Merry Christmas from Tupper!

"And the angel said to them, 'Fear not for behold, I bring you good news of GREAT JOY that will be for all people.'" Luke 2:10

Stay tuned for many joyful blog posts in the new year! 

SUCCESS!

KATIE JUST GOT INTO LAW SCHOOL!!!!! 

Tonight!

Tonight we will be reunited!!!

Hello From 1900 Lonely

Hello, Kinsey here. I feel the need to explain the lack of blog posts as of late. As many of you know, this is prime exam time for most university students, but somehow not for my two roommates. While Katie and Emily are off galavanting around Toronto, St. Catherines, and Waterloo, I am home alone for the first time ever on Tupper. Katie went to visit her dear friend Jessica in Toronto before continuing onto Waterloo to stay at Noecker (Where all our friends, who we surprised a few weeks ago, live!). Katie will be back Tuesday accompanied by our friend Jeremy; and Emily, who is home in between exams for the week, will return Thursday with Jared. As for me? I have 5 exams but I'm not complaining. Sure it would be nice to do just about anything other than studying, but I always feel that exams are my chance to prove myself as they are the culmination of all the effort I've put forth over the course of the semester. In addition to studying I've been cooking,(currently have red-wine chili in the crock-pot! Mmm) cleaning, and enjoying some peaceful time to myself; however, I cannot wait to have my roommates back before we all head home for a well-deserved Christmas break :)

Meow! Hisssss.

Last night Tupper had a special feline visitor.

But before I tell you about that, I need to tell you about Kinsey's and my trip to the grocery store.

We needed strawberries, cream cheese, pita bread, and frozen fruit--strange combination?--so we zipped out to our "favorite" grocer, Supermarché PA. The store itself was unusually calm and uneventful, but on our way out, we ran into Kathy.

Kinsey knows Kathy from two of her classes, and we got to chatting. The conversation went something like this...

Kathy: "Do you live around here?"
Kinsey: "Yeah, just around the corner actually."
Kathy: "So random!"
Kinsey: "Do you? We're just on Tupper..."
Kathy: "Me too..."
Kinsey: "You don't live in 1900, do you?"
Kathy: "Yeah..."
Kinsey: "Which apartment?!"
Kathy: "Number 6."
Katherine: "We're your noisy neighbors upstairs!"

What are the odds! We talked for a while longer, and learned Kathy has a kitty. So we promptly invited her to bring sweet little Joey for a visit.

Much squealing ensued.

Then Joey got restless so Kathy took her home, with Kinsey promising to kitty-sit whenever necessary. (Kinsey, by the way, tried to convince me last year to let her foster a kitty in the apartment. I said no.) And I made two new friends in one day! Meow!

Welcome to Tupper Papa Neuf!

Last weekend my dear ol' pops made his yearly (at least) visit to Tupper. 

The highlight for me would have to be our Friday dinner at KAZU. This restaurant is MAYBE 15 steps from our apartment and there is a line up out the door EVERY SINGLE DAY. It's a Japanese restaurant and there are literally only 6 tables inside. I'd yet to gather the gusto to wait in that line up but I figured it must be worth the wait or people wouldn't do it in the rain, snow, sleet, hail, you name it (which they do). And so we waited. We arrived at 5, it opens at 530. This is definitely the way to go. We were 2nd in line and got to sit at the bar which looks into the tiny kitchen where the four cooks are crowded into their stations. Dad took some great photos. What an experience! Thankfully we'd looked at the menu online before going in, but we still had no clue what some of the dishes were! We ended up having "fried ravioli" which are basically dumplings, a BBQ chicken and tofu soup, a pickled ginger pork rice bowl and dad had a shrimp burger! SO YUM. I'd definitely go wait again. 

