Celeriac Remoulade

The other day I was watching Jamie’s 30 minute meals (hey, I was on the elliptical doing a 30 minute cardo routine!!!) and saw a short part of a Celeriac Remoulade (it’s a mayo-type dressing) that I knew I would have to make for dinner. It turned out to be only an inspiration due to ingredients on hand but after searching the web, I came across Laura Calders Celeriac Remoulade, which resembled my salad a lot more (really, I only spotted it after I made mine for dinner the other night, really!)

It was already dark out, that's why the photo sucks!

One of the things that caught my eye in Jamie’s recipe was the prosciutto, but I completely forgot to add it in the end so we just had it plain . I have to admit, I did not love the dressing and if I were to do this again (very likely as I adore raw celeriac) I would alternate the dressing to something else…I thought it was a bit too acidic not enough balance, but I really did love the contrast of the smooth Dijon to the Grainy Dijon (maybe all I needed was to add a touch of honey, since my granny smith was not as sweet as Jamie’s pear?).

Ingredients:

• 1/4 to 1/2 of a celeriac, cleaned, peeled and julienned (I have a wonderful julienne grater that makes this so easy)
• 1 granny smith apple, washed but not peeled and julienned (the green of the peel adds a lovely light, fresh colour)
• a handful of chopped flat leaf parsley

Dressing:

• 2 tbsp Dijon Mustard
• 2 tbsp grainy Dijon Mustard
• 2 tbsp white wine or champagne vinegar
• 4-6 tbsp EVOO
• 1-2 pinches of flaked hot peppers

Directions:

1. Mix the celeriac, apple and parsley together well and toss with the dressing.
2. Enjoy.
3. If you plan to have this on more than one day, I would only dress what I am eating now, so that it doesn’t get all soggy!

The Greek Salad and the moment you’ve been waitng for…

Years and years ago I was invited to one of our freelancer’s home for a pot luck dinner. Lisa (our generous hostess) made a Greek Salad that really was bang on for me and then I made it for JT and he loved it and we’ve been making it ever since. It’s really not rocket science, but it is a wonderful combination of colours and tastes and I just had to share it with you because I recently made it for Sunday dinner with Brian! This is simply a mix of proportions to your liking!

Lisa’s Greek Salad

A burst of colour to brighten a dreary winter meal

Ingredients:

• 10 small yellow tomatoes, washed and sliced in half (I love the cocktail sized campari)
• 10 small red tomatoes, washed and sliced in half (I love the cocktail sized campari)
• 10 Kalamata olives, cut into thirds
• 3 mini English cucumbers cut into a similar size as the tomatoes
• a good handful of hand broken Brebis sheeps milk feta (less fat than ordinary feta and much creamier)
• 1/3 cup balsamic vinegar
• 3-4 tbsp EVOO

Directions:

1. Toss the vegetables together.
2. Mix the balsamic and the oil and dress the salad just before serving.

Ok, now the moment you’ve all been waiting for, the big draw and the give away winner.

We've tabulated the entries and made lovely entries with everyone's names (those who answered correctly, that is). BTW, this is an authentic Goulash pot (miniature)!

Now we need someone to make the draw…

JT was kind enough to make the draw...

and the winner is….

Oh my gosh...Kristy of Eat, Play, Love - our family food adventures, CONGRATULATIONS!

Congratulations Kristy. Please email me your info and I will send you the cool salts!

Thank you to everyone who participated. My first give away was a very fun event for me and I so appreciate your participation.

Charles’ Curry Roasted Jerusalem Artichoke Soup

Sunday dinner with nephew Brian is quite the meal. I usually like to have a few courses consisting of an hors d’œuvres, an appetizer, a main, a salad and a dessert. I blogged about the Saganaki that we had as an hors d’œuvres. And then there was the salmon cake with Cilantro Pesto, now for the appetizer.

A few days ago, Charles at Five Euro Foods posted a recipe for Curry Roasted Jerusalem Artichoke Soup which peaked my interest on a number of levels. First, I have never had, or even cooked Jerusalem Artichokes and secondly, there are not too many of our friends or relatives that will eat and enjoy curry, and Brian is certainly one of them — so I thought, perfect. He’s a good guinea pig and like Mikey will eat almost anything.

