Cute Donuts

After a low-key start to the summer, things really kicked into high gear over here. July felt long, hot and full of fun. Here’s what was happening on the foodie front:

  • The Food Blogger Mafia descended on Taste of Toronto and unleashed a high degree of food snobbery all up in there. My favourite savoury dish was from Montecito; a meatball in tomato sauce on top of polenta. Sounds simple, but it was perfectly executed. Every dessert we tried was a disappointment though. I don’t know if I’d go back next year.
  • My new work friend Sarah organized after work drinks at El Patio, a hidden gem up behind El Caballito where there are pitchers of boozy, slushy drinks and a food truck serving tacos and patatas bravas. Definitely gotta go back.
  • I spent a Saturday afternoon at my friend Janelle’s house baking with her two little girls, and we had so much fun. We made S’mores Cracker Candy and chocolate chip cookies with lots of sprinkles.
  • I *finally* went to Playa Cabana (the Hacienda location) and it deserves all the hype! My favourite taco I tried was the crispy short rib one, and then we had CHURROS POUTINE for dessert. This means churros (fries) with caramel sauce (gravy) and marshmallows (cheese curds). Yasssss.
  • Christina hosted us for a barbecue at her house, but instead of burgers and hot dogs, she put her pizza stone on the grill, mixed up a huge batch of dough, and we all got to make our own personal pizzas. It was so much fun! Heather brought all kinds of drinks, Lou brought a caramelized onion and bacon dip, Meg brought a super garlicky caesar salad (with avocado in the dressing! and brioche croutons!), Jenny brought treats from Kelly’s Bake Shoppe, Brit brought the donuts you see pictured up above and I brought a Baked Sunday Morning project you’ll see this week.

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

  • My friend Alexis is a teacher, so she’s off for the summer and has organized Kristine’s and my entire summer movie going schedule. This month we saw Magic Mike, Trainwreck and Southpaw, which has refreshed my Jake Gyllenhaal obsession in a very real and time-consuming way.
  • Pan Am fever overtook Toronto, and I got to see some gymnastics which was super fun, but kind of hard to watch in person! So much happening at once!
  • Kristine and I went to see Kelly Clarkson last weekend at Molson Amphitheatre. Kelly, we love you, but you need a new stylist!
  • I have your must read of the summer right here: Luckiest Girl Alive by Jessica Knoll. It’s engrossing, disturbing, fascinating and disgusting all at the same time. Read it and let’s discuss.

I’ve been writing these monthly recaps for two years now! Crazy! Here’s a flashback: