I love summertime and this month was filled with so many adventures, good eats, concerts and even a lot of cooking. Here’s the breakdown:
- The month kicked off with a pre-Beyonce hype dinner a few days before the concert with my friends from work who were also going. We went to Soos on Ossington which I had never heard of before, but I trust all of Jess’ suggestions, and it was OUTSTANDING! We shared a bunch of things like Dahl & Roti, Sarawak Pepper Prawns, Prosperity Tossed Slaw and Char Kway Teow. Would love to go back again.
- Every summer I want to go strawberry picking, but I don’t want it to be a thing, meaning I don’t want to pay to get into a farm, then pay again for a basket, plus have it be crazy busy with people everywhere (coughChudleighscough). My friend Meg gave me the absolute best recommendation: Uncle Scott’s Farm in Burlington. I actually went on a Friday after work when I had had a rough day and it was the perfect way to destress, be in nature, and end up with a beautiful basket of delicious strawberries. This place is so low-key; you just roll in, buy a basket from a person at a stand, and head out to do your thing. New summer tradition for sure.
- Once Heather and I dropped off this summer’s Wedding Cake, we went to Sugo for a late lunch and it was an absolute FEAST. I’ve wanted to go here for a while, but they don’t take reservations and the line is always insane, but at 3:00 on Friday afternoon, we walked right in. We shared Garlic Bread, Caesar Salad, Rigatoni (with rose sauce) and a Chicken Parm Sandwich. Everything was SO good.
- It’s nice having friends in high places, and Heather had media passes to the Crumbl Cookies Canada Launch Party at the Four Seasons Hotel this month! We’ve been going to Crumbl on our cross-border shopping trips since the borders re-opened, so of I got the +1 (yay!). It was so much fun, and we got to try a bunch of the new Canadian-influenced cookie flavours, plus meet the co-founder of Crumbl, the COO, and Tobias freaking Harris (Raptors nemesis and co-owner of the first Ontario location opening up in Heartland Town Centre at the end of July.
- My friend Nat and I met up at Paradise Grotto for a post-wedding & honeymoon debrief. This is where the old Parlour used to be (where I went for an event with Carole way back in the old-FBC days) and has a cute hidden patio in the back. We loved our drinks, but the food kind of underwhelming (but it was their first week open, so I’ll give them some grace).
- I had the last week of July off for a staycation and had the best week off (more on that below), and went to a few places in Mississauga/Etobicoke that I’ve always wanted to try: Back Road Coffee Roasters (delicious iced latte + berry scone), Rosie’s Burgers (smash burger + fries) and Sanremo Bakery (assorted doughnuts, lol).
- Lastly, just a shoutout to this fun Summer Bingo Card that Pinch of Yum made, which kept me interested in cooking throughout the month – something that normally goes away as soon as it gets super hot out. All the things I made are linked below!
- Here’s my regular recipe round-up:
- Stuff I made from the archives: My Favourite Buttermilk Pancakes, BBQ Chicken Salad, Sante Fe Salad
- Some of my favourite go-to dishes: Cashew Crunch Salad (now blogged!)
- New things that I tried and liked: Chili Lime Shrimp Tacos, Lettuce Wraps with Lime Drench, BBQ Salmon Bowls with Mango Avocado Salsa
- Recipes from Smitten Kitchen Keepers (listing them here instead of blogging about them all separately): Zucchini Cornbread & Roasted Tomato Butter
- Homemade Snacks: Peanut Butter Oatmeal Energy Bites, Zucchini Muffins
Other non-foodie things I was obsessed with this month:
- The Renaissance World Tour rolled into Toronto and Alexis and I rolled into SkyDome ready to dance and sing our faces off. Unreal to finally see Bey perform songs I’ve been listening to nonstop for a whole year! I also saw Pink at the end of the month for the first time and it was SO FUN! Been wanting to see her ever since my old boss screwed me out of tickets for her concert in 2013 (not that I hold a grudge or anything!).
- I crossed something of my 2022 Summer Bucket List (better late than never) which was to go to Symphony in the Gardens at Casa Loma! The theme our night was Broadway, and we had so much fun sitting under the stars and sipping on rose on a lovely summer night.
- My friend from work had the most cute, fun, PINK Barbie Party where we drank pink cocktails, ate snacks, played Barbie trivia and dressed up some Barbies before going to see the movie. SO fun!
- I read A LOT this month since I had a week off, but there were really only two standouts: It Happened One Summer by Tessa Bailey (a fun summer romance) and The Whispers by Ashley Audrain (hard to describe, kind of a domestic thriller).
Flashback!
- One year ago [July 2022]
- Two years ago [July 2021]
- Three years ago [July 2020]
- Four years ago [July 2019]
- Five years ago [July 2018]
- Six years ago [July 2017]
- Seven years ago [July 2016]
- Eight years ago [July 2015]
- Nine years ago [July 2014]
- Ten years ago [July 2013]
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