sweet seduction




I’m late to this bandwagon. I’d been hearing about the Jacob’s Creek Reserve Shiraz since the summer, but wanted to muddle through my existing bottles of red before adding to my growing “collection” of alcoholic bevies.

Silly me.

By the time I was ready it was nowhere to be found. LCBO stores across the province were sold out, what few cases that remained (in Sudbury) were on hold. I tried almost everything to get my grubby little hands on a bottle. I tried all of my various hookups… I even tried namedropping.

Nada.

Finally last weekend, I managed to score two bottles. At $17 a pop, it was one of the best wines I’ve had in a very, very long time (the last one being a gold label Ruffino 1999?? I forget…).

Smokey, spicy, a little blackberry, a wisp of vanilla; there is a recognizable depth to it and smoothness like you wouldn’t believe. Ok. I’m exaggerating. I’m not really a wine connoisseur, but I know what I like. This, I like… a lot.

Go forth and hunt, my friends, go forth and hunt.

where: your local LCBO…

when: next shipment reaches land in about 2 weeks… be patient…

sweet nothings




For as long as I can remember, I've wanted to learn how to blow glass. As children, we'd get dropped off at Harbourfront and left to wander the artist studios for hours upon hours. I loved the burning heat of the glass studio, and was facinated by the way the glassblowers would turn glowing orbs of molten glass into free flowing pieces of suspended whimsy.

Learning how to blow sugar is so much better. Not only does one have a similar ability to create something out of apparently nothing, but it tastes amazing as well.

I came out of the workshop with two scorched thumbs and a whole lot of ambition.

Inspiration has struck, and I know what what I want to do. Now, I only need to go to Home Depot for a blow torch and a heat lamp... and to the grocery store for a whole lotta sugar.

where: Bonnie Gordon sugarworks workshop...

lesson learned




If you leave cupcakes outside on the balcony, make sure you keep an eye out for squirrels, m'kay?