Israel turned 70 this year and I’m going to celebrate by attending a few events this week!

Here’s the three experiences that are on my radar:

1 . The Toronto Jewish Film Festival is taking place from May 3 to 12 and of course I’ve spent time studying the festival guide to make my selections and trust me this takes a bit of time! However due to the bad weather last weekend, I watched plenty of video clips and made my selections! Cool fact: one of the films being shown at this years festival (Doubtful) is currently in theatres in Israel.

Also, don’t delay to buy your tickets. I tried to get into one film and it’s sold out. Lesson learned! Either order online or call 416 324-9191 (phone lines  are open from 12 pm to 6 pm) or head to the Festival Box Office at 19 Madison from 12 pm to 6 pm.

For more information:

Website: www.tjff.com

Twitter: @TJFF

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TorontoJewishFilmFestival/

(ps I love their Facebook page and follow it closely)

Instagram: @TJFF

2. I’ve also been following Spotlight on Israeli Culture which has a variety of events taking place throughout the city from March to June 2018.  There’s something for everyone – theatre, cuisine, film, literature,  dance, music , visual arts

Click here to view the entire schedule.

Naturally I’m going to the Cuisine event and I’m heading to the Music event too (just to mix things up a bit!!).

I’m excited to hear some Israeli Jazz featuring renowned jazz innovator, Israeli trumpeter Itamar Borochov. Award-winning local singer Aviva Chernick, will open the evening with her unique sound. #soexcited

This event is being held on Sunday May 6th at 730 pm at the Rex Jazz and Blues Bar (194 Queen St West). $20 Cash at the door on the night of the event.

For more information:

Website: http://www.spotlightonisraeliculture.ca

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/IsraelSpotlight/

3. I’m also determined to head to Parallel to eat some hummus and pita. I can’t think of a better way to celebrate Israels’ birthday. This restaurant has been on my radar since they opened and its about time I get there!!

I also following them closely on Facebook and I’m hungry each time I see their posts.

Website: https://parallelbrothers.com

Address: 217 Geary Avenue

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/parallelbrothersGE/

Disclosure: I’ve been provided with complimentary tickets however all opinions are my own

I’m trying to get organized. Specifically it’s my spices that I’m trying to organize. Here’s what I posted on facebook last week.

There were quite a few comments with a variety of suggestions and I loved each and every comment. It seems as if I’m not the only one with this issue, which makes me feel a little better. (a little..LOL)

One comment that was left for me, included a link to this article from the Toronto Star. This idea really hit home and its’ inspired me to do the same.  Please click on the link here to read more details.

However I know that the first step to getting my spices organized involves actually LABELLING the containers.

Of course, my amazing brother P-touch Label Maker came in handy for this step!

Within a few minutes, I was able to label my spices with the help of the brother p-touch Label Maker .  I have no idea how I lived without a Label Maker before!

Final Result:

Here’s the steps that were involved to get to this point:

-took out all the spices that were hidden in my cupboard.

-dump out all the spices.

-wash the containers in the dishwasher

-run to Bulk Barn and bought a LITTLE bit of every type of spice imaginable.

-run home and take out my “brother P-touch Label Maker” and start the process of getting organized.

-repeat these steps in January 2018!!

Hope this blog post helped you as much as it helped me and my spices.

Disclosure; The label maker was provided to me, however all my opinions are my own.

Often when I bake or cook, I find myself posting a photo of the “final result” on Facebook. I then receive comments like “Recipe, please!!”.

Then it occurs to me that I should blog about these recipes and not just post photos of the final result. Here’s two recipes that I tried recently that are definitely worth making!

Recipe #1: I saw this recipe somewhere on the internet (for a change) and decided it would make a great vegetable side dish for a meat meal that was being served over the Jewish New Year. Several of my facebook friends also made it and we all had winning results

Green Bean with Honey Tahini Glaze (recipe taken from www.MyJewishLearning.com by Leah Koenig)

Ingredients
1 Tablespoon Tamari or soy sauce
2 Tablespoons honey
2 Tablespoons tahini (sesame paste)
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 Tablespoon olive oil
1 lb trimmed green beans
1 Tablespoon minced garlic
2 teaspoons orange juice
1 teaspoon finely grated ginger

Directions
Preheat oven to 425. Spread beans in a 9×13-inch baking dish; drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper to taste. Toss to coat beans evenly. Roast for 10 minutes.

