Saturday night sillies and lemon coconut meltaways

Fact: I have four new gray hairs I've accumulated from the stress of my past week.

Auditions are tough.  If you're a dancer, singer, actor or performer, you'll know what I'm talking about. It's one thing to pursue a career in the arts but it's another thing to actually be successful in it.  You learn a lot from it, nevertheless.  The audition process can either go in your favour (very rare) or you can be left with a big fat NO (99% of the time).  You really build a thick skin and you have to tell yourself that it's not that you're bad at what you do (though it really seems like that at the time), it's just the personal preference of who you're auditioning for.  You could be too tall or too short, too thick or too thin.  You could have blonde hair and blue eyes and they'll be looking for someone with darker features.  These are all things you can't change about yourself so the only thing you can say to maintain optimism is that this wasn't the place you were meant to be.  Wouldn't you want to be somewhere where you can be appreciated for who you are anyways?

I have two auditions coming up this week, one of which I am lucky enough to travel to Oslo, Norway for!  I'm very excited because in what seems like less than a year, I've gone from having not been on a plane since I was thirteen, to having been on and off a plane four times.  I love travelling to new places and I love getting a feel for culture that is unlike what I am used to.  I also love Europe and am particularly fond of the Scandinavian countries, having been to Denmark earlier this year.  Oslo is neck and neck with Tokyo to be the world's most expensive cities (danger!!!!) but thankfully I'm only there for two days.

Joining me on my adventure is this one:

DAWGGG

Isabelle will be coming from Amsterdam and meeting me on Oslo.  We'll be going back to Toronto the same day but because I booked my flight after her, I wasn't able to get the same ticket as her without passing up on an extraordinary deal.  But fate is a funny thing.  My flight home leaves at 6:35 am (kill me now) and I have a 5 hour layover in Amsterdam (hey, at least it was cheap).  Isabelle leaves Oslo at 9:35 am and she has a layover in Amsterdam as well. It didn't even occur to me until yesterday as I was in line waiting to buy a lemon at Superfresh that there was a reason why I had to wait in the Amsterdam airport for 5 hours.  Lo and behold, we're flying on the same flight back to Toronto from Amsterdam and I could not be happier!  

So last night as we were booking a hostel in Oslo, we got distracted and made a delicious recipe I found on Pinterest for LEMON COCONUT MELTAWAYS from Addicted to Veggies. 

Here is some documentation of our baking:

This looked like we were cooking crystal meth.  Don't be alarmed. It's just sea salt.

The fact that there is an alligator sticker on this lemon makes me 99% suspicious.

Fun, fun and even more fun

Voila!

I must say, this was probably the most satisfying dessert I've had in a while.  Baking at the lowest temperature with the oven open a crack really does give it the crispy outer layer but instantaneous, melt-in-your-mouth bite.  We virtually ate the whole bowl that night.  Definitely will be repeating this recipe!  

And finally, a little film of the process and of us, just being goofballs.

Naturally, I put the alligator lemon sticker on my forehead. 

Pleasantly yours,

Bart

Guilt-free Cookie Dough Balls

This is a spin off my candy bar recipe.  I didn't have raw cashews nor did I have the urge to walk in the treacherous cold to the supermarket to pick some up.  I did however have a baggie full of my FAVOURITE NUT EVER - them macadamia nuts.  

I stuck them in my food processor till they became a paste, added dates to sweeten, some cinnamon and salt for flavour.  After I finished blending, I sprinkled in some cacao nibs for that choco chip crunch.  Très facile!

Ingredients:

• As many macadamia nuts as you can fit in your food processor 
• Medjool or honey dates, about 3 or 4, depending on how many nuts you use.
• 1 tspn of cinnamon 
• 1/2 tspn of sea salt or pink Himalayan salt
• As many cacao nibs to your liking 

*This mixture turned out a little more liquid than my cashew version so bars didn't seem practical, however, they made the most perfect ball shape.

Enjoy!

Pleasantly yours,

Bart

The Detox Market with a side of cookies

Last Sunday, my girlfriends and I took a day trip to a few places around the city, all of which were recent discoveries of mine.  I had been dying to bring my friends because I had inklings they would have appreciated them.  

First we stopped into a shop that I literally salivate over.  It's called The Detox Market and it's on King St. and Blue Jays Way.  Immediately upon walking into the store, you're greeted by a wall of what I, until further tastings, believe is the world's best chocolate.  The brand is called Taza Chocolate and I was first introduced to this piece of heaven by my school's nutritionist this past June.  Now, she's from New York so my challenge was finding this in Canada and for a long time, I had no such luck.  In September I was in New York myself and found the chocolate instantly at the Whole Foods in Columbus Circle.  Naturally, I stocked up and brought a whole ton back to Canada.  It wasn't until a few weeks ago that I stumbled upon this magical chocolate wall in The Detox Market and my dreams had come true.  

