Homemade Halloween Treats

If adults were allowed to go trick or treating, these are what I'd like to be getting in my loot bag.

Homemade candy. Like chocolate-covered sponge toffee. Or soft caramels. Or peanut butter cups.

I made all three. And boy, were they good!

They were a far cry from the sad excuse of candy bars we gobbled down as kids, not knowing how to pronounce half the ingredients on the wrapper and being even more clueless as to how bad most of those ingredients actually were.

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Wordless Wednesday #61: Toronto Underground Market, Behind the Scenes

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Avocado with Warm Bacon Parsley Vinaigrette

Sometimes the best things are the simplest. Like this super easy dish I made the other day that is composed of some of my favourite things: avocado, bacon and parsley.

It's light. It's creamy. It's salty. It's crispy. It's slightly tart. It's slightly sweet.

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Wordless Wednesday #60: Hot Balls

Rising Star Chef Series - Chef Riley Bennett

I had the opportunity of attending the latest installment of the Rising Star Chef Series at The Chefs' House last week. At The Chefs' House, we're dedicated to supporting emerging talent in the culinary and hospitality industry. It's a great, monthly event that showcases cutting-edge Canadian chefs who already have a reputation for innovation and creativity. Guest chefs are featured in the kitchen, working alongside students (both back- and front-of-house from the George Brown College's School of Hospitality and Culinary Arts) and serve guests a four-course meal.

This month's featured guest chef was The Chefs' House's own Chef Riley Bennett. Hailing from the Okanagan Valley in B.C. and a graduate of SAIT College in Calgary, Chef Bennett had stints at Sooke Harbour House on Vancouver Island and Mission State Family Estate Winery in Kelowna. Chef Bennett joined The Chefs' House this past July as a Chef Technologist, mentoring the next generation of culinary stars.

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My New Favourite Brunch Dish: Polenta with Sausage Sugo

When it comes to making brunch, I'm a sucker for pancakes. Perhaps it's my sweet tooth talking, but I find a plate of fluffy pancakes drizzled with maple syrup simply irresistible. So when there's a savoury dish that comes along and blows my mind, you know it has to be THAT good.

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I'm Thankful For...Pumpkin Flan

There's always so much to be thankful for come each Thanksgiving—family, friends, good health, a roof over my head, a safe and loving environment, never having to go hungry, etc. I'm so blessed to have all these things when there are so many others around the world who struggle to have at least one of these to be thankful for. Things that we might easily take for granted in our every day life.

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Wordless Wednesday #59: Market Envy, Part 2 - Marché Jean-Talon

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Not-So Wordless Wednesday: #FoodTruckEats, Part 3

Sorry folks, but I couldn't just post up the photos without saying a little something about this phenomenal event. This past Saturday marked the third and final installment of Food Truck Eats. Held at the Distillery District once again (this time in the South parking lot), FTE changed things up by being held all night long, to coincide with Nuit Blanche.

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