The Jerusalem Artichokes were not inexpensive so I added a potato to the mix to help increase the volume (5 smallish heads were about $4.00 Canadian). This recipe ended up making about 8 cups, so I’m going to freeze it for another time. To see the original Charles’ recipe, please click here. This is a highly flavoured soup with a touch of heat. Would I make this again? I have to say that even though I was not overwhelmed by the Jerusalem Artichokes I would certainly take the spices in this soup and make it with other vegetables, such as cauliflower. The flavour certainly hit the spot, thanks Charles!

I read a tip quite some time ago, to lessen the oil used for oven roasting vegetables; fill a bowl with cold water and add 1-2 tbsp olive oil, then dump your evenly cut vegetables into the water — they will pic up the oil as your remove them with a slotted spoon. Works like a charm!

Just grab a piece of bread and dip already!

Curry Roasted Jerusalem Artichoke Soup

Ingredients:

• ~5 medium-sized Jerusalem Artichokes
• 1 medium sized Yukon Gold potato (or another potato that is creamy and not starchy)
• ~1 litre low sodium vegetable stock or water
• 3 tbsps Olive Oil
• 4-5 cipolini onions
• 1 small head of garlic
• 2 tsp Garam Masala
• 2 tsp Curry Powder
• 4 tbsp Greek yogurt with 2 tbsp milk or cream (to loosen a bit)
• Salt

Directions:

1. Pre-heat oven to 375°F.
2. Peel and clean the artichokes and the potato and cut into even pieces. Peel the cipolini onions.
3. Mix the garam masala and the curry powder together with a pinch of salt. In the method described above, ‘oil’ the vegetables and place evenly on a baking sheet. Sprinkle with the spice mixture.
4. Remove the outer skin from the garlic and place into a small ramekin; drizzle with the remaining 1 tbsp of olive oil, sprinkle with a bit of sea salt. Cover with foil. Place in the corner of the baking sheet with vegetables.
5. Once the vegetables are cooked through to soft, place them into a large bowl; remove the roasted garlic cloves and add to the bowl, sprinkle the olive oil onto the mixture.
6. Pour the vegetable stock over the cooked vegetables and blend well with your immersion blender. Add stock or water until the desired thickness and consistency is achieved. Press through a fine sieve for a velvety smooth and creamy texture.
7. Serve in a small bowl drizzled with the yogurt mixture.
8. Enjoy.
   

   Did anyone see where I left my glass of wine?

Baked Salmon Cakes with Cilantro Pesto on Mixed Greens and The Robbie Burns Dinner

Sunday was a relatively quiet day, recovering from our very first Robbie Burns dinner organized by my fire-fighter friend (Christine). She’s been doing it for years and I’ve always managed to have something else planned, but this year we bit the bullet and committed early. What was my hesitation, you may ask? Well, they serve Haggis. Now you might say that, “Eva, you have eaten some very unusual items, what’s with the Haggis?” It’s really the unknown, all that weird innards stuff ground up and stuffed into the stomach, cooked in the stomach and served in the stomach (it’s pretty grey, by the way). They have an actual ceremony for the Haggis and then they cut it up and serve it as a side dish along an enormous pile of roast beef. I couldn’t even get through it all. I did have some of the Haggis, it was heavily spiced and let’s just say I didn’t hate it, but you won’t see me running to the front of the line for another bowl! On top of it all, I think it gave me the worst heart-burn I’ve had in ages.

I own nothing tartan, nothing. So a week before the night I made the pilgrimage to the mall to pick up something nice in tartan but not too expensive and to my surprise, there was nothing but lumberjack shirts to be had and you know what a lumberjack girl I am! So I came home empty handed when I got a text from my friend (boss) Kim that she had a little tartan mini she would be happy to lend me! I was ecstatic! I have been told that see myself through ‘fat eyes’ and so this was no exception, I looked at the skirt and thought “this isn’t going to fit” but then I gave it a go, and it did, quite nicely, I might add! I paired it with a cute little black top, solid black tights and my slouchy suede red boots (5″ heel)! I was ready for the prom, I mean the Robbie Burns dinner.

The skirt was very short, but with the opaque tights it worked like a charm, and the boots.

Slouchy Red Suede Boots

JT found himself a very fetching plaid tie at the dollar store (guess how much it was?) The evening was a lot of fun, a little Scottish dancing (some local kids) and then the DJ started with the dance-hall music. We danced until midnight, screaming our heads off, bouncing around on the dance floor. My legs are killing me today, but it was well worth it.

