The Shop Collective - Hey Jude
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Hey Peeps -
I’m hosting a little drop in for a bevvy tonight at the Honest Lawyer in Downtown Ktown!
Nothing formal, just stop in, say hello, hang out, maybe meet some new people, maybe see some friends you haven’t seen in a while?
Should be fun!
Drop me a line, or a comment, or a tweet (#DrinksDowntown) if you’re thinking of stopping by!
xoxo
H.
ALRIGHT WATERLOO REGION.
LISTEN UP!
Cheeses Murphy Opens tonight at Midnight! What is Cheeses Murphy, you ask? Fair question.
It’s the late night weekend food option you’ve all been waiting for.
Grilled Cheese, Tomato Soup, Chips… from Midnight til 3:30am on Friday and Saturday Nights.
FINALLY – some good late night eats in uptown.
I am beyond happy for us….
as a Region.
Because late night food options just sucks ass around here (other than Sonny’s! The Best Burgers Ever, Ever…) . But thanks to Marc and The Princess Cafe – things are looking up.
Go by tonight to cheer them on, and take a photo of your drunk self in the photobooth – you’ll probably regret it tomorrow, but whatevs, at least you’ll have a belly full of delicious grilled cheese to focus on.
See you tonight!
H.
PS, I was at the most awesome of awesome talks last night by Cynthia Nikitin from Project for Public Spaces in NYC. It was all about how we make our city more sociable, livable, safe, welcoming and vibrant… for EVERYONE. (Thanks for putting that on Juanita, Sue, Shelley and Team :D )
And in my opinion, Grilled Cheese sandwiches served in the middle of the night on King street is 1 step in the right direction.
PPS. Tell me your favourite late night joints – there’s Sonny’s as i mentioned, and as you know have mixed feelings on Burrito Boys. I really really really really miss Mel’s. SIGH. Where do you go?
WHAT!?!??!?! I”M THE ONLY ONE WHO IS ALLOWED TO COPY IDEAS FROM OUT OF TOWN AND THEN PRETEND THEY’RE ORIGINAL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I DEMAND RETRIBUTION!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
No I don’t. This sounds fun. LustAttack & M82, you guys should go check this out for us kdubbers and report back!
H.
ps. thanks to Kurt for sending over :D
H.
First off, let me just say that Ryan and Nick and Nat and Chris and Steph and Randy DID AN AMAZING JOB putting this event together. So much to coordinate, and everything was thought out to fit the theme. A Gluttonous evening, but delicious and such a great way to kick off the fall.
It was nice to reconnect with so many people that I haven’t seen all summer -
Ms. Christine Reid Photography was there killin’ it with her camera, here’s some of my favs:
Ryan (of Chainsaw) and Nat (of Uptown 21) explaining the amazingness of a “poutine trough” complete with gold:
told ya, it’s amazing:
Chris of Hogtails, Nick of Uptown 21 and some other miracle workers putting the plates together:
4 Types of Meat… my fav being the Brisket. Man, i have a thing about brisket. And a whole bunch of delish sides… Corn from Herrles, Beans, an incredible mac and cheese and coleslaw!
The Band, who were AWESOME. Check’em out HERE.
And DESSERT. Jesus H Christ. Deep Fried Rice Cripsy Squares with Spiked Fluff on top… and ….
Candied Bacon. It’s everything you dream it would be… and more.
Like I said, gluttonous. But amazing. It’s a once in a lifetime meal… i hope.
Thanks again to everyone who helped me pull the gift bags together – hope you found some of the stuff useful! Gardening Gloves! COME ON! The Downtown Kitchener cards are cool – you get discounts pretty much everywhere. And make sure you check out the CAFKA guide – you’ll want to check out this FOR SURE.
Ok. Hope everyone is over their meat sweats, thanks for helping raise some cash for a foundation that has some awareness-raising to do, and if you’d like to check out even more wicked and embarrassing photos from the event, go HERE.
H.
PS. Here’s a couple of my BB photos from the night :D They’re sideways – deal with it.
OMG this is the inside of dessert. weeeeird and amazing.
After a glorious weekend with friends and family, it’s Monday.
And … BUSHWACKER LIPSMACKER! YAY! See some of you at 5 at Chainsaw!
In other food news… i have a GIANT bone to pick with Burrito Boyz – and i’m going to air it here… passive aggressively.
Ok… so it’s Saturday night.
It’s been a lovely nite out and about town … housewarming at the adorable lovenest of D & B and then out for a berry mojito at Bauer… it’s 1ish… and P, Alana and I head to get a late night delicious burrito.
