Hamentashen - A Pictorial Step-by-Step

With Purim right around the corner, it was time to whip up another batch of hamentashen.  So after a whirlwind dance competition weekend, it was time for this mama to get back to basics and baking! 

I took the day off for Becca's dance medal exams, and I was able to prepare a double batch of dough in between trips to the studio today.  As soon as I finish this pictorial step-by-step on how to make my great-grandmother's hamentashen recipe, I am sitting down to watch Storage Wars with Becca and Carlo, and indulging in some hamentashen and tea...yumm!

I have to say, that out of all the wonderful culinary delights my mother whipped up over the years, her hamentashen is my all time favourite recipe to prepare.  Without fail, every time I prepare these pillowy cakes of goodness, I am transported back to Mom's kitchen.  As I work the dough, cut the circles and pinch them into triangles I feel like Joychee is with me every step of the way.   From my family to yours: Hamentashen 101!

Soak 2C dried apricots in cold water overnight
Next day: drain, using immersion blender, blend with
 1C honey, 1 tbsp orange rind & juice from orange

Beat 4 eggs in mixing bowl

Add 3/4 C sugar

Add 1 tsp vanilla

Add 3/4 C oil

Blend in mixture of 3C flour, 2 tsp baking powder, 1 tsp salt

Roll dough into ball (add enough flour to mixture so
dough can be handled), chill in fridge for minimum 1 hour

Roll dough to thin layer
(it puffs up when baked)
stamp out circles with wide mouth cup

Drop 1/2 tbsp topping on each dough circle

Shaping your hamentashen, the video

The finished product - B'Tayavon & Buon Appetito!

Until next time, I wish you a wonderful day filled with family, fun, friends and fantastic food!  B'Tayavon & Buon Appetito!

Happy Birthday Pasquale...Uncle Pat's Boneless Chicken Wings - Brilliant!

I found this photo on the web...cannot take
credit for the artistic creation - "beautiful, no?"

Today is my brother-in-love Pat's birthday, and in celebration of him I would like to share his recipe for boneless chicken wings.

Every summer we spend at least 1 long weekend at Pat and Nati's cottage, where we: go on a mini road trip to discover some amazing local venue - last year it was an antique shop housed in barn; swim and tube in their lake; build bonfires where we roast pink (hot) dogs and marshmallows; and have scrabble tournaments - where, for the record, no-one wants to be on my team, but somehow I manage to win anyways!

But by far, the best memories are of the amazing meals we have.  Pat and Carlo, Nati and I all love good food - both eating and preparing it,  and as far back as I can remember, the 4 of us have been cottaging and preparing mini feasts!  In the old days, before Carlo and I were married, when Nati and Pat were newlyweds, we would go up to the family cottage.  Nati and I would walk to the local antiques barn and forage for incredible finds, and the boys would make these amazing feasts.  Every pot, pan, plate and utensil was used in the process, and Nati and I would boil pots of water to wash up for what seemed to be hours each night.  (While we had running water, it was lake water, and there was no water heater).  Then we'd have a bonfire, followed by games of pictionary and euchre.  It was usually girls against the guys, and the girls usually won!

Fast forward 20 years (has it been that long?!?!?) and the family cottage is sold.  Now we join Pat and Nati at their cottage, and it is a time our family look forward to every year - we escape the rat race of our every day lives and share in their Nirvana.  And every year I take away a new, fabulous recipe that I incorporate into our own family favourites.  

This past summer was no exception.  As we were driving to the dump - yes, you heard correctly: the dump (an adventure in and of itself!) Pat was describing this dish he had seen on a cooking show (no idea which one, sorry) where the chef made boneless chicken wings.  He tried the recipe for his family, it was a hit, and he then made it for a pot luck retirement lunch at his work where every last morsel was devoured.  Needless to say, I needed this recipe...I am not a fan of eating anything off a bone, so it sounded like it was made for me!

So, here is my pictorial step-by-step (adapted from memory), of Pat's Boneless Chicken Wings, which is the ultimate example of a shitarein (throw it in) recipe.  

Until next time, I wish you a wonderful day filled with family, fun, friends and fantastic food!  B'Tayavon, Buon Appetito and Happy Birthday Pat!

