Shakespeare in the Park: The Taming of the Shrew, 2012 Montreal (July 11th -Aug 5th)

Repercution theater is a people’s theater: a much loved tradition in Montreal, which literary brings Shakespeare to about twenty parks through the city over three weeks in late July/early August.  As the company’s website reads, the theater’s mission is “[T]o deliver professional, classically based, visually dynamic theater that is accessible to all, regardless of income, culture, language, age or education… reaching new audiences and inspiring in them, a lifelong love of theater.”

Each year one of Shakespeare’s romantic comedies is chosen and played out in makeshift stages and the “back-scene” tents, while players with full customs and makeup sometimes deliberately modify parts of the script and make it even funnier.  They also fool around and interact with audience before, during and after the show.  Read the rest of this entry »


Shirazi Salad with everything

What is renown among Iranians everywhere as “salad-e Shirazi” is, in fact, a common and popular green salad everywhere in Iran.  It is simply considered more authentic when made by a Shirazi or consumed in Shiraz.

It is refreshing, tasty and goes with almost all types of Iranian dish, especially with mixed-rice verities, such as cabbage-mixed polow.

Ingredients: It only takes three vegetables to make it: Read the rest of this entry »


My baby vegetables

Just wanted to share the joy of watching these baby vegetables growing– by obvious inches really, every day! My tomatoes are plenty, but they will look much prettier when they turn red – soon, vey soon!


Cherry jam (whole fruit)

My favorite type of jam, made from any type of fruit, is the ones made with whole or cut fruits, rather than crushed fruits with lots of jelly-like pectin in them. And cherry jam, or morabaay albaaloo as we call it Persian, is on the very top of my list followed by quince and carrot. My sister has a couple of happy cherry trees in her yard providing us all with our yearly consumption of home-made cherry jam. Here is how we make it, in traditional way, with N. Daryabandari’s useful tips and recipe:

Ingredients: Cherries, 1 kg, pitted and washed. Sugar 1kg.

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Free fun, fantastic food at Montreal’s ‘Just for Laughs’ Festival

Montreal’s “juste pour rire” Festivals is the “biggest and best comedy festival in the world” and it is one of the summer events among many that gives people all the more reason to get out and enjoy the warm weather: indoor and outdoor free shows, live music, and beer all on enclosed streets packed with wanderers of all ages and colors.

For 2012, which marks the festival’s 30th anniversary, taking place in the Quartier des Spectacles, in downtown Montreal, from July 12 to 29, a food venue is arranged called “souk”, making the event tastier than ever before! Here is my photo report of the souk opening on July 14. Here is a good article about this year “foodie” part of the event. But first, see my report of it:)

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Rigatoni & Broccoli

I had an Italian friend who cooked me this delicious side dish once while she was staying with me in Montreal. I don’t usually make my guests cook for me but she insisted!

Ingredients (serving four):  Broccoli, 1 crown. Rigatoni pasta, one pack (about 4 cups, or half a kilo) Garlic, 4 cloves, finely chopped.  Olive oil, 3 tbsp. Salt and water. Parmesan cheese, 2 tbsp., grated (optional).

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Moment photography23

Red wing by St. Lawrence River, Montreal


Fresh lime drink (sharbat)

In Iran, a hugely popular summer drink is “sharbat” often made from extracts of aromatic flowers and herbs (called aragh) or fruit juice. Sharbat is usually slightly sweetened, sometimes diluted with water, and always mixed with ice cubes. In a hot summer day when you visit a friend or family the first thing they would do is hand you a refreshing nice glass of sharbat – one type of or another.

Fresh lime juice sharbat is among the most popular in Iran, because unlike flower extracts, lime is easily found throughout the country. It is popular also because lime has an amazing quality to quench your thirst in addition to having so many health benefits. Here is how you prepare it (quite similar to lemonade except you use lime instead of lemon):

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Happy Canada Day!

May affordable healthcare & education persist, job opportunities & humanitarian values abound. May you be saved from Conservatives!

Happy birthday Canada! Joyeux anniversaire Canada!

More pictures from Point Claire Village’s park follow: Read the rest of this entry »