Chocolate may be good for heart health, review finds - CTV News

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Chocolate may be good for heart health, review finds - CTV News

Getting ready for fall chaos

This fall I'm getting ready to a) go back to work, b) send the kids back to school and c) trying to figure out how to have be an efficient household engineer (i.e. chef, housekeeper, nurse, landscaper, taxi driver, counsellor, mother, wife, friend, neighbour, community member etc etc)
To that end, I'm on the search for fabulous slow-cooker and make ahead recipes that I can put in my freezer (a la "Big Cook") so that, come September I'm not beholden to the frozen pizza aisle of the grocery store.

Today I'm going to marry my love of curries with the harvest starting to come in, and try out this slow-cooker Aloo Gobi recipe, using a MONSTER head of cauliflower I found at the farmers market last weekend.
The leftovers will go in my freezer to make a couple of foreseeable future dinners a little more colourful...fingers crossed it tastes good!!!

Food & wine | Recipe: Spiced Cauliflower and Potatoes | Seattle Times Newspaper

Best Banana Bread Recipe I've ever found

I have a confession to make - I don't like bananas.  Well that's not entirely true, I like bananas, but only if they are barely ripe, without a single blemish or bruise on their skin or pulp, UNLESS - they are baked into banana bread.  I LOVE Banana Bread!
Unfortunately, I have never been able to find a good enough banana bread recipe to meet my  unattainably high standards, until now.
To me, a perfect banana bread has to be: moist and absolutely not crumbly; a little bit crunchy; and, bananay-sweet but not sugary sweet (given my strong feelings against plain mushy, bruised bananas, there's an irony there somewhere I know).
I gave up trying to make banana bread several years ago, because I was tired of being disappointed after trying out new recipes and then being stuck with a loaf of sub par banana bread.  Then, the other day I noticed another recipe for banana bread on the side of a granola bag... feeling ambitious, brave and a little reckless even, I decided to delve once more into the world of baking and give it a try and I'M SO GLAD I DID!!!!

I started to feel optimistic when the warm banana-y smell started wafting through my kitchen.
Even more so when the tinger on my timer tanged and I pulled a wonderfully tall, golden loaf out of my oven... and absolutely over the moon when I cut into it.
The banana bread loaf came out perfect!!!!  Moist and fruity with a crunchy top crust like I've never tried before.  This first loaf was devoured by my family in no time, and I've since made it 2 more times (slipping in some healthy wheatgerm and wheatbran into the mix - evil mother that I am - mwahahahaha).  It slices very well, and makes for a healthy breakfast, lunch and after school snack.

Being as I can't imagine I'm the only person in the world who has struggled to find the perfect banana bread recipe, I've decided to share my find:
  (taken from the side of a bag of Rogers Hazelnut and Honey 5 Grain Granola)
1 1/2 c flour
1 tsp bkg powder
1 tsp bkg soda
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 c vegetable oil
1/2 c sugar
2 eggs
1 c mashed banana
1 1/4 cup granola

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
Mix flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt in one bowl, set aside.
Beat together oil, sugar and eggs, in another bowl and stir in mashed bananas, mix well.
Add dry ingredients and stir until just mixed
Gently stir in 1 c granola
Turn batter into a greased 8.5x"4.5" (1.5L) loaf pan
Top with remaining granola and press it in gently
Bake at 350 degrees for 50 - 60 minutes
Cool 10  minutes in pan then remove to rack to cool completely.
Makes 1 loaf.

I doubled this recipe the second time I made it with no problems.
I also added about a half cup of both wheatgerm and wheat bran to the flour mixture with no problem.

YUM YUM YUM!!!!

Best Easter Eggs Ever!!

OK - With Easter right around the corner, I find myself reminiscing once again about another childhood memory.... Laura Secord Easter Cream Eggs.  Cadburys Easter Cream Eggs are a pail comparison to Laura's treats!!!  

When I was little the Easter Bunny would always hide the little yellow box in each of our baskets.  The funny thing was that as soon as our morning egg-hunt was over, those little yellow boxes would be initialled (so that my sisters and brother and I wouldn't fight over them), and whisked away into the refrigerator, only to be served to us under my dad's strictest of portion controls - every night thereafter, for as long as they lasted, my dad would take out our Laura Secord eggs and a very sharp knife, and slice a wafer thin section off the end for us to eat.  I'm serious when I guess that those little eggs lasted us for weeks because my siblings and I still joke about dad's portion control.

