At this time of year, I love any recipe that involves only 4 ingredients!! Not to mention I love chocolate and cheese. Therefore this recipe really appeals to me!!

Here’s a quick story about my love for these two ingredients:  A few years ago, I came across a blue cheese chocolate chip cookie and blogged about it. Click here in case you are curious about the cookie.

The store where I purchased that cookie is now closed but this recipe is a close replacement! I think that the combination of cheese and dark chocolate is sure to catch everyone’s attention! It certainly did catch mine.

Infact, this recipe features the 2013 Canadian Cheese Grand Prix winner in the Blue cheese and Organic cheese categories. Did you know that their  is a Canadian Cheese competition? Well there is!!

Here’s the recipe for Bleu D’Elizabeth, Dark Chocolate and Date Bites

I went to check out the Delicious Food Show on Friday. I thought my visit would be brief but I ended up staying for hours. There were many more vendors than I had anticipated and no shortage of foodie friends for me to bump into!!

The show is taking place Oct 25-27th at the Better Living Centre, Exhibition Place and is a well layed out, and a beautiful looking show.

I’m in love with this display that is at the front and would really like two smaller versions for my apartment!!

I walked thru the aisles and discovered new product – like this Organic Chocolate with Mustard Seeds fromKozlik’s. How unique. Don’t you think?

I also bumped into some restaurant owners that I hadn’t seen in many years who are just to open a new restaurant (Pai Toronto). While talking to Nuit and Jeff, we discovered that we have known each other since 2008, when I visited their first restaurant (Sudkho Thai) on Parliament.

My food adventures continued and I must say that I had a lot of fun at the View the Vibe booth. They had a great set up – including a Lounge.

The highlight of the day was really Martha Stewart! She attracted a HUGE crowd. Please note that the Delicious Show has a variety of  high profile chefs appearing throughout the weekend. Take a peek at the schedule here.

Hope you get a chance to visit this DELICIOUS show over the weekend. You won’t be disappointed.

Show Hours: Oct 25-27

Friday: 11am-10pm
Saturday: 10am-7pm
Sunday: 10am-6pm

Better Living Centre, Exhibition Place, Toronto

Remember I mentioned that I went to three food shows in one week? Well, Rendez -Vous Quebec was the last one. This is a much smaller show than Grocery Innovations or CHFA but that’s just fine with me (and my waistline).

I’m sure this won’t surprise you, but I discovered a few interesting products at this show. In particular…these chocolates. These were NOT just your average chocolates. You want to know what they were filled with? Not what you were expecting!! Ready? (drum roll). ….Foie Gras!! Yes. ..Foie Gras oozed into your mouth when you bit into one of these logs. Seriously. Delicious.

I also enjoyed some amazing Quebec cheese. There is certainly no shortage of cheese makers in this province.

 I also stumbled across a new product from Smoke which I can’t wait try at home one day soon. I’ve been a fan of this company for years and something tells me I’m going to have a new salmon dish to serve. #happydance

One last item that caught my attention were these gorgeous looking Christmas ornaments that were made out of CHOCOLATE.  Stunning.

I left the show with the feeling that I need to visit Montreal sooner than later. This province really does produce some serious chocolate, beer, maple syrup, cheese, dairy products, bread and more!! I’ve blogged about my love for Jean Talon Market and Atwater Market before and I know I will be blogging about it again in the near future.

Many thanks to Bureau du Quebec for inviting me to Rendez -Vous Quebec!!

I love trade shows and consumer shows. Especially if they are about FOOD. (My favourite subject. Did you know that?). Last week I walked thru Grocery Innovations looking for new food items, new flavour profiles and interesting packaging. This is an annual trade show for food companies, buyers, manufacturers, and distributors. Not to mention it’s a show that I’ve been attending for years as I was a food sales rep at one point in my career!! (fyi).

Here’s a few items that caught my attention:

ORANGE KIT KAT. I adore the combination of orange and chocolate and believe that this item will be a hit. Agreed?

LIVE HAPPY WATER. Water continues to be a huge trend and I’m happy just LOOKING at their booth!! Fact: This water contains naturally occurring lithia and other minerals. Plus it’s sourced from two ancient Canadian mountain springs.

QUINOA BARS: I love this concept and I think consumers will too. What do you think?

WHOLE WHEAT PANKO: What a great idea and will certainly be buying this in the future. The only comment I have for this company is “What took you so long”?.

Water without Sodium – called Aqua Carpatica. 

