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Right on time! We did it! Happy Mother's Day Moms (and Grandmas...)! This is the big day, and it went off without a hitch, and with the most pleasurable meal! One to remember!
Seems fitting that I ended my "Chef at Home Challenge" with a wedding--reminding me of what it felt like to finally get to the 'goal' day that I've waited for. When I looked at my cousins face, I remembered that feeling. The feeling of knowing that all your hard work paid off, and it's time to grab the moment!

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You might be wondering what will happen to this blog once I'm done my "Chef At Home Challenge". Well, I am thinking that I will move my blog to a new blog site, and continue to blog about food, local eating and my adventures...
This site just doesn't really provide enough photo abilities, and I would love a new background!

Anyhow, this is the second to last blog I will write here... enjoy!

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Too bad I wasn't hosting a party today with anyone that liked seafood---the Smoked Salmon Hors D'oeuvres were quite tasty!
As to the French Onion Soup? Well, I did try a little bite...and it wasn't bad at all...

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I don't know what to say. This is my last week with the "Chef at Home Challenge". As of today, I have only 9 recipes left to cook. Whoa. It's come so fast. I didn't expect to be done before the summer (I was thinking of using my own fresh tomatoes from the garden to make the salsa recipe) and here I am.
Today's recipe was Risotto with Parmesan and Peas and I served it with fresh Red Snapper (panfried). Tantalizing.

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The fresh calamari I made yesterday still lingered in my mind. It was so good. Even the kids loved it. I had no idea that it was that easy. Just buy a squid, cut it into rings, and then drop them in a bowl of flour/spices (I used paprika and salt) and then fry it in a 1/4 inch of oil in a frying pan. Delicious!
Anyhow, I had to go back to the store, so I figured we buy a few squids and give it another whirl. Good thing Chef Michael had a Shrimp Cocktail Sauce recipe to try!

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I heard today on the news about the terrible oil spill off the coast of Louisiana. It was a little ironic then, that we are having Louisiana Shrimp Gumbo for dinner, complete with seafood for appetizers. I found my enjoyment was a little faded with the knowledge of what was happening...but it doesn't change the fact that the Gumbo is a very good recipe.

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Delicious. Second time around, and Chef Michael's Spaghetti and Meatballs was just as good as the first time. (Except that I burnt the onion and garlic...oops.)

But the Panna Cotta's? Well, I'm not sure. They are supposed to be hard by now... I wonder if they have to sit overnight?

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Uck! Who would ever pair chocolate sauce and salmon? Admittedly, they would taste terrible together, but when they are served in different courses, they are lovely! Despite the bitter cold wind blowing today, I braved the grill and we ate freshly grilled Salmon Burgers with Dark Chocolate Sauce over ice cream for dessert. It was a taste of summer, which felt right, given that the trees are green, the flowers are becoming lush and the perennial sale for our Thrift Store starts this weekend....

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I have only 16 recipes left...just 16. I think today I was so shocked that I only had so few to cook through, I just didn't cook any. So, I don't have any recipes for you (unless you consider left over hamburgers from the freezer a recipe? ) today. I just have the kids, who get cuter by the second. Today I asked Liv what her favourite part of the day was, and she told me it was 'playing with toys'. Not the ice cream she had for a treat, not the new movie she got to watch, or the sticker...toys.

I must be getting Old (er)... Why don't I like the flavours of new things as much? I used to be one of those people that would try anything...now it's hard to get over anything that's not chicken or beef.
Tonight we made Mushroom Miso Broth... and Olive Oil Popcorn.

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Officially, we have finished the Vegetarian section of the cookbook! That's incredible!!! I didn't think we'd get this far! And, I finished the section I dreaded the most!



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Do you know what a menagerie is? I didn't remember until I looked it up--it's described as an "establishment of luxury and curiosity" that housed exotic animals before zoo's were invented. My kitchen has felt a little like a menagerie. Yesterday I rearranged the pantry, and found myself staring at nori seaweed, lemongrass stalks, Mexican seasoning, every variety of bean imaginable, and the list continues. It felt pretty luxurious in there, and it was for sure a place of curiosity...

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For those of you who are just logging on to this blog for the first time---I'm sorry...I am so tired that I am off to bed early. Tomorrow I will be up and early ready to regal you with stories of beans (gone wrong! ) and Moroccan CousCous gone orange....

I have never been so thankful for an "opener" concept home (as opposed to open concept where you sleep in your kitchen) as I was this weekend. I have no idea what the final count of people was in the house, but it was over 30 at some point---which made me happy that I had room to squish everyone together so they could chat. Of course, no wedding shower gathering would be complete without food, so we (my mom and I) jazzed it up with a few Chef Michael recipes.

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