Month: September 2009

Politics Sep 22, 2009 The Waffle 1 Comment The lobster industry has been in trouble for some time. From a s(h)ellfish consumer point of view, prices have been great.  At the docks, though, it’s another story.  Now, I should point out that I like my lobster hot.  Grilled, its delicious. Jacques Parizeau does like his homards dans l’eau bouillante, as we all remember. But as far as hot lobsters go, I never expected this kind of hot lobster from the Conservative government. Sexy Lobster       .

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Golf Sep 19, 2009 The Waffle 4 Comments Remember my pledge not to eat red meat for the month of September? I was a last-minute addition at the Canadian Press annual golf tournament, a call-up if you will, to replace someone who was a late-scratch due to illness.  I won’t talk to much about the performance of my team or the number of balls we lost on this beautiful day at the Mont Cascades golf course.  It was for a good cause, as the Tournament was a fundraiser for the Tom Hanson Photojournalism Award in memory of the late CP photographer.  You can give here. The chef at the Mont Cascades golf course grilling the meat However, unbeknownst to me, the meal during the award ceremony after the tournament was going to be grilled steak.  I realized this was going to be the case when they started to grill some thick…

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Food experiment, Restaurant Sep 3, 2009 The Waffle 2 Comments Our trip to Malta included a lay-over in Frankfurt.  The same was true on the way back, so I picked our flight in order to spend some time in Germany, almost 24 hours in fact. We had picked the City Hotel Frankfurt, on Allerheiligenstrasse in the Cultural Quarter, on the Main’s northern bank.  After checking in, we soon found ourselves wandering down Zeil, a pedestrian street from two major plazas – Hauptwache to Konstablerwache.  Since the end of the last century, it has been the city’s major shopping street.  The “Golden mile”, it is lined with well-known department stores.  It used to be known for its grand buildings but most of them were destroyed during World War II and were not rebuilt.   In fact, most of the city was destroyed, it seems. Konstablerwache was the plaza closest to our hotel, and it is where we…

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Food experiment Sep 2, 2009 The Waffle 2 Comments So our Honeymoon was set for Malta. Why Malta, you may ask? Well, we wanted something different, with nice weather and historic things to visit.  Located in the middle of the Meditaranean Sea, Malta seemed perfect. And it was relatively easy to get to, Ottawa-Frankfurt-Malta and hop! Food in Malta is not renowned as gourmet cuisine, but it is reasonably priced and there are plenty of locations to choose from. Foreign influences still play a major role in the local cuisine. The islands’ proximity to Sicily leads inevitably to many pasta dishes and pizzerias; the Brits also left their mark – fish and chips, obviously.  The Mediterranean stamp is there, with olive oil being omnipresent, and fresh vegetables, such as tomatoes and green peppers, are commonly used. Fresh fish is easily found and proudly offered.  Abundant, it comes poached, steamed, braised or…

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General Sep 2, 2009 The Waffle No Comments One of the great things about our trip to Malta was our apartment.  Located in Valletta on Old Theatre Lane, it had a great view of the Marsamxett harbour and a well equipped kitchen.  So we were able to save money while having romantic dinners, relaxing and enjoying the views that were offered to us. Mel loves pasta, and I was happy to oblige. Here, I made Spaghetti with a very simple tomato-basil sauce. On the side, bread with a cheddar gratin. To accompany our meal, we had a bottle of Corvo Vendemmia 2006, a very nice wine from Sicily, smooth and light in tanin. In the background, Manoel Island and its Fort, which was built in the XVIII century and was a strong defensive position all the way to World War II, when anti-aircraft guns were deployed in and around the…

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