So we go – and Alana is like, awestruck by the topping heaven that is Burrito Boys. I order a small steak on white… and I am assigned the number 44.
i patiently wait my turn behind 3 VERY drunk female froshs who are telling the maker of their burritos how much they love her. “YOU’RE THE BEST. HIGHFIVE!” So then, I order up my toppings… which are very minimal, because i seriously think i’m a super-taster or something and I pretty much hate sauces. i like flavourful things – don’t get me wrong here. But 9/10 I’d just like to eat pasta with butter, or a hamburger with a bit of mustard. I don’t know how i got this way… but i like it.
So, i get my burrito with rice, cheese, sour cream and steak. boring? maybe. Deal with it.
So my burrito is grilling away beside P and Alana’s fully dressed burritos (number 1 and number 43)… and this ridiuclously drunk, tobacco chewing idiot behind us… who also got a “works” burrito with spicy salsa. I’m sure you can see where this is going…. his number is #4.
So… one burrito comes up… it gets wrapped up and the dude behind the counter either says 4 or 44… the drunk tobacco chewer instantly grabs it and heads for the door… Alana, being the best friend ever yells at the guy to check if that’s actually his burrito and he drunkenly pulls out his crumbled receipt, and spits some disgustingness into the water bottle he’s carrying… we’re pretty much grossed out enough to not even WANT burritos anymore… but I ask the dude grilling these puppies up “which number was that?” and he says #4. BUT….
IT TURNS OUT IT IS ACTUALLY MY BURRITO. GODDAMMMMMMMIT.
But of course, i don’t find this out til we get home.
Sigh…
Late night snack fail.
Anyways, there are two lessons to this story:
1. Burrito Boyz : You need a better system for getting people THEIR Burritos. I mean, i get home and open my deliciously plain, custom made snack and it’s a fucking fully dressed spice nightmare!!!!!!!!!! AWFUL!!!!!!!!!! WTF!?!?
and
2. If you are a patron at Burrito Boys, and I encourage you to go, because it is ridiculously good – watch the path of your burrito carefully – and don’t let it out of your sight! Demand your personalized burrito!
ok. that’s it. sigh…
i just needed to tell someone and get that off my chest.
H.
ps. total # of times i say burrito in this post = 18
ps. yeah, in case you were wondering i went to bed starving and cried myself to sleep… i may never get over it. And yes, i am glaringly aware this is BEYOND a firstworldproblem. More meaningful posts to follow, as soon as I recover.
So, with the overwhelming success of my posts about being an incompetent housewife and cook… i thought why not do a couple collaborative posts with friends with actual skills.
This week on RQ, we are joined by Kim and we are making some Mushroom and Leek Quiche!
We picked up all our ingredients at the Kitchener Market on Saturday:
- 1 pre-made crust from Grainharvest (to make your own go here.)
- 2ish eggs
- 8to10 mushrooms of your choice…we’re using creminis
- 1 leek
- a good handful of cheese (kim says the older the better … it gives it a better flavour.)
- 1 tbsp of milk- not too much
-1 clove of garlic
Ok. So start by poking holes in the crusts -this prevents air bubbles… who knew! and sticking it in the oven at 375 … for 15 mins… or until golden brown. seriously Kim just said that… she’s a natural!
Dice the leeks … then soak them in cold water to get them clean.
Slice the mushrooms :)
In a medium saucepan, on medium heat – throw in a ‘dash’ of olive oil… add the garlic for a few seconds… and add leeks… cook for like 8 mins… and a little bit browned. then add the mushrooms… and let this all “cook down a bit together”.
Next combine cheese (grated), milk and eggs, and pepper in a separate bowl. This is the binding agent for your delicious quice-a-licious.
Ok… next:
Throw your veggie mixture in with the dairy goodness and mix it up. Then pour it into the crust and bake! Keep in the oven at 375 for about 35 mins … check on it .. it might need a few more minutes depending on the crust.
Let it cool… and then eat up!
It also keeps well… so it’s a good leftover/lunch the next day option.
Enjoy :)
H.
PS. Kim just whipped up these little gems for dessert – carrot cake mini muffins with cream cheese icing. It ain’t no thang.
HA. BEST WORST PUN EVER.
Our Friday night mission was to make a whole load of strawberry jam from Herrle’s August harvest of local berries. DELICIOUS.
I worked from THIS recipe, that i got from the lovely and beyond talented Kim L. She is the canning master – and i am a mere student… she should be writing this blog post.. .what the….
1. First step of canning anything seems like an annoying one – wash the jars thoroughly… then sterlize them. I like using the oven – it’s way faster than boiling each one in a pot. So go here to get the details on that.
