The Perfect Sunday Breakfast

Temperatures have been skyrocketing and there is no better way to take advantage of these warm temperatures than to visit the Sugarbush Maple Syrup Festival. I have been going to a maple syrup festival since I was a kid and have continued the tradition. (I’m now just a big kid). This weekend, Toronto will see WARM temperatures once again…so why not take a drive out of the city.

I swear, in no time at all (i.e 20 minutes with no traffic) you can be at either Kortright Centre or Bruce’s Mills Conservation area to enjoy pancakes, a nature walk, bird watching, maple syrup, and wagon rides.

Things I have learned over the years:

a) go early to avoid line ups. Seriously.

b) wear rainboots. I can assure you that it will be muddy

c) visit with an empty stomach. You don’t want to miss the opportunity to eat pancakes at these festivals (see the photo of the pancakes on the top left? do I need to explain?)

d) take advantage of the wagon rides (like I said, I’m a big kid).

e) bring a camera and take pictures of the great outdoors.

What a great way to TAP into Spring !! (I stole this line from the Toronto Regional Conservation Authority – they should get the credit).

P.S the Sugarbush Maple Syrup Festival takes place this year from March 3 to April 9th.

Bruce’s Mill Conservation Area, 3291 Stouffville Rd, Stouffville ON (3 kms east of Highway 404)

Kortright Centre for Conservation, 9550 Pine Valley Drive, Vaughan ON (south of Major Mackenzie Drive)

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I found two apps recently that I would like to share with you. One is a food app and the other is a booze app – not a bad combo.

Seriously, I think both these apps are genius. Which is why I am blogging about them.

The first app is called Get Cracking which is brought to you by the Egg Farmers of Canada. Here is what I love about this app:

-the design of the app is clean. Super clean. There is NOTHING complicated about this app.

-they have thought of everything..even an egg timer!!

-the color and the font are user friendly i.e yellow and white with an easy to read font

-its SIMPLE to use. Click on the video below and you will see what I mean.

The next app that I discovered is the LCBO app. Even though LCBO is not on twitter…I will forgive them as this app is super easy to use and makes my life that much easier when I’m trying to locate a new beer!! There has been times (in the past), where I had to go to three stores in order to find a particular bottle of beer.

I simply enter the product I’m looking for – let’s say Great Lakes Orange Peel Ale – enter my postal code – and poof – the app will tell me what LCBO in my neighborhood is carrying this product and HOW MUCH INVENTORY they have of that particular product.  How brilliant is that?

As for the design of this app: the team did a great job. It’s simple to navigate without a lot of copy. Perfect!!

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Many years ago, my friend use to invite guests over on a Sunday afternoon for “tea”. It was a nice way to end a Sunday afternoon, and we always met new people without the formality of a sit down dinner.

I decided after writing my blog post about my china collection, that it was time for me to host my own tea party and to actually use my china and not just stare at it in the cupboard!!

Here’s some tips how to host a tea party:

1. I invited 10 woman from 3-5 p.m.

2. I set the table with china cups and saucers. (my favorite part)

Love Setting a Table

3. I served: orange almond scones (recipe to follow in another blog), fruit, a cheese platter, party sandwiches, and of course tea!! It was just the right amount of food.

4. As for the tea: I was SO lucky to have met a tea sommelier a year ago at a food show and she graciously brought her collection of tea and actually educated my guests about tea. My guests enjoyed her line of Tea and All its Splendour plus Sloane tea as well!! I brought out the new Perk Tetley Tea (with added cafferine) as well but no one seemed to want to try it. (sniff)  No question, my guests did not leave thirsty and they left inspired too.

Raelene with her line of Tea and All its Splendour

5. Raelene (Tea and All Its Splendour) even brought the right tea kettle so that the water could be boiled at the correct temperature!! I was so impressed.

I’m not kidding, my tea party would not have been the same without her presence. Full Disclosure; I did not know how to make loose leaf tea till this tea party…she saved me!!

It was a great afternoon and I’m sure I will do it again…now that I know how to make tea!!

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I never seem to get tired of going to food shows as I’m always looking for new products. It’s just the way I am wired …I guess!! In any case, this years CRFA show (Canadian Restaurant and Food Show) did not disappoint me. I found several products that were new and this blog entry will be dedicated to them.

The first product, is called Molton Ice Glasses and infact they were  launched at the show. GBS Food Service Equipment saw these creative glasses in Europe and scooped up the rights to bring it into North America. I thought it was a genius idea and if (operative word – IF) I was throwing a party I know that this is one product I would want to get.

