THE MILE END cream cheese + cucumber + cranberry sourdough

Oh man, so I've been thinking about moving to Montreal for ages. Like, years. It's been hanging over my head for so long, especially every time I have to move apartments, and I have to move apartments in 6 weeks. It's not my dream city, but Montreal has a lot going for it. The atmosphere is so much more relaxed, and the apartments are so big, and sunny, and half the price they would be in Toronto. The music scene is definitely decent. I could live in Mile End, and walk up the mountain every week. I could buy wine at the corner store until 11!!! (Toronto peeps, you know how it is). But the main reason is something I learned a few years ago, when I relocated actually way further than a $30 Megabus away, and that is; always keep moving. Every time I make a mental pro and cons list for moving to Montreal, the pro list trumps the con list, no contest. It's not even that I like it better than Toronto, 'cause I don't, but I strongly believe there's more to be gained in being somewhere new, than you could ever lose from the experience. Almost no hardship I could imagine of building a new life somewhere wouldn't be overshadowed with the inherent reward therein. And so, I feel pretty sure I should just fucking do it already, before it becomes something I just talk about, and never do. But for some reason, I don't feel very brave about it at the moment. 

THE EXPAT goat brie + peach chutney

One of my favourite things, is 'not my favourite things.' You dig? Don't kill your spirit with familiarity and comfort. Your favourite things aren't that great anymore anyhow, when there's no longer a thrill to consuming/seeing/doing them. Everyone should step outside themselves. More generally, but also particularly pertaining to food. I like finding myself off my own radar. Go visit a different country, or barring that, eat something weird.

Ps I'm now on TWITTER! Follow me on TWITTER, FACEBOOK, TUMBLR!
xxxo Emily

golden beet + cranberry + goat brie grilled cheese

So, it's like I totally forgot that I have this blog. But it's a new year, and there's never a better time to carry on like you're not lazy, and distractible, and get back to regular(?) blogging. 2013 was kind of a forgettable blur. Every year, I say has been my best year, but 2013 was a standout throw away. Now, I'm not known for my beaming positivity, but I think I'm prone to seeing the world with a pretty optimism-slanted realism. I don't know how it's gonna roll, but what I will say about 2014, is that there will be more sandwiches. 

And if there's ever a remedy to a new year's hangover, it's a warm, melty grilled cheese sandwich. Here to kick off 2014 is the golden beet + cranberry + goat brie grilled cheese. 'Cause I had leftover beets in my fridge this year's gonna be golden.

maple Hawaiian grilled cheese

So it was my birthday last week! The family tradition for birthdays in recent years, is that we all take work off, and try to spend the day together. And birthdays are awesome, because you put thought into what it is exactly, that you would be happiest spending the day doing, and have everyone participate in. So when my parents asked, I pretty quickly came up with a day of making sandwiches. I invited them over, and had them bring odds and ends from their ever-full kitchen of untold wonders, and made a variety of sandwiches for them, and of course stopped to photograph, so I could get some blog posts out of it. Here's one of them, and you'll see a few more in some past and coming days. 

It was a nice birthday. I like having something totally unnecessary, but satisfying to do. And I think the sandwiches were a hit? I was going to make 3 of this one, so we could all have, and I was kind of looking forward to this one in particular, but as it turns out, I couldn't eat this sandwich because unless expressedly stated, cured meats are NOT gluten-free. But I snacked on some of this delicious Quebec raw milk cheddar. And everything smelled really nice. 

Oh, and then at night, I had a little booze picnic in the park with friends. There were sparklers. That was nice too. It would be great to spend every day doing exactly the things that make you happy, and I try. And of course, it's easier when your wishes and tastes are simple.