SNACKS

we’re feeling a little peckish over here at HQ. it was a...

Fri, 16 Nov 2012 15:24:10 -0500

we’re feeling a little peckish over here at HQ. it was a long, busy summer and SNACKS is even busier now going into the holiday season which was kicked off by a doozy last night at russet & empire. micah throws one heck of a party (it was even advertised on the grid website and on our favourite toronto food website, swallow food) and leah & i were there to make sure everyone was well fed. when asked to make a snack for a bunch of beer-drinking hosers, we were like, duh! so we made…

house-cured peameal bacon sandwiches + kozlik’s maple mustard + old canadian cheddar on OMG baked goodness milk buns.

fuck. yes.

this print by jean eger pretty much sums up my week vacationing...

Wed, 15 Aug 2012 12:16:13 -0400

this print by jean eger pretty much sums up my week vacationing in kelowna. heading off to the farmer’s market to pick up some sweet corn (picked this morning!!!) to make corn chowder for dinner tonight, nbd. recipe to come.

xo, lw.

pictured above: leah’s mom’s homemade cookies (which...

Wed, 15 Aug 2012 11:38:19 -0400

pictured above: leah’s mom’s homemade cookies (which we sold out of)

phhhhhhhew! this week’s junction flea was a doozie! busier than ever, leah + i sold out of jerk riblets by NOON (thanks for popping by for the last order, nina!) and had to go on an emergency run for chicken to feed all the hungry people in the afternoon. we think this might have had to do with a little mention of the flea in the globe & mail this past week, nevertheless, our backup sold out in an hour which gave us time to sit down with a glass of… lemonade.

blogTO had a guest contributor come out + do a lil round up of all the flea flood vendors, like our friends over at feastTO + royal sugar, which can be seen here (they also took the picture above! thank you, blogTO!).

so thank you, thank you, thank you toronto (and thank you, paul + micah of the junction flea!), for continuing to support our teeny tiny business + for showing up week after week to purchase our wares. we love you more than you can know!

xo, lw.

third time’s a charm! it’s almost midnight +...

Thu, 09 Aug 2012 22:40:38 -0400

third time’s a charm! it’s almost midnight + we’re up and at ‘em, drinking red wine and slow-roasting ribs for this sunday’s junction flea. the kissing booth will be back (and better than ever) this sunday from 10am until 4pm serving up tasty jamaican (and not jamaican) treats. leah even strong-armed a woman at the dufferin grove farmer’s market for the last of the woolerdale farms basil for sunday’s feature lemonade. come visit, hang out on our solitary bar stool + have some snacks; we’ll love you for it.

grilled berkshire pork side ribs
jamaican jerk dry rub + honey-scotch bonnet glaze

with choice of one (or both)

spicy pickled cabbage + cauliflower

and/or

red skin potato + chickpea salad
yellow curry, celery seed, coriander

—

grilled ontario corn on the cob
lime-tarragon butter + smoked aioli

—

homemade peach-basil lemonade

—

leah’s mom’s homemade cookies

—

kisses may or may not be free (we’ll see how good of a mood i’m in).

see you then.
xo, lw.

ontario peach, maldon-thyme nut brittle, wildflower honey, wild...

Sat, 28 Jul 2012 13:55:18 -0400

ontario peach, maldon-thyme nut brittle, wildflower honey, wild blueberry, mint flower.

day&night salon party, july 2012.

xo, lw.

"My doctor told me to stop having intimate dinners for four, unless there are three other people."

Fri, 27 Jul 2012 13:54:37 -0400

““My doctor told me to stop having intimate dinners for four, unless there are three other people.””

- Orson Welles

WANT.

Fri, 27 Jul 2012 12:41:03 -0400

WANT.

eat your god damned veggies.

Thu, 26 Jul 2012 13:57:42 -0400

eat your god damned veggies.

what we ate for dinner last night in the garden amongst the...

