I retuned from Israel on September 4th and lucky for me, I was able to feel like Israel was right here in Toronto due to an event held by Ezer Mizion.

FYI….Ezer Mizion is Israel’s largest Health Support Organization Specifically, Ezer Mizion’s diverse line-up of services includes the world’s largest Jewish Bone Marrow Donor Registry and specialized programs for children with special needs, cancer patients, the elderly, and terror victims.

I was all to happy to find out that this incredible organization was recreating in Toronto one of my favourite markets: Mahane Yehuda.

I knew the event was going to be popular and I was right!! Wychwood Barn had  a massive line up outside (even though people had purchased tickets) right from the start.  It would not surprise me (at all) if this event will take place in a bigger venue next year and perhaps over a Sunday/Monday of a long weekend!

I couldn’t stop smiling when I saw my favourite vendors from Israel right here in Toronto. Seeing this vendor, really made my day!

It was also a pleasure to meet Norene Giletz, who was selling her famous cookbook, Second Helping Please.

Naturally I had to buy these incredible Rugelach from Marzipan Bakery. I didn’t even blink when I found out the price. I overheard someone say: “I can’t believe the price” and I replied “Well they had to get here from Israel” and she came back with a pretty funny line: “They must have flown first class”. I had a good chuckle.

I understand from facebook that they are still available at Kosher City Plus #justsayin’.

Seeing the Halva King also brought a smile to my face (and my tummy too).

Congratulations to all the volunteers who organized this event. Looking forward to next year’s Shuk.

For more information:

Website; www.ezermizion.org

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

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Lately, my favourite activity on a Saturday has been to visit Wychwood Farmers’ Market  (601 Christie St – Bathurst and St. Clair) and then head home to start cooking a storm.

Seriously, you are never going to find produce like this at your local grocery store.

In between chopping, I will be honest – I spend some time on Pinterest. Click here to see my Food Board which has over 350 ideas!

I’m now going to share with you what I served for Saturday night. As much as I like going out to restaurants – I really do enjoy the simple pleasure of cooking and eating in!

Here’s what was served:

Roasted Carrots with Curried Chickpeas and Creamy Citrus Dressing (original recipe found here). 

Side note: I’ve made roasted chickpeas before and they didn’t come out. I’m convinced this time the recipe turned out as I followed an important step to take them out out of their shells. Trust me, it wasn’t fun and it was time consuming but it was worth it.

Chicken with Teriyaki Sauce (original recipe can be found here) ps bought the chicken at Sanagans and we think it was worth it.

Squash Stuffed with Candied Walnuts (sorry, no recipe..just made it up).

A Simple Salad made with veggies I bought at the Farmer’s Market.

As you can see, dinner was delicious.

Happy Cooking!!

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Often I head to a farmer’s market and all I want to do is buy veggies and go home and make salads.

Therefore I encourage you this weekend to head out to a Farmers Market to buy some beautiful local veggies so you too can rush home and make a delicious salad too.

Here are a few salads that I made last weekend!

Salad Saturday consisted of sliced zucchini, black olives, goat cheese, and romaine lettuce.

The romaine lettuce that I purchased at the  Wychwood Farmers Market had a huge root at the bottom of it. I swear I never see this root when I go to the supermarket to buy a lettuce.

Salad Sunday consisted of roasted garlic, cherry tomatoes and onions with a salad mix. Then I added some crumbled blue cheese to make the salad interesting!!

I should mention that one night I made another veggie dish that I would make again…..Zucchini Noodles with an Avocado Pesto Dressing. Please click here for the recipe. Notice the little avocado star I made? I was so proud of myself. LOL

I love making salads!

I hate making dressings though. They always take a long time but I know the effort is worth it!

Happy Salad Saturday/Sunday!

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Appleseed Cider Fest took place on Sunday May 29th at Wychwood Barns.

I decided to stop by as I enjoy the occasional cider and love the venue. Plus I wanted to support this unique festival as that’s the way I roll. (It’s true).

I had the chance to chat with the festival organizer, who told me that he use to run a beer festival in London, Ontario and now that he was living in Toronto  he wanted to continue to run festivals/events.

Naturally I wanted to try some new ciders and this was the perfect venue to do that. There was no shortage of ciders. This is definitely a growing category!!

I had 3 tickets and not a lot of time (story of my life).  Here’s the three ciders that I tried.

1. Ernest Cider: This cider has recently been launched and it’s not to  to sweet, nor too tart; Ernest Cider is a new, lightly filtered, hand-crafted hard cider. Not to mention, it has an alcohol content of 6.4 per cent and has two to three times less sugar than the mass-produced domestic or imported cider. #LOVEIT (plus I like their branding and I’m a total sucker for great marketing)

2. Coffin Ridge – The Old Orchard Organic Seasonal cider that I sampled was also perfect. I asked where I could find it and the vendor mentioned that it was going to be available at a new cider bar. I replied “tell me more”.  He mentioned that it’s a new restaurant/cider bar called  Her Father’s Cider Bar and it’s at 119 Harbord. Can’t wait to visit this new concept!

