McNally Robinson Booksellers in Toronto

Jeff and I wanted to go to Cafe Pleiade for our anniversary (it's my favourite restaurant in Toronto) but sadly, it's closed on Mondays. We still plan a celebratory dinner there sometime soon, but we decided to instead go book browsing at the Shops At Don Mills, a new shopping area in Toronto.

McNally Robinson is is an independent bookseller with other stores in Winnipeg, New York City, Saskatoon. I love this store, and not just because they carry some of my Blush cards:



Nice layout and inviting atmosphere, not too cluttered but not warehouse-y, either. I love the alcove organization along the outside walls -- it reminded me of the University of Toronto upstairs bookstore, except friendlier. Great kids' and teen book sections! I picked up copies of my sister's newly released Chicken, Pig, Cow On The Move plus Skinned by Robin Wasserman.

I signed up for their Reader Reward, which costs $25 for the first year ($15 for renewals) and gets me a 10% discount on books as well as food in the second-floor Prairie Ink Restaurant. PLUS Jeff gets a card for free.



We had dinner in the restaurant. I opted for their whitefish sandwich, and it was excellent:



The menu had much more choice and better fare than the typical cafe you find in bookstores. I've heard that Toronto literati are already starting to meet here for meetings as well as pleasure. The walls are lined with pictures of famous Canadian authors and literary quotes. There's an outdoor patio, if you feel like eating outdoors.

My new Reader Reward card entitled me to a free hot beverage, but I forgot to use it. Ah well...all the more excuse for coming back. Like I -need- an excuse. :-)



McNally Robinson Booksellers
The Shops at Don Mills
Toronto, ON
(416)384-0085

Hours
Monday to Thursday
9 a.m.- 10 p.m.
Friday and Saturday
9 a.m.- 11 p.m.
Sundays
11 a.m. - 6 p.m.

Food book survey

I took the photo above when I was making a leek and walnut sauce for a chicken recipe from The Healthy Slow Cooker by Judith Finlayson.



I was skeptical when I saw this green mush in the food processor, but the results were excellent; Jeff even went back for seconds. Speaking of food books...



Just finished reading The Sharper Your Knife, the Less You Cry: Love, Laughter, and Tears in Paris at the World's Most Famous Cooking School on my iPhone and LOVED it.

The true story follows Kathleen Flinn, who returned from vacation only to find that her corporate job had been eliminated. Instead of looking for another "normal" job, she cleared out her savings and moved to Paris to pursue her dream of getting a diploma from the famous cooking school: Le Cordon Bleu. Flinn has an engaging writing style, and the book was a fascinating glimpse into the workings of the school as well as a level of cooking that I will never achieve. Also fun to see how she coped with the language barrier.

The book also includes a bunch of recipes which sound mouthwatering but not terribly low-fat. :-)

Anyone who loved Ruth Reichl's food books is likely to also enjoy this book.


And OOOOH! I just noticed that a new Reichl book just came out last week!! Now the quandary: buy Not Becoming My Mother: and Other Things She Taught Me Along the Way now, or wait for paperback? Hmm...

To you foodies out there: What are YOUR favourite food books?

Health goals

I've been letting weather and a hectic schedule lend me an excuse for not exercising as much in recent months. Inspired by my friends Tanya and Ju at FilKONtario (I notice Allison's been inspired by them, too!), I've decided to smarten up.



Jeff and I don't own a weight scale. I weigh myself once a year when I go to the doctor's for my annual check-up. However, this doesn't mean that I don't know when I'm putting on the pounds; I can usually tell from the fit of certain form-fitting clothing. And well...it's time. :-)

For me, the solution is finding a way to stay accountable, and this means keeping track of what I eat and how often I exercise. Just the act of keeping this sort of journal makes me much more conscious of my fitness/eating habits, I find.

Anyway, I'm trying out the Livestrong.com app for the iPhone. It's $2.99, and synchs with Livestrong.com (a joint project between the Lance Armstrong Foundation and Demand Media), which has a free "Daily Plate" service where users can track fitness and food goals.



I wanted an app that would make it easy for me to keep track of food and exercise. The downside: you have to be connected to the Internet for the app to be able to access the nutrition database of more than 525,000 food and restaurant items. The upside: I usually AM connected to the Internet because of my iPhone. And when I'm not, I figure I can occasionally be able to wing it with common sense. (Have I mentioned that I love my iPhone?)

I also like the fact that in addition to my calorie count, I also get a summary of daily fat, sugar, carb, and protein intakes. I realize that the numbers are all just estimates, but even rough figures give me a better sense of how I'm doing than before, especially with my sugar intake.

My goal is to get into a healthy lifestyle again so that by the time colder weather rolls in, it will be much easier to keep it going through the winter.



Livestrong.com also enables users (if they want) to connect up with a whole community for mutual encouragement and support. I'm opting to keep my profile private (the screenshots today, by the way, were taken from the iTunes store...I don't tend to have glasses of champagne on a regular basis) and use friends for mutual support.

Like tonight, when I meet up with Allison and Jodi!

Also trying to cook healthier meals. Last night I made an Eggplant-Beef slow cooker meal ("Greek style") from The Healthy Slow Cooker by Judith Finlayson, and served it with bulgur. Jeff loved it, yay! I've loved all the recipes from this cookbook so far; they do require more prep than typical slow cooker recipes, but I've always found the result to be well worth it.

Happy Thursday, all.

Cajun Squirrel Chips?

This anonymous (no return address or note) package came for me in the mail today. I haven't yet worked up the nerve to actually try them. Heh.

So 'fess up...who sent this package? I notice it came from the UK.