Egyptian Collaboration

Tomatoes From Canada recently collaborated with Egyptologist Steven Blake Shubert on an article for KMT: A Modern Journal of Ancient Egypt. 

 Last winter I went with Steven to the Lillian Massey Building at the University of Toronto to take pictures of the stained glass windows.

 The windows, by Henry Holiday, were installed in 1915 when the building was the U of T's Household Science Building. If you'd like to see the windows for yourself, the building is open to the public. It is on Avenue Road at Bloor Street across from the Royal Ontario Museum.

 Bill drew portraits of artist Henry Holiday, benefactor Lillian Massey and Charles T. Currelly, founder of the ROM (above) and Egyptian and Greek antecedents to one of the window figures (below).

I was thrilled when Shubert told me that he had discovered hieroglyphs in my photographs that he had missed in the windows themselves.

Bill and I have loved both ancient Egypt and the ROM since we were kids. We feel honoured to have been involved. We think KMT did an excellent job with the illustrations, photographs and layouts.

Misled By Nature at MOCCA

Last Saturday John and I visited Misled By Nature, the new show at the Museum of Contemporary Canadian Art.

Step with us across the threshold into this Tricia Middleton mixed-media installation.

It has a useful title -- Embracing Oblivion and Ruin is the Only Way to Live, 2012.

 Middleton says she was inspired by Baroque churches.

Next we encountered Lee Bul's After Bruno Taur (Negative Capability), 2008. Crystal, glass, and acrylic beads on stainless steel armature with aluminum and copper mesh, with chains made of PVC, steel, and aluminum, 274.3 x 296.4 x 213.4 cm

Bul says he was inspired by Taut's vision of a Utopian city floating in the cosmos.

Sculptor, David Altmejd's The Holes, 2008, presents one of his signature disintegrating werewolves.

Wood, mirror, glue, plaster, foam, metal wire, epoxy clay, epoxy resin, paint, horse hair, synthetic branches, synthetic flowers, pine cones, glass beads, quartz, quail eggs, glitter, and snail shells. 291.5 x 883.9 x 518.2 cm installed (approx.).

John and I are big fans of Altmejd's work.

Finally we visited Yinka Shonibare's Mr and Mrs Andrews without their Heads, 1998, which is based on Thomas Gainsborough's famous portrait of 1750.

Wax-print cotton costumes on mannequins, dog mannequin, painted metal bench, rifle. 165 x 635 x 254 cm with plinth.
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Misled By Nature continues until April 6th so if you are interested don't delay. MOCCA

Simple Apple Salad

Bill and I first ate a version of this salad at The Spotted Pig in NYC when our server told us it was new on the menu and encouraged us to try it. Created by chef April Bloomfield, for the one-Michelin-starred Pig, Bill tried to recreate it when we got home.  Here's the recipe Bill came up with.

Dressing:
In a cup mix 1/2 tsp salt, 1/2 tsp pepper, 1/2 tsp sugar
Add juice of 1/2 lemon. 1 tbsp wine vinegar
Add a light tsp of dijon mustard

Add 2 tbsp olive oil
Mix = your dressing

The Salad:
Depending on the quantity needed:
Mix different apples. For 2 people probably 2 apples will do.
Cut apple in quarters. Cut out the centre seeds area. Now cut into chunks, bite-size.
Put into a bowl.
Chop a handful of Italian parsley (broad leaf) coarsely. You want a bite of parsley flavour.
Chop a small handful of walnuts. 
Chop a handful of old cheddar cheese into small squares. Add all to the bowl.
Dress lightly with the lemony dressing before the apples turn brown (oxidize).

Ready to eat and will last quite well (say a day). If you have leftover dressing save it for next time! Once you've made it, you can adjust to your taste. Salad should have a lemony taste with parsley highlights.

When I looked this up on The Spotted Pig website I saw it was called "Apple Salad with Mrs. Quicke’s Cheddar & Toasted Walnuts".

TOASTED walnuts! Must try that next time! Thank you Ms. Bloomfield!

Happy

Anyone feeling happy?

Wedding in Niagara-on-the-Lake

Last weekend John and I caught a Bloor subway train

 to Islington Station and the Kiss-and-Ride platform to meet my sister, Kathy, and brother-in-law, Brian and be driven to the wedding of my nephew, Ryan, at the Old Winery Restaurant in Niagara-on-the-Lake.

Happily the only snowfall we encountered was just as we entered

the famous vineyards of Niagara-on-the-Lake.

We arrived early but soon the other guests began to appear.

In the banquet hall this sign directed us to our seats.

Here's the groom with his mom, my sister-in-law, Merla.

Proud mom beaming.

Danaka and Ryan were joined in their vows by Danaka's daughter, Lily (in blue).

Newly-weds at the candy counter. Sweet, indeed!

Merla's brother, Ron, with his wife, Myrna.

Ryan's older brother, Craig, with his wife, Tivie.

Cousins: Sam, Lily and Ryan.

Ryan with his date.

John with brother-in-law, Brian.

"Take my picture!!"

The bride's mom directed group photos with the wedding photographer.

Zeta, the groom's Grandmother, added a touch of class to some of the group photos.

Everyone got their chance to pose with the lovely bride. Indeed a fine time was had by all! Congratulations Ryan and Danaka!

The Great Beauty

Bill and I saw The Great Beauty (La Grande Bellezza) at the TIFF Lightbox this afternoon. It made us fall in love with Rome all over again.

Natural History Museum, NYC

John and I love the Natural History Museum, but it's been years since we've visited.

We started on the top floor where we were greeted by this Mastodonsaurus giganteus, a giant relative of our frogs and salamanders.

These visitors seem in awe of this Rauisuclud dinosaur.

For good reason! Yikes!

Much cuter were this Protoceratops couple guarding their nest.

The skeletons were accompanied by small models of what the creature might have looked like. This is of course the fabulous Stegasaurus.

John and another visitor admired the huge skull of a Triceratops.

Another display compared skeletons of Mammoths, Mastodons and modern Elephants.

Another oversized early mammal, the Megaloceros with its impressive antler display.

The huge prehistoric sloth, Lestodon armatus.

This local mother and daughter group probably have museum memberships. Looks like they dropped in during a morning jog in Central Park.

Another family group looks cornered by this juvenile Barosaurus.

John checking out the Barosaurus on the prehistoric timeline display.

The Central Park West entrance features a Barosaurus rearing up in front of a hungry raptor.

One floor down we encountered the dioramas of African mammals.

We love the dioramas in this section. Here ostriches protect their nest from marauding wart-hogs.

Two antelope seem to gossiping about us.

Just what are these hyenas so interested in?

John caught me and a soaring vulture.

Feeding time for birds of prey

and leopards. Yes, that's a peacock they've captured for lunch.

Herons, Ibises and Swans.

Loved this family checking out the owl display together.

We'll end our visit amid the displays of Native American artifacts.

Woodland tribe apparel.

How elegant is this stylish otter decorating a drum.

We'll end with a gorgeous feather headress. There is so much to see in this museum. We must come back more often.