A Merry Mat Leave Christmas : Toronto Christmas Market

I'm not normally one to brag about the sweet things my husband does for me but this one I have to share.

He knows I love Christmas.

He begrudgingly got and put up our tree earlier than usual this year so we could have it for the bad sweater party. 

On Friday he said he wanted to take me out on a date on Saturday.

We went to the Christmas Market, the most beautiful place during the holidays with all of its lights and christmas carols, warm drinks and inviting smells. 

While we wandered in the market he told me that this was day one of his 12 days of Christmas for me.

Earlier in the day he had gone shopping and after wrapping them up, plopped a bag of gifts under the tree. I assumed these were the gifts for his family being kept separate.

Nope.

All gifts for me to last the remaining days until Christmas.

He is the sweetest. 

I love that man. 

Our evening at the market was wonderful.

We had apple cider (with whiskey for the one who isn't pregnant) (I miss you, mulled wine) and shared a giant soft pretzel cuddled under a heat lamp.

This is the second year we've gone and the second year that we didn't buy anything other than food and drink. But it's so beautiful that walking around is more than enough. 

If you get a chance, check it out before it's gone!

It's open daily until December 21st 

Countdown to Baby E's due date: 8 days!

Let's Go To (the food building at) The Ex!

Summer, for me, always wraps up with the opening and closing of The CNE - The Canadian National Exhibition, or The Ex. 

Even though we'll still have summer weather (and technically summer since fall doesn't start til later this month) for awhile longer, it always just feels like a summer full of long days and warm nights has wrapped up. 

This is extra ridiculous because the weather this summer hasn't been particularly hot. 

But today was a hot one. 

John and I made our way down once I finished work to take in the sights and sounds (and tastes, more importantly) of the Ex before it closed its doors for another year. 

I haven't been big on the rides since I was little - also cause as I get older the voice saying 'hey, this event runs for two weeks every year. How safe do you think these rides are?' gets a little louder - but this year I had a definitely excuse to stay off the rides. We did splurge on tickets for the ferris wheel though. I've always enjoyed it and it's  great way to see the entire grounds and the masses of people. 

Plus Baby E seemed to enjoy it, as she gave me a few good kicks as we made our way down from the top. 

Then we walked around, watched some people play games at the midway. 

We saved our money for food. 

As always, I was excited to see what the new additions would be to the food building. 

The big ticket items were the Thanksgiving waffle, the chocolate fried chicken, the chunky Elvis grilled cheese & the spicy peanut butter sriracha rolls (both were no-goes on my list), the far east taco (like an Asian spin on the classic beaver tail), the butter coffee, and the crowbar. 

I had two of those things. 

I had to make a decision between the cocoa-infused chicken and the Thanksgiving waffle. I went with the chicken.

It was divine. 

The batter they use has - you guessed it - cocoa infused into it and then it's deep fried. It's amazing. 

We had an option of two dipping sauces. I forget what the other option was but I went all in and opted for the chocolate ketchup. 

If this comes back next year GO FIND IT.

And save me some.

John went a different route (in hindsight he refers to it as the gut rot route) and got the colossal onion. It's a massive onion that they deep fry. Then you pull the pieces apart and dunk them in dipping sauce. 

It was like a big helping of onion rings but we only finished about a third of it before we had to say our goodbyes. 

This is a staple at The Ex so if you want one of your own, never fear. It'll be back again next year.

The Crowbar. I tried to talk John into getting the butter coffee also being sold at this location but he was full with the onion. The crowbar is the beautiful love child of a chocolate bar baked into a croissant-like pastry. I went with the Mars bar (Caramilk, and Reese's Peanut Butter cup were also options) and was not disappointed. The cronut was the big hit last year and I missed it so I didn't want to pass up the chance to try the crowbar. 

I still have half sitting on the counter to be picked at and savoured over the next few days.

So while my food samplings didn't quite rival that of other years, I'm pleased with my decisions.

And even happier about an afternoon well spent with my main guy.

Because I'm Happy...

A few months back I got a letter in the mail asking me to fill out a questionnaire to see if I qualified for jury duty.

Then I got a letter summoning me to jury duty selection today.

I was dreading it for weeks leading up to it.

No one ever speaks highly of jury duty. 

One coworker kind of enjoyed it as her number was called and she got to hear the details of the trial but ultimately wasn't picked to be on the jury. 

Everyone else told me that it'd be boring and that I'd sit in a room for hours and to bring lots to keep myself entertained. 

I had my excuses for being excused ready but lots of people also offered better suggestions for avoiding being selected.

These included dropping racial slurs, crying when called before the lawyers, and my personal favourite: arriving drunk and explaining that I'd just had my morning medicine. 

