Summer in a bowl

The other weekend I had dinner at my friends Traven and Kristin's new house. It was a beautiful summer evening. We ate on their fantastic third floor patio. But the beautiful summery setting was no much for the beautiful summer meal Kristin made. We started with a wonderful bowl of chunky cool gazpacho. I can not remember the last time I tasted something so fresh and amazing. It was like a big bowl of Summer! Tasted delightful AND super healthy! The next day I had to email Kristin for the recipe, which she was kind enough to pass along to me. I knew Sibs would love this as much as I did, so we decided to make some on Saturday for dinner. With the help of the food processor, it took us about 5 minutes to make.

I only wish there was a smell feature on this blog. Because it smells incredible! So good in fact that we kept sticking our heads in the fridge while it was cooling just to get a good sniff! If you're looking for a fast, delicious and SUPER healthy summer meal, I absolutely recommend making Kristin's gazpacho:

- 6-8 ripe tomatos
- 1 cucumber (seeds and skin removed)
- 1 red pepper
- about 1/2 cup onion (green, red or white, they're all good)
- 1 clove of garlic
- about 1/4 cup olive oil (more if it's a bit bitter)
- about 1/4 cup white wine vinegar
- parsley (optional)
- salt and pepper

Why can't everyday be Saturday?

Stress free Saturday morning breakfasts are the BEST! This weekend I wanted to make waffles for Sibylle and Steve (they make me dinner ALL the time!) Any good waffle needs a good topping. The three of us are trying to eat healthier, so I thought a warm apple compote would do the trick.

The results? Amazing! The apples have the perfect sweet/tart balance and are perfect on top of the waffles. This compote is also delicious on ice cream or plain yogurt (should you feel like being healthy!)

Just like all food I love, the apple compote is SUPER easy to make:

Cook chopped apples with a pinch of sugar and cinnamon, squeeze of lemon and a little water. The apples take about 15-20 minutes to cook through and start to break down. Mash slightly for a more apple sauce like texture. This compote is also great pears.

So what do you drink with homemade waffles and apple compote? Homemade lattes of course! While I prepped the food, Sibs whipped up these fantastic drinks. She's even working on her foam art

I'm not sure, but I think this little fellow was supposed to be Steve...

If only every morning could be so tasty!

Letting the market speak to me

In the Summer months I love going to the fruit market with absolutely no plans of what I want to make. I let the produce "speak to me". I buy what looks good. Figuring out what to make as I go along. Last weekend EVERYTHING looked good! The fact that I had been running for over 3 hours may have had something to do with that! It was hard to restrain myself. But I decided to make a fresh bean salad and roasted potatoes.

The bean salad was SUPER easy to make and SUPER tasty. If you only add the vinaigrette right before serving you can make this in a large batch and enjoy it all week! Here is the recipe:

- yellow beans

- green beans

- thinly sliced radishes

For the vinaigrette:

- 3 parts olive oil

- 1 part rice wine vinegar

- 1 part sesame oil

- sprinkling of toasted sesame seeds

- good pinches of fresh ginger and garlic

- salt and pepper to taste

Blanch the beans then toss with the radishes. Mix together the vinaigrette and lightly dress the beans. Eat and enjoy!

My Summer of Sex, Drugs and Rock and Roll!

I love having great books to read in the Summer. But I usually want something on the lighter side. One Summer I read The Incredible Lightness of Being. I can assure you, there is nothing "light" about that book! But I can't do the "chick lit" thing. (The last time I was at my parents house I decided to read Something Borrowed to help me fall asleep. I became enraged instead!) But this Summer I think I've found the perfect alternatives. First up is East Riders, Raging Bulls, a fascinating book about how the New Hollywood of the 70's saved the movie industry. It's page after page of insider stories about some of the most iconic films ever made. It's got the drugged up craziness of Denis Hooper. The bed hopping of Warren Beatty. And is anyone cooler the Jack Nicholson? I think not.

Next, it's Furious Love, the story of Richard Burton and Elizabeth Taylor. I am VERY excited to start reading this book. Last month Vanity Fair published sections from the book and it is a REAL page turner. Those two drank hard, fought hard and loved hard. Who needs Brangelina when you've got these two!

I'm Tee'd off!

I have loved running for a few years now. I still love it. Will always love it. But it's not "new" to me anymore. Yes, the marathon distance is new. And I can certainly improve my run times. But it's still just running. For the most part, I know what I'm doing now. (Though at times that is up for debate!) I was starting to feel like I needed a new challenge. Enter golf! Sibylle had decided to learn this summer so she could play with Steve. She asked if I'd be interested in taking lessons with her. Always up for something new, I agreed! And what fun it has become! We signed up for lessons at the Dentonia golf course in Scarborough. It could not be more convenient, right outside of the Victoria Park subway station. The lessons were great (VERY reasonably priced). We got instruction from a very patient golf pro once a week for an hour. The funniest was when he'd watch us take a few swings. We look up, eager to hear what he had to say. His usual comment - "Ummm... okay...." then he'd walk away. It was hilarious. But thankfully, my swing has gotten better. I can't wait to go out and play a round.