I'm sure the highlight for my Habs fan father was the tour of LE CENTRE BELL (read with French accent). He's been wanting to do this since my first year in Montreal, but it's only now that there's no hockey that they had a tour available the weekend that he was here (tradeoff: usually we go to a game!) The tour was pretty cool though. From the top left, clockwise: Dad and I sitting on Jean Beliveau's couch in the Player's Alumni Lounge. This couch is reserved for Monsieur Beliveau and his wife when they go to a game and no one else sits in it out of respect for them (except us...hopefully my buddy JB never sees this post!), original plaque from the old forum which is in the dressing room above the door. The players tap it with their sticks on the way out for good luck. Next is a look into the dressing room itself! We learned that players are fined $100 if they step on the logo in the middle and the money is given to charity. They also leave all their equipment inside and then the raise and drop the temperature of the room overnight to clean it! Can you say STINKY? Next is dad giving his first press conference, and then sitting on the players bench! Beside him is a photo of our dear friend monsieur Jean Beliveau himself and finally I am sitting in a replica of the dressing room in the Habs Hall of Fame! GO HABS GO! 

It's always a pleasure to have you pops! Thanks for visiting! 

Queens of Clean

I have very few complaints about Tupper's management. But one thing was really getting on my nerves: the filth accumulating in the stairwell leading up to our apartment. From dust bunnies to cobwebs and all sorts of frightening grime in between, Tupper had it all.

Last year I believe the innards of the building were cleaned maybe once, and this year's frequency was shaping up to be no better. With salt and sand and gravel from the snow and ice outside an impending reality, the Tupper girls convened and decided to put a call into Mansoor to stop this insanity before it got too out-of-control.

Two days later, the place is spotless. (Though I wouldn't have complained had the marble been polished.)

That's us... always looking out for our beloved building.

Nancy's Guacamole

While we may be in the home stretch, tonight I came home very hungry and made guacamole for the first time. Super easy, I know, but still blog-worthy mainly because I used Nancy's recipe. Nancy is Brad's mom, who is a ton of fun and a GREAT cook. Everything she makes is delicious and it was her guacamole that I tried for the first time and enjoyed so much; mind you, I had to fight my way into the bowl amidst of bunch of hungry boys. Thankfully tonight I have it all to myself :)

{Nancy's Guacamole}

1 or 2 avocados
Juice of 1 fresh lemon
2 crushed garlic cloves
Salt & pepper
Worcestershire sauce (couple of squirts)
Tabasco sauce (couple of shakes)

Mash the avocado and add all the other ingredients. Add a tablespoon or two of salsa at the end. (I didn't have salsa so I chopped up some tomato and onion instead!) If you aren't going to eat it right away keep an avocado pit in it so it stays green. It's better if it sits for awhile so the flavours can blend.

{ENJOY!}

Home Stretch

Drop-off in blog postings?

Must be finals time. I think it is safe to say the stress level in Tupper is elevated at the moment.

Updates coming soon...

Soupesoup

Today I handed in the last of my course work for the semester and figured it was time to celebrate. My dear friend Paula, who I'm currently taking 3 out of 5 courses with, (best study partner ever, seriously), came over for dinner and a craft night. Paula and I have sort of started this Monday night tradition...in the loosest sense of the word, (given that this is only our second time and we had to skip a week), of getting together for dinner and trying new recipes. (In yet another effort to domesticate ourselves.)

Last year my mom got me a 'blue cheese' themed calendar and it's been hanging in our kitchen for almost a year now. Today I decided to make one of the recipes of the month and it turned out really well! :) 

{Roasted Tomato, Garlic, and Basil Soup with Blue Croûtes}

{Ingredients}

Serves 4

Generous 1kg medium sized tomatoes

6 cloves of garlic-skin on

Olive oil for drizzling and brushing

250 ml (1 cup) vegetable stock

Good bunch of basil leaves

Seasonings (I used thyme, oregano, salt & freshly ground pepper as per Katie's recommendation)

Extra creamy blue cheese

{Directions}

1.Preheat over to 375*F

2. Cut tomatoes in half and lay cut side up on baking trays. Scatter the garlic cloves amongst the tomatoes- skin still on. Drizzle with olive oil and roast for 20-25 mins until well cooked. 

