Mona Lisa Ristorante Italiano at 1697 Corydon Ave., first opened its doors in 1983 (and we have been frequent visitors for 19 years), but continues to reinvent itself on a continual basis, adding to its size in both directions and renewing and refreshing its concept in unique and inventive ways.  I watched with interest as the latest facelift occurred and was waiting for the perfect opportunity to visit again.  When a business associate of mine suggested that we celebrate our mutual birthdays with a lunch, I knew that the time had come.

The new decor is upscale and elegant with crisp white linens and the outdoor patio which has always been one of my favourites, follows suit.  We whetted our appetites with slices of hot-from-the-oven bread which we dipped into a quality olive oil and balsamic vinegar.  The menu at lunch is quite compact and this I believe is a good thing, preferring when a few items are prepared with particular expertise, rather than many offerings being done with mediocrity.  I did find it somewhat surprising that the only pasta offering was the pasta of the day: a penne with tomato sauce.  But, priced so affordably at $5 with an Italian salad adding another $5, my lunch date thought that it to be a satisfying lunch, especially for $10.  She also commented that the simple sauce was very tasty and well-balanced.

I was not so easy to please.  I read over the menu many times and just could not make up my mind.  So I decided to take a risk and ask our personable server to simply order whatever he thought that I would like the best.  After he inquired if I was partial to veal, he immediately suggested that I try their version with an accompaniment of Bocconcini and Tomato salad.  The escalopes were quickly turned with sautéed onions and accompanied by grilled eggplant, zucchini and red peppers in a simple, rustic presentation.  The addition of skinny slices of red onion was a nice twist on the classic Bocconcini salad rcipe, but required a wee bit of salt to enhance the flavour of the abundant tomato wedges.

Proprietor Joe Grande was enjoying his own lunch at a neighbouring table.  In all the years that I have been enjoying Mona Lisa’s fare, he is a constant figure.  On my last visit, he insisted that I tour the kitchen, to my delight.  The fresh pasta was being lovingly prepared and was drying on massive wooden racks.  The ancient process, still fascinates me every time I witness it.

Kath’s quotes:  “Also, since art is a vehicle for the transmission of ideas through form, the reproduction of the form only reinforces the concept. It is the idea that is being reproduced. Anyone who understands the work of art owns it. We all own the Mona Lisa. ” -Sol LeWitt

Love-that is all.

Hello readers.  Are fairs and exhibitions, permanently etched in your memories as a way to mark time?  They are in mine.  The Red River Ex was a must do when I was a youngster along with a tour of the Eaton’s windows at Christmastime, the Shrine Circus and Ice Capades.  It was truly limited to these major events.   Now a days, this number of activities could be on a elementary schoolers’ one week agenda.  The Ex was always one of my favourites because it marked the end of the school year and the official beginning of summer.  We used to take the bus to Polo Park and I can still remember the roar of the mobile generators, the music blaring from the rides, and the carneys trying to lure us into going for the big prize.  The smells were unmistakable of cotton candy and grilled onions to top the burgers.  We took our kids almost every year as they were growing up and then there was this big long gap in attendance for us.  In fact, this year was the first time that I have attended at the new exhibition site!

This past Monday was a perfect summer evening to start a new era of the Red River Ex for us.  We wandered around the beautifully accessible fair grounds with no cables to climb over like the “olden” days.  There were plenty of washrooms and shade and in my mind the new set up is just about perfect, except that with everything so stretched out, it seems to lack the vibrancy that I remember so clearly.  Perhaps, busier days deliver this.

But to the food….

We did a lap to check out all of our options.  After taking note of the sign below, we decided to start with a couple of the many healthy choices available to fair goers.

When D suggested that he wanted to order a combination of kielbasa, cabbage rolls and perogies, I heartily agreed and grabbed a fork to sample a taste.

I was happy with my supper choice of Pad Thai.  I never thought that I’d live to see the day that I could order noodle boxes at the fair.  By the number of stir fries being enjoyed at the tables around us, they were a big hit.

This talented artist was our dinner entertainment while we sat at communal tables and also indulged in our favourite fair activity-people watching.

We then promptly forgot about the size warning for the rides (heck we had no intention of going on the rides anyway) and performed another lap to seek out our next course.

D had to satisfy his sweet tooth so decided upon a caramel and apple pie.

When given a choice, I also go for salty and had these homemade kettle chips for my extra treat.

Somewhere in between we also tasted Lemon Pepper wings at Little Bones

AND what turned out to be our favourite new taste of the evening: Seafood Poutine from the Poutine King.

If, we had any room whatsoever, we have sampled the authentic Mexican fare from this concession, but alas, it would have to be another time.

As we waddled to our car, singing along with the songs of Glass Tiger from the main stage, we enjoyed watching the thrill seekers on the midway.  Being one of those adrenalin junkies seems like a long time ago, and I like it that way.

