DJ Maggie in da house!

Maggie is our resident DJ. She's been compiling holiday tunes over the past few days to keep the Christmas cheer going.

Happy holidays, everyone!

Merry Christmas!

Ho, ho, ho! Merry Christmas!

Wishing you all the hope, wonder, and joy that the holiday season can bring!

Remember my dad's snowmen collection? Well, Hallmark has him hooked so of course he bought the latest and greatest for this year. The Quatchis liked the baking theme of the 2015 snowman.

The Quatchis are spoiled from friends near and far. Thank you, Sophia, for the Saje, tea cup, and tea infuser!

And thank you, Lauren, for the Duchess tea and Starbucks mug!

We are so grateful for the friendships we have made via the blog. You're the best!

Christmas Countdown

T-minus two days until Christmas! Wowzers! 

Tim has been gearing up for the big day by reading A Christmas Carol. Thanks, Sophia for the book!

Buddy helped me wrap gifts and write cards.

We hope all your holiday preparations are going swimmingly!

Brunching with Bernie

Remember Bernie's foodie tour in the summer? One of his pit stops was Maman. The ice cream sandwich was delish!

Yesterday, Bernie had brunch with B and I at the new Toronto location. The restaurant decor was charming and the food, super. Bernie is hoping to score another ice cream sandwich next summer on home soil!

Turner

J.M.W. Turner: Paintings Set Free is the current exhibit at the AGO. It features rare works on loan from the Tate. Norham Castle, Sunrise was the Mins' favourite painting.

The Mins enjoyed learning about "one of the most radical and influential artists of the 19th century". The Mins also enjoyed having a staring contest with the silhouette of Turner.

You have until January 1, 2016 to check out the exhibit. Enjoy!

Mmm...cake!

I have been perusing many baking blogs lately, and came across this Swedish Visiting Cake on Pastry Affair. Spencer was a big help.

He made sure I had all the ingredients ready...

...told me when the butter started to brown...

...mixed orange zest with sugar...

...sprinkle sliced almonds on top of the batter...

 ...kept an eye on the cake while it was baking...

...and waited for the cake to cool before slicing some up for his pals...

We didn't use any leavening agents so the cake was flat and chewy. We had a wedge with some black tea for an afternoon snack. The cake is supposed to get better with age so we can't wait to try it tomorrow, and even the next day.

Mmm...cake!

Good Hair Day

"No Bake" Baking

Snowman loves "no bake" baking. He helped me whip up three dozen of these bad boys for a charity event at work. They consist of only seven ingredients, and are healthy to boot. Plus, they taste awesome.

Granola Bar Bites

1 cup rolled oats

Pinch of salt

Pinch of ground cinnamon

Splash of vanilla

1/4 cup almond butter

1 tablespoon honey or agave syrup

1/4 cup dried berries

With a fork, stir together oats, salt, cinnamon, and vanilla in a medium bowl.

Stir in almond butter, honey, and dried berries.

Once the mixture is mixed well, use your hands to roll 12 one-inch balls.

If the mixture is too dry to roll into balls, add a bit more honey or almond butter.

Source: my name is yeh

These balls are foolproof, and didn't take long to make at all. Snowman and I saved a few for ourselves. We had them for breakfast the next day.

Afternoon Tea at The Grange

Q, my mum, and I went for afternoon tea at The Grange, a.k.a. the original home of the Art Gallery of Ontario. Q and I ordered Tropical Green tea while my mum ordered Citrus Calm. Both were quite good. The savouries and sweets were excellent too. Our tummies were very happy!

Despite it being cold and rainy, we had a nice view from our table. This park is fittingly called The Grange Park. For photos of the park back in the day, click here.

Vote Today!

Colin wants to remind our Canadian pals to vote today. Do your part and get to the polls! To learn more, check out Elections Canada.

Pear and Ginger Muffins

The Mins woke up this morning wanting to bake something for breakfast. These muffins were adapted from a popular Nigella Lawson recipe.

Pear and Ginger Muffins

1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour

3/4 cup granulated white sugar

1/2 cup + 6 teaspoons light brown sugar, packed

2 teaspoons baking powder

1 teaspoon ground ginger

2/3 cup sour cream

1/2 cup vegetable oil

1 tablespoon honey

2 large eggs

1 1/2 cups pears, peeled and diced

Preheat oven to 400 F. Line 12 muffin cups.

In a large bowl, whisk flour, white sugar, 1/2 cup brown sugar, baking powder, and ground ginger.

In a medium bowl, whisk sour cream, oil, honey, and eggs. Fold wet ingredients into dry ingredients, mixing just until incorporated. Stir in pear.

Divide batter evenly among muffin cups. Sprinkle each muffin with 1/2 teaspoon brown sugar. Bake for 20 minutes. Cool on rack.

Source: RecipieGirl.com

Though the photo with the Mins has eight muffins, the recipe does make a dozen. We cut down on white sugar by 1/4 cup, and didn't sprinkle brown sugar on each muffin before baking. We also used dark brown sugar instead of light brown sugar since that's all we had at home. We used two Bartlett pears, which worked out to be more than 1 1/2 cups. Even with all these adjustments, the muffins were excellent. We would try this recipe again, perhaps making a loaf instead.

#ComeTogether (with Tim on Thanksgiving)

The Quatchis and I have been following the Blue Jays all summer. We're happy to see that they pulled through last night. Game four of the ALDS is this afternoon. We'll be cheering from my parents' place.

This cute little bear is our new friend, Tim. You might recognize him from the Minions movie. Colin was teaching him the rules of baseball when we were watching the game. The two of them will be with BC for a bit to keep him company.

To our fellow Canadians, Happy Thanksgiving! May your gatherings be as fun as they are tasty!

