Festive Baking

We're almost at mid-December, and I'm starting to get into the festive spirit. I've always enjoyed baking, and I think the Christmas season begs for some relaxing time spent in the kitchen. Yes, I said 'kitchen' and 'relaxing' in the same sentence!

Nothing brings me more joy over the holidays than setting aside time to listen to carols, while baking festive treats for friends and family. How comforting is the smell of freshly baked shortbread? What about ginger molasses cookies? These smells send me into a state of nostalgia —the good kind! The kind where every one of my senses gets engulfed in happy memories.

So I thought I'd take this opportunity to share some of my favourite recipes with you. These aren't family secrets (I'll save those for another post... maybe!), but they're a blend of tried and trues, and ones I'd like to attempt over the holidays this year.

Classic shortbread cookies, all dolled up for the holidays. Shortbread cookies are my standard go-to when it comes to baking. Easy, delicious, and SO much fun to decorate.

I get especially excited over Christmas time because Hershey's brings out their Candy Cane Kisses. These beauties are chocolate peppermint cookies with Candy Cane Kisses. A delicious blend of some of my favourite things!

One of my best recipes for family and friends is this delicious chocolate chip cheesecake, with an Oreo cookie crust. It took me a few tries to get it right, but now it's a recipe I turn to at almost any celebration.

My friend Melissa baked these fantastic vanilla bean cupcakes, with strawberry buttercream during a get together this past weekend. She found the recipe online. The cupcakes are delicious by themselves, but the buttercream is unbelievable. She took fresh strawberries and mixed them in a food processor, then added them to the buttercream. The result? Buttercream that tastes more like strawberries than sugar. Delicious!

Love 'em or leave 'em, no Christmas bake-a-thon is complete without a classic rum fruitcake. My mother has a great recipe that she turns to every year. She even soaks the fruit slices in rum, months ahead. The smell of the cake baking in the oven sends me into nostalgic overdrive.

So what are your festive baking plans for Christmas? Do you have your own tried and true recipes you turn to? Or perhaps you're attempting something new this year? Do you have any secret recipes passed down through the generations? I'd love to hear from you.

Whatever you find yourself doing in preparation for Christmas, I hope you have fun! I hope you're surrounded by love and laughter, and that your experiences give way to wonderful memories you'll cherish and turn to in the years to in the years to come.

xoxo

Images courtesy of Pinterest.com and Google Images

A travel destination where I love the food

30 Day Travel Challenge
Day 6 - A travel destination where I love the food

It's really hard to choose just one. I've honestly enjoyed the cuisine in every city I've ever visited. I even started to enjoy kimchi towards the end of my Korean adventure.

I love eating food in Asia, though. For the most part, menus are designed with portion sizes meant to be shared among people. I like that about Asian culture. Eating food is a chance for people to share a meal and share stories together. I remember ordering these awesome lunch sets with my friends B and C after shopping trips in Seoul. We would go to Insadong, to this quaint little traditional Korean restaurant and order this great seafood spread for about $30, split three ways. Such an awesome memory.

Check out Sorry, Donald! for a snippet of my food adventure in the ROK.

Image courtesy of Google Images

Signs worthy of a sigh!

Although it has gotten better in recent weeks, I sometimes find myself wistfully in thought, reminiscing about experiences during my year spent in Korea. I miss a lot of things about my time there... the convenience, the friend the independence... But more than anything, I miss the randomness.

Yes, randomness. This was mostly reflected in the many signs found all around Korea. I've talked to some of my friends about the funny signs I came across in menus, on the street, on doors, and even on the subway. But I was recently told that my words would be better supported by pictures. And I wholeheartedly agree.

You have to understand that a lot of these signs have been translated according to sound. That is, they were originally written in Korean, until someone came along and told them how to pronounce the words in English... which later resulted in English signs surfacing, with the words spelled according to sound.

Well, either that, or we can thank Google Translate for these gems. Or... maybe they actually mean what they say. You be the judge.

Most of these photos come from other blogs, and I've gathered them as I've seen fit. I've also included a couple that I took. It's obvious others shared my sentiments, but were smart enough to take photos as evidence.

Enjoy!

xo

Images courtesy of Google Images and StraightFromTheCurls

A bite of Montréal love

I've always been fascinated with Montréal, QC. I am still trying to figure out if it's the special blend of postcolonial ambiance and character, or if it's the simple fact that it's so accessible that enhances my love for it. Regardless, I think it goes without saying that I could easily become quite comfortable here. Especially within the downtown core.

