Tags, Memes and Awards Galore!

Today is dark and rainy here in my neck of the woods and that is not picture taking weather. No light = no pics. Boo. It's like Mother Nature doesn't want me to have a blog, or at least not a blog with pictures. I guess I asked for it when I talked of the warm days ahead. Ha. So I decided that if there was to be no photography today, I would do something long (LONG) overdue and answer a couple of memes and pass along a few awards. I want everyone who tagged and awarded me to know I appreciate it very much, even though it may take me a while to get organized!

I was tagged a while ago by three, yes three, fabulous bloggers for the "What Were You Doing 10 Years Ago" meme. Caitlin of Engineer Baker, Jessica of My Baking Heart and Amy of Eggs on Sunday all tagged me for the same meme. I guess I had to get to it sometime! Here goes:

The rules: Each player answers the questions about themselves. At the end of the post, the player then tags 5 people and posts their names, then goes to their blogs and leaves them a comment, letting them know they’ve been tagged and asking them to read your blog. Let the person who tagged you know when you’ve posted your answer.

What was I doing ten years ago?
I was working as a designer for a sign company. We made all kinds of signs, menus and corporate imaging for companies such as Starbucks, McDonalds, Esso, etc, as well as smaller local companies.

What are five (non-work) things on my to-do list for today:
1. Make pie dough for the next Tuesdays with Dorie (I might not get to it today after all...)
2. Dishes
3. Laundry
4. Clean the apartment
5. Menu planning for next week

5 Snacks I enjoy:
1. Sun Chips (The person who invented these is EVIL!)
2. Anything chocolate
3. Scones, muffins, anything bread-like
4. Cashews (they are my favorite nut)
5. Cheese

Things I would do if I were a billionaire:
1. Build my dream house
2. Build my parents and my brother their dream houses
3. Get better equipped for photography (I am photography obsessed!)
4. Travel, that’s for sure!
5. Contribute to charities that help children in need

Places I have lived:
1. I was born in Montréal, Québec and lived there until age 8.

2. Edmundston, New-Brunswick, from age 8 to 20.

3. I left Edmundston for Québec City to go to Laval University. I lived there for 4 years and that’s where I met Martin.

4. I moved back to Edmundston (with Martin this time) and we lived there for almost 4 years before moving back to Québec City.

5. Now we live in Lévis, which is about 20 minutes from Québec.

Jobs I have had:
1. The first job I had was in my parents’ restaurant. I was about 10 years old, I started washing dishes and working in the kitchen, then a little while later, I moved up to waitress. I loved it, I got to meet a lot of people as it was a tourist stop in the summer. I guess that’s where I got my love of all things food.

2. Babysitter (a LOT)

3. I worked as a salesgirl in Old Québec while I was at University. Again I got to meet lots of different people. I also worked in the shoe department of a big department store.

4. Designer for a sign company (that’s what I was doing ten years ago).

5. And now I’m a stay at home mom of three!

As for who I'm tagging for this meme, if you haven't been tagged yet, consider it done!

Another meme I was tagged for is "Your Ten Favorite Food Photos". The incredibly talented Gretchen from Canela & Comino wants to see my favorite food pics, so here they are:


Click the pics to see the original post.

I am tagging 5 bloggers who I think have consistently fantastic food pics so I can't wait to see what their favorites are!

Lynn of Cookie Baker Lynn
Brilynn of Jumbo Empanadas
Patricia of Technicolor Kitchen
Kevin of Closet Cooking
Mari of Mevrouw Cupcake





Another 3 incredible bloggers, Alfie of Cabbage Roses and Cupcakes, Nic of Cherrapeno and Mara of Lick The Spatula all think that my blog has good enough pics to deserve the Arte Y Pico award. I appreciate it very much as all three have an incredible eye for photography. Thank you three so much! I would like to pass this award along to 5 deserving bloggers. Visit their blogs and you'll see that they are really talented photographers.

The rules for the award are:
-Pick five blogs who deserve this award because the content of their blog is creative, interesting, and they inspire the blogging community. -Each recipient has to have their name and link back to their blog. -The recipient must display the award and link back to the blog that awarded them the award. -The recipient must also show the link back to Arte y Pico blog so everyone knows the origin of the award.

Joey of 80 Breakfasts
Rajani of Vegetarian in Me
Mandy of Fresh from the Oven
Amy of Nook and Pantry
Arfi of HomemadeS

Alfie also sent the "E for Excellent" award my way a few months ago. Thank you Alfie, that is so sweet of you! Lynn of Cookie Baker Lynn had also awarded me the "E" a little while back, you can see who I awarded it to here.

Two of the sweetest bloggers I have come to know, Grace of A Southern Grace and Ginny of Just Get Floury both gave me the "I Love You This Much" award. Thank you so much you guys, I love you this much too! I think that is one of the cutest awards out there and I want to pass it along to bloggers who make me laugh, inspire me and always brighten my day!

Susan of Sticky, Gooey, Creamy, Chewy
Elle of Elle's New England Kitchen
Brilynn of Jumbo Empanadas
Aimée of Under the High Chair
Amy of Eggs on Sunday

Ah, the "Yummy Blog Award". Lynn of the fabulously yummy Cookie Baker Lynn blog thinks my blog is yummy! Thank you Lynn, your blog is way yummier, this means a lot coming from you! I think so many food blogs out there deserve this award but here are 5 I think are yummy, yummy, yummy!

