My Saturday with Cannelle et Vanille

June 27th, 2012

I don’t have as much time for reading blogs as I would like but I have my favourites. One of them is Aran Goyoaga’s blog, Cannelle et Vanille – I discovered it several years ago when I was first figuring out my gluten-free/auto-immune diet and I’ve since spent a lot of time on there. I’ve made her recipes (delicious), drooled over her photos and soaked up her stories – I adore recipes that come with stories. And I want to LIVE in her photographs. I rarely comment, which is odd because I don’t usually have a problem sharing my thoughts (haha) and, for my part, I love receiving comments over here – but perhaps I just felt shy about it. Even though I had never met Aran in real life, over time I became certain that we would get along: that we would hang out if we lived nearby, or that she would come visit and love Montreal/Hudson and take pictures of my dog (haha just kidding… not really). It didn’t help that we were already friends on Twitter and she was so sweet and gracious (and likes a lot of the same music I do – a sure sign of get-along-ness).

So this past February, when I found out that the lovely Mayssam was bringing Aran to Montreal for a workshop… well. You can imagine my excitement. And slight panic. The week before the workshop I was so excited I forgot that I barely know how to use a camera properly. On Saturday morning I packed up a few props, our camera, some backup gluten-free crackers and Panda and we headed into town.

We arrived at the lovely, bright and airy SAT Foodlab at 9am – I invited Panda and Christian in for a quick hello (Panda may or may not have peed on the industrial entryway carpet – sorry SAT!) and hugged Mayssam and Aran because I just couldn’t help myself. I was so happy to be there.

My Saturday with Cannelle et Vanille

It was an AMAZING day. Aran shared how Cannelle et Vanille came to be, we all took turns introducing ourselves, and then Aran got to work on the first of many styling projects for the day. The ease with which she put a shot together was amazing to watch – like a true pro, she made something hard look incredibly easy. And delicious! I think my stomach grumbled all day, everything looked so tasty. Aran shared camera tips and demonstrated her process – from setup and styling to lighting strategies, bounce boards and photo editing. One key element that really stayed with me was to decide what story you want to tell with your photograph. Take the time to shape the mood you’re going for and the rest will fall into place.

The talented chefs at Foodlab prepared a gorgeous lunch for everyone and were on hand all day to help – it really felt like an amazing day at camp. Everyone was happy to be there, pitch in, learn and share. Aran styled a beautiful salad of shaved fennel, fava beans and quail eggs, a gorgeous (and gluten free!) trifle that I wanted to devour and a tray of luscious roasted tomatoes. I was in heaven.

My Saturday with Cannelle et Vanille

That afternoon, it was time for us to try our hand at what Aran does so well – it was the part of the day I was most nervous about. There was a too-great abundance of cool props and beautiful food, and I was almost frozen with indecision and uncertainty. A beautiful piece of fabric caught my eye, and then a plate, and a fork. I started fiddling with radishes, sprigs of thyme, and a strand of cherry tomatoes. It wasn’t bad. I played with my camera settings but I could tell they were wrong; although I knew what I wanted my shot to look like, I wasn’t sure how to get there. I raised my hand and Aran came over. She looked at my setup and said – it’s good (huge sigh of relief), but why so much stuff? Look how beautiful these tomatoes are. Just make it all about the tomatoes.

She was so right. We cleared out the radishes and thyme and put the tomatoes front and center – then Aran scattered a few herb sprigs, artfully crushed up some crumbs and lo and behold, it became a beautiful shot of true simplicity. Then she helped me find the sweet spot in my camera, and here’s what I came up with. It’s my Anile’s-best-try-mostly-helped-by-Aran shot.

My Saturday with Cannelle et Vanille

Another aspect of the workshop that I really enjoyed and appreciated was meeting and befriending a whole whack of talented, sweet and funny women who were just as pleased as I was to be there – it’s been so much fun to get to know them and keep in touch with them. As for Aran, she was everything I thought she’d be and more – sweet, funny, beautiful, incredibly generous and humble, and just a joy to be around. I soaked up as much as I could that day and am still energized by it over a week later. I know that each person can take away something different from the same experience but after many months of chronic illness and the compromises that come with that, this day was really memorable for me and truly kicked off this summer in the best way possible.

A huge, special thank-you to the wonderful and sweet Mayssam Samaha who orchestrated the entire weekend from beginning to end, and whom I was so happy to finally get to meet in person. This week I’ll be making some gluten-free strawberry trifle and getting to know a few more settings on our camera. Thank-you Aran :)

Happiness Is…

April 27th, 2012

Celebrating the demise of last year’s taxes. Fennel soup and smoked mackerel with celery root and bacon, at Lawrence. Yum. Have a great weekend everybody!

