What I Ate This Weekend

Hey You!
How was your weekend? Mine was great, thanks! Dave and I were up in Collingwood and it totally got me excited for Fall. The humidity of this insane Summer was gone and the evening air was cool and crisp... ie. almost time for skiing! YES. I said it- sorry to all who hate snow- but I LOVE it, and can't wait for the first few flakes!

Saturday afternoon I was busy doing a bit of work and all I could think about was pancakes. I know... a bit of a segway, but this gets me to my next point: I am not an "eat-a-stack-of-pancakes-for-breakfast" type of girl, I am more of a "give-me-bacon-and-fried-potatoes-for-breakfast" type of girl. So, I figured- why don't I make pancakes that are more savory, you know, with herbs, AND cheese. But, what would replace the syrup? I figured the yolk from a couple of fried eggs would do the trick. Unfortunately not, because Dave asked for syrup after he ate the egg on top of his untouched savory pancakes.... SO, this is not a recipe post today- it is a pictures of a future recipe post... that is bound to have Hollandaise Sauce in it... The pancakes were super awesome, so I promise to perfect this recipe and post it here for all of you to try.



Fresh Blueberries. Perfect for Mini Blueberry Pies! (and.. I really liked the sticker)

On our way home Sunday we hit one of our favorite farm stands- we pooled all the cash we had on us and bought as much as possible (we learned the hard way the first time, that farm stands do not take debit!). I wasn't planning on doing anything major for dinner, but this little trip changed that! They had thee most gorgeous, fresh produce. Their onions were beyond ruby red, which reminded me of a fabulous Focaccia recipe I saw in this months Bon Appetit magazine. Dave also mentioned he LOVES blueberry pie (which I didn't know), so we picked up some Ontario grown blueb's too. Corn, carrots, peaches, apples.... it was quite the haul for 20 bucks! Below are pictures of the rest of my Sunday. It was heaven.  



The Simplest, Beautiful Focaccia.



I saw this recipe on TV last week and knew I had to try it.

Buttery, Crunchy, Salty, Oniony, Goodness.

Seriously. I know. Who Am I?

Have a super fab Monday.
xo
C

Question 2

Is anyone else excited for fall? It might just be me. Every year when my birthday hits (August 2nd), it marks the beginning of the end of Summer for me and all I can think about is boots... and sweaters... and scarves. Its redic, I know. Seriously though- you can't tell me that you're not pumped for scarves and warm lattes!? FUN.

The salad I made last week is the perfect "Summer-on-the-verge-of-Fall dish". It still has summery brightness from the sweet peas and herbs, which contrasts nicely with the earthy, (fall) smokiness of the mushrooms. I totally lucked out and found chanterelle mushrooms, which are insanely tasty and kind of smokey in flavour. If you cant find them you can easily substitute baby portabellos or cremini mushrooms. Try this one out- I promise you will love it and want colourful leaves in the air as much as I do!

Ingredients:



1 cup chanterelle mushrooms
1 cup shiitake mushrooms
1 cup oyster mushrooms
1 large shallot (or 2 normal sized shallots- mine was probably genetically altered in some way)
1 cup fresh green peas (you could use frozen- but the fresh are just SO much better)
2 tbsp chopped, fresh basil
1 tbsp chopped, fresh parsley
s + p

Method:

1. Dice up your shallot and throw it into a saute pan with about 2 tbsps of olive oil, sautee for a minute or so.
2. Meanwhile, roughly chop your mushrooms in half or quarters, depending on how big they are. Tear Oyster mushrooms into strips- this is nicer to the mushroom, and adds texture.
3. Throw the mushrooms in with the shallot and sautee on medium high, keeping the mushrooms moving so they evenly cook. (moving = toss, stir, etc.)
4. When the mushrooms look almost done (getting golden and soft), about 8 minutes- add the peas and toss to combine.
5. Sautee the peas and mushrooms for 2 minutes, allowing the peas to warm through, but not become mushy.
6. Stir in the fresh herbs, season with salt and pepper to taste and pile onto a rustic serving dish.
7. Serve and ENJOY.

xo
C

Ps. This was Question 1