turn the beet around

for a recent girls night (read: wine, food, and a what not to wear marathon), we decided to ban refined sugars. except for the wine, of course. ahem.

since i'm the dessert/confections side of the business, and my mind is permanently in sugar mode, this was a little bit of a challenge for me. then i remembered beets. and how deliciously sweet they are. combine that with my love of goats cheese, maple walnuts, and cranberries, and ta-da!

feeling fruity

i'm back! deepest apologies for my m.i.a.ness lately . . . we've been busy working on plans for the next phase of our business. i can't say too much right now, but stay tuned for sneak peeks of our big summer adventure!

in the meantime, i thought i'd share my breakfast with you. well . . . pictures of my breakfast, since it's long gone. enjoy!

photoshopped dessert, anyone?

just had to share this stop-motion video demonstrating how one might bake some "lovely butter cookies" using photoshop cook. if only it worked that way!

Adobe Photoshop Cook from Lait Noir on Vimeo.

artsy fartsy update

organizers getting ready for the hoard (photo credit ivan petrov)

over 150 artworks were donated for the HERE FOR THERE / ARTISTS FOR HAITI show at la petite mort gallery in ottawa, and the 450 people who crammed into the gallery donated over $12,500 for haiti relief efforts. with the federal government matching their donations, a total of over $25,000 was raised. i was grateful for the opportunity to donate a painting for the show, and thrilled that it was scooped up "in about 2 seconds" (according to christina at the gallery)!


organizer michael zavaky (centre) and owner/curator guy berube (right) (photo credit anne tessier)


a sample of the art works up for grabs (photo credit ivan petrov)


a heartfelt thank you to the artists who donated their works (photo credit ivan petrov)


gallery guests deciding which pieces to buy (photo credit ivan petrov)


my couple of losers painting on display front and centre! (photo credit ivan petrov)

the painting i donated is one of my "riverdale" series, a reflection of my love for pop art.


a couple of losers, sold at la petite mort gallery

that my painting sold has been encouraging. i haven't had much time or energy to pick up a paint brush since we moved to niagara and started our own business. i've been painting and practicing art since i was 4 years old and i attended my first art class in the basement of a church. throughout school and university, i kept at it (in addition to my psychology degree, i have a minor in visual arts), and had my first public exhibition at la petite mort gallery in june of 2008.

because it's so easy for work to take over when you run your own business, i've decided to schedule a few hours each week that will be devoted to painting up in my makeshift studio (slash home office slash guest room slash home gym..). in addition to our business with peapod cuisine, i'm hoping to drum up some commissions for original artworks and get my paintings out into our new community.


mr potato head (sold at la petite mort gallery, ottawa)


the kids, gift my my dad's 70th birthday


a cherry on top, gift for adam's parents' gelato shop "jillarty" in swan hill, australia

you can see the rest of my portfolio here. any feedback you have is appreciated - i am always trying to improve my painting skills and love to explore new subject matter.

now, back to the studio...

seedy saturday

now that we have a car at our disposal 24 hours a day (instead of the rentals we've been using sporadically for the last 7 months), we can actually get out and see what our new surroundings have to offer.

ever since the date for Seedy Saturday was announced a few months ago, i had it on our calendar as a must! as we're planning an ambitious veggie patch and herb garden for the spring, we were excited to see what organizer Linda Crago (of tree and twig heirloom vegetable farm) and the other vendors had to offer.





apparently we weren't the only ones! the balls falls conservation area was packed when we arrived at the beginning of the day, and all were enjoying the complementary coffee and delicious treats provided by vendors and volunteers.

although we couldn't stick around for the scheduled talks, we made the most of our drive out to balls falls by scooping up some seeds and catalogues from the vendors, as well as information on organic gardening and eco-friendly lawn care. now if only the snow would melt so we can get on with our growing!

moroccan adventures, pt. 3

we're finishing off our moroccan adventures with a few more photos of everyday life in Fez, Essaouira, and the lower Atlas mountains. with the snow coming down outside, looking through all of these sun drenched images has been a nice escape.

note to self: don't look out the window for at least a couple more months.