Last year, I received a watermelon and some interesting  carving ideas!!. I am normally one of those people who simply likes to cut up watermelon into chunks or slices but I was up for the challenge to be a bit more creative. I decided to make a hedgehog out of the watermelon and it was a HUGE HIT. It wasn’t hard to make and the kids thought I was supermom!! (always a good feeling..LOL).

This year, I received a watermelon too but when I looked at the amazing website (you should too)…I was overwhelmed when deciding what should I carve? I simply stared at the website and needless to say,  the watermelon stared at me in the fridge. (infact it’s still there – I went out and bought two new ones).

All my problems were solved, when I was introduced to a woodcarver (and artist), Siggi Buhler. I told him about the watermelon challenge and my “carving problems”….he was all too happy to help.

Here’s what happen.

a) I brought the watermelons and necessary tools!!

b) Siggi started to do his magic with the watermelon.  (I was the assistant – of course)

stage one...

some upper teeth and an eye gets carved..

some bottom teeth gets carved

Voila - A Watermelon Shark

Many thanks to Siggi for his help.

Siggi - relaxing after "the watermelon challenge"!!

PS Watermelon are still out in the grocery stores. I encourage you to go to the watermelon website and click on carvings and try this fun activity at home.

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My daughter (who is almost 12), had a friend visiting from Buffalo on Sunday. I tried to get them to go to a conservation area, but she really wanted to show her friend the “city”. So we compromised by visiting Riverdale Farm and then going on an ice cream crawl.

Here’s the scoop (ha ha) on the ice cream cream crawl:

1st Stop: Gregs Ice Cream (750 Spadina)

We ordered the roasted marshmallow ice cream with hot fudge sauce. Naturally – one cup and 3 spoons. We always take visitors here and our visitors are always impressed. Whats not to like? the roasted marshmallow ice cream is nothing short of perfect!

We sampled peanut butter and jelly, which was also good but I’m forever loyal to my roasted marshmallow ice cream. What a winner of a flavor!!

2nd Stop: Menchies (we went to 511 Bloor St…but check their website for more locations)

The kids loved sampling all the flavors and loved looking at the wall of famous people who also enjoy Menchies!! After they sampled EVERYTHING (well it seemed that way), they decided on “cake batter” and then threw in some toppings too. (brownies, cheese cake pieces, pineapple).

3rd Stop: Yogurty’s (we went to 875 Eglinton Ave. W..but check their website for more more locations)

This is the latest addition to the fro-yo craze. Again, the kids seem to sample everything but this time they were full and they didn’t order anything. (bad customers!!).

Next time, we do an ice cream crawl I know it will include Eds Real Scoop, XoXoCava and Dutch Dreams. We simply didnt have time!!

What’s your favorite ice cream?

ps I realized that this “ice cream crawl” was part ice cream, part frozen yoghurt – but it wasnt a serious “tasting” – just wanted the kids to have fun. (which they did).

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I have been going to Chudleighs for years and years and years, and I still love it. I’m not sure who has a better time, the kids or me!!

I love the whole thing – the wagon ride out to the apple orchards, the corn on the cob, the fresh crisp apples and watching the kids have a blast on the slide or playing in the maze.

After a few years, I have now perfected my visit!! Here’s a few tips to make your trip more pleasant:

-Bring your own water.  The kids will be thirsty after running around so much!

-Try to go as early as possible. (i.e when it opens first thing in the morning) Chudleighs is POPULAR.

-When you arrive, head right to the wagon rides to avoid super long line ups later.

-after you pick your apples, pay for them right away. Again – this will help you to avoid super long line ups later.

In the event you are looking for some inspiration to make pie…on Saturday Sept 17th, there is an apple pie contest at Chudleighs!! I actually made an apple ONCE . It wasnt as hard as I thought but for some reason I have never made it again. I like to switch things up a bit – apple crisp, baked apples, apple pie, sliced apple with peanut butter, sliced apple with cheddar cheese etc. I even dice up apples and put them into salads sometimes.

So hurry to Chudleighs for a great fall outing. Its just off the 401 and worth the drive.

Chudleighs, 9528 Hwy 25, Halton Hills, (905) 878-2725.

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What a great week…I scored not only an invite to a TIFF movie (see previous post) but I scored an invite to a TIFF Party too.

Both invites were a result of twitter. So if you arent on twitter – what are you waiting for?? I mean really!!

OK back to the party. Here’s what my afternoon looked like on Tuesday:

4: 30 – 5:45 p.m. – watched the US Open Mens Finals at a friends house. It was an epic match between Nadal and Jokovic.

