my week in food photos, july 15-21, 2013

summerlicious for our anniversary!

Paul and I celebrated our 9th wedding anniversary a couple of weeks ago and we celebrated by having a few lunches during Summerlicious.

For those outside Toronto, Summerlicious (and Winterlicious) are two food festivals held every year here in Toronto. Winterlicious runs during the first two weeks of February while Summerlicious occurs at the start of July (both typically slow times for restaurants). During both these events major restaurants across the city offer a limited menu of prix fixe lunches and dinners at a discount from typical prices. Currently the prices are $15, $20 or $25 for lunch and $25, $35 or $45 for dinner, with drinks and tips not included.

Some restaurants book up really quickly, but Paul and I don't generally choose a place based on popularity, but we go based on the menu. Plus, this year, we decided to try places that were in our neighbourhood.

I don't normally review restaurants here on kitchen frolic, but I wanted to share a recap of the places we tried and the menu items we ate. Watch for my recaps over the next few days!  :)

pan-fried mahi-mahi with honey grapefruit dressing

Ever since our honeymoon in Hawaii many years ago, Paul and I have always been partial to mahi-mahi. Also known as dorado or dolphin fish (relax people, it's not related to dolphins in any way), mahi-mahi is a very "meaty" fish. By meaty, I mean that the texture is much more substantial and "sturdy" (but not tougher) compared to other fish, which are often lighter and flakier. Because of the heavier texture, mahi-mahi is great on the grill or pan-fried and I love cooking with it because it never falls apart on me when I'm moving it around.

The other day, Paul wanted something light for dinner, so I pulled out some mahi-mahi fillets and when I noticed we had some pink grapefruit in the fridge, I pulled those out too.

This meal takes no time to make and is a perfect, light dinner for hot summer evenings!

kawartha dairy - 2013 edition

Last year I had the ambitious notion that I would try every flavour on the Kawartha Dairy menu board. Boy, was I wrong! I only managed 14 flavours...but I loved every minute of it.  :)

This year I wasn't really thinking about trying the ice cream wall again, but we've been spending more time up in the Kawarthas and a few people have already asked how much Kawartha Dairy ice cream I've eaten this year, so here I am again! I'm pretty sure I won't be able to cross every flavour off the board, but I think this is a great idea to force me to try new ice cream flavours instead of eating the same one all summer long.

So far, between me and Paul, I've managed to try six flavours:

A few weeks ago, we kicked off the summer with our first trip to Kawartha Dairy (in Peterborough). I ordered the Wolf Paws, one of my favourites - "vanilla ice cream with chocolate butter fudge and soft brownie pieces" (YUM - I love brownies). Paul picked Banana Boat, "marshmallow and chocolate in a banana flavoured ice cream". Both were really great - but the banana flavouring of the Banana Boat was especially good. I never though ice cream could be so banana-y!


Our next visit to Kawartha Dairy had us craving colour! Ever since I was a kid, I've always been partial to Bordeaux Cherry (my dad's favourite). This one is described "a rich and full-flavoured cherry ice cream loaded with big pieces of sweet black Bordeaux cherries". Paul went even brighter and chose to have the kiddie-inspired Blue Bubblegum, "pink coloured gum pieces in a bubblegum flavoured ice cream with a bright blue colour". I LOVED the Bordeaux Cherry, while Paul's Blue Bubblegum was definitely bubble gum flavoured (and BLUE!), although I've never been fond of the gum pieces inside ice cream.


Finally, this past weekend, I chose to have the Mango, "a distinctive Mango colour and flavour", while Paul had his favourite flavour, Mint Chip, a "cool mint flavoured ice cream with semi sweet chocolate chips". The mango flavour was subtle, a little too subtle for my preference, but Paul was really happy with his Mint Chip.


I think we've gotten off to a pretty good start knocking off the flavours, but I'm still hoping to beat my "score" of 14 from 2012. :D

my week in food photos, july 8-14, 2013

my week in food photos, july 1-7, 2013

toronto food fest 2013 - vendor edition

The lovely Ashley from SmashCake was kind (and brave) enough to let me help out at her booth at the recent Toronto Food Fest. After doing the rounds at the event as a blogger/eater at the mediapreview hour, I slipped behind the table to join Ashley and Greg and saw what life was like as a vendor at a food event.

Although Ashley explained that most events start off a little slowly for her (people tend to save dessert for closer to the end), we were consistently busy from start to finish.

Ashley’s menu consisted of 3 different products, each with different flavours. Once I wrapped my head around the products on offer and their prices, my main job was to get the items that were needed as Ashley took the orders. Between the three of us, we managed to keep things going smoothly all day long.

Considering I was handling food for 5 hours straight, I’m proud to report I only tipped over ONE cupcake the whole day.

my week in food photos, june 24-30, 2013