Lasagna

Tonight we had lasagna with Italian sausage, beef, cottage cheese and spinach for dinner. My husband served it with garlic and parmesan pumpernickel bread. Unfortunately I wasn't home when he was making it, so I didn't get all the details and shots in between. Hmmm, I wonder if he did that on purpose! I did get a tidbit of why it was so flavourful. Lots of garlic and a little tarragon. It was heavenly, and the perfect comfort food on a cold rainy day.

Fried Green Tomatoes

We've got a bunch of tomatoes from our garden that will just not ripen. So tonight, my husband fried them up and served them with a cauliflower and cumin soup from The Red Apron. It was very easy (from what I could tell), and very yummy.

What you’ll need

Sliced green tomatoes

1 egg

Herbs and spices

Cornmeal

Salt and pepper

Blue cheese dressing

Chives 

What to do

Mix the herbs, spices, cornmeal and salt and pepper together. Coat the tomato in the egg, then dredge it in the cornmeal mixture. Then cook them in the frying pan. 

Sprinkle them with blue cheese dressing and some chives.

Total time, approximately 20 minutes.

Smoked Salmon Sandwich

Ok, so the theme of this weekend is smoked fish. You've seen my lox breakfast. You've read about my smoked trout, mackerel and salmon. You didn't see the smoked fish platter my friends and I purchased at La Boucanerie Chelsea that was amazing, but that's ok. And now, my lunch for tomorrow is a maple smoked salmon sandwich on multigrain bread with cream cheese, cucumber, capers, sprouts and red onion. Hey, when you've got something good going why end it?

Le Château Montebello – Montebello

$$$

Sunday brunch at le Château Montebello is the best buffet for the price by far. Since I already had breakfast today, we'll call this one lunch. It's available every Sunday at 11:30am and 1:30pm and costs $39.50. This is not your average buffet. You get a pretty elaborate spread – which makes it very hard to decide what you're going to eat. They have everything from quail and lamb to seafood, cheese and desserts. I didn't even look at a couple of the tables for fear i'd find something else I wanted. I had a few salads, one being a delicious oriental salad made with beet greens, peppers and almonds as well as a lobster salad that was fantastic. I also had some pickled beets and scalloped potatoes. This is all beginning to sound quite random I know. That's how I started off. Then I got a little more specific. I filled my second plate with seafood, which consisted of smoked mackerel, smoked trout, stuffed smoked trout, smoked salmon, shrimp, crab and seafood sauce. Then I went for a third plate, which included patés and terrines made with duck and ostrich and some baby gherkins and pickled onions as well as blue St. Benedictine cheese and Gouda. My final plate was the perfect ending. I had strawberries and bananas with warm chocolate sauce and crepes with local maple syrup. Trust me, the crème caramel, apple pie, sugar pie, etc, were very hard to pass up. But I just couldn't go any further. If you feel like taking a nice Sunday drive, followed by an amazing brunch and then just relax for the afternoon, this is a great place to go. I went there today with a really good friend of mine that I hadn't seen in a while. After stuffing our faces we took a nice walk along the water then went back into the foyer and had a glass of port. We spent 4 hours there and it was probably one of the best afternoons i've had in a while. As soon as you drive onto the property you immediately feel relaxed. I'll probably have to go more often. Just a side note too, if you park in the lot bring your card inside, they will validate it for you so the parking is free.

www.fairmont.com/montebello

Maple Lox with Cream Cheese and Capers

I've labeled this under Misc Food because my husband didn't prepare it for me. I know, it's hard to believe. And yes, I do actually prepare food for myself on occasion. Although it's very rare. I bought the maple smoked salmon at La Boucanerie Chelsea yesterday. God I love that place. Add a Montreal bagel, cream cheese, red onion, capers and sprouts and you've got an awesome Sunday morning breakfast.

$3 In – Café Soup‘Herbe

Well, it took a while, but i've finally gotten my first Tip Jar submission. I'm sad to say the culprit is Café Soup‘Herbe. I've now removed them from my favorite places to eat right now list. I still love the food. And I will go again. But I couldn't for the life of me tip our server today. We arrived and were greeted by a girl who looked like she had arrived from a different planet and had no idea how to do her job. We asked how long it would be for a table and her reaction was like we had asked her to drop her pants. Ok, maybe i'm exaggerating a little. We decided to sit outside where there were some tables available and then that was it, they forgot about us. One of us decided to remind them we were there. It took a while but we finally got our order. After going inside to get our napkins, cutlery and everything else we needed we had to find our server yet again to get some bread and water. I had had a late breakfast so I only ordered the Peanut Curry Soup, which was delicious, so that, along with my drink and half of my friend's lunch cost (it's day 2 of her birthday) came to $20. It didn't even seem worth it to tip 10%. So 15% has now been added to the Tip Jar.

Soft Scrambled Eggs with Chives

Did I mention my husband also cooks amazing breakfasts? This morning I got home from walking my dog and there it was, soft scrambled eggs with chives on whole grain toast with tomato from our garden and a piece of La vache qui rit cheese. I caught the drool forming at my mouth with my first bite. It was delicious. I don't have the recipe for this one as it's pretty obvious I think. But this proves right here that presentation is everything! Don't get me wrong though, if there was no presentation, i'd still love it.