Anime North 2011 - Days 2 & 3

In all the glory of working as a dealer at Anime North I was completely unable to look at the program. Seriously, didn't even hold one in my hands. Sure, I saw one as a customer flipped through it in front of me as we were trying to figure out how late the dealer's room was open on Saturday, but I didn't read anything in it other than the hours I had to work.

The second and third days were just as fun. I picked up a couple neat snacks (it's mandatory at an anime convention to try weird imported snacks), the best of which being these fish cookies that are made of the same stuff as ice cream cones and filled with bubbled chocolate. YUMMY! It's like a creamy Aero bar filling in a light crunchy crisp. So good! I just wish they had had more of the strawberry flavour because I'm weird and like fake strawberry... sue me.

I snagged a pair of funky headphones. The big over-the-ear kind that are pink with black stars. I think that they will cause even more people to think I'm trying to look like Ramona Flowers from Scott Pilgrim, but as I usually say I'd rather be Gert from Runaways any day. :D

Don't get me wrong, I liked Ramona at the beginning, but she got so frigid near the end of the series, where as Gert... well, she got frigid in a different way I guess.

I also grabbed a new duffle bag for the gym and a few items for my future Steampunk costume.

All in all it was a very good weekend. I'm tired and looking forward to a day off tomorrow, but it was well worth it. Anime North continues to be my favorite convention to work at!

Anime North 2011 - Day 1

Rather than going to Anime North as a fan I usually work in the dealers room for my respective employer. It is by far my favorite convention to work at and I'll tell you why! The people!

I love how friendly and entertaining all the people at this show are! They come in droves dressed in costumes from all sorts of anime, manga, games, TV, movies, comics, you can name any fandom genre and there will be cosplayers doing it up at Anime North.

Over the past few years the Steampunk movement has started to claim AN as one of their own. The number of dealers in fine leather goods, jewelry and random assorted items has grown exponentially even since last year! If you've ever thought of getting into this costuming hobby, I would definetly suggest checking out the dealers room at Anime North. I'm certain that they also have events and panels throughout the weekend regarding Steampunk, but that will have to wait for my next report.

Sauteed Leeks & Mushrooms

I put this together last winter while we were part of a veggie CSA run by some friends. At the beginning of the season, November, there was a lot of leeks... like a LOT of leeks... and my husband and I didn't know quite what to do with them. We didn't want to make soup, so one night I came up with this to go along with some steak.

Ingredients:
2 sliced leeks
3-4 cups sliced mushrooms (I suggest cremini as they are delicious)
1 (or more!) cloves garlic, minced
1 tbsp butter
1 tbsp white wine vinegar
salt and pepper to taste
oil for pan

Saute the sliced leeks in oiled pan on medium heat until bright green, add sliced mushrooms and keep cooking until moisture has diminished. Add butter, garlic and vinegar and mix well in pan, keep cooking until the leeks have become very soft. Give a taste and add more butter, salt or pepper to your liking.

How to kick things off?

It's been a very long time since I wrote anything to be posted on the internet. I used to have a Livejournal, I've tried notes on Facebook, but nothing really every seems to be a proper fit. So, on the recommendation of a friend I thought I'd give Blogger a try and here I am!

Here you will find my ramblings on books, comics, TV, movies and more. I'll (try to) entertain you with my adventures in cookery both with my own recipes and  those I find online and in my very very large library of cookbooks. As my profile states, I have written some reviews for a local book store, but here I know I will be able to put a little more of myself into what I write.

Hope you will all enjoy the ride! And feel free to comment or ask questions whenever you like!