Christmas Market & Mulled Wine

On Friday night John and I made our way down to the Distillery District to meet up with some friends to check out the popular Christmas Market. 

Having never gone before, my expectations were high from seeing pictures in years past. I was not disappointed.

When you get to the Distillery District the first thing you see is lights, lights, and more lights.

It's magical.

Unless you go during the day, then I can't promise the lights will be as magical. 

It's just beautiful. I spent the first few minutes just squealing.

We stopped first for some free scotch (John) and apple cider & rum (me, because they had temporarily run out of mulled wine) and warmed up by the fires they had going in their beer market (see the first picture).

Then we walked around to check out the tree, the carousel, and the ferris wheel. 

On our way to the wine sampling (where there's wine, we'll find it) we stopped to pose with the Gingerbread house. Then we sampled a selection of Ontario wines from Malivoire, Henry of Pelham, and a few others we've yet to visit.  

Then after a quick stop for a grilled cheese with bacon sandwich, we made our way back to the adult beverages for some mulled wine and more scotch.

My first time trying mulled wine was Friday afternoon when I made my own. 

I'm hooked. 

I used Martha Stewart's recipe and made a few changes based on what I had handy.

Follow the original Martha recipe here 

Or my slightly different version below

1. Set a pot over high heat. Pour in one bottle of red wine.
2. Add in the zest  and juice from 1 orange, 1 tbsp black peppercorns, 1 tbsp cloves, 1 cinnamon stick, and 1/2 cup brandy.
3. In a tea bag, spoon in 1/2 tbsp nutmeg and 1/2 tbsp all spice. Bring up to a boil and add teabag to the mix. Reduce heat to low and let simmer for about 30 minutes. Turn off heat and let wine cool slightly.
4. Pour wine through a strainer to remove the zest, peppercorns, cloves, cinnamon, and teabag.

Then pour contents back into the original wine bottle.

Mulled wine is best served warm so if you don't drink it right away heat it up again before serving.

And if you're feeling crafty - make a fancy new label for your bottle.

I made this one for the bottle I brought to my brother in law's birthday dinner last night.

Most of the alcohol burns off during the process so if you want you can add a dash of brandy to the finished process for more of a kick.

If not, just enjoy the wonderful taste of Christmas Sangria! 

Sip & Savour Ontario

Back (way way back) in June, John and I went to the Sip & Savour event in the Distillery district.

Having never attended this event before, I was unsure what to expect but was very excited at the prospect of eating amazing foods and sampling tons of wines.

 

And sample wines we did!

Here's a list of the participating wineries - HERE - and I can proudly (?) say that we almost sampled wine from every single one.

Almost.

I think my last glass was around Kacaba... I tried another white after a stop at that booth and then promptly shattered my wine glass.

 

And then cut myself off.

 

 

The Distillery District in Toronto is absolutely beautiful to walk through and there's usually an event of some kind going on most weekends.

Here's the calendar of events for the rest of this month.

 

Cheese was featured quite prominently (much to my liking) and we sauntered in to a presentation on cooking with cheese - wisely suggested to use by the food guru herself, Ginger Rose.

 

I don't have the information that they gave us with me so I can't tell you what types of cheese we sampled.

I can tell you they were delicious and the servers also topped up our glasses with pairing wines.

 

The food was delicious.

My hands down favourite was the duck confit crepes, shown below.

 

There was a good deal of seafood up for sampling too which John dug into.

He was fortunate enough to grab the last of the halibut sandwiches.

 

We also grabbed plates which were promptly filled with freshly baked bread, cheeses including cheddar and a feta & watermelon salad, then spicy peppers, pickled beans, and jams like cherry chocolate and plum.

I went back for a second plate of this.

 

I forgot to take a picture (truth: I did take a picture but the picture is of the deserts I had put in my purse to take home) of the amazing mouses that were offered. They had raspberry and triple chocolate among a few others.