3. The last ticket was shared on two ciders (a little bit of each) that DID not appeal to me. (repeat; DID NOT APPEAL TO ME).  There’s very few items that I taste that I don’t like and I simply could NOT finish either cider. It was indeed funky!!

Congratulations to the organizer of this festival. Looking forward to attending the festival in 2017.!!

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Summer is over but that doesn’t mean that there’s any shortage of events to go to! Here’s a list of some of events that are on my radar.   in my calendar and they should be in your calendar too!

1. TIFF. September 10 – 20, 2015

Even if you don’t go to a movie, head downtown and hang out near any of the venues or even a hotel lobby to see how Toronto explodes during this festival.

Did you know that the Toronto International Film Festival® invites audiences to step outside the theatre for a Festival Street initiative?  From September 10 to 13, King Street West between Peter and University Streets will be closed to vehicular traffic and transformed into a pedestrian paradise free for all to enjoy.

2. The Toronto Garlic Festival.  Sunday September 20, Wychwood Barns

I’ve been going to this festival for years and always delighted to see how creative the vendors can get. Please note the new location (which I think is great news by the way).

3. Toronto Outdoor Art Exhibition. September 18 – 20, Nathan Phillips Square.

Never been to this event but it’s now in my calendar.

4. Toronto Food and Wine , September 18 – 20, Evergreen Brickworks

Sample, sip and savour your way through the festival, get up close and personal with your favourite celebrity chefs and culinary professionals, experience once in a lifetime dining experiences, relax in the exclusive VIP lounge, enjoy book signings, attend exciting trade seminars, and much more.

5. Soupalicious, Sunday September 27th at Wychwood Barns from noon to 3:30 pm. I absolutely adore this event as it’s well organized, supports a great initiative, and features dozens of great restaurants that serve tasty, tasty soups. Just make sure to buy your tickets in advance and show up early!!

September is going to be a busy month. (but in a good way).

Hope to bump into you at one of the above mentioned events.

Cheers!!

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I scored…I went to two fabulous festivals in one day. I started off at the Wild Blueberry Festival at Evergreen Brickworks and then proceeded to the Coconut Festival at Wychwood Barns!

Here’s more about my experience at both Festivals.

WILD BLUEBERRY FESTIVAL

I’ve been to this festival before as I’m a huge fan of Wild Blueberries. Did you know…that they have 2x the antioxidants of regular blueberries and have a more intense blueberry flavour?

The festival had a variety of vendors who had incorporated wild blueberries into their products and I was all too pleased to have a sample or two!  I even met a new vendor..Celia the Celiac and bumped into a vendor I hadn’t seen in a long time (Augies Gourmet Ice Pops)

Congratulations to the festival organizers for putting on another well organized festival.

THE COCONUT FESTIVAL

I discovered this festival on my facebook page as I follow Ely Products  and he posted that was going to be one of the vendors. The whole concept of a coconut festival intrigued me and naturally I thought it would be fun to “festival hop’.

It was their first year putting on this festival and it won’t be their last year. The festival was a huge success with over 100 vendors. It was quite amazing to see all the different applications of coconut!

It was fun to bump into Marni Wasserman (who has a studio that I’ve been meaning to visit for a class) and to discover a great new non dairy gelato product from Grinning Face (540 Parliament) that just opened in June!  I also enjoyed yummy samosas with coconut and raisins from @andriabarrett.

Once again, congratulations to the organizers of the Coconut Festival. ..what a truly unique concept.

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Dear Soupalicious.

Why did it take me so long to find you? It’s your third year running this event, but it was my first time attending. I was super impressed with everything about your event: from the friendly volunteers, to the venue (Wychood Barns, 601 Christie) . But it’s the SOUP that I want to talk about.

Just so you know, I was sick with a bad cold on Sept 30th but I was all too happy to “sip, slurp and savour”!!

I couldn’t believe how many participating restaurants and chefs you had at this event…over 30, right?

Sadly I couldn’t taste every single soup from every single vendor but here’s a few soups that did stand out!!

1. Globe Earth Restaurant: They served a white chocolate parsnip soup with pistachio earth and sour cherry reduction. OMG.

2. Brunchworks Cafe: This vegetarian french onion soup with garlic crostini rocked. There was a touch of fennel in this soup, that made the soup “extra ordinary”. Loved it.

3. A Food Gypsy: They served a savoury, sweet and locally delicious cabbage borsht that was outstanding. Lisa explained to me that she had used a organic beet broth to make the soup extra flavorful and it worked!!

Brilliant.

4. Cheesewerks: Their rustic herb tomato soup hit the spot. Not to mention it was Gluten/Dairy free and Vegan!

Congratulations to Soupalicous and to Plant a Row, Grow a Row. What a great event and what a great organization. I wasn’t aware of this organization before, but found out that the funds raised from Soupalicious are dedicated to the support Plant a Row • Grow a Row which encourages the sharing of the harvest from your garden with neighbours in need.

I’m already looking forward to next years event.

Cheers,

Vicky – @momwhoruns

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