Burgundy?

My favourite part about our trip to France was the side-trip out to the Burgundy region. We drove out approximately 3 hours to Mont Saint Jean, where an enchanting "country residence" awaited our arrival.

Chateau Les Roches came highly recommended by my good friends who had honeymooned there 4 years ago. It is run by two english-speaking gentlemen, Marcus and Tobias. They offered delicious food cooked in-house by Marcus and they were most helpful in planning our time in the area.

The chateau itself was amazing. My reaction was much like that of Frauline Maria's, when she first spotted the Von Trapp's residence -- minus the dread. and the singing.

From France

Our room had a gorgeous view of the back gardens, where we climbed for a spectacular view of the Chateau.

From France

From France

Breakfast (with freshly baked croissants!) was on the terrace.

From France

The detail to finish the fantasy: a real key. The big clunky kind. With a tassel!

From France

Although it was difficult to tear ourselves away from Les Roches, there was plenty more to marvel at. I will save my favourite adventure to share as my final France post: ultimate best for last. (I promise not to keep you in suspense for too long.)

The rest of our time in the Burgundy region was spent seeing Dijon, Beaune, and all the breathtaking countryside in between. We took in everything: goats, markets, castles, cobblestone roads and artistic roofs, and not to mention the endless views of spectacular farmland, gardens, vineyards, and untouched greenery. All this in Burgundy, just a few hours drive from the hustle and bustle of Paris.

From France

From France

From France

From France

From France

From France

As a preview/clue to my final post on France: I had alluded to another encounter with the elusive macaron. Here we are in front of the Châteauneauf-en-Auxois with raspberry macarons. If we couldn't get into the fancy shop to buy them, then why not just make them?! ...To be continued...

From France

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Peas, sir. I want some more.

Last year, we planted peas in our balcony garden. We followed the instructions on the back of the packet of seeds. "Sow 10cm apart." My coworker was appalled. He never follows that. Apparently we should have sown the whole darn packet and packed the peas in as much as we could.

This year, we used the rest of the packet of seeds from last year and we also planted a whole other packets. 4 times the seeds as last year!

We'll see how it goes. I feel like there was some method to their madness when they provided a guideline of sowing distances, but I guess there's only one way to tell.

From garden

They started sprouting after the intense rainfall that we received just over a week ago and are about three inches tall now. There doesn't appear to be as many little sprouts as there were seeds, but I'm hoping for lots more in the next few days!

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My very own Green Gables

Okay, so I don't have a Green Gables.

I have a greenhouse.

From garden

But "gables" rhymes with "stables" which is essentially a "house" for animals. So I've come as close as I can to having my own Green Gables where in my imagination, I am Diana Barry (since I have black hair) and I'm spending time at Green Gables with my bosom friend, Anne.

I apologize for the misleading blog title.

I must also apologize for implying that I have my own green house; it is, in fact, not "my very own". Quite the opposite, actually. It's a community-shared green house.

A month ago, I ordered a copy of "Grow Great Grub" by Gayla Trail, author of super-awesome-blog: You Grow Girl. On her blog, I learned of an opportunity to share some space in the community greenhouse in downtown Toronto.

From garden

Dustin and I are in charge of going to the greenhouse every Monday to water the seedlings. We all take turns. Isn't it all so harmoniously charming?

Although we have limited space in our balcony garden, we went nuts and got seeds for anything that we would enjoy having an abundance of. We would worry about the space later.

We planted some zucchini (this one's still got the seed stuck to it):

From garden

some cucumbers:

From garden

and to make my mom proud, some Chinese Veggies (菜心):

From garden

We also planted some garlic, basil, dill, and cherry tomatoes. All in the greenhouse. It's incredible how quickly everything grows there. Gayla was smart and got us a shelf in the sunny corner.

From garden

In a couple months, all our little babies will be big enough to leave the warmth and shelter of the greenhouse and enter into the real world. Some will not make it out the door; others may perish in the harsh (and unpredictable) conditions of an Ontario Spring/Summer, but the strong will prevail and fulfill their destiny to be cooked into something unfathomably delicious!

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Pretty in Pink

From Food

As mentioned in my last beet post, I've found a way to cook beets that is truly delicious.

My Polish friend, Magda, loves beets. How could someone love a vegetable that I'm so "iffy" about? I must know the secret. "Vinegar," she says. She goes off listing beet dish after beet dish that she loves, all with a common thread: "... with some balsamic vinegar" "... with a little red wine vinegar," ".. pour a little bit of pickle juice in it; not the dill pickle kind, the salt brine kind..." A little tart to compliment the beet. Genius.

