The Macaron Mission

 

Here in the suburbs of Mississauga, french macarons are pretty hard to come by. The only places I know that sell these little french delights are Whole foods that come at a price of $8 for 6 minis and from Sweets located in Heartland which sadly shut down. They definitely do not come cheap, and they're pretty tricky to make too, and I don't really have patience to make 20 batches of flopped macarons..maybe one day but not anytime soon. So it hit me, that what Mississauga lacks in the hundreds of bakeries around me are macarons. I'm on a mission to change that, I'm sick and tired of looking at macaron pictures on instagram and pinterest. Here in Streetsville theres about 10 bakeries alone, cute little pastry shops filled with everything but macarons. I've decided to make a business proposal, and that is for them to start selling macarons. I'm going to treat this like a thesis and do my research, make personal surveys and just basically get at least ONE bakery in Streetsville to make these goddamn cute french cookies!  I will post about my progress and even set up a survey..I don't know how or when this will happen but all I know is that I'm going to make this happen.

Wish me luck

Summer = A Season Filled with Nom Noms!

food porn of the day: a mini layered cake I made for my mom

I came across this really helpful article by the Huffington post written by Anna Brones called, The Ultimate Foodie Guide to Summer: 100 ways to spend your vacation. Summer is the season of food festivals, food markets, watermelons, BBQ, fruit picking, and a great time to experiment with alot of colours on your plate. I love inviting friends over for a mini get together and impromptu bbq's and with my patio actually set up this year theres no reason to NOT host one every week. Anyways the list is great but this inspired me to make my own summer list but instead of a 100 ways it's more like 20: 


1. Perfect your own guacamole recipe


2. Make your own tortilla chips or buy tortilla chips and put your spin on it be it adding kosher salt and limes.

3. Spruce up the classic chocolate chip cookie recipe  with little nips and tucks 


4. Pick your own fruit 


5. Go to all three days of taste of danforth 

6. Bring enough cash for ribfest I'm talking $40 instead of a $20

7. Go to at least 4 restaurants in the list of 100 during Summerlicious

8. Buy a nice pitcher to put your homemade sangria, adult lemonaide, spiked punch etc.

9. Appreciate a good mimosa on a patio

10. Make your own batch of macarons

11. D.I.Y your own popsicles and freezies

12. Eat alot of gelato & froyo

13. create 100 different salads throughout the season

14. Actually have a picnic this year with the basket, blanket..the works

15. Sneak your own snacks into the movie theatre and resist the urge to buy popcorn

16. BBQ whatever veggies you can find in the fridge

17. Plant a herb garden and don't let it die

18. Cook breakfast from scratch, and I'm not talking aunt jemima's mix

19. create your own granola mix and put it in a cute mason jar

20.  Mason Jar everything and buy some cute straws!

Local Love: Kanto by Tita Flips

Filipino food is apparently FINALLY trending and I can confidentally be that person that says "I've been on that for a while now" seriously since I began to actually appreciate food... basically since birth. So you can only imagine my absolute joy to find out about Tita Flips which is located in a cute little kitchen/shack/sort of like a truck minus engines and wheels right along Dundas St W. 

Kanto by Tita Flips is managed and created by Diona Joyce who incorporates a western gourmet approach to tradional Filipino meals. She makes everything herself from her chicharon (fried pork chips) to   the crunchy peanuts. Like the food her social media & brand marketing is on point you can follow her on twitter & facebook as she always updates news, upcoming events & pictures that make me salivate. Another reason why I love going to Tita Flips is because well...she cooks just as good as my mom (love you mom!). 

 

(this right here is tapsilog which includes, fried egg, marinated beef on rice served with tomatoes, onion & garlic with vinegar)

We've been  going to Tita Flips almost every Tuesday for some Halo-Halo which is a filipino beverage/dessert perfect for a hot day and after a yummy lunch. One of my favorite items on her menu other than everything on it, is the ice candy. Words cannot describe how happy they make me and how nostalgic I get once I start eating it. They bring me back to when I was a little girl when my lola  (grandma) use to make them for us when we'd visit her in California during the summer. The ice candy is basically a filipino freezie filled with fruit juices Tita Flips has various flavors from buko (coconut milk& jelly) to mango.

You're always greeted with a smile and the smells of lechon (crispy pork) at Kanto.  Tita Flips is not only a great place to stop by for a quick lunch and a dinner-to-go but they also cater aswell so you can party with a belly full of yum!