The Streak is Over! Jay’s Win 6-5 after 14 LONG Innings!

For being the passionate sports fan that she is, it’s been a long running joke that Veronica is cursed when it comes to sports. Or at least when it comes to watching sports, for every professional game she attends, the team is almost always destined to lose.

One could argue that it’s not HER, per se, but the talentless hacks she often supports (ahem, the Leafs), but theories aside, when we set out to cheer the Jays as they took on the Seattle Mariners last night at the Skydome (yes, the Skydome!) we weren’t really expecting a big payoff.

We got to the game in good time, grabbed a beer, found our awesome seats... first row of section 210, right along the first base line, just next to the foul pole. The dome was in the process of opening completely and this awful summer heat was somewhat bearable, making for a beautiful night to take in a game!

Our first glasses of beer from the Budweiser booth proved to be quite the challenge. They kept dripping spots of beer onto us; no matter how steady we held the glass or how often we wiped off the condensation. Confused, Veronica inspected the cup, managing to unleash a stream of beer down onto her seat. “Don’t press the bottom of the cup!” she discovered, warning Ashley before she met a similar fate.

Always a sucker to her own curiosity, Ashley ignored the warnings and pressed the bottom of her cup as well, unleashing another stream of beer down onto her own seat. There were holes in the bottom of the cups, covered not so securely by a round stopper on the inside. I understand this is to fill the cups from the bottom, but honestly, WHO PUTS A HOLE IN THE BOTTOM OF A CUP? Needless to say, we spent the first few innings with wet beer-soaked bottoms.

Things started off a little slow, a couple runs here, a couple runs there, a few painful strike outs from people who should know better (Travis Snider) and then a string of innings with no runs at all, bringing us into the seventh with Seattle up by one. After Bautista hit the tying run home, it was a lot of waiting and booing and suspense as the game went into five extra innings before Ashley’s boy John McDonald hit a sacrifice fly, sending Rajai Davis home to win the game 6-5. Veronica’s curse is over!

Game highlights:
Adam Lind’s early game homerun up into the second deck in right field came incredibly close to being within reach of our beer-filled hands. Close enough, in fact, that during the televised replay, you can see your two favourite City Girls hanging out just at the edge of the scene.

After a much needed trip to the bathroom, we arrive back to the game just in time to see John McDonald make a nice little play, surprising us both with his unexpected presence. Ashley was definitely happy to see him.

Ashley leaving the game in the 11th inning in a fit of frustration, only to miss the exciting end and Johnny Mac’s stellar performance. Figures.

images (c)citygirlscapes

Spicy Lemongrass Tofu

I know it’s been a while since I’ve added anything to Suddenly Ravenous so here goes. Every so often I get a craving for anything tofu. I know, I know. Everyone’s complaint is that tofu is tasteless. But I prefer to think of it as a blank canvas for flavour! And nothing imparts flavour quite like lemongrass. I always keep some handy in the freezer for that very reason.



For this recipe you will need:

• 1 lb chunk of extra firm tofu
• 4 tbsp finely minced lemongrass
• 2 chillies, finely minced
• 1 tsp kosher salt
• Olive oil for frying


Cut the tofu into ½ inch slices and pat dry with paper towel. Take away as much excess water as you can or else it may pop when you’re frying them.



Combine the lemongrass, minced chillies and salt in a bowl then spread about ½ teaspoon on each side of the tofu slice.



Heat a pan on medium-high with a splash of oil. Gently put each slice on the heated, oiled pan and fry for about 3-4 minutes on each side until golden brown.



Place on your favourite plate and enjoy!



images (c)citygirlscapes

The Boy Must Die: Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2, A Movie Review

Last night at the Queensway Cinemas, Veronica had the elite pleasure of being one of the first to see Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2 as a special guest of Cineplex. A word of warning, this review may contain spoilers, but if you’re a true fan, you’ve already read and reread the books so it shouldn’t entirely be a surprise.



It was very hard to write this review for fear of missing the essentials and not doing the movie justice. Veronica’s love affair with this series started about 10 years ago when she picked up the first book in preparation of the release of the very first movie and she can proudly say she has now stood by Harry until the very end.

In this final installment, Harry (Daniel Radcliffe), Ron (Rupert Grint) and Hermoine (Emma Watson) continue on their perilous and increasingly difficult journey of finding the last Horcruxes (pieces of Voldemort’s soul attached to objects) and destroying them. Whatever action Part 1 lacked, Part 2 more than made up for it. From the break into and eventual breaking out of Gringott’s whilst riding a fierce fire-breathing dragon, to the battle on the steps of Hogwarts, there was barely a dull moment to be had.



The trio eventually makes their way back to Hogwart’s for the penultimate battle between the Order of the Phoenix (and those who stand for all that is good) and Voldermort’s (Ralph Fiennes) Death Eaters. Despite the severity of the situation, the castle being under siege by the scourge of the Wizarding world, Professor McGonagall (the venerable Maggie Smith) still exclaimed “I’ve always wanted to use that spell!” after casting the “piertotum locomotor” spell to give life to the stone statues to protect the school. This of course elicited laughs from everyone and helped break the tension in anticipation of what was to come.

It’s quite clear that the casting was well done for all the characters, particularly that of Bellatrix Lestrange (Helena Bonham Carter), who did a perfect impersonation of Hermoine, complete with jutted jaw. And of course to Ashley’s favorite WILF, Neville Longbottom (Matthew Lewis) has grown into a hunky, Horcrux demolishing hero.

Part 2 by far is the shortest of all the movies in this epic series, with a run time of 2 hours. That being said, parts of the book that further explained Albus Dumbledore’s (Michael Gambon) tumultuous relationship with his brother Percival (Ciaran Hinds) were left out. And Severus Snape’s (The Alan Rickman) story, which encompassed an entire chapter, was whittled down to a little more than 3 minutes of screen time. Veronica wasn’t exactly disappointed in this but certainly felt that Snape and Rickman deserved more than what they were given.


In all honesty, after watching every movie (perhaps more than once), Veronica is still waiting for the onscreen chemistry between Ginny Weasley (Bonnie Wright) and Harry to happen. Their shared onscreen kiss was perfunctory at best and lacks the passion that JK Rowling had put on paper.

Director David Yates has done very well with tying up the loose ends from the previous movies and gives long time and casual fans the ending that will satisfy even the finickiest nerd.




Images courtesy of Google Images.