Food...Glorious Food, Pt. 1

If we are not eating food,we are talking about food.If we aren't talking about food,we are foraging for food.

There is no greater pleasure for us when travelling,than to shop where "the people" shop.Therefore we have an affinity to rent apartments when ever we can,where we can cook for ourselves. Some may find this not only to be a chore but a HUGE bore, but nothing beats finding ourselves surrounded by foreign produce in a foreign land.
Talk about getting away from it all.

We have shopped in refrigerated shipping containers and open air stands like these in Vieques,P.R.
where produce is shipped in (literally) from the main land on odd days. You soon realize that you are on an island, therefore when they run out...you could be out of luck till ....??
The mangoes, pineapple and bananas have never tasted better,
well worth the getting out of bed for.

The joy of Sunday morning shopping (a little jet lagged) at the glorious open air
Marché Richard Lenoir, in Paris.
Where the autumn harvest, in all it's glory, is offered... all yours for the taking.

From fully prepared Cous Cous Royal, to bread, cheese, fish and even flowers to bring to "Maman"or your "appartement typique" for that long and leisurely Sunday lunch.
What could taste or be any better than that...?

Or how can one resist buying these tomatoes, in Forio, Ischia.
Add some Buffalo Mozzarella, a little basil, olive oil...heaven, for pennies.
It is often said that one eats with ones eyes first...
We heartily agree.
(barrio Abasto in Buenos Aires)

Saturday Afternoon on College Street

After seeing this you may be thinking that we have terrible eating habits. Nothing could be further from the truth, but we do admit to enjoying a diner experience from time to time. This past Saturday we were on our way to a place we've never tried before at College & Lippencott called Aunties & Uncles. (photo off the net, obviously in warmer weather)

Unfortunately there was a line & we were hungry, so we went round the corner to an old haunt from days gone by, the Mars.

It's a classic coffee shop with a lunch counter. We weren't in the mood for a huge burger platter, so we had grilled cheese. Pretty yummy...
We passed on the pies...

After lunch we did a little stroll along College Street back towards
Kensington Market.

Vintage bric-a-brac outside an old store front.

We came upon a truly old school Portuguese clothing store. As we were taking the pic above, the shopkeeper came out to tell us that it was very rude to photograph her store without first asking permission. She wanted to know what the photos were for. We assumed that an explanation of BoBo sensibilities would be a little too over the top, & opted instead to tell her that we posted images on the internet of things we liked, that we considered these discovered scenes to be art. She seemed to appreciate that & insisted we also capture her cherished Santa Maria, framed & protecting the wares in her display window, brought all the way from Portugal. We think a further visit may be in order to see the inside of the shop & perhaps conduct a little interview.

Below, more College St. storefronts

It doesn't scream "inviting" to us, but who knows what sumptuous pleasures might await behind the gate...

Looking up is a highly recommended activity!

A sad day in fashion

It was with shock and disbelief today that we read the news that Alexander McQueen,had apparently taken his own life.

His mother had recently passed away,on February 3,her funeral was to be February 12th,tomorrow. His mentor and best friend Isabella Blow, had also chosen to end her life much too soon,as well,only three years ago.

Alexander McQueen,a true fashion innovator, was known for his fantastic runway presentations and will be most remembered for his fine and exquisite tailoring.

The fashion world has lost a bright light.
R.I.P.
Alexander McQueen

1969-2010

Meanwhile in Paris...

continuing on our cycling theme...
From our friends at JAK & JIL

One sweet ride...

A while ago we heard through a popular networking site(that shall go nameless due to it's saturation point at the moment) that a new spinning club was starting up.
CYKL

We,as you probably know by now, are big into urban cycling.
We have yet to be as adventuresome as our friends at Copenhagenize,ie: biking all year long but, we must admit that since coming across this site the veritable seed has been planted...so maybe next year.
Today was opening day at CYKL!!
They are offering free introductory classes this week (Feb 8th to 14th)
We have just taken up spinning and we were curious about not only CYKL but also about the revolutionary bikes that is the basis for CYKL.

The bikes look pretty much like any spinning bikes until you get on.
THEY BANK!!
Which means that you "turn" the handle bars,leaning to the right or left while maintaining your speed.Really cool,and what a work out!
The great thing that we have discovered about spinning is that one can take it to any level that one wants.Literally.By easing or increasing the tension on your bike you are the one in control of your work-out,allowing you to push it (yes!!), as much or as little as you want.