He applied it most notably to our Laura Secord Easter Eggs, and the boxes of Morden's Russian Mints that my uncle would always send us from Wininpeg, for Christmas.

The really funny thing is that it took us kids many years before we figured out that there wasn't really anything stopping us from going into the fridge any time we wanted to cut our own slices of chocolate cream delight.  Alas, as soon as we figured that out, they didn't seem to last as long, and inevitably my sister Jenny, who had supernatural self-control would end up having the last egg, and really enjoyed drawing out her pleasure while the rest of us looked on longingly.

Sadly, there are no Laura Secord's west of Winnipeg, so I haven't been able to indulge in this chocolate memory for a long time now - BUT Ken (aka my personal easter bunny) is in Ontario on business this week, so I've put in a special request for him to find a Laura Secord store and grab me one... or two.  If that doesn't work out, I just found out they sell these decadent treats at Shoppers Drug Mart in Alberta, so maybe there's hope for me this year.

I guess if I were feeling ambitious I could try to find a recipe to make them myself - but why mess with perfection when Laura Secord could be as close to me as my nearest Shoppers.... or Ken's suitcase.

Another Indulgence.... Red Velvet Wine

A huge shout out to my good friend Jen H who, knowing about my quest for the perfect Red Velvet, discovered a Red Velvet Wine by Cupcake Vineyards, out of California.
And even better - found an awesome website that shows where it (and just about every other type of wine and spirit) is sold in Alberta!!!

Here is a description of the Cupcake Vineyard's Red Velvet wine from their website:
Red Velvet is a smooth creamy blend of Zinfandel, Merlot and Cabernet Sauvignon. It's reminiscent of a blackberry chocolate cupcake with a mocha coulis.  Shows an incredible nose of chocolate, deep rich blackberries,  red fruits and a creamy mocha finish that is unmistakable in its intensity and length.

She picked us up a bottle, and because my husband is out of town tonight, we had an impromptu girls night... actually it was more of a girls late afternoon/early evening, because we had our kids with us, and needed to be responsible.
ANYWAYS...

The label says the wine pairs well with dark chocolate fondue, bacon cheeseburgers or sweet and spicy hoisin steaks... (talk about a mixed pallette)...So, because the sun was still shining at dinner time, and DESPITE the piles of snow that still blanket my back yard, I decided to fire up my bbq and comprimise on the label's recommendations by making some homemade Hoisin Hamburgers on wholewheat buns to accompany the vino.... 

We were a little wary of the wine at first, afraid that it might not live up to our expectations (much like my first impression of the Red Velvet Cupcake from a few posts back), but I'm so happy to report that I think I've found a new favourite red wine, perfect for summer (if it ever gets here).  The wine is light, but has a beautiful rich red colour.  It went wonderfully with our dinner, but I think I could easily nurse it on it's own too.... always a good sign :).

Thanks for searching it out Jen!!!!  Here's to keeping a stash of this new indulgence on hand - and continuing to discover new ones of course :)

That's all I've got to say about that for now.... maybe tomorrow I'll post my recipe for the Hoisin Hamburgers... they were delish too, if I may say so myself.

As Always,  Dayna 

14 day Countdown to 40 - Self-indulgence #14 (part 3)

My final self-indulgence was champagne and wild hibiscus - how's that for decadence - (thanks Mom) at my surprise birthday party (thanks to my dear husband Ken and good friends Jen and Sandra for organizing the shin-dig, and to everyone who came out!!)....

