last weekend...

I was craving pasta so I made dinner. Going to the gym pays off, because I knew exactly what I wanted.
While running a couple of days before that weekend on a treadmill in our gym, I was watching Ricardo Larrivée host of Ricardo and Friends on food network Canada. He made Whole Wheat Spaghetti with Vegetables that looked really tasty. ( I hope the link works, if you're interested in checking it out.) I adapted his recipe to suit my taste and vegan-ism...
- instead of chicken broth, I used vegetable broth
- instead of whole wheat spaghetti, I used multigrain spaghetti
- I didn't feel like baby arugula, so I substituted baby spinach
- I skipped cheddar cheese altogether
- and I didn't have any sliced almonds, so I toasted up some slivers... just as good
and of course since it was pasta, I also made some garlic bread... It turned out wonderful. The sauce stuck to the pasta like glue... awesome. But next time I'll oven roast/dry the cherry tomatoes, I think it will be extra good.

Saturday July 24th

The weather was incredible. Foggy and wet. It looked so chilly and miserable outside, but it was quite the opposite... well if you like me love rain. It was tropical, humid, hot (mid 30's)... everything is luscious and green. I wish we had more summer days like that... but I don't think Jay held the same opinion. He was working the Canadian Open Golf tournament, rain is bad for golf. They are extremely busy on a good weather day trying to feed everyone, but with rain, everyone heads inside all at once... I'm sure he was hoping the downpour would end.

fried green tomatoes...

Mom's garden is almost in full harvest bloom... tomatoes hang huge and green on the vines. I couldn't resist taking a couple for dinner. My fried green tomatoes are very simple:
- wash tomatoes
- dry tomatoes
- slice tomatoes
- dip in plain soy milk
- dredge in coarse cornmeal
- fry
- season with salt and pepper
Enjoy with a simple side salad (which I also acquired from Mom's garden). Jay likes his tomatoes with a bit of bbq sauce. So good... a definite summer treat...

roses

dinner with Emily...

is too much fun... talking (mostly gibberish and not just from Emily) and laughter doesn't stop... she's enjoying some potatoes and a cookie...

Mom's and Dad's...

birthdays are in July, about a week apart... so the weekend in between we gathered at Justyna's and Mike's for some celebrating. Once again the girls outdone themselves with a fabulous meal...

bbq chicken wings... smelled delicious... the sweetest corn... no butter or salt was needed...
vegan Asian noodle salad... my favorite... I took leftovers home for lunch the next day...
piri piri shrimp... not spicy enough for some :), but still delicious, so I heard...
mmmmm red cabbage coleslaw...
beef on a skewer....
mizeria... used to be one of my faves...
new potatoes, tossed in butter and dill...
grilled zucchini... yum...
and for dessert vegan chocolate cake with Grand Marnier macerated berries... my slice did not include cream. This is the best chocolate cake ever...

a new Firkin...

it finally opened a few weeks back... Firkin on King.... Jay came home one Sunday from work and we decided to go for a pint and dinner... neither one of us felt like cooking...
light for me and dark for Jay... I wanted a pint of Heineken, but it wasn't pouring that day... just my luck... but I did rater enjoy the Kronenbourg
the condiment line up :)
Jay loves burgers and so he had The Firkin Burger - 100% beef, served on a toasted rustic bun with Monterey Jack cheese, bacon, and chipotle onions - it came with fries and onion rings... yeah Jay liked it... he ordered extra pickles just for me... I ate them all... I love a good pickle...
I had the Grilled Vegetable and Goat Cheese salad (without the goat cheese of course) - fresh greens tossed in a Balsamic vinaigrette with grilled sweet peppers, red onions, zucchini and Portobello mushrooms - I chose to have my salad wrapped up in a flour tortilla and made it a sandwich (an option available on the menu for all their salads)... loved it... with a bit of fries on the side...
it was cheap, delicious, and fresh.... I hope the kitchen doesn't change... I see us going back there again... it's only a 10-15min walk from our home...

on July 9th...

it was our 12 year anniversary... wow... we've been together longer than most of the couples we know. We agreed not to get anything for each other... lol... but on Sunday Jason caved in and here is my favorite Tiffany's necklace (I've been eyeing it for a while now)... diamonds by the yard... I'm starting out with just one for now :)... it matches my ring so perfectly...
ahhhhh 12 years already, time flies when you're having so much fun... it's true diamonds are a girl's best friend... well it's true for me at least :)I also caved in and got him something that day... but it was scheduled to arrive between 15th and 22nd... and so he had to wait unknowingly...

pink beer...

I seriously dislike the label... but the beer itself is alright... it's cloudy because it's a wheat brew... and the color is so pretty... flavor is light and refreshing, you can definitely taste the flowers... but it's not overpowering... I think it would go nicely with barbecued veggies...

treat....

they taste very much like Krówki with a little bit of a kick... they do melt... mmmm soooo delicious...

