Go: Eat Out In Canada

Hello there!

I am sorry that my posting has been incredibly inconsistent the last couple of months. While I love gathering and executing recipes and crafts, I have found myself lately lacking the energy and/or motivation to write about them. I've also been assessing my overall vision for Making a Living. This mixed with a busy season full of major home projects and travel has resulted in very few blog posts. If you are a regular reader of mine, I apologize. I promise to make it up to you with a bunch of great posts I have coming along!

As I said, we've done a bit of traveling over the past few months including a very recent trip to Montreal and Toronto. It was us versus the rain most days, but overall it was a great vacation! A friend of mine asked what my favorite part of our trip was. I thought about it for a few seconds and confidently replied: The Food. Oh man! Montreal and Toronto both offered such a wide variety of restaurants, bakeries, and cafés! We always strive to eat well on vacation, but neither Matt nor I remember enjoying our meals nearly as much on previous trips.

Since food is one of the cornerstones of Making a Living, I think it would be appropriate to share some of our culinary exploits while across the border. I've included links below and highly recommend all of these restaurants. I may also try my hand at recreating some of these dishes. Enjoy!

Montreal

Le Givres
This was our very first night in Montreal and decided to start the vacation with a bang! By "bang", I mean a giant dessert for dinner. We ordered the "Dégustation pour Deux" which translates into Tasting for Two. Not only was this delicious, it felt positively decadent; I only wish would could have savored it more slowly--but ice cream does melt rather quickly.

It featured a mini "campfire" of pastry sticks, brownie bites topped with caramelized brown sugar, ice cream, and whipped cream; A big roasted homemade marshmallow; Organic bananas with chocolate ice cream & a brownie; Coffee ice cream with whipped cream and waffle cone; Poached pears with vanilla ice cream, spice cake, and caramelized ginger; Mini eclairs with pistachio ice cream and praline ice cream. I suggested we eat this for dinner every night in Montreal!

***

La Crêperie du Marché
We ended our second day by roaming the Jean Talon Market, a large covered market selling everything you can think of, from meat and fish to honey and lavender. It was tough to decide from which booth we would get dinner, but La Crêperie du Marché won. I was surprised by how different the crepes looked from what we would usually find back home, their dark brown crispy exterior and square shape. Matthew went the semi-sweet route with melted apples, torchon ham, swiss cheese, and maple syrup. I opted for straight-up savory with asparagus, béchamel sauce, swiss cheese, torchon ham. A choir happened to set up shop next to our table, so we enjoyed some lovely choral music while eating!

***

Arepera

This Venezuelan restaurant is a top contender for our favorite. It is a small space with brightly colored walls, warm atmosphere, and low lighting--hence the dark photo above. Arepas are flatbread sandwiches with a texture similar to english muffins. I decided to be extra adventurous and tried the smoked shark with plantains. I would compare the flavor to lobster (lightly sweet but still fishy). Matthew went with the spicy pulled pork and a sauce hot enough to make his eyes water. We also shared cassavas chips with a delicious avocado sauce. Cassava is a starchy tuberous root of a tropical tree--and tasty when fried!

***

Premier Moisson

After a long day of walking and burning calories, we treated ourselves to some fancy french pastries. It took a long time to actually find this bakery, but it was well worth the search! Matthew ordered crème brûlée and I got the pain au chocolat aux amandes (or chocolate pastry with almonds).This is one dish I will definitely try to make. Somehow I doubt it would be as good!

Toronto

Thai to Go

The prologue to our dining experience at Thai to Go was less than pleasant. Lots of rain. Lots of walking in the rain. Lots of shoes filled with rain. Once we stepped into the restaurant, though, we were given some of the best service we've ever seen and delicious thai cuisine! I had the Mango Tofu Stirfry while Matt enjoyed the Pineapple Shrimp Curry. The restaurant offered us free drinks (we opted for cranberry juice) and a free dessert of green tea and pastries that flaked apart beautifully when bitten. I honestly think they would have kept serving us free pastries indefinitely had we stuck around long enough!

***

SOMA Chocolate

Among the many places to explore in Toronto is the historic Distillery District. What began as the Gooderham and Worts Distillery has become a large center of independent shops and restaurants, mantaining its old-time charm. It was great to see the city utilize what would otherwise be an abandoned part of town. One particular shop that kept our interest (we visited it three times!) was SOMA Chocolate where we tried the Spicy Mayan Chocolate. It tastes like it sounds: hot and spicy with a rich, deep chocolate flavor. Yum! I liked it enough to buy a packet for my parents to try.

***

Bibim Q
Boy, oh boy! The amount of food that came with these meals was overwhelming. I can tell you what we ordered (the Bulgogi and the Bibimbap Soya) but I'm not sure will mean very much to you. Instead, I list everything we got between the two of us: fried egg, tofu, rib eye steak, rice, coleslaw, clear noodles, salad, tons of vegetables, and something reminiscent of cold mashed potatoes. I wasn't sold on the cold mashed potatoes but everything else was fantastic! We enjoyed this meal en plein air at Queen's Park. We even used chopsticks.