 

Also very tasty were the choux pastries from Popelin.

They had blueberry, lemon, and ice wine flavours. All 3 were to die for but the lemon might have been my favourite.

This was also where I broke my wine glass, trying to set it on a non-ledge so I could fill my grubby little hands with pastries.

 

Me, esentially:

 

 

All in all, it was a fantastic night that I would highly recommend checking out. Tickets run a bit on the pricey side but you certainly fill your tummy with wonderful foods and it's an opportunity to get drunk in the classiest of fashions.

 

 Plus the Distillery District is just beautiful.

 

 

Pink Lemonade Jello Shooter Slices

Yesterday I had a lovely leisurely day, though the morning and early afternoon was a bit of an accident.

I went down to a part of Toronto that I've never been to in the daylight to pick up some antique-y art for my cousin. Thinking I had my day planned out perfectly, I made my way downtown around 11 am only to realize that the store I needed didn't open until 2.

Being pretty happy after some good news in the morning (two interviews for nursing jobs!!), I made the best of a beautiful day and wandered around the city. I went into Trinity-Bellwoods Park for the first time ever and sat and read my book for awhile. 

Then my friend came over and we made a ton of jello shooters for this weekend. We're off to a friend's cottage to enjoy the sunshine and to celebrate Canada Day.

One type of jello shooter I've wanted to try for awhile is the orange slice shooter.

I found a recipe for pink lemonade and we made them in both lemons and oranges.

It's actually a lot easier than I was expecting. So if you're looking for a twist on jello shots, give this one a whirl.

• Hollow out 8 lemon halves.
• In a saucepan, sprinkle 2 pkgs of gelatin over 1 cup of pink lemonade and let sit for 2 minutes. Heat over low heat until the gelatin has dissolved, about 5 minutes. Add in 1 cup vodka.
• Pour into lemon halves (make sure they're well balanced or they WILL spill over) and refrigerate until set.
• Cut into slices and enjoy!

Have a good long weekend and a happy Canada Day!

Farewell & Thanks for the Memories

As I assume everyone knows, the final Harry Potter movie has been released.

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows part 2 came out last night and while I'm extremely jealous of all of the people who got to go see it last night at midnight (and who subsequently received Harry Potter-styled 3D glasses), I am very excited to go and see it with my mom!

We've gone to see the last 3 or 4 movies together in theatre so it's become tradition.

We also spent an entire day taking turns reading chapters of the last book to each other while we waited for my pre-ordered copy to arrive.

I thought I was being smart by doing so but that sneaky woman went out early that morning and bought the book from Shoppers Drug Mart so she had her copy a full 3 hours before mine arrived.

Once the postal worker arrived with mine (I literally ran out to meet him half way up the driveway) we would silently devour one chapter at a time then stop and discuss what had just transpired.

Most Harry Potter fans are big nerds like me, right?

I'm not alone in this?

Anyway, as there are no more books or movies to anticipate it seems the saga has finally come to an end.

While I'm sad to see it end I know it's not the last time I will read or watch Harry Potter.

Goodbye, Harry Potter, Hermione Granger, Ronald Weasley, Luna Lovegood, Neville Longbottom, and friends.

Goodbye Hogwarts, School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.

I'm still waiting for my acceptance letter...

Goodbye, Weasley Family.

You've earned a special place in my heart with your red hair, your resilience in the face of adversity, your acceptance of all people (muggles included), and your genuine love for one another.

In case people haven't read/seen the final movie (disgraceful) I won't continue my goodbyes.