She raved about a soup that her dad makes. I told her about my attempt at a beet soup that did not turn out so well. I eventually got to taste some of the soup and I could not believe how incredibly different it tasted! Delicious! I just had to replicate it. "My dad doesn't really use a recipe..." she admitted. Why was I not surprised?

Since I was used to being in this predicament (my mother only keeps recipes for baking) I was confident that I'd get along just fine. Just taste your food every so often and adjust for flavour.

I started with a recipe from Lucy Waverman's book "A Year in Lucy's Kitchen" and went from there. The biggest difference is that I did not puree the soup. This soup was essentially a beet broth, full of flavour and colour. If you feel bad about tossing the strained beets, you can use them in a salad, or as garnish. Beets still win the "prettiest vegetable" award.

From Food

1 1/2 lb beets (I used any and every colour)
1 tbsp olive oil
1 cup sliced onions
6 cups chicken stock
2 tbsp white vinegar
2 tbsp red wine vinegar
salt and freshly ground pepper

Wash and peel the beets; slice as thin as possible.

Add olive oil to a large pot and heat to medium high; add onions and lightly brown, about 5 minutes. Add sliced beets and chicken stock. Bring to at boil over high heat; reduce and let simmer 20 minutes or longer, until vegetables are tender. Add both vinegars. Salt and pepper to taste. Add more vinegar if desired.

Set a colander over a large bowl; pour soup into colander, straining all beets and onions. Serve warm.

From Food

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I Love Lamp

Photo courtesy of the workroom

So... remember the beautiful Rouenneries by French General fabric that I fell in love with? I finally made that fabric lamp shade! It now sits next to my bed by my fabric hoops. So beautiful! So easy! I love lamp!

From sewing

From sewing

From sewing

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To Serge, With Love

From sewing

I was "Lulu" and my brand new Bernina Serger was my "Sidney Poitier." My sewing life had gone astray and I needed inspiration, motivation, and a reason to sew! For Christmas, my mother in law, my sister and my mom got me gift cards to the workroom. I was finally going to get myself a serger to inspire me to do all those sewing projects that I've been meaning to do. Sure, I didn't *need* a serger, but it sure made sewing more exciting!

For those that don't know: a serger is like a sewing machine, but is perfect for overlocking the edges of fabric so it won't fray. Take a look at any tshirt: the hem is usually serged.

From sewing

On Sunday afternoon, I read through Stylish Dress Book and decided on dress 'B', which is actually a shirt. (I have to admit that Karyn's fabulous dress 'B' was most inspirational.) I had this beautiful Moda fabric that I purchased several months ago: dragonflies and hummingbirds!

From sewing

I had previously made two dresses from the book: both from taking a class at the workroom. The entire book is in Japanese, and although the tourists in Morocco would argue that I couldn't possibly be anything but Japanese, let alone Canadian, I can't read a word of Japanese. The class taught us how to *assume* what they are telling us to do: plan the whole thing out and look at the pictures. (A recipe stand comes in really handy as well: this was a Christmas gift from my sister-in-law. It folds up and tucks away like a book!)

From sewing

I spent all afternoon tracing the pattern, cutting the fabric, serging, and sewing. After many uses of the seam-ripper, I was one sleeve short of finishing the entire shirt!!!

What dedication! What progress! On Monday, not only did I finish the shirt, but I started another -- which I promptly finished the next evening. Don't I look fabulous?

From sewing

From sewing

After three dresses/shirts from this book, I realized that I was terrible at bias tape. TERR-ible. Since I had borrowed Funny Girl from the library, I decided to do all the bias tape by hand in front of the tv. Doesn't the sleeve look perfect? I also decided to keep the serged hemline: I've moved up in the world. No more frayed edges! No more double folded hems! "Those schoolgirl days, of telling tales and biting nails are gone..."

From sewing

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Life's candy and the sun's a ball of butter

I'm an emotional person. Ask anyone.

I laugh out loud. And I mean *LOUD*.

I cry a lot. You know that Kodak commercial with the kid that shows his grandma her old baseball picture? I'm the one you can hear crying in the distance.

I get chills whenever I witness a fabulous performance of singing or dancing. CHILLS. Followed by immense jealousy that I can't sing and dance like them.

Last week was the Fall Finale of Glee (did I miss the memo on mid-season finales?) this made me have chills, and then I cried. (I just watched this clip 4 times and then the first 30 seconds 8 more times.) [update: the original clip was removed from youtube so now it's just the audio...)


Speaking of the sun being a ball of butter, I have two things I would like to share.

