Vegan Butter Tarts

From the  Vegan Dad blog....these are awesome - I made some this morning and tested one - delectable. As he says if you aren't Canadian you don't know the obsession with Butter Tarts. I did sub a little maple syrup for the sugar. I was initially sceptical about them firming up...but I am a believer!

P.S. This is his photo - mine look a little chunkier...

He has many more great recipes to check out and even a cookbook. Click below for the recipe and his blog...

http://vegandad.blogspot.com/2009/02/vegan-butter-tarts.html

Nancy White

I thought I would just re-print this verbatim from an email - yes that national treasure, Nancy White is doing a concert on November 11th - along with her daughter Suzy Wilde putting in a guest appearance - I met Suzy when she came in to tape "Jazzology" as a Humber Student.


If you haven't been living in a cave and have listened to CBC at all over the past few decades you have heard her witty songs - how can you not love someone who wrote about Leonard Cohen never going to bring her groceries in...in a hilarious Leonard Cohen style...you know I'm a folk fan as well as jazz addict....both healthy addictions.


Speaking of healthy tried another fall special at "Rawlicious" - carmelized onions on herb and onion flatbread and nut cheese - loved it..and I don't like onions...must figure out how to do those at home..perhaps they are dehydrated?




Hi,
   I'm Suzy Wilde's mom, among other things, and I asked her if she knew anyone who might be interested in the cabaret show
I'm doing Nov.11, and she gave me the email addresses of the smartest people she knows.  I hope you don't mind, and I promise I won't share them with anyone, except maybe those people from overseas who offer such excellent investment opportunities.
   Suzy's doing a guest spot in the show, by the way. She's singing a very saucy Christmas song which she performed TO GREAT ACLAIM at one of her Humber recitals!






 I've got a birthday coming up, and it's on such a spooky date - 11-11-11 --
that I'm scared to be alone. So - I'm doing a show as part of Robert Missen's Green Door Cabaret series. I've got the brilliant young Acadian musician Ghislain Aucoin accompanying me on the piano grande, and he'll sing a few numbers as well - including "May I Offer My Umbrella", an "Anne and Gilbert" song that's rarely taken out of the show. I'll do some edgy-but-not-bitter novelty numbers, some more serious stuff, maybe something in Spanish, surely something in French.
Maybe I'll bring my banjo, maybe Ghislain will bring an accordion. It could happen. We might even play these instruments. We did a three week run at summer's end in a show called "Honestly", in Victoria-by-the-Sea, P.E.I., so we're in good shape. By the way, the rumour about drinks going for $11 to honour the date (11-11-11) is just a rumour. Not to worry. The rumour that this may be my last show ever is also just a rumour, and a nasty one at that. Nevertheless, it is a rare occurrence, and worth catching. What if I burst into flames and you missed it? Could you forgive yourself? I doubt it!  - sincerely yours, Nancy White

DETAILS: GREEN DOOR CABARET at the Lower Ossington Theatre. 100A Ossington, between Dundas and Queen.
NANCY WHITE & GHISLAIN AUCOIN: "11-11-11"
NOV.11, 2011. 8 P.M. (DOORS 7.30)
TICKETS: $20 (arts workers), $25, general admission, $30, reserved.
www.lowerossingtontheatre.com. (416) 915-6747

I'm still here

 I see the blog posts have been getting fewer so I must remedy that...got this poster from Rob Fekete- a wonderful pianist and former "Jazzology" guest - U of T graduate studies - so if you're in St. Catherines - be sure to drop in...Rob's Quartet is there on October 27th..

Still continuing with the raw food thing or trying my best - had wine and pasta last night - which did not agree with my body at all - very congested...I think there's definitely something to eating a more pure diet...I'm working on it...oh and the doughnut didn't help either. What was enjoyable and satisfying was the Dan Bodanis trio...ahhh....

Today it's a CD release party for Del Dako - a long lost recording - starts at 3:30 at the Pilot - this could also be incentive to go to Rawlicious again since it's next door...:)

Going Green

As in "raw" - yes, I am hereby making a commitment to go raw for a while to see how I feel and hopefully release some weight. I find Kristen's book to be very helpful and of course she has a blog as well.

I'm reading a number of books - like Kris Carr's "Crazy Sexy Diet", Tonya Zavasta's books, Ani Phyo and the "I Am Grateful" cookbook and "Raw Revolution" diet...so far so good...it's only been two days but onward and upward. I want to try for a couple of weeks and then continue on...there may be some slips at some point but Kristen says not to worry!

