mmmmm… doughnut

A bit of a Homer Simpson moment recently after buying a box of goodness from Lucky's Doughnuts. The one in the back is one of my faves… apple bacon fritter, but I must say the little nibble (ok, big bite) of the salted caramel one (front right) was pretty darn good too.

yummy in my tummy

Ok, so you’re thinking... another food related post? Well, yes... I am preggers after all, so food is a very popular theme for me lately. Our latest culinary excursion? Meat & Bread on Cambie for the porchetta sandwich, grilled cheese, and the special of the day lamb sandwich.   Oh yes, I should mention that this was a meal for the hubby, little Jasper and I (and technically baby-to come as well)... so I didn't actually eat all three sandwiches... although it wouldn't have been a problem, they were that yummy!

kitchen stadium

“Oh yummy”, you are thinking, “... who made all this food, it looks so scrumptious?” Eh-hem, eh -hem.... oh, yes all the food you see in the shots was made by Roger and I during our 4 hour hands-on cooking class for couples at the Dirty Apron Cooking School.

On the menu:
· goat cheese apricot cake with grilled pear and prosciutto salad
· whole roasted cornish game hen with grainy mustard sauce accompanied with truffle & thyme risotto
· a trio of desserts (a Grand Marnier creme brûlée, a chocolate soufflé, and chocolate dipped strawberries

Not too shabby for two foodies/amateur chefs who watch the food network religiously. We were initially a bit nervous coming to the class (I kept having visions of Gordon Ramsay yelling at me while stirring bad risotto - don't get too excited, he wasn't actually at the class), but alas, all turned out well... the soufflé did not drop, the risotto delectable... and Roger and I did not have any marital spats during the entire course... hooray! Cooking course success!

chocolate craving

A bit of a coffee break at Revolver over the weekend... oh yes, with the accompaniment of a chocolate croissant.  So yes, that did hit the craving spot... although the longer I stare at this picture, I am wishing I bought a few more to take home.

food paparazzi

This past week, Roger and I celebrated our anniversary (6 years)... which meant date night... hooray! So, during our meal, I became one of those people who takes pictures of their meals with their phone... yes, you know you've seen them, or have been one... but really, I couldn't resist. My sushi looked really yummy, so in my mind, worth sharing. Part two of our anniversary date night continues this week when we head out to see Jerry Seinfeld live! Exciting!

birthday bounty

Back from a bit of a blog break last week... it was one of those hectic head-spinning weeks, so I was glad to have this past weekend to relax and celebrate - it was my birthday! Roger surprised me with a wonderful weekend... a festive family breakfast outing, fun walks amongst the autumn leaves, some window shopping, lots of cool gifts (a new jacket, concert tickets to Avi Buffalo and a new Barbapapa book... yay!), and a home cooked gourmet dinner paired with lots of wine. I couldn't ask for a better birthday. He even took pictures for me of his cookery adventures, so that I could share them with you today! How sweet!

summer street food

Took a bit of an unplanned blog break last week due to a bit of a fever and summer cold... ugh! Feels good to be back to normal, although I am still feeling really hot due to the heat wave that has stricken our city... phew! I feel like I am melting. Anyhoo, one of our weekend adventures to share with you today. We took the little one to the Summer Night Market on Saturday... ok, well, he slept through most of it in his carrier. Had some yummy Chinese dim sum and Korean bbq on sticks (mmmmm.. meat on sticks) and perused all the stalls selling their wares. Apologies for the odd pics, this was our attempt at balancing baby and trays of food whilst holding a camera. Very tricky eating meat on sticks and not dropping any on baby's head... but we were successful. :)

ooey gooey goodness

Yesterday, Roger and I treated ourselves to some ooey gooey cinnamon buns from Solly's, a local Jewish family bakery and deli here in Vancouver. So don't go thinking I ate both of these in the picture (although I easily could have)... we did share the pair. Solly's cinnamon buns are hands down my fave... lots of layers of sticky, sugary, caramelized layers.... mmmmmm... I think I just drooled writing that. They also have an awesome chocolate babka on thier menu too... but I will share that in a future post.... don't want to put everyone in diabetic shock all in one post.

super sandwich

Another food post this week, since quite frankly I constantly have food on the brain now that I'm preggo. And for those of you looking at the pic and thinking, "I can't believe she is blogging about a sandwich." Believe me... it's an awesome sandwich, and you would blog about it too if it touched your lips. It's from one of my fave cafés here in Vancouver, Finch's Tea & Coffee House. All their sandwiches come wrapped in butcher paper and tied with brown string (the blue brie and prosciutto is my fave, but I had the applewood cheddar the last time which was just as yummy). I also love the vintage decor in the cozy place too! Hmmm... all this food talk is making me hungry now...

shhhh... secret supper club

Ok, so when Roger told me that we had been invited to a friend's birthday dinner this past weekend, I was pretty excited... and then I found out it was to be held at an underground supper club in Vancouver... and my ears perked up. Underground secret supper club, you say?... ohhhh a foodie's treat! The dinner was put on by Swallow Tail Secret Super Club, and for a stellar deal of $29, our large group was treated to a three course wild game dinner: a scrumptious sweat pea soup, grilled romaine with bacon and parmesan salad, and wild bison with stuffed pablano peppers... ok, I am totally drooling just thinking back of all the goodness that I ate. And now you are thinking, "that pic doesn't look like any of the dishes you just described, missy!'... well, yes... in my focused eating that night, I realized afterwards that I didn't take any pics, and also figured you probably didn't want to see pics of empty plates or a dirty cloth napkin.... so, yes these pics are from Swallow Tail's website. You will just have to imagine the scrumptious meal I ate... or better yet... book a table and have a secret dinner!

mmm... cupcakes

Today is the last day of our two week cleanse, so I thought I would blog about one of my favorite things, which also happens to be one of my biggest cravings right now – a good cupcake. Cupcakes by Heather and Lori make the best cupcakes here in Vancouver. Each cupcake flavor has its own unique and cute name as well... "sweet 16", "caramella", "24 carrot" ... my favorite is "mint condition" (a chocolate cupcake with mint butter cream topped with mini chocolate chips). Just thinking about one right now is making me drool!

mink chocolates

I opened one of my Christmas gifts early, since we did our office gift exchange yesterday. One of the gifts was a lovely designer chocolate bar from Mink Cafe in Vancouver... yay! After ingesting the bar pretty much that same day (they are soooo good!), I figured I should spread the word of this to-go-to place for chocoholics. At the café, everything is chocolate, chocolate and more chocolate - one can have personal chocolate fondue, chocolate dipped belgian waffles (served on silver trays no less), or get any assortment of fine bonbons from the chocolate bar. I could sure go for a mug of hot chocolate now... I am drooling just thinking about it.

les amis du fromage

I stopped by one of my favorite shops today Les Amis du Fromage to put together a cheese platter for a potluck tonight. I could spend hours in there perusing the shelves since there is so much selection, however the thought of spending way over my budget and coming home with a giant cheese wheel deter me from lingering there too long. And what to serve with the cheeses?... well one of the best crackers ever - Raincoast Crisps! A little weird, I know, to be excited about crackers... but these are really really good!