Sunday Picnic Lunch at Trinity Bellwoods Park

Today was a much-needed sunny and warm day. Although I was in Toronto for the past week, I had to get out and do something earlier today. I needed to keep busy.

Lunch was found at Clafouti Patisserie et Café. We: DG, VN, and myself, picked up some things at Clafouti and crossed the street to the busy Trinity Bellwoods Park. I really enjoyed the atmosphere there. The sakura trees still had some flowers, birds were singing away, dogs were having a blast, and people were just relaxing at the park -- it was a great atmosphere.

We found a spot in the park and ate lunch. I went with the Lana Del Rey panini. It was really exciting. There were so many flavours that complimented one another with every bite; the creaminess of the garlic lemon aioli, the burst of fried onion flavour, thinly sliced pork, and sweet bun. It was so good that I wanted another one after I devoured it. VN had a nice pulled pork panini (sans the cheese). DG had a surprisingly tasty grilled veg croissantwhich. The only complaint was that we didn't want the sandwiches to finish.


We also picked up a butter croissant and almond croissant from Clafouti. We liked that the croissants were sturdier and flakier than Le Moulin de Provence's rendition.


DG said that we had to get macarons from Nadège Patisserie since we were in the area. That was perfectly fine with me.

Side notes: We heard so many comments like, "these macaroons look amazing,"and "they have the best macaroons here!" Please. They're called macarons. Macaroons are the coconut things.

Also, why is it that everyone seems to know how to make macarons? The trend bugs me. Partially cause I can't make them.

These are my trio: mint chocolate chip (in the red), pistachio, and matcha macaron. I enjoyed the latter two. DG and VN both went with the salted caramel. Wise choices. I'll be getting the salted caramel next time. We happily soaked in the warm sun before I had to catch the train back home. Thanks for the lunch date ladies! It really meant a lot to me.

~*~

Open-Faced Sandwiches & Macarons

One weekend, Steph and I went down to the Byward Market and picked up some stuff for lunch. We dropped by La Bottega first. I found out that although Steph was in Ottawa the whole summer, she had never had any of their sandwiches. Sad, isn't it? We picked up some smoked gouda, prosciutto, and house-made porchetta.

I've always wanted to try some of the breads at Le Moulin de Provence. This was a perfect opportunity, so we made our way down the street for some fresh bread. We didn't know what to get, I chose something that resembled a baguette - but wasn't. It was a loaf of batard. It looked great. We brought everything to Lucy and Jimmy's apartment for lunch.

(Side story: I forgot what the bread was called. "Fatarg" kept popping in my head. Google didn't help. It turned it into 'fat arg' so it gave me links with titles like "Why do I feel fat? arg!" Fail. Thanks for remembering the correct name of the bread Lucy!)

French Onion Soup & Peach Crumble

JL came over for dinner. On the menu: french onion soup and peach crumble.

While we picked up a few things from the grocery store, we both agreed that having a little appetizer with prosciutto, goat cheese, and baguettes with white wine would help us in the kitchen.


As the onions caramelized in batches, we noshed on the prosciutto, fine herb goat cheese, capicola ham, peach, and baguettes.


Then as the soup was simmering, we put together the cheesy toast, then had some more appetizers and wine. The bread was from the quick sale rack. Why not? On a related note, I buy breads from the rack to make french toast. Why wait until your bread goes a little stale? Anyway, what was I talking about again? Oh yeah. Cheesy toast.


These were broiled for a few minutes until bubbly.



Although the soup simmered for about 45 minutes, it certainly didn't taste like a quick soup. There was a nice depth of flavour. Of course, it could've been boosted to another level if we made the broth from scratch. Instead, we took a shortcut and used broth from a tetra pack.


We had some warm peach crumble once we finished our bowls of soup. There were plenty of leftovers for the next day. They both tasted great the next day too. Leftovers can be awesome!

Lunch in the Lovely Byward Market

Last Saturday was a beautiful sunny day. VN, KN, and I headed to the Byward Market for a relaxing lunch.

