Up for another glorious sunrise and then off to pick up Boo and the Frenchman for 8 am. We must have been early because we managed to get them onto the 8 am ferry.

Afterwards we toodled around for breakfast fixings to no avail so we had our yoghurt especiale.

After zooming around the island some more, to see if Bruja was open, we ended up having lunch a Q Brava. Delicious and cheap cubano mixto totas.

In between the day was filled with shelling, reading, napping, etc.

D made amazing pina cooladas for Happy Hour Part 1, then we headed to playa sol for a lengthy sunset with wine.

We may have had a little bit too much to drink for D got his foot stuck between the brake and accelerator of the golf cart. Turns out he was able to pop the cart that we ran into’s headlight back into place without a mark-whew.

We tried Rubens for dinner and when it was closed for a first anniversary party, we ended up at Angelo’s for fruita de mare pizza and pasta (photos were out of focus, I confess).  As I have said before, Angelo’s equals our meals in Italy.  We headed home and tried to watch the Winnipeg Jets’ game but we were too pooped so it was lights out.

Kath’s quote: “Pasta doesn’t make you fat. How much pasta you eat makes you fat”. -Giada De Laurentiis

Love never fails.

In our minds (that is my husband D and mine), we love the gift of an experience rather than a physical gift. Recently our son and his wife, dubbed J1 and J2 in this space, decided that D and I deserved a “thank you” gift. Since they share our love of experiences, they put the wheels into motion for a thank you evening. Remember that I (the Momma), equates food with love. What do you think our gift was?

J1 had four very special restaurants in mind and one of them we had never visited and had always wanted to. A 8 pm reservation was secured at Close Company. They also wanted to kick off the evening with a happy hour (a family tradition) so they picked us up at 6:30 and we found ourselves at another place we had never visited-The Roost on Corydon. As we ascended the stairs, it really did feel as if we were entering a roost. We had a peak out the sliding glass windows to the outdoor patio and know that we will return when the weather is fair to sit among the leaves and birds.

The Roost is a cozy spot with a sloped ceiling that is typical of 100 year old homes in Winnipeg. We sat at the bar so we could watch the Bartender in action. She had an array of ingredients to choose from.

I had never seen so many bottles of bitters in my life. And she certainly knew how to shake that cocktail shaker! We spent a very long time enjoying the craft cocktail menu.

J1 and D both decided upon a special that was black in colour from the addition of charcoal. J2 had a Bathtub Gin which must have also been a special as I don’t see it on their current menu. I am actually not prone to cocktails and selected my stand by of a glass of red wine.

These lovely premise pickles held our hunger at bay until it was time to scouch along to keep our reservation.

And now it is confession time….

• This fabulous dinner was scheduled just before Christmas. Since then we have celebrated Christmas three times, put the Christmas decor away for the year, traveled to Mesa Arizona for a family wedding and traveled to Lisbon and the Algarve of Portugal as well as Seville Spain. In fact, I just returned from Toronto this morning. I am saying all this as defense because so much has happened between then and now, that the circumstances are not crystal clear.
• and….I may have had a little too much to drink that special evening.

But without further adieu, Close Company.

I loved everything about the little spot, the moment we stepped through the door. The ambience was more like entering someone’s home rather than a business. The service was equally warm and hospitable and we relaxed and enjoyed the evening of sips, tastes and chatter.

J1 knew the chef and so we didn’t really order. We just let the chef know that were excited and willing to taste everything.

First up was Torched Tuna. The tuna itself was satiny and flavourful. The biggest surprise were the clever smoked jalapeños. The cure brought out the peppers’ inherent smoky flavours and eliminated any of the uncomfortable fiery ones. Priding myself on being a French Fry aficionado, I loved the fingerling potato chips.

I swooned when the Parisienne Gnocchi arrived at the table. Gnocchi must be prepared delicately and simply and this was- with the thinnest of mushrooms, white wine and butter and a soft “snowfall” of hand grated parmesan.

