Jill’s Shrimp California Curry

One day we were sitting around and I asked everyone's favorite recipe to serve to guests. My bff's sister Jill dictated this recipe, which I wrote down and found after probably 20 years. I finally tried it and it was amazing. It's so quick (maybe 20 minutes start to finish), looks restaurant-like, can be easily doubled or tripled, is made in only 1 pan, and uses pantry ingredients and frozen shrimp, so can be thrown together without doing any grocery shopping. The avocado is optional. The browning shrimp have that delicious smell that reminds me of the dinners we used to go to at Beni Hana's when I was a kid. This photo was from a "TV dinner" for J and I, as in we were sitting watching late night John Oliver on HBO and eating out of bowls.

Jill’s Shrimp California Curry ~ Serves 2

2 tbsp butter

1 onion chopped fine

1tsp salt

1 tbsp curry powder

1 cup canned diced tomato

½ cup sour cream

Shrimp 30 uncooked peeled deveined (I get the already peeled frozen kind)

Sliced avocado

Rice for 2 people 

Lime wedges

Melt 1 tbsp butter in frying pan over medium heat and add chopped onion, fry 7-8 minutes stirring occasionally until softened and browned. (While the onion is frying, get the rice cooking). Add curry powder, salt, and stir, cooking for 20 seconds. Add tomato, stir with spatula until boiling a bit, then add sour cream, mix in with spatula, and take off heat. Scrape sauce into a bowl.

Without cleaning frying pan, melt remaining tbsp. butter and turn heat up to medium-high. Add shrimp in single layer and cook until spotty brown and edges turn pink, about 1-2 minutes, flip and cook other side 1-2 minutes till browned a bit.

Return sauce to frying pan and heat through.

Serve over rice with sliced avocado on the side and a wedge of lime.

Finland and Estonia

Just back from a Finnish vacation, did all of the things I love, ate a lot of fish, a lot of rye bread, went to Estonia by boat (we are leaving Helskinki in this shot), bought a lot of duty free Fazer chocolate. Patkis is my new favorite.

Went by boat to Tallinn, which is so beautiful.

Our cousin manages the Kalev Spa hotel here is the link which was amazing to stay at, the baby loved the pool and water park. The chicken salad is delicious, we all had a big meal here. His sister gave us these flowers which we enjoyed in our room.

And we had fun walking around the market

Back in Helsinki, bought some rubber Nokia boots

Went to my uncle's old cottage (now belongs to my cousin) and the weather was lovely.

The baby tried licorice ice cream- yum!

Went to the cemetery where my grandparents are buried, which in Finland is like the forest

Did some Helskinki shopping at  iittala and at some shoe shops- Minna Parika

At one point in the trip, we rented from Citykoti apartments- it was nice to make coffee in the morning and come and go and live in Helsinki for a while (the baby is looking at himself in the closet mirror).

We enjoyed amazing hospitality with our relatives who were beyond generous, but at one point we stayed at the Scandic Hotel Marski which was great, this is the view from our window.

Montreal Favorites

View from the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts

Parc Lafontaine

When I get asked what to do and where to eat in Montreal I pretty much always say the same stuff, my favourites.

To Eat:

There are 8 million great restaurants in Montreal. These are the last few I went to. My favourite restaurant, maybe in the world, is Pied de Cochon. It is the only restaurant food that I truly crave, and it is not possible to replicate it in one's own kitchen. The foie de gras burger, endive salad, and PDC mashed potatoes are to die. (Reservations necessary, or go early and try to sit at the bar). Pied de Cochon

Dominion Square Tavern - beautiful space, good food and great old timey cocktails. http://www.tavernedominion.com/en/

Vegetarian food:

Crudessence http://www.crudessence.com/ (Partial to the vege sushi and the smoothies)

and Aux Vivres https://auxvivres.com/en/ (the chapati BLT and the chapati faux lox and cream cheese- how to choose?)

A Drink: 

Depends what you're looking for. Classy coctails: Whisky Cafe http://www.whiskycafe.com/en_home.html

Wine and oysters: Pullman http://pullman-mtl.com/en/

A beer at a nice place NYKS http://nyks.ca/?lang=en

Sparrow 5322 Boul St-Laurent, Montréal, QC H2T 1A5 (514) 507-1642 (no link).

