I tried to squeeze as much summer out of July as possible, and I did a pretty good job, while still cooking quite a bit at home. Here are my notes from the peak of summer:

  • Jess and I went to The Ace for brunch (pictured above) and it was so great. We shared a mushroom omelet and rhubarb pistachio french toast and I was in heaven. This is Jess’ favourite brunch in her neighbourhood and I was so excited to experience it with her.
  • My co-worker had a baby and instead of bringing her something practical like a freezer meal or healthy snacks, I made her the best Chocolate Chip Cookies in history. I had been cleaning out some baking stuff and realized I never used the dark chocolate discs I bought in Brooklyn at Jacques Torres last year, and thought this would be the perfect occasion to use them up. She loved them!
  • Kristine and I went to check out the new fancy food court at The Well after we went to see Emily Giffin at the Indigo there (we’re OG fans). I had Gus Tacos (pollo tacos with some guac & chips), but it was so hard decide because there are so many places to choose from.
  • Jen, Krishna and I went to hang out at Stonehooker Brewing Company in Etobicoke on a sunny Saturday afternoon, which was so nice. They have live music, an outdoor pizza oven and lots of drinks to choose from. Bonus for being dog friendly so Jen’s puppy Barli could come with us (the only dog on earth that I like!).
  • I moved into Lydia’s for my annual cat-sitting gig, and I was so excited this year because I got to try out her Air Fryer! I only ended up testing out one thing, which was this Pinch of Yum recipe, and it was SO good. Crispy on the outside, juicy on the inside, and perfect on top of a salad. I think I might want one now….
  • I went back to The Well at the end of the month with my co-worker/friend Adrienne, so she could try Mandy’s and I had the exact same thing that I had back in March! I need to figure out to make the peanut mock chicken (which is tofu), and luckily Adrienne has the Mandy’s cookbook to loan me!
  • Now here’s my regular recipe round-up for the month:
  • Stuff I made from the archives: Egg Bites, BBQ Salmon Tacos, Sante Fe Salad, Chicken Shawarma Hummus Bowl, Cashew Crunch Salad
  • Some of my favourite go-to dishes: HSE Summer Salad
  • New things that I tried and liked: Sweet Potato Burger Bowls (no real recipe here), Black Bean Crunchwrap Supreme, Air Fryer Chicken
  • Homemade Snacks: Peanut Butter Oatmeal Energy Bites, Zucchini Muffins

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

  • My friend Mia and I took a Summer Day off work to do something that has been on my Summer Bucket List every year for literally the past 10 years. We went to Centre Island to ride bikes! It was a Summer dream come true! I have always wanted to do this, but summer weekends are SO busy on the island, so we went on a Wednesday morning and it was perfect. We ended up renting a tandem bike (the side-by-side kind) so we could ride and talk the whole way and it was so, so nice, and we had sun the entire time. Hopefully it’s a new Summer tradition.
  • Our sweet angel Maxine is moving to London and her work party was Taylor Swift themed (End of an Era: Maxine’s Version). There were eras nametags, a friendship-bracelet making station, Lavender Haze drinks and heart shaped sunglasses. Very cute, even though mostly lost on me! Going to miss her so much.
  • I had a real mixed back of reading this month. First up was Not in Love by Ali Hazelwood, which was definitely not my fave of hers, and I wouldn’t necessarily recommend (read The Love Hypothesis instead!). I then read a book for my work Book Club called Hotline, which was alright, but more of a Fall/Winter read. Next up was a book that will definitely end up in my Top 5 for the entire year: The Cliffs by J. Courtney Sullivan. I seriously could not put this book down, and was just so engrossed in it. Finally, a polarizing read, Real Americans by Rachel Khong. This is a good Book Club book because there’s so much to discuss, but I can see how people will either love it or hate it. I

Flashback!