So I’ve been on a bit of a hiatus from blogging, not that I haven’t been doing things but just got busy with life.

I have been getting pieces together for various local shows and working on new pieces.

I have been busy trying to complete vamps for Christi Belcourts “Walking with our Sisters” project. This is going to be a Commemorative Art Installation for the Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women of Canada. I’ve completed one pair of beaded and silkscreened vamps (I will do a separate entry on my vamps once they are all completed). And I’ve been applying for some different shows taking place in 2013.

I also completed a recent a second birch bark basket – again, I will post photos in a separate entry.

Anyhow, I am going to try and be better about sharing my ongoing projects.

Happy 2013! A year of changes and excitement!

For our friend’s birthday we FINALLY had a meal at Oz Kafe. I have been dying to try this restaurant for a while but for this reason or that it just hasn’t happened. It was well worth the wait – the atmosphere was excellent (Disco Night was in full effect) and the food was delicious!

We started with the “sharing plate” which was artisan cheeses, almonds, pickled beets and onions and thin slices of baguette.

This was the small portion which was more than enough for 2 people to share. I loved this plate, it was fun to mix and match the pickled beets and onion with different cheeses or try things on their own. My favorite was the soft goat cheese with the onions.

M also has the soup of the day which was very good.

I had the Cornish Hen which was on special – the flavors were awesome. I loved how the hen was seasoned, the enoki mushrooms with the root vegetables was filling but didn’t leave you feeling like you’d had too much. I had my Holga TIM with me – which you can see in my shot and I hope to have the results of those up sometime soon.

M had the steak and Caesar which our friend recommended. I thought the portion was excellent. This is the 10 oz but it also comes in a 6oz. The smoked mash potatoes weren’t over the top – some places give so much potato it over powers the plating but I thought it was just enough and the very popular Caesar salad.

This was one of the best restaurants I’ve eaten at in a while. We were very full and did not have dessert but I will definitely look forward to trying what they have to offer in terms of dessert the next time I’m in.

Several people eating with us had the vegetarian bento box, unfortunately I didn’t get a snap but it also looked amazing. I definitely can’t wait to get back and try other things on this interesting fusion menu.

The last few weeks we’ve been eating at our favorite Japanese restaurant, Suisha Gardens. First we were there for lunch, Mike had the Udon bento, which included tempura and sushi. I had the teryaki and tempura lunch.

Both were excellent. I love their teryaki and tempure which is pretty much what I ordered each time.

For Valentine’s day we had an early supper at Suisha Gardens where I had my usual. Mike got beef tataki and the Sashimi Combination (which is the chef’s pick, usually whatever is fresh that day).

Everything was excellent as usual. It was cool because we were there so early we got to watch as the chef prepared the rice for the sushi rolls. We’ve never seen this part of the process so it was interesting to see. They take a large portion of prepared rice and pour in a large amount of Japanese vinegar and then mix it around and leave it to steam.

Next time we might try the Sukiyaki which we haven’t had since being in Japan.

A few weeks ago some friends and I got together for a nice dinner at Town, on Elgin Street. My first impression of the restaurant was that it was small in size but big in personality. I loved the decor and the staff. We were not rushed through our meal and had lots of time to share some appetizers, like their incredible meat balls and cheese, and chat.

I had the half chicken dinner, this was a very generous portion, with mashed potatoes, sprouts and squash. The pomegranate was a lovely touch.

Two people had the chicken and two had the pork chop. And one had the meatballs and salad as the main course. Again, everything was lovely and very generous portions.

The highlight of my meal was definitely the sundae which featured caramel popcorn on homemade icecream. I’ve never thought about this interesting combo but it really worked out. I LOVED it!

Most of us had the sundae for dessert but two people shared the tiramisu.

Overall, great experience, great food! I would definitely enjoy another night out at Town.

On our recent trip to Austria we had the great pleasure of eating at the Landhaus Keller, the restaurant where my husband’s father did his apprenticeship when he was just starting out on his journey to become a chef.

The food was delicious and the service was excellent!

We sat out on the patio in the sunshine and enjoyed 3 courses of Austrian-styled dishes.

I started out with a mixed spring salad with asparagus, goat cheese and pumpkin seed oil. YUM!

My husband enjoyed beef carpaccio with asparagus.

Even though it was not the special of the day, the owner had the chef make up the vegetable strudel for me which was really nice and delicious!

My husband enjoyed a braised leg of Styrian lamb.

As you can tell asparagus was in season and wonderful! Everything was so flavorful and it was nice to be eating food fresh from the Austrian countryside.

The dessert was a real treat – pumpkinseed oil creme brulee and Styrian layered strudel with vanilla sauce.

If you are in Graz I would highly recommend this amazing restaurant!

(The art featured in this photo is by Karen Hodge Russell and Simon Brascoupe)

Last night was the show opening for Our Native Roots at Sweetgrass Aboriginal Bistro and I think it was a great success. I was so happy that many of my friends and family came out to the opening. We had some wonderful appetizers to start with door prizes and an auction of art pieces followed by dinner inside the restaurant.

Here are my photos displayed inside the restaurant. Read the rest of this entry »

So I went to Saskatoon for work and while I was there I enjoyed a yummy dinner at a restaurant, the Bar King Frog, recommended by a friend. My friend and I enjoyed “The Met” which was olives, red pepper, feta cheese, hummus and roasted garlic with bagette (sorry forgot to take a picture) and then I had a grilled veggie salad with rosemary dressing – it was delicious and had artichoke, asparagus and pepper.

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Last week I had to opportunity to do some photos for an event at the NAC. I was really excited about the chance to do some photography for the afternoon of a beautiful day. It was a really wonderful event complete with a RCMP officer singing O Canada and traditional First Nations singers opening the event and singing while dancers danced.

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