2. Wash all the berries, and pull out all the little stems – i use a huller… it makes it a bit easier. then give the berries a bit of a slice, leave’em chunky – but quarter the big ones. Then mush it up a little with a potato masher… each batch should start out at about 8 cups of strawberries – then mashed down it’s about 4 cups….
3. Next you mix the fruit and the apple juice (1 cup) and the honey (3/4 cup, i choose local honey. it’s the best) together… have that at about medium heat… and stir in a package of “No Sugar Added Pectin”. Bring it to a boil and cook that shit for about 3 minutes. (it will thicken up and get a foam on top… but dont cook it too much longer than 3 mins, because it will start to thin out again – no pressure)
4. Take the mixture off the heat and skim the foam off… this is an important step – but don’t obsess tooo much about the foam, just get as much off as you can.
5. Ladle mixture into the sterilized jars. I use a canning funnel – it works way better than just freestylin it.
6. Put the sterilized lids and rings on… tighten them.
7. Boil them in a huge pot of water for 5 minutes. Do not stack the jars, this step will take a few batches… even if you have a giant canning pot.
8. Take’em out. and let’em sit a couple hours. Make sure all the lids have sealed (popped inward – if they haven’t, just put’em in the fridge, they’re fine.) Then store in a cool spot! Ready to eat 24 hours later.
Easy. Peasy. Lemon. Squeezy.
H.
You HAVE to come to this event, it’s going to be AWESOME.
I have 8 tix for sale. $65/each. Includes 3 amazing Southern Style courses coordinated by Nick and Nat’s Uptown 21. Think BRISKET, RIBS, Corn on the Cob, beer and BOURBON and more! (you will be very full)
Alright, lemme know if you want a pair of tix – it’s going to be THE Food Event OF THE YEAR!!!!!!!
Thanks to one of my fav local blogs (An Insider’s Guide to Waterloo Region), I found this absolute GEM :
Cooking with Claire - a local teenager commits to the 100 mile diet for 18 months… and blogs about it.
AWESOME.
Definitely check it out.
H.
I swear to god that this is THE BEST thing that happens all year in Victoria Park.
I mean yes, Multicultural Festival is incredible, Bluesfest is huge and awesome, it’s pretty in the winter with the lights, and watching the hot air balloons land is sweet – but this is THE BEST.
I am beyond sad that we’re missing it this year – and in fact, have talked about rerouting our plans so we make it there Sunday! I know, we’re total geeks. But this event is so great!
Here’s how it works. You go to Victoria park – the opposite side from the lake.
You get into a line to buy beer tokens and a beer glass – it’s mini, so you can try a lot of different flavours. (you can take yours from last year if you have one)
Once you’ve bought tokens, you line up and get some craft beer – there is lots of vendors – try them all :D Highlights of mine are Cameron’s, Mill Street and Flying Monkey. Once you’ve had a beer – feel your glass up again to wait in the insane lines to get some Ribs. i highly recommend the vendor with the dukes of hazzard theme – DE-LICIOUS. And totally worth the wait.
There’s tables so you can sit – you’ll probably make some new friends. there’s live blues, there’s carnival rides and a couple artist/ random vendors selling stuff. IT;S THE BEST!
Sadly, i dont think dogs are allowed anymore -they used to be, but it got a little crazy a couple years ago – so now i think it’s dog free.
Alright. eat a rib for me. Enjoy!
Th
Well, last week’s 5a7 was INSANE! Tons of new and regulars out on the patio at Bauer for the beauty weather, some delish eats and networking for Social Media Day!
Pic from Christian!
This week should be just as good :D
Weather is looking gorgeous (26, will feel like 29) , and Brock and Karl will be hosting a little meetup on location to talk about #creativepublic. What is Creative Public you ask? Well you better come out, have a beverage and find out! OR,
go to this link and find out.
Ha!
H.
WHAT’S EVERYONE DOING TONITE????
Failte? McMullen’s? The Duke? Fox? Molly Bloom’s? McGabe’s? Bobby O’briens? LUCKY’S????
Gimme the lowdown on where all the hip kids’ll be getting their green beer on!
(Anyone hitting up Cinq a Sept? I’ve gotta an Irish Family-ness happening – Corned Beef and Soda Bread – so I’ll be missing it!)
H.
Lucy Waverman is coming to KW.
And you can meet her – and she can COOK for you!
Wednesday October 13 at THEMUSEUM:
Doors open at 6pm. Demo starts at 6.30pm.
Enjoy samples from local vendors!