This is the second course of our Sunday dinner with nephew Brian. No, I haven’t forgotten about the give away…I’ve been a bit busy! Stay tuned, I’ll make the announcement a little later this week!

Baked Salmon Cakes with Cilantro Pesto on Greens

Makes 3 huge ones, or 6 much smaller appetizer portions

Ingredients:

• 1 can low sodium, Skinless, Boneles salmon, drained
• 1/2 cup mashed potato with roasted garlic (you can use instant for this, but I made this when I had left overs)
• 1 egg slightly beaten
• 1 clove garlic, finely minced
• 1 tsp horseradish
• 2 green onions finely chopped
• 1/4 cup panko
• 2 squirts of non-stick spray for baking

Directions:

1. Pre-heat oven to 350°F.
2. Mix everything but the panko and the non-stick spray together, making sure all the flavours are evenly distributed.
3. Roll in panko evenly.
4. In a large frying pan, heat and squirt one squirt of non-stick spray. Gently fry each side until golden brown, place on sprayed cookie sheet until all have been browned and place in oven for 15-25 minutes, until cooked through.
5. Serve with Cilantro Pesto on a bed of leafy greens.

Cilantro Pesto

Ingredients:

• 1 cup cleaned and dried cilantro
• 1/2 cup cleaned and dried parsley
• 2 tbsp sesame oil
• 1 small clove garlic
• 3 tbsp white and black toasted sesame seeds
• 1 tsp soy sauce
• 2-4 tbsp lime juice (to taste)
• 1-2 tsp agave nectar

Directions:

1. Place all the ingredients (except the lime juice and agave) into the bowl of an immersion blender and blend until desired consistency is achieved, adding the lime juice slowly.
2. Taste, add more lime juice and a little agave to achieve the correct balance of sweet, salty, sour and bitter.

The earthy, slightly sweet pesto made a wonderful accompaniment to the salmon cakes

OPA! Saganaki

Sunday dinners are always special chez nous because from time to time my lovely nephew Brian (I have to be nice, he reads my blog) comes over for dinner, and yesterday was the day! Other than mushrooms (and he’s trying them to see if he might like them now), he’ll try almost anything, and he usually brings a good appetite so I am challenged to make something new, sometimes unusual and always delicious! Year’s ago I started keeping a food diary detailing what I cooked for whom and when so that I don’t duplicate (too often) — you know, we all have our favourite meals to cook, so I know what I served the last time he was here, or even a year ago. I now keep this diary on the cloud so I have access to it on my mac, my iPhone and my iPad! It’s very handy particularly when I’m at the grocery store and they are out of what I had planned, I can check back for an alternative option that hasn’t been had in a while (who are you calling “type A”? Hmmmmm!).

Last week, JT and I were mulling around at the grocery store, checking out what’s new and we both (at the exact same time) spotted the Saganaki cheese in the deli section! We looked at each other and went for it. Now this is not one of those foods you read the nutritional values for, you either commit to it or you decide for the better and put it back. It was not very expensive and we found a piece that was not too large and we both thought, OK, let’s do it. As it turned out, it was our supper that night, it’s a very filling dish.

Saganaki is a very fatty cheese that is pan fried until golden and then doused with Ouzo and set a flame (en flambé), and served to the table. Wikipedia claims that the flaming tradition was developed in 1968 at The Parthenon restaurant in Chicago’s Greektown (John or Bill, you’ll have to verify that for us!). I didn’t have Ouzo on hand, so I used the Pastis (French version with the same anise taste) and it worked out beautifully. We are going to start our dinner with Brian with this cheese dish ; it’s not light, but it will help us with the absorption of the copious amounts of alcohol we generally consume with the man — he is such a bad influence!

OPA! It's best not to wear anything flamable; and for safety's sake, tie that crazy mop with all the hairspray back!

Saganaki

Ingredients:

• 1 container baking soda or 1 fire extinguisher (always be prepared )
• 100-400g Saganaki cheese
• 1/4 cup plain white flour
• 2-4 tablespoons of oil (something with a high smoke point, like peanut oil)
• 2-3 tbsp Ouzo (or Pastis as I had on hand)
• 1 fresh lemon
• Fresh bread (JT made his no knead bread and we added sesame seeds to it for extra flavour)

Directions:

1. Have the baking soda handy or bring out the Fire Extinguisher to a handy location.
2. Remove the packaging from the Saganaki cheese. Dredge with flour, coating both sides really well.
3. Heat the oil and add the cheese and cook until it is golden brown, flip and repeat.
4. Douse the cheese with the Ouzo and light.
5. Present to the table with sliced bread and wedges of lemon. A quick squeeze of lemon juice with stop the flames.

