FUN FRIDAY: Sometimes we need to loosen the apron straps and write about some of our influences outside of food. Don’t worry, it always comes back to food. This is a recap of our Apronites’ summer adventures.
This summer has been all about picnics, finding indulgent ways to eat a gluttonous quantity of fresh fruit, scouting out all the best craft beer, and experimenting with delicious cordials courtesy of our friends at Bottlegreen Drinks (honestly, as a lady who is a stoic fan of making her own elderflower cordial, even I think this stuff is incredible). Summer, it’s been great having you around. But as we ditch the swimsuits for hats and gloves and start digging out our best pumpkin recipes, we think it’s time for a Hot Pink summer wrap-up. These are a few of the foods, drinks, travels & tunes that had us savouring the season.
August is the Sunday of summer, a perfect time for ripe peaches topped with whiskey-infused whipped cream.
Caitlin: I’m a sucker for a good long read, as well as any writing about food and health, so David H. Freeman’s article, How Junk Food Can End Obesity, from the Atlantic Monthly caught my attention right away. It’s a totally fascinating look at the convenience food industry, and unlike a lot of the current writing on food and health (“It’s so easy to eat healthy, you can’t afford not to!”), Freeman delves into the class and social issues around fast food culture. I didn’t agree with all of it, but it was an amazing and informative read nonetheless.
Music-wise, I couldn’t get enough of A.C. Newman’s latest solo album, Shut Down the Streets. It was one of my favourite records of 2012, and I had it on repeat for most of August. Fans of Newman’s band The New Pornographers will dig the rich harmonies and gorgeous instrumentation. My favourite song is the first one on the record, I’m Not Talking.
As I continue down my path of Aspirational Veganism, I got my socks and taste buds blown off by a dinner at Hogtown Vegan in Toronto. This place is insanely delicious. They do veganized versions of yummy comfort foods like burgers, poutine, and fish and chips, and man oh man, I swear I could’ve eaten everything on the menu. I settled for the Unchicken Caesar Wrap and poutine, and cried with happiness, and then I had to be carted back to my brother’s place in a wheelbarrow. Wear your eatin’ pants when you visit.
Jodi: Ah summer, I miss you already. Although you’ve made a reappearance (yay!), unfortunately it’s after all the pools have closed (boo).
This summer I made a return to my beloved mojito (memories of Cuba) and enjoyed many a summer salad – usually with the ubiquitous radish. I also employed the radish and its greens in such disparate dishes as pasta to cake. Radish power!
Because of the book clubs I’ve joined, summer reading was the mandated Up and Down by Terry Fallis. My reaction was a bit “meh.” The story idea was interesting, but the forced humour left me cold. We got to go cottaging and camping, so I came close to meeting my swimming minimum requirement. But if I had my way, I would have been swimming outdoors every day.
Oh, and I just happened to hear “Paper Girl” by July Talk. They are from Toronto and seem awesome. Apparently this was released last year. Gawd, I have to get out more!
Kirsty: I am loving country ketchup from Stonewall Kitchen (and I’m not a ketchup person at all) but this with eggs or grilled cheese is amazing.
I moved offices this summer, my new office is below a restaurant… so I’ve been *ahem* tasting the lunch menu. Loving a leek and mushroom tart with a side of Caesar salad. Speaking of Caesar’s… I haven’t been one to say no to one in drink form lately either.
Reagan: My drink of the summer was the Stiegl grapefruit radler. So delicious and refreshing for summer. And is a nice light 2.5% so you can have quite a few on a patio and not get too smashed.
Dana: My summer was a bit of an emotional roller coaster; the lows of losing loved ones alongside the highs of traveling and exploring with family. The soundtrack to it all was/still is The National‘s Trouble Will Find Me. I am so madly in love with this album. *Fun Friday Bonus* This video for the newest single, Graceless, pretty much illustrates my perfect summer day – especially if it were spent with this talented group of gents.
Oh, I also spent buckets of time troubleshooting the g*dd*mn fruit fly issue in my kitchen this summer. It seems that five year olds are WAY TOO BUSY being five year olds to take the 3 seconds required to shut the screen door – no matter how many times you remind them. Leaving this Momma bear fighting the inevitable fly issue. I tried compost in jars with newspaper funnels but countertop real estate comes at serious premier in my kitchen and this route just wasn’t cutting it. The sticky paper from the store was a hair and clothing nightmare. Who knows how I get myself in those messes. The only technique that really seemed to squash the issue was apple cider vinegar in a jar topped with tiny hole punched plastic wrap. (Never let anyone tell you the Apronites are not living the dream.)
F U, fly. Don’t bother me! Using a toothpick, punch and jiggle the holes big enough that the flies can get in but still small enough that they can’t escape.
Kristina: Now that you’ve masterminded an effective fly trap, you’ve earned yourself a drink. I created a cocktail inspired by Apronites as part of a brunch drink special at Three Speed on Saturday…. The tentative title is The Kraken Radler but I have faith that our readers can do better – comment below, baby!
- 1 oz Kraken spiced rum (bourbon works too)
- o.5 oz Elderflower Syrup
- a few shakes of orange bitters
- .75 oz fresh squeezed lemon juice
- SHAKE
- Serve over ice, top with STEIGL RADLER
- Garnish with an orange wheel and homemade maraschino cherries.
- We are open to suggestions for a name for this cocktail, dear readers!
Ship: One of my highlights this summer was dining at Fiction Kitchen VEGAN restaurant in Raleigh. The menu is amazing and they even make their own ginger beer so I had a Dark and Stormy with my grilled Caesar salad, topped with vegan goat cheese. Insanity of the taste bud overload. I even had a gluten free vegan cheesecake with edible flowers for dessert. Ah, summer. Amen.
Who got saucy this season?
Amanda: This summer I’ve been mostly getting ready to go back to university to start post grad (eep!). I’ve been inspiring myself by digging out all my old ‘definitely-not-procrastinating’ playlists from my undergrad days. I reminded myself that I have terrible taste in music (apparently 18 year old me considered Surfin’ Bird a legitimately awesome track waaaaay before Family Guy got there) but also rediscovered this lovely, summery album by Josh Pyke. https://play.spotify.com/album/1WKPG1JQsZgNPm9EOIxyLp
As for food, it’s hard to top the black pepper marinated goat’s cheese I had in Malta earlier this year, but I have also spent a lot of time in the back garden eating my father in law’s incredible rotisserie chicken with potato salad, straight out of the garden. I’d give you the recipe, but I’m informed it’s a family secret and I’m fairly sure revealing it would result in a swift divorce. You will all just have to take my word for it 😉
Goat cheese, parsley, basil and roasted red pepper stuffed zucchini roll ups, a perfect backyard farewell to summer.
“What good is the warmth of summer, without the cold of winter to give it sweetness.”
~ John Steinbeck
What we’re up to next:
Hot Pink Apron has been on a summer hiatus of sorts – Dana has been working hard refining the new website… and the rest of us have been busy getting on with *important stuff* (don’t tell Dana we’ve just been chugging cocktails in our back gardens). We are now back from our summer holidays refreshed and ready to start getting our seasonal recipes ready for Autumn!
In other (pretty awesome!) news, our very own Dana will be speaking at the upcoming Blissdom Canada conference on the world of food blogging. Stay tuned for more details from the lady herself.
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