French Getaway

The Mins, Maggie, BC, and I escaped to Montreal last weekend. We got there in a jiff via Porter. The Mins and Maggie enjoyed some bball clips on BC's iPad on the way. We also watched a bunch of Olympics. We are so proud of our Canadians!

After some brisk shopping on Saint-Catherine (I was on a mission to get to Simons before it closed), we indulged in a Montreal staple - smoked meat sandwiches at Schwartz's. YUM!

We then relaxed at our hotel, the Omni,  before BC and I left to meet a friend at Mme. Lee. It was all very French until we saw their featured cocktail - the Rob Ford!

The next morning, we went to Le Cartet with one of my besties from Western. The place was hopping! I got the "healthy brunch", knowing for what we were up for later that evening.

After brunch we visited the Musee des beaux-arts. Luckily, the place wasn't busy so we were able to enjoy the large pieces of art from afar.

The highlight of our trip was Cabane a Sucre. It was a feast of five appetizers, three mains, and four desserts. Everything was rich, plentiful, and over-the-top. The Mins was excited to try different foods. Here, BC is serving him a baked yam, topped with whipped marshmallow and maple syrup.

Naturally, being at a sugar shack, maple syrup was in everything! One of the desserts were maple syrup pops. Pure liquid gold it was. And refreshing after our glutinous meal!

We spent one more day in Montreal. I'll save it for another post. G'night!

We Heart You!

Wishing everyone lots of love and happiness this February the 14th!

Happy tummies make happy Quatchis so we went all out making dinner at home.

Sending lots of hugs to all our quatchtastic friends around the world!

Happy New Year, Lunar Style!

Happy Lunar New Year!

We rang in the Year of the Horse with the fam and hot pot.

Thanks to Lauren for sending us the card and lai see!

To see some CNY photos from around the world, click here.

Maggie's First Concert

These dark winter months have been rough, eh? So far, I've experienced my first (and hopefully last) "polar vortex". To beat the winter blues, Maggie and I listened to some lovely French music performed by the Toronto Symphony Orchestra.

The program included some of my fave composers, including Ravel, Debussy, and Satie. This was Maggie's first concert so she wanted to dress up. Her stylish necklace is a MoonRox original.

Keep warm, everyone!

Mellow Carrot Cake

• The Quatchis and I are milking the last few days of our vacation in Kingston. We tested a few new recipes, including the one below. The cake / quick bread turned out quite well, and tastes great, even without the frosting. Enjoy!
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  Carrot Tea Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting
  1 stick unsalted butter, room temperature, plus more for pan
  1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for pan
  1 teaspoon baking powder
  1/2 teaspoon baking soda
  1/2 teaspoon salt
  1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
  1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
  1/2 cup packed dark brown sugar
  2 large eggs
  1 1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
  1 cup packed grated carrots (from about 2 carrots)
  1 bar cream cheese, room temperature
  1 cup confectioners' sugar
  
  Preheat oven to 350 F. Butter and flour a 5 x 9 loaf pan. In a bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, and nutmeg.
  
  Using an electric mixer, beat butter and brown sugar until light and fluffy; beat in eggs and 1 teaspoon vanilla. Beat in carrots. With mixer on low, gradually add flour mixture; beat just until combined. Transfer batter to prepared pan; bake until a toothpick inserted in center comes out clean, 40 to 45 minutes. Let cool in pan 5 minutes. Turn cake out onto a wire rack, and let cool completely.
  
  
  
  
  Using mixer, beat cream cheese, confectioners' sugar, and 1/2 teaspoon vanilla until fluffy. Frost top of cooled cake.
  
  Source: Martha Stewart
• 

Cheers to 2014!

Happy New Year!

2013 was pretty good to us, although there were some ups and downs. 2014...2014 is going to be awesome. We are going to make every day count, and look forward to blogging about our adventures along the way.

Cheers to 2014!

Happy Holidays!

 Hi everyone! We hope you're having a wonderful holiday season so far. The Quatchis and I spent Christmas at my parents' place. We ate, ate, and then ate some more. We also watched Christmas movies, including Charlie Brown - my fav!

Here's Q proudly presenting our Christmas tree. He's a pro at hanging up the decorations.

And here's Mini hanging out with my dad's singing snowmen collection. My dad is a very sensible man, but when it comes to these snowmen, he has to have every single one. And he likes playing them all at once. He calls them his Christmas orchestra.

New Year's is just around the corner. Enjoy the rest of 2013!

It's a wrap!

Just finished some late night gift wrapping with the Mins and Maggie. We hope everyone's holiday prep is going well!

Early Christmas Gift

On the first day of Christmas my true love gave to me...

... a Maggie for the Quatchis!

Cookie in a Mug

Cookie for one? Ready in six minutes? And no oven required? Yes, there is such a thing and it tastes delicious!

Chocolate Chip Cookie in a Cup

1 tablespoon butter

1 tablespoon granulated white sugar

1 tablespoon dark brown sugar, firmly packed

3 drops vanilla extract

Small pinch kosher salt

1 egg yolk

Scant 1/4 cup all-purpose flour

2 heaping tablespoons chocolate chips

Melt butter in microwave. Add sugars, vanilla, and salt. Stir to combine. Add egg yolk, then stir again. Add flour, then stir some more. Add chocolate chips, and give a final stir. Cook in microwave for 40 to 60 seconds. Serve warm.

Source: No. 2 Pencil