Montréal

Okay, I've got a couple of vacations to catch you all up on!  I think I will work backwards, starting with this past weekend's trip to Montreal. What a lovely city. Beautiful, easy to get around, great food and friendly Canadians...what's not to love? A few favorites to check out: 

Porchetta, a mobile restaurant on the waterfront in the Old Port is a perfect place for lunch.

Notre Dame Basilica

St. Viatur's bagel shop in the Plateau neighborhood. The best part is watching the giant bagel spatula carry like 30 bagels at a time out of the brick oven.

The Pointe-à-Callière Museum of Archaeology and History,  which is by far the best archaeology museum I have ever encountered. Their exhibition on the history of Montreal allows you to experience a partially excavated archaeological site, using found artifacts to illustrate different periods. You absolutely must visit. No excuses.

Habitat 67

Cacao 77 for their fruit and chocolate plate. Or anything chocolate, really.

Dinner at L'Express. The food is great and waitstaff is all charming young Frenchmen. You'll thank me later.

The B&B cocktail at Le Drinkerie.

And ofcourse, Mont Royal Park.

Tomato-palooza

I'm taking a little break in the Maine photos (yep, there's MORE, if you can believe that!) to bring you tomatoes!  The humble tomato is one of my favorite foods.  And now that tomatoes are finally abundant at the farmers markets,  I've vowed to not take a single one for granted.  Every week I buy more tomatoes.  One of my favorite meals is a simple sliced tomato with olive oil,  onions and salt.  Paired with fresh bread from Mamadou Bakery and vermont cheddar?  Man oh man.

Acadia National Park

For years, I've had visiting Acadia National Park on my list of "someday" things to do.  The bucket list, if you will.  Not sure why, as a Midwestern girl, I had picked Acadia, but I was definitely onto something.  I finally got there and it is every bit as magical, ethereal (or maybe just foggy?) and breathtakingly beautiful as I'd imagined.  For the first time ever, I walked through clouds. Literally.

The Maine Blueberry

The wild Maine blueberry is a magical little thing.  So tiny. So delicious. So perfect in every way.


I decided the best use of a pint of blueberries I picked up this weekend was turning them into a Blueberry Crumble.  Because the only thing that could make these fabulous little berries any better is to cover them in sweet, buttery crumbles. 

Maine Blueberry Cobbler
Adapted from a Whole Foods Recipe

1 pint (about 2.5 cups) wild blueberries
1/2 tablespoon flour
1/2 tablespoon lime juice
1/3 cup flour
1/4 cup sugar
1/4 cup oats
2 tablespoons butter

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Rinse fruit and drain thoroughly. Put berries in a mixing bowl and add the lemon juice and 1/2 tablespoon flour. Combine, and pour into a pieplate. Combine the remaining ingredients using a pastry blender (or your hands!) until they resemble coarse breadcrumbs. Cover the berries with the topping and bake for thirty minutes until the top has browned and the fruit is bubbling.

 

P.S.
I went to Maine for five days.  I absolutely loved every minute of it.  Okay, except for the 30 minutes when I was stuck in traffic on I-95.  Other than that, it was magic. Stay tuned for the series of Maine photos!

Outside Spaces

Living in an urban area, even the smallest outdoors spot can feel precious.  I love a lot of things about cities, but I also love a lot of things about the country.  And lately, I find myself missing the open fields of greenery around Wisconsin. 

As I mentioned earlier, one of my favorite spots this summer is the back porch.  I love just sitting out there among all of the plants and flowers with a glass of wine.  Marveling at any that have managed to survive being in my care...

New York New York

I just got back from a much needed weekend relaxing with friends in New York City. The agenda consisted simply of eating, drinking and laughing.  Done, done and done. 

Cape Cod returns

Okay, after a brief hiatus...the final set of Cape Cod photos!  These were actually all taken in Sandwich, MA at the cutest little lunch spot, the Brown Jug, where I (quite fittingly) had an absolutely delicious portabella sandwich. The shop houses a small deli, a variety of wine and a great deal of  fancy foods that will make you wish you were throwing a dinner party sometime soon.  The walls in the cafe were decorated with a great variety of cheese wheel boxes.  Very neat.

Cape Cod, Vol. 3

On to Martha's Vineyard...