But being a good citizen, I downloaded 3 books, stocked up on snacks, packed my magazines and my phone charger and was ready to spend the day sitting in a waiting room. 

I arrived on time, in wet shoes from the rain, made friends with a nice woman (she asked if I was there for jury duty, I joked that it was easy to tell who was there for jury duty by their unimpressed faces), and got myself settled into my chair in the waiting area - all by 8:30.

We watched a 20 minute video on the jury duty process then a court representative came to give us an orientation talk. 

He thanked us for coming and then explained that the selection process often requires potential jurors to be there for 3 days to a full week. He then explained that mid-week panels are often auxiliary panels and it's usually the Monday panels that go that length of time. 

So mid-week panels are basically just back up. 

And we weren't needed.

So we were released.

At 9:15 am.

There was a round of applause in the room and I practically skipped home.

The downside was I only got to read about 1/4 of my book.

So here's what I learned:

• Jury duty is an important civic duty.
• If you get summoned to a mid-week (Wednesday on I assume) panel you might be sent home sooner.
• If you're summoned on a Monday.... start brushing up on how to be excused as a juror.

Sip Wine Bar

To celebrate Valentine's Day, on Thursday night John and I went to Sip Wine Bar.

I walk passed it every time I go to and home from the subway and I've anxiously waited to go since the sign showed up in the window saying Sip Wine Bar, coming soon.

When it opened I read about it in Toronto Life and my need to go got a bit more urgent. 

So, since John would be gone on Friday, we got ourselves a table on Thursday night.

And it was worth the wait.

We shared a bottle of riesling from Rosehall Run in Prince Ed County (where we may go for our 2nd anniversary). 

The pizza's are true Neapolitan style and delicious. 

I ordered the Aduja pizza which comes with mozarella cheese, anduja sausage, and basil.

It was very flavourful and I was heartbroken when I pulled the remained out of the fridge the next day to eat and in the few seconds that I had turned around, the dog had gotten a hold of the corner of the tin foil and pulled it onto the floor. Half she ran off with, so... not edible. And the other half was face down on the floor so...also not edible.

Heartbreak.

John opted for the Sip pizza - half is mozarella cheese, muchrooms and basil, and the other half is folded like a calzone and stuffed with ricotta and prosciutto cotto. 

I tried the calzone half and it was to die for. 

The aftermath.

John did significantly better with his pizza than I did.

I filled up on the bread with the hummus and the amazing tapenade.

And to finish a very romantic night, John got me a dozen gorgeous red roses.

Find out more about Sip Wine Bar here and make a reservation to go check it out.

Hope everyone's Valentine's Day was full of love, whether you celebrated or not.

Date Night: In the Dark at O.NOIR

Before Christmas, John and I went out for dinner at a place I was curious to check out.

It's not well known for the wine list, or impeccable food, or the view.

In fact, it's quite the opposite of that last point.

O.Noir is a restaurant where you dine completely in the dark. 

We're talking pitch black, can't see shapes nor shadows, or the hand in front of your face.

As you can see from that top picture, the restaurant is located underground. You walk down a flight of stairs into the venue.

You sit in a dimly lit area where you are given the menu to make your selections. 

Then a waiter (many of them blind) lead you into the completely dark dining room. 

You are told to feel the table to get a sense of where your utensils are and to kind of get a sense of your location relative to your dining partner and of the other tables. 

It's amazing how many conversations I eavesdropped on, I think partly because I was relying completely on my other senses.

Being handed your drink and plates of food is scary at first but slowly you start to figure out where things are. 

Neither John nor I spilled anything on the table or on ourselves. 

I will admit though that I have a totally irrational fear of the dark and had to calm myself down from a rising panic attack once or twice. 

I also kept convincing myself I could see shadows (I couldn't) and that I was now actually blind and would never see again. 

The food was decent, although I did find a hair in my main course (my own?). I suppose in the dark you're supposed to appreciate tastes and textures more since we usually eat with our eyes first. 

John and I were the last people in the dining room and that was weird. I could keep myself calm when I could hear other voices but when it was just us left I was ready to leave.

Emerging back into the light was a nice way to cap off the date.

The experience is worth checking out. 

Especially if you're terrified of the dark. 

Check out more info on the restaurant here

Last Minute Christmas Printables (and ice storm 2013 pictures)

It's Christmas Eve!

Our beautiful city was pummelled by an ice storm over the weekend and many people are still without power (including my parents).

We've been lucky and haven't been without power & heat but my parent's have been wrapping themselves in blankets upon blankets to stay warm since Sunday morning. 

