monday's dinner

almost every week that i've been to the guelph farmers market,
i've returned home with some delicious local beef or lamb
from a little family farm just outside of guelph.
dana, who runs the farm with her husband and is at the market every saturday
is wonderful to talk to and very knowledgeable...
she always gives me amazing recipe ideas
(she was the inspiration for this meal & the even yummier leftovers)
and i love that i'm buying sustainable meat raised in a loving way
and supporting local farmers at the same time.

this week, i picked up some lamb shanks
and got to work finding a recipe worthy of them.
i ended up combining julia child's recipe for "braised leg or shoulder of lamb"
with jamie oliver's recipe for "braised 5-hour lamb with wine, veg and all that"
and then made up my own rules a little bit...
as usual.

 

the lamb turned out incredibly
with meat that fell right off the bone
and slightly caramelized root veggies infused with white wine & lamb flavour.

 

the best part?
dinner was incredibly easy, and when we were done
all i had to wash was one dutch oven, a frying pan, and two plates.
seriously.

i love a good fancy (easy) dinner!

an evening for chocolate...

paul's heading out tonight for an evening class

so i'll be all alone for dinner.

i think it's the perfect night to indulge in a girly movie

and a chocolatey dessert!

maybe this...

or this...

or this?

yummmm!!

delicious treats from weheartit

welcome to october!

october brings with it the promise of...

sunny, clear afternoons & crisp breezes

morning mist & eerie fogs at night

coffees on cafe patios,

to take advantage of the slowly receeding warm weather

my first attempt at thanksgiving dinner

bikes & boots crunching through dry leaves

scarves & vests & cozy sweaters

apple cider brewing on the stove

fun costumes & lots of candy!

to kick off the start of this most autumny month,

last night i made potato & leek soup

with the help of julia child's recipe...

...it was absolutely delightful!

wishing you a wonderful october.

a dinner party for two.

last week,

i decided to cook up something

truly delightful with all of our farmers' market finds.

on the menu:

locally raised organic lamb

sauteed kale with sultana raisins

crisp & creamy mini red potatoes

beet & feta salad

with local "old vines foch" red wine

 and apple crumble for dessert

paul took some pictures while i cooked,

including a few shots of the giant pile of sugar

i clumsily spilled on the floor

(pictures which won't be included here)

after realizing halfway through the proceedings

that i had forgotten all about dessert

and still had six apples to peel

and about four minutes to do it!

it got a little hectic after that, but

dinner turned out deliciously

with a thyme-infused lamb roast

perfectly surrounded by delightful flavors

all in harmony with one another.

with the leftover roast

i made lamb curry

(from scratch!)

it was one of the highlights of my culinary abilities,

and maybe one day soon

i'll have enough energy to do it again.

everything tastes better with good company

last night our fantastic friends

joined us for dinner

at our little campus apartment.

but...
in spite of being reminded by dante

and robyn bringing her camera,

we didn't take any pictures!
so i'll have to use word-pictures.

as our guests arrived,

we set out crunchy,
(a little too) salty kale chips,

homemade guacamole with blue tortilla chips,

and tart/sweet patron margaritas.

we moved on to a delicious bottle of french red
poured from a gorgeous glass decanter

to accompany a dinner of
incredibly tender filet mignon

roasted rosemary-thyme potatoes

grilled tomatoes & asparagus.

dinner was capped off with

an aromatic "monk's blend" of black tea & fragrant flowers

and a scoop of frozen yogurt topped with

blueberries, kiwi, and pomegranite seeds.

we chatted well into the evening

and shared our wedding and honeymoon photos

with our (hopefully not bored!) guests.

it was a wonderful evening,

and i hope we get to do it again before we move!

today,
to continue the deliciousness
we're joining mart & lu
for a hungarian-style picnic...
yum!

i hope you all have a
lovely & sunny
wednesday.

afternoon coffee at oz

i love checking out brand new vancouver cafes,

and spending an afternoon reading

with a nice cup of coffee.

last week i stopped by

a sleek new cafe

i've been meaning to check out...

oz coffee is owned & managed by australians

and their decor is modern and relaxing.

they are right on busy broadway avenue,

but they've developed a little

backyard patio & garden area

to get away from traffic noise!

i chose to sit out front

(mainly because i love people watching)

and enjoyed a delicious americano

while chatting with the friendly staff.

oh, how i love whiling away an afternoon

at a new cafe!

wishing you a most wonderful weekend

so cute!

mmmm.
i just made the most delicious sandwich with

avocado & havarti cheese.

i could eat one every day.

and now,

the weekend is here again.

we are so lucky to have the sun shining brightly

here in vancouver

but even if you're still facing a foot (or more!) of snow,

i encourage you to get outside

and soak up a little vitamin d

to help you get through the last week of february.

finally,
if you've got some time to kill this weekend,

here are three amazing blogs you should check out...

they are my guilty pleasures,

because sometimes they're so ridiculous

i feel like i shouldn't be reading them,

but they always make me laugh out loud.

more is better

let's have a cocktail

the bloggess

enjoy!

and have a great weekend.

and ps, to my mom,

who might be reading this - i warn you that
these blogs can sometimes be a little are quite outrageous,

so tread with caution!

something sweet

okay, we all know that valentine's day is the ultimate day for chocolate.

and i must say, i love chocolate...

but what about trying something different?

i would love to get a selection of these yummy looking delicacies

(with or without a heart-shaped box!)

{fleur du sel: sea-salt french caramels}

{premium chocolate dipped cherries}

 

{rose-petal marshmallows}

 {granny-smith apple gummy bears}

{lavendar-honey truffles}

{mmm chocolate-covered prezels}

yummy!