The Pie Commission, Etobicoke

When you run a blog called The Snack Department, you can bet that a visit to a place like The Pie Commission is pretty high on the priority list...

Trick or Treat.

One of the best parts of working in an art organization is the abundance of creative energy that gets channelled into every little thing including our annual Halloween potluck!

From zombie cake pops to creepy-crawly crackers, here are some snapshots of my favourite Halloween-themed dishes from this year.

Spooky and punny, these zombie cake pops were apparently a cinch to make thanks to a Babycakes Cake Pop machine and a handful of colourful paper straws embedded in cobweb-covered craft foam.

Chocolate pudding "dirt", eerie chocolate trees and cookie headstones...what's not to love in this no-bake Halloween graveyard dessert? Oh yes, the unmarked cookie headstones actually mark the dairy-free pudding cups that were made with almond or rice milk - how terrifyingly thoughtful!

These creepy-crawly spider crackers were way cuter than their namesake. With salty pretzel legs, sweet raisin eyes and velvety cream cheese sandwiched between buttery "body" crackers, this simple snack hits the spot while being festive and easy enough for kids to make too.  

How did you celebrate Halloween this year?

♥

Saturday Sammie: Gluten-free BLT

Between the cold weather and two delicious holidays (Thanksgiving and Christmas), it can be hard to indulge in your favourite fall comfort foods without going totally overboard. That's why I recently gave one of my favourite sammies a healthier makeover; save on the bread and splurge on the bacon with this gluten-free BLT!

For my first foray into gluten-free bread, I used this paleo recipe from Elana's Pantry (spotted on goop.com), which swaps out regular white flour for protein-rich almond flour and golden flaxseed meal instead.

Simply pulse the nine ingredients needed in the food processor and then pour the batter into a greased loaf pan (coconut oil works great here too!)

Boston Eats: Chowda, Cannoli & that Elusive Donut...

Because every trip I take seems to turn into a foodie trip, I thought I'd share some of the delicious eats I encountered on a recent trip to the beautiful city of Boston!

Before arriving in Boston, I wasn't really sure what the largest city in New England had to offer up besides seafood. I mean Chicago has deep dish pizza, Philadelphia has cheesesteak, but what else did Boston own the bragging rights to?

After a little online digging and a lot of hitting the streets and taste testing, it turns out there are so many local gems that Boston can be proud of. Here are some of the ones I discovered and at the end of this list, some of the spots I missed but will need to save for my next trip!

I Survived The Grid T.O.'s Burger Week!

The Grid TO's 2nd annual Burger Week came to a close last night and I'm happy to report I successfully tripled my burger intake this year without dying. (Don't worry, I only tried one place last year so I haven't embarked on a second career as the successor to Man vs. Food - yet.)

Similar to Summerlicious, Burger Week is a great excuse to round up friends for burgers and pints at restaurants both old and new. Thanks to my burger buddies and inadvertently my parents ("oh are you going out to eat burgers again? Bring us back one!") who helped round up the troops and keep up morale.

Here are some snapshots of the places we visited:

Bring on the Burgers!

What news had me grinning from ear to ear this morning? The return of The Grid TO's second annual Burger Week of course!

From Wednesday, May 29 - Saturday, June 1, restaurants across Toronto will be offering a special $5 burger on their menu to whet your appetite. (And lest you think you'll get stuck with the same pub burger everywhere you go, samples from last year's event include Keriwa's bison burger with grilled wild-leek aioli and Saskatoon berry chutney on a red-fife bannock bun and The Beet's lamb burger with apricot chutney, Quebec mozzarella and pickled jalapeno, etc.)

If plotted and portioned correctly, the mid-week meat love-in should prepare you for the culminating Burger Day at the Artscape Wychwood Barns on Sunday, June 2 from 11:30 am - 7:00 pm. (Effectively answering the question: "What would be better than burgers? More burgers of course.")

Expect a beer garden, a street party, and approximately 40,000 sliders as the participating vendor count doubles at this year's event. A portion of proceeds goes to support The Stop Community Food Centre, Artscape, and the children's play centre at the Artscape Wychwood Barns so you can chow down guilt-free! Or on a financial level anyways...no guarantees for your arteries hehe.

Although this year's burger creations are yet to be revealed (update: menus now posted), I'm already super excited to see the following vendors on this year's list:

• Barque Smokehouse
• The Beet
• Fidel Gastro's
• Goods & Provisions
• Prohibition Gastropub
• Rock Lobster Food Co
• The Samuel J. Moore
• The Stockyards
• This End Up *

(* Personal favourite; already the winner of multiple "best burger" awards and the home of a to-die-for fried chicken thigh sandwich.)

I will keep you posted as I get more scoop!  In the meantime, make sure you mark off all of these dates on your smartphone and see you all at Burger Day on Sunday, June 2nd!

Happy Wednesday!

♥


(Photo by The Grid TO.)

Foodie Calendar: Toronto Food Fest

If you're in the east end of town today, you'll want to check out the inaugural Toronto Food Fest happening at the Chinese Cultural Centre from 1:00 - 6:00 pm! The festival boasts a curated collection of vendors who were invited based on their popularity in user-driven sites like BlogTO and larger media outlets like Toronto Life.

Some of the featured eats include:

- Rodney’s Oyster House: Voted #2 in GTA for their oysters - BlogTO

- Smoke's Poutinerie Truck: Voted #2 in GTA for their poutine - BlogTO

- Mary Macleod Shortbread: The best shortbread cookie in the GTA - TorontoLife

- Big Moe's Burgers: Top burger in Scarborough - BlogTO

- Patisserie Royale: #1 in GTA for their Middle Eastern pastries - BlogTO

- Casa Manila: #1 Filipino restaurant in GTA - BlogTO

- Marathon Donuts & Coffee Shop: Internationally famous Hong Kong milk tea - Toronto Star 

So whip out your appetites (and your cameras) and come out to support the newest arrival to our Toronto foodie scene :)

Happy Sunday!

