Hooray…I finally made it Dufferin Grove Farmers Market. I seriously don’t know what took me so long. This farmers market is pretty impressive and worth a visit (justsayin’).

Can’t Miss the Sign

What I love about this Farmers Market is the setting. There are HUGE MASSIVE trees which provides  a lot  A TON of shade for both the vendors and the shoppers.

See What I Mean?

Dufferin Grove Farmers Market is located at 875 Dufferin Park (just south of Bloor). They are open every Thursday from 3-7 p.m, ALL YEAR LONG. That’s right – they operate right thru the winter. You can tell that a lot of people go here for dinner, hang out on the grass, listen to live music, and also shop!! I also have a feeling that this is a real community meeting place as it seems as everyone is talking to everyone.

It’s also impressive that there seems to be as many prepared food vendors as produce vendors. I really like that and it seems as everyone else does too.

Now lets talk about the FOOD.

I was not a happy camper that I bought kale today from a grocery store and not kale from the Farmers Market (poor planning on my part). The kale at the farmers market is the size of my arm and the kale from the grocery store is the size of a large hand. Note to Self: Don’t Do That Again.

Dinosaur Kale

The lavender chocolate SHEEP ice cream from Best Baa Farm caught my attention too!! I could actually taste the lavender and was so impressed with this unique ice cream (which is easier to digest than cow’s milk). I’m on a carb free diet (week 5) so I only had a small sample but I wish I could have had more!!

not baaaa–d. HA HA…couldn’t resist

I also picked up a (raw) Nut Burger from Earth & City,  that contains all sorts of super healthy ingredients: raw sunflower seeds, raw walnuts, olive oil, balsamic vinegar, basil, oregeno, cumin, sundried tomatoes, raw almonds, flax seeds, lemon juice, sea salt, sunflower sprouts, collard greens, honey dates.

A Perfect Meal for Someone on a No Carb Diet

Guess who is going back to Dufferin Grove Farmers Market next Thursday. See you at 6 p.m! You will find me buying KALE!! (lesson learned). Join me.

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Everywhere you look – there is a festival. I’m not complaining…just wish I had more TIME to go to all of them!

This past weekend I went to two festivals in one night. I started off at the South Asian Festival on Gerrard East and ended up on St. Clair for Salsa on St Clair. Each festival had something different to offer and I was happy to be able to walk thru both of them. (and eat, of course)

Needed a translation but managed just fine!!

Other festivals that are on my ‘hit list” include the following:

a) Toronto Fringe Festival to see “Everything I Never Knew I Wanted”. This festival takes place from July 4 -15th. This is my first time attending the Toronto Fringe Festival but I’m really looking forward to it. I didn’t know this but it’s Toronto’s largest theatre festival with 150 plus artistic creations. I have a good feeling that this festival might be on my list every year!

b) Night It Up which takes place July 13-15 at the Markham Civic Centre. This festival features 100 plus different vendors including many “street foods” that one might find in the markets of Taiwan or Hong Kong. I’ve heard so much about stinky tofu that I really think I might go this year!!

Street Food!!

c) Toronto Festival of Beer which takes place July 27-28th on the Exhibition Grounds. I am a huge fan of this festival and have been going for years and years and years. In my opinion the festival just gets better and better each year. Don’t delay and buy your tickets as this festival will sell out on all three days!!

Won’t Miss the Toronto Beer Festival. Period.

b) Cobourg Sand Castle Festival which takes place Aug 4 – Aug 5th. Well worth the drive to Cobourg to see the spectacular sand castle exhibits.

Love this beach and this competition.

c) Wild Blueberry Festival which takes place August 11th from 8 a.m to 3 p.m at Evergreen Brickworks. If you love blueberries – this is the festival for you!! Tons of great activities, recipes, food products containing blueberries and more.

Blueberry Heaven

d) The Ex which takes place Aug 17 – Sept 3rd. I’ve been eating my way thru the Ex for the last two years and once again will be there the minute it opens. The minute!!

Eating My Way Thru The Ex.

e) The Toronto Garlic Festival which takes place Oct 13-14 at Evergreen Brickworks. I went last year and learned so much about garlic that I need to go back to learn even more!! (and taste more).