1. Buttery, delicious pecan pie.
2. Me balling -- well, bawling, but those who can't spell can see my segue.

First, the pecan pie. This was the first time I tried a no-roll-pie-crust. I set out to make small pecan tarts instead of one big pie. And then I realized that I had too much filling so I spent another 10 minutes (that's all it takes!) and made another crust for an entire pie. The crust turned out fabulous. I didn't blind bake anything: contrary to my quiche post. Why? I don't know. The likely answer is laziness.

Thanks to my housemate's trusty (although ancient) camera, I was able to capture one decent picture. For the filling, I used Martha Stewart's recipe. Mmmm. The sun must be mighty tasty.

From Food

Secondly: why was I bawling, you ask? Well, they were tears of happiness. I swear. Remember how I broke my camera and you all ran out to buy me a new one for Christmas? Well you can all return them (and get me gift certificates to the workroom) because Dustin gave me my Christmas present early! He spent hours researching for an inexpensive camera that performed well in low light and then went out today to bargain for a discount. He knew I would never have agreed to an expensive camera (and if Angela's ancient camera was up for grabs, I was thinking of buying it off her) so the Chinese bargaining skills came out and (although he wasn't able to pay cash for an extra no-tax savings) his mission was accomplished.

The battery is charging as we speak. No rain on my parade today!!!

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La Vie en Rosé

I used to *love* creamy pasta sauces. Fettuccine Alfredo. Mmmmmm.

And then I became conscious of my "personal spare tire" also referred to as the "muffin top." If only I had blown a tire, and not broken my leg. I would have had a spare.

Lately, at my favourite Italian restaurant: Marcello's, I will compromise and get a rosé sauce. I've never made a rosé sauce at home before, but last week (yes, this post is about last week since I have no new pictures) I whipped up a delicious rosé sauce.

From Food

I don't actually know how the experts make a rosé sauce, but this one turned out pretty tasty and was soooo easy. Too easy... I'm sure I'm doing something wrong. But until I look up a recipe and make it the right way, this is the way I will do it.

Step 1: Get a pot of water boiling. (Whenever making pasta, you should always get a big pot of water boiling first.)

Step 2: Go treat yourself to a beautiful Le Creuset braiser. Okay, that part is optional: but for all those getting married and creating a wedding registry, this is highly recommended. I use it for pasta sauces, stir fries, quick stews, steaks... and I refer to it as the skillet... but I guess the skillet is shallower.

Real Step 2: Mince up garlic and chop up whatever else you want to put in your sauce: mushrooms, zucchini, peppers etc...

Step 3: Olive oil in the shallow pan or whatever you're using to make your sauce. Add everything you chopped. Hold the fresh basil until later if using. Don't forget to season with salt and pepper.

Step 4: Before your garlic burns, add a big scoop of tomato paste (perhaps the organic local one that you got in your biweekly CSA box?) Add chicken or vegetable stock. Adjust either more stock or more paste until you get enough sauce and a nice consistency and nice flavouring.

From Food

Step 5: Your water is probably boiling now. Add (lots of) salt, and your pasta and cook according to package.

Step 6: Add the basil to the sauce. Pour in a small quantity of half and half cream. Or whatever cream you happen to have: light (4%), table (18%), full fat goodness (40%). Add small quantities of cream until you're happy with the creaminess. I think I added 3 tablespoons. I used half and half. Taste and season if required.

Tada! Pour sauce over pasta. Finish with some freshly cracked black pepper and parmigiano reggiano. Yes, I just wrote that with a Giada de Laurentiis accent. Mmmm... "creamy, tangy, the pasta is perfectly al dente..."

From Food

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Flight of the Concord (Jam)

I went to pick up our second CSA box today. Not as exciting (no alien shaped things) but still full of delicious local foods. It made me realize how far behind I was in my blogging about the last CSA box. Without further adieu:

From Food

Concord grapes are my least favourite grapes. They are my friend Paula's favourite. That happens a lot. She likes the outside crust of bread, I like the inside. She likes the tips of the asparagus, I like the bottoms. She likes the melty outside icecream of the breyer's container, I like the cold, firm inside. She likes smushy concord grapes, I like grapes that are crunchy and not squidgy in the least.

So it was an absolute relief when Dustin suggested making a jam out of the grapes.

I googled and googled for a recipe, but I kept reading about this ridiculous "jelly cloth" that I needed to use to drain the liquid. I assume it was like a cheese cloth. Which I did not have. And didn't they always tell you that the nutrients were packed in the skin?

So I finally found this recipe from epicurious.com. No jelly cloth. But it calls for a food mill. Which I owned (thanks mom) but after I used it, I decided that it didn't really do anything.

