Try to imagine this in your mouth

Pan-seared Ontario lamb crusted with rosemary and garlic. The sauce took red wine to deglaze, with some cream and wilted parsley to coat the pasta, topped with quail egg. I love whole wheat spaghetti; please don't hate on me for it. Also pan fried zucchini and tomato wedges. Good lord could life get any better.

First Cupcake

For Laura's one-year-in-Toronto anniversary I attempted to make her some banana pecan browned butter rum cupcakes. The cupcakes turned out del-ici-ous but I was a tougher sell on the icing. Its consistency was like fudge, and very sweet, and kind of grew on me!

Saving Grace brunch place

Porchetta And Co is an amazing lunch, but when they were closed yesterday I was at a loss! Walking along Dundas West knowing there are a million awesome lunch places, I entered Ella's Uncle for a coffee and a delicious amazing berry scone (sorry, ate it too fast for a pic), and was told to go across the street to Saving Grace. Try the Angela sandwich, she said. I did, and the aftermath was drop dead gorgeous. 

Meaaat!

Pure and simple beef burgers to be @ Burger's Priest on Queen East.

Bell Pepper and Parsley Salad

I have craved and made several variations of this salad in the past few months. It reminds me of a tabouleh despite there being few ingredients in common. I love how fresh it tastes and feels to eat. In the future it might be interesting to add mango to the mix!

There's red and green pepper, flat leaf parsley, shallot, lime juice, and green lentils. In terms of a grain-based additive, some of my variations have included adding couscous or quinoa or both. Tabouleh has burgul in it. Often I get impatient, don't cook the lentils properly and they get mushy, but this time I followed the directions to great effect! The lentils still have a shape by the end of it!

Dry lentils

Oven baked pork chops with caramelised parmesan applesauce

I spent three months wanting to cook something more creative than oatmeal with currants and peanut butter (which is a delicious breakfast), but somehow never found the time. When I moved out of my shared house a few days ago, I was faced with finishing the fridge, including a bag of apples, pork chops, and parmesan cheese rinds, the combination of which screamed awesome at me. The result was oven-baked pork chops with caramelised parmesan applesauce.

Fruits

Drink Development at R2

Last monday saw a few of the R² baristas brainstorming and shopping for the ingredients of possible specialty drinks. I photographed some of the process. 

Ingredients: result of shopping

We ended up developing two drinks, the orange mocha, and the chocolate chili latte. The orange mocha is currently being served at R², and comes with the lovely garnish of a chocolate-coated sliver of candied orange peel from Delight on Queen West.  

Chocolate-coated candied orange peel slivers

Ingredients of the orange mocha

Me on the phone

Chris, an esteemed regular

Evan, making a free-pour swan

Evan, pleased about something, possibly my photo of his latte art

We will be serving the chocolate chili latte later this fall. 

Chocolate chili latte ingredients

Souvenirs from Spain and Sweden

I took it upon myself to find some really unique souvenirs during my trip in Europe. Among them were a sign saying "WC," the ubiquitous indication of a bathroom (asking for a bathroom likely brought visions of a Roman bath house to the local people, judging from their facial expressions). I also learned that Tove Jansson was not only Finnish, but half Swedish! It brought to mind the charming stories I read as a kid which my mom found in a garage sale or used book store, and also a Finnish store I went into once in Toronto which had a whole mural painted of the characters.

So when we discovered a new fruit (nisperos!) in Barcelona,

I saved the large seeds, and I'm going to use them as beads.

In Stockholm, I found a set of brass buttons which will be perfect to replace the (plastic!) ones on my thrifted black leather jacket. For 30 Swedish Kronor!

Lucky Shot @ Riverhouse Co.

I had the privilege to dine at the Riverhouse Co. in Lakefield, Ontario, near Peterborough, for Easter this year. The chef Karrie's creations were truly inspiring, and the whole experience was charming. I seem to remember having a rack of lamb which was to die for and seasonal veg as a main course. The appetite teaser was divinely seared beef tenderloin sliced delicately onto crostini. Delicious food, and I remember the dessert being just as fabulous, but I rarely remember desserts. Oh wait, it was a fruit pie with lemon ice cream!!! I heartily recommend this restaurant to anyone near the area! You can even boat up to the dock there with waterway directions. I tried to take a couple snaps of the restaurant as we were leaving, but it was dark out. Here is what I ended up with, which I am very happy about! Never mind that it shows nothing about what the restaurant is actually about.

My Favourite Sandwich

This is an ode to my favourite sandwich ever, apart from a hoagie, but I will talk about hoagies another time. There is something magical about a salt & peppered slice of sweet, juicy tomato from the garden, topping a melted slice of aged cheddar on rye bread. These ones came from a tomato plant left by the previous tenant at the (beautiful & oh so missed) loft in Kitchener last November.

Let me also make a note that mass-produced tomatoes are ok in a pinch but their flesh tends to be hard. I was cutting one up the other day and it sounded like I was sawing through celery! Another good indication of a good tomato is how it smells on the shelf. If it smells like nothing, chances are it will be tasteless.

 

Berlin, Germany (Jun 15 - 16)

After much difficulty getting out of Belgium, mainly I think because we didn't want to leave, we arrived in Berlin a day late because we had missed our train from Gent. Instead of spending a splendidly sunny day on the train, we spent it with the Gent folks. Bonus!
Some of the most memorable sights were the giant train stations, Alexanderplatz and Potsdamerplatz, the holocaust memorial (a sea of concrete blocks with walkways in between), checkpoint charlie (historical location of access between east and west germany in increasingly strict segregation), the berlin wall, and the successful combination of new and old architecture. Unfortunately the Reichtag was only open for reserved visits.

Potsdamerplatz

Dried Orange Peel

These delicious-smelling orange peels were s(h)aved from a bunch of oranges hanging around the apartment using a vegetable peeler. I dried them in a pan on the lowest setting until they felt dry to the touch. As they toasted their aroma deepened. After they cooled, they got stored in a jar... The aroma matures a lot at this stage. I'm not sure what to do with them yet, but every so often I open the jar and smell their awesomeness.





Also, I think they'd be good with duck, or in marmalade.

Love Daniel's Cheese

Just spent over an hour tasting aged cheddar cheeses and chatting with George Batarseh of Daniel's Cheese and Deli in Cambridge, ON. Probably would never have found the place if it weren't for a group deal on it, because it's off the main roads. A great experience and some delicious cheeses!