I am not precisely sure what makes these meatballs Moroccan. Perhaps it is the spiciness of the tomato sauce or perhaps the inclusion of both feta and mint, but I am pretty sure that I could eat those meatballs every day for the rest of my life.

By this time I was ready to cry “Uncle” but the food kept coming. Chef had gone off the menu to prepare us his rendition of Christmas dinner.

These gorgeous discs of loveliness were achieved by de-boning an entire chicken, pressing it back together again and then cooking it in a cloth (torchon) that holds it in place. It was rich and moist and you might never wanted to eat a plain old roasted chicken again.

The poultry was accompanied by these fingers of mandatory Christmas dressing. So very good.

Now here is where I am relying on memory… blanched asparagus topped crème fresh. The crunch of the toasted nuts enhanced both and it was a stellar little dish.

Of course, no celebratory dinner is complete without dessert and so we shared and loved the citrus tart (imagine your Mom’s lemon meringue pie).

Dinner from start to finish was perfection: the food, the libations, the ambience, the sharing of plates and of course, the gift itself.

Kath’s quote: “Food is a language of care, the thing we do when traditional language fails us, when we don’t know what to say, when there are no words to say.”- Shauna Niequist

Love never fails.

2017 has been another exceptional year of Winnipeg Dining. I was recently at the Food Bloggers Canada conference which highlighted the adventures of two bloggers and their trip across Canada. When asked what their biggest surprise was, they quickly answered “Winnipeg-the food scene is amazing there”!

Ethnic restaurants still abound, especially in Winnipeg’s West End where I enjoyed Mercadito Latino,

Halong Bay,

Sushi Cushi,

and Nhu Quynh.

I revisited old favourites like the Falafel Place on Corydon,

Olympia Diner on west Portage Ave. ,

East India Company on York,

Piazza di Nardi on Taylor

and The Cottage Bakery on Pembina.

Visiting new (or relatively new) restaurants kept me busy and satiated: Bermax Caffe + Bistro on Corydon

Saddlery on Market,

Beet Happening on Notre Dame

and Harth Pizza and Wine Bar on south St. Anne’s Road.

The burgeoning craft brewery scene had me loving the fare at One Great City,

Brazen Hall and

and KYU Grill at The Commom at The Forks. I have the newest brewery on my “must try” list: I understand that Timmy Tom’s Pizzeria at The Trans Canada Brewing Company is in the running for the best pizza in the city.

Across the Board was in a category on its own where you can sup on carefully made food while you play a board game from their inventory of hundreds.

There were a number of delightful surprises for me in 2017: 1) The amazing Ruben and hand cut fries at the Diner’s Grill in a St. Boniface Industrial Park

2) Black Garlic Linguine with arugula and parmesan at Crème D’Essence in another Industrial Park (Inkster)

3) The modern dishes rooted in First Nation Foods of pickerel and bannock at The Feast Café Bistro

4) the unique atmosphere and premise-made delights at Caked with Love

and last but nowhere near least 5) the restaurant and butcher shop that is Boucher Bouchee. With their focus on local, small-farm, sustainable meat & artisanal local goods, they represent exactly what surprised my trans Canada trekking blogger friends.

Kath’s quote: “Going to a restaurant is one of my keenest pleasures. Meeting someplace with old and new friends, ordering wine, eating food, surrounded by strangers, I think is the core of what it means to live a civilised life”. -Adam Gopnik

Love never fails.

I think that I have dined in each of the restaurants that have been located in the former bank building at Lilac and Corydon Ave. It started with Gluttons where the private banquet room was reserved in my honour for a special birthday party ending with a zero. I was delighted when Mise made a go of it. I loved their “Angel Hair Pasta with Grilled Vegetables, Roasted Red Peppers, Concasse Tomatoes, Kalamata Olives, Feta Cheese, Pickled Eggplant, Wilted Greens and Artichoke Hearts” and then Ripe Bistro’s latke fries.

