You Can Come Too, Too, Too..

We went to the zoo. Again. 

The lovely thing about having a membership to any zoo is it takes the pressure off making a whole day of it to get your money's 'worth'. We've always done this and we are often seen at the zoo in the off season. The animals are sometimes more active in the cooler weather.

After a few sickly days being hemmed in and only straying onto the deck to play with the snow, we felt the need to drive out of town and get some fresh air. But we were not up for anything too ambitious. Everyone is a little tired and phlegmy in our house (Happy New Year!) so the zoo fit the bill exactly.

Poppet was also anxious to add to her collection of pressed coins from the zoo shop. And I just love that a Toony gets you a Loony in that machine. Rip off! (That's a $2 coin and a $1 coin for you non-Canucks out there)

It was my desire to visit the polar bears. Again.

I have always loved bears. Possibly they seem so exotic and mysterious because we don't have the big guys down under.

The Tundra Exhibit looked fittingly icy due to this week's snow. The bears were napping but the wolves were awake. After an hour or so it started to rain, so it was home again, home again.

A great way to start the New Year for us winter lovers.

PS. As I was writing this post, Poppet started vomiting. Nice. She went for a good 9 hours and we got to bed around 3am. Mister and I have been tagging naps and childcare ever since. He has done loads and loads of washing and cleaning up whilst Poppet has clung to me like a limpet. We're on the couch now, watching the Disney channel. Ironic, considering the Mouse is probably what got us into this mess in the first place.

Happy New Year!

Sorry, it's been a quiet week. I had all sorts of fun things to post about like snow and Disney On Ice and the like. But then I got gastro. In fact, a few of us who attended Disney got gastro. Thanks Mickey!

I'm on the road to wellness now, but still a little shaky. It will most certainly be an alcohol-free New Year's Eve for me. In fact, it's our eighth wedding anniversary as well, and I bought a bottle of Verve to crack open but haven't bothered to chill it. Will have to take a raincheck on that one.

Instead, we'll head up to the pub for some wings (I'll have salad) and come home to finish our annual re-watch of The Lord Of The Rings. Actually, that's a nice way to see in the new year in my book. The nightmare of huge boozy nights and much larger hangovers are behind us. Thankfully.

We had planned on going to the ice rink for hot chocolate and a night skate but that's way too much effort.

On a happy note we had our first real snow this week. Probably a couple of centimetres worth,and  just enough to cover the city in a white blanket. It's raining now, so most of it has melted away but it was lovely while it lasted. There'll be plenty more snow in the coming months so we don't mind.

Here are some pics. 

 Happy New Year everyone and thanks so much for sticking around.

From Our Home To Yours...

Merry Christmas and/or Happy Holidays to you all!  We've had a great time, busy on Christmas Eve having a party and tranquil with only the three of us for Christmas Day. Perfect. We are pinching ourselves that we actually made it to Canada for Christmas. We feel very lucky to be living our dream.

No snow yet, which is the only downer, but that's ok. We get to go skating tomorrow, anyway.

Here are some pics from our celebrations...

In Search Of Cooking...

Well, it's time for another recipe. It's been a mad week, as it always is just before Christmas, so I decided to go with ingredients I have on hand. The recipe which best fit last night's fridge contents was Broccoli and Lemon Risotto.

I'm certainly NOT the Queen of Risotto, tending to opt for the lazier rice-cooker option I used to have down patt. But a new country means a new type of rice cooker and that recipe just doesn't fly anymore. Sniff.

This recipe wasn't quite right, IMO, so here is how I would cook it next time...

Broccoli and Lemon Risotto

Ingredients

6 cups vegetable stock (the recipe called for 4 cups but this was nowhere near enough, guess it depends upon your rice?)

1 tbsp olive oil

1 onion, chopped

1 clove garlic, crushed (chopped mine, keep forgetting to buy a garlic crusher)

1 1/2 cups Arborio rice

1 cup dry white wine

125g broccoli florets

1/2 bunch fresh parsley, chopped (didn't have any parsley and couldn't find it in the shops either)

finely grated zest and juice of half a lemon (chopped my lemon peel as i keep forgetting to buy any type of grater, let alone a zester!)

freshly grated parmesan to taste (this wasn't in the original recipe, but i don't think risotto tastes right without it. however we had to use cheddar because of the whole grater issue, bought one today!)

freshly ground black pepper

1. Place stock in a saucepan and bring to a boil. Leave simmering. In a large skillet, heat oil over medium heat, add onions and garlic. Cook, stirring, until translucent, about 2 mins.

2. Stir in rice. Cook for 1 minute. Add wine. Cook, stirring, until liquid is absorbed. Add 1 ladle of stock and cook, stirring occasionally until liquid is absorbed. Continue until all the stock is used and the rice is tender (this is where i needed more liquid). Add broccoli 2-3 minutes before end of cooking time.

3. Stir in parsley (if you have it), lemon zest and juice and pepper to taste. Remove from heat. Stand for 3 minutes then serve. I certainly think this recipe needed parmesan as well!

So, there you have it. A perfectly respectable first attempt at 'real' risotto. I will continue to try other risotto recipes until I land on a favourite. I hear the Jamie Oliver one is pretty good.

Daddy kindly kept Poppet busy whilst I was cooking. This meant I could enjoy a glass of wine and listen to the latest 'Wittertainment' podcast. If you're not familiar with it and you like a good movie review radio show, click here to download it. You won't be disappointed.

Tonight is hotdogs a la Daddy. I'm off to yoga.

Hope your Christmas prep is going ok. Feel free to tell me about your favourite risotto recipe if you have time!

Skatin'

We hit the ice today. Well, not quite 'we'. I've been warned off skating and skiing because of my titanium hip (falling puts me at risk of dislocation) so I do the sidelines/support thing. Hot chocolate anyone?

The local government funds ice rinks all over town. Free ice skating. Yep.

We joined some Aussie friends today for Poppet's first spin on the ice. She had the most amazing time. Poppet can sometimes be the child who falls and cries and wants to give up (except where monkey bars are involved) but she just laughed when she fell and got back up again. Good girl. And also reassuring considering what we've spent on skates and helmets and the like.

After an expected wobbly start, she had a go with some props but then decided to just get out there and have a go. It's going to take some time but she seems to have found her balance and is being patient with herself which is a good sign. The local children zipped past the Aussies at alarming rates, who knows how long it will take us to catch up!

I think it was about zero degrees at the rink. And there was a big pile of 'snow' at the side to play in when the skating got too much.

Here are some pics...

 

 

After the skating we went to a friend's place for pizza and wine. What a fantastic afternoon. We plan to skate every weekend. Need to make the most of the 'ice time'....