2016 Canadian Vacation: Good Eats

This will be my final vacation post. Besides spending our time biking, paddling and visiting with family, Jack spent a lot of time swimming (more specifically snorkeling) and of course no vacation would be complete without checking out the best local restaurants.

FRIEND's DINER

On every trip, my favorite thing to do is find the best breakfast joints. So on our first day in Orillia, that is what we did. First up was Friend's Diner (ranked #6 on TripAdvisor for restaurants in Orillia) and it was my favorite breakfast place on this trip. Located in an old shopping center, it isn't much to look at, but man was it good!

Coffee comes with your meal and the huge plates of food satisfied all of us – even our growing boys! We arrived in the nick of time, because shortly after we were seated, the place filled up and had a 30-minute wait. The food was delicious, and served quickly. Jack's favorite part was the phone booth outside... Evidently these are still a thing in Canada. He quizzed us, "Why is there a phone in a box, outside?"

HASTY TASTY

Our other diner to visit was Hasty Tasty (recommended by my aunt and rated #60 on TripAdvisor). I have to say I liked the food at Friend's better, but Hasty Tasty was unique in it's own way. Built in an old house and a true, old-time diner, harkening back to the 1950s, it's a special place. My aunt says a lot of old-timers eat here and it's a great place to people watch. You can squeeze into a booth or at the bar up front, or like us, you might end up at a table in the back.

Our experience would have been better if we had managed to get a booth up front – a regular came in and snagged the booth we were waiting for. I guess he didn't notice me sitting there with two kids (Daniel had run to a bank next door because the establishment only takes cash). The food was good and the name is fun to say!

The other days, we ate breakfast at our cottage and I always ran into town to grab a large triple-triple coffee at Tim Horton's – a mile from our house.

For our other meals, we tried to bike to dinner as often as we could. Of the four restaurants listed below, we biked to three of them. The fourth was a day that our kids were exhausted, so we chose to drive.

THEO's EATERY

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Our first bike-to-dinner option was Theo's Eatery (ranked #1 on TripAdvisor), located about 2 miles from our cottage. This was a nicer, sit-down type of restaurant, but still kid friendly.

The food was Mediterranean style and good, but a little pricey. This was not our favorite restaurant, but the food and service were both good. The boys split a huge plate of spaghetti, Daniel had lasagna and I tried a Shish Kabob.

Our experience at Theo's (and then most other restaurants) was that the kid's meal comes with dessert. Is this a Canadian thing? Jack LOVED getting a scoop of ice cream at the end of the meal, and it was a great way for us to bribe him to finish up his food.

BREWERY BAY FOOD Co.

The next day we biked to the Brewery Bay Food Co. in downtown Orillia (ranked #11 on TripAdvisor). Located 3 miles from our cottage, we were ready to eat when we arrived. We were able to get a table outside and had a friendly waiter.

The food was excellent, but we were all caught off guard when the power went out unexpectedly (I'm glad we were sitting outside instead of in). I don't know what was going on, but power on the whole street was out for about 20 minutes. We finished up our meal and the power came back on just in time for us to pay! Which was a good thing because I don't think we had been to a bank to get Canadian money yet and we were too far north to pay with American! Brewery Bay is definitely worth a visit – it has your typical Pub food. Jack had chicken fingers and a salad. I tried an amazing burger (that I shared with Isaac) and Daniel went light with a Greek salad.
 

MARIPOSA MARKET CAFE

During the middle of the week, we grabbed lunch at Mariposa's Market Cafe (ranked #1 on TripAdvisor). We almost didn't go here because I thought it was strictly a bakery.

We ran by to order cakes for my parents and aunt and uncle's anniversary celebration (the cakes were amazing and fairly inexpensive!), and then we realized they also served lunch. So we knew we needed to go back.

This place is really cool. I wish we had had more time to explore. Besides making amazing cakes and cupcakes, they serve sandwiches, and a variety of hot lunch pastries, AND ALSO lots of specialty items and souvenirs.

Daniel and Jack both tried a turkey sandwich while Isaac and I split a spinach quiche and a meat pastry. It was all delicious. Jack also tried his first sip of coke (from a bottle). He loved it. We told him it is only for special occasions!
 

TOR's FISH & CHIPS

Being in Canada, I knew we needed to grab fish and chips one night. This was our only dinner out that we didn't bike to. Our boys were wiped out from the busy week and both fell asleep on the 5-minute drive to Tor's Fish & Chips (ranked #29 on TripAdvisor).