This is a dangerous appetizer, it’s best to have it with adult supervision!

Oh ya, I almost forgot. I must say a HUGE thank you to all who have participated in my very first give away. What fun I had reading your comments and I was so pleased that some of you found interesting posts from the past, and thank you for commenting on them. This is the best part of blogging, the feedback that we get and give. We had a great turnout, and I am very pleased that we had some new folks enter too, thank you and welcome. But I am also pleased that many of my loyal followers participated! I am so excited about giving away the salts. I have tabulated the entries and will be making the draw soon, so you’ll have to come back this week when I reveal the winner. Good luck to everyone, and THANK YOU!

Chicken Cacciatore Revistied

Although it has been unseasonably warm this past week in the big smoke, it’s been crazy rainy and windy. It’s a perfect time to stay in and make some healthy comforting food that is great for lunch the next day. I posted this recipe in 2009 because it is an incredibly tasty and easy dish for a week night, but I find myself craving to repost as I really hated the old photo! This is still JTs signature dish so I won’t alter his recipe other than how it has morphed over the years, and it has morphed a touch over the years. But I will say, please make this, it is really, really, really good!

And don’t forget to enter the giveaway! I’m really excited about the give away and what creative things you will make with it and blog about. I did forget to detail the time the draw closes: 12pm Eastern Standard Time, that will give me some time to get the correct entries together and have JT do the draw! As well, the Just a Pinch salts were purchased entirely by ME! It is not linked to any other promo! Time is a tickin’ people, better enter soon!

And did I mention that a couple of the answers are found in more than one post? Oops! Good luck!

A hearty but healthy dinner on a cold winters night

JTs Chicken Cacciatore

Adapted from Fannie Farmer, December 1984 (originally published in 1896!).
Serves 4 (2 dinners and 2 lunches in our case)

Ingredients:

• 400g chicken breasts, skinless, boneless
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 28g dried mushrooms rehydrated in about 1 cup warm water, set liquid aside (make sure you strain through coffee filter to ensure no sand gets into it)
• 1 large onion, chopped
• 1/2 cup dry white wine (or low sodium chicken stock)
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 1/2 red pepper, sliced (we used green this time because that is what we had)
• 1 tbsp tomato paste (put remaining tomato paste into an extra ice cube tray and freeze, remove from tray into a resealable container and voila, tomato paste as required!)
• 2 cups canned Roma tomatoes, peeled and chopped
• 1/2 tsp allspice
• 1 bay leaves
• 1/2 tsp thyme
• Chili peppers to taste
• Salt to taste
• Grated Parmesan, if you wish

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350°F (or you could just cook the entire dish stove top with the lid on)
2. Heat the oil in a large dutch oven and cook the chicken until lightly browned on all sides.
3. Add the onion and sauté a minute or two and then add the wine and allow to boil up.
4. Lower the temperature and add the garlic, tomato paste, tomatoes, pepper and the mushrooms.
5. Add the seasonings, bay leaves and the mushroom liquid.
6. Cover and bake in the hot oven for about 1 hour, or until chicken is cooked through. If you like a dryer cacciatore, leave the cover off so that some of the liquid evaporates; I prefer mine a bit wet so that it makes a tasty ‘dressing’ for the greens.
7. Remove bay leaves, taste and season if required.
8. Serve on a bed of mixed baby spinach and baby arugula leaves. You can also serve with grated Parmesan and a dollop of yogurt or sour cream, but we’re reducing our intake this week, so we omitted it.

Tips: You can also add black olives (chop in half) and crumble some sheeps milk feta on top instead of the Parmesan for a slightly Greek version of the dish.

Giveaway

Hi there, me again! Didn’t want this great giveaway to get lost under the murk, so here is another little reminder! It’s really easy to enter! Hope you do! Good luck!

The first give-away on Kitcheninspirations, click here to link back:

Would you like a pinch?

I’ll give you another entry if you can tell me the name of my most favourite pet.

