[Can you detect the wee smiley face in these delish cupcakes from Roma Bakery? That’s me on good food days.]
A decade of food blogging! It’s hard to believe. Once again I bemoan the infrequent additions to my site. I posted no “blog story” since last year’s Birthday Blog.
Eight recipes were added and here are my favourites.
Early in the year, I mastered Massaman Curry so as to relish the flavours from the dish at Chef Nuit Regular’s Toronto restaurants. I’ve made Financiers more times than I can count and everyone swoons when they taste them. Broccoli Noodle Bowls are a great way to enjoy broccoli. I’m thrilled I mastered Hungarian Stuffed Peppers and await the season when the peppers appear at markets. Hungarian Plum Dumplings are also somewhat seasonal. I’ve made these with some regularity and finally got the recipe recorded. I say these are “somewhat” seasonal because while best with fresh purple plums, they can be made with frozen/thawed plums or plum butter (a thick dark jam). I often make Red Pepper Hummus – in fact, just this week! It’s great to have on hand as motivation to eat lots of veggies.
I remain uncertain about how much longer to keep the blog. It still gets 200-500 visits a day. In mid-January, there was a spike of 700 visits – not sure what that was all about. There were about 8,000 visits in January.
One of those visitors was me!! The blog site is my personal cookbook with oft-repeated recipes. I have practically no recipes memorized so I open my iPad when blissing in the kitchen. If I didn’t have the blog I’d have to shuffle papers or go back to having a ring binder with printed recipes. Hmmm.
I have about 15 favourite recipes waiting to be added to Kitchen Bliss. With respect to my failure to add more to the blog, I used to blame the workload linked to weekly articles while working at The Spectator. Though the load is less at Hamilton City Magazine, I still do not devote as much time as I’d like to my blog. My biweekly (free) newsletter keeps attracting new subscribers. It also takes time but I enjoy writing it and hearing from readers. (Sign up here and/or read recent issues at this link.)
My newsletters and Instagram enable me to share food news and ideas more quickly and regularly. I’ll have to find a way to make more of that appear here. The joy of food involves both cooking and eating so I’ll share some dining stories.
I have been checking out a lot of restaurants - some as research for my food writing, and many for fun and family events. This list is surprisingly long. I won’t offer reviews of all of them here, but if you’re tempted to visit one, feel free to connect.
Family birthday celebrations tend to be in Toronto and we’ve had great, flawless meals at Lao Lao Bar (Thai), Pink Sky (seafood), and Dreyfuss (French bistro).
I continue to write Dining District articles for Hamilton City Magazine (HCM) and that often requires me to check out some restaurants. The 2024 articles have focused on King William, The Farmers’ Market, James South, Ancaster and Downtown Burlington. In each District I have eaten. at several places but have not listed them here. It would make the list of restaurants I have visited even longer!! Follow the links to the articles if you wish to read more. I’m happy to offer tips for those I have visited.
One restaurant that deserves special mention is Burlington’s DiMario’s. It’s currently my favourite restaurant. The upcoming March 2025 issue of HCM will feature their Chef/Culinary Director Claudio Aprile. The menu is Italian with clever twists that take flavour experiences over the top. Plating reliably triggers anticipation. I encourage you to visit!
Speaking of Italian… 2024 was the year we finally made the trek to Crystal Beach to visit Rizzo’s House of Parm – the creation of Matty Matheson. In fact, we visited twice, both times going with the chef’s menu which was an insane quantity of food – great value for the cost. The meal included: mozzarella sticks with marinara dip; Burrata in a fab cherry tomato salad with grilled focaccia; Caesar’s salad; focaccia with garlic and parm butter – oil/ balsamic dip; Spaghetti Pomodoro; rapini and roasted potatoes; Penne al la Vodka, and Tagliatelle Bolognese; veal and chicken parmesan; tiramisu and cannoli. This was home-style Italian cooking – delicious and unforgettable. Definitely a highlight of 2024 dining!!
A few more eateries drew us in more than once in 2024 - the German menu at Kaiser House in Port Dalhousie. Best schnitzel! PiqueNique in St. Catharines is the essence of charm with great food. Radius in either Hess Village or Brant St in Burlington are worth a visit.
2024 travels sometimes had us heading to Toronto (on the GO train to avoid traffic). Our goal was to explore three food destinations. With renovations complete, Union Station itself is impressive with a food and retail section that mimics central stations in world capitals. The Foodie Aisle and Union Market are only two food areas. You may need Union Station maps to find your way to these areas.
A short walk from Union Station gets you to the recently opened city centre – The Well. It’s described as an integrated mixed-use space to “Eat, Shop, Work, Live and Play.” The Food Court is filled with eateries I have never seen in a typical mall. Plus there are 12 distinct restaurants. With several visits under our belts, we have dined at East Tea Can, La Plume Brasserie and The Dorset. I always give in to the temptation to grab some delicious sweets from Nord Lyon before heading home. A short walk from The Well is another new establishment – Waterworks Food Hall. Enticing, unique food stalls tempt you with ample seating to sit and enjoy your selections. Susur Lee’s restaurant “Lee” has been resurrected in this charming restored building.
Our summer travels took us further afield to Tobermory where (sadly) we did not encounter fab food with the exception of fish and chips at The Fish and Chips Place. Our trip to New York City involved some good eats, but I’ll save that for another (promised) blog post. Mind you, Café Sabarsky and Pâtisserie Fouet deserve a quick mention here.
Along the way there have been breakfast adventures – and this too deserves a separate post. Gelato has been enjoyed at Eataly, Castelli Cucina and to my great delight a Nani’s has opened nearby. New coffee spots seem to be opening weekly and are always welcomed.
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Thanks for visiting, reading and supporting my food stories and recipes. Hoping you find some bliss in food.