Author: Vicky

I love running and being outdoors. I also love food - baking, cooking and especially eating. I'm a big fan of all things Disney as well.

Homemade Spicy Rosemary Garlic Butter

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I know a lot of you who are avid bakers have had stand mixers for ages. I’ve had mine for less than a year but what a difference it makes! I love the large bowl and being able to leave it running while I’m making stuff like meringues or whipping cream. It’s nice being able to walk away even if it’s only for a minute or two just to wash your hands or start prepping something else. The downside is that I have a short attention span and I get easily distracted. With my hand mixer, I couldn’t WAIT to let go of it — it was loud, messy, heavy and I didn’t have control over the speed. It either mixed things on fast, faster or too fast. So you know the recipes that tell you not to overwhip heavy cream or your meringues. It’s very easy to do with a stand mixer!  Continue reading “Homemade Spicy Rosemary Garlic Butter” →

Review – The Black Camel

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Sandwich shops are a dime a dozen in the city but it’s rare to find a place that sells tasty sandwiches at a reasonable price. It’s even more rare to find a decent BBQ place in Toronto. What if you were able to find a sandwich shop that sold awesome BBQ sandwiches at reasonable prices? But a sandwich shop with awesome BBQ at reasonable prices? I was surprised when I stumbled upon just this at The Black Camel. Located across the street from the Rosedale subway station, The Black Camel is easy to miss if you don’t know where to look. I decided to check them out upon the recommendation of a friend who lives in the area.  Continue reading “Review – The Black Camel” →

Trader Joe’s Visit

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After seeing so many different blog posts on Trader Joe’s and products from Trader Joe’s, I decided to find one to visit on my road trip last week. Luckily, there was one around the corner from my hotel.  Continue reading “Trader Joe’s Visit” →

Wordless Wednesday – Grasshopper

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Whole Wheat Cherry Chocolate Chip Banana Muffins

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Earlier this week, I decided to take an impromptu weekend road trip. It was one of those “I have to get out-of-town” moments. The weekend started off pretty well– I was packed and had my little survival kit including a batch of cherry chocolate chip banana muffins (recipe to follow). Unfortunately in the mishegosh of packing, it seems a certain someone forgot a certain driver’s license which meant I was stuck doing ALL the driving. Don’t get me wrong, I like driving and I like road trips, but the one thing I realized is that road trips have to be done with a group of people you don’t mind being around for a couple many hours. Especially when everyone in the car wants to play backseat driver.
Continue reading “Whole Wheat Cherry Chocolate Chip Banana Muffins” →

Green Onions – Week #3

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I wish I had used a ruler to measure the green onions because it’s hard to show you how tall they are. Anyway, I think they’ll be ready to use this week! I had meant to post this on Friday before leaving on a road trip but had left my memory card on my desktop instead taking it with my laptop. Ooops! I’m posting these on Pinterest as well, check it out.

Back tomorrow with a recipe.

Orange Honey Madeleines

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I have a confession to make. The first time I ever ate a Madeleine was at Disney World and then the next time I had one was at Starbucks. You know the kind that you pick up on a whim at the cash register? The ones from the Boulangerie Pâtisserie in Epcot were also sitting by the cash. I guess they’re an impulse purchase. I’m not sure how authentic those madeleines were but I liked the ones I had so much that I ran out and bought a Madeleine pan but this was a few years ago. I’m a little embarrassed to say that the pan sat unused until last weekend. Continue reading “Orange Honey Madeleines” →

Wordless Wednesday – Orchids

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Cherry and Rosemary Focaccia Bread

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Cherries are in season and I came home with a big bag of them a few days ago. I wasn’t quite sure what to do with them all but I knew I wanted to try something different. I had just finished making a focaccia and thought it would be interesting to see how a normally savoury bread would work with sweet ingredients. I still wanted to keep the savoury element so I added fresh rosemary and some fleur de sel for sprinkling on top.

The focaccia dough proofs in the olive oil but don’t let that throw you off. The oil gives the bread a really nice hint of rosemary flavor – it doesn’t make the bread  heavy or too oily. Finally, the cherries add a bright freshness to the bread. Not something you’d normally expect to find in a focaccia.So give this recipe a try the next time you’re looking for a slightly sweeter bread to serve during your breakfast or brunch. Enjoy!

And now to decide what to do with the rest of these cherries…  Continue reading “Cherry and Rosemary Focaccia Bread” →

Green onions – Week #2

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What a crazy week! I had more posts planned but I never got around to them. It’s been one of those ‘life takes over’ kind of weeks. Lots of things popping up that I wasn’t expecting to deal with. Like what you ask?  I accidentally stuck my SD memory card into my DVD drive.  How dumb is that? Luckily I got it back out.  I guess it’s funny now that it’s done with.

Then there’s the other stuff that isn’t even worth mentioning.  But I always try to look for the bright side of things and in the middle of all the craziness, you really get to figure out who your friends are. They are the ones who have your back no matter what, they’ll help you figure things out and even cheer you up with a fro-yo or iced tea. So for that, thank-you. You know who you are.

And thanks to A Virtual Essence who nominated me for the Versatile Blogger Award. I can’t tell you how flattered I am! Head on over and check out her blog!

Here’s hoping for a more normal week on Monday. In the meantime, here’s my green onion. It’s actually growing! I think it should be ready in another week or so.