5/29/2012

Picasso comes to Toronto

(photo manipulated by theccgirl)

For all the Modern Art lovers, AGO has brought over 100 of Picasso's work to present:

Picasso: Masterpieces from the Musée National Picasso, Paris

(photo manipulated by theccgirl)

The show opened on April 28 and May 1st marked the first day that it was open to the public. Although it's not here for a very short time, it will officially close on August 26, 2012. You have 17 weeks, but summer will come quickly and leave just as quickly.

For more info on the exhibit itself, click here: http://www.ago.net/picasso-in-the-ago-collection

(photo manipulated by theccgirl)

Another wonderful tidbit for my readers. If you don't want to pay to go see the exhibit but still want to go, you're in luck, AGO lets you go in on any Wednesday between 6:00pm - 8:30pm and it's FREE.

So come one, come all. Free or paid, this is a great experience for Canadians to witness the Spanish painter who resided in France for artistic career as the famous Pablo Picasso.

And look at that, it's Wednesday today!

5/28/2012

Home cooking, theccgirl Style

Today, I was in a very creative mood. Before getting started with my friends' wedding favors, I decided to make a delicious lunch.

I decided to turn to my pasta book that my friend gave me a while back by William Sonoma. Flipping through it, I discovered that I may or may not have all the ingredients. This is where my creative ding turns on. A couple years ago, after watching this k-drama titled, PASTA, it really got me loving the very famous pasta dish, Aioli. It was so simple and having never tried it and only watching the actors eat it and fall in love with it, I had to make it. I loved it SOOO much! And it didn't have a Americanized thick sauce. It was simply Italian and amazingly tasty.

So now, after rummaging through my fridge, I discovered a lot of ingredients I could play with.

Firstly..... I made some delicious tasting meatballs, using a PC burger seasoning.

Added an egg and bread crumbs to make it moist.

After I pan fried the exterior through, I baked it 250 degrees for roughly 20-25 minutes.

Once I put the meatballs in the oven, I started chopping half a head of garlic (the more the better tasting), two cloves of scallion and one tomato.

After the veggies were done, it was perfect time to start cooking my linguine and then slowly get started on my sauce.

Creating the sauce: Yogurt (or Sour cream), garlic, scallions, tomatoes, salt and pepper

And when the sauce it complete, so did my linguine. I put the plate together and la voila....

CCGIRL LINGUINE

My meatballs were a little over cooked on the outside, but that PC seasoning I used in it really made it great. The dish as a whole was a very tasty.

Today's lunch was a success!

5/27/2012

Icing on the cake

Homemade and delicious.

Today I went over to my friends' house where much was going on. One of the festivities was a cake-making party. When Mr. Baker Chef S had done everything but ice the cake, I asked if I could try it out and have go at it.

Middle layer: Add the whipped cream topping and then top it off with some freshly cut strawberries

Adding the last pieces to really pack the strawberries in

Et la voila. Iced strawberry shortcake: Practice cake #1

And the taste? *Muah

5/26/2012

FREE BREAKFAST Bike Month 2012

Calling all cyclists in Toronto, May 28!

(photo manipulated by theccgirl)

On Monday May 28, 2012, there will be 2 east side local meeting points for the Bike Month 2012 Group Commute.

1) Danforth & Woodbine Avenue will meet at 7:00am

2) Dundas St. East & Kingston Road will meet at 7:30am

There will be staffing and a police escort at the first location and the second location is more of a community start point. Everyone will congregate at Yonge and Bloor around 7:30am and from there, cyclists will head over to Nathan Phillips Square for 8:00 am to enjoy a complimentary pancake breakfast and other activities.

Who's involved? City of Toronto and Cycle Toronto (formerly known as Toronto Cyclists Union)

(photo manipulated by theccgirl)

And for all the riders, they'll also receive a FREE Bike Month 2012 T-shirt. Now, why wouldn't you want to join in on this community event! Come out and join in on this fun event!

Need more information: Click here to visit www.toronto.ca/cycling/bikemonth/group-commute.htm

5/25/2012

Dessert: Dolce style

One of my favorite kind of sweetness with the most delicious and refreshing taste is an Italian dessert, the gelato.

Days that look like this, the sun is urging you to thirst your quench on something refreshing, and what more is refreshing than the tropical flavours of the gelato family. While we were in the neighorhood, we tried Dolce's on Danforth.

And it wasn't just us that agreed, Dolce's was very busy this Victoria weekend.

