Firstly, although I have had a bit of a baking spree, I really haven't been conjuring up amazing concoctions in the kitchen. I have, however, had a couple of encounters with British 'celebrity' chefs who have been in Toronto promoting their latest recipe books. Gordon Ramsay was my first encounter and, contrary to my expectations, was surprisingly charming. I blushed when he kissed me and enjoyed our brief flirtation in the cooking section of the local bookstore.
My next encounter was with someone who is certainly not a fan of Mr Ramsay's TV persona, Jamie Oliver. Jamie presented a live 'show' involving a Q 'n' A session plus a bit of cooking. He made recipes from his American cookbook including a cerviche recipe and taught us that it was important to take a piece of rosemary, rub it in the juices in the pan and "spank" our steak!
In between my dalliances with the culinary world, I was sent on a very important mission by my friend Jon. Jon's niece has been set a task of seeing where in the world her hand-crafted puppet, Flower the Owl, can fly to during the school year. Having already flown business class to Dubai, her next stop was Toronto and she stayed with me for a few days before flying to the top of the CN Tower and back down again. She has now winged her way to the Canadian east coast. It was a pleasure having her to stay en route though.
Toronto is feeling rather festive with trees, lights and Christmas stalls abound. The one thing that has been in short supply compared to the UK has been snow. I'm starting to wonder if the snow and I did a house swap when I moved here a year ago! We've had the odd coating but nothing like that seen in Europe. I may be speaking too soon but my new snow boots are still looking pristine.I'm looking forward to the forthcoming festive season as I will get just over two weeks off work. I've not had more than four days off in a row this year (get the violins out!) so am very excited about having a complete break. I'm also looking forward to meeting up with my parents in Miami for a couple of days before we join a cruise ship to tour the Caribbean islands. We're just hoping for good weather and look forward to spending Christmas in the sun.
Whatever you and yours may be up to this year, I wish you all the very best and, as the Canadians say, hope you have 'Happy Holidays!' I just thought I'd share this flash mob event that took place recently here at a Canadian shopping mall given its festive theme:
Have a great Christmas and New Year everybody! Hope to catch up with you in 2011!