Wed, 25 Jul 2012 13:55:49 -0400

what we ate for dinner last night in the garden amongst the tomato plants

hanger steak marinated in red wine & rosemary
whole grilled lovell springs trout stuffed with lemon, thyme, dill + parsley
tomato, red onion + blue cheese salad
spicy assorted greens, radish, shallot + sherry vinaigrette
boiled corn + butter
cheesy garlicky buttery bread

six people? about 12 bottles of wine, a case of beer + a bottle of amaro. oh boy.

5 minute lunch in late july 1. toast white bread. spread with...

Wed, 25 Jul 2012 12:49:33 -0400

5 minute lunch in late july

1. toast white bread. spread with hellman’s mayonnaise.
2. slice perfectly ripe heirloom tomato, sprinkle generously with salt + pepper. put on bread.
3. gather some basil from the garden, throw it on & drizzle the whole lot with good olive oil (like, the best you can afford).
4. serve with an icy cold beer.

drawing by this talented lady.

xo, lw.

marilyn monroe’s recipe for thanksgiving stuffing. xo,...

Wed, 25 Jul 2012 12:27:36 -0400

marilyn monroe’s recipe for thanksgiving stuffing.

xo, lw.

it has finally fucking arrived! tomato season, the most glorious...

Tue, 24 Jul 2012 14:16:34 -0400

it has finally fucking arrived! tomato season, the most glorious of seasons (besides maybe peach season, and corn season). our friend grant macpherson, behind prairie boy farms, grows the most retiredly beautiful tomatoes & we can’t wait to pick up some of his babies at the trinity-bellwoods farmer’s market for dinner tonight. it’s too hot to fuss around too much. we have some leftover baby gem + mustard greens from sunday’s bbq at midfield wine bar, we’ll fire up the grill & make the simplest of suppers to serve on my adorable back patio with our adorable boyfriends. we just can’t wait.

the first of the season’s tomato + red onion salad with grilled hanger steak

a big piece of well-marbled steak (we like hanger, skirt or even flank when on a budget)
a couple tomatoes
a small red onion
assorted green things (spicy salad mix, mustard greens, baby gems)
blue cheese, if you like (the stinkier the better, we think)
olive oil
lemon juice
rosemary
salt + pepper

marinate your steak with rosemary, olive oil, salt, pepper and whatever other herbs you have lying around for a couple hours. drink a bottle of rose while you wait.

heat up some charcoal and when the coals are burning hot (too hot to hold your hand about 5 inches above for three seconds), throw on your steak and grill that baby for about 4 minutes per side (for really rare, bloody, deliciousness). while your steak is cooking, mix your greens with lemon + oil, maldon + pepper in a medium sized mixing bowl. slice tomatoes + red onion, lay on a platter, season with s+p, and top with your greens. rest steak for ten minutes, slice, and throw that on the platter too. dredge the whole lot with a couple glugs of good olive oil. if you have some blue cheese handy, here’s where you’d add that too.

serve with a chilled light red, like a barbera d’asti and a couple good friends; only the ones that are worthy of the tomatoes you are serving.

photo from here. xo, lw.

tomorrow night, leah + i will be making another guest appearance...

Sat, 21 Jul 2012 15:16:41 -0400

tomorrow night, leah + i will be making another guest appearance at midfield wine bar. we’ve never been to spain, but that won’t stop us from grilling up some spanish + greek inspired snacks on the charcoal grill from 6pm onwards for all the hungry wine lovers out there on dundas west. come drink a glass of wine (or two, or three..) and support our little business (and our addiction to pink wine and bbq-ing in high heels).

sunday supper as follows

garlicky lupini beans

roasted olives + orange + rosemary

pimientos rojos con anchoas

assorted lettuces + maybe cabbages
anchovy vinaigrette, manchego + fried chickpea

spicy smoked spanish chorizo
bitter greens, smoked chili + saucy chickpeas

pulpo a la galega;
grilled octopus, fingerling, paprika, lemon + parsley

grilled ontario peaches
greek yoghurt, honey, walnut brittle

see you there.

xo, lw.

photo by gizelle lau.

it is almost 2am. iceberg lettuce was on sale at metro, so...

