Sea Cider Friday

Well I think I’ve figured out how a Friday afternoon should be spent more often.  A little early exit from work, a short drive, a crisp Winter day, some good girlfriends, and a wee cider tasting.  Sounds good, no?

Shockingly I have been holding on to a Groupon for Sea Cider for almost a whole year.  I guess “we’ll go sometime this Summer” means “we’ll go before it expires”.  Thankfully I was not alone in my slacking so there were two Groupons to be used up which meant four of us gals could take part.

Sea Cider Farm and Ciderhouse is just a short drive out the highway where it sits on a lovely little piece of land complete with a gorgeous view.  Even on a foggy snowy day it’s crisp and peaceful.

Choosing to go late on a Friday afternoon worked out quite well…we pretty much had the place to ourselves.

Included in our great Groupon deal was a little local snack plate…breads, cheese, chorizo, salmon, chutney and hazlenut brittle…all from local foodie artisans.

Good thing for that bread and cheese…we needed it for our long flights!  Eight ciders to taste and a sample of Hot Buttered Rumrunner.  I was glad to share!

I have tried several of Sea Ciders specialties before and was hoping to walk away with a new favourite…but turns out I’m a creature of habit.  Still pretty much in love with Pippins, which is strong and off-dry but has a lightly sweet fruity touch to it.  Rumrunner is still a close second but because of it’s stronger flavours I like it with dessert (or you know, in front of a roaring fire…if I had a fireplace).  :)

A perfect way to launch into a busy weekend…now if we could just make short Fridays happen on a regular basis.   

Wouldn’t that just be the life? *sigh*

Hot Dawgs

Yup, I backdated.  Can’t have my blog showing nothing posted for like four days.  What the heck have I been doing?  Oh right, living life!  :)

Friday was definitely worth mentioning though.  I skipped breakfast photos because I’m lazy and had lots to do before hitting the road to meet the other Jamie for a dog walk and coffee date.

Oh yeah, and I was looking after Burl for the day.  I packed the big oaf into my car with Chibi and we picked up Jamie and Frankie the Frenchie.

After a big of a jaunt through a makeshift dog park we found we decided it was time for a Cafe Fantastico iced coffee and deeeelish fruit tarts from Fol Epi.  We tried to sit in the sun but we were cooking ourselves and the doggie party so after half an hour or so we called it a day.

Back at home I introduced Burl to Mr. Stoopy (my cat).  That did NOT go well.  Good thing the Stoopmeister still has excellent reflexes because I think Burl thought he was a living dog toy.  Oooops.  Once I calmed them both down I made a quick lunch…. tortilla with black bean dip, lettuce, tomatoes and cheese. 

Followed up with a nectarine and pets for the big lug.

Poor guy wasn’t entirely sure what he should do with himself in my apartment while I worked for the afternoon.  Eventually he took a tip from Chibi and had himself a glorious snooze in the late day sun.

After work I loaded up the dogs once again and headed back to Michael’s.  He rewarded me with a beer for all of my hard work, then made me a big serving of comforting chicken fried rice.

Nom.  I’m sure we probably had some sort of dessert but by then I was poopered and didn’t even make a mental note let alone take a photo.  Hot sun and big dogs trying to eat your cat can really suck the energy out of ya!

Man Salad

On Friday I didn’t even bother having breakfast because I knew I was meeting Jessica and Ingmarie for a lovely lunch.  We are working our way through some of Victoria’s beautiful little eateries and this time we chose Relish!

Relish posts their ever changing, daily menus on Facebook and Twitter so I had already somewhat decided on their Chicken Club with Brie.  As soon as I saw the fresh and amazing buns I knew I’d made the right choice.

The melty brie was a delicious creamy addition.  I was pleasantly full after making my way through the hearty sandwich.

Not too full to share the Hazelnut Orange Brownie with the girls though. :)

On my way home I stopped at The Italian Bakery for a loaf of focaccia.  Somewhere along the way I mentioned Bread Salad to Michael and since he seemed pretty intrigued by it I thought I would make it for him.

Fresh tomatoes from Root Cellar and basil, chives and parsley from my patio planters.

Bread salad (aka: panzanella) is somewhat of a ‘wing it’ recipe but here’s what I did this time…

Ingredients:

• approximately 3/4 loaf focaccia, cubed (day old would be best but I used fresh and it tasted great…perfect texture)
• 4 ripe tomatoes, cut into large chunks
• 1/2 cup bocconcini cheese, roughly torn
• fresh herbs: basil, chives, parsley
• olive oil
• balsamic vinegar
• coarse salt and fresh pepper

Directions:

• Preheat the oven to 350.  Toss the bread cubes with a drizzle of olive oil then spread on baking sheet.  Bake 10-12 minutes until browned and slightly crisped.
• While bread is toasting combine tomatoes, cheese, herbs and seasoning with a liberal drizzle of balsamic and even more liberal drizzle of olive oil.  Let stand.
• Let bread cool until a few minutes before ready to serve.  When ready add bread to tomato mixture, drizzle with more olive oil, then toss to coat everything.  Taste and re-season or add more balsamic if desired.  Let stand a few minutes, then toss again and serve.