I finally convinced my mom to come over yesterday for a shower and dinner but I haven't been able to talk them into sleeping here yet. 

Hopefully tonight.

Freezing rain and high winds caused a lot of trees to snap and pull down power lines all across the city. Roads and walkways were turned into skating rinks seemingly overnight.

Driving home on Sunday morning we saw a lot of the damage first hand:

This is the dog park we frequent. John took the dog but wisely didn't stay long as the trees were making ominous creaking noises and the possibility of having large branches come crashing down was too great.

This was a common sight on the roads.

But despite the destruction and danger, the ice has actually been quite pretty. 

I snapped this picture of John last night on our walk back to the apartment.

As a result of the lack of power we're switching up our Christmas Eve tradition this year (also cause my dad is working) which, as a big fan of traditions, I find really sucks. But I'm sure tonight will still be as magical as every other year.

Christmas Eve is hands down my favourite day of the year. 

Hopefully everyone is finished their shopping.

If you're struggling for some last minute gifts you could whip up some bacon jam, knit mittens (that post to come), or bake a batch of Christmas cookies (with Bailey's icing on those snowflakes)

And if you're wrapping up your gifts, why not print out and use these adorable rustic gift tags? I've been using the gift tag templates found HERE or you could use the tags found  HERE

If you're throwing a party why not make some props for people to take photos with?

Simply save and print this image to size, cut out and attach to sticks.

MERRY CHRISTMAS EVE EVERYONE! 

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! 

A Christmas To-Do List in T.O.

Now that the Christmas spirit has officially taken over my mind, body & soul, expect 90% of all posts for the next month and a bit to be Christmas themed.

 

Today was the Santa Claus Parade.

This year, like every year since I was maybe 10, I missed it.

In my defence I've been working nights this weekend so I slept right through it but every year I tell myself that next year I'll go.

 

That got me thinking about all the wonderful things there are to do in this city that I tell myself I'll do next year and never seem to get around to doing.

 

If you're lucky enough to live in the Toronto area or are planning to come visit the city during the holidays, here are three things I want to do/see/recommend you also do/see this holiday season:

 

The Cavalcade of Lights

 

 

This free event includes the lighting of the city's Christmas tree (it's massive and my family and I pose for pictures with it on Christmas Eve every year), fireworks, musical performances, and skating on the rink.

The 47th Cavalcade of Lights will take place at Nathan Phillips Square on Saturday November 30th.

 

The Nutcracker

 

Every year when the ads go up on the bus shelters I tell myself that this will be the year I go to see this ballet. This year I actually plan to.

Maybe with my mom and sister... or just my mom, depending on who else is actually interested.

(I'll be expecting a message from my mom re: her RSVP to this event tomorrow)

The Nutcracker runs from December 14th to January 4th at The Four Seasons Centre for the Performing Arts.

Tickets run from $25 - $184

(sorry mom, we'll be sitting in the nosebleeds. We can spend the money we saved on tickets on wine)

 

The Toronto Christmas Market

 

I was planning a day to attend this last year when I realized I had missed it completely.

This free event in The Distillery District is a street market dedicated to the sights, sounds, and smells of Christmas. Hundreds of products are available for purchase from unique vendors or you could listen to the carolers and choirs, or just walk around and take in the sights.

The Christmas Market runs from November 29th to December 15th. Hours are Monday - Friday noon to 9 pm and Sat & Sun 10 am - 9 pm

 

 

What events, sights, or traditions are you looking forward to this holiday season?

 

Toronto Wine & Spirits Festival

After our trip to Baldwin Street Burger several Saturdays ago, John and I made a stop at a Portugese bakery for a half dozen delicious lemon custard tarts called natas and then we made our way home to get ready for the Toronto Wine & Spirits Festival.

 

 

This was my first time attending but it certainly won't be my last.

The event was held at Sugar Beach, a man made beach with white sand right by Lake Ontario and with a great view of the city.

 

 

Upon entrance you get your wristband, a sample cup, and 5 tickets to use for sampling. Some were 1 ticket and some were 2. We didn't venture to try anything more than 2 tickets.

Availble to sample were a ton of wines, ciders, beer,  a scotch & cigar lounge, ribs and prawns, cesaers and vodkas, there was free applewood smoked cheddar and parmesan cheeses, and live entertainment.

 

John and I used some of our last tickets to try bone marrow croquettes.

I was excited to try a new food but I was told that the bone marrow was incorporated into the bread so I couldn't make out it's flavour.

 

This event runs for a weekend and it is well worth checking out the next time it comes around.

Be smart and buy your tickets early! You save almost $10 - ten extra bucks which can be spent on more sample tickets!

 

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.