Aprons for the Undergrad

Do you know a student heading off to the wide world of academia? It is exhilarating to be embarking on a fresh chapter in life with shiny new textbooks, lectures and new friends. If you know a new student who will be entering dorm life or perhaps, gulp, their first apartment away from home, make the transition more stylish with a Domistyle apron. Frat boys can look cheeky in a Will Cook For Beer apron and ramen noodles will seem more special when served by a Microwave Maven. Add a few easy favourite recipes along with the apron and your budding academic will be inspired to consume more than just Kraft Dinner and beer!

Hippie Dream

The long weekend is closing in and I can't wait. Mostly because we are heading to the Greenbelt Harvest Picnic at Christie Lake in Dundas Ontario. The one day festival happening on Saturday September 1st is going to be jammed packed.

Artists to perform will be the likes of Emmylou Harris, Gord Downie with The Sadies and Feist. There is also going to be a slew of local farmers, food vendors and visual artists too. And, to top it all off, great weather for swimming in the lake!

Looking for a great day trip? Come if you can!

xo
penny

Instant Status Upgrade

Are you always labelled a Microwave Maven rather than a Gourmet Goddess? There's nothing wrong with being a little challenged in the kitchen you know. Many a tasty birthday cake has been created from store bought cake mixes. All it takes is a little creativity and presentation to make something not quite from scratch special. No need to hang your head, dear Microwave Mavens, hold your heads high and rejoice in your other gifts!

If, however, you still dream of hearing people exclaiming over your kitchen prowess I have the solution. Go to Kitchen Stuff Plus and get yourself a kitchen blow torch and make creme brulee. I finally bought a blow torch and made this recipe from Canadian Living and it was a show stopper! I had no idea creme brulee was so simple, nor did I know that torching something could be so much fun! You can hang up your Microwave Maven aprons and graduate to Baking Beauty in an instant.

I can't wait to find more recipes that involve torching!

Dirty Dancing Silver Anniversary

Can you believe that yesterday was the 25th anniversary of Dirty Dancing?! Where does the time go? It feels like it was only a few summers ago that we were all swooning over Patrick Swayze and how he managed to move with grace yet ooze masculinity. We all wanted to be Baby. To this day I still want to jump up and down and clap when I hear "Nobody puts Baby in the corner!"

 

Floating Bike Photos

It may be because it feels like a beautiful day outside with a touch of crispness in the air and I am going to be indoors at the NYIGF show all day, that I have cycling on my mind. I spotted these brilliant photos of floating bikers by artist Zhao Huasen on A Cup of Jo and I love them. So clever. I wonder if my dear bike is at home missing me as much as I am missing it right now!

Invisible Bike Helmet

I saw this non-helmet bike helmet on Design Sponge and was blown away! So brilliant. A bike helmet that doesn't mess up your hair and protects you like an airbag, how genius is that? At 600 clams I may have to stick with my trusty old helmet for now but I tip my hat (and bike helmet) to the smart cookies who designed them.


The Invisible Bicycle Helmet | Fredrik Gertten from Focus Forward Films on Vimeo.

Whirlwind Times Call for Kale!

Wowsers! It has been crazy around here with the CGTA show in Toronto. Now I have one day off before heading to New York for more show craziness at NYIGF. My head is spinning but in a good way. It is always great to meet people and hear feedback about our work. Sometimes it can feel like I am working in a little apron bubble and laughing at my own jokes. It can leave a girl wondering if her new pithy taglines on her aprons are actually amusing or if she is just descending into apron overload madness. From the postive feedback I think I am still sane. Phew!

To keep me sane I decided to make a pickled kale salad. I have been eager to make it for a while and today seemed like the right day to do it. It is chock full of nutrition, just what I need before I am back to the crazy trade show diet that always seems to slide towards too much sugar.

photo: blog.recreativeworks.com

A New Grill God

And here I thought Grill Gods were limited to those champions of the barbeque...

Now that I have Olympic fever I can happily say that Ryan Lochte, cutest of all the cutie pie swimmers, is also a Grill God. He was goofy and adorable in wanting to wear his grill when he won his first gold medal.

He can be my Grill God apron model any day...