Calamari, Zucchini, and Chocolate Milk

Last night I had dinner with Ma here in Ottawa. In town for a business conference, she was mostly kept busy but did have time to get some food with her eldest. She had decided that she would like to return to Mamma Grazzi’s, an Italian place in the market where we had gone a year and a half ago after she ran the 10 km race during Ottawa Race Weekend 2006.

Of course I love Italian food and was happy to go to such a fine establishment. There are two things that I really love about Italian food: bruschetta and calamari. I especially love it when calamari is served unbattered and not fried, just as Mamma Grazzi’s does. As with my previous visit I had the calamari to start and it was nothing short of fantastic. I offered to share but the offer was declined, mysteriously.

Yesterday Muis and I went to the Superstore at lunch–me to get buns for my chilli and him to get some lunch. We’ve recently been walking there, using a path forged by a mysterious “bushman” who we believe works at QNX. On our return trek yesterday we noticed this wild zucchini plant! We’ve decided to keep an eye on it to potentially harvest the vegetable when the time is right, assuming an animal doesn’t get at it before we do.

Today’s trip to the Superstore was less innocent; we went primarily to purchase chocolate milk. In our trip yesterday we noticed that the 4 litre bags of chocolate milk were on a Real Price Drop to only $3.88, better than $1 per litre. I had recently declared that I must stop buying and drinking chocolate milk, as my consumption levels of the nectar are relatively high, but I was easily persuaded to ignore that declaration.

A large reason for this turn on my previous wishes was the special cup that I now have for consuming chocolate milk. Pictured above and to the left it is what it appears to be: a rocket ship. What isn’t evident from the photos is that the straw provided with the rocket ship is a twisty straw. This special cup takes the chocolate milk enjoyment to new heights, as can be seen in both of these photos.