National Post

Be Still My Heart


  I have some very exciting news to share; one of my photos posted on instagram, was seen by National Post Newspaper. Yes my Honey Lavender Chicken will be used in their new Gastropost; a community of food lovers, who go on weekly missions. They have also asked me to join the group.
  As I understand it, we will be given a food challenge each week, and the results will be posted in the National Post, and on their website gastropost.com. I am always up for a challenge, so I accepted.
  Today I got my first mission, which is to feast! Since it Thanksgiving, they want to see our feast, and our favorite part, plus how we use our left overs.
  I’m excited to be part of this new adventure, and look forward to new challenges, and sharing the results with you.

For more information;
www.nationalpost.com
www.gastropost.nationalpost.com

Time is passing to fast!

So today is October 29/12 and it is exactly 63 days before we hop on a plane and spend a couple months in Europe. I cant believe how quickly time is going....it seems like yesterday we were back in college and talking about taking a trip to Switzerland to learn for an amazing chocolatier, or a trip to Spain to eat some amazing sea food...and now 6 years later its actually happening,.. in 63 days!

Our villa is wonderful. Less then a Kilometer from the ocean, with a roof top terrace and a pool. only 3 hours from Barcelona and 3.5 from Madrid! Its got two bedrooms and 3 beds, a full living room and dining room, kitchen and laundry facilities en suite! I didn't know where to start looking when we decided to rent a place for a couple months so i just googled cheap temporary accommodations in Spain. It led me to this awesome site airbnb.com. I had no idea this site existed...a few friends from Europe have herd of it but to me it was all new and wonderful!

I wont bore you with the hours i spend on this website looking for the perfect fit for Sarah and i...but eventually I found it...Sarah agreed and we booked!

I think this trip to Europe is going to give me a lot! My love for food and knowledge is going to grow 10 fold, it will give me some amazing new friends and places to call "home", it will give me back that fierce fire in my belly, a passion, that can sometimes get lost in a day to day world, and most important, I wish for it to give me a new appreciation for the city I call home!

So folks the count down is on...and you guys are coming with us...well not in our suitcases or anything, but in 2 months, 3 days, 13 hours, 24 minutes, and 12 seconds we will be on our way to our greatest adventure yet...and our computers will be right at our finger tips sharing every yummy experience we have!

Soup Stock 2012! GO GREEN THURSDAY!

 A Great Day for a Mug of Soup

Soupstock 2012

   This past Sunday, I had the wonderful opportunity to attend Soupstock at Woodbine Park, an event put on by The Chef’s Congress to raise money for Stop the Mega Quarry. What a wonderful day, it was sunny and warm, and the trees were at the peak of their fall beauty, and not to mention the dozens, and dozens of soups to try, made by 200 of Toronto’s finest Chefs!
   So Chaza and I grabbed our mugs and spoons, and headed down early to beat the crowds. At 11:30am, there were already a surprising number of people crowding into the park, but the line ups were quick, and the soup was plentiful. We split on 9 tickets, and decided to share so we could try a number of different soups. Now 9 out of 85 does not sound like a good ratio, but we ended up getting 2 for free, as well as a sample of bear sausage that was to die for. Trust me when I say, I could not have eaten another bite! So I could go on, and on about all the soups, but to make it easier I’m just going to list the restaurants and their soups.
  Rock Lobster- Lobster Cappuccino----Delicious!
  The Chef’s house- Lobster and Mushroom
  Loic & Ruby Watchco soup duo- Navy Bean Veloute & Red Beet Bisque
  Stone Road Grill- Borscht - Amazing!
  One 99 Restaurant- French Canadian Onion Soup- It had French fries
  Gastronomo Vagabundo- Spicy Tom Yum- Good name, it was yum, and super spicy!
  Oliver Bonacini-Potato and Leek- Not just any potato and leek, it had braised Beef Shank, and Sweetbreads.
  Biff’s Bistro- I’ll be honest, I can’t remember the name of the soup, but it involved potato, it was damn good, and he gave it to us free.
  Le Select Bistro- Duck Consommé w Pork and parsnip-apple meatballs
La Carnita- Pig Head Tortilla Soup- Mmmmmm
Sanigan’s Meat Locker- Potato and Bacon- Free as well, Thanks Mike!
    All the soups were delicious, but my hands down favorite was the Lobster Cappuccino. It was like drinking lobster flavoured butter, with chucks of lobster in the bottom. What a great day! I can’t wait for Soupstock 2013.