Place 1C flour in large bowl

Add 1tsp each: cumin, salt, onion & garlic powders.
Add 1/4 tsp cayenne pepper

Rinse and pat dry skinless, boneless chicken thighs.
  Unroll and cut each thigh (against the grain) into 3 strips

In separate bowl, beat 1 egg

Dip chicken pieces in beaten egg

Dredge chicken pieces through flour & spice mixture

Fry chicken pieces in hot oil,
making sure not to crowd the pan

Turn pieces when golden brown,
to fry second side (obviously!)

Drain 

Serve!  B'Tayavon & Buon Appetito!

Oscar Night 2012 - Crisco's Crispy Fried Chicken

As I peruse my matriarch's many recipes, I have come across many references to Crisco, not vegetable shortening, but specifically Crisco.

I remember my mother always had a big tub of Crisco in her kitchen, and if memory serves me correctly, it was the only kosher and pareve shortening available back then.

I finally got around to reading The Help (I am always a little slow on the uptake with current movies, books etc) and instantly fell in love with the story.  As a rule, I try to read the book before I watch the movie...requiring myself to use every ounce of self control I can muster to stave off the urge for instant gratification in the form of a film.  Also, I know that there is no way a good book can be translated into a screenplay without losing much of the backstory and context - something I really enjoy.

And so it was that I waited my turn for The Help to become available at my local library, and began reading.  I got lost in the pages, and was transported back to the deep south in the 1960s.  I could smell Minnie frying up the chicken in a Crisco, and could envision my Bubbie Lou and mother making that same dish. 

In fact, I have a memory of fried chicken that was so crispy delicious on the outside and moist and juicy on the inside.  I do not know where or when I ate this meal, but I can remember the taste as clearly as if I ate it last night. 

My girlfriend loaned me the movie last week, and I watched the words I had enjoyed reading come to life on my television screen.  Again, I imagined my mother - who is roughly the same age as Skeeter , but nothing like her - sashaying in her beautiful clothes, sophisticatedly smoking a cigarette (yes kids, back then it was cool), and preparing for dinner parties, etc..  There was that fried chicken again, only this time I could actually see it,watching Minnie frying the pieces, and hear Celia take a crunchy bite out of the polka (chicken leg).

Now, I am not one to get into the Oscars.  Yes, I like to watch the red carpet show beforehand, and see everyone dressed up and beautifully put together, and I feel happy for the people that win, but I won't stay up late watching the show to the bitter end, and I tend to flip back and forth for the good parts (best actor, actress, etc.). 


The last time I actually cared about who won Best Picture was when Schindler's List won in 1993.  The movie was so powerful and, as a Jew I feel a connection to the history behind the story, so it meant something to me when it won Best Picture.  That night I stayed up to the bitter end, waiting for Best Movie.  I can still feel the anticipation building as they announced the nominees, and then Schindler's List won!  Hurray! 

This is the first time I feel passionately about a movie winning again.  I loved the story behind The Help.  I guess, in a way it is similar to Schindler's List.  It is about good winning over evil.  It is about helping your fellow man, regardless of religion, colour or gender.  It is about doing the right thing, and fighting to free and save those who are oppressed.  It is about hope.  And tonight,  I hope that they win in all categories, and if I can manage to stay up to the bitter end tonight, I will.

And I thought to myself, whatever does one make for Oscar dinner?  I know that Superbowl is chili and hot dogs, but had no clue what you do for the Oscars.  I googled it, and lo and behold, someone was writing about her Oscar Night dinner tradition - granted, this person throws all out Oscar parties, and I am only making dinner - and how she tries to make dishes that reflect or connect with the nominated movies. 

And this is how tonight's dinner menu was chosen - we started with sweet potato soup (a la Norene's Meal-Lean-I-Yumm recipe) Crisco's official recipe for Crispy Fried Chicken (like Minnie makes in The Help), with mashed potatoes, gravy, rapini (in place of okra) and a mescalin salad, with freshly baked dinner rolls...yummy!

Until next time, I wish you a wonderful day filled with family, fun, friends and fantastic food.  B'Tayavon & Buon Appetito!

Happy Birthday Daddy - Nati's Bean Salad/Dip

Friday was my father's 79th birthday.  He is running an out-of-town trial (he's a lawyer) and wasn't getting back to the city until late that evening, so we decided that the family celebrations would take place the following day, when we could get together at a reasonable hour without stressing through Friday rush hour traffic and the impending snow storm that never materialized here.  Good thing, given how awful I felt on Friday...there is no way I could have managed company.

In the words of Scarlett O'Hara "Tomorrow is another day" and I felt much better yesterday.  As it was, I had to promise Sara that I would not go too close to Dad or Abby (my niece) for fear of spreading this to them!
 
