Souvenir of Newfoundland

When preparing to leave Newfoundland several months ago, I thought about what I'd like to have for a souvenir.  I had a few good ones:

My mummer ornament.

My extensive photo collection.

1. Lighthouse, 2. Urchin, 3. Near Port Aux Basques, 4. Cape Bonavista Lighthouse, 5. Dungeons Provincial Park, 6. Kilmory Resort, 7. St. John's fence 3, 8. Ferryland lighthouse, 9. Cliffs, 10. Rasta-sheep, 11. Megan and Laura at the Sea Stack, 12. Blue at the Spout, 13. Untitled, 14. ECTA sign, 15. Rocky seas, 16. Durrell

And of course, my degree.

 

I felt that I needed something else, something that, like the mummer, represented the traditions of Newfoundland.  And then it came to me.  There was a little yarn shop two blocks away.  The owner designed her own patterns.  Among them, there was a pattern for a traditional fisherman's sweater (but toddler-size and therefore do-able).

It's been a slow process, but the project is coming along.  The pattern is one you have to focus on - not exactly mindless knitting.  But it's a fun one!  Check out this nubbliness:

And the cables (love a cable):

A close up of the back panel:

Progress so far:

By the way, in case you were wondering, there is no current intended recipient of this baby sweater.  It's something I'll keep on hand, just in case I need it down the road...

Want to see more knitting projects?  Check out this blanket and this blanket, this hat, this scarf, these mittens, oh, and these mittens too.

For the love of cranberry

Cranberry sauce with turkey is the holiday equivalent of pineapple on pizza.  You like it or you don't.  One of the great dichotomies of life.  Since I'm dedicating a whole post to cranberries, I think you can guess which side I favour.

[found here]

For years I thought canned cranberry sauce was a-mazing.  Sweet, tangy, easy, there.  That was before I was doing any of the cooking.  A few years back I took to making the sauce from scratch - which is dead easy.  Boil a cup of sugar and a cup of water, add a bag of cranberries and cook til the skins split.

Last year, I came across a more involved cranberry sauce recipe in Sweet Paul Magazine.  I knew I had to try it!

"Sauce" is an understatement.  This stuff is called Spiced Cranberry Apple Relish and is just as fancy as it sounds.  But fun to make!

First, dice up the cranberries - I threw them in the food-processing attachment of my immersion blender and a few minutes later:

Citrus really makes this recipe zingy (zest and juice of oranges and lemons).

Grated fresh ginger adds the eponymous spice.

Bit of sugar tames things down a bit:

And the final product.  Cranberry lovers rejoice!

Best enjoyed with turkey and all the trimmings.  Happy holiday eating to all of you, cranberry lovers or not!

O, Christmas Tree

This Christmas brings a few firsts.  First Christmas living back on PEI (after all those years away), first Christmas in our own home, and more to the point of this post, first real Christmas tree!

We started the season with only nine Christmas ornaments.  The nine ornaments worked well last year, when we had nothing to decorate but our philodendron.  But, thanks to some gifts, some sales, and some last minute DIYing, I think we've been able to fill it out nicely.

[Santa from a French craft fair, from the world-traveling brother-in-law]

[Snowman, Atlantic style]

[From a couple of donkeys]

[Labrador souvenir]

[A gift from Mike's mom]

[DIY with feathers and empty Christmas balls]

[A mummer, souvenir of Newfoundland]

[More DIY - pine cone, a hook and some hot glue]

[A gift from my mom]

[Souvenir of Europe - handmade in the Czech Republic]

The trunk may be crooked and the ornaments few, but to me it's the most beautiful tree.  The scent fills the house.  It really brings on the Christmas spirit!

NYC... the food

You may remember my recent visit to NYC from my last post. I had to make a separate post about my dining experiences there.  Despite spending only three nights there, the trip was so packed full that one post couldn't do it all justice.

I will preface the post by saying that I don't have pics of all the great food we had.  Meeting up with three girls you see only once a year leads to a lot of great conversation; food blogging was taking a bit of a back seat.

Our hotel was near Times Square.  By the time we had all arrived from our various destinations we needed to head somewhere close by to eat.  One of the girls mentioned Junior's.  The original Junior's is located in Brooklyn and claims to be the home of the best New York cheesecake.  I have to say, the cheesecake was pretty great as far as cheesecake goes!  Unfortunately I don't have a pic, probably due to the instantaneous feeding frenzy my tiredness at the late hour.