One of the BEST parts, this has opened up a whole new world of fun equipment/apparel! Polo shirts and golf gloves?! Yes please!

Four!

Chill out

So yeah... this has becoming one HOT Summer. Keeping cool has become my mission. It's not been easy. My apartment doesn't have air conditioning. Some nights I've had to sleep with an ice pack under my neck while a fan blasts me at full speed. The last thing I want to have when my apartment gets this hot is an even hotter beverage. Which was putting a kink in my weekend morning routine of enjoying a relaxing cup of coffee. So when my cousin Holly recommended the Starbucks Via iced coffee at home packs I picked some up right away. Well thank you Holly! These are awesome. The mix dissolves easily in cold water and is already lightly sweetened. But one pack does make a whole lotta iced coffee, so either use only half, or be prepared to drink a lot!

Stay cool my friends!

I'm Mad!

I'm MAD for Mad Men!! Season 4 starts on Sunday!! Are you watching? I hope you're watching. If you're not watching I'm not sure we can be friends. It's been a long few months without my favourite Madison Avenue fellas. Oh Don Draper, how I've missed you....

(Above is a picture of me with the Sterling Cooper boys. Look at them trying to get me drunk!)

I like it fast and easy!

If something is quick and easy to cook, I'm all for it. If it's also delicious, well woohoo sign me up! I got the recipe for these tuna cakes from the Martha Stewart Everyday Food blog. I LOVE them. They are quick, easy, delicious AND cheap. Click here for the recipe.

I've made these a number of times. You can switch up the fresh herbs depending on what you find at the grocery store. I've done these with cilantro, parsley and dill. I also like to add a small amount of Terroni hot peppers. Served with a light arugula salad, it's the perfect weeknight dinner. (And one batch can last a single gal 2-3 nights!)

Paris, je t'aime

I blame Montreal. My recent visit has reignited my love of all things French. Movies. Music. Clothing. If I close my eyes I can see myself on an old fashion bicycle in a stripped shirt cruising the streets of Paris while Edith Piaf plays in the background. Padam, Padam, Padam... sigh. Sadly I have never been to Paris. It's probably not like that at all. But a girl can dream!

And while I can't go to Paris (well at least not any time soon) I can watch my dream city in the movies. If you haven't seen 2 of my all time favs, you simply MUST! First up is Amelie. I. LOVE. THIS. MOVIE. I love everything about it. The story, the acting, the music. Everything about it is charming and delightful. You can not help but smile while watching this film. Every time I watch it I want to BE Amelie. I silently curse the fact that I am not a tiny charming French girl! Amelie's Paris is what Paris in my head is like. Perfection...

My other favourite Paris film is Paris, je t'aime. The film weaves together short 5 minute stories by 20 different filmmakers. The common theme: love in Paris. Some of the stories are silly, some sad, some charming, some just plain strange. But all are very entertaining. They made a similar film with my other favourite city (New York) as the background, but this original is MUCH better.

So slap on a beret, grab a baguette and some wine and enjoy two movies about a city I really need to visit!

Montreal, je t'aime!

So I had taken a little blogging break. I needed to restore my "creative" juices. (And find new things to write about!) So last week I took a much needed little vacay to Montreal to visit friends Lindsay and David. So for this post I present The Little Honey Bee - Montreal addition! I had SUCH a good time while there. Fun. Relaxing. L + D really know how to show a girl a good time! Should you be lucky enough to find yourself in Montreal for a couple days you must check out the Atwater market. Filled with beautiful pastry shops, fruit and vegetable stands, and cheese shops (on the cheese shops!).

The next stop, rent a Bixi Bike. For $5 you can rent the bike for a day. They can be picked up and dropped off at spots all over the city. Oh how I wish Toronto had these little babies! They were SO much fun. Well maintained, cheap and a GREAT way to get around the city. Exercise and sight seeing all in one!

We rode the bikes over to Old Montreal and after walking around the old streets a little bit settled onto a shady patch of grass in the Old Port where we unpacked our little picnic. Baguette, cheese, olives, tomatoes, plums, cherries and wine! It made for a fantastic little feast.

Sigh. It was such a fantastic trip. I can't wait to go back and visit Linds and David again. Montreal, je t'aime!!

and now that I've started blogging again, hopefully my lovely (and supportive) family won't gimme a hard time anymore! ;)