Escaping the City

I woke up early on Saturday morning and went on a glorious walk downtown. It was so quiet and peaceful at the waterfront. Walking through downtown was an equally calming experience as many of the local shops were just starting to prep for what was sure to be a busy day for them.

When I got back I made Deliciously Ella’s 10 Minute Mango Pancakes for breakfast (recipe here). I served them with a bunch of local berries from my latest spree at the Farmer’s Market. I loved making these pancakes because you can just throw all the ingredients into the food processor and whir until combined. I halved this recipe and it still made ~12 1/4 cup-sized pancakes. I also used almond milk instead of water. I don’t have pancakes for breakfast often (I’m an oatmeal kind of gal), but I could see easily switching up a few ingredients to customize the recipe to whatever fruit I have on hand.

After finishing up, I made my way 2 hours out of the city to visit my Nana and Poppa for the day. I don’t see them as often as I should, so I always try to cherish these times. I cut their lawn (no easy feat as they live on a farm – doing the ditches by the road was terrifying to say the least!) & cooked them dinner. I made the Roasted Cauliflower & Pesto salad from Terry Hope Romero’s latest cookbook, Salad Samurai. I really enjoyed the mix between the roasted cauliflower and the fresh peas & greens that I served it with. I also added a few sunflower seeds to the pesto recipe to add some more bulk.

For more of an entree I made Suzanne’s Avocado, Tomato, Grape Salad with Crunchy Potato Croutons (recipe here). The potato croutons were probably some of the best tasting potatoes I’ve ever had. Despite all the random ingredients in this dish, I loved the way the flavours all went together. The leftovers didn’t last long.

My Nana is a stellar baker – her specialty being homemade pies. Growing up, no meal was complete without a serving of one of her pies with a big scoop of ice cream on the side. I knew I couldn’t compete with her pie talent, so I went in another direction: chocolate cake. I used McKell’s Flourless Blackberry Chocolate Cake with a few tweaks (original recipe here). I didn’t have any blackberries, so I used some cherries that I picked up at the Farmer’s Market. I also ran out of almond flour, so I used oat flour instead. After all was said and done, this cake turned out SO well! It was super fudgy, but not too rich. I loved that it’s only sweetened with dates and roasted sweet potatoes too.

After dinner, I snuck away to quickly take some pictures of their garden. Though it’s been scaled back in the last few years, it’s still so amazing to see. In addition to a ginormous flower garden featuring flowers of every colour of the rainbow, they also have a fairly large vegetable garden. Something that I hope I’ll be able to mimic when I have an area larger than my current balcony. I just love the idea of growing your own produce and being so amazingly rewarded for your efforts throughout the year.

Another treat of going up to visit my grandparent’s is seeing all of their furry companions. A few weeks ago, a tiny kitten showed up on their back walkway and Saturday was my first time meeting her. The kitten, Katie, now joins the crew of a grumpy-looking, but sweet & kind Himalayan cat Webster; a rambunctious cat named Squeak; another calm & gentle black cat Toby (not pictured); and loving dog Kelsey (also not pictured). My aunt also came up for the day and brought her very energetic Shih Tzu pup Max (check out his eyes!). So needless to say, there was never a shortage of entertainment!

I definitely want to make these visits more often. It’s always such a joy escaping the bustling city life to spend time with my grandparents in their country home with such simple pleasures.