a peek inside the fishbowl

It’s been guest post week here at the Fishbowl, and this is the last one. Today’s post is by Dr. Alan Viau. He’s a local wedding chaplain. His blog is chock full of great Ottawa-related wedding resources and he’s on twitter as @weddingchaplain. Alan is a really interesting fellow and I love the topic he proposed for his post because it’s something I often wonder about. Read on!

The eldest of my three kids turned thirty this month! Passing such a milestone causes you to reflect on many things about parenthood. One realization was how much summer camps and activities shaped their choice of careers as young adults.

I am shaking my head in the disbelief that my son has turned thirty. Thirty is such a big milestone in most people’s lives. It is now the average marrying age for example. However, for me, thirty meant that I had been married for several years with three children.

Read the rest of this entry »

25 Jul, 2012

Sneak peek from Lake St. Peter

By andrea tomkins in travel talk

My guest post for today fell through so i thought I’d show you where we are this week instead. :)

I hope you are all having a great week!

crostini

Hello Fishies! It’s guest post week here at the Fishbowl! Please take a moment to say hello to our authors!

Today’s post is by Giulia Doyle who blogs at Fishly News. She’s an Ottawa gal too! (You ever wonder what’s with all the fish around here?) Her blog is so pretty. There is much eye-candy to be found there, and I often think I may have found a kindred spirit in Giulia (food! collecting! ALL THE PRETTY!). You can follow her adventures on Twitter too. Thank you Giulia for sharing your words here today.

I’m very pleased to be joining Andrea today at the Fishbowl while she is out glamping with her family. While I write my little diary over at FishlyNews, Andrea and I are in no way related. I might also be writing about renovations (on a much smaller scale), home decor (finding that perfect sink), Ottawa (yes, we do live in the same city), our two kids (I have a girl and a boy), husbands (mine is great – I’m sure Mark is as well), pet (we have a cat) and food (we both love it), but all of this is just coincidence.

Today I’ll share a little food, because most of us like to eat it and most of us like a super simple recipe. Our tomatoes are coming along and the heat allows us to eat outside, so this take on a tomato bruchetta is the perfect little meal or appetizer. I’ve been making these for 15 years now and always got rave reviews and empty platters.

Ingredients:

  • Cream Cheese
  • Basil
  • Lemon
  • Tomatoes
  • Baguette
  • Balsamic Vinegar (optional)
  • Salt and Pepper

How to:

  1. Turn your oven to broil (or your BBQ on high heat if you don’t want to heat up the house)
  2. Cut your bread into slices and place on a cookie sheet. Slightly toast your bread in warming oven (don’t leave it in too long, you just want to golden the edges)
  3. While bread is toasting, mix some of your cream cheese with a generous squirt of lemon (about 1 tablespoon)
  4. Cut your basil into small slivers and mix it into the cream cheese. Cut your tomatoes into cubes.
  5. Take out bread and flip all the pieces, toasted side facing down.
  6. Spread bread with a generous amount of cream cheese/basil spread.
  7. Put slices back in the oven for 2-3 minutes until cheese slightly melts. Take them out and top with tomato pieces, add a bit of salt and pepper if you wish and a small drizzle of balsamic vinegar.

Try not to eat them all.

Thanks for having me today Andrea.

Archives


  • Jeanie Maennling: I spent many wonderful days visiting my cousins and Uncle Herb and aunt Eleanor at the Farm in the 1950's. Mycousin Skippy (Sharon) and I got into l
  • alex: For a classic Canadian treat for valentine day , try a BeaverTail (a fried dough pastry) there its yummy
  • Juliet Luiz: I was at this park today and saw the foundation and historical sign which got me curious and let me to your blog post! Great information:) too bad t
  • Rowyn Tape: Hello, I was sitting at Easter dinner with my grandmother and she was telling me this story. She is Herbert Lytles daughter who eventually bought the
  • Bernie: I freeze ball sizes of bread dough for beavertails each winter season.Easy to thaw, roll out and fry. Best winter treat!
  • Jen_nifer: I feel very much the same about my SUP. Floating with snacks is fantastic! When I go on water with some current, I make sure that I paddle into the cu
  • sam: Great article. This is very insightful. Thanks for sharing

The Obligatory Blurb

My name is Andrea and I live in Ottawa with my husband Mark and our dog Sunny who is kind of a big deal on Instagram. During the day I work as a freelance writer. I am a longtime Ottawa blogger and I've occupied this little corner of the WWW since 1999. The Fishbowl is my whiteboard, water cooler, and journal, all rolled into one. I'm passionate about healthy living, arts and culture, travel, great gear, good food, and sharing the best of Ottawa. I also love vegetables, photography, gadgets, and great design.

If you're so inclined, you can read more about me here.

I've deactivated the commenting function as well as my contact form so if you want to get in touch, please drop me a line at quietfish@gmail.com. Thank you!

 


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