First up: Awesome La Bottega Italian sandwiches. 

These were so good! You've gotta get the spicy eggplants and dijon mustard. It just elevates the already tasty sandwich to something better.

For dessert, we headed to Le Moulin de Provence. This photo was taken back in 2007 when Lucy, JT, and I met up for lunch.

KN mentioned that their almond croissants were heavenly, so I had to check it out and find out if it was as good as she described. I made a scouting trip earlier last month and got some sweets for Lucy's birthday. The almond croissants were simply divine. 

Hahaa! Like I said, the almond croissants were divine. Even Mom liked it -- the same person who likes to nitpick everything and is a major buzz kill.

We had to go and have some. Had to.

We got some coffee and asked for the croissants to be warmed up.

Chance of survival: 0%

We were on a high after lunch. The endorphins were pumping. We were so giddy that we couldn't even talk properly.

Address:

La Bottega

64 George St.

Ottawa, ON

613-789-7575

Le Moulin de Provence

55 Byward Market Square

Ottawa, ON

613-241-9152

Sugar bush during the March Break

It's safe to say that there are a ton of activities available for kids during March Break.  One that won't break the bank, and also gets kids outside, is visiting a nearby sugar bush to see how maple syrup is made, indulge in a pancake breakfast, and roll up some sticky maple taffy.  It's a quintessential Ottawa activity.  Last Saturday, I was able to round up some of our friends to check out the Proulx Maple and Berry Farm in Cumberland.

As you can see, we had gorgeous spring weather on Saturday.  The temperature was perfectly mild, with bright sunshine beaming down on us.

This is the shack where the maple sap (which was 90% water) was boiled all the way down to the sticky, sweet maple syrup we all know.  The young man tending to the wood fire was supremely knowledgeable and very comfortable in speaking to visitors.

There were a ton of young families around.  I should point out that our friends, like us, are in our late 20s and early 30s, and none of us have children, yet.  I felt a little odd at first.  In the end, the excitement to be visiting a sugar bush again after nearly 20 years erased my self-consciousness.

After waiting for approximately 40 minutes, we were finally seated for our pancake breakfast.  It was $22.75 per person (tax included) for the buffet.  The selection was smaller than expected, but it definitely hit the spot on a morning when I didn't partake in my daily coffee before making the drive.

This was my first plate: pancakes, baked beans (with pork), maple-glazed carrots, sausages, homefries, crispy pork (oreilles de crisse), scrambled eggs, and maple syrup.  The eggs were hard, as you can see, and the carrots weren't actually glazed.  They sat in a watery liquid and was mostly just overcooked.  Everything else was pretty delicious.  The pancakes were thin and dense, not your diner-style fluffy pancakes.

The winner of the day was the crispy pork, which we thought was regular bacon.  In French, these were called "des oreilles de crisse" -- roughly translated to Christ's ears.  Little did we know that the fried strips were crunchy, yet chewy.  These were a favourite around the table.

Jimmy's second plate was piled high with crispy pork.

After many refills at the buffet table and a more than a few cups of coffee, we headed outside to a little tented area for the maple taffy.  It was included as the dessert option for the buffet.  You're given a ticket to redeem for taffy or for raspberry or sugar pie.  We all picked the taffy obviously. 

This is basically a boiled down syrup that cools down to a sticky mess the instant the syrup hits the snow (or in this case, the ice chips). You're given wooden popsicle sticks to roll them up into a lollipop form.

As you can see, it's a little drippy at first, but after a while, it smooths out into something that looks like amber on a stick.

Most of our friends found it too sweet and threw out the rest.  I definitely ate the entire thing :)  Memories of childhood, and all that.

We took a walk around the sugar bush to work off our full stomachs.  Most of the trees had one tap and one bucket, but the larger ones had up to five!

There was also a blackened cauldron containing maple sap.  It was a display to show how maple syrup used to be boiled down.

