Two secret ingredients

Yesterday I went to the Dufferin Grove Farmer's Market and got carrots and beets. Today they impromptu turned into a soup. To liven up the broth, which was otherwise the salted water from simmering the vegetables, I fried minced carrot greens stems and parsley in olive oil with garlic. I also added two secret ingredients: sweet smoked paprika and aged dried orange peel that I previously wrote about.

Butterscotch Peanut Butter Marshmallow

Let me start by saying that these are all gone.

There is so much sugar in these that the Redpath factory went into backorder. 

I'm finding it hard to explain my love for these without expletives.

Just look at the pictures. And keep three things in mind:

1. Butterscotch chips 
2. Peanut Butter 
3. Marshmallows

Try to imagine this in your mouth

Pan-seared Ontario lamb crusted with rosemary and garlic. The sauce took red wine to deglaze, with some cream and wilted parsley to coat the pasta, topped with quail egg. I love whole wheat spaghetti; please don't hate on me for it. Also pan fried zucchini and tomato wedges. Good lord could life get any better.

Yes, it's more photos of R2. What can I do? Photograph another few.

A new face of R2 which many people have likely not explored. 668 Queen West from a different perspective. I was amazed by the sheer number of "NO PARKING" signs, the creative graffiti, and the old structures. And how slow an SUV must drive to fit through the laneway. 

I believe that photography should make a subject better than it is through perspective, and I think this photo fulfils that

Check out the double reflection in the window of the furniture shop across the street, and Reza Y chilling outside R2

RIP Rob Ford

Now here's a halloween decoration that made me laugh and turn my bike around to take a quick snap of! 

Colour me Beautiful

I'm looking for a good opportunity to use these beautiful pastels from my mom. It will not involve drawing on the sidewalk, unless it's a very special sidewalk.

R2 New Signage

There is a new chalkboard outside of R2 beside the 668A apartment door that lists daily specials ($1 muffin with purchase of an americano or drip coffee before 10AM) and specialty drinks (Orange Mocha, developed by yours truly and my fellow baristas). I had the privilege of writing on it!

Curb Alert Toronto #1

I've wanted to do Curb Alerts for a while now, and this is my first one! My Curb Alerts are of interesting pieces that I see lining the streets of Toronto, which are up for grabs. I post the location and a picture within a couple hours of sighting, and it's first come first serve!

Here we have a small table or nightstand, about 24" x 8" and 24" tall. Made of real wood, it has some water damage but would be wonderfully restored with a quick sanding and application of stain and tung oil. It's located at 149 Euclid Ave. Good luck!

I want to ride my bicycle, bicycle, bicycle

$45 bought me one beat-up beautiful bike off the end of the driveway of an old italian guy. After two full days of work on it at Bike Pirates, it was finally rideable. Yesterday, it got a makeover of new bar tape and a new seat! In Belgium this summer I saw people using deflated tubes as bungee cords for the back rack and tried to remember how they did it. Very excited to continue riding this beauty. Thanks, Bike Pirates!

Drink Development at R2

Last monday saw a few of the R² baristas brainstorming and shopping for the ingredients of possible specialty drinks. I photographed some of the process. 

Ingredients: result of shopping

We ended up developing two drinks, the orange mocha, and the chocolate chili latte. The orange mocha is currently being served at R², and comes with the lovely garnish of a chocolate-coated sliver of candied orange peel from Delight on Queen West.  

Chocolate-coated candied orange peel slivers

Ingredients of the orange mocha

Me on the phone

Chris, an esteemed regular

Evan, making a free-pour swan

Evan, pleased about something, possibly my photo of his latte art

We will be serving the chocolate chili latte later this fall. 

Chocolate chili latte ingredients

RSquared Cafe

This summer when I moved to Toronto one of my tentative goals was to join an independent coffee shop and take my love of good coffee to the next level by working on being a barista. Graham convinced me with difficulty to go to a coffee shop that was all the way across the city for a free coffee. Well one thing led to another, and before you know it, it's Gigi the barista at RSquared Cafe on Queen West. Definitely a dream come true. Thanks, folks at RSquared!

Photo cred goes to Evan Jerred for this image of me steaming milk at RSquared

French press brewed RSquared Espresso blend coffee. The perfect start to a Saturday morning. 

Take a look at the crema-like topping which the french press allows to come through

Beautiful blue Mikasa cups from Vintage Rescuer.

New family member to the Art Dept!

Welcome to the Canon EOS XSi DSLR! Complete with a "nifty fifty" lens. It feels great and liberating to be able to record things that inspire me, that I create, which are beautiful, and which I think are noteworthy. I only had about forty minutes to play around with the camera today but it's very exciting! I've wanted to join a photography meetup group ever since I got to Toronto but only lacked a camera with which to take photos. Next steps will include taking full advantage of the Nifty Fifty, and in the future getting wide angle and zoom lenses. I leave you with a few of my first shots from this afternoon. 

Decorated doorknob

Windowsill and self-made curtains

Dried orchid flower from RSquared Cafe

My door and shabby-chic ceiling

Antique iron meant to be placed in the fireplace to be heated up. Found on the side of the road while biking home