Strawberry Jam

I still haven't dont any baking, but I'll continue to update you on my other food related adventures.

What's Up, What's Up...

Still not baking. There is a heat wave...it's so hot, especially in the kitchen. I have been up to other things though...

First of all, I found a job—I sell produce at a vegetable stand for a local farm, and occasionally pick beans. It might not be ideal employment for a university graduate, but I am more interested in learning about agriculture and preparing myself for the day I have my own farm, than having anything to do with English.

My employers are incredibly nice people and I get the opportunity to ask lots of questions and learn about plant varieties. However, my favourite part so far has been selling at a farmer's market in Ottawa...I have always dreamed of being on the other side of the table. I usually work 10 hour days plus an hours worth of travel, so forgive my neglectful and sloppy blogging—I have been up since 4 am.

Mmmm...Muesli

While I was in Europe, we stayed at a few hostels that served free breakfast...consisting mostly of strore bought bread with sugary spreads. I could never take advantage, and it sucked. However, in France, we stayed a couple of nights at a hostel that served something I could actually eat—muesli. They even included the list of ingredients—how thoughtful.

My Garden

I have yet to return to the kitchen for baking purposes. It's just too hot. And I'd rather be outside, while I can. So, I have been filling my time with other things.

Lemon Tahini Salad Dressing

As promised, here is the salad dressing I made for the Raw Food Dinner I had with James and friends. My goal was to mimic the salad dressing from WOW (as usual...).

I had a pretty decent start, since I asked my server once what was in their salad dressing. Unfortunately, the only ingredients he could remember were celery and olive oil, though I was pretty sure there was lemon in it too. To fill in the gaps, I searched one of my favourite food blogs, Rawmazing, and used her Maple Tahini Dressing as a base recipe.

Raw Food Night

Sorry for the delay, but I've been away, visiting my cottage, and overwhelmed with being home and trying to get organized. Anyways, as I was saying, from Williamstown, James and I headed to his family home in Swansea. One of the nights I was there, we had somewhat of a raw food dinner party. I finally got the raw food dinner I was longing for since my convocation...

Sunsets & Sandwiches

Allow me to pick up where I left off...After leaving Sheafe's, we spent a night in Williamstown, home to James' university. On our way there, and in accordance with my new obsession with learning about varieties of strawberries, we stopped to buy strawberries from a man on the side of the road.

Salem and Salads

As I was saying, James and I drove to Salem, in Eastern New York to meet and stay with a professor and friend of his. Although we were technically there to help paint a fence, James also wanted to show me the professor's property and the surrounding area.

I Have So Much to Tell You

Hello!

I don't even know where to start. I am back from Europe, but I'm not in Canada. I was, but only for a few days, to attend my Guelph convocation. Then I drove over the border to the U.S., where I currently am...

I guess I should start with Europe. I'll try not to bore you with details, but I'd feel strange neglecting to mention anything about it. I'll try and make it food relevant. Here goes…

Poutine: I Probably Miss Canada By Now

Ok, I swear, this is the last surprise blog post. I'll be flying home today anyways.

Way back in April, when James was visiting to say goodbye, I finally got around to making poutine for him. He's American and had never had it..so sad. I wanted it to be different from normal poutine though...and maybe a little healthier, so I used mushroom gravy and sweet potatoes fries.

Raw As I Can Get Cashew Cheesecake

HA, fooled you. One more planned blog post. Let´s hope I am safe and sound in Barcelona.

I love cheesecake. I could eat an entire cheesecake, yet I haven't had the motivation to try and make a sugar free version of real cheesecake.

However, I discovered at WOW (the raw foodist restaurant I am in love with) that I also love raw cashew cheesecake. I could easily eat an entire raw cheesecake, but I don't live near WOW anymore...so this is kind of a tribute to my long, lost love.

Raw Almond Burger with Cashew Cheese

SURPRISE! I scheduled one last post to be published post-departure. By the time you are reading this, I should be living it up in Europe...let's hope. Unfortunately, this is as far ahead as I could get...see you in less than 6 weeks.

Date Squares

I leave for Europe today. I will be gone for 6 weeks, hopefully Couchsurfing for most of it (to anyone who happens across this blog and lives in Amsterdam, Barcelona, Nice or Marseille...if you see me walking down the street, I'll exchange baked goods for a couch).

Carob Walnut Fudge

No story to this post. The other day I was bugging my dad to give me more ideas for baking—things like bread, or cakes, or cookies. He suggested fudge...with walnuts.

Rise Again Cinnamon Buns

I have been wanting to adapt a cinnamon bun recipe for a while, but I couldn't find one worth the trouble...

Until I remembered my mom used to make cinnamon buns all the time for my brother's early morning hockey practices—she was a very popular lady. Her recipe is from Aunt Bee's Mayberry Cookbook, chosen for its use of potato in the dough, which makes it so soft and delicious.