Chewy Chocolate Brownies

I’m a bit grumpy today . It’s not because it’s Wednesday, or that it rained ALL day, or that it’s STILL winter, or that we’re NOT drinking wine during the week (or other libations, in effort to be healthier) — no, it’s because I have been called, YET AGAIN, my FOURTH TIME to jury duty. Few Canadians are bestowed with this honour (read extreme sarcasm here). In fact, my 87 year old father-in-law has NEVER been called, nor had his 75 year old wife (who sadly passed away many years ago), nor had either of my parents (both deceased), brother, brother -in-law, sister-in-laws, or for that matter, any of my friends. JT was called, twice! FOURTH FOR ME. Why ME? The second time I was called was about 2 months after the first time so I was excused (why can’t I be this lucky in the lotto? Hmmmm? WHY?). The third time I was simply warned that I may be called, thank goodness it never happened. And now it is the real deal, again. February 15. I am to show up at 8:30 at the main courthouse downtown. There is nothing even remotely interesting down there. Oh god, I hope they have WIFI so I can blog about it (you are allowed to do that, aren’t you?) Rest assured I’ll be texting all my friends and emailing; you really don’t want me bored, do you? I guess I can read. I hope there is no weird-o, freak-job case on the docket this time — last time I was spared a week away from serving on the Bernardo jury (I don’t think I could have stomached that). I wonder if they will let me off, after all, I am one of two people in a two person company? Bleh. Sorry about all the caps, I’m really grumpy.

We were invited to a brunch this past weekend and were asked to bring nothing! Nothing? I am not one to show up empty handed so I made chewy chocolate brownies. There will be a whole mess of kids there so the sugary, chocolatey squares will certainly be appreciated, even hours after we’ve bid our fair wells!!! Good thing I made dessert, because another guest brought 4 of them! Yup, we had a lot of delicious food. JT and I didn’t even have dinner (well, unless you call the saganaki we experimented with, I wish I had taken a photo).

I left out nuts as I am unsure if there are any allergies, but go ahead and add them, if you choose. What’s interesting about this recipe is the absence of large quantity of fat, in fact, most of the calories are derived from the variety of sugars used in the concoction; but fear not, they are moist and chewy and not as tooth numbingly sweet as you might think. The original recipe came from the Toronto Star about 20 years ago, and approved by the Heart and Stroke Foundation at that time.

Oh, and don’t forget to enter the giveaway! The entries are pouring in, some more correct than others . I noticed that some of you questioned a particular year, and yes, that was a trick question. I hope you can get all 5 entries to make it a real challenge. I can hardly wait to make the grand prize draw for a very lucky winner!

Chewy and chocolatey brownies. A treat for all ages.

Would you care for coffee or tea with that? or maybe an Irish Cream over ice?

Chewy Chocolate Brownies

Makes about 20 brownies (or make them in mini muffin pans for a smaller, bite-sized treat)

Ingredients:

• 1 cup all purpose flour
• 1 cup icing sugar
• 4 1/2 tbsp cocoa powder
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1 1/2 oz (45g) semisweet chocolate chips
• 3 tbsp butter or margarine
• 1/2 cup brown sugar
• 2 tbsp light corn syrup
• 1/2 cup water
• 2 tsp vanilla extract
• 2 egg whites

Directions:

1. Sift flour, icing sugar, cocoa powder and baking powder.
2. Melt butter or margarine with brown sugar and chocolate chips, add vanilla, corn syrup and water.
3. Beat in the egg whites (if the liquid is still hot, temper them so you don’t get scrambled eggs!)
4. Add dry ingredients and stir well.
5. Pour into a prepared 9″ x 9″ pan, or mini muffin tins (I generally just use Pam in the muffin tins or line the pan with parchment paper). Bake for 20-25 minutes until firm (10-12 minutes for the mini muffin tins). You can also bake these in mini muffin cups, like I did in 2008!
6. Option to frost with a butter icing, but not necessary as this brownie is very moist and flavourful.

Don’t forget about the great Giveaway. It’s so easy to enter!

Click here to link back to the very easy giveaway. It’s a shame not to enter!

Do you need a pinch?

Also wanted to mention that my photographer friend Edward Pond is down in Nicaragua teaching underprivileged kids camera skills; he took over 20 donated cameras with him. Check out his story, it’s pretty cool, and there’s drama too!