So there I was, preparing another birthday meal, and thanking G-d for the opportunity to do so.  Sounds cheesy, I know, but my father is getting older, and Mom's EOAD has taught me not to take anything for granted.  In Judaism, we are raised to thank G-d for giving us another day - we say a prayer upon waking each morning - Modeh Ani, and another throughout the day - Shehecheyanu.  Birthday dinners are an extension of this for me, and how do I celebrate?  Yes, with food!

Meal preparation is a little more challenging these days - Carlo, Davie, Daddy and Abby are carnivores. Becca can take it or leave it.  Sara and I prefer to leave it.  Lena is a pescetarian.  Sara cannot eat seafood of any kind without having a reaction.  Becca loves sushi.  All but Lena eat poultry, but Carlo is getting sick of it.  Sara, Dad and I are going more vegetarian these days, but I need to watch Dad's and my sodium and caffeine intake.  Carlo and Becca love chocolate.  Chocolate gives Sara and me migraines.  Is your head swimming yet?  Mine used to, but now I can keep it all straight, and can make dinners everyone enjoys - at the same time!!  And then lo and behold, I discovered last night, some 38 years later, that my brother has a minor reaction to eggplant!  Nothing that stops him from eating it, but yet another thing I need to remember - oy and vey! 

So, I planned on a dairy, vegetarian meal.  We started with my sister-in-love Renate's (aka Nati) bean dip, and nacho chips.  My family gobbled  up the whole bowl!

Nati first brought this dip to Mama Bruni's this past Thanksgiving.  It was so delicious and the whole thing was devoured - in large part by my kids!  She gave me the recipe, and it sounded pretty simple, so I didn't bother writing it down.  She brought it again at Christmas time - again it was a huge hit.  Then, this past month I tried to recreate it for my family, and it was not a hit.

At the last minute yesterday I decided to serve this dish, and facebooked Nati for the recipe.  Nati is like Carlo, a busy person with interests that keep her far from the computer.  As luck would have it, she came online 1 hour before everyone was expected here and gave me the recipe, which I will share with you at the end of this post.  It was easy peasy, and I was able to whip it up in 5 minutes.  Sara came down, gave the dip a questionable glance and reluctanctly did a taste test...I stood there with bated breath, waiting for the verdict...and then...a smile: "You got it Mom, it tastes like Auntie Nati's".  Music to my ears!  Really, truly - there is a teeny tiny tupperware in the fridge with the remaining morsels for someone's snack today.

OK...onto the meal: we had Gloria's Eggplant Parmesan (recipe link is on Favourite Recipes Page), fusili in tomato sauce, Greek salad, risotto proupettes (recipe link is on Family Recipes Page), Antipasto Calabrese, Parmigiano Reggiano and crusty bread.

On Friday Dad suggested that, since I was sick, we should scrap the party plans and he'd take us all out for dinner.  NO WAY!  I told him that was not an option, in my mother's words "It's a party" and it proceed as planned. 

Yesterday, mid-way through my dinner preparations, Dad called again, asking if he could stop by Amadeus and bring dessert.  Dad is usually in charge of dessert at family occasions (especially Pesach (Passover), when I find myself overwhelmed by the changeover of kitchen, etc), and he always brings a gorgeous delicacy from Amadeus.  You can guess my answer - NO WAY!  First of all, the cakes were cooling (as I tweeted to the 18 people kind enough to follow me on twitter), and secondly, there is no way that he was bringing his own birthday cake! 

Having said that, I did need a crusty bread, and Carlo was up to his elbows in paint (he and Sara are painting her room this weekend), so I asked Dad to pick up a crusty bread.  Oy is he cute!  He stopped into Nino D'Aversa Bakery and picked up a beautiful loaf of crusty bread.  On his way out he discovered a slab of parmigiano reggiano that was calling his name, and picked it up too.  In the words of my mother "what a treat"!  They were the finishing touches on our birthday dinner.

So we had dinner, most everything was devoured, and then it was time for cake.  I admit it, I made the white cake from a box, but the icing was Buddy's, and I decorated it myself.  Before you think I posted the wrong cake photo, somewhere along the line my girls gave their Zaida (grandfather) a "handle" of Z-Dog, and it stuck.  So, it seemed fitting to put it on his birthday cake as well. 

We sang, Abby blew out the candles when Dad said he was 3 ("are you 1, are you 2, are you 3"....) and we all celebrated my father's health and another year passing.  Next year is the big 80, I guess the planning starts now.  Again, it the words of Scarlett O'Hara "Tomorrow is another day...I'll think about it tomorrow".

