Get some apple pie!

As I approach a mini milestone as a blogger (two months!) I would like to say thank you for reading my posts. With time, Sweet Julienne will only get better and better ... so let's bake an apple pie to celebrate!

Tuesday's inspiration; easy eastside eats

Here's a new one: pass by that excellent restaurant I want to try soon (Ruby Watchco), read the daily menu posted in the window ($49 for 4 courses ... maybe next month), stop by their sister store (Ruby Eats) to pick up ingredients, go home and mimic their salad for supper. Oh, and round it out with a couple slices of St. Johns organic bread from the bakery on Broadview Avenue. I took home a delightful walnut and raisin loaf, plus a spelt loaf with a very pretty detail on the top.

Salad ingredients: baby greens, red onion, blue cheese, grape tomatoes, balsamic vinaigrette

Winter brunch; sweet potato hash and fluffy eggs

Yes, that was me (sort of) dancing on the snowy beach this morning.  Did you see that tree covered in ice?  Startling.  Walking back to the neighbourhood, I was tossing around ideas for lunch and came up with a classic combination that used some fresh herbs and leftover ingredients from the fridge.

Street beat: Queen east snacks and possibilities

I admit it. I did eat at Te Aro (chai tea with steamed milk and cinnamon, St. Urbain sesame bagel with fromage) even though I'm trying to cut down on unnecessary spending. Then was given a test: should I pick up a perfectly edible high fibre cracker from the (fairly recently) fallen snow...Look how lovely and round and crisp it is...

Meet Tamar

Tamar E. Adler is a chef and author.  She worked at Chez Panisse.  I like Chez Panisse.  I also like this video about prepping market veg - more of her musings here.

How to Stride Ahead - Part Two from CJ Richter on Vimeo.

Capers & Berries; Easy Living Lunch & Dinner

Lately I've been watching episodes of Top Chef Just Desserts, so I might as well admit it: I've been influenced by the sweeter side of life.  I'm also one to search out the cheapest, most delicious and healthy item on a menu.  They always say that breakfast is the cheapest meal if you are eating out, so I took this to heart when ordering an impromptu lunch on the road this week.

Cannoli!

I proudly found one of the cheapest things to buy in the building, and it was worth it.  (A gourmet cannoli for $1.50 at Alimento Fine Food Emporium on King St West.)  If you are ever craving to overhear Italian, pick up some exceptional baked goods, linger over several kinds of prosciutto, consider your choices at the mozza bar, appreciate fine interior design, and then go next door to sip on a cappuccino, go here.

An indulgent brunch at JK's Gilead Cafe

It was the small details I fell for: tiny slices of green onion, fresh orange juice, perfectly cooked eggs, delightfully thin porcelain plates, and nicely designed flatware were the surprise touches.  And who can fault a chef when he packs those preserves away so nicely...

Home on the Grange; the historic kitchens of the AGO

Sometimes all a girl like me wants is to spend a few hours at the AGO.  I'm seated in The Grange for a bite before I venture into the gallery, when I overhear the older woman to my right ordering exactly the same thing I did:  Ham and Cheese Sandwich with Greens (on the side) and an Americano with milk.  It is an interesting coincidence that I attribute to both our shared appetite for simple, 'school lunch' food and the fact that the sandwich is the cheapest on the menu.

Post-Christmas Little Italy lunch & Homemade Ricotta

Left to my own devices I would probably not have eaten meatballs two days after Christmas, but I wasn't alone.  Nick and I were checking out Little Italy and it was lunchtime.  We didn't see any other choices that were calling out to us, and we couldn't get the taste of an Italian sandwich out of our heads, so we popped into Hey Meatball! to order a taste.