First Baking Disaster

It had to happen.  Nobody's perfect.  :)  Tonight, I tried to make a pear crisp and it turned out bad.  I am too embarrassed to describe how bad the crisp turned out.  I know what I did wrong and will try again.  Unfortunately, I made three of them.  Two individual servings and one big one.

I tried to salvage them but in the end, it could not be saved.  Pears are not an easy fruit to work with.  You never know the moisture content and how it will turn out in the cooking.  I was hoping that there would be a bit of moisture produced during the cooking process but little to none came out.  This caused the flour to stay ... well .. white.  This made the crisp dry.  After baking it, it smelled good but when I cut into it the fruit was still coated with raw flour.  :(  Gross.

So embarrassing .. but I'm not going to quit.  I'll try again.

pudge

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Randy Pausch Last Lecture: Achieving Your Childhood Dreams

This video was sent to me a while ago.  I have found it inspirational.  I thought maybe you will find it inspirational as well.  It's long but worth the time.

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Wine Picks for the August & September

I noticed that I didn't provide wine picks for the month of August and it's now September.  Here are my wine picks for August/early September.

Low budget white:  Kim Crawford Sauvignon Blanc (it's on sale!  I love sales :)
Low budget red:  The Lucky Country (approx. $15)

Medium budget red:  Perrin & Fils Peyre Blanche Cotes du Rhone-Villages Cairanne 2007 (Many reasons for recommending this wine.

1. its complex notes and long finish.  I love a wine that has a long finish.  The flavour lingers on the tongue.  Wow.
2. its cellering potential.  If you buy it now, you don't have to drink it right away.  It can be cellared for the next 6-8 years.  However, if you crack a bottle now, you should give it some air before serving.  Pour it into a wine decanter and swirl it around a bit, and let it sit for about an hr before serving.   Best paired with a good steak or pasta with a meat sauce.
3. the price.  At $18, that's a great value.

Big budget red:  Hess Allomi Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon 2007  (I was going to pick the Ironstone Reserve Old Vine Zinfandel but I think I've been recommending a lot of zins so I decided to go with this cab.  Hess is a great California wine maker.  This cabernet sauvignon is a great addition to your cellar.)

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Congratulations, Fa Yeh and Susan

Last night, I found out that my friends Fa-Yeh and Susan became first time parents.  They had a baby girl - Alexandra Hailey Lin.

I saw pics of her on their Facebook page and she's so cute!  She's only 10 weeks old.  All are doing well.  Mom and dad are lacking a bit of sleep but that comes with the job.  ;-)

I should also give Damien and Anna a long overdue congratulations as well.  They welcomed baby Jaden back in mid June.

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Short weekend in Toronto

I was in Toronto this past weekend.  I arrived Friday night around 7:15 pm.  I wanted to make it home in time for dinner with the family but unfortunately, I couldn't make it there by 6:30 pm.  However, I was happy that everyone waited for me to celebrate my sister Joyce's birthday.  I baked Joyce a dozen blueberry muffins.  I hope you like them!

It was really nice to see my family.  I haven't seen them in a while.  I particularly enjoyed seeing Chloe.  She's so cute.  She didn't cry when I held her - although she kept grabbing my hair.  Ouch!  :)

Karen and I drove out to the Hershey Centre to watch some friends play in the CPB badminton tournament.  We got there in time to watch Tim and Hon play.  There were nine courts of action that it was tough to watch everyone.  Sorry guys if I missed your matches.

When I left on Sunday, mom and dad loaded me up with groceries.  Even though there is a T&T in Ottawa, the prices are pretty crazy.  So when I'm in Toronto, I will pick up a bunch of things before heading back.

My next trip back will be in mid September.  I may stay a bit longer but we'll see. 

I took some pictures of family .. I'll post them next time for all to see.

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A Visit to Aunt June's

Two days ago, my sister and her family arrived in Ottawa.  They were on the last leg of their road trip and decided to make a stop in Ottawa to see me.  I was so happy to see them!  The arrived around 7:30 pm on Wednesday night and left this morning.

During their stay here, we toured the city a bit.  And what is a trip to Ottawa without going to see the new T&T?!  Haha .. they reacted just like my mom did when my mom was here.  Everything was way more expensive than in Toronto.  I watched my brother in law and my sister look at the prices for everything and just cringe at the prices.  It was kind of funny.  In the end, we bought a few things and that was it.  They did say that the next time I'm in Toronto, I should shop there and bring a load of groceries home.  I'm sure my mom will make sure that I do that too.  :)

The funniest thing that happened this morning.  As we were getting ready to leave, I heard this rustling noise of a plastic bag being crumpled.  My immediate thought was little Aiden.  You know how they always say to keep bags away from children?  I quickly went to see what was going on .. I let out a OMG!.  He found my bag of potato chips and he was lying on the floor with the opened bag and potato chips all over him.  He didn't eat the potato chips .. he just liked the crunching sound of the bag.  :)

They are probably home by now and I miss them already.  It will be different going home today and not have the squealing of two girls and a 9 month old boy.  Sigh. Come visit again.

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Wings After Badminton

Because of the long weekend, the turnout at badminton was pretty mediocre.  A few of my friends went to play anyway and we ended up playing for about an hour non-stop.  After badminton, we decided to head out to the James Street pub for All You Can Eat Wings for $10.

I haven't had wings since my university days.  And going for wings reminded me of those times.  :)  It was a lot of fun.  Good company, good food, and good conversation.  I ordered the medium wings and it came in a huge basket!  There must have been at least 15 wings in that basket and yes, I ate all of them.  There were a few differents flavours to choose from.  I went with the basic medium wings and after 3 or 4 wings, my lips started tingling.  Hehe .. I'm just not good with hot & spicy food!  :)  I can't imagine how hot the 911 flavoured wings are.

Where do you guys go for wings in Toronto?  Armageddon?

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