picnic time

My long weekend was filled with overdue cleaning, errands and catching up on sleep. Not super exciting, but we did make sure to spend one sunny afternoon at the park having a relaxing picnic. Once we laid out the blanket, I brought out the yummy eats: devilled eggs, a fat muffuletta sandwich (influenced from when Seema blogged about the deliciousness that is the muffuletta) and some rice krispie treats.

For the muffuletta, I loosely followed this recipe. What resulted was a mega-flavourful sandwich explosion! 

Layers of meat (sweet soppresata salami, capicola and mortadela), cheese (provolone) and a sweet/salty/spicy mixture made of giardiniera, olives, roasted peppers and capers. It's a serious sandwich that's for sure. I'll definitely be making this bad boy again.

Instead of regular rice krispie treats, I made a white chocolate cake batter version—basically a cake mix infused rice krispie treat. They were a sweet addition to a great summer picnic.

white chocolate cake batter rice krispie treats

5 tbsp butter
6 C rice krispie cereal
5 C marshmallows (more or less depending on how gooey you want them)
1/2 C dry cake mix (I used rainbow chip)
1 1/2 C white chocolate, chopped
rainbow sprinkles

1. Melt the butter and add the marshmallows, stirring constantly until melted. Stir in cake mix.

2. Add in the cereal and stir until evenly coated.

3. Press into a baking pan (8 x 11) and set aside.

4. Melt the white chocolate in a double boiler. Spread over the treats. Scatter sprinkles over the top and let cool.

an afternoon in parkdale

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what's really been cooking

Blogging has taken a bit of backseat here these last few weeks. But it's with good reason: in a matter of weeks (eek!) Joe and I will be welcoming our first baby into our little family. It's an exciting time, but also a stressful time. Luckily we are blessed with great friends and family which definitely makes things easier. I'm going to try my best to keep up with posting and I semi-promise that this won't become a baby blog (I may not be able to resist showing you some of the awesome prezzies I've been receiving for our baby dude), but if it goes quiet over here, at least now you know what's up. In the meantime, here are some shots from the baby shower that Adam and Davis threw me. They know that cured meats and cheese are the way to my heart. 

say cheese

I haven't made a good cheese board in a while, so when a friend and fellow cheese-lover was visiting, I decided to whip up a little fromage selection to snack on.

Clockwise from top left: fig jam; Grey Owl, a tangy goat cheese with an ashy rind from Quebec; a triple cream brie-like cheese that I can't remember the name of, sorry; Bleu Bénédictin, a pungent blue from Quebec; Merlot BellaVitano, a sharp and rich cheese that's soaked in Merlot from Wisconsin.

The full spread included a variety of pickles and olives, some bacon-wrapped parmigiano-stuffed dates, crostinis, veggies, plus some of the amazing goods I picked up at Arz.

seema had a bbq

Over the Victoria Day long weekend, Seema hosted an amazing bbq. Here are just some of the delights from the evening (I somehow missed taking pics of her awesome coconut shrimp and the desserts!)

coconut rice & beans:

mango/papaya salsa + potato & bean salad:

fried plantains:

jerk chicken:

I piled my plate pretty high:

It was such a treat! Here's hoping this becomes an annual event!

crack pie

Davis brought over a Momofuku crack pie over the weekend. It was gooey and sweet with a crunchy oatmeal crust. Kind of like a pecan pie, but without the nuts. Best eaten cold. I owe Davis big time!

xmas crafting

This year I am actually going to decorate my apartment for the holidays—tree and all. Problem is that I have absolutely nothing. My mom is kindly giving me a bunch of lights and ornaments, but I also want to add a bit of a personal touch, so Adam and I spent an afternoon crafting.  

I love this pom pom garland! So much so that it'll be hanging in our hallway until we get our Christmas tree.

I rushed through making these pine cone elves (I am not a patient hand-sewer), but I still think they're cute. I'll probably turn these into ornaments and make nicer ones to sit on my shelf.

Adam on the other hand, is a perfectionist. His put mine to shame.

Of course, I made snacks: a retro cheeseball, pigs in a blanket, crispy wontons and onion/herb dip.

on the road

Last weekend, me, Seema and our respective boyfriends took a road trip to the Catskills to attend a wedding. We left a day early so that we could take the scenic route through some of the smaller towns between here and our destination. Estimated travel time was supposed to be about seven hours...but due to extensive flooding in New York state (that we didn't know about), our trip went from relaxed to stressful. And it took about twice as long through winding, hilly, unfamiliar county roads (not to mention numerous detours around flood-ravaged areas). We didn't get to enjoy the scenery too much or stop at all the antique stores and wacky roadside attractions we wanted to. But, in the end, with much help from the most kind strangers who helped us along the way, we made it. 

The wedding took place in Roxbury, NY on a beautiful property with views of the mountains and never-ending fields of green. If only we had a couple more days to explore the area. Such a nice change from the city.

We did get a chance to sample some awesome ice cream from Yummies in Warsaw, NY (we were still happy and unaware of the impending doom that we were about to face at this point).

And I ate copious amounts of American snacks to get me through the hours of uncertainty.

more succulents

The different textures and shapes of these succulents are what makes me love them. It's exciting watching my collection grow. I may be turning into a crazy plant lady.

succulents

I've been really into succulents this year. They're unique and quirky, but most of all, easy to look after (they only need to be watered like once every three weeks). I've been having a hard time finding different varieties of succulents in the city, but am hoping to build a collection of these little plants. This arrangement was put together for me by Crown Flora Studio. 

This pointy guy is my favourite one.

cottage life

My self-imposed long weekend was spent at a cottage swimming, fishing, getting too much sun and eating amazing food. Proof:

Breakfast (maple sausage + bacon + eggs + toast +tomatoes)

Pork ribs + kalbi ribs + fried rice made with leftover breakfast meats

Grilled corn and veggies + chicken wings + leftover ribs

Bonfire marshmallows for...

S'mores!

antique hunting

Last summer Joe and I would go to the Aberfoyle Antique Market almost every weekend. It was so much fun to just walk around and look at all of the neat stuff for sale. This summer has been busy and we just went to the market for the first time since it opened for the season. Being an apartment-dweller is hard because most of the things I fall in love with are large (too large for our too small apartment).

A new tradition this year will be a mandatory stop at the canteen for grilled cheese (with processed cheese! yes!) and onion rings. 

And here's what I bought:
Vintage Crown mason jars with glass lids $2 each

A new honey tin to add to my collection (the yellow one on the bottom) $3

A book on cacti and succulents (mainly for the pictures that I'm planning on framing) $2