As soon as I entered the newest manifestation-Aurora Pizzeria & Café, I was greeted by good friends who indicate that they are at the Café every single morning for what they claim is the best cappuccino in the city. There were more accolades from the Italian couple sitting behind us in the dining room. They indicated that the food was exceptional because it was authentic Italian food-simple ingredients well prepared. The owner Giuliano took care of us himself. He shared that he is from a community close to Rome in Italy and that he had only been in Canada a handful of years. His English was very good. But we would have made our choice known to him even if we had to stand on our heads! We were hungry and so looking forward to this treat.

First order of business were our wine selections. I chose a Sangovese & Merlot blend that suited me just fine.

One of my lunch dates selected a fusilli topped with rapini, sausage and pepperoncino.

Another settled on the spaghetti carbonara with pancetta, romano cheese and eggs.

I decided to go with the lasagna alla Bolognese. As we simultaneously tasted our dishes, we all emitted a similar sound that was something like a groan.

I was surprised that the lasagna did not have the promised white sauce but in truth the red sauce was so fine that I was content. It is a good thing that the sauce was stellar because there were only two other ingredients-6 layers of delicate lasagna noodles with a ground meat in between each layer. No ricotta, no mozzarella and still it might have been one of the best lasagnas I have ever tasted (except perhaps when I have dined in Italy).

When the enormous portion was placed in front of me, I cut it into two and decided to eat one half and take the other half to my husband for his dinner. Unfortunately for my ever-patient husband, he never did get a taste because I could not stop eating half way. Instead, one of my friends and I have decided to return with both our husbands to try something else on the menu.

We sat in a space that was to the side of the main room, kitchen and bar. It is simply decorated with lots of natural light flooding in through the west facing windows. Since we had the owner taking care of us himself, the service was perfect. Giuliano did not rush us at all and was more than patient when we couldn’t stop chatting long enough to give him our order.

Aurora Pizzeria & Café is located at 842 Corydon Ave. at the corner of Corydon and Lilac St. They are open from 9 am until 11 pm daily except Friday and Saturdays when they close at 2 am. Check with them directly for their holiday hours.

Kath’s quote: “No dish in history has as many variations, colors, motifs, tastes, textures and subtleties as a dish of pasta.”  ― Marc Vetri, Mastering Pasta: The Art and Practice of Handmade Pasta, Gnocchi, and Risotto    

Love never fails.

The Wee One at Lester Beach

We kicked off 2017 in one of our favourite places-Lester Beach Manitoba. Our little beach house is exactly that-a house to use when it is beach weather. For New Year’s, we were all invited to join Sister #2 and her husband at their Lester Beach home which we teasingly call Reschmajal.

In February Sister #3 and I arranged a cyber-wedding shower for our niece and my Goddaughter in Australia. Sister #2 did all the shopping on line, had it delivered to the Mother of the Groom, who then wrapped it all up. We watched via Skype as the bride opened her gifts.

We also celebrated a couple of special birthdays in February. The first birthday of the youngest of the Wee Ones. Pictured here with her beloved Poppa. It was one of the last events that was held in the big old character house that we had purchased in Wolseley. J1, J2, D and I decided to sell it soon after and the process occupied a great deal of time in the late winter and early spring but it did sell in 27 days and we were very pleased with the venture.

Three of our brood turned 30 this year, commencing with the Frenchman. We used the occasion to have our yearly feed of ribs which D labours over for a couple of days.

In March before we headed south for our annual sojourn to Isla Mujeres, we attended another family shower. This one was for the fiancé of our nephew. They also have a place at Lester beach, almost across the road from us. She was introduced to our nephew by our son J1, so it was particularly special for all of us.

The wedding of Danielle and Dylan was special in so many ways: 85 of us assembled on Isla Mujeres from China, Australia, Europe and North America. There were numerous events planned and we got to know friends and family of the couple in a deeper and lovely way.

The time was also very special for Sisters #2 & #3 and Brother #3 as we got to share our precious place with others we love. Here are most of us in our family picture.