SUNMAID ORANGE COVERED RAISINS:

There was also an abundance of coconut water and gluten free products at the show as well. But for some reason, the above products stood out. Stay tuned for a blog post about the Whole Wheat Panko as I went home and made a recipe with my sample box as soon as I got home!!

Happy Grocery Shopping!!

These days, I have been busy using my KitchenAid Diamond Blender. I simply can’t sop making smoothies and pureeing soups. Life is good.

One evening I got creative and put together a smoothie using some of my favorite ingredients; Chocolate, Banana and Peanut Butter.

 In less than a minute I had a pretty satisfying snack. The list of smoothies I intend on making are endless and infact I have a list on my fridge as a reminder that I don’t have to make the same smoothie every day!!

I’m so excited about using my KitchenAid Diamond Blender on a regular basis that I’m running a contest to give away a KitchenAid Diamond Blender to one of my readers.

 Here’s what you need to know about the KitchenAid Diamond blender!!

As always I have just returned from another trip to Ottawa. As you know, I visit regularly (every 6 weeks) and on each trip I discover something new that delights my taste buds (and sadly my waistline too).

Here’s a few highlights:

1. Harvey and Vern’s Ginger Beer. Hands down the best ginger beer I’ve ever had. Sadly I only bought one bottle. WHAT WAS I THINKING (please don’t answer!!). Next time I’m picking up a half dozen bottles. Seriously.

 

2. Callaloo Jamaican Patty from The Piggy Market: (400 Winston Ave, Ottawa) I love something interesting and this was indeed something interesting!! The pastry was perfect and the filling was flavorful too. So glad I dropped by this amazing store.

 

3. Hummingbird Chocolate has joined forces with Michaels Dolce Candied Ginger ….to make the perfect chocolate bar. It was introduced to the public at the Ottawa Farmers Market on Sunday Aug 4th and I’m confident that others will also give it a THUMBS UP!!

 

4. Albacore Tuna Crudo with Lemon Truffle Oil, Puffed Rice and Young Cilantro from Supply and Demand (1335 Wellingston St. W. Ottawa) Many thanks to @simplyfresh for tweeting me about this dish. Can you say “heaven?”.

5. Ministry of Coffee. Again, many thanks to @AMWATERS for tweeting me about this brand new cafe that opened up on Elgin St.  I enjoyed a wonderful “Cortado” which is a shot of espresso with both cream and milk. Will definitely be returning for more!!

6. Bombs from It’s a Matter of Cake (Ottawa Farmer’s Market) These are not cake pops. Not even close. They are simply dense and delicious. My mom bought a bag of 6: Chocolate Peanut Butter, The Split, Oatmeal Nutella, Maple Carrots, Smokey Bacon, and the Dark Horse. When we got home…the knife came out and we started to split each one in half. Then we started  saying words like: “ohhhhh” and “ahhhh” and “freaking h” and “unfreakin believable”. Clearly we loved each and every bomb!!

Can you tell I had another amazing trip to Ottawa? I’m already looking forward to my next trip in September!!

 

I’ve just returned from a trip to Hartford Connecticut. I had the chance to hang out my amazing cousins at a bar mitzva AND I had  a chance to visit Trader Joe’s. The last time I went to a Trader Joe’s was in March 2012 while visiting Detroit.  Go figger that this is how I like to spend my spare time while visiting a city I have never been to!

Here’s a sample of my purchases:

–Shelf Stable Whipping Cream ($1.29) – Never know when I might need Whipping Cream last minute, right? Can’t wait to do a taste test and compare this product to refrigerated whipped cream. Stay tuned.

–Trader Joe’s Guacamole Kit: I coudn’t buy this kit due to restrictions about bringing in veggies over the border. But, don’t you think this is a brilliant idea? This contains all the ingredients you would need to make fresh guacamole. LOVE IT.

–Trader Joe’s Chile Spiced Mango:  ($1.99) I have no idea what I want to do with it but I know that I haven’t seen this type of dried fruit in Toronto. Right?

–Trader Joe’s Savoury Popcorn. ($1.99) This totally appealed to me as I’m all about flavour. Can’t wait to try it.

More items that I bought included: Beer $1.50 a bottle, a super amazing kitchen towel ($3.99), Tomato Basil Pasta Sauce $1.99, Crunchy Curls ($2.69), Chocolate bars (99 cents), Cheese and More. My bill was $81.44 to be exact. …so trust me, I did OK.