This final treat was a perfect end to a wonderful couple of weeks.  The wild hibiscus flowers are actually wild sorrel blossoms, preserved in a sweet syrup.  They can be used in a bunch of different ways, but I think the most beautiful way - by far is in champagne.  The blossoms taste a bit like apple, and add a lovely pink hue to the champagne.

sigh....... I guess this technically brings us to the end of the 14 days of self-indulgence, counting down to my 40th Birthday....it's been a fun exercise!!!
You know what - I'm going to keep at it.  I think it's ok to be a little self-indulgent every now and then ....This exercise in little self-indulgences has been all about looking after my inner-self and, calories-aside, my outer-self thanks me.  I find myself feeling more energized, envigorated and motivated than I have in a long time.
Life has gotten surprisingly busy, from shuttling kids back and forth to school and extra curriculars; to running errands and managing playdates; to doing laundry and keeping house; trying to prepare healthy snacks and meals; nursing owies and illnesses; paying the bills and trying to start a business...
The day-to-day craziness of life, nevermind caring for a family, can make it difficult to forget that if we want to be whole and balanced individuals, we need to take care of ourselves too - both our bodies and our minds. 
I am at peace with getting older.  I find I know myself better than I did when I was younger, and I like who I have become.  I continue to learn and grow everyday, and I'm excited for my future.... what better place to be at at the dawn of ones 40s?

Thank you for coming on this journey with me :)  I look forward to continuing to keep track of little bits of everything and nothing in particular right here in my blog about everything Dayna-ish... I'm having more fun blogging than I thought I would!! Feel free to follow if you wish... and even better, feel free to share your favourite things with me too :)

TTFN

As Always,  Dayna

14 day Countdown to 40 - Self-Indulgence #14 (part 2)

Rrrrrred Velvet!

......Following our trip into the cheese shop, mom and I headed over to Crave Cupcakes, and I finally tasted my first ever Red Velvet Cupcake. 

Now, the first time I ever heard the term "Red Velvet" used in relation to food was on season 1 of "The Apprentice", when the challenge was for each team to create and market a new flavour of ice cream.  One of the flavours was called Red Velvet - and I instantly fell in love with the name... without actually realizing what it was.






In my mind, I had pictured Red Velvet to be a lot more sophisticated dessert than that!!



Later I did a bit of research and learned that traditional Red Velvet is really nothing more chocolate cake with a TON of red food colouring added, and topped with a cream cheese icing... apart from the icing, I thought - what a let down....
Nevertheless - I began a quest to find the perfect (in my mind) red velvet recipe.... alas, my family doesn't eat a lot of dessert, so I never actually tried to make anything red velvety, until this past Valentine's Day.  My in-laws were visiting from Ontario and we invited some friends over for Valentines Dinner to visit with them... because we had so many people dining with us, and because it was a special occasion, I decided to finally attempt my first ever red velvet ... and my first ever cheesecake.

Dessert was supposed to look like this

.

... it didn't

Well - it was an unmitigated disaster!!!!  After 6 hours of preparation and baking, my decadent "red velvet cheesecake" was the colour of a bandaid (despite 2 big bottles of red liquid food colouring), and a mushy gushy mess that had almost doubled in size, overflowing my springform pan, spilling into the water bath, in big, goopy bandaid pink clumps that looked more curdled than creamy.  In all fairness to the myrecipes.com website though - I probably shouldn't have doubled the recipe) ..... in the end except for the crust, the whole thing ended up in the garbage.  Thank goodness, I have good friends and forgiving relatives, and we all have a sense of humour -  because otherwise I would have curled up in a corner and hid, it was that bad...

Still, I remained enamoured by the name "Red Velvet" and held out hope that one day I would experience true red velvet, and that it would live up to the name and the culinary fantasy I had built around it..... SO when I learned that Crave Cupcakes makes a mean "Red Velvet Elvis" cupcake and realized that there was a Crave Cupcakes across the parking lot from Springbank Cheese Co, what could I do but INDULGE!!! (It was my actual birthday afterall)

My Mom and I walked into the store and together we oohed and aahed all of the wonderful flavours of cupcakes, but really that was just for show on my part - I already knew what I was going to have.
So we bought our cupcakes, went outside to sit in the sun and sink our teeth into the decadence, and after all these years, waiting to finally tasted a piece of real, honest to goodness red velvet cake my verdict was..................................................................................
.......................................................................................m'eh.

It's true - Red Velvet really is just plain old chocolate cake with a ton of red food colouring and a rich cream cheese icing - that's it.


huh - I guess that's one more thing crossed off my bucket list.