Meanwhile, whisk together the tahini, honey, tamari, garlic, orange juice, and ginger in a small bowl.

Remove beans from oven. Pour honey-tahini mixture over beans and toss to coat evenly. Return beans to oven and roast for 10-12 additional minutes, until brown and starting to shrivel. Transfer to serving plate and sprinkle with additional salt and pepper to taste.

PS I steamed the green beans and then poured the tahini glaze over them and it was still delicious.

Recipe #2: Apple Crisp Cookie Cups (original recipe on this video by www.delish.com). This video showed up so many times on my facebook feed that I just had to try it. Guess what? I will be making it again!!

This week, I’m going to make something I’ve never made before. Once again, I found it on Pinterest.

So stay tuned for a more detailed blog post about my experience making Salmon Wellington!

 

As a territory manager for St.- Albert Cheese, I have the opportunity to visit restaurants and retail stores as well.

Lately I’ve visited a few restaurants that I would like to share:

1. Frankie Fettuccini Food Truck Inc.: I have a foodie friend who posted his favourite dish from Frankie Fettuccini on facebook, and of course I ran to Mississauga quicker than you could say “fettuccini”. I inhaled this delicious pasta dish however next time I’m ordering their famous Ossobuco Gnocchi Poutine.

2.. Rudy Restaurant: (619 College St). No joke… this hamburger made my day!!

3. Junked Food Co: (1256 Dundas St. W) I discovered them at the Mac and Cheese Festival when they were serving their Smash Bag – Lettuce, Tomato, Onion, Cheddar Cheese, Black Olives, Jalapeño, Sour Cream and Chili sauce. All piled in a bag of Doritos. Love their creativity!!

4. Harbord Bakery: (115 Harbord St). These little donut holes have a custard in them (one is plain and the other is mocha). How could I resist?

5. LBS. (100 Yonge St). LBS means Lobster, Burgers and Salads, which is exactly what you will find at this beautiful restaurant that opened a few weeks ago. Love the concept that everything is $22. I ordered a Lobster Salad and those huge chunks of lobster did not disappoint.

Other restaurants that should be on your radar:

1. Magic Noodle: (93 Harbord St) In the winter I head there for their soup but now that it’s hot, I decided to check out a few of their cold appetizers. This particular simple dish of celery, carrots and peanuts won me over. PS Magic Noodle has just celebrated their 3rd anniversary!!

2. Death in Venice: (536 Queen St. W) This new gelato company has my full attention as I’m a flavour freak and their flavours are INCREDIBLY UNIQUE…for example; Peanut Butter and Croissant, Chocolate Mole, Bourbon and Smoke etc. I dropped by Fiesta Farms to buy a pint (or two) and as you can see from the photo…I’m not the only one who has discovered them.

Happy Eating!!

PS Next blog post: What I’m Drinking. Stay tuned.

When I received an invitation from the founder of Aquamermaid to try a class, I immediately said “YES”.

Seriously, how often does one get a chance to become a mermaid? LOL

The class started off by picking out our “mermaid tails”.

Then everyone introduced themselves with their real name, their mermaid name, and their favourite stretch.

Following the introductions, we got into the water and everyone swam a length.

Then the fun started, as we wiggled into our our respective mermaid tails.

We did some drills in the water – front, back, side. Trust me, everyone was smiling and having fun.

As you can see from this next photo, being a mermaid is harder than it looks!

Then we got a chance to take more photos. LOL.

Things you should know:

-guys can participate and in fact there was a guy in our class.

-this is a super fun party idea for kids AND adults.

-the Mermaid school exists in Ottawa and Montreal as well

-you can actually buy the mermaid tail!