♥

(Photo by Toronto Food Fest)

Burger Week Toronto 2012

Carnivores unite! Today marks the official kick-off for The Grid's very first Burger Week in Toronto. From Wednesday, May 30 - Saturday, June 2, 2012, eighteen of the city's finest patty purveyors will be serving up a special $5 burger on their menu.

Here are three of my top picks from the impressive list of participating restaurants:

The Beet (The Junction, 2945 Dundas St. W)

• Organic lamb burger with apricot chutney, Quebec mozzarella, and pickled jalapeno

Keriwa Cafe (Parkdale, 1690 Queen St. W)

• Bison burger with Saskatoon berry chutney, wild leeks, aioli, and Thunder Oak gouda on a red fife bannock bun

The Stockyards (Wychwood, 699 St. Clair Ave. W)

• Beef burger with house-made smoked American-style cheese, pickled sweet onion, and brown butter cornichon aioli

For burger connoisseurs who prefer their charboiled classics with a gourmet twist, the event also features five Black-Tie Burgers ranging from $13 - $28. Incorporating ingredients like short rib, Stilton, ground pork belly, and wild leek aioli, $5 from the sale of each Black-Tie Burger will go to support The Stop Community Food Centre.

Can't make it out to to 20+ burger shops in four days? Don't fret! Burger Week culminates in a Burger Day at the Artscape Wychwood Barns on Sunday, June 3 from 11:30 am - 4:30 pm, complete with musicians, guest speakers, and of course, sliders ($3) and beer ($5).

So what are you waiting for? Cheers to the (early) weekend!

♥

(Image by The Grid TO)

Homework + Late Nights = Cupcake ATM

Sorry for the long absence from the blog! I recently started a copyediting course at George Brown College and it's been swallowing up a lot of my time, especially when you take into account minutes spent working and minutes spent procrastinating ;) One of the best things I found on one of my mini study breaks is this gorgeous cupcake ATM in Beverly Hills, California:

Serving up fresh Sprinkles Cupcakes 24/7, the address you need to punch into your smartphone right now (if you're lucky enough to live near Beverly Hills) is 9635 South Santa Monica Blvd, Beverly Hills, California 90210 :)

But don't take my word for it, see the cupcake ATM in action for yourself!  

(My favourite part is when the pink door turns around Price is Right style to reveal your purchase!)

So let's brainstorm friends...how do we get Sprinkles to open a cupcake ATM in our neighbourhood??

♥

(Photo & video by Sprinkles Cupcakes)

YumTum Strategy Guide: March 2012

It's that time again...for the next edition of the Toronto Underground Market! With so many delicious things to eat, a tummy space strategy is an absolute must and I think I may have devised a suitable attack plan ;)

1) Bring lots of friends (or a very hungry friend) to share food with - For my first TUM, I partnered with a fellow foodie and together we were able to sample 8 different dishes by splitting everything in half. Great teamwork!

For my second TUM, I got greedy and didn't share anything so was only able to try 3 different items - an epic fail since I supposedly missed out on a very delicious pierogi poutine :(

2) Take advantage of the sneak peek album on Facebook and rely on your friendly neighbourhood blogger to unofficially scour the Internet for additional info on vendor menus - I can't guarantee this info will be 100% accurate upon arrival, but my efforts most definitely come from my tummy! Or err...my heart :)

Here are my top picks for Sunday!

ESE 

(L.A. style Mexican Food)

Torta Ahogada "Drowned Sandwich" 

(with honey chipotle glaze, Mexican pulled pork, spicy Latin slaw)

Photo Credit: ESE

Huitlacoche "Mexican Truffle" Taquito

(with yuca and queso, garnish of pickled onions, salsa de tomatillo con chile de arbol)

Photo Credit: ESE

Saffron Infused Horchata

(sweetened spiced rice milk)

Photo Credit: ESE

The Beech Tree

(English pub food)

Fish & Chips

(cod fish cakes, green pea pesto, handmade tartar sauce, hand-cut chips)

Photo Credit: The Beech Tree

Welsh Rarebit Fry-up

(hand-cut chips, flame scorched Collier's Welsh cheddar sauce garnished with sauteed leeks & double smoked bacon lardons)

Photo Credit: The Beech Tree

Victory Garden Croquettes

(panko-crusted zucchini fritters with horseradish & herb yogurt sauce garnished with radish remoulade)

 Photo Credit: The Beech Tree 

Comida del Pueblo

(Latin inspired street food)

Cornbread Grilled Cheese Sandwich

(refried beans, caramelized onions with chipotle, guacamole and sour cream)

Photo Credit: Comida del Pueblo

If you can't make it to YumTum tonight, I'll also be live tweeting the event over @laimai and @thesummersocial too!

xo.

Best Foodie Hack of the Week

I was thrilled when my cousin got me this Babycakes Whoopie Pie Maker for Christmas:

But I think I nearly died when I found out that you could also make your own breakfast sandwiches in a few minutes flat!!

Brunch party at my house!  I'll cook  ;)

xo.

(Images by Babycakes)

Missing ma petite boîte jaune...

Dear St. Hubert,

If your little yellow box would ever like to come visit me in Ontario, I would gladly welcome you into my home and tummy.

You see, in addition to being portable and adorable to carry, you're also quite a bit more eco-friendly than most of your modern counterparts. Mad props too on that snappy and cheerful video you made telling us all about it :)