We arrived 15 minutes before closing, and we asked the ladies if we were too late. They looked at our tired boys and told us to order and take a seat.

Jack was cracking them up because he literally laid across the chairs and slept until our food arrived. We decided to split the Haddock Fish and Halibut Fish. These plates were huge and between the four of us, we didn't come close to finishing the fries!

THE SHACK EATERY

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We finished out our week by trying something a little bit different for us. The Shack Eatery (ranked #13 on TripAdvisor) is fairly new to Orillia and serves slow-cooked Portuguese style food. And it was delicious. The flavors were a little spicy, but really great.

We picked out two plates and the generous portions were way more than the four of us could eat. They also brought out mashed potatoes (not part of our order) for our boys because they thought the food might be too spicy. They were so considerate!

We enjoyed sitting outside and eating their fantastic food. The boys had fun climbing in the old firetruck parked outside. I hope The Shack had continued success in Orillia!

Snow Day

This morning schools in the greater Chattanooga area were on a 2-hour delay. Up on Signal Mountain everyone is scratching their heads because it has been snowing all morning, and this is the south. 

Meaning schools almost always close for snow. Or the threat of snow. Or because is it is just too cold.

For a brief time in elementary school I lived in southern Ontario, Canada. For those three years, I walked to school (uphill both ways) in the snow. According to my mom, when she was growing up, the schools never closed unless it was 40 below (or something like that).

It was always a big joke when we moved to Arkansas and the towns would shut down for the threat of cold weather. I have lived in the south for 20+ years now and I get it. The south isn't equipped like they are in the north. There is no point in having machinery to clear the snow when it rarely snows.

Anyway, I have been watching the snow fall all morning. Our wood stove has been steadily burning for the last two days to ward off the chill in our house. This morning, as the snow fell and the sun peeked through the clouds, it looked like glitter was falling from the sky. Beautiful.

Jack loves the snow. This time the snow hasn't been enough to sled on, but it has accumulated nicely on our decks. Perfect for snowball fights with daddy.

Isaac is thrilled to press his face up against the back door to watch his big brother play. I wonder what he thinks about the snow.

Maybe one year we will make a winter trek to Canada to show our boys what I real snow can look like. For now, I am sitting inside enjoying a hot drink, thankful that while it is pretty, it will go away in a day or two and that spring is just around the corner.

First Snow of 2016

Last week Storm Jonas turned into a blizzard and dumped a ton of snow in the northeast after hitting a good portion of the south. It seemed like it was snowing everywhere but east Tennessee, but on Friday night, as Daniel made his way home from work, the rain turned to big fat, wet snowflakes. Jack rushed out the door to greet the snow as it began to pile on our deck.

By bedtime several inches of snow had settled on the ground, creating a blanket of white that muffled the night sounds and reflected the full moon with a brightness of a flood light. 

I love the calm and quiet that the snow brings (though as someone who has lived in the south for the last two decades, I also like when the snow leaves after a few days). 

After a week of school closings and delays for the cold, it was nice to finally have a reward for being cooped up.

We had just enough snow to get the sled out and pull Jack around our neighborhood park, right across the street from our house. The little trail leading from our house to the park actually provided the perfect sledding hill for Jack (next year we will probably go to the golf course to do some real sledding).

This was Isaac's first snow and we were scrambling to find warm enough clothes for him. A size 2 rain jacket worked as a windbreaker over a fleece body suit. I'm sure he was annoyed by all of the layers, but he seemed fascinated by the cold white stuff.

We let him ride with Jack on the sled (until Jack complained that he was too heavy). I think Isaac would have stayed out longer, but by the time he was up from his nap and ready to join big brother, Jack was getting cold.

The weather has been fairly mild this winter and we were caught off guard – Jack's hiking boots were too small, his rain boots had holes in them, and we didn't have any wind resistant pants. We had enough layers to keep him warm for about an hour, and then we stripped him down and sat him by the fire to sip hot chocolate to warm back up (to help keep his feet dry, we put his feet in plastic grocery bags before putting on his holey rain boots).

We awoke on Sunday morning to sub freezing temps and snow had not yet melted. My weather app said the temperature would be in the 40s by noon and Jack was up early and ready for church with 30 minutes to spare, so Daniel took him sledding one last time before we headed off the mountain.