Pecan Pie Perfection

It's only been a few weeks, but fall is in full gear. Colin says it's perfect sweater weather. He helped me bake a classic pecan pie yesterday. 

Classic Pecan Pie

1 cup corn syrup

3 eggs

1 cup sugar

2 tablespoons butter, melted

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

1 1/2 cups pecans

1 9-inch unbaked or frozen deep dish pie crust

Preheat the oven to 350 F.

Mix corn syrup, eggs, sugar, butter, and vanilla. Stir in pecans. Pour filling into pie crust.

Bake on hot baking sheet on centre rack of oven for 60 to 70 minutes. Cool completely on wire rack.

Source: Karo

We didn't have enough corn syrup so we topped up with honey. We also cut the sugar by half. Our pie took 75 minutes to bake and would pair nicely with a scoop of vanilla ice cream. Bon appetit, Colin! Bon appetit!

Classic Chocolate Chip Cookies

BC shared a classic chocolate chip cookie recipe with Maggie. I bought Maggie the best dark chocolate chips I could find at Bulk Barn. I also picked up some pecans and roasted them slightly.

 Maggie put a lot of effort into baking these cookies. They didn't spread out quite like we thought they would, but they still tasted delicious. The pecans gave the cookies a nice crunch but were not overpowering. The chocolate chips were worth every penny. They definitely brought the cookies up a few notches.

The cookies didn't last long. BC ate most of them in two sittings. Here's Maggie with the last two.

Also, thanks JW for these pretty flowers! We'll take good care of them!

Bedtime Reading

The Quatchis are big on reading and this has rubbed off on Spencer. We recently finished The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up by Marie Kondo and Secret Daughter by Shilpi Somaya Gowda. Spencer is currently reading Nudge by Cass Sunstein and Richard Thaler. Let us know of any other books we should add to our roster!

Ode to Peaches

It's peach season here in Ontario and we're making the most of it!

 

 

Today, the Mins and I made a buttermilk peach cake using a recipe adapted from one of our favourites by Smitten Kitchen.

 

 

The cake turned out wonderfully! We used a 9 inch springform pan, 1/4 cup less sugar than called for, and homemade buttermilk.

 

 

A dollop of whipped cream or a scoop of vanilla ice cream would pair nicely with the cake. Check out the baker upstairs for the recipe.

Buddy the Beach Bum

Buddy and I escaped to the beach on Friday! We met up with BC in London, and ventured on a pleasant one-hour drive to Grand Bend.

The beach was nice and clean, and not too crowded. Buddy was excited for an afternoon in the sun.

Buddy spent most of his time napping, eating snacks, and reading a book.

Buddy was a natural beach bum!

Vanilla Coconut Muffins

We're using this Sunday to catch up on life - clean the condo, do laundry, go to the gym, and prep food. Q is always a helpful sidekick in the kitchen. Today we tried our hands at vanilla coconut muffins.

Vanilla Coconut Muffins

2 1/4 cups all purpose flour

2 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp salt

1 cup sugar

2 cups shredded coconut (sweetened or unsweetened)

2 large eggs

1 cup milk (regular or coconut)

1 tbsp vanilla extract

5 tbsp butter, melted

Preheat oven to 350 F. In a large bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, salt, and sugar. Stir in shredded coconut.

In a medium bowl, whisk together eggs, milk, and vanilla extract. Make a well in the center of the dry ingredients and pour in egg mixture. Stir until the wet ingredients are almost fully combined. Stir melted butter until completely incorporated.

Divide batter into 12 prepared muffin cups. Bake for 25 to 28 minutes. Cool muffins completely on wire rack.

Source: Baking Bites

Q and I used 3/4 cup sugar, unsweetened shredded coconut, coconut milk, and oil instead of butter. The result was a dense muffin with a slight crumble. We look forward to eating these for breakfast over the next few days!

A Package from the Middle East

Q and the Mins are spoiled by Sophia, their incredible friend from afar! The Quatchis cherish her gifts, many of which are homemade.

They have never received anything from the Middle East before so this was a real treat. Thanks for the unique travel mug, Sophia! We've been putting it to good use already!

Bernie's NYC Foodie Tour

I've been lucky to benefit from some crazy flight deals lately. On a recent trip to NYC, Bernie was eager to try as much food as possible.

We thoroughly enjoyed the Ides at the Wythe Hotel. The views of Manhattan were fantastic. Bernie liked the lemony one on the left the most.

We put our names on the wait list for Lucali, knowing that we should kill time at a local patio. Two hours later, we finally got the phone call to trek back. The wait was totally worth it. The pizza could have been the best I've ever had.

We had a casual brunch at Cafe Habana. This place is famous for it's Mexican-style corn.

Maman in Soho is known for it's cookies. We were lucky to score an ice cream sandwich. There are limited quantities each day.

 The one big fancy dinner of our trip was at Gato, one of Bobby Flay's restaurants. Bernie liked how the appetizers were portioned. Just perfect for his size!

This kale and wild mushroom paella was the highlight of the meal. Order it! You won't be disappointed!

For late night food, we went to Halal Guys in LES. It hit the spot!

And for a quickie lunch, we went to Ivan Ramen. Since the day was hot and sticky, Bernie opted for cold noodles and a prickly pear lemonade.

We kind of went on an ice cream bender during our trip. Bernie's favourite spot was Morgenstern's. He tried Szechaun peppercorn chocolate, burnt honey vanilla, and green tea pistachio. It was hard to pick a favourite flavour!

Other noteworthy bites and drinks Bernie tried were the dip sandwich at Dirty French, ice cream at Odd Fellows, and cocktails at Lavendar Lake and Attaboy. Bernie left NYC will a full and happy belly!