Restaurant Review: Ici and My Very First Giveaway

We were finally able to get into Ici Restaurant in Toronto; I say finally because, believe it or not, we made reservations between Christmas and New Years! It was on our list of places to try, but alas we had not been able to get in until now! Ici opened in November 2010 on Manning Avenue in Toronto after two years of fighting ridiculous issues with a City Councillor; not sure what the hoopla was over since it’s a very small French restaurant and not a after hours club! They serve “modern French food” with classics such as Lobster Bisque, Steak Tartar and Chicken Suprême.
I have to say, having to wait three weeks to dine with a reservation, I had expectations. It was a blistery cold day in Toronto and this place is in a residential area (the Annex), with street parking only. We had our first snowfall the day before and not everyone shovels their sidewalk as they should; we had to park about a hundred metres from the restaurant and I wore satin sling backs (OK, I’m well-known for inappropriate footwear so this should be of no surprise!) We arrive and the place is T I N Y – seating for maybe 25, half if which is along the bar and kitchen counters. We were sat at the bar. I said, “but we had reservations” this is all we have, was the response. Hmmmm. It’s REALLY S M A L L. No where to hang your coat — they could have used hooks under the bar. The door is covered with heavy velvet drapery, but it’s still not enough to stop the blustery cold from interrupting our comfort. People are turned away at the door, you really do need a reservation. The décor is quaint but nothing special. The napkins are linen tea towels, I like them. There are place-mats at each place on the bar, and we are not overly crowded (I can’t even reach over to touch the next two diners, not that I would want to). The kitchen has a window so you can see the action, and it’s pretty obvious that they are not overly taxed.

The staff is attentive; we are immediately welcomed with a small but very tasty goats cheese tart amuse bouche; it had caramelized onion baked with the tart, creamy goats cheese — it was delicious, which makes us both excited about our meals. The menu is short, only about ten things and they come in two sizes, appetizer portion of meal portion, which works out well for me. We order six oysters as our starter, they are small PEI oysters for $3. each; they are served with grated fresh horse radish, lemon wedges and a classic Mignonette garnish. They are quite lovely with a hint of brininess (I actually like my oysters a bit brinier!) and they are a lite great starter without taking up tummy-space. Because the restaurant space is small and there are not many people, it’s a little quieter than most hot spot eateries, which is nice because I have a difficult time competing with noise, my voice tends to be the same level and I can’t even hear myself talk! I ordered the steak tartar; the server said it was delicately seasoned with shallots, cognac, mustard and cornichons (not capers). I ordered the appetizer portion and it is served as two good sized quenelle shapes with similarly shaped deep-fried mashed potatoes. Although I am not a huge potato eater, my preference would have been the beautiful match-stick fries traditionally served with this dish. I ate half of one of the potatoes and gave the other half to JT. The tartar was tasty, not the best I’ve ever had, but certainly up there. JT had the Seared Braised Beef, Artichoke & Black Trumpet Ravioli, even the appetizer portion was a healthy serving. The meat was so tender and tasty, it was right up there for taste and quality. He said it was good but not the best he’s ever had. We finished with a couple of very delicious espressos. The dinner was nicely spaced out, with reservations at 7:30 we left around 9:30.

Overall rating of Ici (in my opinion): Decor 2.5/5, service 3.5/5, food 3.5/5, Value 3.5/5, Noise: 5/5 (1 being very noisy, and 5 being very quiet).

Disclaimer: We purchased our meal for full price and my opinions just that, my opinions.

The first give-away on Kitcheninspirations:

Would you like a pinch?

I picked up these wonderful little Just a Pinch sample packets of flavoured gourmet salts during the Christmas Holidays at Longo‘s new store at the Air Canada Centre. I was so intrigued by them, the possibilities are endless. To enter is easy:

• Answer the following four questions correctly (all of the answers are found in my blog) in a comment on this post will get you one entry.
• For additional entries, leave one comment on the correct post in which you found the answers; each comment (limit one per post, per person) on the correct post will gain you one additional entry.
• Bring a new person to comment on my blog (and they actually leave a meaningful comment), please tell me the person’s name in a comment and you will get an additional entry AND the new person will get one entry.

Contest open until January 22, 2012 at which time I will tabulate the entries and all correct entries will go into a draw. JT will officiate the draw. All five little packets will be won by one lucky individual, anywhere in the world. I will release the winner’s name during the week of January 23. Good luck to you all.

1. What inspired me to create this blog?
2. What month is my birthday?
3. How did we travel to Montreal in the fall of 2011?
4. How many pictures did I upload in 2010?