Some Extended Celebrations
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The past week has been busy to say the least both at work and in my personal life. Work wise there really isn't anything new. We had our annual open house which, due to the short notice and relative lack of advertising, went over fairly quiet compared to last year. It still required some extra hours on everybody's part to pull together but that is to be expected. Our neighbors went all out with the pancake breakfast and the radio spots. They had a decent turnout and we basically took advantage of the traffic. Last year it went the other way, we did all the promoting and they enjoyed the increased traffic. So all is fair in retail sales, in reality our relations with the people next door are pretty good so there are no hard feelings over it. Otherwise we are experiencing our usual spring increase in activity.
I have enrolled in a belly dancing class! I get to shimmy and twist and quite frankly my abs will never be the same! Neither will my knees for that matter, I think I better do some extra exercises to strengthen them for the dancing to come. To make things even better some friends are also enrolled so we get some fun girl time on the side. We picked up hip scarves this week so we get to jingle as we move. After the last class one of my girlfriends and I decided to hang out with a massive birthday cake and season one of Heroes - not a bad way to enjoy the evening. I also discovered the sound of the hip scarf scared the daylights out of my cat, he was fluffed out about twice his size when I first walked in the room.
Yes, my birthday was this past week. This year I have had some issues with coming up with ideas for presents. Not that I am usually on the ball with that sort of stuff, to be honest I can say I have learned that quirk from my parents. They are just as difficult as I am.
Anyways, for this year my Mom and I agreed that my present would be a lovely dinner. I picked Rouge, a local restaurant serving a homegrown spin on french cuisine. To start with the building is an historic house near the river. It has been well maintained and the interior decor is intimate and welcoming. I chose the Seared Foie Gras with Sautéed Pear Soufflé, Sunflower Seed Butter and Maple Gelée for the appetizer. The combined flavors were excellent! And the seed butter added just the right amount of crunch to the overall texture. It was an interesting contrast with the style of fois gras I tasted in France. This was the whole duck liver, as opposed to the almost pate style served on fresh bread. My parents enjoyed a lovely crab and salmon cake for their start. For the main course: my boyfriend chose the Lamb Loin with Catalan Vegetables & Truffled Potato Purée; my Mom went with the Coriander Seared Prawns with Oven Fired Bell Pepper Polenta and Butternut Squash Coulis; my Dad and I chose the Ostrich medallions a top Rosti & Marjoram Crème Fraiche. The portions were not overwhelming and the presentation was well done. The ostrich was cooked medium rare and we both found it to be tender with a pleasant flavour. Mom very much enjoyed the prawns - coriander does have a bit of a bite to it - although she's not 100% sold on the Polenta. But it's all about trying something new for us when we do this so it's still enjoyable regardless. For the final round - dessert - I was in luck, they make everything from scratch so for once I can get a definative answer as to what is safe to eat. (translation: what does NOT have nuts). While the others indulged in Fallen Chocolate Soufflé and Lemon Meringue Crème brûlée, I enjoyed warm Ginger Cake with homemade Coconut Icecream and Orange Sauce. The kitchen staff even piped Happy Birthday in chocolate around the edge of the plate! We relaxed with some tea / coffee to finish off what was an absolutely wonderful meal. I would definately go back to this restaurant again, especially once the garden is grown in...
Saturday was the open house so I worked. The original plan was that a small group of friends would head out to play pool that night. But the week of extra early days and late nights was catching up with me and a few others. The general concensus was that a short nap was in order prior to heading out. What actually happened was that most of the people did not wake up from that nap (myself included) until it was really too late to go out. My girlfriend and I had a good laugh about it today, we're calling a raincheck and we shall try again another day. She says it's a clear sign we are getting old. Since I really don't feel "old" I just chalk it up to being short on sleep and leave it at that.
I have enrolled in a belly dancing class! I get to shimmy and twist and quite frankly my abs will never be the same! Neither will my knees for that matter, I think I better do some extra exercises to strengthen them for the dancing to come. To make things even better some friends are also enrolled so we get some fun girl time on the side. We picked up hip scarves this week so we get to jingle as we move. After the last class one of my girlfriends and I decided to hang out with a massive birthday cake and season one of Heroes - not a bad way to enjoy the evening. I also discovered the sound of the hip scarf scared the daylights out of my cat, he was fluffed out about twice his size when I first walked in the room.
Yes, my birthday was this past week. This year I have had some issues with coming up with ideas for presents. Not that I am usually on the ball with that sort of stuff, to be honest I can say I have learned that quirk from my parents. They are just as difficult as I am.
Anyways, for this year my Mom and I agreed that my present would be a lovely dinner. I picked Rouge, a local restaurant serving a homegrown spin on french cuisine. To start with the building is an historic house near the river. It has been well maintained and the interior decor is intimate and welcoming. I chose the Seared Foie Gras with Sautéed Pear Soufflé, Sunflower Seed Butter and Maple Gelée for the appetizer. The combined flavors were excellent! And the seed butter added just the right amount of crunch to the overall texture. It was an interesting contrast with the style of fois gras I tasted in France. This was the whole duck liver, as opposed to the almost pate style served on fresh bread. My parents enjoyed a lovely crab and salmon cake for their start. For the main course: my boyfriend chose the Lamb Loin with Catalan Vegetables & Truffled Potato Purée; my Mom went with the Coriander Seared Prawns with Oven Fired Bell Pepper Polenta and Butternut Squash Coulis; my Dad and I chose the Ostrich medallions a top Rosti & Marjoram Crème Fraiche. The portions were not overwhelming and the presentation was well done. The ostrich was cooked medium rare and we both found it to be tender with a pleasant flavour. Mom very much enjoyed the prawns - coriander does have a bit of a bite to it - although she's not 100% sold on the Polenta. But it's all about trying something new for us when we do this so it's still enjoyable regardless. For the final round - dessert - I was in luck, they make everything from scratch so for once I can get a definative answer as to what is safe to eat. (translation: what does NOT have nuts). While the others indulged in Fallen Chocolate Soufflé and Lemon Meringue Crème brûlée, I enjoyed warm Ginger Cake with homemade Coconut Icecream and Orange Sauce. The kitchen staff even piped Happy Birthday in chocolate around the edge of the plate! We relaxed with some tea / coffee to finish off what was an absolutely wonderful meal. I would definately go back to this restaurant again, especially once the garden is grown in...
Saturday was the open house so I worked. The original plan was that a small group of friends would head out to play pool that night. But the week of extra early days and late nights was catching up with me and a few others. The general concensus was that a short nap was in order prior to heading out. What actually happened was that most of the people did not wake up from that nap (myself included) until it was really too late to go out. My girlfriend and I had a good laugh about it today, we're calling a raincheck and we shall try again another day. She says it's a clear sign we are getting old. Since I really don't feel "old" I just chalk it up to being short on sleep and leave it at that.
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