I hope it snows again this winter (previous big snows have been in February), but if it doesn't snow again this year, I'm glad Jack got one last sledding session in.

It's kind of hard to believe this is our third winter on Signal Mountain. We are looking forward to many more snow days (though if I'm being honest, I'm glad it only lasts for a few days).

A Look Back at Our Snow Days:
2013  |  2014  |  2015 

Weekly Meal Plan

The last couple of weeks have been super busy. We have had quite a few events to attend which has meant lots of eat outs and lots of leftovers. Thankfully fall meal planning is great for leftovers – chili and soups tend to taste better with time, and we made good use of both in recent weeks. Here is what I have been cooking lately, I hope some of these recipes encourage you to cook more at home!

Chicken Marsala with Rice and Carrots
[recipe adapted from Fancy Fork]

Originally I had planned to use a slow-cooker recipe from Creme de la Crumb, but once again I have been reminded that I am not a slow-cooker cook. Mostly because I get too busy and don't remember to start the meal in a timely manner. So I pulled an audible and found a recipe from Fancy Fork that incorporated most of the ingredients I had already purchased.

The only thing I didn't have in my pantry was tomato paste, so I substituted with sun-dried tomatoes, which I think added a nice flavor to the dish. For Jack, I kept some chicken tenders separate from the sauce. Overall, a great dish.

Chili with Triple Cornbread 
[Chili recipe via Mohaus and Cornbread recipe from Betty Crocker] 

This is one of my all-time favorite fall meals. I don't cook many meals more than once, but this chili and cornbread makes an appearance a handful of times each fall. It is great for a crowd, and if it is just going to feed a small family, the chili tastes better with each passing day.

I love this cornbread because it is super moist – more like a bread pudding than cornbread. It was perfect for letting Isaac have a taste as well. Chocolate and cinnamon are my somewhat secret ingredients in the chili and they really make the dish. I skip on the jalapeno when serving to kids, but it still tastes delicious and has a bit of heat from the spices.

Personal Pita Pizzas

I don't have a recipe for this. I just got inspired when my brother-in-law made us pita pizzas when we were visiting last month.

Basically you take Pita bread (or Naan bread) and brush olive oil on it. Bake for about 10 minutes at 350º then remove from oven and add pizza sauce, toppings (I used sausage, bell peppers and onions), then top with mozzarella cheese. Bake for another 10 minutes. These are really customizable, great for kids, and a fast mid-week meal.

Vegetable-and-Steak Soup with Croutons
[recipe adapted from Annie's Eats]

Croutons in soup is one of my new favorite things (I buy store-bought, but the recipe tells you how to make homemade). We use them instead of saltine crackers. The only problem is limiting Jack on how many croutons he can eat with his soup! 

Since my husband loves meat, I added steak to the soup to make it a little heartier. We were all fans of this meal and it tasted even better as leftovers later in the week.

Sausage-Egg-Pancakes Muffins
[recipe adapted from AllRecipes.com]

I had some leftover pancake mix [my mom's recipe] and leftover sausage from the pita pizzas, so I decided to make pancake-egg muffins. I have made this before with bacon, but this one was a little difference since I had sausage. I used a Scrambled Egg Muffin recipe from AllRecipes but used a pancake base like I had before, and added cheese.

These were a hit with everyone and really simple to make, plus you can't go wrong with breakfast for dinner. They are easy to customize which is good if you have picky eaters (Jack isn't too picky but he doesn't like green peppers).

Super Simple Banana Muffins
[recipe from Eazy Peazy Mealz]

I recently picked up some really ripe bananas from our local grocery store ($0.88 for 6). These were perfect for this muffin recipe. I just hand mixed it and baked in a muffin tin for 18 minutes (instead of 60 minutes for a loaf of bread). Like chocolate chip cookies, there are a million recipes for banana muffins, and from my experience, I rarely find a bad one! These muffins were super moist and great for preschool mornings when I am running behind.

Apple Spice Cinnamon Sugar Pound Cake Bites
[recipe adapted from Table For Two]

This super simple dessert was perfect for a potluck we attended recently. You toast the pound cake and roll it in a special Apple Cinnamon spice mixture. I had enough spices leftover that I saved it and added it to the top of my banana muffins before cooking, and it was also a good addition to our Saturday morning pancakes.