Anyways - that rather anti-climactic cupcake has NOT stopped my quest for a perfect dessert deserving of the "Red Velvet" Moniker, only now, I guess I'll have to invent my ideal red velvet recipe(s) myself!!!
I wonder - do I dare post my experiments??  Stay tuned to find out.


Meanwhile, I'm going to wrap up this post and carry it on to part 3 of my self-indulgent birthday update....

14 day Countdown to 40 - Self-Indulgence #14 (part 1)

Stinky Cheese

9 yr old ch-ch-ch-cheddar

...so, after my Mom and I finished treasure hunting, we headed over to the Springbank Cheese Company at Willow Park Village in Calgary.  I had seen their sign many times, but never taken the time to go in until now.
Given my love of exotic foods - what better self-indulgence than a trip to a genuine fromagerie?? 

Mmmmm stilton

The Springbank Cheese Company carries over 300 kinds of cheese, as well as a very wide selection of complimentary specialty foods - crackers, pates, salsas, chutneys, oils and vinegars.
It was a culinary-heaven....

sigh... brie

To start (I say this, because now I have to go back again and try something different), we chose a 9 year old cheddar, a triangle of  greenish stilton, a bit of very creamy and very sharp gorgonzola, and a half wheel of brie to mellow everything out.


We also picked up some seasoned rice crackers and a bottle of wild hibiscus flowers in syrup (I'll detail that experience in another post), and some seasoned rice crackers.
Later that afternoon, we went home and sampled the cheeses with a bit of Branston Pickle, that my husband Ken had brought home from England (I'm so lucky he knows me so well), apple slices, crackers and crusty bread ... the only thing missing was a bottle of Strongbow Cider, and it would have been a perfect Ploughman's Lunch!
It was wonderful!!!!

.... click on to part 2....

14 day Countdown to 40 - Self-Indulgence #12

The Custard Apple...

My joy in discovering new foods dates back almost as long as I can remember.  By the early 1990s, I had moved away to another city for university, but had yet to see much of the world.  In 1993, I had the opportunity to participate in an exchange program to India, with Canadian Crossroads International.  During those travels, I took the opportunity to try out as many new foods as I could - sometimes whether I knew what they were or not.

For one of my braver culinary adventures, some friends and I decided to buy one of the strangest and ugliest fruits there was, from a fruit vendor who didn't speak much english.  I remember it was green and looked a bit like a cross between an artichoke and a grenade.  We brought it back to our hostel and sat there looking at it for quite some time, trying to figure out how to eat it.
First - We didn't know if we should peel it, or just wash it and prepare to eat the skin;
Then - We didn't know if there was a special way to cut it open... would it be full of juice like an orange? would it be pulpy like an apple?

After we finally took the plunge and cut it open, we had no idea what to do next... what part of it could we eat?  The pulp, honestly, looked like barf (sorry, but it's true) and the seeds were hard and smooth like a watermelon's.  After alot of laughter and jokes worthy of any 8 year old, we slowly started poking at it.  It smelled DELICIOUS - so that was a good thing.  We decided the seeds were too hard to chew, so we set them aside, and bravely moved on to the barf-like pulp.... and what a treasure we found!!!
The pulp was smooth and creamy, and almost exactly like a fruity custard!!  We found out later that they are sometimes called Custard Apples, but are also known as cherimoya or sweet sops.
They are a very soft fruit and must not ship well, because I have never seen them for sale in Canada; however, my parents just returned from their annual winter trek to "Holiday Island", and brought one back - just for me, in their suitcase - it was a little battered on the outside, but as disgustingly mushy gushy delicious on the inside.
My whole evening paused while I cut into it, and indulged.... alas, its barfy-looking pulp did NOTHING for my kidlets, so for once, I didn't have to share the treat with anyone..... oh well, their loss.

Thank you Mom and Dad - both for making this special trip out west for my Birthday, AND for the WONDERFUL Custard Apple Birthday gift.  I love you!!!!

Hmmmm - so tomorrow's the eve of my big day.... I can't wait to see what final self-indulgences await!!!!

As Always, Dayna

14 day Countdown to 40 - Self-Indulgence #11

Peri Fries and.....