6:00 – 6:30 pm – hair straightened.

6:40 p.m – 7 pm. – shower and dress to impress!!

7:00 – 7: 45 p.m – make up gets done at Shoppers Drug Mart by the nicest make up artist (Andrew) who does magic with his brushes and powders.

Then I went downtown to The Hoxton (69 Bathurst S) for the Diet Coke TIFF Gala!! What can I say? The party rocked. …the music, the people, the drinks, the food and the overall atmosphere. I met some of old twitter friends and met some new twitter friends too (@wedding_crasher, @laurenjacobs @danjacobs).

Congratulations to Diet Coke!! You sure do know how to throw a TIFF party…right down to the napkins.

I like this message!!

P.S a huge thank you to @MDee14 for the invite.

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happiness!!

I received  a tweet from @Whisk_Food_Blog that she had an extra ticket to see the screening of “Hick” at the Winter Garden Theatre…..would I like to join her?

The answer was “YES, YES, YES”.

I have been itching to go to a TIFF event for the last several years. I didnt care if it was a movie screening or a party…I just wanted to go to something that was related to this Toronto International Film Festival.

So off I went to meet @Whisk_Food_Blog who I have never met before and who had driven in from Ottawa to attend this screening!! I was thrilled to finally meet someone I had been chatting with on twitter for over a year, IRL (in real life)

Watching the movie at the Winter Garden Theatre in itself was pretty neat. As for the movie “HICK’ – I liked it. I liked the story and the acting and I have no doubt that when it hits theatres it will be well received by critics and the public.

After the screening, we went to Tim Hortons to grab a coffee. There was a woman inside, with huge heels, wearing a sparkling dress. She was chatting away and I really didn’t pay attention. When she left I found out that it was “Juliette Lewis“. (who was in the film by the way).

What a great way to end my first experience at TIFF.

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too many to count!!

I’ve confessed to having an obsession with paper napkins/plates in a previous post. But I have another confession to make.

I have a Ziploc container obsession too.

It all started when I was pregnant (many many years ago). I knew that I wouldnt have time to cook once I had a baby, so I spent a lot of time FREEZING.

You name it – I froze it: Lasagna, Chili, Soups, Stuffed Pasta Shells, Kasha and Bowties, Crisps, apple sauce, rice, banana muffins, cookies and more.

Years later – I continue to freeze. It’s become almost a habit. I can’t seem to make a single batch of ANYTHING.

Ziploc containers have saved me!! I love them. I honestly dont know what I use to do before they existed. Oh yeah – I stored soup in Ziploc bags!!

My “Ziploc” drawer is a bit overboard – but hey – I never run out!! As you can see from the photo I’m a bit behind these days. However when I logged onto Life Made Delicious, I entered the word “freeze” and 128 recipe ideas came up with tips at the bottom of each recipe if I want to freeze the recipe. I love it!!

Must stop blogging now and start freezing!!

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

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I was motivated on Monday to spend some time in the kitchen. Here’s what motivated me.

• cooler temperatures: this was a huge incentive. HUGE.
• a tweet from @SarahMphoto on Sunday nite with a photo of her apple crisp that just came out of the oven. When I replied back “recipe”? she kindly tweeted me back the recipe.
• the recipe was less than 140 characters…how could I NOT make it.
• the fact that Bruno’s was open and I could pick up two varieties of apples for the recipe..Ginger Gold and Paula Red.

So here’s what the tweet like:

@momwhoruns: 4-6 apples, topping: 3/4 cup rolled oats, 3/4 brown sugar, 1/2 cup flour, 1/2 cup melted butter, 1 tsp cinnamon, bake 350 35-40 minutes.

Could it get any simpler? I mean really!!

I chopped up my apples and made my topping:

two steps..

I put the apples in a pie plate, put the topping on top and voila… .this was on my plate 40 minutes later. Sadly no ice cream was available but Im sure it would be even more amazing with ice cream!!  I should note that I added more rolled oats than the original recipe.

Voila...

I continued to make tomato sauce and a brocoli crunch salad. Stay tuned later this week for more recipes K?

PS many thanks to Sara for motivating me to get into the kitchen and make this apple crisp!! I can’t wait to go to Chudleighs to pick more varieties of apples and to try this recipe again (and again..and again).

Happy Baking!!

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I like to try new recipes and my mom likes to shop for new furniture and redecorate.

Yet we get along!!

She is an amazing woman in many ways. She is on top of every trend-beauty, fashion or decorating (not food trends though..she leaves that to me).

