Summer is over in the Tdot.

Summer is not my favorite season for personal comfort, I'm the first to admit it. I hate the high heat and humidity we've been getting for the last few summers. I hate sunscreen but I have to wear it, or lots of clothing that make the previous issue a bigger problem. I hate sweating constantly from the heat, and I feel like I can't go out and about nearly as much outside since it's fucking hot all the time. I love some things about summer, cottaging, camping, swimming, and BBQing.

 A slightly bad cellphone picture of the BBQs in the pool area of our apartment.

And an even worse, fuzzier cellphone picture of some dead fish and a side of potatoes and red onion, mushrooms skewers.

BBQing was never strictly a summer activity in my family, we do it all year long. Our New Year's tradition is doing homemade burgers on the BBQ and getting Swiss Chalet fries. However, since I've moved into an apartment, I only have access to the BBQs in our pool area for a limited time during the year, roughly 5 months spread over summer.

 The results from the previous picture.

 That time, when we fished for our own fish in a Toronto swimming pool, caught a few of them and made them for dinner.

This is the last thing I'll probably BBQ this season, a fantastic recipe for Paneer and Red Pepper Skewers. It was a nice send off to the BBQing year. The recipe needs some tweaking, admittedly, chiefly I should have cut the paneer bigger and I think the addition of tomatoes may help retain some moisture. And this did not keep well in the fridge, that's for sure. The paneer was rock solid the next day. I salvaged it by reheating it in a small saucepan with some olive oil.

I love fall. The cooler air, less death-causing sun, and the ability to wear pants and not sweat to death make me a happy dude. But as the air cools and the sun goes down earlier, I will have a moment of reflection for the end of BBQ season.

One of Kind Show!!!!

It's that time of year again! One of a Kind is back! And it was awesome!

 http://www.oneofakindshow.com

(Click the link, don't bother clicking the image since I don't know what I'm doing when it comes to making linkable images.)

I refueled some of my favorite gourmet goodies and got some fun bits and pieces from Canadian Artisans. I got some great stuff altogether, and I'm eating some of it rather quickly, so I'll just give the links to the food for now... I may not have time to take pictures of it. Not at the rate I'm going.. Garlic Bread for the next week!!

Food!!

Maple Fudge. Need I say more? You can shop online directly from their website!
Bruce County Nut and Fudge Company: http://nutandfudge.com/

Stilton and Rosemary Shortbread Cookies. Oh yeah, cheese and herb cookies. Soooooo good. You can order from the website (sort of), but it's usually easier to catch these guys at the various craft shows they go to. They're nice enough to have a list of them on their website.
Coach House Shortbread Company: http://www.shortbread.ca/

The Ultimate Garlic Spread (Garlic Butter). This is the amazing garlic butter that I love to make garlic bread and garlic broccoli pasta with. Fresh Ontario garlic for the win. You can hop online for all of their products, and you can find a lot of them at fine foodie places in Toronto!
The Garlic Box: http://www.thegarlicbox.com/

Fun, Funky Stuff!


I finally got my metal sign! I tried to buy this last year but they had run out. They have a list of retailers and do craft shows.
"Free your inner psychopath"
Art in Iron: http://www.artiniron.net/

Fish Art!! A conniving fish and a lost fish are two paintings by the wonderfully cottage inspired, Kevin Roach. I discovered that we had actually admired a piece of his over the summer at a friend's coworkers cottage, and he knew them as well! Small world.
Roach Tackle Folk Art: http://www.roachtackle.com/

Fish tea towel! I seem to have had a fish themed afternoon. It's a lovely linen tea towel with a silk screened fish pattern throughout. Made by the lovey and talented Jocelyne Mange form North Vancouver, she's a brand new vendor to One of a Kind and doesn't have a website yet. She's at the show for the entire duration though, so you can check her out!

Last but not least, a stuffed moose head.
Yep. This one's smiling too. It's a small, wool felted moose head, complete with antlers, on a real wood mount! He's amazing, and he's going into my living room very soon.
Felt Factory: http://www.feltfactory.com/

I will post pictures of stuff soon! Most likely when it goes up on a wall and can be photographed properly. For the time being, I need a foot soak. It's a long show on concrete floors, its only flaw.