apartment up myself. This thought was affirmed when I called around to get more information from moving companies in Edmonton. I would either get no response, or in the case of one company, I got told I didn't know what I was talking about before I'd even explained my situation (what a gem of a man that was). Matt and I had decided to go with a container moving and storage company called PODS because they offered flexible storage options AND they had really good customer service people (people that didn't make me feel like the protagonist of a sexism story, Yay!).

With the POD scheduled and the flights booked (July 23rd 2014), I started planning the last month we were in Alberta, filling our calendar with friend visits and family going aways, etc. It was very bittersweet to see all my buddies because I didn't know when I'd see them in person again. (Gush.)

Anyway. As I packed I realized that the small POD we'd booked was definitely not going to fit all our stuff (Matt would like to interject, "Your Stuff" here). So PODS was called and they even arranged the bigger pod to come the same day, thank gad. I have a lot of china... and books... and kitchen appliances....

We had salad too. Honest!

We had salad too. Honest!

Moving day came and with the help of Matt's friend Ian, Matt's parents and my friend Jess, we loaded up the POD. It took all day. (Also, if you follow the Talky you'll know that I had a broken toe this whole time. That was entertaining.) But we did it! Then we went and celebrated with dinner and beer. We spent one night at the BF's 'rents and then our last Alberta evening at my friend Julia's place. Julia's BF made us an Alberta steak dinner to remember. 

The next morning Julia graciously drove us to the airport at 5am where we deposited our bags, and my plants, boarded a plane to our new home. 

Renting in Toronto is a little different than in Alberta. Here, if you want to rent a condo, you get a realtor. Unlike in Alberta, where a condo building's property management company deals with renting condo suites, here it's done via realtors and the actual condo owners. Let me clarify. In Alberta, if you own a condo and want to rent it, you go to your building's management company and say "Hey! I want to rent my unit. Can you do that please?", and the property company says "Sure!". In Toronto, it seems that most property companies who run large condo buildings don't have anything to do with the actual unit occupancies. This has both up sides and down sides. For example, it makes looking for a nice rental suite really easy. Step 1: Get a realtor (you can call listing agencies to snatch a realtor); Step 2: Sign on to the Toronto MLS; Step 3: Pick a bunch of listings; Step 4: Go see the suites and pick one; Step 5: Sign a lease - Yay!  Downside: it makes actually seeing the nice rental suites a pain. As a prospective tenant can't just go see a place. We tried calling up listing agents to see if we could see their listed suites but got turned away because only realtors can show suites. So we got a realtor. However, then it turns into a bit of a coordination nightmare as the listing realtor and the showing realtor have to be on the same page at the same time to have the suite shown. Blaa. 

Anyways. We managed to look at 6 places before deciding on one we loved. Then we ran into another AB/TO difference: Lease Negotiations. Like if you're buying a house, the realtor will put in a lease offer typically less than the asking monthly rent and with certain conditions. This, for me anyway, was terrifying. Because of the fast paced rental market here I was worried we'd lose the apartment because someone else may offer more or have less conditions on their offer. I gave myself heart burn waiting for a response. Everything turned out ok though. We got a call from our realtor at 1am to tell us the offer had been accepted and we now just had to meet up to sign the final lease. Gad. And I thought the moving would be the most stressful part. 

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With keys in hand, we went and bought an air mattress and a couple chairs to sit on (having just breakfasted on the floor) and awaited all our stuff. We signed our lease on July 26th and our POD wasn't due to be in Toronto till August 2nd, so we had a while to wait.  In the mean time, we set up the internet, we organized the POD delivery and the elevator booking (37th floor yo!) and we hung out with Heather, our one friendly Toronto native, and Taylor, a friend of Matt's on internship with IBM. Yay friends!

On August 8th, in the early morn, our POD of stuff had arrived. The BF had booked movers to help us unload the POD, which I now see as the best decision of the whole trip. The two dudes had the POD emptied and all our furniture, boxes and miscellaneium into the apartment in 1 hour and 45 minutes. Best $200 we ever spent.

Now all the boxes have been mostly unpacked. Mainly, my kitchen is set up. We need to buy a desk for Matt, a couch for the living room and a bunch of shelves for our massive book collection and my four sets of china....  But other than that, it's nice to have a bed and a functional kitchen and a table to sit at.

Move Success. Now come visit me. STAT. 

-Andrea

The Half-Assed Hobbyist

My Secret Garden

My Dad has this huge back yard. Years ago, before my parents divorced, it was one of the favourite places to be outside. (I was one of Those kids that hated bugs and didn't do any organized outdoor sports, so being outside was an big thing.) I remember spending weekday evenings following my Mom around as she cleared out the beds and planted petunias, arranging the built in watering system my Dad engineered, as he mowed the lawn in diagonal lines. 

The garden hasn't been properly done up since those days, but this year, as a father's day present, I cleared out all the years and years of dead plants and tree suckers. 

