Tuesday, October 30, 2012

Hurricane Sandy

Hurricane Sandy seems to be stirring up conversation all around the area lately. While anxiously awaiting another hilarious email from the dean to inform us classes would be cancelled, we received this encouraging text message from our landlord's assistant (ps. Mansoor has an assistant and she speaks English. Haha) instead:

"Hi guys, please make sure to double close your windows tonight. The wind will blow between them & they will fly right off. Thanks."

Comforting.

What does "double close" even mean?

Monday, October 29, 2012

B-a-n-a-n-a-s

Bananas (and garlic) have taken over our fruit basket.


"Time flies like an arrow. Fruit flies like a banana."

Sunday, October 28, 2012

Party Poopers

Call it what you will ("oldest child syndrome," maybe?) but Kinsey and I love a good tattle.

Which is why, when we were tryyying to sleep last night (this morning...hmph), we felt the need to intervene in the rowdiness going on outside Tupper. We dealt with the situation with celerity and severity. Here's how it went down.

---

Kinsey: "HOW AM I SUPPOSED TO SLEEP. HOW AM I SUPPOSED TO STUDY. SERIOUSLY, THIS IS RIDICULOUS. I CAN HEAR THEIR MUSIC. THEY'RE SO NOISY. I CAN HEAR THEM LAUGHING. IS THE PARTY IN MY ROOM? MY EARPLUGS AREN'T ANY GOOD. I CAN'T SLEEP. I CAN'T STUDY. GRRRRR." (It was loud, and I did agree with everything about which Kinsey was grumbling, but my only response was to giggle. I was neither trying to study nor sleep, and Kinsey was providing with me good Saturday night entertainment. Further, Kinsey would stomp back and forth between her room and mine and insist the racket was louder in her room. Because Kinsey is an easy tease, I pretended not to believe her, much to her chagrin. Heheh. Anyway, these sorts of comments persisted for a good half hour.)

Eventually Kinsey remarks, "I'M CALLING 9-1-1." (This is when the real action begins.)

Katie: "Okay? But I'm not talking to them. I talked to them last time." (I was referring to another Model Citizen scenario back in May, but this is a story for another blog post, or not, because it was actually scary.)

Kinsey dials.

"THIS IS NOT AN EMERGENCY. THIS IS NOT AN EMERGENCY. Well I'd like to report a noise disturbance," Kinsey says, pouring the charm on. "There is a party in, well, basically our backyard. It's really loud."

Kinsey, still on the phone, and I walk to the window where we have a bird's eye view of the festivities below. Given that it is Halloween weekend, we are not surprised to see party-goers in all manner of goofy attire. As luck would have it, the Pope, Osama Bin Laden, and Santa are all in attendance. Suddenly we notice there is a fire. Kinsey reports this to the dispatcher: "THERE IS A MASSIVE BONFIRE."

Kinsey pulls the phone away from her face and tells me that they are transferring us to the fire department AND that I must speak to the other dispatcher. "I talked the first half; now it's your turn," she informs me. I grudgingly oblige. The girl is persuasive when she needs to be.

I tell the new dispatcher what's going on. She asks me, repeatedly, whether our building is on fire (it isn't). She says she's sending someone (i.e. the neighborhood fire brigade) to deal with the situation.

Kinsey and I settle onto the living room couch to await the arrival of the trusty authorities. Only then Kinsey gets a phone call from the dispatcher again. She informs me that we have to talk to the firemen (they can't find the party). I deduce the firemen are all deaf.

We're in our pajamas, so we hurriedly throw on some proper clothing, find some shoes (Kinsey steals mine... what else is new), and run outside.

Exhibit A: Kinsey pointing the friendly firemen in the right direction

After reorienting the firetruck, Kinsey and I sprint back up to our apartment. We want to see the party get busted, of course. Within seconds, a gargantuan plume of smoke rises from where the fire had been raging just moments earlier. Kinsey insists on opening the window to get a better view of the action, and our apartment fills with smoke. Meanwhile, half a dozen firemen in full uniform march around the backyard. (It's difficult to tell whether they are real firemen or costumed party guests.) The firemen leave and the police show up. The music stops, but the drunken yelling and screaming do not. At this point it is well past 1:30 am, so Kinsey and I saunter back to our beds and decide to make good use of our neon orange earplugs.

