Savoureux, delicieux

I was in Montreal this past weekend and thought I'd share some of my favourite foodie photos! It was really nice to be somewhere with a legitimate winter season for a change (aka THERE WAS SNOW).

          Van Houtte vanilla cappuccino with cinnamon

     What I thought was a french beer, but is apparently Belgian

Thanks to an excellant recommendation by my good friend and native Montreal-er Kayla, we headed to Bottega Pizzeria on our first night. Such a great place!! And what a jumble of ethnicities - an Italian restaurant,  in the heart of Montreal, with English speaking customers.....it's a good thing there isn't much of a language barrier when it comes to food. Bottega had a great atmosphere, which to me is almost as important as the food itself. It was busy, but not overpacked, and I really wish I had thought to ask about their playlist because the music was awesome. The giant wood burning oven in the back made it hard to concentrate on anything else but the pizza you could smell them cooking to perfection. To top to all off, our server was a gem..even after the bottle of wine was gone. 

Charcuterie board to start (obviously)

La Quattro Formaggi - Gorgonzola, taleggio, provolone, ricotta

Il Diavola - San Marzano tomatoes, fresh Fior di Latte mozzarella,
basil, salami, fresh chilli peppers in the top right corner (I didn't touch those)

Post dinner espresso

Saturday morning/afternoon we headed out to to Orange Pressé for un petit déjeuner (for those not as culturally diverse as I, that means breakfast).  What a great little brunch spot, serving all the classics along with freshly squeezed O.J. The owners were true Monteralians - he said his family has had seasons tickets for the Montreal Canadiens since 1948! So many cups seen since that time....*sigh..

Mushroom, Onion, Red pepper omelette, home fries, toast, side of fruit

Just the Grand Slam Sh'bam not so petit dejeuner - 2 eggs sunny side up,
home fries, ham, 2 pieces of toast, and a side of fruit

Just a really nicely displayed hot table in one of the shops downtown

Je t'aime Montreal.

Happy Thursday!

A.C

Granola family

My cousin Adele gave me this recipe in the summer when my family spent a week at her cottage; she literally whipped up this badboy in half an hour before we went waterskiing one morning. I've been looking for a granola recipe for a while, and this one is so easy and super healthy! The great thing about granola is that it's so easy to modify it to what you like (we all know how much I looooove changing recipes!); dried peaches or blueberries, walnuts, almonds, just about anything can be mixed into this delicious breakfast treat. I'm going to try it with sunflower seeds next time. AND depending on how many cups of oats you put in, you can make a ton of granola in advance and it will last you a while. I made this recipe all for myself and it turned out to fill 3 tupperware containers. Just make sure they're airtight and you're good to go.

The Dry Guys

Mix Dry Ingredients
4 cups flake oats
12 cup white flour (or buckwheat flour)
1 cup whole wheat flour
1/2 cup ground flax
3/4 cup brown sugar
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 cinnamon

A heaping sticky mess of deliciousness

Things you can add:
3/4 raisins or dried cranberries
1/2 cup chocolate chips
1/4 cup wheat germ
1/4 sunflower/pumpkin seeds/
Basically, any dried fruit or nut or grain that you like!

Wet ingredients
1/2 cup honey
3/4 cup vegetable or sunflower oil
3/4 cup maple syrup

Voila! Granola a la Adele!

1. Mix dry and wet ingredients together until damp. Everything will feel really gooey and sticky, but that's totally fine.

2. Press into a 9 x 12 lightly greased pan. Try and spread it out as best as you can. 

3. Bake @ 375 for 20-25 minutes, (depending on how crappy your oven is - mine took 30.)

4. Let sit for 10 minutes and that's it! As I moved the granola into my tupperware I tried to break up some of the bigger clumped pieces so they wouldn't stay stuck together.

5. Pair with your favourite yogurt for breakfast, with some fresh fruit. My current favourite right now is President's Choice Greek Yogurt.

Happy Tuesday!

A.C 

P.S Some personal Alicia info - If you didn't know, breakfast is my favourite meal of the day, and the granola/yogurt combo is usually my go-to breakfast dish..and also the source of my blog name - "Birdfood Breakfasts". One night in undergrad my friend Shannel stayed over, and when she came downstairs the next morning she took one look in my bowl of rolled oats, wheat germ, flax, and seeds and said "Alicia, do you have anything other than bird food for breakfast?" :) 

Peachy keen french toast

Breakfast - my absolute favourite meal of the day. I'm usually a big fan of the yogurt/granola combination but on day's when I have more time (aka the holidays), I'm always down to try something a little more fun.  I found this recipe for a Peach french toast bake in the same magazine as my Baked shrimp with tomato and feta" (see below) called "Eat Smart" with Ellie Krieger, author of the best selling book "The Foods You Crave". The best thing about this dish is that it can be pre-made the night before in about 15 minutes, and just needs to be baked the next morning.

I've attached the recipe in the title but here is a basic run-down: Cut a baguette into 1/2 inch slices and arrange them in a single layer in a baking pan. Whisk together eggs, egg whites, milk and vanilla, and pour it in the pan.  Scatter peach slices over the bread and sprinkle with brown sugar and cinnamon. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight - SO EASY.

Next morning, bake at 350 until the bread is golden brown, about 40 minutes. Top with maple syrup, and add a side of yogurt.    

I added some blueberries I found in the fridge

You can mix it up with different fruits, I'm going to try it with apples or strawberries next time. Frozen fruit is fine for the winter but once summer rolls around, definitely switch to the fresh stuff!

Happy Thursday!

A.C