I think they’re doing the same thing in Ottawa. Some of the office buildings downtown are no longer being used as office space so developers have bought them to convert to apartment buildings. I think a certain number of units in each building have to be rented out as subsidized units.
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The most recent Bay space in downtown London was converted into the main Public Library and a small concert hall. The previous Bay building before that, which was a Simpson’s until around 1986, was converted into an office building in the late 1980s.
I still remember when the Bay arrived in London, when it took over Simpson’s. We didn’t have the Bay before that. The Bay handed out bags of Kernels popcorn that were striped like a Bay Blanket or coat for the opening swag.
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Well that’s interesting. The Ottawa Public LIbrary is partnering up with the Library and Archives Canada to open a new main branch at some point. (The building is under construction right as we speak.) But it’s just west of centretown and not very accessible by foot or by bus. The main branch is presently just up the street from me and it’s about a 15 minute walk from home. The new branch will be a 60 minute walk or two buses to get there. The City of Ottawa got a lot of flack for picking that location but that area has been targeted for re-development since the 1960s. Progress is slow 
I was hoping they would keep the present main branch open at least in part for the centretown residents to pick up holds but no such luck.
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Hi, all! Cooking mostly in April for 2 in warm, wet Chattanooga. I guess this week’s theme is “cook a bag of beans and make various meals with them.”
Breakfast: Banana coconut muffins
Saturday, April 26: Driving our guest to the Atlanta airport–it’s been a nice visit! If I remember to cook beans tonight or tomorrow morning, we’ll have this turkey/bean/quinoa situation. Veg TBD. I’m really hoping DH will allow a trip to my favorite Atlanta grocery store even though it’s a madhouse on weekends…
Sunday: Fish on beans with chorizo, carrots with chermoula, white chocolate mousse with strawberries
Monday: scrounge
Tuesday: Rice and beans with coconut milk and chiles
Wednesday-Thursday: TBD; gotta clean out the fridge!
Friday: Invited to a “spring picnic”; will probably make a dessert of some sort
Saturday: Invited to a Kentucky Derby party–it’s quite the social whirl for us!
Sunday: Head off on another trip. Such is the charmed life we lead…
Have a good week, and happy May Day to those who celebrate. Happy cooking!
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Nice to see you here again @ginnyhw!
If I could only internalize this. Also using up what I bought!
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Yay for spring jackets and yoga!
Boo to end of The Bay.
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White chocolate and cardamom sounds like a lovely flavor combination in the mousse.
Social whirl sounds fun, and enjoy your upcoming trip!
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Y’all are so organized! Every time I think of trying to join in the fun I have to remind myself of how not organized I am. I’d feel like such a goof announcing a dish (or several) in writing, and then never actually making it 
I’ve not even been able to stick to my ‘resolution’ of making just ONE new recipe each week 
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One of my uncle the EB’s games was to see how late the last mini chocolate egg was discovered — I think the record was Thanksgiving 
(mind you we were all full grown adults, and he’d still sit chuckling to himself as he announced “still 5 to go” 
).
I remember that Thanksgiving when he performatively picked the last 2 off the tiny ledges on either side of the fireplace before starting the fire (first of the year), held them up to us, then peeled and ate them 
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B and I were sad when we first saw the news about HBC a few months ago. We always stopped in when visiting Canada to check out the HBC candy-striped items (we have the HBC wool blanket, socks, etc.). When we looked online after the announcement, it was already slim pickings.
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I think we all come to this with different levels of organization, and I have the feeling that we write down a lot of things that don’t end up happening for whatever reason–but it’s fun to think of what could be, and get ideas and inspiration from each other
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Absolutely! I often don’t have a clear idea of what I want to make on any given day, and this site and its home-cooking board are invaluable sources
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Hi everyone!
Focused on using up things from both the fridge and the freezer this week, there has been a serious build-up of late!
Weather continues to yo-yo, which means anything is game cooking-wise. Warm and sunny to cool and rainy to cold and windy in 2 days straight.