I sleep soundly in the sweet, sweet satisfaction of knowing I am a dream tenant.

Goodness only knows how Emily slept through the whole thing.

Saturday, October 27, 2012

Saturday Soup Day

After being called 'Kinsey Broccoli-head' for years, affectionately by some and not so much by others, I feel the name can finally be put to good use. Tonight I made broccoli soup for the first time. (!!!!) I like to think I'm somewhat domestic but those of you who know me are likely to agree that that's a bit of a stretch... Nonetheless, I have the gloves; and despite a few set-backs, the outcome was definitely blog and tastebud-worthy, if I do say so myself. Here ya go!

                                                                     Ingredients                                                                      
2 tablespoons butter 
1 onion, chopped
3 stalks celery, chopped
3 cups, chicken broth
4 heads of broccoli florets 

For the roux-thickener
3 tablespoons butter
3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
2 cups milk (mmmm milk) 
* ground pepper to taste


What to do: 
1. Chop everything up and prepare to saute the onion & celery until 'tender'- weird word to describe vegetables but whatevs. 
*Confession: I may have neglected to actually read the recipe, and excitedly dumped the celery and onion right into the broth before sautéing them. Okay, so that might have been a bit of set-back and Katie may have walked in as I was doing that but not to worry, we got it all sorted out (literally). Onto the next step. 



 2. After your onion and celery are 'tender', add the chicken broth and broccoli. Cover and simmer for 10 minutes.


 3. While everything is simmering, you're going to need to make the roux. (I'd never heard of this before either, but now we both know.) Anyway, in a saucepan, over medium-heat, melt the butter, and add the flour, milk, and pepper 'to taste'. Stir until thick and bubbly.


4. Before you add the roux-thickener to the soup, you've gotta blend everything. If you don't have one of these handy-hand blenders, pour it all into a blender or magic bullet, (if you're lucky enough to have one of those), and puree it up. 
*Confession #2: Last year I was making cookies and the recipe said to use a hand MIXER and we didn't have one so I thought using the hand BLENDER was genius...  I quickly realized my mistake, however, as chocolate chips and oatmeal flew across the kitchen. Boy was that a mess. 


 5. Add the roux-thickener to the pureed vegetables; stir it up, serve, and enjoy! 


P.S Here's a sample of my playlist! We're gearing up for the Joshua Radin concert happening next weekend in Montreal, (when the boys are here!), so we constantly have the songs of repeat. Post to come!
 


xoxo, DG 
Or BH ;)

Friday, October 26, 2012

Broken Glass

Today is a sad day. I broke my second glass in 2 days straight. (I won't mention the one I broke the week before though). That's it! From now on I'm only allowed to drink out of plastic cups.




Thursday, October 25, 2012

Reporting for Duty

Someone who does not live at our address was summoned for jury duty this week. (At least the huissier de justice didn't check the Writ of Seizure box...)


In fact, this summons is reflective of a larger problem in our building: everyday we get mail for people haven't lived in Tupper for three years! (Read this article for more on Tupper's dodgy history. But do not worry; Mansoor has the place up-to-snuff now. Don't get me started on how effective the smoke detectors are.)

There has to be a better system than taping a notice to someone's door..!

Wednesday, October 24, 2012

Monday, October 22, 2012

Delhi Belly

A mystery package addressed to the ladies of Tupper arrived from Amazon this past week.

Faithful blog follower and my IB buddy Zahra M. happened upon this best-selling butter chicken book recently and--being all too familiar with our fondness for Indian edibles--sent it our way. Zahra, you're awesome.


Enter: Story Time with Kinseep Brockinder,
Kinsey Brockie's Indian alter ego

(It's difficult to make out the Bollywood tunes playing in the background, but in true Tupper style, we went for the full effect. And Zahra, you should know Kinseep worked really hard on her accent, just for you. This is take three.)

