Miguel & Marcie

Nuno's brother, Miguel was married this weekend. He is the last of Nuno's siblings to get married with all three boys getting married in under a year. They were married at the most beautiful old cathedral style church in downtown London with a reception at a country club just outside of the city.
The floral arrangements were so goregous! I just can't stop looking back at these photos.

Instead of a wedding cake they had a three tier pasties de nata display. See the most burnt one on the bottom? That one was mine!

I get so weepy at weddings and this was the first I was able to keep it together. Then came the first dance to Cat Power's 'Sea of Love'. It was so sweet and definetly my favourite moment of the night.

Marcie and Miguel just left for their honeymoon to San Francisco today! It is just the beginning of a happy life for them together.

Fish Tacos

Fish Tacos are the defining flavour of our honeymoon. Being in San Francisco, they seem to specialize in Mission-style Mexican, which included a completely new taste to me – the Fish Taco! I’m desperately trying to recapture this moment in time, with moderate success. Below is my Fish Taco with Radish Salad.

Crema
¼ c fat-free mayonnaise
½ c reduced-fat sour cream
1 1/2 tsp fresh lime juice
1/4 tsp salt
½ tsp chipotle in adobo sauce

Radish Salad
6 radishes, thinly sliced
3 scallions, thinly sliced
2 tbsp lime juice

Fish
1 1/2 pounds skinless tilapia fillets (about 4)
1/2 teaspoon ground coriander
12 corn tortillas (6 inches each)

1 avacado sliced into squares

In a small bowl, mix together lime juice, radishes, scallions; season with salt and pepper. Set radish salad aside.

Season tilapia with coriander, salt, and pepper. Bake in oven/grill on bbq or fry in oil until opaque throughout, 4 to 5 minutes; break up into chunks.

Meanwhile, using tongs, hold tortillas over a gas flame until lightly toasted, about 30 seconds per side (or wrap stacked tortillas in damp paper towels, and microwave on high until warm and soft, about 1 minute). To assemble, fill tortillas with fish, radish salad; top with crema & avocado.

father's day weekend

Most of this past weekend was all about our dads and celebrating Father's Day with them. My father-in-law had his 60th birthday tied together with Father's Day Saturday. Sunday was lounging by the pool with my dad. Two very happy family get-togethers.
My mother-in-law sent us home with the most beautiful bouquet of pink peony's. The entire living room level is filled with their lovely fragrance.


I spent some time this weekend enjoying, Close to the Ocean by California Snow Story. They have very gentle male/female vocal trade off and are musically akin to Cat's Meow, Air and Camera Obscura. Just perfect for easy feel good summer listening!

Cynthia Rowley has a great new line of inexpensive picnic/party/beach merch at Target called, Whim. The line is now discounted half off!


I picked up this salad set, picnic basket and cooler in preparation for all the summer picnics to come.

Here is the link for Whim.

It was a Buffalo night last night let me tell you. We were out for dinner at Gramma Mora's on Hertel Ave. and all over the news was the death of Buffalo native, Tim Russert.

In brighter Buffalo celeb. news, Chesley McNeil has been named 'Best Television Personality' by Artvoice. Way to go Chesley, making momma so proud!

oh crap! look what we have to deal with after this afternoon's windstorm.


I don't think this photo does visual justice to the monsterous size of the branch. Check out the size of the fence for scale. Off to the right is our shed, thank goodness it didn't land on it.

the first humid weekend in June

Dispite the heat and humidity, Nuno and I have been jonesin' for a decent weekend to spend outdoors. We love to walk Hot Tot up and down the Welland Canal path almost daily. She loves it too because she gets to make tons of doggie friends.


Queenston was also very pretty this weekend. I'm so happy I had the opportuntiy to catch the alliums in bloom. I just love how they are planted beside the fountain.


Although we spent the majority of the weekend outside, we went to Shaun & Leslie's housewarming party. Their place is very bright and at an ideal location. We helped them move a month ago and it was great to see their place complete with all their rad collectibles organized on display. They threw a fun bash and we're really happy for them & their new palace.

enchiladas carnita

Nuno and I will usually try several recipes from the monthly Everyday Food magazine. This month featured tomatillos (which I don't think are very easy to find in Canada), but regardless Salsa Verde is the closest substitute. Which is what we used on this most delicious pork enchilada recipes we've ever made.

Pork Enchiladas with Green Sauce (Adapted from Everyday Food)

1 pound trimmed pork tenderloin
1 teaspoon cumin
salt and fresh ground black pepper
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 cup chopped onion
4 garlic cloves, minced
1 bottle of PC salsa verde
1 cup corn kernels
12 6" white corn tortillas (we did half corn tortillas for Nuno)
8 ounces monterey jack cheese (best you can find)

Preheat oven to 450

Dust pork with cumin rub and season with salt and fresh ground black pepper. Place onto a baking sheet coated with foil and nonstick spray. Bake in the oven and roast until an instant-read thermometer registers 145 degrees, about 20 to 25 minutes. Remove from the oven and place on a wire rack to rest for 10 minutes. Shred pork with two forks.

In a large pan, heat oil over medium. Cook onion until soft, about 4 to 6 minutes. Add garlic and cook until fragrant, about 1 minute. Stir in salsa verde and cook together, about 5 to 8 minutes. Combine 1 cup of the sauce, the corn and pork - mix until well combined. Add just enough of the sauce to thinly coat the bottom of a 9" x 13" baking dish.

Wrap tortillas, stacked, in a moist paper towel - place in the microwave and heat for 1 minute to soften. Using one tortilla at a time, keeping the rest covered, dip into the sauce and place on your work surface. Fill the tortilla with about 1/4 cup of the pork mixture and 1 tablespoon of the cheese. Roll up and place into the prepared baking dish. Repeat with remaining tortillas. Once all are in the baking dish, cover with the remaining sauce and cheese.

Cover the dish tightly with foil and place in the oven to bake until the sauce is bubbling, about 15 to 20 minutes. Uncover and broil until the cheese has browned, no more than minutes. Rest 10 minutes before serving.

Makes 6 servings.

best worst movie

This past weekend was our Troll 2 weekend! We had a Troll 2 screening in our backyard on Friday night and then went to the Toronto Screening at the Bloor Cinema Saturday night.

"Look, they prepared a whole feast!"

Katie was dressed as the first goblin victim, Cindy and I was dressed as Creedence!

The party in our backyard was hosted by my sister, Katie. In attendance we had George Hardy (who plays Micheal Waits, the father) and Micheal Stevenson (who plays the son, Joshua Waits).

Katie, me, Nuno (dressed as Preacher Bells), George Hardy and Micheal Stevenson

This was their first trip to Canada, so we really hoped to show them Canadian hospitality. This included a backyard barbecue, games (Trollympic games), an outdoor screening of the movie and a Q&A.

Michael is currently working on a documentary called 'Best Worst Movie' on the renewed interest in the film which includes finding lost cast members 20 years later, the fans and their world-wide Troll 2 screenings in all major cities. He was filming throughout most of the evening, so it would be pretty rad if we ended up appearing in his documentary.


Saturday was the first time we got a chance to see Troll 2 on the big screen with hundreds of other fans. It was a total blast hearing all the laughter every 30 seconds making the movie funnier than ever!
What an awesome weekend!