Turkey

Turkey has always been a must-do on my travel list and while I was a bit apprehensive due to its geographic situation, I decided it was now or never to make it a reality.



The first stop was Istanbul, where the city is filled with gorgeous, ginormous mosques. Any mosques I visited afterwards could not live up to the grandeur of the ones in Istanbul. I spent one afternoon watching the sunset with the Blue Mosque and Hagia Sophia in sight while the call to prayer echoed around the city - it was magical.



Next up was Cappadocia, an area known for its unique landscape. Yes, some of the structures do look phallic (hardy har har), but the more fascinating thing about this area is that people carved caves into these structures to create living quarters. Some of these caves have been turned into cave hotels and I can tell you that it's pretty damn cool staying in one.



Hot air ballooning at sunrise is one of the most memorable activities you can do in Cappadocia. While the sun decided not to make an appearance on my balloon ride (I did catch it on other mornings), it was still breathtaking and slightly terrifying on how high we flew. I also did quite a bit of hiking in Cappadocia, which was an absolute highlight.

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Sneak Peak: Turkey

I took an amazing trip to Turkey earlier this month, but work has been nuts since I got back and my computer has decided to stop functioning, so this will have to do for now. Lots and lots of pictures to come.

Mini Apple Pies

Another autumn, another apple recipe. Though no complaints on my part.


Rather than making the usual 9-inch pie, I attempted mini pies to maximize shareability. Also, they're just so much cuter.



Lattice tops on the mini pies are more difficult to handle because the dough tends to warm up and soften more easily. To combat this issue, I used heart-shaped cookie cutters to make the pie tops instead.

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Caprese Salad

Clinging on to the last vestige of summer:


Using the last tomatoes from my garden, I made a Caprese salad. No recipe needed (though Serious Eats has a guide on how not to screw it up): tomatoes, basil, mozzarella di bufala, olive oil, salt and pepper. Simple and delicious.

Crushed Tomatoes

Another item checked off my canning bucket list: tomatoes.


My friends and I got our hands on a bushel (53-ish pounds) of San Marzano-type tomatoes and spent six hours blanching, peeling, de-seeding, cooking and processing them.


By the end of the night, we admitted defeat. We only had several pounds to go but could not bare to look at another tomato. Canning is exhausting on such a large scale, and I am sure tomato remains coated every surface of the kitchen.



However, it was all worth it. After five batches, we ended up with nineteen 1L (quart) jars of crushed tomatoes / tomato sauce / tomato juice.

Pro tip: having company and drinking wine helps with the canning process.

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Summer Lovin'

Temperatures have been hovering around 30 degrees C all week, which makes me ecstatic because I get to bust out the rarely-worn summer dresses.


I spent last weekend at a cottage where we woke up bright and early to watch the sunrise, went for a run, did a bit of yoga, made a delicious breakfast and canoed on the lake, all before noon.

Life is good.

Rhubarb Snacking Cake

Ah, summer. This is when I feel the most in my element. I went strawberry picking this weekend and canned some preserves. I also got my hands on some garlic scapes and made a pesto.


Several weeks ago, I was eating asparagus to my heart's content. The first sign of spring is always exciting, even if it was a bit delayed this year.



Rhubarb is the other trigger that spring has arrived. I've had a colleague tell me that rhubarb grows like weed in her backyard. It's not the first I've heard of this wonderful problem, but unfortunately it's not an issue I run into.

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Chocolate Raspberry Rugelach

I'm sure it must be obvious by now that I am a huge fan of Smitten Kitchen. I follow many food blogs but I usually end up back at Deb's site because she has the ability to simplify recipes so that they're less intimidating to tackle.


When I first got my hands on her cookbook, I immediately bookmarked this recipe because it contains all of my favourite things: a dark chocolate and raspberry filling encased in a buttery dough. A baked good that must be made immediately, correct?


Then the procrastination kicked in. Months turned into years until finally, due to the fear that my fancy schmancy French jam will expire on me, I finally dove in.

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Halifax 2015

My friends and I had this crazy idea to drive out to Halifax to visit a friend, so that's what we did over the Easter long weekend. Mind you, it's a 17 hour drive one-way, so a good chunk of our five and a half days was spent in the car. We did a bit of exploring in Montreal, Quebec City and Hartland (home of the world's longest covered bridge), and then crammed even more sights in once we were on Nova Scotian soil.

The highlight for me was Blomidon Provincial Park:


The East Coast received an impressive amount of snow this winter and the evidence was everywhere – snowbanks that were as tall as I, potholes riddling the streets, etc. To get down to the beach, we had to carefully climb down narrow stairs that were still packed with snow (lest we slip and break out neck). It was cold, foggy and snowy, yet the weather seemed fitting for this East Coast setting. Imagine looming cliffs with waterfalls, tides receding over the red sandstone, no one on the beach but us – it was magical.

The weekend was also filled with food (so much food): smoked meat sandwiches, turkey with all the trimmings, a full-on lobster meal and a homestyle Quebecois lunch. However, this was my favourite:


Montreal is known for its bagels and they are best fresh out of the wood-burning oven, still steaming hot when you tear into them. They're so good that we went to St-Viateur twice and were so excited the second time that we forgot to pay for parking and got a ticket. These bagels cost an extra $53 and they were worth it.

One-Pan Farro with Tomatoes

Since winter is refusing to rid us of its presence, I'm doing a throwback post to reminisce about summer.


One of my favourite things about summer is tomato season. In general, the variety of produce during the warmer months makes me happier than a kid in a candy store, but for me, tomatoes are the cream of the crop.


Picking a tomato straight off the vine, warm from the sun, and biting into it so that the juices and flavours burst in your mouth - I am salivating just thinking about it.


I rarely cook with in-season tomatoes because I think they are perfect as is. Usually I'll just toss them in a salad or eat them like a fruit, but I was intrigue by this one-pan recipe. A tasty meal with minimal effort? Count me in.

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