After my visit to Trader Joe’s, I sat at the pool at the Ramada to enjoy some sunshine. Also wanted to share with you that I purchased my hotel night using Hotwire and selected the Secret Hotel Optionl. I’ve done this only once before and had such a great experience that I did it again. Did I score? You Bet.  I scored a 3.5 star hotel in DOWNTOWN Hartford with a $63 a night room rate. #happiness

 

Next weekend: I’m off to Ottawa  to:

a) Celebrate Mother’s Day with my mom

b) See the Tulip Festival

c) Hang out at the Ottawa Farmer’s Market  on Sunday.

Can’t wait. So much to see – so little time!

Like Tea? Want to learn  more about Tea? Here’s your chance!! Toronto will be host to its first Tea Festival at the Toronto Reference Library on Saturday Feb. 2nd, 2013. Momwhoruns will definitely be there to check it out and I hope you get a chance to check it out as well. I think the timing of this festival is perfect seeing as the entire week has been rainy, grey and miserable!! (Don’t get me started about the weather).

The Tea Festival will feature:

• Tea and culture
• Tea service items and equipment associated products and services
• Food and tea pairing ideas (think tea and chocolate, tea and cheese, tea and Michaels Dolce Jam)
• Tea-related food and drink 

Here’s the flyer.

 

I’ve saved this recipe from Canadian Living since November 1993. There is a reason for that. Not because I’m a hoarder but because it’s a delicious recipe.

Simple as that. I came home from work, grabbed a few ingredients and before you know it – I had banana bread in the oven. The only negative thing about this recipe is that it takes a full hour to bake. That’s right – a full hour.

The good news: it’s worth it.

Here’s what you need:

Bakers Banana Bread (from Canadian Living, Nov 1993).

INGREDIENTS:

2 eggs, lightly beaten

1 cup mashed ripe bananas

1/3 cup vegetable oil

1/4 cup milk

2 cups all purpose flour

1 cup sugar

2 tsp baking powder

1/4 tsp salt

8 squares Baker’s Semi Sweet Chocolate (I used 5 squares…coarsely chopped)

Topping: 1/2 cup chopped nuts, 1/2 cup brown sugar, 1/2 tsp cinnamon (I’ve never done this step but go ahead!!)

Directions:

Heat oven to 350 degrees.

Stir eggs, banana, oil and milk until well blended. (I use my Kitchen Aid).

Add flour, sugar, baking powder and salt.

Stir till moistened.

Stir in chocolate chunks.

Pour into greased 9×5 loaf pan.

Combine topping and sprinkle on top of batter (as I said earlier – I never make the topping)

Bake for 60 minutes or until wooden pick inserted comes out clean.

FINAL PRODUCT:

Cool for 10 minutes.

It’s not a secret that I like adore cheese. I’m not sure I have ever come across a cheese I did not like. I like grilled cheese sandwiches, cheese platters, and fondue too. Needless to say I was over the moon when I met Chef Corbin at the Wine and Cheese show (back in March) who told me that The Melting Pot was opening in late April in Richmond Hill. It did not take me long to whip out my iPhone to enter  the necessary information!!

Finally the end of April arrived, and I went to the opening. I could not have been happier (except I failed to bring a guest – what was I thinking?). I sat at the bar though and coincidentally sat beside Damon Allen.

The atmosphere is contemporary and features plenty of private booths. I have no doubt that this place will be packed on Valentines Day!! It’s also the perfect place for a group of friends to go out or for a couple to celebrate an occasion.

I started off my meal with a drink that looked like this:

Then I ordered something I adore but rarely find on a menu.

Then came the highlight of the evening…the FONDUE (or as @SharonDV tweeted “FON-DO”.)

I selected the “Fiesta Cheese Fondue” which is described as “aged cheddar cheese pairs with lager beer, jalapeno peppers and salsa, made as spicy as you like”.  I was not disappointed with my choice. Other varieties of fondue included: Spinach Artichoke Cheese Fondue, Cheddar Cheese Fondue, Wisconsin Trio Cheese Fondue and Traditional Swiss Cheese Fondue. I’m pretty sure that THEY would all be perfect!!

The Chocolate Fondue Selection on the menu is awesome (um…need a birthday party idea for your 10 year old?) Items such as Bananas Foster, Flaming Turtle, Cookies’n Cream Marshmallow Dream, Chocolate S’mores, Ying& Yang, …WILL MAKE ANYONE HAPPY. I mean seriously…you can’t go wrong.

By the way, The Melting Pot is a franchise in the United States and this is their first location in Canada. Welcome to Canada!!

The Melting Pot

125-135 York Blvd, Richmond Hill, ON

(905) 764-7770