3. When slightly cooled, scrape all the tomatoes into a food processor, (or stock pot if you plan to use a hand mixer like I did) slit the skins of the garlic cloves and squeeze flesh into the tomatoes and blend until smooth. Add sufficient vegetable stock to give a good pouring consistency, finally whirl in the basil leaves and seasonings. 

4. Meanwhile, brush the bread slices with olive oil on both sides and place on a baking tray. Bake in oven until just golden on under side, turn all slices and top with cheese cut into slices. 

5. To serve– reheat soup (or let it simmer) and return croûtes to oven just to melt the cheese. Check soup for seasoning and stir in a little cheese just before serving with the croûtes.

This photo montage only took me 45 minutes....

Christmas Commercialism

The countdown is ON. Everyone's favorite holiday is but one month away.

It's easy (and rather tasty) to get swept up in the superficial glitz of the holiday season.

Case in point.

So, it becomes all the more important to be reminded of what truly matters by movements like Advent Conspiracy. Can you say conviction. As the pace of life picks up and the snow falls down, let's be mindful of what this season is really about.

(Side note: It Is Well is one of Initiative22's choice charities this winter for Advent Conspiracy--how excited are we!) (Side note to the side note: one of these days I will force Kinsey to tell the blogosphere about this little endeavor of hers. Yep.)

My Woeful Dirge

Today I almost blew away and I almost got frostbite in my fingers. It would appear winter has reared its ugly head a month too early. NovemBRRRRR.

The apartment, meanwhile, is getting a wind-whipping of its own--the wind is howling on Rue Tupper tonight (how is a girl supposed to study). So excuse me while I go batten down the hatches... I'm afraid the windows are going to fly right off.

Last Saturday

...My family came to Montreal! My parents, two cousins, and two of my three sisters came to for a short, but very sweet, visit. :) I got to host them all for lunch on Tupper featuring none other than fresh, hot, Montreal bagels. Mmmm. We spent Saturday afternoon shopping and taking full advantage of the 2-for-1 Christmas drinks at Starbucks; and we finished the day going out for a great dinner before heading to the hotel for a night of fun and games. Sunday morning we went to church together before they had to head home in the afternoon. Thanks for coming guys, it was great to have you!

What Was For Dinner

The temperature dips ever colder, the studying lasts ever longer, and my stomach growls ever louder. Time for a pot of chili.

The "recipe," scrawled in my agenda. Didn't measure a thing. No blogging foresight.

The ingredients.

Combining it all.

All done!

A dollop of sour cream, a sprinkle of sharp cheddar,
and a pat of butter completed my hearty meal.

The best part: LEFT.OVERS.

Tupper Learns to Tango

We Tupper girls have decided that it's time to expand our horizons. I mentioned tonight (after watching a  Beyonce music video) that I regrettably never learned to dance and really wish I could. I have ZERO rhythmic talent and normally rely on Kevin James' moves in Hitch. See below.

Since those moves aren't exactly appropriate for formal occasions, the time has come for me to actually learn to dance. There's no better way than to drag my roommates along for the ride. (They also aren't exactly known for their 'moves.') Thankfully, our trusty 'Student Society of McGill Univeristy' (aka SSMU), offers $50 mini courses for just about anything. After looking up what they have to offer in the dance category, here's what we've narrowed it down to. Help us choose what to take in the poll to the right!
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Argentine Tango

Looking for a fiery, passionate, energetic dance? Argentine Tango is perfect for you! Sign up alone and get ready to make some friends! Sign up with someone you’re dating and get to know each other much better! Or sign up with a girlfriend or boyfriend. Or find one there??  and let yourselves go! Release that school tension pent up during the semester with the drama and passion of the tango!

Requirements:

• Women: Shoes with heels around 7.5cm both comfortable and slipppery
• Men: Shoes not pointy and slippery
• No running shoes 

Ballet - Beginners

Ever dreamed of growing up to be a Ballerina?  Is your favourite holiday activity seeing the Nutcracker ballet?? Not particularly. Sign up for this class and enjoy this magical extra-curricular activity. With a mix of dance, exercise, classical music, and a friendly atmosphere, this course has it all!