While I prepared the bread salad, Michael grilled seasoned chicken breasts and zucchini rounds.  Just a little olive oil and s&p…let the grill do the rest. 

We sat there chatting and picking the last of the bread and cheese out of the salad bowl.  I may have discovered a ‘man salad’. The bread salad could have been a meal in itself as far as Michael was concerned. He liked it so much he suggested I watch Sex and the City while he massaged my feet.

*eye roll*  OK that may be stretching it a bit.  But seriously, make this for your family and I’ll bet they eat it right up.  :)

Aura Waterfront Restaurant & Patio

On Friday afternoon a round of emails went around between Rose, Tiffaney and I.  It was sunny and none of us had previous engagements so we just knew we had to find a patio to visit on after work.

I suggested Aura Restaurant because I’ve heard they have a lovely patio with a beautiful view.  A few more emails, including Michael, and a few Tweets with Tookie at Aura and our plans were set for 6:00.

Upon arrival we were a little worried because the patio didn’t have evening sun, but we decided that we’d give it a try since we were right beside a heater and our helpful server offered up blankets if we should need them.

Tookie had done a fine job of letting the staff know we were coming and because we are Twitter friends she arranged a complimentary cocktail for me!  The cocktail list is very long so I handed my decision off to Rose and she chose the Cape Scott for me.  It was a light concoction of muddled oranges, vanilla vodka, OJ and soda.  Very refreshing!  I may have had two. :)

Michael suggested he and I share a few oysters on the half shell to start.  I will never argue with this suggestion!  We were brought two fresh, local varieties on ice with the mignonette served in these cute little syringes.

A round of fresh brioche buns for the table.  Complete with sour cherry butter.  Melty and delicious.

Had I not been busy visiting I would have thought to take photos of everyone’s meals for a proper review because everything that graced the table this time was met with a great review.  I had already perused the menu online before heading out for the evening and settled on a light meal of the Grilled Caesar Salad…with pancetta, soft poached free range egg, and pesto Caesar dressing.

The pesto dressing was really interesting and very tasty.  The big slivers of fresh parmesan didn’t hurt either. :)

The vegan platter that Tiffaney and Rose shared looked incredible.  They both said they were very impressed!  Michael had a seafood and saffron risotto that was also quite tasty.

Since Rose and Tiffaney had dessert included with their vegan meal there was no way Michael and I weren’t going to at least consider dessert.  I let him choose and when I returned from the washroom I was informed he had ordered the dessert sampler for two.

We had tastes of apple cheesecake, chocolate ganache, strawberry sorbet, and a vegan crème brulee made from coconut milk and pureed bananas.  Not a true brulee obviously…the texture is off…but the combination of flavours was really good.  I mostly tried to dominate the cheesecake bites. :)

Overall it was a lovely and delicious meal and a great visit with friends.  We managed to last the couple of hours on the patio even though we’d been hoping for more sun.  A wee bit pricey for regular after work drinks or dinner, but for a special treat I think we’d all definitely choose Aura again.  Thank you Tookie and staff for making sure we were very well looked after!

Friday Rewind

Friday finally brought sun to town!  In case you don’t know, Victoria’s Summer has been pretty much non-existent.  No bueno!!

Chibi was very pleased with this turn of weather events as it inspired her lazy human to take a walk to our park.  We’ve been slacking on our daily park trips big time.

Lunch was a quickie genius idea.  Leftover spaghettini warmed and tossed with creamy, herby goat cheese, fresh basil and chopped tomatoes.  Nom.

Look kids: a koala!  I bit his head off.  mwahaha.

Since the sun was shining and a few of us had a free Friday evening we decided to hit up the patio at Glo Restaurant for some sunshine and cocktails.  Too bad it was windy as all heck!  We changed tables for a more pleasant experience.

Michael joined me, Laura, Hugh and Polly.  One fruity cocktail, one amazing mushroom pizza, and a couple of hours of chitchat later we called it a night.

Michael made his way home while I stopped by my place to pick up Chibi and do what any normal girl does… whip up a batch of Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip cookie batter (sans bacon) to take with me to his place.

What?  How else shall I provide completely necessary Friday night cookies without dragging my baking cupboard with me?

It’s a well known fact that the way to a man’s heart is clearly through the aroma of freshly baking cookies.  I’m just doing my part.  Sue me.