Until next time, I wish you a wonderful day filled with family, fun, friends and fantastic food.  B'Tayavon, Buon Appetito, and Happy Birthday Daddy!


Nati's Bean Salad/Dip

Ingredients:

• 1 can red lentils
• 1 can black beans (I didn't have any, substituted with bean salad mix)
• 1/4 C red onion, chopped
• 1/2 red pepper, chopped
• 1/2 bottle Catalina dressing

Method:
Rinse beans well & drain.  Toss with other ingredients and serve with nacho chips (scoops work well if you are serving as dip).

Hamentashen anyone?

When I was a little girl I loved Purim - it was my favourite holiday, second only to Channukah. 

Being a (Jewish) Day School student, we got to dress up for Purim, and the girls would dress up as 1 of 2 characters: Queen Esther or Queen Vashti.  Either way, I was going to get farpitzed (dressed up to the nines) like a princess and wear make-up!  It was like an emotionally-safe Toddlers and Tiaras day - Mom would make me up with eyeshadow, blush and lipstick before I went to school and I would sashay around school like this all day - proud as a peacock.   This holiday beat Halloween hands down because we celebrated indoors, and our costumes were not hidden by heavy coats, boots and mittens. 

But that was not it.  We got to bake with Mom - making the family hamentashen recipe passed down from her grandmother "Bubbie Gertie".  I have never tasted anything like them, and they are the only hamentashen I enjoy.  There is something special about the dough...it is soft and chewy but in no way soggy.  Carlo describes them as "pillowy goodness" in cookie form.  The filling is Bubbie Gertie's special recipe too.

We would assume our regular place at Mom's kitchen table, each armed with a rolling pin and a glass.  Ready, set, go!  The bake-off would begin.  We would roll the dough, cut out circles with our glasses, place a teaspoon of filling in the middle of each circle and pinch them into form.  We gingerly placed them on the baking sheets and waited anxiously for what felt like an hour, but was really just 10 minutes, while the hamentashen baked and turned a light golden brown.  The scent of sweet dough filled with honey apricot puree would spread throughout the house, and soon we'd have a full house waiting in front of the double ovens for the timer to "ding".  

After 4 or 5 dozen hamentashen we'd feel a little tired, and close up the bakery.  The best part of this recipe is that both the dough and the filling would keep in the fridge for a long time.  The dough for up to 2 weeks and the filling for double that - except that the finished product was so delicious that a quadruple batch never lasted more than a day or 2, and then it was back to table to bake some more.  This is such a fun project that the whole family can enjoy, but it loses its appeal rather quickly.  That is where Rolly Polly comes in!  When we tired of cutting, filling, pinching and placing the individual hamentash, we would change things up by rolling out a large rectangle of dough. Then we'd spread a thin layer of filling across the rectangle, leaving 1 short edge free of filling to seal the roll.  Slowly we'd roll the dough, building it into a proper roll, and then carefully transfer it onto a baking sheet and place in the oven.  Once it was done, we'd let it cool and then cut it into slices...mmm mmm good!

Not much has changed...except that I am now the Mama making the hamentashen with my kids, and I am the one who resorts to Rolly Polly when I have had my fill (excuse the pun) of hamentashen.  Mom used to make them with us, and I remember a couple of years ago, before she moved into care, she came to bake with us.  Even in her deteriorating condition, she was still teaching me how to perfect the hamentash, correcting my pinching technique.  I close my eyes and I can see her placing her long, beautiful fingers expertly along the edges of the dough circle, effortlessly pinching them into perfectly shaped and sealed triangles. 

I will add photos of my home-made hamentash once I actually whip up a batch, but for now, I am posting the recipe for Herta, a friend from Norene's Kitchen, who is looking for a recipe like her Romanian grandmother used to make.  I think this may be it!  Herta, please be sure to let us know if your search ends here.

Until next time, I wish you a wonderful day filled with family, fun, friends and fantastic food! B'Tayavon & Buon Appetito!

PS - for a step-by-step pictorial on hamentashen making, click here.

Mom and Bubbie Lou's original handwritten recipe cards

Bubbie Gertie's Hamentashen

Dough Ingredients:
4 eggs
¾C granulated sugar
¾C oil
1 tsp vanilla extract
3C flour
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt

Filling Ingredients:
2C (16 oz / 1 lb) dried apricots
1C honey
1 tbsp orange rind and juice from orange

Dough Method:
Combine ingredients, roll into a ball, cover with wax paper, place in plastic bag and refrigerate overnight. 