Garlic 101..So Much To Learn Here.

I know that my calendar has all these dates marked down and I encourage you to look at your calendars too. By all means take a peek at this website  called Festivals Toronto for a bigger list (way bigger) . In this blog post, I simply wanted to highlight some of my favorites!! I’m hoping to add a few more festivals to this growing list but like I said in the title of this blog post….so many festivals, so little time!!

PS what are your favorite festivals?

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Last weekend, I went camping at Island Spirits on Rice Lake. As you might know (or might not know) meal planning is an important element of the camping experience. We actually sat down and made a menu plan so that we would be prepared. Camping on an island means that there is no “corner” store to run to in the event you forget something!!

This is what we ate:

Friday nite: Salmon (click here for the recipe) and baked potatoes.

Friday nite dessert; Marshmallows (of course)

Saturday morning: Scrambled eggs and Yves Veggie Sausages

Kept me going all morning

Saturday lunch: Pizza made in the  wood fired brick oven. Was thrilled that we took advantage of this unique oven on the island

Awesome oven and an awesome chef!!

bubbling pizza

Saturday dinner: It was suppose to be corn on the cob but the sheep thought it was THEIR dinner. Dont get me started.

no corn for us…but I’m sure the sheep were happy

Instead, we had a huge salad.

Other food items we enjoyed: Pringles, blueberries, cherries, cereal and more. Next time we camp, will be freezing milk bags and not bringing a carton of milk. What do you think? good idea?

As for the camping vs eco cabin debate. Here are my thoughts:

a) If you stay in a eco cabin (there are only 3 on the island)  No sheep will be waking you up at 615 a.m “baaayyyiinng”.

Ya You..Thats right ..YOU. Were you the one baa-hhh-ing at 615 am?

b) If you stay in an eco cabin you don’t have to ensure that everything is “locked up” to prevent the sheep from eating your pens, food, etc.

c) Price. Slightly more money to stay in a cabin than to camp ($75 a weekend per adult for the weekend for a campsite vs $190 to $225 for an eco cabin) Here are the rates.

Needless to say we had a wonderful time enjoying the 21 acres (the size of the island). Lucky for us, there was only one other couple on the island. Talk about peace. I hear it’s not the same if you camp at a Provincial Park. Guess who is going to find out? ME. We have already began our search for the perfect camping spot. (suggestions welcome) Stay Tuned.

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For some reason Fresh was never on my radar. I figured “why would I go to a restaurant to have vegetarian food I could make at home?”. Well I WAS WRONG. (in a big way).

My friend introduced me to their Buddha bowl a few months ago and then another friend gave me the Fresh cookbook as a dinner gift. Clearly this was a sign that I should go again. Infact it was the perfect restaurant to visit seeing as I am trying to follow a carb free diet (14 days and counting – thank you very much).

We started off the meal, with the quinoa battered onion rings. I was totally blown away with these onion rings. They were crunchy and hefty. What a wicked way to start our meal.

Coated with breadcrumbs and puffed quinoa. Will be ordering this again!!

My boyfriend ordered the bbq burger which was served in a wrap and not a bun. The bbq burger is described as having a tangy bbq sauce, garlic mayo, quinoa rings, napa cabbage, hot bananas chilies, tomato and lettuce. It was not your ordinary veggie burger!

Not the best picture..sorry didnt have my Canon DSLR

I ordered the Italian Raw Bowl which is described as zucchini noodles tossed with a basil pesto, garnished with kale chips, grape tomatoes and sun dried tomatoes. This totally appealed to me.

One Word: FRESH

We would both order the same items again in a heart beat!!

There is clearly a reason why Fresh has been around since 1989. They are serving FRESH food with interesting flavors. Plus we had a lovely waitress who made sure we had plenty of water and was happy to answer our questions.