Instead I will give you a recipe for something all HP fans will recognize:

Butter Beer

(Courtesy of http://www.harrypotterrecipes.net/)

1 cup light or dark brown sugar

2 tablespoons water

6 tablespoon butter

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon cider vinegar

3/4 cup heavy cream, divided

1/2 teaspoon rum extract

Four 12-ounce bottles cream soda

 

• In a small saucepan over medium, combine the brown sugar and water. Bring to a gentle boil and cook, stirring often, until the mixture reads 240 F on a candy thermometer.
• Stir in the butter, salt, vinegar and 1/4 heavy cream. Set aside to cool to room temperature.
• Once the mixture has cooled, stir in the rum extract.
• In a medium bowl, combine 2 tablespoons of the brown sugar mixture and the remaining 1/2 cup of heavy cream. Use an electric mixer to beat until just thickened, but not completely whipped, about 2 to 3 minutes.
• To serve, divide the brown sugar mixture between 4 tall glasses (about 1/4 cup for each glass). Add 1/4 cup of cream soda to each glass, then stir to combine. Fill each glass nearly to the top with additional cream soda, then spoon the whipped topping over each

Experimenting with Vodka & Skittles

A friend recently directed me to a site with an interesting idea...

and knowing how much I enjoy arts-ing and crafting and experimenting with new ideas, I am determined to begin this process ASAP.

If you like trying new things, like the occasional drink, or need an interesting gift idea then join me in my quest:

Skittles Vodka

(www.mixthatdrink.com/skittles-vodka-tutorial/)

• Step 1: Seperate skittles into seperate colours (about 60 of each colour) - or if you're lazy and don't want to make 5 different batches just throw them all in together. Your vodka will likely be a questionable shade of brown...
• Step 2: Fill 5 water bottles with 6 ounces of vodka each.
• Step 3: Add the skittles.
• Step 4: Shake the bottles. Vigorously. You want to see colour leaching off the skittles and into the vodka. Let the water bottles sit for several hours. Feel free to give them another shake every so often. Let them sit at least overnight. Let them sit, with the occasional shake, until the skittles are dissolved.
• Step 5: Strain out the white gunk floating on top. Put a coffee filter into a measuring cup and strain the vodka infusion through it. Repeat for each water bottle. You may need to filter the vodka a second time, depending. Pour the filtered vodka into glass bottles. Put those glass bottles in the freezer for a few hours - then you're ready to mix and drink them!

Good Things for September (2010)

It's September!

School is just around the corner, the summer weather is going to start to cool down, and by the end of the month we'll likely be seeing the beautiful colours of autumn as the leaves start to turn shades of yellow, red, and orange.

I find September a hard month to pick seasonal 'Good Things' for because it's that month sandwiched perfectly between the end of summer and the start of autumn so while I try to stay away from warm weather items, I also don't want to only feature things like knit sweaters and autumn harvest vegetables (those'll be for next month).

So - here are some things I'm excited for this month

'Good Things' for September

1. Revlon Nail Polish in 'Make Mine Mango' (number 920)

My mom accidently bought two of these (she liked it THAT much!) so she kindly sent one my way. I quickly fell in love with this shade! It's not quite pink, not quite orange, but a wonderful combination of the two. I find it to be a bright, happy shade but it's also a flattering colour that I think most people will be able to wear.

2. Silk Light Vanilla Soy Milk

I bought this for the first time a few weeks ago and really like it. It's a bit thicker than regular milk and I like the light vanilla taste. Because it's made from soy, I assumed there would be more protein but surprisingly a cup of 1% milk has 3 g more protein than a cup of Silk does. Weird. Silk does have more iron though, if that counts for anything. It's lactose-free so it's good for those who are lactose intollerant. It's tasty and I like it.