What Geeks Eat
Glorious Food and Wine
Couture Cupcakes
Scottish Cow
Gigi Cakes

And last but certainly not least I want to thank The Biscuit Pusher for giving me the "Blogging with a Purpose" award a while back. I'm so sorry it took me so long to acknowledge it. I want to send it to Bee and Jai of jugalbandi. Not only do they host the wonderful CLICK event every month, they pulled the blogging community together to support a friend and fellow blogger. You guys Rock with a capital "R"!

I hope I didn't miss a tag from anyone, please let me know if I did. If any of you have already received these awards, I promise not to take it personally if you don't pass them along again. I just wanted to let all you guys know I love to read your posts and I always look forward to learning new things about you. I also love to discover new blogs and hope you discovered a few today! Have fun checking every blog out!

A Meme and a Nice Bowl of Soup

There's that meme bug going around and I was really surprised to be tagged by both Amy of Eggs on Sunday and Aimée of Under the High Chair. I had such a hard time trying to think of things to say about me that would be interesting to you guys who come by and read this little blog of mine once in a while. In any case, here goes (in no particular order…):

1. I know a lot of people out there don’t like the big bad Starbucks coffee, but I love it! Even before I ever tasted their coffee, I really like their designs. See, I used to work for a company that made signs and menus for them. I was in charge of layout and production drawings, so I got to see first hand what new designs would go into their stores. Eventually I even went to Seattle to visit their head office and meet all the nice people I had been working with via phone, email and fax. It was a big deal for me as I had only been out of Universtity for a few years and this was one of the company’s biggest clients. These days my life is still pretty hectic but not in the same way! Now that there are Starbucks Coffees in Quebec, I can go and relax with a nice cup of Caramel Macchiato!

2. I love to knit, sew and make some of my own jewelry. I only knit scarves mind you, I’m no expert! Sewing is not what I do best either, but I love to hand sew tiny pouches, I find the repetition of the stitches relaxing. As for the jewelry, I’ve been beading for as long as I can remember. The style of jewelry I make (and wear) has evolved over the years but one constant remains, no matter how many pieces I make, my stash of beads only gets bigger! And though I don’t have much time to do these things, they are some of my favorite things to do just the same.

3. I am not an organized person. For that reason I make lists, many, many lists. From recipes I want to try to things I have to buy, I write everything down. I have notepads, notebooks, pens and pencils all over the place, but most the time I struggle to remember which notepad I used to write down this or that recipe… Go figure!

4. My first year at University, living on my own, I ate plain rice with green peas for dinner, a LOT. What’s worse, I actually liked it!

5. When I was 8 years old my parents moved us from Montreal, Quebec to rural New Brunswick and bought a diner-style restaurant. By the age of 10 I was waiting tables and working in the kitchen. Not because I had to, because I wanted to. This love of food doesn’t come from nowhere!

6. MacGyver is my favorite TV show of all time. In high school I had posters of Richard Dean Anderson all over my bedroom walls. When the first season came out on DVD, I did a little happy dance in the middle of the living room. The kids thought I’d gone nuts!

7. I gave birth to my third child, Olivia, on my birthday. Yes, I spent my birthday last year in labor. Not exactly the way I had pictured spending my birthday but on the other hand, I got the best birthday present ever.

“7 Things” Meme How To:
1. Link to your tagger and post these rules.
2. Share 7 random facts about yourself
3. Tag 5 people at the end of your post and list their names (linking to them).
4. Let them know they’ve been tagged by leaving a comment at their Blogs
5. Have fun!

I am tagging:
Ginny of Just Get Floury
Lynn of Cookie Baker Lynn
Patricia of Technicolor Kitchen
Nic of Cherrapeno
Brilynn of Jumbo Empanadas

I hope you guys don't mind, I'm looking forward to learning new things about you!

And now for your trouble, I offer this wonderful Salmon Chowder by Ricardo. If you can get your hands on his magazine, you should, it’s gorgeous and full of wonderful recipes.

Salmon Chowder
Adapted from Ricardo, Volume 6, Number 2

2 carrots, peeled and sliced
½ of a red bell pepper, diced
1 red onion, thinly sliced
3 tbsp butter
3 tbsp flour
5 cups chicken broth
1 lb of potatoes, peeled and diced
1 cup of frozen corn kernels
1 lb of fresh salmon, without the skin, diced
½ cup of flat leaf parsley, chopped
salt and pepper to taste

In a large pot, cook carrots, bell pepper and onion in the butter. Add salt, pepper and flour, and mix well.

Add 2 cups of the chicken broth and bring to a boil stirring constantly. Add the rest of the broth, the potatoes and the corn kernels.

Bring to a boil and simmer for about 20 minutes or until potatoes are tender.

Turn off the heat, add salmon and parsley. Cover and let rest for 5 minutes, or just enough time for the salmon to cook. Add salt and pepper to taste.

Serve with a nice slice of no-knead bread.