Locations:

Fresh on Bloor: 326 Bloor West (416) 599-4442…twitter @FreshonBloor

Fresh on Spadina: 147 Spadina (416) 599-4442…twitter @FreshonSpadina

Fresh on Crawford: 894 Queen West (416) 599-4442…twitter @FreshonCrawford

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I’ve just returned from visiting a new pizza restaurant that has opened up at 386 Bloor St West. It’s called Famoso Neapolitan Pizzeria and I have a good feeling that they are going to get a lot of love in Toronto.

Right in the Heart of the Annex

They are already a hit in Western Canada and they now have two locations here in Toronto (their first location is in the new Food Court at Yorkdale Shopping Centre).

I immediately liked  this blackboard  that you see when you walk in: (I am a sucker for clever marketing)

I am on a carb free diet so I was “good” and didn’t touch the pizza (sorry Famoso Pizzeria) but I certainly did enjoy the Gorgonzola Walnut Salad. It was exactly what I needed and the full size salad hit the spot ($12.50).

Perfect

I did however take a photo of their famous (and popular) Margherita Pizza. I mean who wouldn’ t want to dig into this?

Will have to return to try this one day soon when I’m no longer doing this crazy carb free thing.

What really grabbed my attention was the Nutella pizza. They take their authentic pizza crust and smother it in Nutella. I mean, seriously, could life get any better?

there is a Nutella banana version too!! ps I had a bite. I had to.

If you want to end your meal with something “lighter” – then try their authentic artisan-style gelato, which is handcrafted in small batches and has low levels of butterfat (4-6%) and made with no preservatives. Famoso Pizzeria has partnered with Fiasco Artisan Gelato and in my humble opinion, it’s a perfect match!!

I gravitated towards A SAMPLE of the blueberry basil (Wild BC blueberries macerated in fresh basil and cane sugar). …however other flavours include: salted caramel, burn sugar banana choccolate, zesty lemon and more!!

My carb free diet did not interfere with the opportunity to have a great meal at Famoso Neapolitan Pizzeria. There is something for everyone!!

Famoso Neapolitan Pizzeria:

1. Yorkdale Shopping Centre (full service restaurant in their new food court).

2. 386 Bloor St. West.

657-748-23333

@FamosoPizzeria

Hours: Sunday to Wednesday 11 a.m to 11 p.m, Thursday to Sunday 11 am to midnite

ps vegetarian friendly: Daiya Vegan cheese is available as a substitution for mozzarella at no extra cost

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As you know, I’m kind of a “contest junkie” so when I saw a tweet from Insomnia saying they were giving away a pair of tickets to see the screening of HYSTERIA…..I was right on it.

I clicked on their facebook  page and saw this:

Insomnia Restaurant and Lounge

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Last week, I biked from Bathurst/Eglinton to Evergreen Brick Works Farmers Market. It was a super easy route, and 99 % of the time I was on the beltline and not on a major street. I was kicking myself that I have never done this before!!

It was my first time visiting the Farmers’ Market since the Fall and was eager to buy vegetables, but I didn’t!! I bought only one item that day and that item was a cinnamon bun for $3 that was absolutely heavenly! I nibbled on it the ENTIRE DAY – that’s how good it was. (I wish I knew the vendor but I was clearly intoxicated from the smell and forgot to ask for a business card).

This was what was left at the end of the day.

The next day, I went to Ottawa to surprise my mom for Mother’s day. The sun was shining, so off we went to the Ottawa Farmers Market in their new home at Brewer park. We loved the lay out and every vendor that I spoke to was thrilled with the new location.

Once again, I had every intention to buy vegetables but ended up buying maple cotton candy. I felt like I won the lottery as I scored the last two bags.

Does anyone make this in Toronto?

What is wrong with me? Why didn’t I buy anything healthy? I honestly don’t have a sweet tooth but for some reason…did not buy one single vegetable at either farmers market. I’m not really concerned as I know that I will be visiting plenty of farmers markets over the summer and fall!!

For further info:

a) Farmers Markets: click on this website  www.farmersmarketsontario.com

b) Biking in Toronto: click on this website  www.bikingtoronto.com

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The last time I went to the Toronto Jewish Film Festival was to see a documentary called “The Shvitz”. I loved the film but for some reason never went back to the Jewish Film Festival. Tonite, I googled to find out when that movie was made and it was 1993. That’s right…1993.  So you could say, it was about time I returned to the Festival.