3. Lattes

Who doesn't love a warm steaming cup of coffee especially on a chilly morning? And sometimes, but not too often, it's nice to treat yourself to a latte. My personal favourites (from Starbucks because I always seem to get gift cards to Starbucks and I like to use them to get myself fancier drinks) are the Skinny Vanilla Latte and, when I'm feeling a bit more liberal with my calorie spending, the Chai Tea Latte. The approach of Autumn also means the return of the Pumpkin Spice Latte!
If you want to make your own (less expensive) version, I found a recipe by a woman named Jeannie, which I've made a few of my own changes to
(recipe from http://www.recipecircus.com/recipes/Joy/BEVERAGES/Pumpkin_Pie_Latte_by_Jeannie.html):

1. In a small saucepan, stir 3 heaping tbsp pumpkin puree into 1 cup light vanilla soy milk. Add 2 tbsp maple syrup (*Jeannie recommends adding vanilla syrup but I think maple syrup compliments pumpkin pie flavour*) and 1/4 tsp pumpkin pie spice. Heat gently, continuing to stirring occasionally just until steaming and foam begins to appear.
2. Pour pumpkin flavored milk into a tall mug and pour 1-2 shots of espresso over. Top with whip cream and a dash of pumpkin pie spice.
Note: If you like it slightly sweeter add some vanilla flavored coffee cream.


4. Corn

Whether you're wrapping in bacon and throwing it on the BBQ, boiling it and rubbing it with a pat of butter, or cutting it off the cob to add to any number of dishes, corn is one of those vegetables that taste so much better in the summer sunshine.
Never tried wrapping your corn in bacon and BBQ-ing it?
Well friends, boil your corn for about 5 minutes of until you can fairly easily poke the kernels with a fork. Remove from the boiling water and wrap a slice or two of bacon around that corn-on-the-cob, securing the ends with a toothpick. Place on the BBQ for a few minutes until the bacon is cooked then serve and enjoy. Don't forget to remind your guests that there are toothpicks in their corn, unless you remove them yourself before serving.


5. The Alexa bag from Mulberry



The bag is called the 'Alexa' because it was inspired by the woman holding the bag in the picture above, Alexa Chung. She's a British model turned MTV VJ turned fashionista. I like her style.
And I love this bag.
There's no way in H-E-double hockey sticks I'll be able to afford this bag unless I win the lottery so I'll just have to keep my eye out for similar-looking satchels.
Side note: does everyone else automatically think of THIS when they hear the word satchel?



6. Denim Shirts

A la Ashley Olsen.

I realize I'm a little late on the denim-shirt trend but I feel like they make better fall shirts than summer. Especially considering we're not done with the 30+ temperatures just yet. And while I like to look nice and in fashion, there's no way I'm going to sweat it out in a denim shirt just to look stylish.

I'm going to look for sales at the Gap.

All from the Gap, all potential candidates: 1. Boys Blue Chambray shirt (being able to still sometimes buy children's clothes is one of the perks of being on the smaller end of the size spectrum), 2. Womens chambray tunic top, 3. Single-pocket boyfriend shirt.

I think I like the first 2 the best though.


Well that's that!

If you have your own 'Good Things' you think should be included in September's list please feel free to add them in the comments section!

Freedom & A Celebratory Champagne Cocktail

I am done second year!!!

I wrote my last exam this morning so no more studying, no more memorizing, no more reading and re-reading articles. Summer time freedom! I'm going to read magazines, go for long runs, try out new recipes, catch up on missed tv shows, etc.

In general the exams went well. There aren't any that I feel particularly worried about. But either way I am DONE FOR THE SUMMER!

This past weekend in Montreal was so much fun. It was a true girl's weekend and we packed so much excitement into a day and a half. On Friday we walked around old Montreal which is beautiful and then went out for dinner at a bring your own wine restaurant. We found a club that had $3 drinks so we danced there for a bit.

Interesting fact: after a few glasses of wine, I am completely fluent in french.

On Saturday we went for brunch with Tracy's family and then relaxed in Mount Royal park where a crazy hippy fest / drum party was going on. It was so fun. That night we went for Greek food at another byo-wine place and after that we found a club that had an open bar! Being more responsible about my alcohol intake on Saturday night I made myself proud by not going crazy. And we ended up befriending the cast of Fiddler on the Roof!

