Sew Hungry

What's better than a good pun? A food truck pun (and a street full of food trucks). Last week I strapped Ruby into her baby carrier and joined some mom friends to eat our way down Ottawa Street in Hamilton at Sew Hungry. Ottawa street is the garment district in Hamilton...get it?

They had a truck to suit your every whim. I wish I was hungrier when I went but all I had room for was one thing for lunch plus a sweet treat. Any guesses as to what I chose? 

{the lineup}

{I'll give you a hint, it was on this menu} 

Double bacon mac 'n' cheese from Frankie Fettuccine - obviously. It was delish (and huge)! Ruby loved it too.

Here are some more photos from the day.

{new to the food truck scene with super yummy wraps} 

 {pig puns a-plenty}

{Sarah and baby J - our dates; ignore my dorky face, it was so sunny!}

{if you follow me on insta you would have caught this already - my very first time eating Tiny Tom donuts}

They have Sew Hungry events throughout the year so keep your eyes out!

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Fakeout Nicoise Salad

I am frugal. Super duper annoyingly frugal. So what I try to do is make meals out of the random food I have on hand instead of hauling it out to the grocery store. Sometimes it works out really nicely, like with this fake Nicoise salad. It's fake because it doesn't have Nicoise olives in it...so I'm not sure what's really Nicoise about it? Say Nicoise one more time. Nicoise. The word has now lost all meaning.

Anyway, if you have some of these pantry staples and want to make a delightful, protein-rich salad, I'd recommend it.

Ingredients:
Lettuce
Green beans (blanched)
Hard boiled egg
Half a can of tuna
Approximately 2 small new potatoes (quartered and cooked)

Optional (in other words, those things I didn't have/don't even like so who cares):
Nicoise olives if you like olives (I don't)
Tomatoes (don't like those either)
Capers (they give me the creeps, but if you're into them, add some)

Dressing:
3 parts olive oil, 1 part lemon juice, 1 part Dijon mustard, one small shallot diced, salt to taste. Combine in a mason jar and shake it up.

Method:
Fill your bowl with lettuce, top with remaining ingredients, then dress. Voila! As if you needed me to tell you have to assemble a salad. But take note, for this one, presentation counts.

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Conversations: Coffee Mug Edition

The scene: Walking into the kitchen on Sunday morning, Nick is pouring me a cup of coffee (in the mug pictured above).

Me: AH STOP! I don't want that mug!

Nick: looking puzzled, stops, and starts to pour coffee out of mug into the sink.

Me: Don't pour it out! (sacrilege!) Just...just... leave it. I will put it in a different mug.

Nick: puts mug down, gives me a look, and retreats with his breakfast.

At this point I realized I was having a slight overreaction to a coffee mug and had alienated my husband who was doing something nice for me. Good start to the day really. So, I apologized. Then, for my own benefit more than anyone else's, I proceeded to highlight which mugs I enjoy for coffee. There were 6. As it turns out, I am pretty picky about my coffee mugs.

To make a quiet but very real point, Nick had his coffee from the bunny mug. #husbandwin

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Chicken and Waffles

While we were on holiday in Florida, I found out something shocking...Most of the people we were with had NOT HEARD OF CHICKEN AND WAFFLES.

Are you one of those people?

Maybe I watch too much Food Network, but I somehow can not comprehend how this many people have never heard of this dish.

Although I had seen it created, I had never tried it, so when it was on the delightful breakfast menu at Doreen's Cup of Joe, I had to oblige. Side note: if you're ever on Marco Island, I would recommend going there for brunch.

If she had it her way, Ruby would have just eaten the menu.

Just look at this plate. Fried chicken served on waffles topped with leeks. This photo was taken before I doused it in maple syrup. Yes. Syrup on the chicken and leeks. Buddy the Elf would be proud.

Here are Nick's and Ruby's breakfasts (just so you can see how it all went down). Clearly mine was the best choice.

What's your favourite breakfast/brunch item?

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When Life Gives You Lemons...Give One To Your Baby

Have you seen this series of photos? How funny is it?! I mean, perhaps it's a little mean to laugh at your baby's pucker face but not mean enough to stop me from doing it. There was a lemon tree in our yard in Florida so I had to put Ruby to the test. Here's a series of her reacting.

It started off ok...

Then there was some uncertainty...

And then reality set in...

