By Popular Demand!

Several people have suggested I start a blog devoted entirely to the art of poutine. So I did! Please check it out when you have a chance: It's called Poutine Chronicles.

Da Junkanoo Shak

As a regular viewer of Food Network's Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives, I'm always looking for that hole-in-the-wall place that features REAL food.


Da Junkanoo Shak in Nassau, Bahamas seemed to fit that bill.


The menu looked promising.

You may be familiar with conch (pronounced "konk") shells. They are basically GIANT snails. The meat of the conch is second in popularity only to the escargot and is very popular in the Bahamas (and the West Indies too).



We started with conch fritters.


They were yummy, kind of a corn bread-y type dough with a bit of conch right in the middle.


I ordered a conch salad. Really good and now I can see those hot peppers that are sitting on top of the salad and man, they were some hot!


Richard had a conch burger. Yum.


We washed it all down with a couple of local beers.


Gotta love Kalik! Unfortunately it is not exported and can only be enjoyed in the Bahamas. Okay so when's the next plane?

Prickly Pear Cactus, Two-Ways

While visiting our friends Roberta and Phil in Florida, Phil showed me the fine art of making Mojitos. Lots of limes, mint and icing sugar.


These ones were going to be extra special with the addition of the fruit (the pear) from a prickly pear cactus.


Phil peeled and then mushed the fruit really well. Isn't the colour amazing?


My job was to divide it amongst the four glasses and to keep muddling.


White rum, sparkling water and ice were added and yum-o! We had pink Mojitos!


Meanwhile, the rest of the prickly pear cactus, called "Nopales" was waiting.


Richard and I cleaned off all the little needles...


...really, really well.


And Phil barbecued them as one of the many sides with our steaks. Tasted a bit like grilled peppers. Very cool.

The Colours of Nassau

Last week Richard and I took a 2 day cruise from Ft. Lauderdale, Florida to the Bahamas which stopped in the capital city of Nassau.


The colours were astounding.


We walked for hours in the sun and gawked at the architecture.


Lovely, eh?


And this was no set up for tourists. This cop was really directing traffic...and it seemed to me, taking his life into his hands.


We also took a glass bottom boat tour and saw amazingly colourful fish, which were impossible to photograph. From the boat we passed by Paradise Island with the Atlantis Hotel in the background. It's just huge!


Later, back in Nassau, we headed to the public beach. Richard took off to take photos.


I had to get that white sand between my toes.


The water was so turquoise, the air was 90F with a breeze. I'm ready to go back!

Poutine Chronicles: Florida Edition

Richard and I just got back from a week in Florida. Before leaving I googled "Poutine in South Florida" and came up with the Dairy Belle in Dania Beach, just south of Ft. Lauderdale. (Note: It's closed on Mondays so don't be disappointed like we were. All we could do was take photos of the signs!)


They have tons of stuff from back home. Poutine as well as steamed hot dogs. Under the poutine listings they have "Galvaude" which I later found out was poutine with chicken and peas.


For the uninitiated, they explain exactly what poutine is in all it's yummy goodness. (Click to enlarge.)


So we headed back to the Dairy Belle the next night. We just couldn't pass this one up. Isn't this place cute?


Richard and I split a large poutine and here it is.


Mid-November at 7 p.m. and eating poutine outside in 83F temperature. Heaven or what?
Rating: 5 curds out of a possible 5. How could I give it anything less?

Soup Art

The last of the root veggies from the garden got made into two kinds of soup: carrot soup and leek and potato soup. Then I decided to do a kind of tribute to Kenneth Noland. Who knew art could taste so good?

Sign, Sign, Everywhere a Sign

How long are you allowed to sit in it, do you suppose?


This just struck me as funny. The ultimate in fusion food?


This seemed odd too although I'm sure it's not what they meant.

Punch Card Art

A few years ago I participated in an art show entitled "Do Not Fold, Bend, Spindle or Mutilate: Computer Punch Card Art." The organizers at the Visual Arts Center at the Washington Pavilion of Arts and Science mailed out punch cards and asked folks to fold, bend or mutilate the cards in any way they chose and return them. This is what I sent in.

Pink & Yellow Roses Cake

This marble cake with chocolate frosting was for my friend Barb's daughter Bridget. I experimented with two-toned roses and I like how they turn from pink to yellow. Fun.

Poutine With a Side of Fish

Warning: This post should be called "Grease Overload!"
While in Cornwall meeting Jen and her friend Denise (who was visiting from Barrie, Ontario), we headed to Ye Old Fish and Chip Shop in Cornwall. Denise ordered onion rings for the table.


Jen decided that the poutine her son had on their last visit was so darn good, that she'd order it as a side to her fish.


Looks good, eh?


There was more than one fork in that poutine. I guess you can have your fish and poutine too. Who'd have thunk it?

October Woods

I did this colour pencil drawing and gave it to my sister Marcia for her October 12th birthday. The leaves have nearly all fallen around here so it's nice to remember what those bright, yellow maple trees looked like.

Nests Revealed

Now that the leaves are falling, nests are revealing themselves all over the place. This one is very close to my front door. I actually discovered it the day before the little birds fledged. It was a blue jay nest and I had never seen jay babies before. They looked like miniature blue jays with very short tails.


This robin's nest was in my crab apple tree.


I'm not sure what kind of birds lived in this nest. I'm guessing a Kinglet, as they seem to prefer spruce to nest in. This little tree is my millennium tree (planted in 2000) and it's about 5 feet tall now. I was marvelling at how large it was getting when I noticed this little nest, well hidden in the upper boughs.

Big Things: Spider

This gargantuan bronze spider, called Maman by Louise Bourgeois, weighs 8,165 kg (18,000 lbs) and carries a sac of twenty white marble eggs under her belly. It resides outside the front door of the National Gallery of Canada in Ottawa.

Faux Poutine Cake

Since Richard and I have spent a better part of our summer recording our Poutine Chronicles, I figured I'd make a faux poutine cake for Richard's birthday.


The "french fries" are Sara Lee pound cake cut into fry shapes and toasted. The "cheese curds" are made out of white chocolate and the "gravy" is dulce de leche.


The cake under all that was chocolate with white icing.


I think the birthday boy enjoyed it!