I also didn't really skim the surface. Lazy, I know. But I needed every short cut I could get, because the first step was squishing every single grape between our fingers and separating the grape guts from the skins. Dustin helped. We bonded. And squished.

From Food

Here are my revised instructions:

1. Squish 2lbs of concord grapes with your fingers and separate the skins and the guts. (Yes, only 2lbs. Who has more than 2lbs of grapes?! Okay, if you do, then multiply the recipe.)

2. Food process the skins with 1/2 cup of sugar.

3. Add the guts and the skins to a heavy pot. Add another cup or cup and a half of sugar and the juice of a lemon. Or a half lemon. Or grapefruit. Whatever you have lying around. (I may have added some orange liqueur as well. Ina does in her strawberry jam recipe. I want to be like Ina.)

4. Boil it for a really long time. Maybe an hour? Stir it every so often. When it looks kinda thick, it's done! You can test it by dropping a blob onto a plate, letting it cool and seeing if it's thick enough for your liking.

Although concord grapes (juice, jam, or eau de toilette) always reminds me of church communion, the end product was still delicious. We made two small jars of jam with that basket of grapes. Those grapes were toast! Er, that toast is jammed... It all tastes grape to me!

From Food

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I am the very model of a modern major general...

I'm in love with a new collection of fabric that the workroom has recently ordered. In LOVE. It's called Rouenneries by French General (for Moda.)

Photo courtesy of the workroom

I want them all. A dress, a shirt, a skirt, a pillow, a duvet cover... the options are endless!

One thing I know for sure, I'm going use the jelly roll to make a lamp shade using this tutorial by rachel of p.s. i quilt.

"In short, in matters vegetable, animal, and mineral,I am the very model of a modern Major-General!"

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Life is Like a Box of Local Produce

From Food

Dustin recently read In Defence of Food by Michael Pollan where he was introduced to the idea of Food Box programs -- also known as CSA (community shared agriculture) programs. We signed up with Culinarium, who puts together these food boxes from a variety of local farmers. Biweekly, for twenty weeks, we receive a food box filled with local produce, a protein, a cheese, and a pantry item: we never know what we're going to get until two days before pick up date.

So exciting! We get to try new foods and support local farmers. For our first box, we got all sorts of goodies: most of which you can recognize in the picture above, whereas some are a bit of a mystery.

In first place for weirdest produce ever is the Romanesco Broccoli. Dustin calls it the broccochinilini. A strange looking vegetable that is supposed be a cross between a cauliflower, a broccoli and an alien. Our plan? Oven roasted with olive oil and a backup bechemel cheese sauce in case it ends up in the "yucky" section of this blog.

From Food

Some other exciting goodies: Toscana cheese (I took a little nibble,) organic, local tomato paste, and look at those farm fresh chicken eggs! I'm thinking maybe a quiche? Maybe save the tomato paste for a pasta somewhere down the road?

From Food

Who's in a jam? My concord grapes will be! That's the plan for these beauties.

From Food

So many raw ingredients! 9 more food boxes. So many blog post possibilities. If only I could quit my daytime job...

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Sir Sam's Inn

For our second anniversary, Dustin and I spent the Thanksgiving weekend at Sir Sam's Inn near Haliburton. What a delightful place! (Yes, I used the word delightful.) The drive up was beautiful: Autumn is, hands down, my favourite season. There was a large tree just outside our window that was just starting to turn a nice shade of burnt orange.

From vacation

From vacation

Unlike a resort hotel, the inn was relatively small and we never felt like it was overcrowded. There is a gazebo on the property that looks out into the water: not quite big enough to reenact the scene with Rolph and Leisel from The Sound of Music, much to Dustin's disappointment.

From vacation

The weather that weekend was mostly spectacular, but a small storm hit just when we were out in the canoe. We managed to stay dry, and Dustin even let me take a few pictures of the storm before running back inside. Why don't pictures of blowing snow ever turn out? My only photo evidence of the stormy winds comes from a (lucky) shot of a leaf blowing by our bedroom window.

From vacation

The absolute greatest thing about Sir Sam's, is the water spa. Instead of a standard hotel swimming pool, they have a fabulous water spa with a circuit of relaxing jets, waterfalls, and bubbles that soothe and massage all parts of your body. Dustin and I could not believe how much time we were able to spend at the water spa, mostly with the facility all to ourselves.

From vacation

From vacation

Our nights always ended with a blazing fire in our room. Being the forever boyscout at heart, Dustin was always able to get a great fire roaring despite the minuscule fireplace.

From vacation

I'm not sure who Sir Sam is, but it sure was nice of him to have us at his inn to celebrate two years of marriage to the boyscout of my dreams.

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