Happy Springtime!

I hope you had a good long weekend! I, for one, have certainly been in need of a break from the usual 9-to-5 grind, and I have had simply the loveliest weekend--in no small part due to the wonderful weather we have had this weekend.  I feel like this is the first time I have been able to truly enjoy Vancouver in the springtime as, being graduated, I don't have to worry about this being the last weekend of term and racing to finish any school work.

Saturday morning Peter and I woke up after having seen our friend Hannah Georgas play with Kathleen Edwards the night before at the Commodore.  The show was one of the best I had seen in a long time.  I really liked Hannah's new material, and even though I wasn't super familiar with Kathleen Edwards' discography (other than Failer), she is such a good musician and performer that it didn't matter.

For breakfast (or by the time we sat down to eat, brunch) Saturday, we made Eggs Benedict following a recipe in the new cookbook my sister gave me.  What to Cook and How to Cook It is a beautifully designed cookbook.  While targeted at beginners, as an intermediate, I haven't found the books instructions to be pedantic.  In fact, having never formerly learned to cook, I find the step-by-step photos that accompany the directions really helpful. 

I thought the Hollandaise sauce would be the trickiest part, given all the recommendations on how to fix it if it goes wrong.  The sauce was the easiest part.  As directed, I cracked an egg into a teacup and created a whirlpool in a pot of water into which I slipped the egg.  The first one swirled around and solidified into an oblong shape.  The second one separated.  In all it took us 6 eggs to get 4 right.  I felt a bit like Julie Powell in that one scene from Julie & Julia.  It was well worth it, and something I would like to master, as our homemade Eggs Benny were so much lighter tasting than their restaurant equivalent.  We ate them on our sunny balcony with fresh cut fruit.  Divine!


That evening we saw a friend who is in town from Montreal play a show at a café.  Yesterday was Easter, and religious or not, it was nice to spend it with family and friends over good food.  I hadn't really celebrated Easter last year as I was in London with my mum.  I had bought chocolate eggs to bring along as a treat, but I forgot about them and left them behind in France.

If like me, you also have today off, I hope you have a happy sunny day.  Even though this autumn and winter have been one of the driest in Vancouver that I can remember, I am still so happy that the sun and warmer weather has arrived.  Hurray for spring!