I am always in awe when I visit Ottawa as she has been in the process of redecorating the condo for the last year (for the 3rd time in 30 years).

Here’s what the condo now looks like. Isn’t it awesome. I could never accomplish what she does – she really does think of every detail. I have to say that my mom has great taste but she has used the same decorator (Donna Corey from Kiss Interiors) for the last 30 years (she was her first client). Donna helps with sources and confirms what my mom selects is “right” and guides her with the details. Clearly they have a good working relationship between decorator and client.

I love this painting...

I have "fireplace" envy.

A cheery family room.

PS did I mention my mom was 72 years old? Pretty neat eh?

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When I was 16 years old, I went on a 7 day canoe trip on Lake Temagami. I have fond memories of two things: Gorp and Bannock.

So when a new restaurant opened up called “Bannock” – I was all too happy to go, seeing as I hadn’t had bannock in a very very long time. (will not tell you how long..I’m so mean). I went with @livelovelearnTO who is from Australia and had never had bannock!!

I knew that I was going to order bannock but we also had a few other items as well.

Oh so fresh...

Appetizer 1:  Ontario tomatoes – with tarragon, soy bean hummus and hemp seed dressing ($9). No complaints.

Oh so colorful

Appetizer 2: Split pea fritters with kozliks mustard mayo and rocket ($9). It was ok – kinda looked better than it tasted. The pea fritters were a bit drier than I would have liked.

Mains:

I ordered Bannock Bannock – House smoked salmon, onion, cumin, cream cheese $14). It was nice but nothing over the top. However, someone is doing a really nice job in the kitchen of slicing all those vegetables paper thin!

Oh so pretty...

Anna ordered the winning dish: Pickerel taco and cucumber apple salad with caviar tartar ($11).

A winner!!

The taco was not your usually taco shell. The soft dough was phenomenal as the base for the perfectly cooked fish. (which I believe comes from Purdys). It was a dish that I would certainly order again.

Sadly, we didnt order any desserts. This just means that I have to return as I LOVE a good butter tart!!

Oops…forgot to mention the service:  It was outstanding. I couldn’t even count how many times that I was asked if my water needed refilled.

Hope you get a chance to drop by Bannock sometime soon – there is also a grab ‘n go cafe in the event you don’t have time to sit down.

Congratulations to Oliver & Bonacini for opening up yet another fine restaurant.

Bannock..located inside the Hudson Bay Co. at 401 Bay St. (416-834-6996)

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Each time I visit Ottawa there is a new restaurant for me to try and new people for me to meet (yay tweet ups!!).

Here’s a review of three places I went to this past weekend:

a) Stella Luna Gelato Cafe (1103 Bank St)

I had read rave reviews about this new gelato place that opened up just  FOUR weeks ago and put it on the top of my list to visit. I introduced myself  to the owner Tammy and her husband and she graciously took a few minutes out of her busy schedule to chat with me.  She also encouraged me to sample a variety of gelatos (think – blood orange, salty pistachio, marscapone and rum).  While I was sampling the gelato, a customer approached Tammy and said “are you the woman responsible for my ever growing waistline”. It was too funny.

Blood Orange Gelato

Clearly Stella Luna Gelato Cafe  is a hit and has been welcomed by the Ottawa community. Not only are they serving fabulous gelato but the space is gorgeous too with little nooks, beautiful chairs and lamps and stunning photographs from Italy on the walls.

How Cozy!

b) Tweet up at The Manx for Brunch (370 Elgin St)

This wasnt a formal tweet up but a few foodies gathered to have brunch at a very popular pub in Ottawa called The Manx. We arrived 15 minutes before the doors opened and  trust me, we werent the only ones in line. We had a a fabulous table for our party of 6 and I really couldn’t complain about the service. However no one was raving about their food. …which was kinda disappointing seeing as we ALL had heard that the food was outstanding. After the meal, I heard that there was a new chef in the kitchen, which means I should go back one more time before really blogging about it. Fair is fair, right?

c) Lansdowne Farmers Market.

I’ve blogged abou this Farmers Market before and I’m not shy to blog about it again. It is FABULOUS – the space, the variety of the vendors, the location – it’s ALL GOOD.

I discovered a new variety of vegetable this particular visit, from one of my favorite vendors, Jambican Studio Gardens – it’s a LEMON CUCUMBER.

Lemon Cucumber!

Never had it before but I was all too happy to buy it. Stay tuned for another blog entry soon on what I make with it K?

Hope you get a chance to visit Ottawa soon.

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