hitting the road

Things have been too busy these days, which accounts for my very sporadic posting the last few weeks. So I’m really excited to be heading out on a week-long road trip adventure to Quebec Maritime this weekend. I think this is going to be a pretty relaxing trip (for me anyways…Joe will be in charge of all the driving) and I hear the scenery around the Gulf of St. Lawrence is supposed to be amazing. Can’t wait to breath in the fresh air, visit lots of National Parks, sample some local seafood and maybe even catch a glimpse of a whale. Lots of photos will be shared when I’m back! 

*photos courtesy of Le Quebec Maritime

brunch @ mildred's temple kitchen

I'm not sure how I found myself at Mildred's Temple Kitchen on a Sunday for brunch (a meal I usually skip due to my hatred for line-ups), but it happened. Surprisingly, the wait for a table was only about 10 minutes, but we did end up having to sit on the patio with the sun beating down on us (the umbrellas were blocking the rays from pretty much every table except ours.) Because we were starving we sucked it up and ordered a duo of currant scones to start. The apple preserves matched nicely with the flaky scones, but I really missed the clotted cream that I feel is necessary.

I decided on the blueberry pancakes and asked for a side of their homemade fennel sausage. I thought the sausage would be breakfast-sized, but it turned out to be a full sausage. It was juicy and spiked with lots of fennel—a great match with the sweet pancakes. And the pancakes! Fluffy and light, they were some of the best I've ever had. And the maple syrup, blueberries and whipped cream made them truly decadent.

Joe went for "The Manhandler," a twist on steak & eggs. It came with a sliced striploin (cooked medium rare) on arugula and toasted sourdough bread topped with two sunnyside up eggs, horseradish jus on the side. 

Despite how sweaty we were by the end of the meal, it was still a satisfying brunch. Liberty Village is definitely not my scene at all, but the food was good and I guess that's what matters.

Mildred's Temple Kitchen

85 Hanna Ave.

nyt chocolate chip cookies

This chocolate chip cookie recipe comes from The Essential New York Times Cookbook and uses techniques developed by Jacques Torres. The unique thing about this recipe is that the cookie dough needs to rest in the fridge for at least 24 hours or ideally 36 hours. This "aging" of the dough is what's supposed to develop the flavour and create crisp-edged cookies with chewy middles. 

Unfortunately, this recipe was just ok for me. The taste was good and I liked the sprinkling of salt on the top, but the cookies ended up too cakey for my liking. Plus, I need that crisp outer edge and these just didn't have that (even though the recipe said they would). 

spanakopita

Traditional spanakopita consists of a mixture of spinach, onions and feta cheese, all wrapped up in phyllo dough. In my version, I substitute caramelized onions for regular and add in a handful of chopped sundried tomatoes. I usually make these as an appetizer, but this time I made them a bit bigger to serve alongside a simple green salad for a light dinner.