Labor Day Montreal Film Festival Maybe

Filed under: General — Artflux at 4:33 pm on Friday, August 31, 2012

Untitled Algonquin 2012

My Swedish roommate Staffan is in Montréal as he’s going to be going to school there and just moved into a new apartment, so I was thinking about going over the Labor Day weekend to say hi.  The Montréal film festival is going on as well. I went last year with my friend Sebastian and had a great time seeing some really amazing films. So I might catch the megabus tonight for all nighter  to stay for a couple nights, but I’m busy working on new pictures so maybe I’ll just hang out here in Toronto where the temperature is sizzling hot today. 91F 31C Bye for now.

 

Sauteed Zucchini, Peppers, and Tomatoes

Filed under: Recipes — Artflux at 7:12 pm on Thursday, August 30, 2012

1 pound (about 2 medium) zucchini

2 yellow bell peppers

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 pint grape tomatoes

2 cloves garlic, smashed

Coarse salt and ground pepper

Directions

 

Quarter zucchini lengthwise; cut crosswise into 1/2-inch-thick pieces. Remove ribs and seeds from peppers; cut into 3/4-inch squares.

Heat olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add zucchini, peppers, tomatoes, and garlic; season with salt and pepper. Cook, tossing frequently, until vegetables are crisp-tender, 6 to 8 minutes

Island on tom thompson lake

Filed under: General — Artflux at 4:21 pm on Wednesday, August 29, 2012

We have beautiful clear skies here in Toronto today with cool temperatures. I did a 24 mile cycle ride along the lake. I’ve had a few days rest with a cold that’s been bothering me since I arrived back from camping at Algonquin. Tom Thompson was kind of boring lake. There was hardly any wildlife and it was totally silent without a single bird tweet. There was an island there that was interesting.  The site was difficult because is on a hill. So for the moment I am preoccupied with working on scans  for the web, watching the convention ughh and relaxing in the evenings.  Getting up the morning at 5 AM when it’s pitch dark is taking a while to get used to.

 

Water lilies

Filed under: General — Artflux at 7:55 pm on Monday, August 27, 2012

Grassy sand on goose island

Filed under: General — Artflux at 3:49 pm on Monday, August 27, 2012

Untitled (Sand and Grass) – Algonquin Provincial Park Archival Digital Print 11 x 14 inches

Caprese corn salad

Filed under: Recipes — Artflux at 5:47 pm on Sunday, August 26, 2012

Prep time: 10 minutesCook time: 20 minutes

INGREDIENTS

5 to 6 ears of sweet corn (still in husks, do not shuck)

1/4 cup olive oil

3 Tbsp sherry vinegar or white wine vinegar

Freshly ground black pepper

1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt

1/2 teaspoon sugar (optional)

3 cups roughly chopped, seeded tomatoes, or halved cherry or sun gold tomatoes

1/2 cup sliced scallions, including light green parts

8 ounces fresh mozzarella, cut into 1/4-inch cubes

1/2 cup to 1 cup of fresh basil leaves, thinly sliced

METHOD

1 Prepare your grill for high, direct heat. Place the corn cobs still in their husks directly on the grill. Cook for 15 minutes or so, turning every few minutes, so that the husks get completely charred. The corn will steam in the husks. There is no need to soak the corn in water first if the corn is fresh. If you want some char on the corn itself, remove a few of the outer corn husks first, so there is less of a protective layer around the corn. Once the husks are completely charred, remove from the grill and let cool for a few minutes. Then remove the husks and silk. To remove the corn from the cob, stand the shucked cob upright in shallow baking pan or rimmed dish. Hold the cob steady in one hand, and with the other hand use a sharp knife to make downward strokes on the cob, separating the kernels from the cob.

Alternatively, if you have frozen corn kernels, you can use them for this salad (4 cups). Just heat a large cast iron pan on medium high to high heat. Put a layer of frozen corn directly on the pan, do not defrost first. Once the corn has browned on one side, stir and let the corn brown some more. Then remove to cool.

2 In a small bowl, whisk together the olive oil, vinegar, salt, and freshly ground black pepper to taste. Adding sugar will depend on how sweet your corn or tomatoes are, so you may want to withhold sugar until the end and add to taste.

3 In a large bowl, toss together the corn, tomatoes, scallions, Mozzarella, and the dressing. Adjust seasonings to taste. Let sit for 10 minutes.

4 Right before serving, stir in the freshly sliced basil.

Yield: Serves 6 to 8.

Camping and Canoeing

Filed under: General — Artflux at 2:12 pm on Sunday, August 26, 2012

So we went camping in Algonquin provincial Park starting off at the Portage shop on Canoe Lake heading north to Tepee lake that lead to Little Oxtoungue River then into Tom Thompson where we spent the first couple of nights on a quiet Lake. The silence was almost deafening. With hardly any birds chirping however the weather was perfect aside from maybe 15 minutes of rain on one day. Then we headed back south to Smoke Lake over choppy waters to Ragged Lake where it was much more lively with lots of wildlife. We had an incredible site with the mountaintop be behind us. One of the funniest things that happened was when I wandered down to the waterfront to take some photos and there was an otter that started snorting at me he would dodge under the water and come back up again and snort snort at me and was trying to get me to leave because I discovered that his house was right behind me under the roots of a tree.  I’m back in Toronto away from the pleasant dreams of nature and the sounds of the forest. I miss sound the loons and I think we’re going to go again in September I can’t wait.

Morning bike ride

Filed under: General — Artflux at 2:15 pm on Wednesday, August 1, 2012

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I biked 26.2 miles this morning along Lake Ontario. It’s pretty cool now in the high 60’s F early morning; the light is really great and I love the tranquility. The sunn is coming up later now so it’s dark when I get up at 5AM.