Kath’s quote: “I don’t like to eat snails. I prefer fast food.”-Roger von Oech

Love-that is all.

1) Canadians and Americans make excellent neighbours.  I would describe the relationship more like “first cousins”; that is, with common blood and roots and history but the potential to be different because of our nurturing.  The small pack of Canadians in attendance at Eat, Write, Retreat, 2013 were frequently teased about out “politeness” and muttering “sorry” all the time, but I also felt respected and appreciated.

2) Food bloggers, no matter where they are from are warm, generous and fun-loving.  A conference like this one, is like hanging out on a golf course.  Everything shares tips, encourages excellence, and celebrates accomplishments, without there being hard feelings for an others’ success or that underlying competitiveness that sometimes occurs when professional organizations get together.

3) You never know what little tidbit you are going to take away from an event like this, that turns out to be “life-changing”.  Last year, for me it was hearing Monica Bhide speak about focus and passion.

4) This year that nugget was when Debbie Koenig spoke about time management.  After I looked at our “big” picture and did the exercise to list our life’s priorities, I then ranked all the tasks that I perform in a day/week, including how my blog fits into the scheme of it all.  I realized anew that my focus has been misdirected and that my blog, even though it is my passion, is not the end all and be all, that I sometime make it.  Grace, I have to give myself more grace….

5) I want to store food in jars!  Marisa’s Food in Jars presentation, truly inspired me.  I have always shied away from this notion, thinking that I didn’t have the right equipment and that the acquiring of such, would be too expensive.  I see now that preserving can be regarded like making another course at meal time, a tasty dish that you simply postpone eating.

6) My Dad was born in eastern Europe and his manners were impeccable.  He would  even say “I beg your parson” instead of “what?”.  He taught me that the day after you were invited to someone’s home for dinner, you call them and thank them for their invite and their kindness.  Joy Manning reiterated this for me in her presentation and I am going to be more diligent with my connections (and who knows what might come of it?).

7) Whereas, I have lived my life trying to get to the Caribbean and Europe, this amazing country full of beauty and rich history is right at my doorstep.  I have so enjoyed visiting Philadelphia and Washington, DC both for my first time, as a result of attending the EWR conference.  I do hope that they change locations again next year as I would love to explore further.

8)  I am proud to be a foodie and a blogger.  We are an impressive group and our craft is constantly being honed and appreciated.  Whereas, I once regarded it as one of my many hobbies, events like Eat Write Retreat teach me that it is one of my many “professions”.

9) I am often one of the eldest participants at events such as this and even though I am not “made” to feel on the peripheral of blogger circles, I sometimes do.  The BBQ Queens showed me how much respect there is for senior ambassadors of the love of food.

10) In the end, as I learn over and over again-Love, that is all.

Our first dinner together at Eat, Write, Retreat 2013 was a casual affair in one of the conference rooms at the Hilton, Doubletree.  The buffet style meal meant that I was able to accompany my oregano chicken with heaps of spring asparagus and heirloom tomatoes.  I recall thinking, this is a great way to start a weekend of taste indulgences.

I was sitting with the Carrot Cake gang.  Each table was designated with a different three tiered dessert tray and ours was laden with Carrot Cake.  We were encouraged to mix things up after dinner and visit other participants (and swap desserts).  This was a great way to arrange the seating plan and I am very much looking forward to adapting the principle, sometime in the future.  I made a beeline for the peanut butter chocolate brownies and added a fresh fruit tart-oh yum.

The next day at lunch time we meandered through the adjacent streets to Supper, for lunch.  I didn’t get a chance to take any food shots at the Canadian Lentil luncheon but I can tell you that the food was expertly prepared and each little plate, a surprise: “really, this has lentils in it?” Being a Canadian prairie girl with my roots in Eastern Europe my favourite was the “Ode to Borscht” Lentil Dip but the bread pudding dessert, came a very close second.  I was so delighted to finally meet Rachel Kehrig in person.  We have chatted together many times via email and only live one province away from each other, but had never met in person!

I would love to have the chance to return to the gorgeous Supper, perhaps next time for….supper.

That afternoon, we settled in for a fascinating session on growing and harvesting mushrooms.  What I love best of all about being a “foodie” is meeting farm families, first hand.  The brothers Tony and Joe D’Amico who led this session could rival the siblings that host the home renovation shows.  HGTV sign them up!

