Chudleighs

October is usually my favourite month, but it fell in the rankings this year because I was knocked out with a bad cold for the first two weeks. There were a couple of super fun foodie events towards the end of the month to make up for it though:

  • Thanksgiving was a bust for me this year, because like I mentioned, I was dealing with a cold, and by that point I had lost all sense of smell. My Mom hosted this year and made the turkey, but I did a few of the same sides as last year: stuffing, mashed potatoes and sweet potatoes with pecan streusel topping. I also made homemade cranberry sauce (recipe on the bag of the bag + orange juice and zest), plus this Butterscotch Cream Pie for dessert. I had more on my list (cornbread and sausage stuffing, honey yeast rolls, pumpkin pie with praline topping), but because I wasn’t feeling 100%, I just couldn’t do it all. Next year for sure.
  • My Mom and I went apple picking at Chudleigh’s on my birthday and had a delightful time. The three varieties we picked were Fuji, Mutsu (also known as Crispin) and Ambrosia. Apparently Ambrosia is the new premium apple, and I’m a fan. It’s crispy and juicy, with almost floral undertones. I made a Breakfast Apple Granola Crisp (this recipe, but with apples) and these muffins, and ate the rest. My Mom and Dad made an apple pie, and texted me photos throughout the process. It was so cute, I teared up. My little food bloggers!
  • Last Thanksgiving while my family was all watching the Jays playoff game, I introduced my niece Amy to How to Cake It, and she’s been watching the videos ever since. So of course we had to go meet Yolanda on her book tour! We (and my sister-in-law Debbie) went to Yorkdale and got to meet Yo (and Jocelyn!) and get our books signed. Highlight of the night was Amy correcting her Mom “it’s fon-dent, Mom, NOT fon-dant”. I told Amy to pick something out of the book for us to make, but to please stick to the “Caking Your First Steps” section, instead of the “Cake it up a Notch” or “Cake it to the Limit” sections. I’ll keep you posted!
  • Next up, honestly, one of the happiest moments of the year for me: I went to see Deb on her book tour for her second cookbook: Smitten Kitchen Everyday. This deserves a whole post of it’s own, which I’ll get to soon.

Other non-foodie things I was obsessed with this month:

  • Lydia and I went to a taping of The Bachelor Canada After Show, and it was everything I hoped for and more. We got to meet Kaitlyn Bristowe (former Bachelorette in the US) and last year’s Bachelorette Canada, Jasmine Lorimer, and she was so sweet. This is honestly the closest we’re getting to Chris Harrison and the tea light thunderdome, and we loved every minute.
  • I binged on Stranger Things 2 over the course of the weekend it came out and was OBSESSED! I thought it was so great, maybe even better than Season 1! Living for Sean Astin and his Goonies joke; I LOLed for real at my TV.
  • The Ringer has this new amazing podcast called The Rewatchables where they review movies from the 90s and 00s and it’s pure nostalgia for me, and so great. Just in time for Halloween they did Scream, which I then watched on demand once I listened to it. I forgot how many times I watched this movie back in they day, which is weird because I hate horror movies. But this was a great re-watch and totally holds up. Other recent ones I liked were for Titanic, Clueless and The Departed.

Flashback!