(On an obscure note, the restaurant was founded by Harry Rosen.  But not this Harry Rosen.)

I do have a pic of another great menu item - the brisket:

A combo of NYC traditions:  beef brisket with au jus, served on potato pancakes with a side of applesauce!  The beef was moist and tender (which is saying something for a cut of meat like brisket) and the "bun" was hot and crispy.

Next up is a spontaneous street-sweet:  mini cupcakes!  They were bite-sized and so tempting.

How tempting?  Let's just say this was on our way to breakfast!

So hard to choose.  #firstworldproblems

Probably the most famous NYC "restaurant" we visited was The Soup Man.  

You may recall this place from Seinfeld.  "No soup for you!".  They actually sell t-shirts with that saying...

As you'd expect from the reputation, this guy is serious about his soup.  Actually, he seems to be pretty serious about everything, particularly the right way to order the soup.  The rules are printed on a large sign, and there are even handy marks on the sidewalk to help you out.

Now, for the soup.  I had to have the lobster bisque.  Fantastic.  

You may have gathered from the pics (or remember from Seinfeld) that the "restaurant" is actually a lunch window on the street.  You can't eat soup standing up, so we headed to a nearby park to enjoy it.  The meal includes fresh bread, fruit, and a chocolate.  Lovely lunch!

The last meal I have to share with you was more 'Euro' than 'Big Apple'.  We had a decadent breakfast at the Le Pain Quotidien location in SoHo.  

Check out this meal.  A bread basket with four of their rustic/traditional breads, boiled egg, gruyere, organic apple juice, and cappuccino.  Yum.

The number of places to eat in Manhattan is almost incomprehensible to a girl used to the selection in Atlantic Canadian cities.  I recommend reading some online reviews ahead of your visit to have a short list of nearby restaurants.  Otherwise it's hard to know where to start!  

Any NYC restaurant favorites?  Please share in the comment section!

NYC

This fall I was lucky enough to make a trip I've always wanted to make.  To celebrate our 30th birthdays this year, three of my girlfriends and I decided we'd visit New York City (that's 120 years of life experience, for anyone who's counting).

I had never really visited the US.  Not for a proper trip.  There were a couple of half-hearted day trips across the border to Maine, but those don't really count.  So, it was time.

I have long been curious about NYC, given it's pervasive presence in pop culture.  I also have a few favorite blogs based in and around New York including A Cup of Jo, An Apple A Day, and Darling Dexter.  And who wouldn't want to hit the streets of Manhattan after watching a few episodes of Bill Cunningham - On The Street?  With my wardrobe, I know he'd spot me right away and probably do a whole video on me...

Anyway, on to some highlights of the trip!

We stayed in a New York hotel that's been around forever, the New Yorker.  It was very central, had great Art Deco styling and was quite clean.  Four people to a room was pushing it, but doable.

Because it was so close, we happened to hit Times Square almost every day.  Dundas Square in Toronto has nothing on this place.  It was constantly packed with people, no matter the time of day.

Another iconic symbol of New York that we passed daily:

On the top of my list of things to do in NYC was Top of the Rock, a trip to the top of Rockefeller Centre to see the whole of Manhattan.  The views were incredible!  Especially the one with all the cute girls in it.

It was mid-November, so Rockefeller Plaza had the beginnings of its legendary Christmas display.  Like the massive Christmas tree - with six storeys of staging required for its decoration!

The rink was open as well.  There's something funny about a Zamboni in Manhattan.

After seeing how huge Central Park was, we had to go take a look.  We must have spent a couple of hours there and only covered less than a quarter of it.

The show we decided to see was a comedy that had won numerous Tonys: Avenue Q.  Sort of an existentialist/realist take on modern urban life.  Performed by puppets.  Here is a sample from the soundtrack.

The Museum of Modern Art was another spot I couldn't miss.  Partially because of a special exhibit:  Plywood.

...and it's role in mid-century design, of course.  Not just plain old plywood, that would be weird.

For example:

Mmm, plywood.

Looking back at everything we did in the city, it's hard to believe we spent only three days there.  Yet, there is so much I'd like to go back and do!  So, the Big Apple is still on my list of "places to see".

Ok, I'm stopping this monster post right here.  There is a bit more NYC to come (NYC: The Food).  So stay tuned.