Fotolog - Confiture at Ile D'Orleans (Island of Orleans - Quebec)

Ile D'Orleans is a magical place covered with orchards and "cidreries" (like wineries, but they make cider... not sure what the English word for that would be). I was lucky enough to visit two cidreries while I was there, followed by a trip to an amazing waterfall about an hour away.

This is the owner of the first cidrerie we went to. He was a Belgian who immigrated to Canada. He actually found his orchard in full bloom before he bought it. It was on a piece of land no one was using at the time. He and his family decided to salvage the situation and created their beautiful cidrerie. I really wish I could remember the name right now... If I figure it out, I will let you know.




They make about 6 different ciders here, not to mention about 20 or so different types of mustards, jams, and confitures. The ciders vary in sweetness depending on the ingredients and when the apples were harvested. Some of the flavours included honey cider, maple cider and ice cider.




The confiture table included different mustards (regular, orange, terragon, honey, etc), as well as confitures (onion and carraway, onion and maple, etc) and preserves (various jams and marmalades). I wanted to buy everything, but there was no way I could fit it all in my suitcase, haha!




-A


P.S. Chute de Mont Morency (Mont Morency Waterfall)




What a great day.

Fotolog - Epicurean Adventures in the Vieux Port (Old Port, Quebec City)

Full of various vendors of wine, cider, fish, bread, flowers, cheese, meats, spices, and fudge, this is my favorite market to date... but I guess I haven't been everywhere yet...




La Fromagere. Cheese shop. This is where I learned exactly how popular cheese curds are.

Also tried the fresh cheese Louis D'Or. It's aged in a grotto, unpasteurized and extremely expensive. Also, unlike anything I have ever tasted before. Louis, you are missed.




Mmmmmm. Look at all that CHEESE!




Bakery across the way from the cheese shop. Didn't have a chance to try anything, but it all looked delicious!




This was at the far end of the market. It was a little variety store full of teas, spices, chocolates and other treasures












Some locally brewed beer, sold at the corner store in the market






Some of the beautiful flowers for sale outside




After all this browsing, I think a meal is definitely on the menu!

Mediterranean-style focaccia seasoned with tomato sauce and spices topped with mushrooms, peppers, artichokes, olives, onion, sundried tomato and, of course, feta.




Served, of course, with locally brewed beer, Blanche de Chambly.




Oh, by the way, did I mention the scenery??

Fotolog - Cabane a Pierre (Quebec)

Cabane au Sucre (or "Sugar shack" for the anglophones out there)

This was an amazing night in the outskirts of Quebec City at a traditional maple syrup house, Cabane a Pierre. Everything was very authentic from the meals served to the traditional Quebecois band... and even the fur trappers hut (eeee! pictures will not be posted).

This is definitely something to experience if you are at all interested in the history of Quebec and French Canada. However, be warned, most food is not vegetarian, but a (loose) veggie could definitely get by in the meal (pea soup, homemade bread, potatoes, beans, crepes, tire d'érable). I basically just didn't want to miss out on this amazing experience.


Please note the best pea soup of my life:

Fotolog - Aux Vivres (Montreal, Quebec)

While I was in Quebec, I had a chance to stop by this little Vegan restaurant down on St Laurent in Montreal. I had actually been there before about five years ago and I couldn't wait to return. Last time I was there, I ordered their (vegan) BLT wrap, which had bacon-flavoured shredded coconut inside! It was pretty amazing, so I couldn't wait to come back. This time, I opted for something different, but unfortunately, with not-so-amazing results.

This is the tempeh burger with a side of potato wedges and coleslaw. The burg gets my thumbs up, but unfortunately the wedges and coleslaw... not so much. FYI to everybody out there, clove spice should NEVER be used on potato fries. NEVER.




This, however, was pretty amazing.




It's some kind of pate made out of carrots, BUT TASTES LIKE LOX!! Pretty decent imitation. I enjoyed it, however, it would have been better if served on a baguette or cracker of some sort, instead of all on its own.


Aside from the food, I have to admit, the service was pretty terrible. I don't remember it being this way my first time there, but we were seated right next to the washrooms (when there were plenty of other tables available) and once our food was served, our waiter was nowhere to be found. It took forever to get water and even longer to get our bills. However, since I have only been there a couple times, I would give them the benefit of the doubt that this type of service isn't the ordinary.

Despite my less-thank-stellar experience this time, I think I would still go back and see what other interesting creations they've got on their menu. They seem to have a knack for fascinating flavour imitation.

Verdict: To Be Continued...


-A

Yammy!!

This is a tribute to veggie college students.



I recently came back from a trip to Vancouver, where I was fortunate enough to visit a restaurant called The Foundation (I couldn't find their website if they have one, but you can read some reviews here). I almost wish I started this blog a week ago so that I could've shown you the yummy food they serve there.

My boyfriend and I ordered two different kinds of veggie burgers (the Foundation burger and the Bentonio burger). I didn't try his because I was too full from mine, but we both agreed they were awesome. The burgers were served with various tortilla chips (and awesome dip) as well as a leafy salad that had the most amazing mango dressing (I could die happy if someone could share that recipe with me). We also ordered an appetizer called "Mingled Yams". I thought this was going to be some sort of sweet potato fries dish, but it was actually a yam dip with tortilla chips (I know it sounds weird, but it was actually really good!). Now since I don't think I'm quite talented enough to replicate the burgers (not yet at least!), I decided to take my hand a the "Mingled Yams". I don't know if this is the actual recipe, but I think it tastes pretty darn similar!

okay, so here's my version of Foundation's "Mingled Yams" - for copyright issues, from now on I'll call them "Yingled Mams":

Ingredients:

3 yams
4 teaspoons of honey (or maple syrup for all you vegans out there)
tortilla chips (the organic purple and red ones are pretty tasty)
sunflower seeds - unsalted, to sprinkle on top

Directions:

1. Clean and cube the yams.
2. Boil in slightly salted water until they are soft when pierced with a fork.
3. Drain water and mash the potatoes.
4. Add honey/syrup and mix.
5. Let cool (this dish is served cold)
6. Spoon out as much yams as you'd like and garnish with sunflower seeds.
7. Serve with tortilla chips.

makes: a whole bunch of servings (this is where the college student tribute comes in - this is awesome for exam time when you don't have a whole lot of time for cooking, or a whole lot of money for eating out, plus it's DELICIOUS!!)

and......

Check it out!