Long-held secrets, deadly lies, a sports scandal, and a poisoned helping of butter chicken -- all in a day's work for the head of Delhi's Most Private Investigators, in this latest book in the delightful Vish Puri detective series. When the father of a Pakistani star cricket player falls dead during a glamorous India Premier League dinner, clearly it isn't just a case of Delhi Belly. But which of the VIPs at the victim's table is responsible for poisoning the man's butter chicken? And was the victim killed for his involvement with a gambling syndicate that controls cricket's illegal billion-dollar betting industry? The answers seem to lie across the border in Pakistan -- the one country Puri swore he would never set foot in. Or do they? For Puri's beloved Mummy-ji, who has a unique insight into the killing, believes there is much more to this murder than meets the eye. Puri and Mummy-ji's search for the truth will lead them to uncover decades-old secrets and tragedies thought best forgotten in their most compelling case yet.
Let's hope the book doesn't give us food poisoning.

Sunday, October 21, 2012

Poutine, Please

Smoke's Poutinerie recently opened here in Montreal and we went last night for an inaugural poutine. An inaugural poutine? Allow me to explain... In preparation for the World Poutine Eating Championship, we, Tupper girls, are now commencing a strict diet of potatoes and cheese curds,  with gravy to wash it all down. Forget the daily grind, the championship title will soon be ours!



.... But not actually, because we work way too hard on our morning runs; and in my opinion look far too pretty to be recklessly hounding back pounds of poutine like these weirdos in Waterloo. Although anybody who knows me can attest that this is my kind of competition and I may or may not have a shirt that says I (heart) Poutine...Maybe next year.

Friday, October 19, 2012

It's Raining, It's Pouring

Once upon a time in Tupper history there was a rowdy party in the building basement. Kinsey and I, not impressed, went to investigate. People everywhere. On our return, Kinsey had the brilliant idea to invoke some damage on the smokers on the stoop with a cup of water.

...It's no secret we love a good prank on Tupper. But where's the line?


The line's nowhere to be seen, that's where. :)

Thursday, October 18, 2012

Tupper Trauma

The living room in Tupper looked more like a doctor's office today! Kinsey's eye was bothering her so she brought home some eye drops, which Dr. Katherine administered for her. Phew! Much better!  


Sunday, October 14, 2012

An Apple A Day

Last week I spent the afternoon with my new friend, Morgan.  She recently married my friend Sam and moved to Montreal to join him on his journey through medical school. After having a delicious lunch we decided to make apple-cheddar muffins together– a perfect fall treat given that Quebec apples are finally in season!

After having such success with Morgan last week (she is the perfect housewife), I decided to copy the recipe and make them myself; although it wasn't half as fun baking alone and I had no choice but to go apple picking at our local Provigo...




                                   {what you need}
             
     
                                 1/2 cup vegetable oil 
   3/4 cup lightly packed brown sugar
 2 eggs

3/4 cups applesauce 

1/2 cup milk

1-2 teaspoon vanilla

1 cup peeled and chopped/grated apple
1-1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup quick cooking rolled oats
1 tablespoon baking powder
2 teaspoons cinnamon
3/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese


{how to make}
    preheat oven to 400 degrees.
spray muffin tins with non-stick spray or rub down with vegetable oil.
whisk oil with sugar. add in eggs, one at a time, until well combined.
blend in applesauce, milk and vanilla.
stir in apple pieces and reserve.

in a separate bowl, combine flour, oats, baking powder, salt and 1/2 cup cheese.
blend until well combined and make a well in dry mixture.
pour in wet mixture and stir with a wooden spoon until batter is just combined.

divide batter evenly between muffin cups, filling 2/3 of the way full.
sprinkle tops evenly with remaining cheese.


 bake for 18-20 minutes or until muffins spring back when lightly touched with your fingertip.
 let muffins cool in pan for at least five minutes before cooling on rack

 mmmmmmmmm

Wednesday, October 10, 2012

Quaking Earth

Just after midnight, I, Kinsey, awoke, shaking in my bed, as a result of the 'magnitude 4.5 quake that shook the city last night. It was not until this morning when the three of us woke up and convened in the kitchen that I realized what the bizarre rumbling was. Katie had woken up and read the news first thing this morning and thus informed me and Emily as to what had happened. Turns out it wasn't as dramatic as you might have thought given that I was the only one to be woken up in the wee hours of the morning. Too bad I wasn't quick enough to video it!

Thursday, October 4, 2012

Twins

...Or should I say triplets, given that last week Emily and I ordered ipod nanos just like Katie's. With a built-in pedometer and a clip on the back to attach to your clothes, these babies are ideal for our morning runs!



Wednesday, October 3, 2012