Our little sugar plum ferry awaiting the wedding procession.

I was particular blessed that the couple asked me to officiate. It was my first time; I loved every moment and I want the world to know that I am available to officiate at other destination weddings as well!

We stayed on the island for 10 days after the wedding and spent a lovely time of rejuvenation.

Upon our arrival home J1 J2 and the Wee Ones had moved in with us while the house referred to above was staged, sold, emptied and they went through the stressful process of finding a new home. It was lovely co-inhabiting for that while. Poppa has always been the girls’ favourite but Glamma made some in roads too and it was a time I will cherish.

In May, J2 turned 30 too. We had a dinner for her at the lake.

The Wee Ones gave me lots of motivation to recuperate as quickly as possible.

At the end of June I was scheduled to have my gall bladder removed but the morning of the surgery (in fact after they had started my iv) they sent me home due to a cold that I could not shake. They rescheduled me in early July and I remembered being relieved that I was going to have all of this behind me. Little did I know that the routine elective laparoscopic surgery would turn out to be such an ordeal in deed. After needing a blood transfusion (perhaps my liver had been nipped) and having a collapsed lung (perhaps my lung had been nipped) and spending almost 3 weeks in hospital, my recuperation took the rest of the summer. I started the journey by walking past one house in each direction on our block. I am happy to say that by the end of the summer, I could walk the 5 kms to East Grand Beach from Lester Beach.

By the end of August D joined me for a week at the lake. We slipped into our old routines of tennis (D), movies, books, crosswords, coffee, tea, happy hours and suppers on the deck. The lake gets pretty quiet at that time and we love having the beach to ourselves.

September brought J1’s 30th birthday. (I hope we did something nice for him because I can’t find a picture of it). It was also time to get back on track as far as my work was concerned and my wellness routine by returning to the gym 3-4 days per week.

In October we divided Thanksgiving weekend between a wedding at Hecla Island

and dinner at Reschmajal.

In October I got to attend the Food Bloggers Canada Conference in Ottawa- a city I hadn’t visited since I was 17.

November and December we have snuggled up to watch the Jets (in person and on TV), Netflix and get ready for Christmas and the time ahead. One week tomorrow we leave for a family wedding in Phoenix and the day after I return home we leave again, this time for Portugal with good friends.

The Wee Ones as you can likely see are happy and growing smarter and more beautiful with each day. Boo seen here, (our youngest-married to the Frenchman) has diverted from International Development Studies to her new job of General Manager of Little Brown Jug- a new craft Brewery in the Exchange area of Winnipeg. The Frenchman continues with his work on the front lines at Siloam Mission.

J1 pictured here with J2 also works at Little Brown Jug as a Brewer. He is so happy to have turned an interest and hobby into his life’s work. (I personally am amazed at how well they get on together). J1 and J2 have had their hands full with the house move but are happy as larks in their new Wolseley home. They are walking distance to the Wee One’s school, parks and good friends.

Daughter #1 is just about to present her final thesis for her Masters Degree in Disability Studies as well as working on a research project this past fall. She is uncertain which direction her career will go next. She is considering her options as she wraps her university studies up.

D is a busy guy between being the world’s #1 Poppa, heading up the procurement department of an enormous flower business and serving as the People’s Warden at church. He is happiest on the tennis court, travelling with me or when our family is all assembled either for Sunday dinners in the city or on the deck up at the lake.

I continue to plug along with the Media Chef (my media buying company) and have just the right number of clients to keep me busy and some cash flowing. I am grateful that my food and travel blogging continues to parlay into other opportunities. I am happiest near a body of water with my camera and a journal to record my thoughts.

If you are reading this, you are dear to me in some way. I do wish you peace, love and joy over Christmas and always.

Kath’s quote:  “Christmas is a bridge. We need bridges as the river of time flows past. Today’s Christmas should mean creating happy hours for tomorrow and reliving those of yesterday.”–Gladys Taber

Love never fails.