Beaches International Jazz Festival

Beaches Jazz Festival 2014, Kiku Corner

I played the violin in my school’s various orchestras from grades 6-10. In grade 10, we played a few songs at Jazz Night where we dressed in black, and the girls would wear a scarf and the guys would wear a tie. Each music group wore a differently coloured accessory…I think the band wore red, […]

Happy Hour: Raspberry Shrub

Raspberry Shrub, Kiku Corner

Shrubs, or drinking vinegars (they taste better than they sound!), are acidulated fruit syrups. Back in the day, there were no refrigerators to help preserve fresh fruit for longer than a day or two. Adding the sugar draws out the juices of the fruit via osmosis, and traditionally, the mixture would be left to ferment […]

The Year in Books: August

The Year in Books: August, Kiku Corner

In July I read How a Second Grader Beats Wall Street by Allan S. Roth. It was easy to read but a lot of the information was basic investing stuff. Great for beginners (or second-graders), but I feel I’ve passed that point. I would still recommend it to friends that want to learn about investing. […]

Summertime is…Visiting a Pick-Your-Own Farm!

Summer Is...Pick Your Own at Whittamore's Farm, Kiku Corner

When we were kids and still living in Canada, our mom would take us to pick-your-own farms. I loved gorging on fresh berries still warm from the sun. Then during summers in Germany, we would pick cherries from our uncle’s tree, wild boysenberries in the hedgerows, and wild yellow plums in the fields. On a […]

Flavoured Waters: Cucumber Mint Water

If you ever get tired of plain water (ooh how fancy you are, that fresh clean water is too boring!), try flavouring it with cut up fruits, vegetables and herbs. In this case, we added sliced cucumbers and fresh mint.