Thu, 19 Jul 2012 01:25:31 -0400

it is almost 2am. iceberg lettuce was on sale at metro, so i’m about to enjoy a club sandwich made with the last two pieces of this pound of bacon (smoked from my very own pig!). i will wash it down with a large format bottle of the bellwoods brewery barrel-aged biere de garde while i wait for a handsome man to come home to me and make fun of the mayonnaise on my lip.

romantic. marion cunningham would most certainly approve.

xo, lw.

photo from here, the most handsome brewery website.

in toronto, it is hot, hot, hot! i’ve been trying to cook...

Tue, 17 Jul 2012 17:59:15 -0400

in toronto, it is hot, hot, hot! i’ve been trying to cook as much as i can outside of the restaurant, but most nights i can’t even imagine eating anything more than veggies and maybe, maybe, a piece of fish. sunday’s night dinner at mark mcewan’s fabricca was an exception.

it is 36c today and we both have the night off, so i went to the market & tonight leah comes over for dinner (hopefully with a couple bottles of chilled, dry rose). we’ll cook up a beautiful piece of trout, pattypan squash + a salad of little gems, young herbs, wild violets with lemon + olive oil. the trout will be simply done, stuffed with lemon, oregano, parsley, mint + dill, grilled on the BBQ & finished with a pat of lemon-anchovy butter. we keep this compound butter in the freezer at all times for vegetables (raw radishes, hello!), to finish steaks after resting, and well, fish. it is simple to make + very delicious, but mostly, we can’t resist anything with anchovy.

simple anchovy-lemon butter

half a pound of full-fat, unsalted butter
a dozen briny anchovy fillets + their oil
cayenne + paprika to taste
half a lemon’s zest
cracked black pepper

mash with a fork, or process until smooth in the bowl of a food processor. form into a log + store in saran for 4 days in the fridge or a few months in the icebox. slice into rounds for serving and enjoy.

xo, lw.

trout etching by debby mason.

"If you’re afraid of butter, use cream."

Mon, 16 Jul 2012 11:24:42 -0400

“If you’re afraid of butter, use cream.”

- Julia Child

i see we are not the only ones who know how to properly spend an...

Sat, 14 Jul 2012 12:37:29 -0400

i see we are not the only ones who know how to properly spend an afternoon.

leah + i have been busy bees this month! first, the inaugural...

Thu, 05 Jul 2012 14:19:22 -0400

leah + i have been busy bees this month! first, the inaugural junction flea followed by the house of vintage showroom launch party and more! last week, we kicked off midfield wine bar & tavern’s patio season with a sold-out sunday seafood grille on their adorable side patio (menu to be posted soon). it’s been a hell of a lot of fun and we’re ready to do it all over again…

… so this sunday in the junction from 11am onwards, all the fleas will be enjoying:

grilled chicken drummies + rhubarb ketchup + aioli

apple-fennel slaw

leah’s mom’s homemade cucumber pickles

sweet cherry pink lemonade

teeny tiny ginger cookies

please come support us so that we can financially support our addiction to pink wine. if you can’t drag your hungover ass out of bed in time, we will later be at COLD TEA in kensington market BBQing delicious things to fill drunk people’s stomachs (6pm onwards). i’m getting tired just thinking about it…

hope to see you there.
xo, lw.

illustration by the ultra-talented rebecca rose (thank you! xo).

"I respect vegetarians, but I could never fall in love with one."

Wed, 27 Jun 2012 11:54:03 -0400

“I respect vegetarians, but I could never fall in love with one.”

- Nora Ephron (RIP).

yesterday’s inaugural “kissing booth” at the...

Mon, 11 Jun 2012 11:16:02 -0400

yesterday’s inaugural “kissing booth” at the junction flea was a huge success! thank you to everyone, like this girl (who instagram’d this photo), for showing up + showing your support to a couple tarts selling fried chicken and honey-ginger limeade. we didn’t sell out of food, but we did sell out of limeade which made it worthwhile to stay up until 3am hand-juicing limes when your electric citrus juicer breaks the day before the market.

will report more soon when i am not so exhausted, and when my apartment no longer smells like a deep fat fryer.

zzzzzzz, lw.