Q & A With Lucy Waverman! Book sales and autographs!
Great Door prizes!
Silent Auction! – this includes a piece of work from Jack Jackowetz! thanks dude!
Each guest receives a complimentary gift bag!
Tickets $45 in advance or $50 at door. Contact me for your tickets!
All proceeds go to benefit Canadian Hadassah WIZO.
There’s a couple tix left, and I’ll be there volunteering – so we can hang out!
Lemme know if you’re interested!
H.
In my never-ending quest to experiment doing things to see if i actually still dislike doing them – We made Pickles on Sunday!
Now, I shouldn’t say that I dislike pickling – because i don’t – i think it’s a great time! – it just takes SO.LOOOOONG.
If it took half the time, i’d be all over pickling and canning and cooking all kinds of things – but i just don’t have the patience, ya know?
But anyways, these little beasts are just going to be delicious, i can tell.
Since the Corn Pickling post went over ridiculously well – I am going to share my cucumber pickling experience with you too – but after that, it’s over. You’ll have to get your pickling porn somewhere else.
So here goes… get a half bushel of cucumbers from Herrle’s - costs about $15 plus you’ll want to grab a bunch of fresh dill and garlic too.
1. Wash the cukes.
2. Cut the cukes into spears… if you want to fit more than 4 pickles in a jar. Get the cloves of garlic ready and if you’re really adventurous, some pearl onions too…. it is suggested you wear a shirt that matches what you are pickling.
3. Wash and divide the dill (flowers and dilly looking part)- and drop equal amounts into each sterilized mason jar. Also drop in the garlic and onions.
4. Then stick all the spears into the jars, so they are totally stuck in there. Should be about 6-7 cucumbers worth.
5. Fill the jars up with Brine covering all cucumbers and letting about 1/4 inch of space at the top (1 litre water / 250 ml vinegar / 60 ml kosher salt – simmer for a few minutes till the salt disolves)
6. Put the sterilized lids on tight and put them in a hot water bath till they boil – keep’em in there for 5 mins.
7. Then take’em out and let them cool down in slightly warm and then cool water. If you do this step too fast, the jars will crack, so it takes for fucking ever. Beware.
8. Let’em sit for a week or two… then eat. Look at them! They look like real pickles!
I’ll keep you posted on how they actually taste – i don’t recommend making them till i report back!
Hope you enjoyed this installation of Hilary Destroys a Clean Kitchen!
H.
As promised, I pickled baby corns today.
Here’s proof… and instructions should you want to try it yourself!
Step 1. Peel a bushel of baby corns. I suggest enlisting a family full of people… since there are A LOT of corns in a bushel of baby corns. (You should know you can not just walk in and buy a bushel from a store, we ordered it through a woman who is affiliated with Herrles – took about a week to be ready)
Corn dog? hahahahahaa.
Step 2: You’re going to want to soak the corns in some cold water. This makes it really easy to pull off any of the silk hairs that were stuck on there.
Step 3: Throw all those mo-fos into a huge pot of boiling water. Boil for 4 mins.
Step 4. Strain and soak in cold water to stop them from cooking.
Step 5. Strain them again, and start packin’em into the jars. You’ll want to make it a pretty tight fit.
Step 6: Make the pickling juice-goodness and pour it into the jars so all the corns are covered.
Here’s how to make Marlene’s not-so-secret recipe:
I know, I know, it’s only Tuesday and it hurts to think about how far it is until the weekend … but it’s such a great one that you need to start planning your itinerary NOW!
Here’s a couple things you might want to check out:
Craft Beer and Ribfest in Victoria Park – the most delicious event of the summer FOR.SURE. All weekend long. We went last year and it was unbelievably tasty. If you’re not into Ribs and Beer, a) you are crazy b) there is bbqd corn and lemonade and rides for kids. This event rules. Hope you’ll be able to make it!
Uptown Jazz Festival – Going on all weekend in Uptown, the Jazz Festival is always a good time. 100% FREE. There’s two stages, one in the Waterloo City Hall Parking lot off Regina and Waterloo Public Square… so get out, have some gelato and listen to some goodness.
If these two events aren’t quite your style… maybe you’d like to check out Summmer Jam at Bingemans on July 17. Totally sold out, but there’s still tix available on Kijji. Busta Rhymes and T-Pain in Kitchener. Amazing. Last year The Roots played – we were going to go, but totally bailed due to a hangover and being broke. Totally regret it now, The Roots are awesome.
The weather should be glorious, there is no excuse for anyone to have a lame-o weekend…. Get out of your house and do SOMETHING!