Requirements:

• Tight clothes Dun dun dunnnn
• White ankle socks NO knee socks

Ballroom Dancing

Add a new dimension to your life! Enhance your appreciation of music and awaken your dancing genes. Yes please! Ballroom dancing is not only fun, it is a great way to get active and meet people (no partner required!) Phew! It is a wonderful stress reliever, exactly what the professor ordered. Which professor do you have?

Break-Dancing 

Have you always wanted to learn to break-dance? Duh. Do you want to impress your friends and show off your moves at a party? Do I?! Well now’s your chance to learn from one of Montreal’s finest b-girls! This class will cover the fundamentals of breakin’ top rock, footwork and freezes. Come ready to have fun and break a sweat!

Requirements:

• Comfortable clothing Swag swag swag on you.
• Running shoes *Kicks, pumped up kicks?

Burlesque

The dance of exaggeration, Burlesque requires skill and concentration. Concentration on what exactly? As a form of entertainment, Burlesque was developed during the time of vaudeville providing laughs, among other things ;) . Um ew. (I did not put that wink in) Come one come all and let’s have a little fun. What happens in Burlesque class, stays in Burlesque class. Have you heard of camera phones?

Hip-Hop - Beginner

Be part of the rich culture that is hip-hop! Emphasis on rich- we're talking grillz and serious blingggg $$. The class will focus on technique and musicality as well as developing freestyle confidence in a wide variety of hip-hop styles, including popping, b-boying / b-girling, what the heck, locking, vogueing/wacking, Is protective gear required? Should I bring a mouthguard to protect my grillz? and West Coast new school. Shout out to Van! Katie should be a natural at this. This class is designed for beginner dancers who have not taken Hip Hop before!

Salsa - Beginner

Mambo fever swept the US back in the 50s and 60s creating music at the time that was so revolutionary that much of it remains popular today. In the late 1960′s, the music and dance took a quiet transformation and resurfaced as Salsa in the 90s. Emily likes to eat salsa... In this course, we will pass on to you the spirit of salsa and teach you everything you need to find yourself moving on the dance floor. Arrrribaaaa! No experience or partner is required. Just bring your smile and a sense of humour as we are looking to have a very social class! That's what I like to hear! 

Swing Dance Beginners

Since the 1920s, Swing dance has become one of the most fun and energetic dances to try! Impress your friends and dates by showing them that there is more to Swing dance than just twisting and shouting! What more do you need? As one of our most popular dance Mini Courses, we’re sure that this class will leave you with a big smile on your face every week, even after a midterm. We guarantee it!! 

With all these options, we don't know what to choose! Katie's gunning for Burlesque but with a blog like this, there's not guarantee that "what happens in Burlesque stays in Burlesque" ;) Like Shakira, Emily's hips don't lie - not sure which category applies here, probably a mix of a few. We may not be opposed to taking more than one. And me? I wouldn't mind busting a move (or a bone for that matter) trying to break it down. I wonder if they'd be impressed with the worm...Kidding I actually want to do ballet and I do love the Nutcracker.

Take our poll (on the right sidebar) and let us know what you think because we're actually serious about this. Forget inner-tube water polo, we've moved onto something with a little more pizazz! 

Feeding the Squirrels, Tupper Style

It's no secret that sometimes I struggle to love animals (though I have met some furry exceptions over the years). So it was altogether unexpected when early (relatively speaking) Saturday morning I was overcome with benevolence toward Tupper's squirrel population. (Either that or I was way too keen to clean out the freezer of lonely loaf ends.) I fetched the crusts and Kinsey smeared them with peanut butter. (We make a great team.)

Tupper pride.

Favorite moment was top-right: Sammy Squirrel's tongue got stuck to the roof of his mouth with PB. How charming.

Greedy little rodents.

When Jared Came to Montreal

Since Brad has gotten two posts about his visit to Tupper, I figured it's time I write something about Jared's time on Tupper too.

