Bonne Journee, Montreal

The second day in Montreal was filled with walking, brunching, comfort-fooding, and pastry-eating.  I actually tried to dress myself and looked adorable in front of a stone house adjacent to a quad-park at McGill University.

Beanie from ASOS, vest from H&M, top from Banana Republic, BDG  jeans, Minnetonka booties, Ecote handbag, and the studded cuff I always wear.

We then ate at a kitschy little bistro that featured many French children's comics.  I ordered savory, buckwheat crepes and they were to die for.  Where else to get good crepes than in a province in a country that has French-speakers?

Me eating an egg, cheese, ham, and onion crepe with a side of coffee.

And then Jil, Katharine, and I wandered around the old quarter for several hours, taking pictures of random shops we found and being silly.  One of the foods I definitely wanted to eat while in Montreal was poutine (which I consistently mispronounced to say something else).  We found it at a hole-in-the-wall drunchy place, but Jil and Katharine decided to eat some eclairs and drink cappucinos while I tasted the poutine in this lovely establishment named ChocoMacaMousse.  It had some of the cutest decor and the eclairs were too good.  I actually enjoyed the poutine, but I could definitely go my entire life without eating it again.

Display case at ChocoMacaMousse

Me eating the poutine.  Sad part of it, is that it was gluten-free (even the gravy)

Then our foodie adventuring led us to a Polish restaurant, which left me a very happy Polak.  Jil had never had Polish food before in her life, so this opportunity was excellent for introducing her to some of my favorite dishes.  We got borscht and I got my favorite food: golabki.  She got fried kluski with meat (which is not gluten-free...yet!).
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Golabki: cabbage, rice, meat, and onions.  Side of mashed potatoes and tons of veggies.

And then we went out with a bang, drinking absinthe, to a Crystal Castles gig at this awesome venue called the Metropolis.  It was seriously a good show and a great way to end our trip.  We wearily rode back to America the next day.  I had a wonderful time in Canada for the weekend and I seriously want to go back there forever.

Keep it yummy,
Jo

Home-Made Pierogi: Working Food

Unfortunately, this idea was so spontaneous that I did not have the chance to use my camera, but I will use charming little illustrations from Pixlr to describe my meal and my clothes for this entry.

My friends and I got our weekly Community-Supported Agriculture (CSA) box of vegetables and included were more onions and beets.  We have hard time getting through those, so we decided, "hey wouldn't it be a great idea to use them to make pierogi?"  And thus the idea was born.

Andrew, me and Steve all having an idea together.

Then we got down to business using a recipe from Celiac Teen.  There was so much work involved!  We had to saute some onions, mash some potatoes, soften some beets, and roll out some dough.  Now, with me, the thing about rolling out dough: I am horrible at it.  Every time, the dough would break, or it'd be too wet, so the rolling pin would get all soggy and sticky.  But after messing around with the tapioca starch, I got the perfect mix.  And after some boiling and pan-frying, the pierogi were born.

Potato, beet, and onion awaits inside!

So why do I entitle this entry working food?  Because it is the perfect food to eat after a work out, but a food that takes quite a bit of effort to make.  Thus, this outfit was born.

I like to work out in socks.  It helps me balance.  Tank top (Esprit), shorts (lululemon), gloves (Gold's Gym), and socks (unknown)

So the pierogi are delicious, I played with my kettlebell and then gave myself the nastiest bruise ever that night.  So, now I am attempting to not eat like a moron so that the house doesn't have a beluga whale living in it.

Keep it yummy,
Jo