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Posts Tagged ‘Quebec’

While cooking dinner this evening and thinking about writing today’s Foodie gift blog, it occurred to me this past April I found a wonderful new kitchen tool and I should write about it.  My husband and I and his sister and husband took a trip to Quebec in April.  We thought it would be lovely and spring-like;  Instead, it was cold, windy and rainy.  However, we were undaunted and covered the Lower Town and the Upper Town.  One afternoon while strolling though the Lower Town in Old Quebec City, Stacey and I wandered into a lovely shop filled with kitchen ware and flatware and cookware.  We are both Foodies and love to cook, so we spent considerable time picking up item after item, many of which we had never seen at home.

We came across a pair of strange-looking scissors. Fascinated, we asked the clerk about them and were told that these shears were meant to julienne herb leaves or thinly slice mushrooms, lettuce, and even ham.  Immediately I knew I had to have these scissors to slice my basil leaves over my juicy Jersey tomatoes.  Not only would the little shreds be distributed more evenly over a caprese salad, the slices would release some of the basil oil.

Made of stainless steel and with 5 blades, this is one of the most useful tools in my kitchen.  Available for purchase online from several stores as well as Amazon, you can purchase these MASTRAD shears for under $10.00

Shear Delight

Shear Delight

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The Friday Finale – Farewell Quebec – See You Soon

The last day of your vacation always comes too soon, whether you’ve been gone two weeks or 4 days!  We planned this trip with that i mind so we booked return flights just after 5:00pm with the thought that we would have a good part of the day to continue our exploration of the charming village of Vieux Quebec.  

After a breakfast of crèpes and the usual assortment of toasts, bread, ham, cheese, a pork breakfast paté, and about 100 jams, jellies and spreads – whew! We went back to our rooms and packed. Marjorie graciously allowed us to store all of our belongings for the rest of the day and so out and off we went!  

The day was significantly warmer than it had been all week but there were some clouds so it was hard to decide what to wear now and on the way home because everything else would be packed.  By now you must know what our first stop was – Yes we went to the Starbucks in the Frontenac.  The Chateau is clearly the focal point of the town, if not by its sheer size then certainly by its magnificent facade.  Each side of this historic structure is different and impressive in its own right.

Looking Up, Up, Up

Looking Up, Up, Up

The Morning Fix

The Morning Fix

We took a different route to Starbucks this morning and passed by a beautiful Art Deco building.  Known as the Price building, we discovered it was the very building that we had admired for the past several nights.  In the evening, it was lit up and bore a striking resemblance to the Woolworth Building in New York City.  The Price family was in paper and in the dazzling lobby were some plaques depicting the industry.

Logging is the backbone of the paper industry

Logging is the backbone of the paper industry

Matt and Stacey wanted to walk up to The Plains of Abraham and I had had it with walking up any more hills so we accompanied them part of the way and then we meandered through some of the more residential streets of Old Quebec.  From the top of the hill on the Plains, Matt captured some beautiful photos of the city below and beyond.

View from the Plains of Abraham. The south side of the Frontenac is in the distance.

View from the Plains of Abraham. The south side of the Frontenac is in the distance.

A closer view:

A bust of Samuel Champlain in the forefront

A bust of Samuel Champlain in the forefront

All good things must come to an end and so we joined each other for lunch at a restaurant we had discovered the first day we were in Quebec but had not frequented.  Restaurant 1640 proved to be a great place to have our farewell meal.  The cream of vegetable soup was delicious and my quiche was just the right size.

Farewell lunch at Restaurant 1640

Farewell lunch at Restaurant 1640

So it’s au revoir Quebec, à bientôt!

All photos courtesy of Matthew Weinstein

THIS IS MATTHEW!

THIS IS MATTHEW!

 

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THURSDAY – But of course, it’s raining again

The weather did a 360 and went from sunshine to clouds with the threat of rain and the temperature dropped a bit.  Already totally acclimated as true Québécquois, we didn’t let a few clouds and raindrops deter us from our mission.  Today’s sojourn was to be a walking tour of the Upper City;  Quebec City consists of an Upper City and a Lower City.  Hardly surprising as I’ve tried to relate to you the many ups and downs of the town.  Armed with umbrellas we set off;

"Neither snow nor rain nor dark of night..."

“Neither snow nor rain nor dark of night…”

We headed straight to the Starbucks located on the Grande Allee for a shot of caffeine and warmth.  Note the girls are wearing gloves today!  The Upper City is outside the walls of Old Quebec and the size and magnitude of  the buildings was a far cry from the stone houses in Vieux Quebec.  Below is a photo of the street and doorway of our B & B.

Chez Marie-Claire 64 Rue Sainte Ursule

Chez Marie-Claire
64 Rue Sainte Ursule

The Ursuline nuns are a real presence in our neighborhood.  There is a museum devoted to their order, they run a school and there are several plaques in the area with historical information regarding their historical contribution to the town.

As I said, the Grande Allee is home to several government buildings, the largest being The Parliament (pictured below).

The Parliament of Quebec

The Parliament of Quebec

The ediface is adorned with multiple life-size bronze statues depicting the heroes, statesmen and other historic figures.  We went inside just to see the lobby and went through a security check just a shade less than an airport.  Built in the late 1800’s it’s 8 stories high and quite elegant inside.

From there we took a quick look at The Plains of Abraham which on this day looked rather dismal and empty and certainly it was windier there than on the streets where the large buildings buffered us from some of the wind gusts.  We passed a very large castle-like building which was the Mènage Militaire.  

Time to eat again (quell surprise)!  This afternoon we seem unable to make a unified decision as to where and what to eat!  Everyday, I say I don’t care because I don’t usually eat lunch, however in the end I try to find something on the lighter side.  Since we couldn’t agree on a restaurant or an ethnicity, we opted to go to Epicerie Europeenne, which was essentially a small market with a superb cheese and olive selection as well as pre-prepared sandwiches.  Good choice for all!  We decided to pick up some local cheese, a baguette, some olives and some gin and Bloody Ceasars for a pre-dinner at home cocktail hour. Another good choice!

Au Revoir!

All photos courtesy of Matt Weinstein

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