Art adventure

 This is one of the fun experiences last night at a Toronto Arts and Cultured meetup - the 1st Thursday Art and Design plus Food on West Queen West. This was the exhibition at the Edward Day Gallery -  - part of the ImagineNATIVE Film and Media Arts Festival - media artist Edward Lewis created numerous touch screen installations involving words and poetry...addictive.

We also visited the Museum of Contemporary Art -with a thought provoking show called " Patria O Libertad - On Patriotism, Immigration and Populism" - various video installations - particularly liked the German artist who painted her country's flag on the wall - and was dressed to match - at the end blending into the wall - an interesting statement. Also "Double Bubble" - the artist posing as a widow and uttering quotes from both sides during the war in Bosnia. Chilling.

For satiation we also visited "Nadege" for a complimentary macaron for which they are justifiably famous...the display cases themselves are works of art.

We then visited Gaspard - a new clothing store at 913 Queen Street West, operated by Jennifer Halchuk and Richard Lyle who create the clothing line "Mercy" - they hope to bring a European silhouette and mindset to Queen - more loose, less structured, less tight....

We also learned a bit about my neighbourhood - delightful - I can't wait for next month.

Readers, I have vowed I need to get on track - too much sugar and fat - going to start a Raw Food Cleanse as of next week...I don't need to worry about the turkey part, ha ha.

Happy Thanksgiving!!

Thank you Mr. Jobs

 Thank you Steve Jobs for your dedication to excellence and your incredible vision - I am late to the Apple cult, having just acquired an iphone  - but I totally understand the devoted following - my next goal is an ipad.  Thank you for thinking differently, outside the box, taking technology to the next level and making it user friendly. Rest in peace, you were taken from us far too early - what other amazing ideas could you have shared, I wonder?

The creation of itunes made it fast and easy to access all kinds of music - that's part of what I love about my iphone...however, it is no substitute for the live experience. Did you like that segue?

So - Friday Russ Little is with the CJQ at Quotes from 5 - 8, you can also mosey over to Azure on Front and check out Dan Bodanis and the trio, AND at Trane Studio - Jules Estrin, wonderful trombonist and conductor of the Jazz FM Youth Band has a sextet starting at 8....

I had to laugh because I saw Ty Burrell using poles while walking in a scene from the hilarious "Modern Family" last night....he was almost run over by Julie Bowen....because there wasn't a stop sign at the corner - one of the story lines last night. The whole cast is wonderful and I particularly love Sofia Vergara...

Other new show fave...."New Girl" with the delightful Zooey Deschannel - I have a bit of a girl crush on her - she is so fun and quirky...like the kind of best friend you would love to have.

An Evening with the Don Thompson Big Band

A little bird told me - okay, it was actually John De Simini one of our former "Jazzology" guests from U of T there will be a great concert this coming Saturday October 8th.

It features Don Thompson's oevre if I may be so pretentious - both new and old and featuring some of the finest musicians around :

 Don Thompson, Mark Promane, John De Simini, Kelly Jefferson, Andy Ballantyne, Shirantha Beddage, Dan Douglas, R.J. Satchithananthan, Pat Blanchard, Christian Overton, Jason Logue, Steve Crowe, Brian O’Kane, Jon Challoner, Kevin Turcotte, Brian Dickinson, David Occhipinti, Neil Swainson, Barry Romberg.


The concert takes place at 1515 Bathurst Street (near St. Clair station) at St. Michael's College Schools' "Centre for the Arts".


Tickets available at www.ticketweb.ca or calling 1-888-222-6606 or at the door - reasonably priced at $24.99 for all that musical goodness...


Also I found out that for those of you feeling especially generous, warm hearted and flush with cash the JPEC (that's Jazz Performance and Education Centre) is hosting a wonderful fundraising evening  Wednesday October 26th at 8 p.m at the Toronto Centre for the Performing Arts, 5040 Yonge Street.


And what a lineup : Heather Bambrick, Jackie Richardson, Denzal Sinclaire, William Carn, Mike Murley, Pat LaBarbera.. under the musical direction of Denny Christiansen, you can get in on the action for a starting donation of $250. Plus, one of our former "Jazzology" guests, Francois Mulder will be singing!!


www.jazzcentre.ca 


 The organization is working on creating a full time jazz performance space and of course promoting jazz music and education in Toronto...both very worthy goals.


On a very rainy Sunday I tried out "Urban Poling" - lots of fun and a great workout in the beautiful High Park - like walking with cross country ski poles. Check it out with instructor Barb Gormley - www.barbgormley.com.  Afterwards a few of us met in the Grenadier Restaurant for a warming beverage - what a nice little spot. You can pay as you go or pay for a few classes in advance..I'll be back