Filling Method: Soak dried apricots in water overnight.   Drain and blend with other ingredients. 

Preparation:  Preheat oven to 350°.  Roll dough, on floured surface, into a thin sheet.  Cut circles with cup, drop dollop of filling in centre of each circle and pinch sides to form a triangle.  Bake on greased (or parchment-lined) cookie sheet until golden (10 to 15 minutes in regular oven OR 8 to 10 minutes in convection oven). 

Let Me Tell You a Story - Part 2: The 2012 Walk for Memories

Yesterday was the 22nd Walk for Memories in Toronto, Canada.  It was my first Walk for Memories, and many special ones were made yesterday.

My Mother's Treasure Team - 2012 Walk for Memories

But before I recount the amazing day we had, let me tell you a story:


My mother was always an activist and advocate,  I'd like to think she taught us well. 


When Davie and I were little, we both remember Mom busily preparing for marches, rallies and events.  She was a member of the Group of 35, young women who tirelessly demonstrated for Soviet Jews to be allowed to emigrate from the USSR.  To read more about their amazing story, please access the following links:  Jewish Agency For Israel - History of Campaign for Soviet Jewry.


I was 6 years old when the campaign went into overdrive.  My memory of that time is a series of flashes or images.  One of them was of demonstrating with Prisoners of Conscience - people dressed in black and white striped uniforms, much like the photo contained in this article about the Montreal 35s (we were the Toronto 35s).  I was the little girl chosen to present a bouquet of flowers to the Captain of a Soviet ship docked in the Toronto Harbour.

I can still see our living room of my childhood home, charged with the energy of my mom and her friends and colleagues before the demonstration, busily reviewing the strategy for that day's events.  I remember feeling PROUD...I got to wear my 'oh so special' green, white and navy floral maxi skirt, and my hair was up in 2 tight pony tails.  Mom rehearsed my part with me over and over (I was nervous).  She explained how important my role was, and how important our demonstration was - we were speaking for those who had been silenced and no longer had a voice.  We were their voice, and we were going to be heard.  We went down to the harbour and waited, and waited, and waited.  The Captain never came out to receive the bouquet I had for him.  I felt so deflated and disappointed as we ventured home, but Mom explained that we made a difference today, and just because the Captain did not come out to greet me did not mean he didn't hear our voices.  That was 37 years ago, and I still remember. 


Eventually the campaign was a success, and our voices were heard.  Thousands upon thousands of Soviet Jews were able to emigrate - to Canada, to America and to Israel (but to name 3).  Ironically, my sister-in-love is originally from Russia.  She moved to Israel and, some years later, to Canada.  I believe in bashert (destiny), and would like to think that this movement helped to ensure that her family had the freedom to move some 15+ years after our demonstrations.


So.....as you now see, Mom was the one who instilled this need to "be the change you want to see in the world" in her children - thank you Mom.


Walks are not new to us...we Run for the Cure with my friend Anne-Marie and her team, the Pink Butterflies, every year.  But this walk - the Walk for Memories - it was something new.  Alzheimer's has more than "touched" my life.  It has robbed me of my mother and my grandmother.  I have already touched on my backstory in earlier posts, so I won't repeat it here. 


Something changed for me in the past year.  I have started to accept my new normal.  I am learning to appreciate my mother in her new form, though I still hate the disease.  I think that writing about her as she was - pre-AD - has overshowed the negative and pain by bringing all the wonderful stories about her to the forefront.  So...now that I can face this disease from a position of regained strength, I can start to fight it...and so begins my next story:


I awoke before the alarm went off at 5:45 a.m. yesterday...I was so excited and eager to go to the Walk.  Our family got ready and off we went, to pick up Dad and Davie.  The energy from my parents' living room all those years ago was back - and I couldn't get downtown fast enough! 

We've arrived - finally!! The stage is behind me

Marilyn!!  I don't think the boa went with my outfit :)

Me and my new buddies!

Sir Elton - fabulous!

Coffee and Candy!  (Hot cocoa actually, but I was going for alliteration)

Poor Becca - so tired...

Candy will wake Becca up!  Me and my angels!

My Mother's Treasure - they are all treasures!

The sea of people behind me!