Molton Ice Glass

The next item that caught my eye, is a fantastic example of taking an existing product (i.e Extreme Bean) and creating a new way to serve it!! I loved this idea – it’s a tempura battered Extreme Bean. Now, Extreme Bean has been around since 2000 however they recently partnered with Cavendish to create this delicious product. I am hoping that restaurant owners at the show discovered this product and will be putting it on their menus sometime soon!!

I also came across a new cheese (to be entered into my cheese diary, of course) called Albert’s Leap. Nothing beats a creamy cheese with mushroom-like flavors. Not to mention that it’s locally made in Ontario!!

Love the name of this cheese too! Im a sucker for marketing, can you tell?

I stopped at the David Rio booth as I loved the packaging of the product. David Rio, crafts a premium chai and loves animals so much that each product is named after an endangered species and they support animal welfare organizations as well. I sampled the Tiger Spice and loved it as it had just the right balance of spices and it wasn’t too sweet. Plus all of David Rios’ products are certified Kosher, gluten free and contains no hydrogenated oils or trans fat. (bonus).

Once again, the CRFA show did not disappoint me. I walked around for hours, shmoozed with vendors, sampled A LOT….and like a good foodie I went directly to GoodLife after the show to burn off a few calories on the treadmill.

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I was invited to an event at Loblaws, so I could learn more about their PC Blue  Menu Products and learn more about initiatives taking place to help consumers make healthier choices. I signed up right away – as I’m a big believer in eating fresh foods and cooking from scratch.

The evening started off really well. I snacked on PC greek yoghurt with some PC Blue Menu Granola. I was a happy camper.

Healthy Snacks!!

Then we went downstairs for a tour which was led by one of their in-house nutritionists (did you know they offer this service?) We walked through the a variety of aisles and learned about hidden sugars, hidden sodium,  and how to select food with more  fibre. It was all very interesting.

However…in the back of my mind I kept thinking about tweets I had read on twitter about the DONUTS  and the CUPCAKES that are served at this location. Seriously.  I am not joking. I was surrounded by nutritionists and dreaming about donuts and cupcakes!!! Could it get any worse? the answer is: YES.

I snuck away from the group (me. bad) and bought:  A RED VELVET INFUSED CUPCAKES:

That's Right...INFUSED. Could Life Get Any Better?

THEN I BOUGHT A CHILI CHOCOLATE DONUT!

I inhaled the donut. It was THAT good.

Let’s end this blog post about eating healthy!! Please check out the Loblaws website so you can learn more about their cooking school, their nutritionists, and their tours.

Here’s to a Healthy March!!

p.s. I ran on the treadmill 5 times this week so I felt like I could have a “treat”. Does that make sense?

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I’ve posted a recipe before that was less than 140 characters, but I think that this recipe takes the cake. HA HA.

You know when you want just a “little something” but you don’t want to make an entire cake? Here’s the solution to your problem. Naturally I found this recipe on Pinterest..which is my latest addiction.

Here’s what you need:

Two boxes of Betty Crocker cake mix. Please note, that one of those boxes MUST be Angel Cake.

Here’s the recipe:

1. Mix the two boxes of cake mix into a zip loc bag.

2. Put 3 tablespoons of cake mix into a mug. Add 2 tablespoons of water. Stir.

3. Put the mug into a microwave and cook for 1 minute.

Voila – a perfect size portion of cake. Of course, I added the perfect size scoop of ice cream to make it even better!!

P.S. Store the mixture in an airtight container or just keep it in the zip loc bag for future “treats”.

Seriously…how awesome is this recipe? How awesome is Pinterest?

Disclosure: I am part of the Life Made Delicious Blogger program and I receive special perks as part of my affiliation with this group. The opinions on this blog are my own.

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A few years ago, I had a doughnut at the Doughnut Plant in New York City. I then came to the realization that not all doughnuts are created equal!!

i.e there’s a HUGE difference between a commercially made doughnut and one that is made in house in small batches.

I also have been lucky enough to have discovered Suzi Q Doughnuts in Ottawa as well as doughnuts from Fraser Cafe.Therefore my quest for “really good doughnuts” continues.

Thanks to twitter I discovered  Thor Espresso Bar was serving  Glory Hole Doughnuts…..which means, I HAD TO GO. (like a good foodie)

Here was the Doughnut Menu:

Decisions, Decisions, Decisions

I decided to order the lemon meringue doughnut and I wasn’t disappointed at all. The curd and the meringue were perfect which resulted in an awesome doughnut experience.

YUM. ME.

Clearly the donughnut required a coffee so here’s a picture of a perfect cup of coffee:

Doughnut + Coffee = Happiness

The owner of Glory Hole Doughnuts took time out of her busy schedule to chat with me one day. I found out more about her background (she’s a trained pastry chef) and why she opened up this business. (she simply loves doughnuts). I also found out that there’s a rotation of 11 flavours. I really think I should organize a Doughnut Tweet Up so we can try all the flavors!!

