AN ISRAELI THEMED DINNER PARTY

Two years ago, post licensing exams, two girlfriends and I got together to cook the #foodofourpeoples. We started with gnocchi, then followed a few months later with pesto. We soon realized that after spending a day in the kitchen, it was way more fun to include more people, and wine, when feasting on the fruits of our labour. So just like that, the #foodofourpeoples dinner parties were born.

First up was a Portuguese feast, featuring family wine, Portuguese stew and custard tarts. Then we devoured an Italian meal, filled with cured meats, tortellini, veal cutlets and panettone. And finally, last night, we hosted an Israeli themed dinner, inspired by some of my favourite local middle eastern restaurants (here and here).

A NEW YEAR'S EVE SUNDAY ROAST

My favourite kind of evening is a low key night at home with friends, with good food and good wine. Toss in a roaring cottage fire, boardgames and festive decorations, and I am one happy camper. With a little bit of prep, a Sunday roast comes together effortlessly, and easily feeds a crowd. Combine that with a handful of simple sides, and no one will go home hungry. Here's a breakdown of how we tackled our new year's eve Sunday Roast. Happy 2018!

OUR WEDDING: PART I [AND SWEET POTATOES WITH POMEGRANATE AND MINT]

Back in January, we had this crazy idea to bring all our favourite people to a place we love for a weekend of wedding festivities. It was important to us to get more than one evening with our guests, and the County seemed like the perfect place to do that. So we set out to plan a weekend that we knew we would love, and hoped that our friends and family would love it too.

The weekend started with a welcome dinner at County Road Beer Co. We've loved Hinterland Winery ever since our first trip to the County, so we knew that their neighbouring brewery would not disappoint. They worked with us to develop a beautiful seasonal menu, we set out some of our favourite bubbly, and we let the evening just run its course. We lucked out with the weather, allowing us to take advantage of their large outdoor patio, and guests just mingled, chatted, laughed, ate and drank. It was the perfect start to the weekend.

A NOVEMBER BOWL WITH BALSAMIC VINAIGRETTE

November is always a weird eating month for us. Caught in between all the incredible Fall produce and the warm bowls of winter stews and curries, our meals often feel confused. I'll make a light soup, a giant bowl of noodles, or some sort of bulked up salad - light on the greens, heavy on the grains and roasted veg.

I was running out of weekday lunch time inspiration, so turned to the menu at a salad joint in Toronto for some inspiration. Modelled after their "maple greens" bowl, this November bowl is perfect for this time of year - with brussels sprouts, roasted squash, dried cranberries, and balsamic vinaigrette laced with maple syrup.

PUMPKIN MUFFINS

We're heading out of town tomorrow to get married (!!!), and snacks for the car/airbnb was a must. The cooler bag will be packed with all the usual suspects (trail mix, grapes, cucumber slices and hummus), but we needed something a little more festive.

That's where these pumpkin muffins come in. They're super easy to throw together, and the pumpkin purée and seasonal spices just scream October. They may not be fancy, but they will forever remind me of the time we hopped on the 401 and drove west to our wedding. Can't wait!

MAINE

We spent Quebec's birthday in Maine this year. Neither of us had ever been, and being only a 6 hour drive away, we figured what better way to spend a few June days. So we loaded the car, hit the road, and ventured south-east.

We spent the first 2 days in Acadia National Park, hiking, camping, drinking blueberry soda and eating lobster. Then we headed to Portland, and made several stops along the way for lobster rolls, blueberry loaf, and local beer. Once in Portland, we toured the town, ate phenomenal food, drank more beer, ate more lobster rolls, and loaded up on sweet potato donuts. We couldn't have asked for a better few days, and will most definitely be back.

GERMANY

Back in June, I travelled to Germany with my family - a long overdue family trip to visit my Oma and Opa's birth country. Growing up, we didn't speak much about Germany, but as we grew older, our curiosity to visit my grandparents' childhood homes and learn more about our family's history grew stronger. So we organized a 10 day whirlwind trip through Germany, with stops in all the key places, giving us just enough time to take it all in.

We started the trip in Frankfurt, Oma's hometown. We saw her childhood home, and the park she used to play in, we visited one of the only remaining synagogues in Frankfurt and strolled around her old neighbourhood. We then day-tripped to Cologne, to see where my Opa grew up. His childhood home is still there, adorned in the same red carpet and gold detailing that existed over 80 years ago. It was incredible. We then hopped a train to Munich and spent 2 days walking and exploring. We drank our share of 1L beers, spent copious amounts of time in local beergartens, and ate several giant pretzels and oversized schnitzels. Our final stop was Berlin, where we took in all the history, museums and vegan food we could handle, before parting ways and heading home. It was an emotionally heavy week, but also a once in a lifetime experience. Some highlights and recommendations below.