Weekend Observations

Are you ready for the week? Did your weekend go by as fast as mine? Yikes. Here's a bit of my weekend....

I had to create a card for my mom, to let her know that we are taking her to Las Vegas for her birthday. I've only been once, ages ago, but did find these pics that I took of old motels. I was obsessed with them. Las Vegas looked so cute and innocent, way back then. ;)

Worked on images of Lily Ellis' (Birch and Bird) home that we shot for HGTV.ca. Here's a sneak peek for now...

Did a some grocery shopping down at Granville Island. The aqua ferry is the handiest mode of transportation.....

That was my weekend. What did you get up to? Please share!

Back soon,

janis

Hello Weekend

Another busy week wraps up. Thanks for popping by!

Have a lovely weekend, all!

Back soon,
Janis

Baked

Well, I completely missed Wednesday! How's your week going so far?

It was my husband's birthday yesterday so I hung with him and baked him chocolate pavlova. He's Australian, so he grew up having summertime birthdays, hence the summery pavlova ;)

Chocolate Pavlova with Raspberries - makes 4 small, or one large

4 egg whites
3/4 cup berry/caster sugar
1 teaspoon cornstarch
2 tablespoons cocoa powder, sifted
50g dark chocolate, finely chopped
1 teaspoon balsamic vinegar

To top:
fresh raspberries
1 cup whipping cream
1 tablespoon sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
shaved chocolate

Preheat oven to 275f/140c. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and set aside.
In a medium bowl, beat egg whites until soft peaks form. Whisk together the sugar and cornstarch. Add sugar mixture, a tablespoon at a time, and beat until stiff peaks form. Fold in cocoa, balsamic vinegar, and chopped chocolate.

Spoon mixture onto baking sheet and form into mini round(ish) pavlovas. With the back of a spoon, make a little well on top of each pavlova.

Bake for about 1 hour 10 minutes, or until it sounds hollow when lightly tapped. Turn oven off, open door a little, and allow to cool completely in oven. Should be crunchy on the outside and kind of like marshmallow inside. So good.

Top with a little whipped cream, raspberries and shaved chocolate. Enjoy!

Weekend Observations

I hope you all had a nice weekend! It was rainy here, but we did take a little drive to this pretty spot, Deep Cove, just 20 minutes out of Vancouver. A tiny neighbourhood plunked right by the water and mountains...

Did a little shopping here...

You can check out Room 6 here. You can shop online too ;)

and I completely jumped off my healthier eating wagon for this.....

This little drive was a nice break from working on my taxes. Sob. What did you get up to this weekend?

Have a lovely day! Back soon.

Janis

Ahh, it's Friday

I just may do a little of this as it will be raining sideways all weekend, apparently.

Thanks for all your kind words and support for The Union - it's so appreciated! I hope you have a nice, relaxing weekend, where ever you are.

Back soon.
janis

Baked

Happy hump day! Hope your week (and year!) is off to a good start.

Speaking of good starts, I'm trying to be just a touch healthier for at least the first month of 2012 ;) Cutting out gluten and a little sugar, when I can, is a start, and it needn't be dry, dusty, and boring. I found a recipe awhile back while in a waiting room. I couldn't tell you where it's from as there were too many people around to rip out the entire page, so I wrote it down. Heh, heh. These are so flipping good - I hope you give them a try!

Mini Chai Tea Muffins - makes 48 mini muffins

1/4 cup cane sugar
4 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
2 eggs, lightly beaten
3 tablespoons honey
1/2 cup apple butter or applesauce, unsweetened
1 cup gluten free all-purpose flour (I used Bob's Red Mill)
1/2 cup almond meal
2 tablespoons ground flax seeds
2 tablespoons unsweetened powdered cocoa
1/2 cup wheat free oats
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 cup chai tea mixture - steep 4 chai tea teabags in 1/2 cup hot milk. Allow to cool.
1/2 cup diced apple

Preheat oven to 350f/180c. Line a 24 cup mini muffin tin with paper liners and set aside. Heat milk and steep 4 chai tea teabags, and set aside to cool.

Beat sugar and butter until light and fluffy. Beat in eggs. Stir in apple butter and honey until well combined. Stir in the flour, almond meal, flax seed, cocoa, oats, baking powder and baking soda, while slowly pouring in the chai tea mix. Stir batter until smooth. Fold in the diced apples.
Fill muffin tins about 3/4 full and bake for about 10-12 minutes or until a skewer, inserted in centre, comes out clean.

New Year, New Restaurant

Hello 2012! I hope you all had a great weekend. What did you get up to for New Year's Eve? Due to my incessant coughing, we had a semi-quiet night with friends. Nice way to wrap up the year.

As you may know, I'm part of a family that insists on opening restaurants. Number 4 is due to open January 4th, so I thought I'd share some pics of all of them. They were all designed by Evoke (husband and brother).

Habit is kind of like a 70's rumpus room. Paintings are by Robert Edmonds (a.k.a. my permanent date)

Latitude is a mix of marble, wood and concrete. Food and cocktail style is Latin American.

The Cascade Room is located right beside Habit. It's a modern British style "pub". I love the Queen Victoria lamp shades. 

Introducing the newest member of the group, The Union. These pics were taken yesterday, while frantic set up was taking place. South East Asian street food in a reclaimed wood, concrete and tile setting. I was asked to get some shots of the neighbourhood, focusing on textures and colour, for the backlit bar cabinets (pictured above). I want to do this in our kitchen!

You'll find The Union, right next to the Jimi Hendrix shrine (go figure) on Union Street in Chinatown/Strathcona neighbourhood. Purple Haze. Love it.

If you pop by, be sure to check out these great shops all on the same block:

Charlie and Lee

Jett Grrl Bike Studio

The Board of Trade

Land

Hogan's Alley Cafe

Have a great day everyone! Back soon.

Janis