Mail from Montreal

The Quatchis and I have made great friends through Quatch Watch. They hail from all over the world, and we're very lucky and thankful to receive mail from them.

The Mins discovered this envelope under the door. He brought it to Q to open.

It was a letter from Laura, Q, and Qk! Our pals used to live in Vancouver but now call Montreal their home base. Laura also included a homemade gift for me.

Hair elastics! Aren't the Quatchis great models? Q really likes the light blue ones because they match his earmuffs. I have long hair and used a dark blue one over the weekend.

Thanks Laura, Q, and Qk for thinking of us!

Qs and Za

Homemade pizza topped with tomato sauce, Italian sausage, onions, and fresh mozzarella. Great work, Quatchis!

Blueberry Lemon Bread

The Quatchis and I received another wonderful housewarming present! We've always wanted a KitchenAid stand mixer. And one in a slick colour too. We were eager to try out our new toy today. Plus, it's been a while since we've tried a new recipe.

Blueberry Lemon Bread

1/3 cup butter, melted

1 cup white sugar

1 lemon, juiced

2 eggs

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup milk

2 tablespoons lemon zest

1 cup fresh blueberries

2 tablespoons lemon juice

1/4 cup white sugar

Preheat oven to 350 F. Grease and flour an 8 x 4 inch pan. In a medium bowl, mix flour, baking powder, and salt together. Set aside.

In a large bowl, cream the butter and 1 cup sugar until light and fluffy. Add eggs and beat well. Mix in the juice of 1 lemon. Add the flour mixture, alternating with the milk. Fold in the lemon zest and blueberries. Pour into prepared pan.

Bake for 60 to 70 minutes. For the glaze, combine 1/4 cup sugar with 2 tablespoons lemon juice. Drizzle over cake while still warm.

Source: Allrecipies.com

The bread smells delicious. We're waiting for it to cool before we slice it. Be patient, Quatchis!

Why hello again!

The Quatchis and I are now proud residents of Toronto! I made an offer on a condo in late January, which I thought would get flat out rejected (or at least countered), but it was accepted, and we moved in four weeks later.

Here's what my place looked like in mid-clean on moving day. Pretty messy, eh? Don't worry, it looks a lot better now!

While I was unpacking into the wee hours of the morning, the Quatchis were nicely tucked, away from the condo chaos, in a housewarming gift from my mum.

The condo is still a little bare (I still have a few big item purchases to make, and decorate), but it's slowly coming together. I look forward to sharing more photos with you!

We're still here!

Hey Quatch Watch fans!

Sorry for not giving any notice before, but we'll return to blogging in full force soon, promise!

The Quatchis and I have been busy packing our bags. And no, we're not going on vacation.

Updates to come soon!

Attack of the Labbits!

Meet Mini Q's new friends - the Labbits!

Kung Hey Fat Choy!

 

The Quatchis are celebrating Chinese New Year with the family. My mum gave them lai see.

 

They also snacked on leen go.

To see what's in store for you in the Year of the Dragon, click here.

Happy Chinese New Year!

Sun Nien Fai Lock!

Kung Hey Fat Choy!

New Year, New Recipes

I've made banana bread before, but a new year calls for new recipes! I thought this one would be interesting because it includes sour cream (which I haven't used in a quick bread before). Mini was napping but Q was game on helping me bake. He was quite helpful in taste testing too!

Best Ever Banana Bread
1 cup mashed very ripe bananas

1 cup granulated sugar

1/4 cup vegetable oil

1/2 cup sour cream

2 eggs well beaten

1 1/12 cups all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

In a large bowl, mix together the bananas, sugar, oil, sour cream, and eggs. In another bowl, mix together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Add the dry mix to the banana mix, stirring until just combined. Bake in a greased 9 x 5 inch loaf pan at 325 F for 60 to 75 minutes. Cool for 5 minutes before removing from the pan.

Source: Winnipeg Free Press

To the Hills

We saw a whole lot over the next few days. Above tiny San Simeon, we visited the Hearst Castle.

Mini Q wanted to dive into the Neptune Pool! The Italian (indoor) Pool was quite nice too.

In Solvang, a.k.a. the Danish capital of the United States, we pigged out on pastries. The Olsen family founded the town way back in the day.

It's as if Mini Q was in Denmark! Lol.

One afternoon, we visited the Gainey Vineyard. Our tour guide was hilarious. I had a great time learning about wine making, trying different wines, and walking around the property.

Santa Barbara was uber chill. Didn't see a whole lot, but I'm happy we stopped by.

I was told prior to my trip that the people at Venice Beach are interesting to say the least. I think they were sleeping in the morning we went!

Parking on Rodeo Drive was remarkably easy to find, and cheap, especially on a Friday afternoon. The shopping though - not so much...

After driving through the Hills, we visited the touristy places in Hollywood, including the Mann Chinese Theatre.

On our last full day in LA, we had lupper (a lunch/dinner hybrid if you will) in Santa Monica. The beach, Palisades Park, and the Third Street Promenade were quite lovely.

And that's it! Seven days of pure Californian bliss!

On the Road

After San Fran, we made a quick pit stop in Berkeley and stayed overnight in Palo Alto. We drove to Half Moon Bay the next morning. We were hoping to see some surfers out and about, but it was a wee bit chilly. Mini Q really enjoyed the fresh air.

We stopped in Santa Cruz for lunch. It was kinda eerie how quiet it was by the amusement park. The Mins and I had the whole beach to ourselves!

We visited the aquarium in Monterey. Mini Q liked watching the sea otters.

On day four of our California cruise, we did the 17-Mile Drive through Pacific Grove and Pebble Beach. There were heaps of pelicans and sea lions lazing on the rock in the distance. We made several stops along the route, including one at the Lone Cypress.

In Carmel-by-the-Sea, we indugled in a "Dirty Harry" burger for lunch at Clint Eastwood's resto - Hog's Breath Inn.

Ya don't see beaches like this in Toronto!

The Mins in front of the gates to the historic Mission San Carlos.

We spent the afternoon driving along the Pacific Coast Highway in the Big Sur. This was by far my favourite part of the trip! The views were unreal, and kept on getting better and better when we drove south. This photo was taken at Pfeiffer Beach.

It was here I started to wonder, what ever happened to Michelle Pfeiffer?!? Dangerous Minds was a great movie. If you have any insight, please do let me know.