We have a tendency to confuse self care with “Treat Yo’Self!!” and so today’s advice comes with the disclaimer to pay close attention to the “bit” part. It’s well known that chocolate contains chemicals that make us feel good. Many people, when surveyed, say they’d choose chocolate over sex. And a little something sweet, […]
Tag: chocolate
Awesome Thing – Soma’s Birch Branch
Two secrets that I will admit to you about today’s awesome thing – I have been known to break into the log song while cutting slices of this delicious treat. I have also been known to cradle it in my arm like the log lady from Twin Peaks (timely, huh?), except you can’t do that […]
Awesome Thing – SOMA’s Calamansi Lime Chocolate Bark
How does that song go? You put the lime in the coconut… If lime and coconut are your thing, then this chocolate bark might also be for you. The awesome folks at SOMA Chocolatemaker have come up with this great combination, pairing the sour/sweet duo of the calamansi lime (sour juice and pulp but a […]
When Even Your Food Tries to Food Shame You
Wandering through the frozen food aisle of the supermarket yesterday, I spied something that made me livid. And the more I think about it, the angrier I become. A selection of frozen cupcakes, most with cute and reasonable names until we got to… Cheat Day Chocolate Cupcakes. I know, it’s supposed to be cute. Funny, […]
Lucky Dip – May 6th – Six Cool Food Things
Chocolate inspired by Jackson Pollack? These beautiful pieces of edible art are from Unelefante in Mexico. [Via KNSTRCT] Can’t keep track of your best lasagna recipe? How about this one that’s printed on the pasta? [Via BoingBoing] The story of Sweeney Todd the barber and the little pie shop next door is just fiction… or […]
Lucky Dip – Tuesday, March 27th, 2012
In Toronto: Keriwa Cafe (1690 Queen Street West) had updated their website. All the better to see their monthly menu updates. Chef Justin Cournoyer’s new restaurant Actinolite (971 Ossington Avenue) opens to the public tomorrow (Wednesday, March 28th) serving up a menu with Spanish, Portuguese and Italian influences. Basilio Pesce of Oliver & Bonacini has […]
Lucky Dip – Tuesday, March 6th, 2012
In Toronto: Chef Anthony Rose announced yesterday via The Grid that he’ll be leaving The Drake Hotel (1150 Queen Street West) at the end of the month to open a place of his own. Darren Glew, who has been at The Drake for the past five years, will take over the kitchen. Simple Bistro (619 […]
Lucky Dip – Monday, February 20th, 2012
Welcome to the revamped Lucky Dip column in which I will be bringing you a daily selection (Monday to Friday) of local food news, upcoming events and links to local and international food news stories. Quantity of content will vary by day (thus the “Lucky Dip” name – you get what I scoop up), but […]
Lucky Dip – Wednesday, November 30th, 2011
Wait now… people lined up to get into a grocery store? And they weren’t even giving away anything good like a free turkey? And there wasn’t anything like a natural disaster or an alien attack about to happen? Toronto really has turned into a city of consumer-driven sheep, hasn’t it? [The Grid] I am utterly […]
Lucky Dip – Monday, November 7th, 2011
Regularly, I go to bars and yell at servers about what constitutes a martini (hint – it ain’t blue!), but referring to the “martini list” as “the children’s menu” is a stroke of snark so brilliant, I bow down to its greatness. [National Post: The Appetizer] What’s that? Your factory-farmed pork was not raised humanely? […]
Lucky Dip – Tuesday, October 11th, 2011
Congratulations to my friend, colleague and mentor Jennifer Bain, for winning the Best Newspaper Food Column in the Association of Food Journalists Awards Competition. A well-deserved win by an outstanding writer. [Toronto Star] Those vegetables in your dinner may have been harvested by a child. Don’t believe me? Watch the trailer for this new documentary. […]
Lucky Dip – Wednesday, August 31st, 2011
Why are bartenders waging war on vodka? Because it’s for people who can’t handle the taste of real, better spirits. And if that makes me a booze snob, then I’m okay with that. [Globe and Mail] Are you so obsessed with food that you need to think about it while playing board games? Have at […]
Lucky Dip – Tuesday, August 30th, 2011
Is there a difference between grocery carts fitted with iPads and a handwritten list? Will the iPads make for too much distraction and accidents or is it just an easier way to get the shopping done? [Globe and Mail] Food snobs will finally get the chance to really compare Ladurée macarons with ones made in […]
Lucky Dip – Monday, August 29th, 2011
“First you get the sugar, then you get the money…” I once passed up the opportunity to ride from Toronto to New Orleans on a molasses barge. Should have done it. Life aboard a boat full of sugar sounds pretty sweet. [National Post] The hipster barista takes himself very, very seriously. Especially when you turn […]
Lucky Dip – Monday, August 1st, 2011
If you’re one of the millions of people who tried to get a reservation at El Bulli and never could, looks like you’re outta luck. The current incarnation of Ferran Adria’s restaurant is now closed. [Toronto Star] No dogs on chairs! Marco Pierre White has been buying up pubs across the UK with plans to […]
Lucky Dip – Tuesday, May 31st, 2011
Would ketchup on steak be a deal-breaker in a new relationship? How about if they won’t eat blueberries? [Globe and Mail] That brings a whole new meaning to “franks and beans” – a worker at a Heinz factory in the UK loses a finger in some machinery. [Food Manufacture UK] Eat fruit, it’s good for […]
Flowers and Chocolate
I actually came across these dark chocolate and floral bars well before Valentine’s Day, and if I had my act together, would have posted about them before now. The collection is by Belgian chocolatier Dolfin and is called The Parfums d’Eden. It features 4 different flowers (rose, violet, verviene [lemon verbena] and orange blossom), offered […]
Bounty Bar Cupcakes
Working on the theory that everything is better with coconut, I came up with these the other day. They’re meant to resemble an inside-out bounty bar. Flavourwise it works, but next time I’ll incorporate more coconut right into the buttercream frosting. Bounty Bar Cupcakes 1/4 cup butter 1 cup sugar 1/2 teaspoon vanilla 1 egg […]
Experimentation
The flavour combination of dark chocolate, dulce de leche and sea salt is not new. You might even say it’s a bit passé, but it could also be one of those things that become a classic, like chocolate and mint. I had wanted thimble (aka. thumbprint) cookies, but I was also craving chocolate. And when […]
Proof of My Insanity
Go big or go home. Not my life’s philosophy, but apparently one I follow when baking. See, I got a freezer, right? And not eating meat, I needed something to put in it. I filled it up somewhat with summer delights; fiddleheads and berries and pesto and tubs of peach chutney. But my original plan […]