Oh Happy Day - in case you haven't noticed yet, clearly the way to my heart is through my stomach.
My wonderful London Fog morning was followed up with a Peri Chicken Wrap and Peri Fries from Nando's Chicken in Calgary, and a Custard Apple, imported fresh from the island of Dominica by my loving father (more on that in the next post).

So why do I consider these 2 items to be self-indulgences worthy of commemorating my looming 40th Bday?

Peri Fries First - I've been waiting for an occasion to try out the Calgary Nando's every since I found out it was there MONTHS ago.
I first learn about Nando's about 6 years ago, when I spent a year working in Brampton, Ontario... it wasn't exactly the most inspiring job (office manager for a styrofoam peanut company), and the 90 minute commute sucked, BUT I was helping out a friend of my husband's, so what was I going to do but make the most of it and try out a different restaurant every lunch hour.  One day I stumbled on Nando's and was introduced to their unique and absolutely fabulous Peri Fries, (not to mention their Peri Chicken) and it was love at first bite!!

Peri Peri (or piri piri) also known as African Birds Eye Pepper is a fiery little pepper that originates in Africa.  At the time, I discovered it, it was so memorable, because this was the first new flavour I remember tasting in a very long time....
Now, I have always LOVED trying new foods and new tastes, and before being introduced to Peri Peri, I naively thought I had tried and or experienced just about every type of spice or seasoning available to us in Canada at least once - what a wonderful surprise to be proven wrong!!!
Peri Peri is VERY HOT and an absolutely PERFECT seasoning for french fries.  Unfortunately, I have yet to find anywhere that sells the seasoning by itself.  When President's Choice introduced their Peri Peri Chips a couple of summers ago, I was holding out hope that they would also introduce a Peri Peri BBQ Rub or something like that, but I'm still waiting and hoping....  ANYWAYS, I had to go up to the airport in Calgary this evening to pick up my parents, who are visiting for my Birthday, and because the local Nando's is right by the airport, I decided today was the perfect day to indulge in a big order of Peri Fries - my first in 6 years....mmmmmmmmmmmmmm


My day's self-indulgences didn't end here though.... click on to self-indulgence #12... the Custard Apple...

As Always, Dayna

14 day Countdown to 40 - Self-Indulgence #9

Halvah

This is a simple self-indulgence, after last night's decadence and another call out to a childhood memory.

When I was a little girl, my parents would take us down to explore the Byward Market in Ottawa every weekend.
I remember we would wander for what felt like hours around all the little shops and vendors booths, bringing home fresh pocket bread (giant pita pockets), deli meats, funny fruits (that's probably where I tasted my first pomegranate - hey they were exotic back in the 70s!!) and other tasty treasures.  I remember a magical combination of smells - from fresh flowers and fish, to bakery sweets and stinky cheeses...

My favourite memory of the culinary treasures we brought home from the market is of Halvah, and although it is often hard to find in small town grocery stores - it remains a favourite indulgence of mine... one that I try to remember to splurge on about once a year.

Halva is a type of sweet.  It is one of the worlds oldest candies, with the earliest references date as far back as the year 3000 B.C.   The word halvah means literally 'sweetmeat'.   There are tons of different types of halva served across North Africa, the Middle East and into Asia.  When I was in India many many years ago, they served a sweet called halwa that was quite gelatinous and NOT at all what I was expecting.  My favourite type is sesame based and originates in Turkey (I think).

Wonder of wonders I recently found Halva in the Nanton IGA's deli department, in fact they even had 2 different flavours - chocolate and vanilla!  Of course I bought both, and have been holding on to them for a special occasion...like today :)

To be honest, I have never been sure how to eat it properly - I don't know if it is supposed to be used as an ingredient in another recipe or if it should be served with something else.  I've always just cut mine into pieces and enjoyed it as is - sometimes with a tall glass of milk.

Ever the kitchen-experimenter, I just decided to search for a halvah recipe to see if i can make it on my own.  I think I found the perfect one on the Tasty Recipes Blog.  I'm going to bookmark it and try it out sometime -

Then when I'm feeling particularly bored and ambitious, I might try to take on something like the White Chocolate and Halvah Cheesecake recipe I just found on Godiva.com..... mmmmmmmmmmm it must be getting close to dinner time, clearly I'm hungry!!!!

