cookbook – the ontario table
recipe – pumpkin streusel muffins
i absolutely love everything about fall. the crisp cold air. chilly nights. halloween. pumpkin carving. honey crisp apples. the colour change of the leaves on the trees. there’s a romantic feel to it all. perfectly sweet pumpkin streusel muffins are a comforting snack, warmed and slathered in butter – any ol’ time of day. serve with a cup of tea and you’re in business my friend.
Josh and i have a couple more camping trips planned before fall knocks at our doorstep. i have been craving the outdoors so much these past few weeks. get me out of the office, off the computer and to…
the clean air.
the sounds of the forest.
slowly cooked food.
percolating coffee.
cuddling in sleeping bags.
telling ghost stories to the early am.
all around the campfire.
take it all in. slowly.
what are your favourite things about camping? if Josh and i weren’t off adventuring this weekend, you definitely would have saw me at the kinfolk art of camp cooking and grilling event in montreal. i mean, herbal fire starters! yes please!
i can’t swim.
i shall define “can’t swim” in becky terms.
can’t float.
can’t tread water for more than… 15 seconds.
can’t go into the deep end without thinking I AM GOING TO DIE!
what i do love though – are those pools that are exactly 5 feet deep all the way across. why? because i’m exactly 5 feet (okay, more like 4’11” and 3/4) and can touch the bottom to give myself just enough boost to bob up and down around the pool. this is where i feel my “coolest” cause i’m in a pool with just enough height to justify a great time without having that lingering fear in the back of my head that at any moment – i will die.
but will i…
go into the ocean?
yes, most definitely!
just…
only to knee height.
or with a life jacket on.
or clung to mohawks body.
with the end of summer fast approaching – go – GO NOW! – and jump in.
water wings and life preservers are optional.
do you know how to swim? how did you learn? let me know in the comments below!
the end of july and well into the beginning of august it seemed that everywhere i looked SOMEONE was making some type of galette. now, i must confess, i had no freaking clue what galette even meant when i started out on this adventure.
the bing dictionary defines galette as,
alright – simple enough! i have peaches and blueberries from the market. done. let’s do this thing.
from watching way too many chef at home episodes with michael smith in my day, i knew his technique of freezing and then grating butter for perfect flaky pastry and had to try it. now – keep in mind – grating frozen butter is not that easy! try it once and see if you think it’s worth it and then let me know what you decided. it didn’t convert me. this is definitely one of those lazy sunday projects for the amount of it time it takes start to finish.
just the right amount of sweetness from the peaches mixed with the tangy tartness of the blueberries and sprinkled with demerara sugar. yummy perfection.
recipe adapted from martha stewart – peach raspberry galette
for this travelling crockpot instalment – fine dining was NOT on the top of the list.
to start we filled our bellies with guacamole, chips and beer while finishing the last of the barbequing on the rooftop. it was on one of the hottest days in july and the rooftop is the last place you want to be with that sun beaming down. napkins a plenty for our messy fingers, we dug in and chatted away while enjoying this southern inspired meal. truly a summer time dinner if you ask me.
guacamole was one of those things that i LOVED eating, but had never made myself.
WHAT WAS I THINKING?!?! best snack EVER! corn chips must be present.
with a bowl, folk in hand, and the following ingredients, you too can make some pretty darn tasty if i do say so myself guacamole.
lime juice
flesh of 2 avocados
chopped red or white onion
chopped cilantro
salt & papper
like some spice? add a bit of serrano chile or jalapeno
want something a little unique? maybe some added crunch? add any of these
toasted walnuts
chopped tomatoes
chopped pineapple
chopped mango
minced garlic
grilled corn right off the cob
and then smash smash smash with that folk to your hearts content! smooth or chunky or somewhere perfectly in the middle – it’s your choice! now excuse me while i go make myself a bowl.
happy sunday – wherever you are.
if you’re lucky, you might be able to grab a few more strawberries before they’re all gone from your local farmers’ market. strawberry season in ontario is two short months – june and july. i enjoyed many a pint this season, though never had them around long enough to do much baking.
there’s the snacking at the market.
the snacking walking home from the market.
the snacking while unpacking what you purchased from the market.
the husband realizes there are strawberries in the house – snacking.
you get the idea.
by the time i think about making them into anything, i’ve ate them all. plump, juicy, succulent strawberries. until next season.
happy sunday – wherever you are.
my birthday was on saturday. i am now 26 years old. i am no longer considered a “youth” by via rails’ standards.
i’m a leo – hence why i don’t mind letting the world know. both on the blog, and by wearing the shirt Josh made me last year that says “worship me, it’s my birthday!”
i had taken the train back to my hometown. it brought back many memories to awake in my childhood bedroom on the morning of my birthday. Josh had gotten up at 5:45 a.m. in toronto, went to the farmers market and headed to my parents house where he made me “birthday breakfast in bed (kind of)”. he made the coolest instagram video to let me know too!
we then packed up the car and headed to the kingsville/leamington area. what a windy day it was!
i love being by the water. it was the perfect, relaxing, no stress day that i was hoping for, including a delicious meal at jack’s gastropub. they were kind enough to even stick a birthday candle in my creme brûlée. this made me very happy.
next year it’ll be my champagne birthday! 27 on 27!
on my walk home from Nikki’s house – i was in pain. but the good kind. the kind of pain you get when you stuff your face with the most flavourful food and your tongue and mouth can’t stop saying “more more more!”
the dessert? silky, smooth, strawberry goodness. i WILL be attempting to make the goat cheese pudding very soon. i think it’ll become a new favourite go to.