***

St. Lawrence Market

This market was very similar to Jean Talon of Montreal, so I loved it! A few people told us that we should try the "butter tarts" which are generally regarded as a speciality of Toronto. So while searching for souvenirs and strawberries, we bought a few tarts. They reminded me of the mini pecan tarts I've made in the past, except much larger and much sweeter. I felt like I was drinking maple syrup from a pastry cup! My sweet tooth was thoroughly satiated for a long while!

***

Capitano Burgers
Toronto must have a major thing for burgers. Everywhere I looked, I saw a different restaurant for "gourmet burgers". So near the end of our trip we gave in and gave them a try. I must say, we were not disappointed! Matt and I each declared that they were the best burgers we'd ever had. Seriously. My burger featured the restaurant's namesake "Capitano Sauce" which I can best describe as a creamy sweet mustard. Matt (as usual!) went for the spicy option--I guess I must really be depriving him of hot spices at home.

**

Merryberry Café

Behold, the last meal of our vacation! We tried to eat at Merryberry for our first night in Toronto, only to discover (after a rainy walk) that they close early on Tuesdays! I was bitter for a few days but Matt convinced me we should give it another chance. I am so glad that we did! The space could not have been cuter and everything on the menu was unique and appetizing. Matt wasn't particularly hungry, so he ordered a bowl of Mango Gazpacho. I'm telling you, this was the trip of the mango! We ordered it whenever we could! My sandwich also featured the fruit, along with smoked salmon, pesto, goat cheese, roasted peppers, and sprouts. Such a strange combination of ingredients but they came together beautifully! This one is also my list of meals to copycat at home.

***

So there you have it! Of course, there are more meals and stories worth sharing but this post is already quite lengthy. All of these meals reinforced how important it is to step outside of your comfort zone with food and try new things--even if they have strange ingredients like shark! I'm going to incorporate some of these experiences into my own cooking regime. Stayed tuned for those attempts!

Loveliness: a second anniversary tale

In short:

Our anniversary celebration was positively wonderful!

In long:

Part I

Last Wednesday marked our second wedding anniversary. We kicked off the festivities by dining out at Water Street Café in Maplewood. It's one of those intimate, low light, warm colors, cool music restaurants with small menus and square plates. It was perfect.

The meal itself is worth detailing. Trust me.

We shared a plate of warm medjool dates stuffed with goat cheese & basil, wrapped in bacon with a balsamic reduction. Yowza. And I do mean yowza. I think I could have eaten a dozen of them and called it a night.

Then we ordered a flatbread with kalamata olives, chorizo, spinach, roasted red peppers, and mozzarella and split a maple-bourbon salad with spring greens, pears, gorgonzola, candied almonds, red onions, and maple-bourbon vinaigrette. Yes sir!

Part II

The rest of the week carried on like usual, but by Saturday morning we were peeling out of town like Bonnie and Clyde.

We spent the day roaming the small town of New Haven (Missouri, not Connecticut). It rests on a hill right next to the Missouri River, with a little square of historic buildings that once bustled with the energetic commerce of the steamboat industry but now hums with the quiet chirping of the cicadas. This calm is regularly interrupted by the whooshing and whistling of trains storming through.

We settled on the adjective "sleepy" to best describe New Haven as there is next to nothing to keep one's self occupied. Despite the number of homes, we saw very few actual human beings. Matt kept referring to it as "our town" since we appeared to be the only folks for miles. So we explored a few antique shops and sat next to the river, me reading, Matthew writing.




The Historic District, and yes, that is City Hall.

The Visitor's Center (left) and a random caboose (right).

A few points of interest from our exploration:

Around mid-day, we found a scenic view atop New Haven's big hill; this was the perfect spot to enjoy our Tex-Mex to go.

There were two teenage girls riding their bikes in an unending loop around the historic district. The entire day. I repeat, the entire day. We started to imagine them as the witches from MacBeth, constantly watching and circling us, cackling to themselves.

No matter where you go or how far you travel, there is always an antique store waiting to creep you out with vintage toys.

Being good visitors, we visited the Visitor's Center. When asked for a restaurant recommendation, the friendly volunteer in turn asked us what other towns we would be visiting. After our reply of none, she seemed at a loss and just trailed off without offering a suggestion. I feel like she needs some additional ambassador training.

A troop of Lewis and Clark reenactors had just sailed their way down the river and were starting to set up camp. This happened to coincide with a wedding party hoping to take pictures along the riverfront. The ensuing scene provided ample entertainment and prompted some debate as to whether or not these two events were somehow related, like a reenactment-themed wedding. Turns out not.