Happiness Is... post-tax snacks

Happiness Is…

February 10th, 2012

A fresh haircut after too many months! Merci Chez Snips!! Have a wonderful weekend everybody!

Happiness Is... a fresh haircut

Le Souk C’est Chic

December 14th, 2011

Last weekend was a busy one – visits with family, visits with friends, errands, and a few spectacular craft shows: Puces Pop and Souk@SAT.

After exchanging some Christmas cookies and helping my mom get her Christmas tree, then grabbing a little brunch at L’Avenue, we headed over to Puces Pop to visit my dear friend Bess at her English Muffin kiosk. It was, as usual, a bit of a mad fun-house and it was great to see that things was humming! Her prints and gorgeous calendar were out for all to see and she had even made a special little spot on her table for the first printed issue of Pure Green Magazine. Unfortunately, we were running short on time and I also wanted to pay a visit to my dear friend Rachel who was working over at Souk, so we weren’t able to do the full Puces Pop tour I’m accustomed to. (If I had known that Souk was open until 9pm, we definitely would have lingered for longer – something to keep in mind for next time.)

It was my first time at Souk@SAT, although not for lack of trying in the past. We arrived after nightfall and it was lovely – from the warm moody lighting and identical display tables that were grouped by theme to the smooth check-out, it felt like a carefully thought out, well-oiled machine. Since I last mentioned Rachel and her fabulous jewellery studio Brazen Design, she’s been really busy. She partnered up with her real-life partner Aaron and together they set up a totally new studio called Blisscraft&Brazen. Talent runs deep in that family! Their table was beautiful – we scooped up some gorgeous salad servers and a perfect shallow little salt dish. We had to hold ourselves back from the beautiful jewellery, tealight holders, bookmarks, necklace trees and holiday ornaments… gotta leave something for next time! To see a full set of Souk photos, check out the lovely and talented Rosy Outlook’s great collection here.

We wandered around the tables, admiring all the work and sampling delicious wares (hello, chocolate-orange-infused caramel!) and stumbled upon what was definitely my most memorable find of the day: Kimberly Fletcher. I spent a full 15 minutes oohing and aahing over her gorgeous work before I realized that money wasn’t going to fall out of the ceiling and allow me to buy everything on her table. Kimberly explained that she had recently struck out on her own after working for other designers for years – and with good reason. I loved every piece, but was particularly smitten with her mini messenger bag and her leather-and-canvas bag from her summer collection. I’m hoping I can save up for one of my own someday. Truly beautiful work, Kimberly!

Kimberly Fletcher

Kimberly Fletcher - mini messenger bag

I wish that was my hand… sigh.

 

 

Montreal, as seen by A Little Relish

November 14th, 2011

I’m a born and bred Montrealer. I love this town. I come from an era where Mile End was mostly inhabited by Hasidics and immigrants (including my family). I remember when Boulevard St-Laurent was populated with mom-and-pop shops, when the Champlain bridge had tollbooths, when there was no blue metro line, when Île-Ste-Hélène had an aquarium, when Westmount had a movie theater. Montreal’s come a long way since then – some good, some bad. Thankfully, some things never change… St-Viateur Bagel is still the same, albeit with a few more flavoured cream cheeses in their fridge.

Montreal is my favourite. It is constantly re-inventing itself: welcoming new people, saying goodbye to others, eternally broke and falling apart, yet always a wellspring of thriving artistic and cultural expression.  I love it when people come here and fall in love with its beauty and disparities. Chantelle Grady is a talented stylist and graphic designer who recent relocated to Montreal from Brisbane; she is also the author of A Little Relish, a charming online mag that allows her to combine her skills and express her love of all things food (and allows me to continue to culture my obsession for all things food – thank-you, Chantelle).

A Little Relish - Montreal

Last night I was working late and Chantelle tweeted that her new issue was out. I had been looking forward to it, because this issue is all about Montreal – and I was not disappointed. From her favourite café roundups to the markets to a few quintessential Montreal must-eats, her photography and design capture this amazing city wonderfully. There are recipes I can’t wait to try (hello, roasted tomato soup!), and I wasn’t surprised in the least to see my dear friend Marie-Ève featured beautifully and representin’!

A Little Relish - Montreal

A Little Relish - Montreal

One thing I’ve noticed about Montreal tributes and guides is that some hoods like NDG tends to fall to the wayside a little too often… Perhaps I’ll have to put my own rudimentary tribute together one day.

All in all, a beautiful tribute to your new hometown, Chantelle! I can really appreciate how much work you put into A Little Relish – it’s beautiful, and a treat to read. Looking forward to the next issue… with relish.