Is this a joke?

We saw this a couple of months ago in the Guy-Concordia area and were left wondering whether it was real or not, or whether it was part of a clue in a scavenger hunt or something similar.

If it is real, I would love to know when this poor person bought their encyclopaedia, why they think it is still worth $1900, and whether they ever received any calls of interest as a result of this sign. I guess *I* could just call the number on the sign.....

That which I had to leave behind

 I recently moved house and whilst it was a happy move there were two special things I knew I would miss about my apartment. The first is this wall decal that I installed on the wide, white expanse of hallway. I don't really have much of a knack for decorating but this suited the space perfectly and visitors would always comment on it. I loved being able to see the world every day

 

Luckily, the new tenant loved the decal as much as I do, and asked me to leave it on the wall. The world goes on.......

And the second thing?

 My beautiful black and white checked kitchen floors, And, come to think of it, the huge kitchen window that would allow me to sit inside, even on the coldest Montreal afternoon, and enjoy the sunshine!

Foccacia (or, adventures in using yeast for the first time!)

 I love to bake, however, I usually bake sweet treats. Montreal has so many amazing bakeries (Boulangerie Guillaume is my current favourite) that it seems hard to justify sweating over a mountain of dough when you can pick up the best olive fougasse you have ever tasted for $2.95, just down the street! And, let's face it, I think most of us are a little wary of working with yeast - or is it just me? But whilst French style breads are well covered, I have yet to find somewhere that makes a trule awesome focaccia. I was browsing for some inspiration for a recent dinner party and this lemon and sea salt focaccia caught my eye, so I decided to suck it up, buy some yeast, and cross my fingers that the extreme heat and humidity would help, not hinder, the proving process.

Before

After

 

And, the finished product! 

It was incredibly delicious and I was thankful I had guests coming around - possibly the only thing that kept  me from eating a whole slab. The lemon, sea salt and rosemary combination is a classic and it works well here too, especially with the olive oil. Ok, so I might have been a bit heavy-handed with the Sel Gris de Guérande (one of the few souvenirs I brought back from Paris) and next time I would amp up the rosemary, but what struck me about this recipe is how adaptable it is. Want a different herb combination - go ahead! Want to try a grape and chocolate studded focaccia - easy!

If you are afraid of yeast, don't be. Try this over the long weekend and let me know how it goes!