 

New Haven must be the safest place in the United States, because we noticed multiple police vehicles with not only the windows rolled down but the doors unlocked as well. And yes, there appeared to be loaded rifles in the back seats. Fantastic.

We stayed overnight at a bed and breakfast built in the late 1800s. I'd like to note that Matthew and I are B&B enthusiasts. We often muse aloud together about how we will run our own B&B someday and brainstorm clever puns as potential names. With that critical credibility established, we thought Central Hotel was great (although breakfast was somewhat underwhelming). It had a warm, rustic feel but was fully updated and had a clean newness to it. Plus, our room was HUGE and boasted its own balcony. We spent a good part of Saturday afternoon sitting on the porch, returning friendly unsolicited waves from Townies.

Part III

On Sunday we had another batch of peace and quiet but of the one-with-nature kind. The Shaw Nature Reserve, for those of you who don't know, is a 2,400 square foot private reserve run by the Missouri Botanical Gardens. The farther one gets from the entrance, the rougher the terrain becomes. It really was so beautiful. It is not easy to turn off my ever-changing, ever-growing mental to-do list, but this hiking trip had instantaneous success. You should give it a try! By the end of the day, we were exhausted but in a good, happy way!

Some of you may know that the thistle, thanks to our recent trip to Scotland,
 is a special flower to us. We were excited to find one!

So here we are back home with two years of matrimony under our belt. I am so grateful to have little getaways like this, time to be with Matthew, looking for adventure, laughing at things that no one besides us would find funny, gazing up into trees, talking about everything, being reminded of how blessed we are.

***

Fall Recipe of the Week: Butternut Squash Chili

Go: 3 trips, 2 weeks, 1 post

The past two weeks have. been. crazy.

I will grant that Matthew and I tend to overbook ourselves on a regular basis, but we're always busy at home. Not the case this time! We were extended a few different travel opportunities that all jutted up against each other. With summer's end quickly approaching, we thought "why not!?" and decided to finish the season with a bang.

Things got started in mid-August when Matt went on his very first business trip; he attended a conference in downtown Atlanta. It was quite exciting as we are young tenderfoots who had not yet enjoyed the pleasure of eating dinner on company dime. It was also fairly significant since his employer rarely sends newer employees to conferences. It certainly warranted a photo to mark the occasion!




Looking good, even at 5am. I, on the other hand, needed to stay behind the camera.



Leaving on a jet plane...

I'm sorry to report that I was not able to join Matt, since I only have so much annual leave up my sleeve. I spent the week working, cleaning, baking, and watching PBS. The morning after he returned, we headed out to Lake Michigan. It is the usual vacation spot of Matt's father, who invites us every year to join him. The past few, we have both been in new jobs without enough vacation time stored up. This go around we were able and willing.

After 10+ hours, a freezing Megabus ride, a Chicago layover (complete with Intelligentsia Coffee) , and a lovely little train ride, we made it to our destination. We spent our days walking the beach and roaming adorable/expensive towns. One of the highlights for me was the small city of Holland. It boasts one of the most beautiful public libraries I have ever seen! Between the library and the scenic surroundings, I was positively smitten! Also noteworthy: the train we took home was HUGE. I honestly could not reach the seat in front of me, even with my tippy toes outstretched! It also featured an observation deck that made us feel like swanky, futuristic travelers. It turned me into a bit of a train snob.



Traveling in style!

 

How to look less attractive in a photo: squint.



Now, tell me this doesn't make you smirk!



We enjoyed one of these beauties every night.



A quiet morning outside of our cabin.



The Holland Public Library. Impressive, no?



The last sunset of our trip.

Never ones to rest on our laurels, we followed up this adventure with a Labor Day long weekend visit with Matt's sister in Kansas City. I played Monopoly with the kiddos, discovered that How to Train Your Dragon is actually a pretty good movie, picked fresh fruit, ate the most delicious curried apple turkey melt, and explored Powell Gardens.

 

 



We made a new friend: Chester, the Gardens' stray rescue cat.



Powell Gardens has a beautiful chapel on its grounds; this is the ceiling.



Another interior shot of the chapel.



The kids cooling off after a long day in this Missouri heat.

 

While wandering, Matt and I came upon these plastic, life-sized horses. I wish we could have gotten a picture of me climbing atop this thing...it was not my most graceful moment. I still don't think we were supposed to sit on them, as they weren't bolted to the ground or weighted. Oh well!

Needless to say, we are exhausted! I'm happy to be home and ready for September, my favorite month! We've decided to go into stealth mode for the next few weeks. This may be difficult, since I already have a full docket: 3-5 birthday celebrations (including some for me!), a wedding, the Great Balloon Race, our anniversary trip, breakfasts/brunches/dinners with friends, a retirement party, and a new bible study. Bring on the fun!

Stay tuned for some fantastic recipes! I have three words for you: chocolate, coffee, Kahlua.