Who’s in?

These doughnuts are really really popular so go early!! It was worth the drive downtown on a Sunday morning at 10:00 a.m.!

Glory Hole Doughnuts can be found at the following locations on an ALMOST daily basis (best to call first)

Thor Espresso Bar: 35 Bathurst St, Toronto, ON (416) 451 8736

The Burger  Bar 319 Augusta Avenue, Toronto ON (416) 922 7423…SATURDAYS ONLY

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I have succumbed to yet another social media obsession called Pinterest. You will notice a little gizmo on the side of my home page that says “follow me on Pinterest”. Some of you are probably asking “What is Pinterest”, so let me explain.

It’s basically a board that enables you to “PIN” things you like. Naturally I have a ‘food board”and a “design board” but you could have a “things that are funny board” or a board that is about “fashion” or a board for “planning an event”  etc. It’s very visual – it’s very easy to use -and it’s VERY ADDICTIVE.

One day I was skimming thru Pinterest and came across this photo:

I said to myself “that is SO cool” and later that day found myself buying a fish bowl from the dollar store and then bought blue jello and swedish fish. I guess I was in a “Martha Stewart” kind of mood.

I also showed the above photo to a friend, who said ‘how are you going to get the fish to float?”. I replied “Im sure there’s instructions somewhere on the internet”. Guess what? Did not find ANY instructions and indeed my fish sank quicker than I could say “please don’t sink”.

I then morphed into Macguivre and started to pull together a few items that might help my fish from sinking: plastic forks, elastic bands, chopsticks and tape. DON”T ASK.

are you laughing yet?

I stuck the fish bowl into the fridge and when I pulled out the fish from the forks – it was not pretty.

HELP!!

Lesson to be learned: I am clearly not fit to try Martha Stewart projects and I’m not Macguivre. My final product did not come out anything remotely looking like the photo that I saw on Pinterest. But I must admit – I had a good laugh.

Fail...

By all means, if anyone wants to try this project and let me know how they prevented the fish from sinking – please let me know.

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As you know, I’m a sales rep and on the road throughout the GTA. This means, that I’m always on the lookout for something cheap and cheerful for lunch. Here’s a list of my top 10 cheap and cheerful restaurants in Toronto.

1. Mother Dumplings; I can’ stop ordering B8 which is boiled dumplings filled with bok choi, mushrooms and tofu. 12 pieces for $7.49. This makes me very very happy!!

Address: 421 Spadina Avenue

2. The Fish Sandwich Store; You pick the type of fish you want (that is lying on a bed of ice infront of you) and he grills it and then puts it on to a perfect roll.

Address: 654 College St.

3. Cheese Emporium; They make a simple simple grilled cheese sandwich on a simple sub style roll  – for $5. Cash and Carry. Note: hugely popular at lunch with high school students. Therefore, I  try not to go there exactly at noon.

Address: 1-245 Eglinton Avenue East.

$5

4. Poutini’s: I love this place. That is all. (ps I was the 2nd customer when they first opened 2 years ago and so so proud of this fact)

Address: 1112 Queen St. West

Heaven!! Bonus - Veggie Friendly

5. New York Subway – this gem of a place closed for a year and I was SO SAD. I have been ordering the potato burrito for years. Note: they don’t serve subways here!! Plus – the burritos arent filled with beans and rice like a typical burrito.

Address: 520 Queen St. West

6. Dr. Laffa. Ive organized two tweet ups at this restaurant and I blogged about this restaurant as well- no need for me to explain my love for this place. Nobody is making Sabih like this restaurant.

Address: 401 Magnetic Drive

Sabih. Want. Now.

7. Mustachio; Love visiting this St. Lawrence Market stall to order my massive eggplant sandwich.

Address: 91 Front Street East, Lower Level

8. Cheesewerks: Perfectly grilled grilled cheese sandwiches in a stunning space that is LICENCED. Can you say beer and grilled cheese sandwiches? what a combo. I organized a tweet up right after opening nite – cause I wanted to share my love for this place with others.

Address: 56 Bathurst Street

9. One Love Vegetarian: You probably pass this restaurant all the time on Bathurst but have never gone in. I hope you stop the car one day soon and check out this awesome veggie restaurant that makes some great tasting food ie SOUP. You have to try their famous soup which has been on the food network!! ps impressive website too.

10. Last but not least…My  OWN Kitchen. Its not a restaurant but I can make some pretty good cheap and cheerful meals!!

What do you do for lunch. Do you bring your own? do you go to the same restaurant all the time? do you eat the same sandwich all the time?

Would love to know.

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