I found that the sugar bush at Proulx Farm was far simpler than I remembered sugar bushes to be.  There were activities at the other part of the farm, but they seemed more geared towards young children and families.  Overall, we found that it was an affordable, fun outing for friends -- especially for those who had never visited a sugar bush before.  Recommended to visit every few years.

Chicken Cordon Bleu

Over the weekend, Zee (a friend from Toronto) and her friend TS came over to make some chicken cordon bleu. We didn't make the classic version though. I'll explain that later. Also on the menu: rotini pasta with tomato sauce, glazed carrots with balsamic vinegar, and a side salad.


Before Zee and TS arrived, carrots were peeled and chopped up, marbled cheese was sliced, and the tomato sauce was on the stove.


I didn't want a plain tomato sauce, so I played with the flavours a bit. A bit of BBQ sauce for a little smokiness, a bit of Sriracha hot sauce, some fresh herbs, and a little bit of soy sauce for some depth. I made sure all of those components were complimenting the tomato sauce. Since I didn't know if Zee and TS liked to eat spicy food, I added just enough Sriracha that the warmth of the hot sauce would come late.


We formed an assembly line; I took the chicken breasts, trimmed them of the gristle and connective tissue, and then butterflied them. TS then wrapped prosciutto around slices of marbled cheese, and then stuffed them in some butterflied chicken boobs (to ensure even cooking). Zee used some toothpicks and prevented the components from moving. Then she took the stuffed chicken breasts and rolled them around some flour (which I added salt and pepper to), then dipped them in lightly beaten egg whites (also seasoned with S&P), before she rolled them all in italian (seasoned) breadcrumbs. Chicken cordon bleu is usually made with plain breadcrumbs, I believe.


The chicken was popped into the oven at 350 degrees for about twenty minutes. About half-way through the cooking time, the rotini was cooked and the sauce was reheated.

After the pasta was strained, butter and a bit of olive oil was added to a hot pan. The carrot sticks were tossed in the pan with some sugar and a bit of salt. I didn't move the carrots a lot, because I like it when they caramelize. Just before they totally over cooked, I turned off the heat and TS added a few drips of balsamic vinegar.


I'm always afraid of overcooking chicken, but the breaded chicken came out moist. I wouldn't say it was juicy (at least my piece wasn't). It was close to being over cooked. The chicken needed more seasoning though. We forgot to season the chicken boobs directly. But that's jut being nit picky. TS and Zee both enjoyed the chicken we made though. Zee said that "it was simply delectable!"


The pasta tasted pretty awesome with the chicken. The more I ate the pasta, the spicier it got.

The leftovers tasted good the following morning too. You all should make this more often (including you, TS's fiancée). Simply derishush!

Choux Pastry - July 2009

I found some more photos while cleaning out my external hard drive that were neglected. There were two folders that documented our choux pastry making days. These photos are from July 2009, after our loc lac dinner. I vaguely remember any details. I’m not sure what recipe we used, though it was most likely found on a food blog somewhere on the interwebs.

I remember that we simmered water and butter first, then added flour, stirred the mixture, then took the pot off the heat and added one egg at a time, making sure the previous egg was properly mixed into the choux dough. It was a different cooking method – that’s for sure.

They looked okay and somewhat resembled photos of raw choux pastry. The pastry looked like it needed some more flour to tighten up or something. The tray was popped into our toaster oven and baked until they were finished.

I must apologize for the light contamination. In any case, they looked and tasted great! I remember that they tasted like the honey crullers without the honey glaze. It wasn't until sometime afterwards where I found out that it's made from the same pastry.

Lucy brought out her guns and whipped up – literally – some whipped cream with some icing sugar. We ate the choux pastries with the whipped cream (not pictured).

On the following day, Mom made another batch of choux pastry. I took a few blurry images, then we ate them all, and continued on with our day. The end.

Thanks for reading such an informative and interesting piece of writing. (Sarcasm)