Downtown Montréal is nothing like downtown Toronto. The only way to describe the layout of this lovely core is to say it's stacked. Every street that runs parallel to Rue Sherbrooke going south, contains unique gems and are of equal importance. From the relaxing cafés along Boulevard de Maisonneuve to the bustling shopping hub that is Rue Sainte Catherine, there's just so much you can see and do -- and quite comfortably, without the fear of getting lost.

My past trips to Montréal weren't as filled with discovery as this one has been. On my first day here, I joined a friend in a long walk through the city. We started off at the Eaton Centre (yes, Toronto - Montréal has one too), and found ourselves walking all the way down to the Old Port. If you look at a map of the city, the thought of walking all that way might seem quite daunting, but it was actually rather lovely (and easy). The streets are well marked and navigating is a piece of cake as long as you know how to read.

I think I should mention here that my favourite hub is the historic district of Old Montréal. I've visited the Notre Dame Basilica each time I've been here, and can get lost in the beauties found along the cobblestone streets for hours. Really though, how can anyone hate cobblestone? I'll be writing more about Old Port and this historic district in another post, so please stay tuned.

But in the meanwhile, no trip to Montréal is complete without two essential meals -- nothing fancy, just the basic (and pretty legendary) Montréal smoked meat sandwich... and, of course, poutine.

My friend and I stopped by Montréal Poutine on Rue Saint-Paul for a delicious smoked meat sandwich, after our long walk through the city. This small yet delicious treat set the bar for future smoked meat sandwiches, that's for sure. It was quite filling and so tasty, that I craved it again for dinner that night. I wish I'd tried the poutine there, but since it never happened, another visit is definitely in the cards. I've heard nothing but good things about it.

The next day, my friend took me to La Belle Province -- a fast food chain within the city, where the ambiance resembles that of 50s diner. Now, I'm sure this wasn't the best poutine in the province (what, with it being a fast food chain and all), but it sure beat anything else outside the city.

They say that in order to get the best of the best, you must go to the source... and they (whoever 'they' were) weren't kidding. I've tried poutine in Toronto, and also at a couple of restaurants in South Korea -- (Hey, people are catching on to this delicious (and deadly) comfort food.) -- and nothing compares to the fantastic explosion of squeaky cheese curds, gravy and fries in your mouth, like that of the poutine in Montréal, regardless of whether you're eating in a fast food restaurant, or a gourmet café. That's all I have to say about that. You simply have to try it for yourself, if you haven't already.

As my short trip to this beautiful city wraps up,  I'm left feeling rather hopeful that my next visit will take place sooner than later. Perhaps I'll be back for the jazz festival this year. That's another thing... smooth and soothing jazz croons flow out of almost every café, restaurant and shop in this city. And I'm not complaining. There's nothing like sitting back with a glass of red wine and indulging in some fabulous wisdom courtesy of Ms. Ella Fitzgerald and Billie Holiday.

J'adore Montréal! See you soon.

xo

Meal-lag

It happened.

Dear Readers, it's finally come to this. It took me five months to get here, but it happened. Today, I woke up from a spontaneous afternoon siesta and realized it was time for dinner. Upon inspecting the choices for a decent meal in my fridge (eggs, bread, potatoes, tomatoes... Tupperware with questionable surprises), I intentionally opted for the following: scrambled eggs and a potato.

I made breakfast. For dinner. I made breakfast for dinner!

Now I know some of you are wondering what the big deal is... but please, hear me out.

As I sit here eating and typing away at this entry, I feel a delayed sense of satisfaction. I remember my friends in university -- the ones who lived on campus -- eating such meals as a ritual. Every night, the options were take-out, ramen noodles or breakfast.

Having never experienced that, save for the times I'd go to a restaurant and knowingly order the 'all day breakfast' special, this feels like a small victory.

I think I get it though. You know, the whole idea of cooking breakfast when in doubt? Breakfast is... easy! We almost always have eggs in the fridge. And eggs can be cooked in more ways than we can count. It makes sense.

In any case. A small triumph for a newbie out on her own in the big, wide world.

Or perhaps, this could be the beginning of bad behaviour? I start off by breaking rules concerning meals, and the next thing I know I'm. . . ahem!

A delayed reaction, no doubt... but a joyous one for now, nonetheless!

xo
SC