For more information:

www.aquamermaid.com

Instagram: Aquamermaid

Facebook: www.facebook.com/Aquamermaidschool

Youtube; Aquamermaid (please oh please click on this link to really get a sense how cool this class is)

Phone: 1 866 279 2767

I adore mini desserts these days and my guests appreciate them too.

I also love combining chocolate with fruit!!

So when I was introduced to Second Cup Coffee Co.’s New Hot Chocolate Cookie, all I could think of is how divine it would be to incorporate this cookie into a particular dessert that I’ve made before.

The previous dessert called for “graham cracker crumbs” and to be honest, it’s not something I have in my pantry all the time. (er…never). However I know that every day I pass a Second Cup and can easily pick up their new Hot Chocolate Cookie.

I won’t keep you waiting for the recipe much longer. Here you go!

STUFFED STRAWBERY CHEESECAKES BITES

Ingredients:

12 strawberries

1/3 cup of soft cream cheese ( a little goes a long way)

1 tsp of vanilla

1/2 of a Second Cup Coffee Co’s Hot Chocolate Cookie

Instructions:

1. Using a sharp knife, dig a cavity into the top of the strawberry

2. Using the same knife, also take the bottom off so the strawberry stands up nice and pretty

3. Mix the cream cheese and vanilla with a fork

4. Break up half of a Second Cup Coffee Co’s Hot Chocolate Cookie (feel free to just eat the remaining half.  Yum!)

4. Carefully spoon the cream cheese mixture into the cavity of the strawberry.

5. Sprinkle the top of the strawberries with the crushed up pieces of the Hot Chocolate Cookie!

6. Serve or refrigerate till ready to serve.

FINAL RESULT

I hope you get a chance to head to Second Cup and try this Hot Chocolate Cookie one day soon. You won’t be disappointed.

 

Second Cup is super interested to know what you think of their new favourite cookie, so Taste It and Rate It for a chance to WIN 1 of 5 $50 Second Cup gift cards! Click on their Facebook page to learn more about #TasteItandRateIt

But before I finish this blog post I want share with you details about a FREE skating event that Second Cup is hosting, with the help of one of this country’s iconic figure skaters, Elvis Stojko. The skating party will take place on Saturday Feb 20th and begins at 10:00 a.m. at Harbourfront Centre’s Natrel Rink and will feature free skate rentals*, free on-site skating lessons for beginners**, FREE Second Cup Coffee Co. Hot Chocolate* and FREE samples of the new, delicious Second Cup Coffee Co. Hot Chocolate Cookie*.

Please click here to find out more details about this fun event.

P.S. Everyone is welcome!!

For more information:

Website: www.secondcup.com

Twitter and Instagram: @secondcupcanda

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/SecondCup/

Hashtag: #TasteItRateIt or #SCCookie

Disclosure: I’ve been compensated for this blog post however all opinions are my own.

 

For many years, every time I travelled to Ottawa we would stop at SUBWAY for lunch in Kingston. It was right off the highway and offered us a quick and healthy meal.

My relationship with SUBWAY continued as I recently turned 50 and served my guests a 6 ft subway. It was a HUGE hit with my guests (sorry..couldn’t resist the joke). Take a peek at this enormous box that it’s packed in!!

Not sure if you know this, but there’s a Build a Winner contest that is taking place now, that invites SUBWAY Canada fans on Facebook to build out their unique sandwich combination!

There’s weekly draws for a $100 SUBWAY cash card, and a grand prize of $1000 up for grabs.
Please click on this link for further information http://bit.ly/1Gbmdzx.

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/SubwayCanada

Twitter: @SubwayCanada

Hashtag; #BuildAWinner

Hope you get a chance to enter this contest soon as the contest ends May 31st, 2015!!

Disclosure: This blog post is sponsored however all my opinions are my own

 

I have a relative who rarely snacks in between meals. I kind of envy his discipline but not quite sure I could ever adopt that lifestyle! I absolutely adore “noshing” on stuff in between meals. A chunk of cheese, a few berries, a few nuts or even a few crackers will do the trick!

Notice that I’m not snacking on chocolate or ice cream? I really do prefer snacks that are savoury vs sweet. All the better if the snack is crunchy!!

