I tried to soak up all the sun I could this month, and I even went on a little trip! It was so much fun to get out of town, even for a long weekend. Here’s what I was eating while I was home:

  • On the day of the Rogers outage, Alexis and I headed to The Weeknd concert (which was cancelled, whomp whomp), but we had such a fun dinner at Milagro beforehand! We both had gigantic mango margaritas, shared guac and chips and then each had enchiladas. I never think of going here for dinner except before events at SkyDome because it’s so close by, but I should really go more often.
  • It was Heather’s birthday so we celebrated with dinner at Mesa (more Mexican!) and then dessert at Undefined, which I am now obsessed with. Already decided we’ll go back here for dinner on my birthday!
  • Judy came over to watch The Bachelorette premiere and I made us a couple of things from Gaby’s cookbook: Caramelized Onion & Chive Dip (with chips, veg and pretzels for dipping) and Parmesan Pizza Popcorn. We also had a PC flatbread (underwhelming) and some warm peanut butter cookies for dessert.
  • Heather and I did a little stateside shopping trip to Target and Trader Joe’s, and of course I picked up Crumbl Cookies again! Here are the flavours I got this time around: Frosted Strawberry Pop-Tart (AMAZING!), Double Fudge Brownie, Chocolate Toffee Cake and Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip. This would be a problem if they were in Toronto.
  • We also went to Olive Garden for lunch while we were there and I took one bite of Chicken Parm and said: “It tastes like high school!”. And that garden salad and breadstick combo is UNMATCHED! Pure nostalgia and comfort; I was so happy.
  • Kristine is moving, so we spent one last afternoon by the pool at her apartment and poured one out for the 10 years she’s lived there. Nothing like a little champs and chips for some high/low poolside snacks (pictured above!).
  • We had a big family BBQ and I made this unfortunately named cake that I bookmarked at some point during a lockdown when I saw The Pioneer Woman make it on her show. It reminded me so much of 5 Cup Salad (mandarin oranges and pineapple). Next summer I’ll find a way to make it without cake mix, and incorporate coconut and fruity marshmallows!
  • Here’s my recipe round-up for the month (although tbh, I didn’t cook that much because I ate out a lot, was on vacation or was house-sitting!):
  • Stuff I made from the archives: Panko Crusted Baked Salmon, BBQ Chicken Salad Bowls, Caesar Salad
  • Some of my favourite go-to dishes: Honey Garlic Shrimp, Country French Omelette
  • New things that I tried and liked: Dill Pickle Chicken Salad
  • Homemade Snacks! (a new category for as long as I keep making them): Peanut Butter Oatmeal Energy Bites

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

  • Like I mentioned up top, my first concert of the month was cancelled, but I still made a triumphant return to concerts because Sarah and I went to see Dua Lipa! I listened to Dua A LOT during various quarantines/lockdowns over the past two years, so it was wild to be singing and dancing to all her songs with all of Toronto around me. So much fun!
  • When I was in Edmonton, Danielle and I went to see Where the Crawdads Sing. We both loved the book but agreed the movie was too long (two and a half hours) and paced in a weird way.
  • I read a couple of books I loved this month (Funny You Should Ask, Honey & Spice), one that was a good read, but not a must read (Flying Solo) and one that was fine, but contains one of my most detested pop culture plot devices so I can’t really recommend it (Every Summer After).

Flashback!