I can't say I wasn't tempted. This Sphogliatelle looked so good and the thousands flakes make it look that much more delicious and crispy.

Mmmmmm... and then some more sweetness to the eyes and mouth.

But of course, my heart told me to get a gelato. My two flavours were cantaloupe and pear. The cantaloupe was a bit disappointing and kind of bland, but the pear tasted exactly like a pear and it was so refreshing. I will definitely get pear flavour on my next trip to Dolce's.

5/24/2012

Lunch Review: Cafe Belong

In a more hidden area in Toronto, you'll find a very classy cafe called Cafe Belong inside Evergreen Brick Works. North of Danforth just off of Bayview Avenue, this gigantic space is nature heaven. It has long hiking routes, historical museum artifacts and all-around respect for Toronto's history.

But let's not get side-tracked, here's what's the what about Cafe Belong.

After you park your car, the main building holds a nursery, a farmer's-like market and of course, the cafe sit down restaurant and to-go cafe.

The outside may look small, but the interior and it's decor is more than pleasing to the eye.

The patio was a bit too sunny for our liking that afternoon, so we decided to sit right at the indoor table but close enough to the door that we could enjoy some sunlight with our lunch.

and now onto the....FOOD!

Since it still felt like morning, I indulged my sweet tooth and ordered their Oatmeal pancakes with whipped cream, rhubarb & cherry compote and maple syrup.

The pancakes were large and thick as well very buttery and very fluffy. The rhubarb & cherry compote added a perfect balance of sour with the sweetness of the maple syrup and whipped cream. Chunks of cherries also added a great texture.

For a very common breakfast/brunch dish, I must say that I've never had pancakes like this, and I loved it.

Rating it 4.4/5

And even though I loved every bite, not all of it fit into my tummy! =0)

5/23/2012

FREEBIE: Slurpee Day

Happy Slurpee Day Seven-Eleven

Like it says above, if you go to any canadian 7-11 and are among the first 1000 guests, you'll receive a complimentary 7.11oz slurpee for free!

What a perfectly warm day for a slurpee!

Go out and get yours today!

Pho Review: Golden Pineapple/Xe Lua

Just like Carrie, Miranda, Charlotte and Samantha's favorite diner hub in Sex and the City, this local pho restaurant (which also also has a sister restaurant just above called Xe Lua) is our hub for good comfort food, asian style.

In the heart of downtown Toronto's Chinatown, this is the one restaurant that is my go-to when I'm extremely tired, hungry and in need of cheap-but-big-portions. And of course they have a gigantic menu from pho to rice to dry noodles and not to mention their extensive drinks and appetizers.

But my regular order is their pho as its their signature item. I get the small size and I am more than filled. This time around I ordered #104 which has brisket and tendon.

My friend ordered the #101, specialty with everything in it (photo below).

One thing I always wonder about this restaurant(s) is why are there two identical restaurants that sell the exact same items but the two have different names? Xe Lua, upstairs, appears to be more diner and casual-like and Golden Pineapple on the ground floor looks a lot more "fine dining". But from what we learned, it's the same owner.

But in any case, this is my favorite spot to chill out and relax and have a great meal with good friends.

5/21/2012

First time for everything, Lick's Homeburgers

After living in Toronto for over 5 years, it occurred to me that I have yet to try the homestyle Lick's homeburger. Though it's not a restaurant you'll see everywhere like a McDonald's or other fast foods, Lick's has a very special homey feel that serves quick but eats home-cooked.

This past weekend, I traveled all the way to the Beaches location and discovered a very sweet little niche on Queen Street East.

Upon entering the shop, this particular location was brimming with visions of young and fun childhood memories. There were children everywhere enjoying themselves. Some were chewing on a single french fry while others were licking huge ice cream cones that were quickly dripping onto their hands. As timing goes, this could not have made a better impression on me.

Inside the store had much of the same likeness and feel as it did outside. With its bright colours masking on the walls and furniture, this was a very burgerlicious place.

Trying Lick's for the first time, I decided to go original, Home burger (photo above) with a side of onion rings (photo below).

Rating it 4.5/5

The burger was mega big, so juicy and oh-so-delicious. The patty was as giant as I dreamed a good burger to be. I did have to exercise my jaw a lot to feast on this huge burger. Overall, it was very good. But you probably knew that. Lick's has been open since 1980. I was too full to try, but they also have an ice cream section for afterwards.