On Friday, I volunteered Jared and myself to make dinner for Kinsey, Brad and Katie before the Joshua Radin concert. Unfortunately, I neglected to take any photos of the process but our chicken roll ups with goat cheese and arugula and baked sweet potatoes stuffed with olives, feta and sun dried tomatoes were quite scrumptious if I do say so myself. They might even be competition for Kinsey's Moroccan soup and Chef Brad's breakfast sandwich.

Something from the weekend I did manage to capture on camera was our trip to the science center! Jared is quite the musician and the temporary exhibit was all about music so we had a great time exploring the interactive displays. Jared rocked out on the guitar and by the end we'd each made a composition! We also made a video in the broadcasting exhibit and then had fun sitting on chairs of nails, learning how pulley systems work and using our "brain power" to push a ping pong ball across a table!  

After our fun at the science center we rushed to meet Kinsey and Brad for dinner at our beloved Schwartz's. SO GOOD. I'm pretty sure Brad scarfed his sandwich down in under 30 seconds. 

All in all a great weekend! Great food, great company, great music, great fun! 

Now back to the books! It's almost finals time! 

Oma Lena's Banana Bread

My Auntie Paula makes a mean banana bread. Turns out her recipe is her mother's-- my (honorary) Oma Lena's--from when Paula was a child. I got the recipe way back on Thanksgiving weekend, and only had a chance to make it this week! Take a peek.

And here is the star of the show. I find yellow bananas plain disgusting, so I plugged my nose and mashed away.

You can't see but I added a cup of rolled oats (as a substitue for a half-cup flour), and it was a worthy addition, if you like a chewy oat-y texture. 

 I threw in some coarsely chopped walnuts, too, for good measure (omega-3 fatty acids, vitamin E, copper...).

 The finished product. The recipe would have made two decent-sized loaves, but I made one big loaf and twelve mini loaves for lunches.

Apart from the fact that our oven heats unevenly, this recipe was a great success. Five stars.

Meet Me In Morocco

Before I begin, I just want to be clear that I was by no means trying to out-do my celebrity chef boyfriend and his breakfast sandwich– it just kind of happened! Given that I was competing with the '8th world wonder', I don't quite know how I did it!

Borrowing yet another recipe from Morgan's great blog, I set out to make Moroccan Lentil and Chickpea Soup. Normally I would never go for something so exotic but I tried Morgan's a few weeks back and really enjoyed it!

What You Need: 
1 large can of chickpeas, drained
1 (28 oz) can of diced tomatoes
1 large onion, finely chopped
1 celery rib (including leaves), finely chopped
1 teaspoon turmeric
1 teaspoon black pepper
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
2/3 cup fresh cilantro, coarsely chopped (Mmmm, so fresh)
4 cups vegetable/chicken broth
1 cup lentils (I used canned and drained 'em...Still not sure if I'm a fan)
1/2 cup dried egg noodles, broken/crushed into 1 inch pieces
1/2 cup freshly chopped parsley (Save this to sprinkle on top at the end!)

How To:
I used a crock pot and it was super easy. Give yourself 15-20 minutes to chop, drain, and measure everything before you toss it all into your trusty crock-pot. Turn it on, leave it for the day on low, and by the time you're home, dinner's ready! Perfect for a chilly November day. Too bad I'm home alone with no roomies to share it with!

Tupper's Own Celebrity Chef

Move over Rachael Ray, Jamie Oliver, and Giada de Laurentiis... Brad Bowen is TV's latest it-chef. Watch his electrifying breakout performance below.

Oh, hey. An exclusive behind-the-scenes look at the making of the Breakfast Sandwich.

Breakfast cuties. And the world's Eighth Wonder, as tagged on Facebook.

A Friendship in Photos

Jessica Stewart is here on Tupper as I type. I've loved this girl since 1997. Provinces and oceans have separated us for years, but whenever we're together it's like no time has passed. Here's a look back at our friendship: the good, the bad, and the ugly, haha... Click to enlarge, if you dare.

   

   

   

    

    

     

     

    

    

    

    

    

    

There ya have it.