Divey places that I go to, that I just like for whatever reason: Laika http://laikamontreal.com/
and Elsie's 156 Rue Roy East, Montréal, QC H2W 1M2 (514) 286-6689 (no link)

To Brunch

Avenue Cafe- get there early. 922 Avenue du Mont Royal E Montréal, H2J 1X1 (514) 523-8780

Cafe Souvenir http://bistrocafesouvenir.com/

Coffee: Olympico http://www.cafeolimpico.com/

To Shop:

Clothing boutiques with amazing Montreal designers: In general St. Laurent in Mile End and Laurier Street are great. I love Boutique Unicorn http://www.boutiqueunicorn.com/

High end department stores that I love:

Ogilvy - they have everything clothes, luggage, lingerie, makeup and whatnot, and even a lovely top floor furniture store AND an adorable cafe in the basement to get away from the fray to have a cup of coffee and a little pastry when needed https://ogilvycanada.com/en/

And of course Holts http://www.holtrenfrew.com/shop/en/holt/storedetail/stores-montreal

Awesome cute home decor at V de V http://www.vdevmaison.com/?lang=en

Also Beige http://www.beigestyle.com/ (it's where I got that weird industrial light in my kitchen).

Bagels: a MUST

Fairmount http://www.fairmountbagel.com/

St. Viateur https://www.stviateurbagel.com/

And with this, Arachova Tzatziki is soooo good (they sell it at both places just ask).

To Do

The Montreal Museum of Fine Arts is a favourite of mine, I go about 2-3 times per year. The permanent collection is free and it's gorgeous. They also have great featured shows, and a wonderful cafe.
https://www.mbam.qc.ca/en/

A walk well worth it:

The hike up Mount Royal to the lookout. Head to the Mount Royal Park (on Parc Avenue at Rachel) pass to the left of the statue (see photo) and follow the path up the hill, then continue straight up the stairs, when this ends (you hit the T), take a left, and keep walking until you see a staircase on your right. Walk up about 6 flights and voila, the most gorgeous view of Montreal ever. Takes about 30 minutes. You can walk the long way past the stairs and keep winding up the path to the top as well.

And I do love going to St. Josephs Oratory and just walking to the top, and taking in the view. https://www.saint-joseph.org/en

Turkey Update

So the turkey is still alive, getting tougher by the minute no doubt. It is a male, and I believe it has been eyeing the dog with a certain amount of bird affection. At one point though, Chloe just had it "up to here" with the bird chasing her around, and here is the 10 second upshot.

No news on the geese. We found feathers and stuff in the field, and a couple of raccoons had been lurking around (until they succumbed to lead poisoning, if you catch my drift).

Old Photo

Gone Geese

This is the last picture I have of the geese- they were all killed and dragged off, mysteriously. There are raccoons around, and that is my #1 guess. Last summer they killed 9 turkeys and about 20 ducks; they're known to "surplus kill" just kill until everything is dead. The geese were in the goose garden at the time, it is puzzling though, they are huge and make a lot of noise, so maybe too big for raccoons? Other suspects include foxes and coyotes, but they wouldn't find it easy to get into a fenced garden. The only witness is the dog, and she has been mute with shock and outrage.

My Favourite Hospital part II

This was my view driving into work every morning- such a beautiful hospital. I'll miss it, as we're moving to a new hospital, so I decided to try to paint this to commemorate it a bit. This is from the final night, though it still needs work.

Below was the second or third night. Chui told me to mix red with either Naples yellow or Ochre with red and white for the sunlit buildings. Also this night the second building's windows were too dark, overall that building face has about the same tone. The greens of the roof tops had to be different too. The sky bluer, to bring out the buildings. The background trees were too detailed, he said just make it uniform reddish purple, the colour of trees in the distance. The tree bark is too dark, the trees are really greys in the winter with the haze. I removed the neuro building, it was sort of ghostly off in the distance and not nice. Chui put red in the branches of the tree, I wouldn't have, but since looking at nature I've noticed that it's true, the branches against the sky are really red. When I asked him if they should really be that red, he said "Bien sur!"

The photo I worked from. Notice the moving truck in front!

Venice Vacation

We decided that a little California sun would get us through to the end of this wretched winter, and stayed in Venice. Lots of canals just like the Italian Venice.

We walked to Venice Beach every morning, shopped on Abbot Kinney, went to Malibu and had drinks at Malibu Farm at the end of the pier http://www.malibu-farm.com/

We took a road trip to Joshua Tree National Park and stayed at the awesome 29 Palms Inn http://www.29palmsinn.com/

On the way home shopped at the Desert Hills Outlets and I got a cute DVF dress + shoes...

J's sister was super hospitable.

New Year's Renovations

Well we finally got the renovations mostly done on the house. It was a long and dusty painty process but it looks good.

The baby's room. The wall hanging was made a long time ago by my grandparents. The rug is an old Ikea one, and the lamp is from Living Lighting in Ottawa.

