Zucchini Pancakes with Lemon Basil Aioli

As promised :) Please excuse crappy photo quality-I had my camera set to the lowest possible resolution.

This recipe was inspired by the fabulous Cannelle et Vanille, but I added a few of my own tweaks here and there. Make sure to use zucchini which are no more than 4" long because baby zuchs are the most flavourful. I used a gigantic pattypan squash that I picked up at the Dufferin Park farmer's market however, so feel free to experiment with the most flavourful gourds you can get your paws on.

By the way a quick word on the photo: I had a much better photo of all of my ingredients, but it didn't include a certain kitty pretending like he's totally not invading the shot. Nice try, Pumpkin, but I'm on to you.

Bits and Baubles: Rings

Not mine. Although I wish the fab emeralds were...

There are times when I am knee-deep in work that I just want to abandon my desk and go shopping. In fact, the more tedious the work is, the more I yearn for a little (or a lot) of glamour to take the edge off of the tedium

Needless to say, while I continue to wade through a particularly gruesome paper, I thought I'd take a break and share some of the goodies I've compiled over the last little while for just such an occasion. If you've got work you'd rather avoid for a few minutes, take a little break and come dream with me :)

Tealicious

Mmmmm tea.... :) I'm, slogging my way through a paper and all I can think about is making myself some iced chai tea. My fella has some in his pantry that I love to steal. And yes, I could buy my own but it just seems more special to be able to have it when I come over to see him :)

image and a great chai recipe found here

The tea in question is known in these parts as Texas Chainsaw Massacre, and we found it at a fantastic tea shop in Toronto called David's Tea. This Chai blend is your classic combo of black tea with cinnamon, cloves and nutmeg, and is best steeped in a pot of hot milk with a touch of honey. The thing I love most about chai is how multifaceted the taste is: spicy, warm, earthy, and refreshing all at the same time. I highly recommend picking up some chai if you're trying to cut down on coffee consumption or if you like hot cocoa but want to try something new. Actually, while we're on the subject of sweet stuff, why not check out the caramel rooibos? It's smooth and creamy-tasting and will make you go nuts-in a good way. By the way, I'd like to say right now that I am in no way affiliated with David's Tea...although if they would like to compensate me for shamelessly promoting their product that'd be just fine with me :P I just love tea.

I also happen to love the presentation of tea, so when the packaging and the product are gorgeous I get deliriously happy. Par example? Kusmi Teas (seeing as I've already wh0red out David's Tea enough for one blog entry). Kusmi is perhaps one of the oldest tea purveyors in the world; they offer Russian-style blends dating back to the nineteenth century. I had a taste of their Polish blend No. 18 and was in bergamot heaven. And then I saw the tin.

And then I saw their other tins. Hellooo gorgeous! I am absolutely in love with everything about this tin; the rich colours, the vintage typeface and the chinoiserie-inspired design on the label. Imperial Russian style with French flair. I want to design a room around this freaking tin. Maybe something Ottoman-inspired, with loads of purple silk throw pillows. Not unlike this completely realistic representation of life in Abu Dhabi as featured in Sex and the City 2. Eh, ok let's not go that far, but we can agree that both the tea and the movie are a heck of a lot of fun to look at. Want more? Of course you do!

See you after the jump for some more deliciousness!

Hup Holland Hup!

The World Cup Final is upon us!!! I will be expanding this entry later but I just wanna say congrats to all of the Oranje fans out there!  Holland's gonna win....I can just feel it :)

p.s. image not mine

-GT

Miso Soup and a Quinoa Salad

This is what I had for dinner tonight :)

I was feeling like something healthy so I made some quinoa salad and miso soup. Seeing as I cannot ever leave well enough alone, I also prepared some edamame and chopped up some carrots, beets, tomatoes, various herbs, and of course a lime wedge.

More photos and a recipe after the jump!

Honey Creek Acres

I am lying awake in my bed listening to the sounds of insects being zapped outside in my neighbour's yard. It's unsettling but familiar in the sense that it reminds me of lying awake listening to the bug zapper at my grandparents' old house in Ada, Michigan. It's a beautiful little town near Grand Rapids. I have a few pictures but they'll take some digging up. I'll share what I have at my immediate disposal (read: Interwebs) right now.

*UPDATED! Pics of Honey Creek Acres apres le jump*

 The covered bridge over the Thornapple River via Webshots

A view of the Grand River via Wiki Commons

Meet Pumpkin!

This is my little sister with the newest member of my family! Little Pumpkin is just 7 weeks old but she's quite the character :) More pics to come!

In other news, I am in the midst of working on another furniture reno project, which I will be soon posting a little more about in the projects section.

News from the farm is also incoming :) I have some pictures of my seedlings to share :) It will have to wait until tomorrow though, because the files are on my laptop (which is currently refusing to connect to the Internet).

And lastly, there's a new layout in town. Since my html skills are pretty abysmal I am actually really pleased with how it looks. Thanks to Blogger Template Designer ;) Any feedback is of course appreciated!

Alright, I gotta get on the subway and make my way home. Cheers!


*Update: some more glamour shots of our kitty after the jump