The space has just opened up,literally,so it still has that "new" vibe.
The change rooms come equipped with with showers and lockers.
Perfect for those noon hour classes,if your lucky enough to work or live nearby.
Kim, our instructor today, in the inaugural(12:15) class, was great!
Not only giving you pointers on using these revolutionary bikes but,along with giving you a great workout, had some awesome tunes.
This is a huge bonus,because we have all attended spinning classes where the music was...
let's call it lacking.We're planning on taking full advantage of their inaugural week special.
Two big thumbs up for CYKL
Check it out...info@cykl.ca

New Feed Bag Link for the love of urban cycling

While the purpose of this blog is not one of advocacy, urban cycling does inspire us, so we are happy to include in our Feed Bag (see right) a new link to Copenhagenize, a site dedicated to promoting that cause. It is the sister site of fellow Feed Bag member Copenhagen Cycle Chic,

(pic below) already a favourite of ours.
We love the current focus at both these sites on winter cycling. Copenhagenize, in particular, has some great photos, clips & descriptions of the impressive efforts the city puts into clearing snow from bike paths. Keeping the bikes moving is priority #1.

At a time when a certain candidate in Toronto's upcoming mayoral election is seeking to use bike lanes as a wedge to be driven between city & suburban voters, and when the usual excuse from all sides as to insufficient funding of our bike routes is that "Toronto is a winter city", it is inspiring to see that at least one major metropolis with a wintery climate refuses to let weather weaken its imagination.

Time to start jammin'

Seville oranges have made their annual return to the 'hood!

We must admit that we have not tried this particular recipe, (ours involves almost 3 days of cooking and a shot of scotch at the end...in the recipe, not for the cook) but rest assured that it does come with a fine pedigree, from one of the truly best chefs in the city. (he does make rather an "industrial quantity" but you can always cut it to your needs) Tart and sweet,this jam is a bit of a challenge to make but the results are glorious. We always try to use seasonal ingredients,and these now are. They are relatively inexpensive, so give it a try. Think of the bragging rights you'll inherit at your next brunch!

Saturday Lunch at Pho Hung

What could possibly be better on a very frosty Saturday afternoon than a bowl of steaming Pho? We frequently find ourselves at Pho Hung in Spadina/Dundas Chinatown.

We first heard about this place years ago in the form of a recommendation in the book"Hot, Sour Salty, Sweet" by local globe-trotting food writers Jeffrey Alford & Naomi Duguid. Asked where they go when at home to get the "real thing" they claimed this as their fave.

Above, a basic chicken pho (this is the small!). To the side, crispy vegetable rolls.
Above, Chicken curry.
Now it's off to the Chinese supermarket to pick up a few pantry provisions...

Pizza Night

Friday night pizza is a longstanding tradition in our household. For many years we struggled to find a delivery service that was up to our impossible standards- thin crispy crust, arriving hot but not soggy. Understandably, no one was up to the challenge.

For a while we would walk up the block to Hornero, a local hole in the wall that turned out a very acceptable wood-fire baked pie. (Incidentally, the family that owns the place hails from Argentina- we weren't aware till we visited Buenos Aires that this confers credibility in the pizza- making world almost as golden as Italian pedigree) But we quickly tired of having to make the outing, and we were paying the restaurant price for take away, which hurt a bit.

We had played around with making our own a few times, but about a year ago we got into the regular habit. And it seems like we're not alone!

Our friend Kiira over at Eat and Greet recently had a great post on a pizza smack down she competed in (pic below from her post)

If you want a little fun, take her challenge & vote your selection at her blog.

Our weekly efforts are a little more lazy. We've fallen into a bit of a rut lately, albeit a very tasty one. A while back we did our own taste-off & really liked this one, originally from Bon Appétit (January 2008) and found on Epicurious. We substitute cremini mushrooms for chanterelles & prosciutto or jamon serrano for pancetta. We have also chosen to eliminate the mozzarella (sacrilege to some, we're sure), finding the finished product to have been smothered by all the formaggio. And somehow, we've come to regularly add a bit of roasted sweet red pepper.
But that's the beauty of home made, isn't it? You can play around with the ingredients as often as you like & never get bored.

A foolproof pizza dough recipe from Martha Stewart is the base. Each batch of dough will make about 4 weeks' worth of pies. We separate into individual balls & throw it into the freezer where it keeps like a dream.

Above- Ready for our humble electric oven.
Below- 20 minutes later.

Of course, individual preferences must be catered-to! One of us likes the full-on arugula leaf while the other prefers it like a chopped herb topping

Last night we cracked a bottle of Sangiovese- Merlot blend recommended recently by our friend elle.elle. Served up in our trusty Riedel Syrah stems, it was a perfect match. (more on the wine in a future post)

And with pie on plate & wine in hand we settled-in for Friday night's essential viewing!

http://www.copenhagencyclechic.com/

We continue to love this site.
Seems they have embraced the fact that they live in a cold climate and are not constantly belly aching about it,all the while looking pretty fab, on their chosen mode of transpo.. their bikes.
Somehow society as we know it has not ceased to function.
Check it out in FEED BAG...(just to the right)