an afternoon in parkdale

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another year

Sometimes when Mundoo is crying, I say, “I understand. You’ve only been on this earth for two and a half months, everything must be terrifying! Can you believe I’ve been here for 33 years?” Well, let’s make that 34 now. Over the weekend, I celebrated a low-key birthday. I treated myself to a new iPhone (!!!) and spent the day with my two favourite boys. We capped off the evening with some cake and dirty Chinese food (you know, the deep-fried everything and red sauce-type of Chinese food). Sometimes it sooo hits the spot. 

to the market

Getting out of the house when it's winter and you have a new baby is tough. Like, really tough. But now that I'm more comfortable with my little Mundoo, I've been bundling him up, strapping him into the baby carrier, and trying to take him out on little adventures at least a couple of times a week. It's been great for both of us. Earlier this week we ventured out to Kensington Market. First stop, the new-to-the-market, Nu Bügel, for wood-fired, Montreal-style bagels. 

Then a quick perusal at Good Egg. Man, do I want this set of Falcon enamelware.

The market is always a fun place to walk around. It's a bit too busy for me on the weekends, so I appreciate being able to go on a weekday.

And finally, a visit to Hogtown Charcuterie. Cured meats, pâtes and terrines, and get this, a "fermentation station" lined with pickles! I grabbed a pair of their sausage rolls (really tasty) and can't wait to sample more of their goods.

Stay tuned for more of our little outings as the weather warms up!

super salad

Even though it's still winter (ugh), I've really been into salads lately. The last of my post-preggo baby weight (double ugh) that's been looming around might be part of the reason. Here's a recent favourite. Start with a gnarly celery root:

And a bulb of fennel:

Cut the celery root into thin matchsticks and slice the fennel thinly (reserve some of the fronds for the dressing). Add in some thin slices of red onion:

Whisk together a quick dressing of freshly-squeezed orange juice, chopped fennel fronds, olive oil, sugar, sea salt and cracked pepper (I did this all to taste):

Toss everything together and let sit for an hour or longer (it's even good the next day). Season again. Other great additions to this salad include: toasted hazelnuts, thinly sliced granny smith apple, and shavings of parmigiano-reggiano cheese.