The bathroom, which was inspired (copied) from a page in a magazine- I loved the French looking coin floor tile pattern and the subway tiles. The paint is Betonel White Buck 10YY 72/021. The tub and shower are from Mondeau. The Mercer sconce is from Pottery Barn, but as you can see, the middle glass is broken, it arrived that way in the box, so we're trying to get that replaced which is such a pain.

This was the inspiration

The bedroom needs new bedding, more decor, more furniture and stuff for the walls. The color- when we repaint I want Balboa Mist

The sun room, with the wood stove hauled out of my Montreal place, as they've recently passed a by-law banning their use in the city. It's great in here, though it weighed a ton. The table was made by my uncle and we can play checkers/chess on it.

The kitchen was just repainted, but this shot shows the addition. The lighting is from a great store in Montreal called Beige http://www.beigestyle.com/ 

Ode to GOOP

Every Thursday I finish my clinic and crash land on my desk, and have lunch while reading Gwenyth Paltrow's great blog, GOOP. So last time I went to Paris, I had in mind her post: French Pharmacy

I love lip balm so bought her recommended Apricoderm in a French pharmacy, but it doesn't taste like apricots; it tastes like nothing. It is still nice though, and I use it every night before bed. However, in a Paris pharmacy I found something as good as Sugar's $26 lemony lip balm but only 3 Euros - Amilab. The downside is that the stick melts if it gets too warm (like in the sun). Still recommend it, it is very hydrating and tastes like creamsicles.

 And Nuxe is, OK but the smell of Lierac moisturiser or moisturising oil, also from Paris, is lily of the valley, with a hint of rocket popsicle. It's easy to find in any French pharmacy, but can also be found in Canada and the U.S.

Avibon for the skin of a French movie star sounds great, but has apparently been discontinued, after a million years of making it. It is now selling on amazon for $200 a tube. When I was in Paris I got a tube for my mother, it was 9 euros. It is yet unopened- I wonder if I should sell it! Anyway. I have it on good authority (a friend's husband is a dermatologist) that Retin A Micro is what all the smooth faced gals are using stateside. You need a MD prescription, though, this cream means business.

 Finally, not from a pharmacy but from a French grocery store, Ricore is a (nearly) caffein-free cappuccino-like chicory drink. I have loved this since back in the 90's, first trying it at my friend Olivier's, he served it in a big bowl with milk and a croissant on the side. Yum. I make it in the morning and then buy a coffee at work so that don't get too buzzed up on caffeine.

Sadie Painting

Did I mention that Sadie died in September and we're still heartbroken?

This started out as a sketch as above. Chui said to make the eyes bigger, and fixed the reflection not to be a precise dot, but more diffuse on the eyeball. Also he had me compare the whites in the couch vs. her fur, which was the lightest part of the painting. The detail on the pillow is not too detailed, which would look finicky. The painting is inspired by a number of Cavalier paintings, one sent from a friend who photographed this Manet.

Chui himself made this sketch of Sadie which I've posted before, it's lovely. The fur is amazing.

And various other artists:

 

From a friend's house, don't know the artist

Karalan Piirakat - Karelian Pastries

1. Rice porridge 2. Dough rolled into log and divided 3. Pirkko showing rolled out oval
4. Ready to bake 5. Brushed with butter

Karelia is the part of Finland that borders Russia, and they have a unique cuisine that I grew up loving. These "pastries" originate from Karelia, but can be bought all over Finland, in fact no one makes these there, they are so easy to find in the grocery stores. They are eaten at breakfast or lunch, and are savory, not sweet. For us here in Wakefield (or as it happens, Montreal for this post), they are a special treat, and our friend Pirkko came over and taught us how the make them.

Rice Porridge:

3 dl arborio rice (= 1.27 or 1 and 1/4 cups)
2 1/2 dl water (= 1 cup)

boil until water is gone (watching carefully). Then add 1 L milk (add 2 cups at a time) and cook on low heat to make porridge, cook until milk is absorbed then add more as needed until porridge consistency and rice is cooked. It takes about 4 cups)

Dough

4 dl rye flour (1 3/4 cups)
1 dl white flour (0.4 cups, that is a bit more than 1/3 cup but less than 1/2 cup)
2 dl water (warm)
1-2 tsp salt

Mix in mixmaster or by hand (Pirkko did by hand with a wooden spoon). To roll out, use a lot of flour on the board or mat. Roll dough into a log and divide, then roll pieces by hand into balls and then use rolling pin to flatten into oval shape (see photo). Put rice in centre and pinch sides first, then continue pinching into shape as above. Bake at 400 F for 10 minutes or until bottom of pastry is brown. Brush generously with melted butter and serve with hard boiled eggs.