All posts filed under: Cakes and Bakes

Peach Picking: Summer’s Delightful Fruits & A Recipe Or Two

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Summer’s are just about the perfect time to head out to the Niagara region. While wine sipping and patio hopping are pretty much amongst fun activities to do, one of my favorite ways to spend time around this region is fruit picking. Fruit picking and vegetable farms are open through the summer across Ontario and are a great source of locally grown produce. We were out and about last weekend and whilst it was a scorching hot day here in Toronto, we arrived fairly early in the morning at The Parkway Orchards located in the Niagara region. As luck would have it, we did manage to pick some wonderful peaches that morning. They are located on 15000 Niagara Parkway on the way to Niagara on The Lake. Ideally it would be best to call them a day in advance to check on timings and availability of fruit for picking. The farm charges a small entry fee of $4 per head and a minimum $6 deposit per basket which is deducted from the fruit purchase. I …

Christmas Cake

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  May Your Heart And Homes Be Filled With Every Joy And Gratitude The Season Brings Merry Christmas And Blessings For A Healthier New Year     Wishing everyone a Merry Christmas. This year has been a tough and challenging one for all of us worldwide, being away from our families and dear ones and quieter celebrations. However it is the perfect time to sit and reflect on this year that was. A time to be grateful and express gratitude and thanks for all that this year has taught us. YET So Many Reasons To Be Thankful For: We can be thankful to those who have shown us love and care and a shoulder to lean on during this chaotic times. We are thankful for family and friends near and far, that keep in touch and bring us much joy and cheer through our telephone conversations. We are thankful for Zoom to allow us to work from the comfort of our homes. We are thankful to all all our frontline workers and health care providers …

Baked Doughnuts with Chocolate Glaze

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 “Between the optimist and the pessimist, the difference is droll. The optimist sees the doughnut; the pessimist the hole!”   Yes I admit that I’m insanely mad over chocolates and desserts and cake. But never have been much into doughnuts. While a chocolate glazed doughnut and a coffee is a match made in heaven for most, It has  never grabbed my fancy.Perhaps a Cruller with a coffee once in away at a Krispy Kreme or  the neighbourhood Timmy’s and that was as much I would indulge in them. Just the thought of a fried dessert was good enough to put me off. However I’ve  often toyed with the idea of making some up for the family as my son, now a young adult loves doughnuts! My mum would make the fried mini ones when we were kids and sure I could borrow her recipe.But again her recipe called for the deep-fried version.Mind you we loved the ones she made for as kids. Why cant one bake them instead, is something I’ve often wondered?

Albion Orchards: Apple Picking & A Crumble

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    Fall in Ontario is glorious and this means it’s time for fall walks,hikes to see the foliage and the splendour of leaves changing colour and apple picking of course! It is a annual  ritual with the family and a great way to get out of the city for a breath of crisp fresh farm air. This year  we choose to visit the Albion Orchards located in Caledon, north of Brampton.They have several varieties of apples ranging from the Red delicious, Royal gala,Cortland, Empire amongst the reds and some crisp golden and yellow ones too like the Crispin, golden russet and golden delicious.They have a wonderful Pick Your Own Apples on weekends between 10am-4pm. We however wanted to beat the crowded weekends and decided to drive off during the week.The orchards were closed for the Pick Your own produce  and we were quite happy to browse through their country store for various varieties of apples and pears, fresh pasta sauces, honey and maple syrup. The store also carries a range of homemade pies, fresh …

Blueberry Lemon Loaf

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Goodbye? Oh no, please. Can’t we just go back to page one and start all over again?” — Winnie the Pooh   The weather here in Toronto is much cooler and the leaves have hues of yellow and orange already, nudging us that fall is around the corner. Nature’s gentle reminder perhaps, that it’s time to bid goodbye to summer. One knows that the warm and sunny days will eventually end, but it still does not make saying adieu any easier. I feel this summer just flew past really quickly. It was almost just yesterday that one was counting down to summer walks in the parks and long drives to the cottage country,berry picking and packing picnic sandwiches. This summer has had bitter sweet memories of course with the current pandemic and various cautions in place.I for one, am still holding onto the last bits of glorious sunshine and perhaps one last summer recipe here on my blog. I had been craving for flavours of lemon,blueberries and almond for ever so long! My birthday soon …