SO MUCH FUN

In celebration of my completion of second year here is a drink recipe to toast with the next time you want to celebrate something:

The 'Blushing Bride' Champagne Cocktail

• Pour 2 ounces of chilled passion-fruit nectar into a glass.
• Gently pour in 3 ounces of cold Champagne, then 1/2 teaspoon grenadine.
• Do not shake or stir.
  

That's all you need!

It looks really good. I may make some on the weekend.

This Sunday is the Sporting Life 10 K!

I ran this morning and my current 10 K time stands at just under 51 minutes. My goal is to get it under 50. Last year I ran it in 54 mins and some odd seconds so I think a 5 minute faster goal is a good place to work towards this year.

Off to work to read magazines and spend my time frivolously!

Summer time = Sangria time

Friday!!!

I have a whole lotta nothing planned for today except for some sun, some studying, getting togther with my sister and then I'm going to head over to my parent's place to cheer up my mom who's been feeling kind of down lately.

How am I going to cheer her up, you ask?

With the solution to (and often cause of) everyone's problems!

Alcohol!

Since it's so nice outside my sister suggested we hit up a patio for lunch and sangria. I suggested grabbing some ingredients and making a sangria at home for our mom. So that's the plan!

Sangria is easy to make and it's so good.

Jamie's Sangria

(this is not a photo of my sangria, I stole this from google)

To make this easy and delicious sangria you will need:

• 1 bottle of red wine (or white wine if you prefer)
• 1/2 L of sprite or 7-up (I'll be using diet)
• 1 cup of orange juice
• 2 shots of Malibu rum/peach shnapps/Grand Marnier
• 1 orange, sliced
• 1 lemon, sliced
• 1 lime, sliced
• 1 peach/nectarine, sliced
• Handful each of cherries and grapes

Mix all of that together and serve over ice!

I'm quite excited.

I'm heading outside now to get some sun while I read 2 more chapters for my LAST EXAM on Tuesday!!!

I leave for Montreal tomorrow morning and I'm bringing my laptop with me for P90X purposes...if we have internet access I'll try to post some stuff over the weekend.

Have a great one!

Mom - a better mood is only a few short hours away! Hang in there :)

Aunt Wendy - enjoy Rome!!!

An Olympic Valentine's Day

Happy Valentine's Day!

This was last year's breakfast but this morning's was very similar. Just substitute the egg and toast for banana-blueberry pancakes.

(All you need to make a breakfast like that is a cookie cutter. Cut the shapes out of the toast. To fry the egg in a heart-shape, butter the inside of the cookie cutter - don't be shy with the butter - and set it on the pan then crack the egg into the cookie cutter. Viola!)

We're getting ready to make our valentine's day dinner and we just finished the first of our 2 movies. We rented The Hurt Locker (really good, very suspensful) and Zombieland, which we're saving for after/during dinner.

Right now we're watching the women's 3000 speedskating event. Cindy Klassen (Sinter Clausen is what we've nicknamed her) didn't do so hot and Kristina Groves just kicked it up into 3rd place. I was cheering my little heart out for Clara Hughes though. This woman amazes me. She's medalled in speed skating AND in cycling. Winter and Summer Olympics. My lord.

Plus look how darn adorable she is!

You cannot look at her happy face and not want to cheer for her.

She'll medal in the 5000. I feel it in my bones.

I've got an angel food cake in the oven. I love angel food cake. It's so light and airy and there's nothing bad but sugar in there. Well a cup of flour but that's small potatoes when you're talking about a cake. No butter, no oil, no cholesterol-filled egg yolks. Mahhhhhvelous.

