252 posts tagged “chaeli”

after the annual SCAW (sleeping children around the world) charity concert, we finally had a chance to try roger mooking's kultura restaurant. like his other restaurant, nyood (pronounced 'nude'), it's like a tasting menu where you share as a group.

oh yum. definitely a good choice. the only problem was that there were so many yummy items that we over-ordered. at the same time, the plus side is that the next time i go back, i'll have a clearer idea of what i want to focus on.

our crazy, long list (including appetizer, main menu items and dessert):

Edamame - Miso, Black Bean

Scallops with Gow Gee - Braised Beef Cheeks, soy Emulsion, Cripsed Shallots

Mushroom Orecchiette - Mailvoire Pinot Noir Pear Chutney, Aged Cheddar

Peppered Tuna Carpaccio - Daikon, Sesame Oil, Mizuna Cress, Miso Crisp

Naan - Garlic, Black Onion Seed, Harissa Yogurt

Indian Samosas - Shitake Mushroom, Pine Nuts, Truffled Paneer, Tamarind Date Chutney

Miso Black Cod - Yuzu Corn Puree, Pickled Radish Salad, Crystallized Tamarind

Crispy Tofu - Miso Consomme, Shitake, Garlic Chips

Chicken and Gnocchi - Rice Crunch, Spring Peas, Peppered honey

Black Quinoa Cursted Lamb Loin - Roasted Salsify, Gai Lan, Maple Gastrique

Chocolate Delice - Salted Caramel, Sesame Nougat, Twizzler Ice Cream

Flourless Chocolate Cake - Chocolate Pudding, Caramel Parfait, Frozen Lemon Curd

Vanilla Sugar Doughnut Holes - Caramel and Chocolate Dipping Sauce

keep in mind, for a lot of it, we had to order two as there were about 5 adults and chaeli, whom loved the food that she tried but was a bit disappointed that roger mooking himself wasn't there to greet her (he's one of her favouirte 'cookers' as she likes to call it, from foodtv.ca). okay, i admit it. i was disappoint too, even though i knew full well that he wouldn't be there.

my favourite was the black cod, mushroom orecchiette and the tuna carpaccio. the tofu and scallops were also amongst some of my faves.

we were sitting in the living room, doug and i, while chaeli was playing pinball on the wii with my aunt.

out of nowhere, we hear chaeli yell out, "ALRIGHT! ROCK 'N ROLL!"

rock. and. roll.

i have no idea where she got that from

***

at the zoo, chaeli went up to the educational table, which are always manned by volunteers.

she stood there for a few seconds and then asked the lady, very loudly i might add, "DID YOU KILL ALL THESE BUTTERFLIES AND BUGS? JUST TO SHOW IT ON THIS TABLE???"

ack!

***

for such little person, she clogs up the toilet the MOST in our household.

our plans changed for the weekend and ended up being a very quiet one at home. which was just as well - we have so many busy weekends up ahead so a little break won't hurt.

i ended up being the first to be awake on a saturday morning. i quickly packed my gym bag and away i went to my bodypump class. and because the women's gym was on top of the 2nd floor of the superstore, i decided to do some grocery shopping afterwards. convenience at it's finest!

the rest of the afternoon was lazy. after lunch, we were all in the living room... chaeli playing her leapster games, doug reading the paper and me... well, i was reading something. but my eyes were so heavy that after awhile, i just leaned into doug and closed them for a bit.

i think that was my favourite part of the day. sitting on that couch with the two people that i love, just taking in the quietness and peace. but... i couldn't take it much longer. i was just that tired. i ended up going up stairs and napping for almost an hour an a half!

being completely lazy, we ordered in swiss chalet and then watched Up.

sunday wasn't as lazy, though. we got up and went to the zoo for a stroll, and then went shopping. i ended up treating myself to DDR3 for the wii and man... i suck! hopefully, with practice, i'll be a dancing queen but until then, lets just say i'm glad that i'm doing this in the privacy of my basement, away from the public eye.

anyway, it was one of those interesting weekends where nothing significant happened. instead, it was filled with a lot of little things. but for whatever reason, it's those little things that sometimes gives me that exhilerated feeling.

sometimes i wish i had that magical, twitchy nose like that samantha from bewitched. ah - when t.v. shows were a league of their own. in a good way.

and as much as i wished i had powers to make my closet, or any space in my house, either big or small, become instantly organized and clean in matter of a milli-second, the reality is, of course, that i can't do that. and even if i could, would i really be using my powers just to clean closets?

anyway, this is something i have been wanting to do since september but something always came up. and as we had no plans today, i decided to go for it.

two hours later, i am left with just my cd case and one half of a shelf piled of magazines to go through. and i just can't do anymore. two hours in a closet is enough! i will do that half a shelf and cds another day.

most importantly, i organized all the christmas presents that i bought. yes, that's right. you heard me.

not only do i organize my christmas shopping lists into spreadsheets where there is one spreadsheet for each - my familly, doug's family, doug and chaeli and misc. gift... not only do i create another spreadsheet to correlate with the other four, but this one being by store, either online or off, so i don't end up running all over town, hitting stores more then once... but at some point, i organize my gifts so that all the gifts going to thunderbay are in one or two large shopping bags, and i do the same for presents for chaeli, doug and my own side of the familly.

there is a chaotic period where i shop and just pile everything in the corner of my walk-in closet, still in their bags/boxes.

it was driving me crazy. now, they are all organized. all i need to do is pull them out in the order that they need to be wrapped - doug's family being the front in line.

yup.

i'm psychotic.

there are a lot of parties, celebrations and events being piled into our already booked weekends from now until the end of the year.

doug and i have one weekend this month where nothing is scheduled. nothing - for the whole weekend. and just that one weekend alone. chaeli will be staying at my parents' place.

and you know i'll want to head out somewhere nice for dinner. probably with friends, actually, so we can have an adult night. where, i don't know. somewhere new and interesting.

i love this season. i do. i (knock on wood) just hope that we all stay healthy enough to enjoy all these fun things we have planned. a run-down of events we've got schedule:

- ada and hoa's duo birthday party
- cathy's daughter's birthday party
- SCAW charity concert followed by dinner ath roger mooking's kultura
- stuart mclean's reading/music concert after dinner on baldwin street
- disney on ice followed by a visit to city hall and dinner
- visit from MIL for an extended weekend
- visit to a christmas tree farm

and then, of course, christmas and new year's. and ta-dah! hello 2010!

actually, the peppermient mocha at starbucks is a tad too sweet for my taste. but i love the minty flavour so it's hard to resist.

the heaven part really isn't just the drink. it's that i took the day off, got the house cleaning done in the morning (so i know it's out of the way for the weekend), gone for a very good, strength-circuit class from hell, had a very yummy turkey sandwich with sparkling water and am now listing to tunes while surfing at starbucks (god bless 2 hour free hotspot a day here).

the mocha latte is my dessert.

and i have about 2.5 hrs more before i have to go pick up little miss.

i'm loving it!

so we ordered chaeli some chocolate ice cream after dining at a local german restaurant this past friday night.

about halfway through, chaeli starts to moosh up her ice cream.

my mom asks, "chaeli, what are you doing?"

chaeli mumbles, "i'm making food."

"you're making food?"

"no - i'm making POO!"

so exactly when did my sweet little girl turn into little miss disgustington?

but... if it's even possible, i love her even more then when she was first born.