Voiceless Wonder

Valentine's Day came late in the Stitt this year. I was sick for 2 weeks and then the boy wasn't feeling well so our annual feast was delayed by almost a month. We finally celebrated this evening.

This is our 10th year of our tradition so we decided to have a "Best Of" edition where we could choose what we wanted to be served from past menus, still serving different appetizers, main courses and a shared dessert.

I feasted on appetizers of Grilled Flatbread Bruschetta, Fried Goat Cheese and Mixed Green Salad with Balsamic Champagne Mustard Dressing. My main course was Rosemary Goat Cheese Stuffed Organic Chicken with a Wild Mushroom Sauce served with Spinach Pesto Tortellini.

For the boy, I prepared appetizers of Fried Crab Wonton Ravioli served with a Sweet Thai Chilli Sauce and Arugula, Avocado, Smoked Salmon and Toasted Hazelnut Salad with a Balsamic Champagne Mustard Dressing. His main course was Sesame Seared Tuna with Wasabi Ponzu Sauce served with Peas, Shallots and Prosciutto, and Orange Scented Almond Couscous.








Desert for the both of us was Choco-Hoto Pots served with whipped cream and fresh raspberries.




Everything as usual was decadent and delicious. We think next year we will drop the appetizers though and simply have different main courses and a shared dessert. It's simply too much food and we always have leftovers for days. I guess this means we are getting old!

Farfalle turned the big 1-3 today. He's definitely an old man now. He had a mass under his tongue and some moles removed a couple of weeks ago so he looks banged up but he's on the mend and back to almost his same old grumpy self. Everything was benign thankfully.

He celebrated his big day with a dinner of spare ribs and rice, a nice walk around the neighborhood and of course his gorilla. All in all not a bad birthday.

Love you little buddy! xoxo

The boy and I celebrated our annual Valentine's feast last night. This year was a little different than past years as I had to reveal my menu early so that my love could help me in the preparation. This saddened me as it was one more thing Rheumatoid Autoimmune Disease has taken away from me. I still enjoyed our little tradition with the man I love and that is the most important thing. One day I won't be able to cook at all anymore so I will enjoy every time I am still able to while I can.


Renzo as usual out did himself in making me a meal to remember. At his request, I skipped my Methotrexate and Arava so that I could safely drink alcohol. I am so glad I did. He prepared a delicious Strawberry Maragita to accompany my Southwest themed feast.


My appetizer was a flavourful Tortilla Soup.

My main course was Tequila Lime Chicken served with  Fresh Ranch Salsa and Queso Fresco served with Green Pablano Rice. All of it was delicious!






I, with Renzo's help, prepared him a (sorta) French themed meal. It was accompanied with a crisp Pinot Grigio.


His appetizer was a Blackberry, Arugula and Baby Spinach Salad in a Warm Bacon Red Onion Vinaigrette. The salad was also topped with juicy grape tomatoes, toasted pecans and crumbled goat cheese (I did not add the chicken as it was not a main course).




For his main course, I prepared Grilled Lamb Chops with a Pomegranate Port Reduction served with Roasted Asparagus and Three Cheese Mashed Cauliflower (I used cream cheese, cheddar and parmesan cheese. I also used the immersion blender to give it more of a whipped consistency).






For dessert we both enjoyed Ricotta Marscapone Chocolate Chip Cannoli. I think these were better than the ones we had in New York City made by the Cannoli King of Little Italy. 




The meal was wonderful! We now can't wait for next year's feast which we have decided will have a "Best Of" theme as it will be the 10th year of our Valentine tradition. 

Sadly our sweet Bazil passed away at 3pm today. She appears to have suffered an aneurysm or brain bleed and there was nothing that could be done to help her.

Bazil was the light of our life for 10 wonderful years. She came to us from the Humane Society when she was approximately 4 years old. She was a typical Jack Russell Terrier who loved to dig, bark and play fetch; she was also the sweetest dog you could ever meet. She never bared her teeth or even growled at any people. She was bossy with other dogs (especially Farfalle) but with humans she was so sweet and submissive. We couldn't have asked for a better girl.

Her last year was wrought with many health difficulties. She had severe arthritis in her hips, Cushings, diabetes, cataracts and glaucoma that left her in darkness for her last year. But she never let it show. She was still the happy little girl she had always been. To look at her, yes she looked old but you would never guess she was as sick as she was.

We miss her terribly. The loss to our household is one that will never be filled. She was our baby, our sweet little girl.

Rest in peace my sweet Bazil. I love you so very much and will never forget you.

Miss. Bazil is actually awake in this photo. She is blind but bright lights bother her so when the flash went off, she closed her eyes.

We are so thrilled she reached this milestone birthday. The vets told us last year she would never reach this day given her health difficulties. My girl showed them; she's a little fighter!

After a 1 year hiatus, our annual Valentine's Extravaganza tradition resumed this year. We quickly learned that our new kitchen is smaller than our old one, which complicated dinner preparation this year but we were finally eating by 10pm. We will adjust our usual plan next year to accommodate for the smaller space.


Renzo's meal started off with a flavorful Asparagus, Artichoke, Camembert, Caramelized Pear and Arugula salad followed a delightful Dover Sole Picatta paired with Roasted Brussel Sprouts, Caramelized Onions & Toasted Pistachios and Champagne Risotto. His meal was paired with a Sauvignon Blanc.

My meal started with a sweet French Onion Soup followed by a decadent Sauteed Chicken Breast in a Creamy Tarragon Sauce, Asparagus with Toasted Almonds and Risotto. As I unfortunately  am not allowed alcohol due to my RA meds, my meal was paired with San Pellagrino.



The meal ended with Chocolate Puff Pastry Croissants and tea.