Blood Blister. Even the not-pokey end of the shears are dangerous. Worst.

Blood Blister. Even the not-pokey end of the shears are dangerous. Worst.

Harder than it sounds. The first day, back in May, I started on the tree suckers. (Suckers being tree roots that have grown above ground.) There is an oak and a tree with purple leaves (??) that have been left to their own devices since the last time I massacred suckers at least 4 years ago. Needless to say, pictures above, it looks like a nice hedge is growning under the trees. All suckers. I managed to pinch myself with the shears I was using to wage war against them, giving myself a lovely blood blister. Joy! After three hours of suckers and only getting a square metre of the beds done, I called it a day. 

Next day was back to the grind of sucker wrangling. Trimming them isn't enough. You have to dig and get them trimmed at the source. It's that that takes the longest, especially since the soil is so compacted.

Peony poking out from the mess. Hi Peony!

Peony poking out from the mess. Hi Peony!

After completing another square metre of suckers, I moved on to release what was left of the living plants from their dead plant prisons. First up: Peonies. My Mom planted these gorgeous peonies eons ago. Big white and pink blooms. They did so well she had to cut the plant in half and transplant it over to another location. (I also later found a third peony that had seeded itself by the bird bath.) Now, there was at least 4 years of dead leaves and stems in the way. (So much so the bottom layer of debris was actually turning to dirt. Hah.) But as I carefully cut away the old remnants, there underneath were a dozen little sprigs of soon to be peony. I even found 7 chive plants (that my Mom had relentlessly tried to kill, back in the day) under the brush and dandelions. Once the peonies were unearthed and properly caged, I called it a day. (Also, as I had managed to get, and burst, a blister in the palm of my hand, I decided to take a couple days break.)

Back at it a week later and summer had apparently arrived. Everything was green and lush. And by everything I mean all the damn suckers. I spent day three pruning the double flowering prunus, digging out suckers from a silver leafed tree (that of which I don't know the name, something Russian?) and finding a random vine that was definitely never planted but seems to be growing just fine anyway.

Day four. Gad. I decided that those suckers from day one can suck it and I moved on to a more manageable area: the Apple Tree. Once upon a time there had been a tiny bush and a giant bleeding heart under the apple tree, but today the bleeding heart is gone and that tiny bush was definitely 3 meters in diameter. I had to jump into the back of the bed and hack that bush down to size. It was so big I had to roll it up like a carpet to get it out. Phew! But it was a beautiful day for it! Apple tree and the ornamental cherry tree blooming and not a cloud in the sky. 

I called it a day after 4 hours, when I could barely move my arms from bush/carpet rolling. 

Unfortunately I may have overdone it that day, because I proceeded to catch a horrible throat virus and head cold, stopping the gardening train for a full week.

Baby fern is going to a new home! Also, yes, I grew up in St Albert.

Baby fern is going to a new home! Also, yes, I grew up in St Albert.

When I got back to it the garden had kept on going without me. Much to my chagrin. But I pushed on! My friend Angela came to help me out! She's a fanatic about pulling dandelions, and as I absolute hate that, it worked out that she pulled the weeds from the interlocking brick while I pulled up trees from the long neglected beds. Yay! Teamwork! I only got a small area done because whatever tree is besides the ornamental cherry had 2 inch sharp thorns growing out of it suckers. (Which I discovered by stabbing my thumb good enough to draw blood.) I have now learned to never grab at nature blindly. Because apparently thorns are a thing. A terrifying thing.

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Once again, the weather continued to misbehave. And at this point it was approaching July. So much for a 'spring' cleanup. When I finally got back to it another week had gone by full of rain and grey dullness. 

But I was energized! Only a third of the garden left! And, after thorned suckers, nothing was too daunting. I cleared out the beds around the bird bath and into the corner where the oldest tree in neighbourhood stands. Our house was the first to be built in the area and so the mountain ash was the first to be planted. It may not be the tallest but it's been around to see houses be built and people come and go.

To the right of the mountain ash used to be a lilac bush. It is more of a lilac tree now, but still flowers up in the air. Besides the lilac is the dreaded plum tree. Those suckers are almost as bad as the first ones I tackled. Luckily, Angela was back to help and, since apparently she loves doing the jobs I hate, she tackled the oak and purple tree (??) suckers while I massacred the plum ones. 

The home stretch! I cleared out the beds under the plum tree, including scraping out the old cedar leaves, into the green bin. And done. It had taken all of spring and nearly all of summer, but I did it (with Angela's help too!).

Lobelia, Petunia and Geranium <3

Lobelia, Petunia and Geranium <3

I still had the chance to plant my own flowers too (back in the spring). They are the same kind I first planted in pots with my Mom all those years ago, sitting on the deck, looking into that big beautiful back yard. 

I'll miss you, my not-so-secret garden! <3

-Andrea

The Half-Assed Hobbyist