H.
YAY!
Monday – Saturday 8am – 6pm
Sunday 9am – 5pm
I will be stopping there on my way home from work for some delicious localness!
You should too.
Full site is HERE…. or find them on Twitter @HerrlesMarket.
Could tweeting from a tractor be any cooler? No, i didn’t think so.
H.
The Starbucks inside Chapters in Waterloo was closed for a little bit for renovations.
It’s open again, and pretty nice inside… the ordering area is bigger and there’s more room for lining up and looking at all the delicious pastry-ness.
I heard that all the wood is made from trees that had fallen due to natural causes. lol. ie. no trees were harmed during the making of this yuppy facility.
They even have a pretty nice wood “community table” – Matter of Taste must be threatening them!
Just thought i’d share. I know, all my posts are about food lately. Deal with it.
H.
PS. It’s Mother’s Day on Sunday you selfish bastard. Do something nice for her.
In the last episode of The 100 I mentioned I would post a recipe for “Muffnuts”
What, you ask, are Muffnuts? Well, they are a little baked deliciousness that is a muffin that tastes like a donut.
My 11 year old cousin Ali makes them, and they are lovely.
Here’s the recipe:
MUFFNUTS: Muffins that taste like donuts
Ingredients:
1 1/3 cup flour
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp nutmeg
1/4 tsp cinnamon
1/3 cup oil
3/4 cup sugar
1 egg
3/4 cup milk
Dip:
1/2 cup melted butter
3/4 cup sugar
1 tsp cinnamon
Directions:
Preheat oven to 350*F
Mix all dry ingredients (flour, baking powder, salt, nutmeg, cinnamon NOT SUGAR)
Mix all wet ingredients (oil, sugar, egg and milk)
Add wet ingredients to dry ingredients and mix until combined (still lumpy)
Put batter in either big muffin tins or you can also do mini muffin tins
Bake for 20-25 minutes (best if you do 25 minutes)
Shake muffins out of pan immediately after baking
While hot, dip tops of muffins in butter, then sugar, then cinnamon
There you go people. Enjoy ;)
H.
Here’s the link to the 8th episode of The 100! It was a super fun episode for me, since Bryan from Artbar was our guest and we’ve been friends since like… the 90s. whoa!
The main focus of the episode was the cooking classes that are happening at the Kitchener Market! (some links appear to be down, they’re working on it)
I checked out a class a couple weeks ago where Chef Ryan was cookin up some slow-cooked pork shoulder with root vegetables. Oh my god it looked and smelled amazing… however, the fucking gallbladder predicament meant no taste test for me. boooooo.
Here’s a couple pictures from that morning! courtesy of Ramy!
Chef Ryan and Bryan!
Emily smelling some serious Sauerkraut and Gavin giving Ramy the finger?
Ryan working up some amazing smelling root veggies!
Ah YUM. final product.
So here’s the deal. You should check out one of these classes – they’re GREAT. And… if you would like a deal to try it out, join the Facebook group The Market place at the Kitchener Market and you’ll get:
A) A free Saturday 10:30 am class before the end of the summer
or
B) $15 off an Evening Class – which are a bit more intense – which is usually $35, also valid till end of the summer.
IF YOU WANNA USE THIS DEAL, JOIN THE FACEBOOK GROUP BEFORE MAY 31.
Ok? Ok.
Happy cooking / eating your delicious creations!
H.
(10.5 days until organ removal)
A couple weeks ago on The 100, Andrew Coppolino mentioned “The Conestoga Room” – which is a little restaurant on the University Ave campus of Conestoga College that serves lunch and dinner prepared and served by Conestoga Culinary & Hospitality Students.
When I lived in Toronto, my office was pretty close to George Brown College which had a similar restaurant going on – and lunches there were always wicked. So I am psyched to try the local version.
They’ve got a new schedule and menu coming out for the Spring/Summer term – starting May 26th and I am all over that post organ removal.
“Hospitality and Culinary students operate the dining room as part of their curriculum. Our full service dining room offers exquisite 3 and 4-course lunches and is licensed. The menu items are prepared and served by aspiring Chef’s and Restaurant Manager’s studying in the hospitality programs at Conestoga College. Students gain real life experience applying the knowledge and skills learned in the classroom by producing and serving high quality food in a controlled learning lab environment.
Reservations are highly recommended. Please reserve for lunch at one of the following times: 11:45am, 12:00pm or 12:15pm. Spring/Summer reservations will be accepted by phone only 519-885-0501. (Email will not be checked)”
4 course lunch = $18.
yep. you read it right.
H.