Ok - on that note, I'm going to grab another slice of heaven... I mean Halva.

ttfn!
As Always, Dayna

14 day Countdown to 40 - Self-Indulgence #7 (UPDATED POST)

GOBLOOS!!!

When I was a little girl, living in Ottawa, we had some family friends who were from India.  Every now and then, we would go over to visit them for a playdate and dinner.  Unfortunately, I've only managed to hold on to a couple of bizzare memories of those dates:
1) I remember Monika and Susan had a really fun puzzle with unusual shapes mixed in with the traditional puzzle shapes (i.e. cats, stars, boats, people etc); and

Gobloos (aka gulab jamun, aka the BEST dessert ever!!!)

2) I remember gobloos... gobloos were what I called the little balls of fried dough soaked in sweet cardomom and rosewater syrup that Mrs. Chadha always served.
Anyways, we moved away when I was 9, and I never saw the Chadhas again - but I never forgot those gobloos.  It wasn't until many years later, while travelling in India, that I learned this isn't the correct name for the dish.  They are actually called Gulab Jamun.  (Imagine how cool I sounded asking if there were "gobloos" on the menu in every restaurant I went into for the first 3 weeks of my trip - the looks this crazy backpacker got were priceless!!!)

This evening, I went over to my friend Jen H's house with a couple of other girlfriends, for indulgence #7 - an indian feast and a movie.  When she was planning the evening, and asked what we should have on our menu, OF COURSE I had to include Gulab Jamuns.

Channa Masala

The rest of the meal was a combination of take-out (raita, butter chicken, chicken tikka masala and aloo gobi), store bought (Papaddum and Punjabi mix) and homemade (I've got my slow-cooker simmering up a bunch of channa masala as I write this).... all some of my favourite foods, rounded off with a bottle of PKNT Gold Carmenere but it's the Gobloos that finished off the meal perfectly in my mind....

After dinner we curled up with an appropriately themed girly movie - Bride and Prejudice.  It was a very light-hearted Hollywood-Bollywood crossover - probably not a movie I'd recommend to everybody, but a perfect compliment to a curry dinner girls night.

So I must say a BIG THANK YOU to Jen, Sandra and Annette, for the fabulous evening.  We had such a nice time that we talked about doing it again - next time experimenting with another type of international cuisine..... I think if we can get our acts together to dine like this on a regular basis we should call ourselves the "Nanton International Cuisine Epicure Girls" (N.I.C.E. Girls for short)... what do you think???

As Always, Dayna

P.S. The PKNT Gold Carmenere was so good, it has to qualify a self-indulgence (#8).... I"ll post about it separately....

14 day Countdown to 40 - Self-Indulgence #5

Homemade Pancakes for Dinner - smothered in real Maple Syrup made in Northern Ontario at a family friend's sugar shack, and served with a dollop of yogurt.
This indulgence is in honour of Shrove Tuesday/Mardi Gras AND my all time favourite breakfast food.
When I was little, my dad would make us pancakes for breakfast after church, every Sunday morning.  He was very adventurous in the kitchen and would frequently add a whole spectrum of "secret ingredients" to the pancake batter - parmesan cheese was particularly memorable.
While having inherited some of my father's penchant for experimenting in the kitchen, I choose to stay away from cheesier ingredients when it comes to my pancake batter - instead I like to play around with ways to make the mix a little healthier - that way I don't feel so guilty about drowning them all that Maple Syrup.

Some of my favourite additions to any basic pancake recipe - wheat germ, cornmeal, oat meal, wheat bran, cocoa, powdered green tea and hemp hearts.  Sometimes I also experiment with adding different fruits and nuts to the mix, like mashed banana, grated apple, frozen berries, sesame and sunflower seeds ....

Today though - I think I'll keep the recipe basic, but give a nod to Mardi Gras by making the batter a rainbow of colours

Mmmmmmm, my inner 8 year old and I can hardly wait for dinner!!!!

Happy Mardi Gras! Happy Pancake Day!! and Happy International Women's Day!!!

