Deep freeze birthdays
After a week of bitter wind and bone-freezing chills, Montreal is finally starting to warm up again. I saw the first signs of life on my Friday commute to work: even though they were bundled up as ever, people were walking with their heads up, not bent against the winter gales. There were even a few joggers out! A good sign, no doubt. Ottawa was also stirring from its frozen slumber when I arrived on Friday night, a great way to start a birthday weekend with family. For my mother’s birthday dinner, we went to Zen Kitchen, an excellent, intimate bistro in downtown Ottawa that serves gourmet vegan fare with a first-rate wine cellar. Vegan is not often associated with fine cuisine, but places like Zen prove that, in the hands of a talented and creative chef, meat and dairy-free ingredients can be turned into innovative, delectable dishes that are filling without being carb-ladden. So in anticipation of the night’s meal, my mother and I wanted to make a dessert t