I did say never to UGGs

so it was just a matter of time before I owned a pair... I couldn't resist. I need winter boots and they were on sale at Beyond the Rack for $99.00. I mean you can't beat that, plus the ones I got don't look like the regular UGGs... they'll be perfect for wet and slushy weather... and yes I also went with white... more like pearl actually... they have a bit of a sheen to them...
lol... it may be sad, or it may be funny... but summer is halfway over and my legs seem to be a very close color match to my boots...

I love this shirt...

I got it 6-8 years ago... it got misplaced during one of our moves, but I finally discovered it once again in the back of the drawer and decided to wear it for the first time... yes it was so hot that I decided to show of some shoulder... I find it just as funny as the day I got it...

ahhhh Jay: Chef Extraordinaire...

the best Yellow Beet Humus ever... a few weeks back he made me a red beet version... they were both delish... enjoyed with crispy pita chip wedges... for main, a salad composed of purple potatoes, fennel, more yellow beets (I loooooove beets) and a caper red onion dressing that was just divine, along with edamame fritters with a soy yogurt dressing...
I loved how they were crispy and brown on the outside, but super soft and bright green on the inside... more please...

Tall Ships...

where docked nearby a couple of weeks ago...brings Pirates of the Caribbean to mind...
looks complicated, I'd never climb it...
good thing she's holding on...

a couple of weeks ago we discovered a new patio to enjoy during summer... it's South of Temperance... because lol... it's also just south of Temperance St. ... it was just a week old when we went so they definitely had bugs to work out... we might give it another go, because other than substandard service, and the fact that Big Wheel and Guinness weren't pouring that night it is a very nice spot...
but they did have beer and pretty strong mojitos...
a couple of friends joined us and we sampled a bit of their menu...
calamari... a must for a summer patio snacking...
naan bread bruschetta...
short rib poutine...
and for the vegan, a special creation from the kitchen... the manager Jessie told me that they will always accommodate my dietary restrictions except during lunch :)
and so I'm looking forward to the weekend Jay and I have off together when we have nothing planned, to go and see if South of Temperance has what it takes to stick around...

busy

Dundas and Yonge on a Saturday night during the Pride Weekend...

we gave it another try...

that is we went to Veritas for dinner... this time it wasn't Earth Hour, and so electricity was on... but the kitchen didn't seem to be...
one thing I do like about Veritas is their very Ontario influenced wine list... for Jay a glass of 2007 Red Conception from Fielding Estate, and for me a glass of 2008 Riesling from Thirty Bench... delicious...
the bread basket... two types of simple warm multigrain with white bean puree (puree could have used a bit more seasoning)...
now for the actual food... The evening began as a huge disappointment for Jay, because the app and the main that Jay wanted, the kitchen was out of that night.... I mean cooome on Brad Long, you sure as hell can criticize others on TV, where are your standards...
Appetizers....
I enjoyed Gathered Greens Salad with Vidal Vinaigrette plus Caramelized King Oyster Mushrooms... ok this was a total winner... amazing... portion huge... mushrooms plentiful (you can't really see them, because the salad is covering them up). We both loved it, and there was plenty to share... too bad the rest of the meal wasn't as fabulous...
What Jay wanted was Braised Short Rib Ravioli with a Concord Grape Reduction, what he had to settle for is Spinach and Ricotta Cheese Ravioli with Lemon Sauce.... he wasn't impressed. According to him the sauce was way too bitter, to the point of being nauseating, he scraped all he could of the pasta before eating it.... it just overpowered the simple flavors of the ravioli... someone obviously has no taste buds in the kitchen...
Mains...
I chose Nigari Tofu, Seasonal Vegetables and Miso Hot Pot... what confused me is when the waitress put down a fork and a knife down along with a spoon... I mean this wasn't a tofu steak... and I wasn't impressed by flavor either. Borderline too salty, and other than the sprinkling of green on top, the green veggies in the soup were way overcooked, mushy, no longer green disappointments...
What Jay was looking forward to was Slow Braised Venison Osso Buco with Roasted Butternut Squash Mash and Sauteed Beet Greens, but since the kitchen didn't have any he settled for Berkshire Pork Loin Stuffed with Sauteed Mushrooms, Spinach and Goat Cheese with a Cranberry Reduction.... ummm it looked good, even if the pork looked more rolled up than stuffed... Jay said it tasted ok, veggies were spot on, but the cranberry reduction seemed like jus with some dried cranberries thrown in
We decided against dessert. But we looked at the menu, one item listed is "Pie", but the waitress didn't inform us what kind of pie and we didn't care to give her false hope that we'll order anything by asking what it was. Anyways I feel that information should come as dessert menu is being shown, it shouldn't be asked for.
Overall Brad Long you get a C+. Not having menu items on a Saturday night when your restaurant is mostly empty is just not encouraging... We won't be going back, for a very long time, if ever... Toronto has way too many fine restaurants for us to explore and to spend our money in...