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Thai Peanut Sauce

When Ruby was first home, I could barely make a bowl of cereal. Now that I am (generally) more organized with her, I love cooking again. For dinners, I often make a lot of Asian inspired meals. I used to buy a particular brand of jarred peanut sauce and I do love how it tastes, but I've started making my own sauces and seasonings at home to have more control over the ingredients (ie. not so much hidden sugar). Here's my recipe for a Thai-style peanut sauce. I use it in stir-fries but it could be a dipping sauce, too.

Ingredients:
1 to 2 cloves garlic, put through a press or grated
1 tsp grated ginger
approximately half cup pb (I used the crunchy coconut kind)
1 tsp brown sugar
2 tbsp soy sauce
1/2 tsp rice wine vinegar
a few drops sesame oil
sirracha to taste
1/3 cup water  *note: if you're making this as a dip, I would use a little less water

Simply mix all the ingredients until smooth. If you're making a stir-fry, just add it to the meat/veggies. If you're going to use it as a dip, I would make it a little ahead of time so the flavours have time to marry.

Here's a tip: buy a piece of ginger and then keep it in your freezer. Then you can easily peel and grate what you need anytime.

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Places to Eat (Breakfast): Jax

Over the weekend, Nick and I went out to grab lunch (with R in tow, of course). We ended up in Dundas (evidently I really like going there). As we wandered down the main street to find a place to eat we spotted this place that severed breakfast until 2, so we decided to try it out.

So ya, we had breakfast instead of lunch, but it was totally worth it. They've got everything you could want from a breakfast menu (French toast, waffles, various forms of bacon and eggs, even a bacon and egg sandwich on waffles) and they buy their meat from the local butcher across the street, which is a big plus, trust me. The staff were so sweet and friendly. When we asked them how long they'd be in business, they told us they opened two months ago doing the confectionery piece (baked goods and ice cream) and had been doing breakfast for two weeks. Well, in two weeks they've done a great job.

{When we arrived, it was packed. 

I took this pic after the rest of the crowd cleared out; it was 1pm after all}

{breakfast grilled cheese with bacon and a fried egg; 

doesn't look super interesting but trust me, it was so yummy} 

{Belgian waffles. It comes with eggs but Nick swapped them for fruit}

Jax: they're new to the scene, and our breaky was delicious. We'll be back and you should go.

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Places to Eat: Detour

Last week, Ruby and I took my dad out for a daddy/daughter/granddaughter day out to celebrate his birthday (albeit a little late). We drove in to Dundas and after spending some time at the park, we went looking for a place for lunch. We parked up on the main street and figured we would pop into a place that looked interesting. We found Detour. It is the perfect little breakfast & lunch spot. As soon as I saw macaroni and cheese on the menu, I was obviously getting that. He opted for gourmet grilled cheese. Both choices you can't really go wrong with, in my opinion. Ruby said she was too full, and I think she regretted her decision after seeing our meals.

{grilled cheese for dad, mac and cheese (with spinach!) for me}

The staff were so sweet and even helped us get the stroller inside. It's got that great vintage/antique vibe with updated touches (some of my favourite art). I would definitely recommend giving this one a try.

{I love the art - of local skylines - they have displayed}

Have a great weekend!

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Weekend Bits

How does Monday get here so fast? Did you have a good weekend? We had a lovely one. Friday night was just a chill at home night. Somehow, Friday has just turned into that. We're both too exhausted from the week to make much of an effort to do anything but just have a drink and curl up.

Saturday morning little miss Ruby was up bright and early and ready for action so we were out for a walk by 8:30. The weather stayed clear enough to go apple picking in the afternoon with friends. Check one thing off my Fall To-Do list, plus, we got so many delicious, local apples.

{all smiles for our morning walk}

{two men and a baby...and a wagon full of apples}

{some of our haul}

After that, our friends treated us to what they referred to as a 'simple supper'. I am now going to start calling them the ultimate hosts because two homemade soups plus gourmet grilled cheeses wasn't what I would call simple (in the best way possible). For future grilled cheeses, allow me to recommend old white cheddar, bacon and apple or pear, brie and fig jam. Just go ahead and make it right now, you won't be sorry.

{there were six of us eating, so you don't think we're that bad}

Sunday, after being served coffee in bed, was a typical lazy day around the house, but when we went to family dinner at my parents' place, guess what they had decided to make? Poutine. Looooved it. Poutine with different choices for toppings (slow cooked beef or pulled pork). Does your mom make poutine? Just saying.

{coffee in bed} 

{family cuddles}

{pulled pork poutine}

This was a bit of a food-centric post...I swear I live for more than just eating (riiiight). Now here we are, another Monday. I hope you have a great week!

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