Angel Food Cake

1. Preheat oven to 350. In the bowl of an electric mixer, mix 12 egg whites until they foam and then form soft peaks. Add in 1 tsp cream of tartar (unprofessional note: I have no cream of tartar and did not add this, my cake is still fine). With the mixer still on, gently sprinkle in 1 1/4 cup sugar into the egg mix and beat until stiff peaks form. Add in 2 tsp vanilla extract.
2. Using a seive to ensure there are no lumps, measure out 1 cup of flour and add 1/4 tsp of salt. In 4 additions, gently fold the flour mixture into the egg mixture using a rubber spatula.
3. Gently spoon the batter into an angel food pan and bake for 35-40 minutes. Let cool in pan for about an hour, then use a knife to loosen the sides and invert the pan. Cut gently and enjoy!

I made the bellinis....but with peach schnapps instead of rum. And not enough ice. It's not as good as Moxies. Darn.

And lastly.....

Our valentine's day chair! So ergonomic. Lovely.

Happy Valentine's Day!

Pulled Pork Sammy's & (faux) Bellinis

I am sleepy.

But the weekend is here!

I have lots of exciting plans lined up for this weekend - AND on top of all that, this upcoming week is my reading week!

Here are my plans:

Sleep, sit for hours in bubble baths, and make fancy drinks.

I'm really craving a Bellini and I'm hoping that the place I'm going for dinner tonight has them on the menu. The one's from Moxies are by far the best. Swiss Chalet, though, does make a mean bellini also. I ordered one in a fancy Italian restaurant in Stratford and they gave me an actual bellini - proseco and peach juice.

I want the frozen kind that comes loaded with various liquors splashed all up in there.

Perhaps tomorrow, or Sunday, or Monday night, or Wednesday night of next week I will attempt to create my own. Maybe I'll even do it on all of those days.

If you want to make your own (faux/slushy) bellini here's what you should do:

Mix together:

• 1/2 shot white rum
• 1 shot peach shnapps
• 1 shot sparkling wine
• 1/2 cup sprite
• 1/2 cup soda water
• 1/2 cup peach juice

Pour all of these into a blender, add ice, and blend away then finish with 1 shot of sangria poured over the top.

This year for Valentine's day dinner I bought some heart-shaped pasta from Costco. Cheese and spinach filled pasta. Mmmmmm. John said he would make a sauce for it. I kind of want a rose sauce. He makes good ones.

Soon, my darlings, soon you'll meet your fate in my stomach.

Now, tonight I'm going out for dinner with John and some friends from work. We're going to the Memphis Smoke House and boy howdy my stomach is excited. I'm mulling over my menu options and I keep coming back to pulled pork.

I had a pulled pork sandwich for the first time this past summer during the Martha-Cottage-Cookoff-Competition when my cousin and his wife made them. Heaven.

I thought I'd find a recipe for it and mayhap one day try to make it all on my own. For now I will dream about eating it in mere hours.

(Lighter) Pulled Pork Sandwiches

(I forgot where I done stole this photo from - oops)

Martha says that for this recipe you will need:

1 can (15 ounces) crushed tomatoes in puree
1 tablespoon brown sugar
2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
1 tablespoon spicy brown mustard
Coarse salt and ground pepper
1 pork tenderloin (about 1 pound), cut into 4 pieces
1/4 cup light mayonnaise
1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon cider vinegar
1/4 teaspoon celery seed
1/4 head small green cabbage, shredded
4 whole-wheat rolls, split

1. In a medium saucepan, stir together tomatoes, sugar, garlic, mustard, and 1/2 cup water; season with salt and pepper. Bring to a boil; add pork, and simmer, covered, until tender, 18 to 20 minutes. Transfer pork to a plate to cool. Simmer sauce over medium, uncovered, until reduced by half, about 20 minutes
2. Meanwhile, make slaw: In a bowl, whisk together mayonnaise, 1 tablespoon vinegar, celery seed, and 1 tablespoon water; season with salt and pepper. Add cabbage, and toss to coat.
3. Shred pork with 2 forks, and return to sauce; stir in 1 teaspoon vinegar. Serve pork on rolls, topped with slaw.
   
   I'm going to go start getting ready for this big dinner. Do my stretches, etc.