Ottawa Visit Resources

Here are some resources I wanted to remember for my next trip through Ottawa:

Plant Bath – outdoor water fountains for kids of all ages. Charlotte stood for the first time here (on the concrete!!!). Great place to cool off.

Cosmic Adventures – a play center that is heaven for toddlers and kids.

Boomerang Kids - consignment store with toys and clothes.

Kijiji – Active classifieds website with great kids stuff.

Roasted Fish with Fennel and Red Onion

A nice french meal in France that Bean loved.

2 small fennel bulbs cut into 1/2 inch wedges
1 large red onion cut into 1/2 inch wedges
6 cloves garlic
1 cup cherry or grape tomatoes
1/2 bunch fresh thyme sprigs
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
2 tsp olive oild
fish (salmon – we used cabillaud)

Oven to 400 F. Place veggies in roasting pan with salt and pepper, thyme and oil and toss to coat. Bake 20 mins. Rinse fish, pat dry. Move veggies to side, put in fish. I coated the fish with olive oil and s and p. Return to oven to roast for a further 10-12 minutes.

Large Size Shoes in Paris

Now I can shop for shoes in Paris too! I just stumbled across Sagone, which specialises in small and large size shoes for women and men. As luck would have it, they have a shop around the corner from K&D’s at Ternes.

Luxembourg Gardens and Jardin d’Acclamation

We arrived safe and sound in Paris two days ago and the worst of jet lag seems to be behind us. The weather is lovely and cool here (it’s late July!). I even had to buy a pair of jeans as I was a bit too cool.

Our first day we headed to the Luxembourg Gardens. Bean loved the ducks in the pond (and the croissant from Gerard Mulot). We stumbled across a fantastic play area for kids. Entrance fees area about 2,60 for adults and 1,60 for children (sorry can’t remember exact sums). I was a bit annoyed at the charge but as soon as we started to play, the fee seemed well worth it. It’s a very clean facility with great climbing structures and a huge sandbox. Bean loved the spinning red wheel and the sand pit most.http://heatherhopkins.wordpress.com/wp-admin/post-new.php

Today we were at Parc Monceau in the 8th (minutes from D and K’s flat). There’s a lovely big sandbox and two climbing structures. Nice layout and lots of shade. There’s also a second sand pit by the duck pond that is really sweet. There were even some baby ducks and some mating pigeons. The birds get more action in Paris too…

After nap, we headed to Jardin d’Acclimmation. Closest metro is Sablons – clearly marked from station (ligne 1). There’s also a cute train from Porte de Maillot. Crazy amusement park hell at the entrance but at the back there’s a sweet zoo with pigs, chickens, vaches, donkeys, a white swan and loads of goats and sheep. Bean LOVED the pigs!

There’s also a fantastic water area with things that spray water. But bring sunscreen. There’s no shade in sight.

We finished the with an apperatif and then came home for girolles fried in butter with pasta, butter and parmesan. Bean loved the “champignons”!

Sesame Crunch Tofu

One of Charlotte’s favourite dishes (courtesy of didi emmons).

drain and put in cloth

• 1 16 oz carton firm tofu, chop into 1 inch square pieces.

Marinade

• 2 tbsp soy sauce
• 1 tbsp toasted sesame oil
• 1 tbsp peeled minced ginger
• 1 tbsp minced garlic

marinade tofu for one hour, up to 24.

Mix:

• 1/2 cup all purpose flour and
• 2 tbsp toasted sesame seeds

Fry the tofu in canola oil until golden brown on at least 2 sides (4-5 mins per side). Serve with rice, pour reserved marinade over tofu.

Toddler Recipe – Ratatouille

In preparation for a trip to the Caribbean this Christmas, I am posting recipes for a few of Bean’s favourite foods. Today, Ratatouille. I got the recipe from Annabel Karmel and added corn

• 2 tbs olive oild
• 1 red onion (i used white)
• 1 garlic clove (i used 2)
• 1 small red pepper and one small green seeded and diced
• 1 courgette trimmed and diced
• 14oz can chopped tomatoes
• pinch of sugar
• 1 tsp red wine vinegar
• s&p

Heat oil in large saucepan. cook oion and garlic 1-2 mins. Add peppers and courgette cook 4-5 mins. Add aubergine and cook 5 mins. Stir in tomatoes sugar and red wine vinegar, bring to simmer and then cook 10 min.

I served it once on it’s own and once over pasta with some grated Parmesan cheese. Yum.

Paddling Pool in Meguro

Today we raced out after Bean’s nap to go swimming in Meguro. There is a 25 m indoor pool, a 50 m outdoor pool and a paddling pool for toddlers. It costs 200 yen (about 2$) to get into the big pool and 100 yen to get into the paddling pool. One attendant is free with a child, so for Bean, Kook and me it was 200 yen. There’s a lovely slide and there are two parts depths in the pool. Bean was able to crawl around in the shallow area and could stand in the deep area.

Sorry no pics as I forgot my camera at a friend’s place. But here is a link to details on the pool…

http://www.city.meguro.tokyo.jp/english/monthly_meguro/year2006/july/20060706.htm

Bean’s Favourite Foods

We are preparing for a trip home and so I need to make note of and share our little Bean’s favourite foods.

Miso Soup – We make the dashi using Bonito flakes and Kombu and cook carrots, pumpkin, potato, zucchini and onion to cook in the broth. At the end, add the miso paste, tofu and seaweed.

Grilled fish- miso cod, sea bream (tai), cod (tara), sea bass (suzuki).

Fish fingers in cornflakes (not Japanese, but yummy) – marinate the fish in lemon juice, oil and chopped shallot, dip in egg and milk, then cornflakes. Fry in butter (don’t overcook). She likes the chopped into small pieces.

Pumpkin, broccoli, carrot and zucchini in a cheese sauce (melt butter, add flour, fry then add cheese).

Quinoa and pumpkin balls – steam pumpkin (and carrot), fry onions and garlic, add to quinoa with some tofu. Make balls for finger food (can be baked to harden the balls).

Brown rice with hijiki seaweed, green onions, carrot and fried tofu simmered in dashi.

Edamame

Shimoda Tokyo Getaway With Kids

We went to Shimoda this weekend, a beach area just 2 and half hours south of Tokyo. We took the Superview Odoriko which has a play area for kids. (Get your ticket for a seat in car 9 or 10 (green car)). The play area is in car 10. It is a bit run down but great for kids to run around and have space to move. There’s also a nursing room and a changing table.

We stayed at the Sakuraya Pension in Shirahama. The owner is fantastic and speaks perfect English. He had loads of suggestions for us on what to do during our stay and was incredibly kind to us. The pension is up a steep hill. We took a taxi from the station (10 minutes and about 2000 yen). The pension was 5800 yen a night per person including breakfast.

Everywhere we ate we had tatami mat seating which is much easier for kids and they staff always came out to entertain our bean and also gave us a bowl and spoon for her to use.

We spent Saturday morning on the beach and our bean slept 2 hours! We swam and lay in the sun and relaxed. Heaven. The water was too cold for her but we enjoyed it. The Japanese think we’re crazy to go swimming already. We were there in late June and the season doesn’t start until mid-July. Be warned – it’s a short season – August the waters are full of jellyfish!

We went for a nice walk to an old lighthouse. A nice 2-3 hour walk. Not rigourous and well marked. Not stroller friendly but easy for a confident walker or a baby in a carrier

Banana Holder Japan

When we moved to Tokyo, we received a book of useless inventions from Japan. We came across our very own useless invention at the grocery store recently – a plastic banana holder. Somehow the item seems a bit rude…