— Turkish Chicken Adana Kababs using this simplified oven technique and ground turkey to be used up + sumac onions + broiled long hot peppers
— Turkish Lahmacun — cheater’s version to use up flour tortillas with this recipe for the topping with the rest of the package of ground turkey + Turkish lentil soup / mercimek corbasi
– Masala Fish Cakes using salmon trimmings, the last of some smoked fish languishing in the fridge, and potato + roasted cauliflower + lentil soup
– Dim sum assortment from the freezer (shrimp rice rolls, crystal vegetable dumplings, chicken dumplings) + mixed Chinese greens
– Masala Grilled Cheese sandwiches to make a dent in a loaf of bread and use up assorted stubs of cheese + Curried Carrot Soup to use up coconut cream and carrots I bought for I don’t remember what (including some lentils in the mix)
— Chicken and egg Kathi Rolls — egg-coated flour tortilla, quick chicken malai kabab, zhoug + quick-pickled onions + one of the soups
— Something TBD with chicken legs, which have been building up in the freezer (from the breast + leg family packs I often buy, and poach the breast)
I might succumb to baking a mini loaf of last week’s orange cake, or playing with a chocolate variation.
Also want to find some things from both the COTM threads as I’ve not yet had much time to come up with a wish list from the two authors.
Have a lovely week!
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Hi, all. Spring came, summer visited, and now we’re back to early spring weather. DS’s first soccer game this afternoon was like sitting in a wind tunnel! It was also a little shocking - this is a high school team (grades 9-12, ages 14-18ish) and as we were driving away from the field, we saw one of his teammates get into his own car and drive away - like, the teammate drove! I know we’ll be there soon enough but…
Sun: chicken parm meatballs (Alton Brown), basic red sauce (ditto), pasta, and broccoli
Mon: ham and potato soup (NYT) to hopefully make a dent in the leftover Easter ham
Tues: I won tickets to see Mean Girls so I’m taking a friend with me. Leftover meatballs and garlic bread for the guys.
Weds: black beans with coconut milk, garlic, ginger (NYT), baked sweet potatoes in the side. This could be a disaster but there will be leftover meatballs for any objectors (coughDScough)
Thurs: cornmeal-crusted cod (from a Cooking Light cookbook, not grouper), some sort of cabbage slaw, something else tbd.
Clearly my planning energy is waning…
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Circling back to highly recommend
- Cheating with flour tortillas for lahmacun (in addition to the many other great tortilla cheats like gozleme, kathi rolls, and jianbing), and
- Cheating on kabab formation
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This sounds really good!
You reminded and inspired me, and I saw Idina Menzel’s new show Redwood thanks to the lottery a couple of weeks go (it was wonderfully cathartic, and she’s still amazing – I last saw her in Wicked, so it’s been a while).
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The May thread is available.
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I think I have to hold off on the black beans and make them for my lunches. DS has had a rough week and that might push him over the edge… 
Re. theater - I’m so envious, I’d love to see both Idina Mendel and Redwood! I have a long list of performers and shows I want to see (for the first time, or again). Lucky Seat is great for non-NYC cities; we’ve been… well, lucky.
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I’ve actually won the Gypsy lottery a couple of times recently but wasn’t in the frame of mind for it. Love Audra McDonald on Broadway too.
Re beans – I can understand. My nephews will eat them without complaint in some ways, and won’t touch them other ways. Dal is always easy for them (favored plain with just salt, sugar, and ghee, as we did as kids) – even with nothing else Indian alongside. Also refried or whole pinto beans and black beans (esp Cuban-ish).
But try and switch up the beans a bit and there’s usually a thing
I grew up eating a variety of beans and legumes in rotation, prepared in many different ways, so it was initially difficult for me to understand their pickiness. The only ones I don’t eat now are ones I have digestive challenges with – kidney beans (rajma) and urad (matpe, best. known as kali dal).
I hope DS recovers soon…
