2013/06/04

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  Musée des Beaux-Arts de Montréal / Montreal Museum of Fine Arts – 2013-06-03
  Scènes de Montréal – Montreal Scenes
  

  Busy

  Untll the middle of the month, I have few days without some sort of activity (mostly medical). This is somewhat untimely because it prevents me from putting some time on a decision about what to do after the July 15 armageddon. All I know is that if I move, I’ll most likely have to change my username and finding another one is not obvious, especially that I’d like to give it a French [language] aroma, so to speak. And I can’t ‘test drive’ WordPress before I open an account there so…

  

  Cycles

  Last weekend was held the annual Féria du vélo. Friday night was the night tour. On Sunday, the regular tour garnered 26 000 cyclists of all ages. It started in 1984 or 1985, I don’t remember, but I did it about 6 or 7 times back then. This year, they did a series of [humorous] ads going a contrario to some well known interdictions: “No antidoping tests required”, “Legal driving age is abolished” and “It is recommended to drink on the road”. They are available on the site liked above but ‘en français’ only. I’m sure it’s no accident that the one about doping is themed on the colors of the “maillot jaune”, which we’ve seen so many times Lance Armstrong wearing.

  Some weeks ago, according to Mikael Colville-Andersen, considered the “Pope of urban cycling” and the Copenhagenize firm, Montreal would be the 11th best cycling city in the world, and the only one from North America in its top 20 list. Positive pluses included the immense popularity of the BIXI, and the consultative commitee joining at the same table all those involved with cyclinig. Montreal was however warned that it could be surpassed by other North American cities should it stay sit on its steak (my words).

  

  Vroom Vroom Bimbo!

  Next weekend is the F1 (Formula One) race on Ile Notre-Dame. In my area, or Little Italy’s rather, Boulevard St-Laurent will be closed to traffic. As each year, they’ll be showing dream cars (for those who can’t afford them. and other stuff related to Italy). There may be a bimbo or two here and there, but these latest are rather seen by the stockpile on Crescent Street downtown, which is also closed for the event. They may find it a little fresh in their small attire, the weather channel predicting maximums of 17°C for Saturday, with rain, and 21°C for Sunday.

  I don’t know why Boulevard St-Laurent is named such because it has nothing of a boulevard. Maybe because it used to be some kind of border between French and Anglo Montreal? It’s also the “0″ marker for street numbers going eastbound and westbound.

  

  Roller coasters

  Weather is stlll going as it has been for quite some time now. Drastic changes in little time. Last week, it was 32°C (38 or 39 with the humidex) and this week down to 17, or maybe 20 if we’re lucky. We get to never know what to wear. Can be quite cold in the morning, then more seasonal in mid-day. We have lots of wind, and some parts of the province have received so much rain (not in Montreal) that they are all flooded. Crazy weather. But I’ve mentioned this before, and apparently we’re certainly not the only ones having to cope with this.

  

  Da food section

  If Americans have invented Tex-Mex, I have just invented Ital-Mex. Not by sheer extraordinary creativity, but simply by bare necessity. The first necessity being to put something in my stomach, the others having to do with getting rid of a few items which I had leftovers of, namely flour tortillas, a piece of Monterey Jack cheese and a rapidly saying goodbye red bell pepper. They weren’t leftovers but I also had in the fridge some dried San Marzano tomatoes (why in the fridge? search me!) and kalamata pitted olives.

  They all ended up of course in another (it’s my third in five days) quesadilla. Or maybe more a tortizza, or a quesadizza, while we’re at it. I had Monterey Jack for about 80% of my needs. I had also a bigger leftover of mozarella which I used to fill the remaining 20%, adding another Italian touch to its Ital-Mex nature. I dry heated the tomatoes a bit in a pan to render them more soft, a trick I learned about using hard-shell dried Mexican peppers, then I cut them in bits and pieces. I added the olives, sliced, and the bell peppers cut in small cubes and also heated beforehand in a pan. A drizzle of hot olive oil (ok more than a drizzle, it’s Ital-MEX after all) topped everything before depositing the top tortilla. Luckily, I also had a can of San Pellegrino aranciata rossa (blood orange soda) which replaced the wine I have been estranged from by naughty doctors.

  

  

  • 20:18
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