As always, Dayna

14 day Countdown to 40 - Self-Indulgence #3

MMMMMM Chocolate

Tonight's self-indulgence: Ghirardelli Triple Chocolate Brownie and raspberry fruit wine from Field Stone Fruit Wines in Strathmore, Alberta
They were particularly special self-indulgences because I brought them over to celebrate a good friend's birthday.
The fruit wine was a little weak to be the perfect accompaniment to the decadence that defined the chocolate brownies.  In retrospect, I think the wine would be better served on a hot summer day - served over ice, in a spritzer with a fresh mint leaf or in a fruity punch.
The brownies deserved to be accompanied by something a lot richer - perhaps with a raspberry liqueur (i.e. Chambord) drizzled over them....... now that would have been DE-CA-DENT!!!!
Still as far as self-indulgences are concerned, I'm not too disappointed.
The companionship, movie (The Social Network) and conversation more than made up for the weakness of the wine.... besides, I still have 12 more days of self-indulgences to look forward to.

As always, Dayna

PS Happy Birthday Jen!!

Brazilian BBQ

Last night I took my in-laws out to dinner in Calgary, while my husband took our son out to a Flames vs. Stars NHL game (thanks to tickets Santa brought) - for what it's worth Flames won 4-2.   Mid way through the game my son texted to tell me: "This is cool mommy - there is real fire when the Flames score."  I don't know if he really cared who won - he was just captivated by the crowd cheering and the fire.... oh to be 8 again.

ANYWAYS - while they were at the game, I decided to entertain his mom and her husband, on their last night in Alberta, by taking them out to dinner in the city...... and what a dinner it was!!!

One of my friends recommended Bolero, which is a Brazilian Steakhouse on MacLeod Trail (www.bolerocalgary.com).  It was so much fun - like a buffet where the food comes to you... similar to dim sum I guess, but all the grilled meats and grilled vegetables are served to you at your table, from these long sword-like skewers..... very cool!!  The atmosphere is dark and cozy, but still family friendly.  The Bar had a pretty good wine list, and some South America cocktails that are totally worth indulging in!!!  Desserts were enormous and mouthwatering - and entirely unnecessary, after the HUGE amount of food we ate. 
I booked our reservation online through their very handy reservation system - and it's a good thing I did, because the place was surprisingly busy for a Wednesday night! I can't wait to go back again with my whole family (unless I find a way to whisk my husband away on a romantic date sans kids - haha).

So, in honour of my amazing dinner last night, at a very funky restaurant, my favourite-thing link-of-the-day is to a video for another Bolero - this one by Ravel. It's played by a neat musical group called Barrage and is a very compeling interpretation of a fantastic piece of classical music (which we incidentally used for our wedding march - oh so many years ago).....

Enjoy!

As Always, Dayna

Trying something new...

Well - here it is, 8:45am Tuesday - the day after Valentines Day.  A beautiful and surprisingly warm February morning.... gotta love chinooks - at least when they don't come with migraines!!

One kid is off to school, the other is home with a cold.... probably not bad enough to keep her away from school, but what the heck, she's only in kindergarten, and her grandparents (who are visiting from Ontario) will be leaving in a day or two, so consider this bonding time for them.

I can't really tell you why I've finally decided to start a personal blog - today of all days.  I've been thinking about it for some time, but never having been much of a journaller, I don't know if I'm really ready to commit to this medium, so we'll see how it goes.

I think I want to use this space to record whatever inspires me, or catches my attention at any given time.

I envision posting :
- recipes I discover (in my random quest to find the perfect red velvet anything.... for no other reason than I like how the name rolls off my tongue...RRRRrrrrred Velllllvvvett;
- links to places, videos, photos and podcasts that captivate me (I LOVE www.ted.com and CBC Radio Podcasts);
- crafts and other projects that I'm working on (or more realistically - adding to my list of things I wish to do whenever I find time);
- thoughts about movies I've seen (or want to see);
- books I've read (or am reading);
- music that I lose myself with;
- newly discovered (and old comfort) favourite foods and beverages (I'm an epicurean wannabe... mmmmm goatcheese);
- favourite things (that I would buy all my friends a la Oprah, should I ever win the lottery)
- other ways I'd spend my lottery jackpot winnings (if I ever bothered to regularly buy and check my tickets);
and,
- just general musings on life, the universe and everything... as I muddle along on this third planet from the sun.

..... so having said all that, let my blogging begin!!!