We arrived at the Brookefield Place and it was buzzing with teams and individual walkers, volunteers and Alzheimer Society dignitaries, and lest we forget the celebrity lookalikes!  Davie's office is in Brookefield Place, so...after we registered My Mother's Treasure Team, we went upstairs and left our coats, etc in his office.  We came down and met Aviva, Joel and Ross, and wandered around, taking it all in.  The opening ceremonies were different than I am used to....maybe because this disease is at my doorstep, pushing it's way into my life.  I listened to Tom Harrington, the event's MC, speak about this disease that has taken his father and now has a hold of his mother.   Then Fiona Reid came on the stage with Art Hindle - holy star power!  Again, she spoke of her mother's battle with the disease, and it sounded much like our own experience.  The message was clear: this disease has no preferred target, regardless of age, gender, skin colour or religion.  No-one is immune.


We did our warm ups and then off we went!  The walk was indoors, through the downtown Toronto underground city known as "the PATH"...which was literally a walk down memory lane for Dad, Davie, Carlo, Sara and I.  Becca was born after our office move which took us off the "PATH".   Our Sara could actually remember certain places that Mom had taken her (and later Becca too), and it was a lot of fun to point these places out to the kids.  This also made the walk pass so fast, almost too fast!  There were bands and cheering volunteers all along the walk, and it was a really fun and inspiring experience. 


By the time we came back we were all feeling a little tired - likely the letdown of knowing the end was near.  As we stood and listened to Tom announce the teams who raised the most money, I looked around the Galleria.  Everyone there had someone they were walking for, an AD sufferer.   Many were wearing shirts with their loved ones' names and faces on them.  One lady had a shirt with a paper pinned to it -- it had 7 people's pictures and names.  Six had passed away, one still with us. And it hit me - we need to keep walking, and talking and raising money to stop this disease... NOW!   There is still time to donate to the cause - the online donation page is open until Monday, February 13, 2012.


Our team was small but mighty this year.  I am hoping that many of you will come down and join us next year, and that we can build an army of AD Warriors (to quote my new friend Rick, the founder of Memory People) and together we can help put an end to this disease!


Oh...lest we forget about the food - Daddy took us all out for a fantastic lunch to a fantastic restaurant Amore - thanks Dad!!  Then we went home and I took a nap!! I never take naps...never!  Then I made dinner, as planned, and it was yummy!  Lasagna, risotto proupettes, rapini and Baba Dora salad - it hit the spot... mmm mmm good!


Until next time, I wish you a wonderful day, filled with family, fun, friends and fantastic food!  B'Tayavon & Buon Appetito!

Who Are You Walking For?

She gave me life, I was her baby...

She stood by me through my tumultuous teens...

She loves me still...even though the words sometimes escape her ...

Tomorrow, I am walking for My Mother - MY TREASURE.


Please join us on the 2012 Walk for Memories (Support MMT Team).  Unless I post otherwise, please meet us on the main floor of the Allen Lambert Galleria, Brookfield Place, by the Fountain (near Richtree Restaurant, aka Marquis, aka Marche).  We will be taking a team photo at 9:45 a.m. To learn more about the walk - see 2012 Walk for Memories

Update: For those joining the walk...below are the walk details
•Location: BROOKFIELD PLACE, Allen Lambert Galleria, 181 Bay Street (Bay/Front)
•Subway: Closest Subway UNION STATION, follow signs to Brookfield Place
•Parking: Enter either at Front St. or Wellington St between Yonge and Bay
•Coat Check upstairs in the Allen Lambert Galleria by TD Bank (Bay St. end). Please leave your coat in your car if you can.
•Registration opens at 8:30 a.m. on the concourse level. Everyone MUST REGISTER to collect your goodie bag and incentives. So please come early to avoid the rush.
•Food and Coffee - Free food & beverages on concourse level behind Registration
 •Music & entertainment, Lots of great stuff for everyone – young and young at heart
 •MMT Team Photo - 9:45a at the Fountain beside Richtree Restaurant (near Yonge St entrance)
 •Opening Ceremonies, Starts at 10:00 a.m. upstairs in Allen Lambert Galleria includes Welcome, Shoelace Tying Ceremony & Warm UP.
•Walk begins at 10:30 a.m. Starts in Allen Lambert Galleria and winds through the PATH
•Closing Ceremonies at 11:30 a.m. Top Walkers, Top Corporate and
Top Friends and Family Team and Grand Total

Until tomorrow, I wish you a wonderful day, filled with family, fun, friends and fantastic food!  B'Tayavon & Buon Appetito!