Apple Picking

A Little Trip to the Country

   Sometime life can be so busy, it becomes hard to meet up with friends, and family, and almost impossible to fit in a little fun time. Toronto I find does have quite a few little fun spots, that are close buy if you look into it.
  This adventure was entirely inspired by a misread google search. I punched in apples, and a suggested search said apple picking. Yes please! So as most people that know me, and hopefully you that read this blog, know, I am always up for something new, and will drag anyone down with me.
  So on this past beautiful Sunday, 2 friends, Hester and Zina, and I made the trek to north Markham, to Applewood Farm and Winery. Boy we in for a surprise!
  So about a 45 minutes drive north of the city, even with traffic, we find our farm. First we hit the winery, and I found myself pleasantly surprised by their variety, and delicious wines.
  Next we head out apple picking. Being a bit discouraged by the giant sign on the road that said picking closed, and the girl at the counter that said we were welcome to try; I was perfectly happy just to take a walk through the orchard. It was in fact Hester who insisted on getting bags, and was delightfully looking among the apples on the ground to find some good ones. So 30 minutes later, Hester’s bag is almost full, and Zina has her bag half full it’s time to get down to business!
  We all ended up with almost full bags, and then went to catch the wagon ride, which unfortunately we didn’t get on because it was too late in the day. It was sad, but our day became even more successful when Zina found a cute little tree frog, hidden among the trees.  Later dubbed Stuart, this small, fat little guy was probably the highlight of my day.
  So a wagon full of apples, pumpkins, and of course WINE, plus a plan for turkey day, we were on our way home. What a great experience, Thanks again Hester and Zina, for letting me drag you on my weird ideas of fun. A day none of us will forget I’m sure.
www.applewoodfarmwinery.com 

GO Green Thursdays

Soupstock

  Looking for a fun and green event this weekend? Soupstock is on this weekend, and not on mine or Kristen’s stove! This is a free event, at Woodbine Park, in the Beaches, Toronto to raise awareness for the Mega Quarry.

  The Mega Quarry is a proposed 2300km limestone quarry, located 100km northwest of Toronto. A quarry of this magnitude has serious environmental complications, including the manipulation of 25% of Ontario’s water supply.

   This Sunday, David Suzuki, along with 200 other Toronto based chefs, are giving it their all, in an ultimate soup off, to raise awareness to these issues. At 10$ for three servings of soup, you can’t go wrong and proceeds go to the David Suzuki Foundation. So dress warm, bring a bowl and a spoon, and let’s get our soup on!

For more info on the Mega Quarry, or Soupstock:

http://www.soupstock.ca/?page_id=12

http://www.stopthemegaquarry.ca/

Hope to see you all there,

Xoxo Sarah

Recipe of the week! Oatmeal cookies!

So yesterday I was playing around with an old recipe that I have that wasnt very good! I tewaked and added and subtracted a few things and came out with a perfectly moist, tender and yummy oatmeal cookie!

here it is for all of you to try and enjoy!

This recipe makes ALOT of cookies so you might want to cut it in half!

Oatmeal Cookies

500g butter unsalted
500g white sugar
420g brown sugar

4 eggs
splash of vanilla extract

500g All Purpose flour
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp nutmeg
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp salt
560g rolled oats
200g chopped walnuts (optional)

cream the butter and the two kinds of sugar until light and fluffy. Add the 4 eggs and vanilla extract one at a time and paddle away until totally combined.

add all the dry ingredients at once and paddle just till it comes together, it should be a little bit sticky!

they spread about double the size you scoop them so be sure to leave space on the baking sheet!

Enjoy and let me know what you think in the comments bellow!

Love Kristen

PEACHES

Ontario It’s Peach Season!!!!!

   Well actually, peach season is coming to an end. I’m sorry, this post is late, but I got caught up in the peach fun and got carried away. For the last few weeks, I’ve been buying baskets of peaches, and just going nuts.

  So what can you do with peaches? Well...anything.  I started with some preserves. I did hot pepper and ginger, cloves and sage, and purple basil with lemon. Pour over some hot simple syrup, and put on the lids. Wait at least a week before opening. I even pickled some during my pickling event, perfect for your wine and cheese, or just a snack.

   My next project was spicy peach compote. I stewed the peaches (skins off) for a few hours, and then added my secret ingredient. Actually it’s just a habanero pepper sauce a friend brought me back from Jamaica, shhhhh.  I then used this compote, on a roasted flattened chicken. It was tasty!

   For an after yoga dinner with a friend one night we did slow roasted duck legs. We decided to sautéed up some peach slices, and added some stinky cheese. We got the stinky cheese at the Duffrin Grove Farmer’s market, along with some patty pan squashes. We added some zucchini with my garden, and had ourselves quite the meal.

   Now for some real fun; dessert peach wontons. A Sarah original! I took grilled peach slices, some mascarpone cheese, and blueberries, and made some dessert wontons, I baked them for 25 minutes, and served warm, a delicious little dessert, and not too sweet.

   So there you have my peach fun. Do you have any fun ideas? Share them with us and we’ll give them a try!