By Katie Daubs Feature Writer Fri., Sept. 21, 2018 All Toronto homes have stories, and they usually come and go with the people who live there. Unless someone thinks to hide a few secrets. Jenny Reich and her family found the time capsule when they renovated their Atlas Ave. home last year. Contractors moved a fireplace on the second floor, and tucked in behind, out of reach of the flames, was an envelope of letters, receipts and postcards. It wasn’t the only discovery she made. A few months later she learned that a family down the street was in the midst of creating their own message to the future, choosing just the right Archie comic and photos for a time capsule of their own. Someday, a future resident might move a wall and inadvertently discover how much a cucumber cost in 2018, and maybe that person will stop and think about the lives that came before. One of the contractors who found the envelope tucked behind the fireplace in Reich’s … [Read more...] about A coincidence of timing? On one Toronto street a family unearths a time capsule — just as their neighbours plant one
Sharpen your knife
Kitchen stories: Why do so many chefs have tattoos?
Follow our new CNA LIFESTYLE page on Facebook for more dining stories and videosSINGAPORE: If you’re dining at a restaurant and you glance into its kitchen, chances are, amidst the flurry of pots, pans and plates, you’ll see a heavily inked arm here and a full sleeve there – grayscale patterns on skin weaving through the method and madness.Chefs are known for being visual artists when it comes to what’s on the plate, but from the empirical evidence, it certainly seems like they enjoy making canvases of their bodies, too.Why do so many of them have an affinity with tattoo art? Kenneth Foong, head chef at Cure, feels it has to do with the profession’s particular brand of emotion and expression. "I think chefs tend to be the kind of people who wear their hearts on their sleeves – quite literally," he said.It helps that "in our working environment, people don’t judge that much," said Jeremmy Chiam of Le Binchotan. … [Read more...] about Kitchen stories: Why do so many chefs have tattoos?
Man tries to steal bike, gets beaten up instead in Kensington Market area
By Ilya Bañares Staff Reporter Thu., May 24, 2018 A man who tried to steal a bike in the Kensington Market area was sent to hospital instead after a confrontation with the owner, police say. A 36-year-old man tried to steal a bicycle on Dundas St. W., near Bathurst St. at around 2:30 a.m. Thursday, and pulled out a knife when the bike’s owner confronted him, police said. The bike owner defended himself with a knife sharpening rod, injuring the attacker, Toronto police said. The suspect was sent to hospital with minor injuries and is in police custody. The bike owner sustained minor hand injuries. The suspect faces charges of attempted theft, assault with a weapon and threatening death, police said. Article Continued Below He will appear in court at Old City Hall on Thursday morning. TOP STORIES, DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX. NEW NEWSLETTER HEADLINES SIGN UP … [Read more...] about Man tries to steal bike, gets beaten up instead in Kensington Market area
Smarter ways to open a stuck jar lid
By Jonathan Forani Special to the Star Wed., Feb. 28, 2018 Few kitchen complications plague the single person more than a stuck jar lid. It’s a rule universally known, that no matter how tight the lid, a second person will always be able to pop the top, and mock “you loosened it.” But without a partner to tempt the sarcasm fates, you may instead find yourself tempted instead to just to smash the jar to pieces and spoon out the contents from shards of glass. I’m surprised I didn’t resort to that dangerous method with a jar of red beets that until this week was left unopened for two years. Read more: How to sharpen a knife with household objects Article Continued Below Three sweet methods for melting chocolate No bottle opener for the beer? Here’s some ‘sudstitutes’ I bought the jar at a Yonge St. grocer that has since closed and I’ve never had such difficulty twisting a lid off in my life. … [Read more...] about Smarter ways to open a stuck jar lid
Forget ‘the claw’ and learn a faster way to master chopping
By Becky Krystal The Washington Post Wed., Feb. 28, 2018 Standing in line at the emergency room, makeshift bandage around my finger, I got to thinking: What could I have done differently while chopping those scallions? Are my knife skills really that bad? Am I going to bleed out through this wad of paper towels? It’s possible nothing would have saved me the pain and embarrassment of slicing off a chunk of skin and nail from my left index finger while making a spicy tofu stir-fry a few years ago. One errant chop left me with a wrapped digit the size of a sausage and quite possibly the smallest injury ever to require physical therapy. (Yes, there was lots of fingertip bending. And dips in hot wax.) Still, I had to wonder, would “the claw” have made a difference? Read more: How to sharpen a knife with household objects Article Continued Below A chef opens a restaurant. His training? Decades in a prison kitchen Baking her way to business … [Read more...] about Forget ‘the claw’ and learn a faster way to master chopping