Fall Flavours

Enjoying the Tastes of the Season

Summer has gone away and its finally sweater weather. Time to cozy up and take on some fall activities and cook delicious food.

I always hear chef's say fall is their favourite time to cook. I think I tend to agree with that.

The produce is good; the air is a bit cool and I think we lay down some quality time to actually stop for a second. I myself have done some hard thinking the past 2 months and have prioritized my time and life a little bit more.

The turn of the season reminds us what is important and to eat the beautiful bounty of our country. Thanksgiving reminds us what we have and what we should be thankful for having.

Here are a few activities I have been up to lately that have made for great fall fun!

Sampling some really great Ontario Cider

A couple of weekend's ago, when the weather was beautiful, we took a drive to West Avenue Cider House. https://www.westavenue.ca/

I discovered this place about 6 years ago and I was happy to see a completely different place than when we visited. It now has a place to order pizzas and small appetizers on the patio, which did not exist the last time I had visited. We sat outside in the warm sun, trying different types of Ciders and ordered some good eats to go with it. You can walk around the property and check out the apple orchards beyond the patio, just remember to only look at not pick.

If you get a chance to stop there while driving to Hamilton, you better check it out.

Beautiful day to Celebrate Oktoberfest

This past weekend I was asked if I would like to got to Oktoberfest in Kitchener. I naturally said yes. I find it hard to turn down a good pretzel and beer. The sun was out and the vibes we good. We sat outside by a fire pit sipping our German lagers and listening to traditional songs. We watched the trees turn to yellow as we drove down the highway back to Toronto in the late afternoon.

The next day was Thanksgiving, a day full of love and delicious food. This year my mom decided to cook Cornish Hen instead of turkey, which I thought was a welcome change to the yearly harvest table. We sat around the table and enjoyed German Pinot Noir while eating the cider brushed little birds. Each bite and laugh getting bigger throughout the meal. The night finished with a game of cards and pumpkin pie.

Check out these Birds

My mom's recipe for Pumpkin pie I think is a trailblazer. I'm sure most people would say that about their mother's pie, but I believe hers to be special. She uses a recipe that is soaked with age from a recipe book complied of her own, her mother's and my father's mother. She blends evaporated milk together with the pumpkin filling and whips the egg whites into a meringue and then folds them in. This lets the pie rise to the top of the oven and sink when it comes out. It makes the filling a little bit lighter and more flavourful.

Yesterday we enjoyed a mid-day walk after I baked a batch of Pumpkin Muffins with Honeycrisp apples inside. We turned the corner of Philosopher's walk and slowly meandered our way back up Spadina and into the Annex to finish the 2-hour stride. The air was fresh and our stomachs were happy when we returned home for our little treat.

This season is really one to be admired. Its a season when food really shows it's best features. Enjoy the beauty of the season and cook something beautiful with the people you love. Take a walk outside and smell the air and be thankful for what you have.