Thursday, October 6, 2011

Life and how I've been living it


Lately, I have been incredibly busy with work commitments, but have still somehow managed to find some time to get out and enjoy my favourite season.  Here are some photos from my journeys.

Last week, I was recipe testing for my friend Laurie's soon to be published cookbook!  I can't go into too many details about what I was testing, but I can let you know that her first book, "The Allergy-Free Cook Bakes Bread", will be coming out at the end of this month.  It is the first in a three-part series and boasts "an amazing collection of gluten-free bagels, biscuits, loaves, muffins, scones, and specialty breads that rival their traditional counterparts in every imaginable way."  The books are also gluten-free, egg-free, dairy-free, as well as free of many allergens and 100% vegan.  As soon as the second book is out I'll post my reviews of the recipes I tested. ***Hint: I've already made them twice.....nom, nom, nom!

Drop me a message if you are interested in attending
Laurie's book launch later this month!

Saturday, I started my day by going to the Welland Farmer's Market. While I love the Spring and Summer hauls, the Fall harvest is really le pièce de résistance pour moi! The colours of the delicious bounty have begun to change, much like the leaves on the trees.

Mixed Bell Peppers
Last of the Sweet Corn?
Yellow and Green Beans:
One of my favourite raw snacks! 
Festive Fall Stand
Heirloom Tomatoes
Absolutely GORGEOUS Kale!!
I bought all of this for $1.50!!
Plenty of gourds!
They have arrived ;)
Beans, Italian plums, Royal Galas,
White Eggplant, KALE and cider


The next day the girls and I went to Windwood Farms, a local "pick your own" farm, for some fresh apple picking!



Picked with love

On the way home we stopped at a Sunday market in Beamsville.  I'm told that this market has fallen on some harder times due to a competing stand up the road, but we still found some gems.

Madison thought this sign was brilliant!
Beautiful!
I couldn't agree more!

Attending the Niagara Food Festival has been an annual tradition for my famjam and this year was no different.  I didn't get too many photos because my hands were full of delicious food (plus I was trying not to loose the babies in the huge crowd). I chose roasted yams and an ear of corn (no butter) from The Ontario Corn Roasters,  and vegetarian/GF "rip" from Mazie. The rip's were a mixture of refried beans, roasted veg, fresh veg, and guacamole stuffed in a delightful crispy homemade cornbread pocket topped with a spicy pepper sauce.  It was so amazing and I didn't even get a photo :(

The impressive hungry crowd

Enjoying our treats

A guilty pleasure of mine is deep fried foods, but I have
 to say that this deep fried obsession is getting out of hand!
This was only 1/3 of what they had to offer.

I had the pleasure of attending Soupalicious, an event that took place in Toronto this past weekend. This event was co-orginized by a friend of mine and put on by the Plant a Row, Grow a Row program, "a national initiative that encourages folks to grow an extra row of food and share extras from their harvest with those in need." I had an amazing time and as if the soup wasn't good enough, I even got to catch demos by Meghan over at Making Love in the Kitchen and Marni over at Fully Nourished.  I had such a good time that I think I might get a table next year! Fair warning for all you potential soup testers out there ;) 
*Keep an eye out for the soup photos because I plan to do a separate post in the coming weeks.
They're in love
Marni's Demo
Meghan's Demo


While in Toronto and sans children (!!) we decided to stay the night and visit some friends.  Our night began with a dinner at Fresh and ended with Nuit Blanche festivities. Perfect date night? I think so!

City Scape
Jesse exploring the menu 
Quinoa Onion Rings
with Avocado Chipotle 
The Modern Vampire
Beet, Raspberry, Ginger and Orange
*I've made this thrice already!
Macro Greens Bowl with Brown Basmati,
Toasted Nut & Seed Mix and Wasbi Dill Dressing   
Sam Houston Burrito 
Think about it...
Is it?
Smells Like Teen Spirit played
144 times consecutively, never the same twice.


While there you have it! My last few journeys in and around the region. This weekend should prove to be just as busy as I prepare for 4 Thanksgiving dinners in 4 days. I'll keep you posted!

I also wanted to take this moment to let you know that while I truly love connecting with all my cyberspace friends, I'd like to remind everyone to step away from this alternate universe and get out there and enjoy all the wonderful things life has to offer.  As Steve Jobs put it "Right now is the new you, but someday not too long from now, you will gradually become the old and be cleared away." Embrace each day/moment as if it were your last because you deserve nothing less my friends.

Stay hungry. Stay foolish 

JorDanna

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