Goldfish® Canada would like to invite you to share your own “snackable moments” using the hashtag #GoldfishSmiles to show them that Goldfish Crackers brings little smiles to your family.

The winning smile will win $500 and a year supply of Goldfish® Crackers to enjoy. Yes – that’s 48 packages!!

Here’s my smile!

Here’s some interesting facts about Goldfish® Crackers:

-they are BAKED with REAL cheese

-they contain no artificial colours or flavours

-they have zero trans fats

So sit back and feel good about eating your favorite snack that smiles back.

Here’s another announcement: I’m tickled pink to announce that Goldfish® Princess Crackers have now arrived. This is a limitation edition cracker so make sure to grab a pack before it’s too late.

There’s many varieties of deliciousness to choose from – try them all! Original, Chedddar, Cheddar made with Whole Grain, Cheese Trio, Colours, Pretzels, GIANT Cheddar, Flavour Blasted, Atomic BBQ, Screamin’ Salt & Vinegar, Xplosive Pizza, Xtreme Cheddar, Vanilla Cupcake Grahams, Honey Bun Grahams and Cholcolate Brownie Grahams.

In the meantime, I’m grabbing a few Goldfish® Crackers to take with me on an outing to Crawford Lake!!

 

For more information:

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/GoldfishCA

Instagram: GoldfishCanada

Disclosure: I was compensated for this blog post however all opinions are my own.

I saw a friends facebook update about “Smore’s Popcorn Balls” and when I saw the recipe I knew that I HAD to try it. Anything that doesn’t require baking and has only a few ingredients – is right up my alley.

When I made it the first time – I didn’t read the recipe entirely (this is pretty typical of me) and discovered that I added an extra ingredient. OOPS!! But hey it worked.

Here’s my version of S’mores Popcorn Balls.

Ingredients

3 cups of popcorn

1 cup of Kellogs Rice Krispies

1 cups of graham crackers ground up (I just used my hands…nothing fancy)

2 cups of marshmallows

1/4 cup of butter

Directions

1. Melt the butter and the marshmallows on medium heat in a large saucepan. The goal here is to get the marshmallow to break down which means you need to stir constantly!!

2. Add the Rice Krispies and popcorn and the graham crackers.  Again – stir constantly!!

3. Remove from heat and let it cool slightly. Form into balls.

4. Melt some chocolate and drizzle on top (optional)

FINALY PRODUCT

I swear these will disappear before you can say “why haven’t I made these before”.

I’ve now made them 3 times and I have a feeling I will be making them pretty regularly!

Happy Baking!

Please Welcome YamChops.

What is YamChops? Well..they are positioning themselves as a vegetarian butcher!! Kind of a cool concept if you ask me. They believe that this is exactly the type of store that the vegetarian/ vegan /and flexitarian community is looking for. A store that offers great service, convenience, flavourful food and value.

All I know is I’m sold on their concept, marketing and what I saw when I visited!

Here’s what the store looks like (minus the paper – as they are now open for business)

Inside the store,…you will find prepared foods, cold pressed juices, refrigerated items, and plenty of shelf stable items that one does not usually see in a retail store. Plus there’s a small area where you can eat your lunch.

I had the opportunity to sample  Coconut Ba-Con and all I can say is “WOW”. I had no idea that coconut could ever taste THIS GOOD. There is no question that I will back to sample their Carrot Lox, No Pork Pulled Pork and to try their cold press juices as well. There is one juice in particular that has caught my attention..it’s called “Divine Blush – Carrot, Beet, Turmeric, Ginger, Nutmeg”.  Not sure I’ve ever had a juice with tumeric in it but I’m eager to try it.

Wishing Michael and his team..only the very best with their new adventure. I have no doubt that YamChops is going to be a welcome addition to the food scene in Toronto.

For more information:

YamChops 705 College St (3 blocks East of Ossington), Toronto  Tel: 416-645-0117

Hours: 11 am to 7 pm daily

Twitter; @YamChopsTO

Facebook: www.facebook.com/YamChopsTO

Instagram; YamChopsTO

Website: www.yamchops.com

Disclosure: YamChops is a client however all opinions are my own.