Well I certainly made up for lost time as I saw 5 movies in 48 hours. All of a sudden I became one of those “festival goers” – who studies the guide, circles the films that I wanted to see and becomes obsessed reading reviews.

See What I Mean?

Here’s what I saw. (funny…usually I write, Here’s What I Ate). LOL.

I saw 5 movies in 2 days..which meant I was pretty busy running to the Bloor Cinema (which is stunning by the way) and the Sheppard Centre.

4 out of 5 tickets. Proof that I kept busy.

Salsa in Tel Aviv, Israel 2011, Spanish, Hebrew, Director: Jorge Weller.

I really enjoyed this movie. It had great characters, beautiful scenes of Israel and a funny story.  Not to mention I had a slight crush on the main actor who was beyond handsome. It was a great way for me to get introduced to the Israeli Film Festival. Total Score.

How To Re-Establish a Vodka Empire, UK 2011, Director: Dan Edelstyn

A well executed documentary that revealed a humorous and fascinating journey. The audience has a chance to witness this young filmmaker as he tries to revive a village in Ukraine by rebranding and distributing vodka back in London.

Off White Lies, Israel, France, Hebrew Director: Maya Kenig

A drama that focuses on the relationship between a young 13 year old girl who has come to live with her estranged father in Israel. It was probably my least favorite movie out of the 5 movies I saw but I still enjoyed it.

Deaf Jam, USA 2011, Director Judy Lieff

This was the best movie I saw. I left this movie inspired, moved and in total awe of the cast and the vision of the director. I would see this movie again in a heart beat. I really hope that this film becomes available on DVD one day soon. What was it about? It was about ASL (American Sign Language) poetry and some amazing students and teachers.

Polish Bar, USA 2010, Director Ben Berkowitz

A fantastic drama about a young adult struggling to make it big as a DJ. Great acting and a strong story which made for a very entertaining film.

Sadly I wont be able to see any more movies on Sunday as I won’t be in the city. Otherwise I would be going to more!! If you get a chance, take a peek at the schedule and catch a film There’s still plenty of films to see. You won’t be disappointed.

Guess who will be going to the Toronto Jewish Film Festival next year? ME!!

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I am  really nervous about running the Toronto Marathon this Sunday. Let me rephrase that – I AM FREAKING. I have every doubt, fear, and have zero confidence at the moment. This happens to me before every race so I should be use to it. But I’m not. I have done 3 half marathons and before each race, I am a wreck. Go figure.

I seriously did not think I was going to register today, but I am going to. I decided last nite (nothing like waiting to the last minute) after reading some positive comments from my facebook friends. I seem to always resister the day of the expo, but that’s because I want to see what the weather is like (ok ok..I’m a bit of a princess). Guess what? It’s going to be 16 degrees and sunny on Sunday. Talk about “Perfect Conditions”.

So let’s review why I am so nervous:

1. I have only been training on a treadmill.. It’s weird – I know. I did not go out for a run once outdoors.

2. My longest run has only been 9 miles. I am hoping praying, that the rest is all mental.

3. I am registering late, so it will cost me $105 to participate. This is a problem, as I can think of a few restaurants I could go to with this money.

4. I am SLOW…REALLY SLOW. In fact with each race, I get slower and slower  – so why am I doing this? (don’t answer).

I have resolved to do the following things to help me on Sunday:

1. I am NOT going to wear a watch. I am just going to shuffle my way thru the 21 km and just enjoy the moment.

2. I am going to celebrate  this accomplishment and go to Poutini’s on Sunday nite. It’s about the only thing I will be able to afford!!

3. I am going to try and repeat this mantra throughout the race “one step at a time…one step at a time” and “you can do this…you can do this”.

Happy to hear from any of my readers with words of encouragement. These comments really do help me.

P.S. after this race…I am going to cross train for the next few months and get ready for a Sprint Triathlon. I didn’t do one last year and I really missed it. I know I will go thru the same “pre-race” jitters but for some reason I am less of a wreck. Except for the swim part. Stay tuned for a similar blog post.

Wish me luck.

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