One of the best things that I ate, as a result of attending Eat, Write, Retreat 2013, I actually consumed just last night.  I sometimes make dinners ahead of time before we head out for weekends at our little beach house.  Last evening, I decided to refer to Mushroom’s “Trend to Blend” announcement.  I devised a meatball recipe that incorporated 1 1/2 pounds of cremini mushrooms that were first sauteed with onions and red peppers.  I used the OXO Mini Chopper that I was given last year at the conference, so that I didn’t have to lug out my food processor, to finely chopped the sauteed veggies.  Holy, moly, whadda meatball!  Absolutely jammed packed with earthly flavours and the texture was soft and inviting.  I simmered a sauce of tomatoes and fresh rosemary with lots of red wine and now I cannot wait for Saturday night’s dinner on the deck.

The Saturday evening gala featured the “secret ingredients” from the “Amazing Apps Culinary Challenge”.  I hung around the fig table most of the evening.  Remembering our mornings in Sicily when we would go out to the orchard and pick fresh figs and almonds to have with our breakfast, to my surprise, California figs are equally divine. My love of sweet and salty is beautifully satiated by a shard of salty cheese and a wedge of fresh fig.

This WOULD have been what was served, had I won the Culinary Challenge (speaking of Sicily).  I took my friend Concetta’s pasta recipe of cauliflower, pine nuts, and raisins and wrapped it into layers of phyllo dough-just saying…..

The next morning, I learned how to make this “Grilled Potato and Kale Pizza“.  My readers know that I am potato crazy and I absolutely loved the variety that the “BBQ Queens” quickly demonstrated on Sunday morning of the conference.  I plan to make every recipe in my “Get Grilling with Potatoes” pamphlet over the summer.  The pizza, by the way, was tender, funky (in a good way), and fused with delicious and nutritious new taste combinations.

To top it off-I won the Calphalon 5-in1 Grill that we used for the pizza!  I was thrilled.  Last year I won a Calphalon Panini maker and I didn’t have enough room in my luggage to take it home, so I traded it with another attendee.  I had been grieving that loss ever since.  This year, I brought an entire empty suitcase (thank you Air Canada) and the grill was the first thing that I found a spot for.  Atoosa, thank you from the bottom of my heart.  The grill has a place of honour on our counter top because we use it every single day.  Last night I seared the meatballs (above) before plunking them into the simmering sauce.

I was very full of potato pizza by the time we made our way across the street to the Williams Sonoma at the Bellevue for our “Taste of Philly Lunch”.  I did indulge in this fantastic nibble.  I followed directions and placed the entire spoonful in my mouth at and the varied tastes literally exploded in my mouth.

My roomie and I sat in the lobby and hugged new friends as they departed for home.  We had made arrangements to stay an extra night and so the eating adventure did not end with that farewell lunch.  Supper that evening was on a nearby sidewalk patio at Pietro’s Coal Oven Pizzeria. There will be more details to come regarding that delicious evening.

And of course, no visit to Philadelphia would be complete without a Philly Cheese-steak.  This too will be described in a future post-suffice it to say, the city and its food is calling me back.

Was that 10?  Who’s counting?

Kath’s quote: “From the fig tree learn its lesson: as soon as its branch becomes
tender and puts out its leaves, you know that summer is near. ”   Matthew 24:32

Love-that is all.

This is the first in a series, on my recent time in Philadelphia at Eat, Write, Retreat 2013.  Since this entry is a collection of my favourite sights, I’ll let my photos tell the story.

The Hilton Double-Tree was perfectly located, right in the heart of the city.

Everywhere I walked, I was thrilled with the gorgeous details of Center City.

We came across this gorgeous funkified area of downtown on our walk to our first lunch outing at Supper Restaurant .

This beauty is now luxurious condos.  She reminded me of the architecture of the “ladies” that line Central Park on the Upper West Side in NYC.  We discovered that Philadelphia’s urban park is 10 times the size of Central Park.

That evening we were 37 stories high at R2L Restaurant where the Gala Awards were given out.  I consoled myself for not winning with my California Raisins entry by gazing out at the Philadelphia skyline, in the setting sun!  Just kidding, I was thrilled for the lovely winner Roxanna with her Raisin Cheese Crackers.

I was also able to capture the Bellevue, where we had lunch at Williams Sonoma the next day.

After the conference had concluded, my roomie and I purchased a 24 hour pass for the double decker bus tours.  This was taken as we zipped by.  There was rain coming so we did the loop to decide what sites we would stop at the next day.

I thought that this view of what Rocky would have seen from the top of the steps after his triumphant run, was far more interesting than the stairs themselves (or the statue of Rocky for that matter).

I was so disappointed that the galleries in Philadelphia are closed on Mondays.  I would have loved to have seen the Impressionist collection and the Rodin exhibit.  Ah well, my memories of Paris will have to suffice.

Joannie, depicted here, was my symbol of all of the valiant women that I met at the conference.  One in particular, I know will be my lifelong friend.

Kath’s quote:  “I’d like to see Paris before I die. Philadelphia will do.” Mae West

Love- that is all.