What I like best about this chocolate is that you have some of the most basic ingredients and not too many either.  It rarely surpasses five ingredients.  They use stone ground cacao beans and a bit of cane sugar and depending on the flavour, it would usually contain one or two more ingredients.  But wait...no soy lecithin??! Is it true?  Yes, yes. There is none of that stuff and it's wonderful and I think that might be part of what gives it this unique texture.  I think the texture is what makes it stand out the most for me.  When you bite into the chocolate it almost dissolves in your mouth into a powdery, almost sugary substance.  It kind of sounds too good to be true but believe me, you need to try this chocolate.  

This one I just tried for the first time and it's everything 

right in the world, captured by a chocolate bar

This is my go-to, all-time-favourite flavour and

has the perfect powdery texture I mentioned

So I've just walked through the doors and went on a whole tangent about this miracle chocolate... but turn your head to the left and you'll see a cold-press juice bar from Greenhouse Juice Co.  Not only do they have beautifully delicious flavours of juices (and almond milk, coconut water, aloe water, shots) but they have the cutest names and glass bottle that you can return and collect on a card until you get a free juice!

My friends and I went a little overboard...

The rest of the store is filled with fascinating products - skin care, make up, hair care, body and bath products, fragrances - all free from the chemicals and toxic gunk that you find in most beauty products.  I still need to properly explore this part of the store but lock me in there for a few hours and I'd be in paradise.

And I was in paradise.  I think my friends had to drag me out of the store.  And really the only thing that got me out of the store was knowing that our next destination was cookies.  And not just any cookies...

Le Gourmand (on Spadina and Richmond) has the best chocolate chip cookie in Toronto, according to me and likely numerous Torontonian blogs.  Sidenote: it is also a café but that doesn't really matter to me because as soon as I walk through those doors all I can smell and see and feel (I have a sixth sense for cookies), is that chocolate chip cookie.  

 

This is a record of my first ever Gourmand Cookie reaction, as Instagrammed by my friend...

And here's a happy picture of me and my friends.  All smiles because, well, cookies.

Pleasantly yours,
Bart

Homemade Vegan (I guess) Candy Bars/Cookie Dough - No More than Five Ingredients

Today I accidentally made something vegan.  Before I begin, I'll make one thing clear - I am not a vegan.  I don't have anything against veganism (I've been against animal cruelty since I first binge-watched Bambi at the innocent age of 4), it's just that I'm not in a place in my life right now where I can make that sort of commitment to a lifestyle.  I am, however, pretty passionate when it comes to eating healthy.  Mostly it comes with the fact that I'm a dancer and I rely on wholesome food as fuel and medicine for my body.  I've also been influenced by my older sister through my teenage years and I've always been fascinated with what she had to tell me.

That being said, I am also guilty of having an incurable sweet tooth.  Which is why, recently, I've been experimenting with finding ways of making snacks and desserts healthy, because the truth is this: sugar sucks.

Halloween was yesterday and while my trick-or-treating years are behind me (debatable), I couldn't help but feel cheated while I stayed in, watched movies and resentfully ate kale chips with my friend.  I probably was what children in my neighbourhood consider the "grumpy old witch".  So in brighter spirits this morning, I took out my handy dandy food processor and got creative.  I blended some raw cashews until they made a paste (it's pretty amazing how nuts do this) and then added some dates.  I used a mix of Medjool and honey dates because that's just what I had.  I processed the ingredients until they were properly combined and made something that looked just like cookie dough.  After this, I added cacao nibs and pressed the mixture out flat in a square tupperware.  Obviously, I sampled in between steps.

sorry for the snapchat documentation

This alone is dangerously delicious and am not even exaggerating when I say it tastes exactly like cookie dough.  So by all means, if anyone ever makes this, just leave it at that.  Eat it by the spoonful.  But I was feeling très experimental and melted some dark chocolate with coconut oil, put that on top of the cookie dough and stuck that baby in the freezer.  Fifteen or so minutes later I took it out and.....

Voila!  Candy bars!

um...still not vegan

Ingredients:

Base/Cookie Dough:
Raw cashews
Dates (really any kind. Medjool are tastiest)
Cacao nibs (or chocolate chips)

Chocolate Coating:
Dark chocolate
Coconut oil

Steps:

1. Toss the cashews into a food processor until it becomes cashew butter (yum).
2.  Add dates. Make sure there are no pits (not yum).
3. Press mixture flat into square pan or tupperware.
4. Melt dark chocolate and coconut oil in a cup in the microwave for a minute and drizzle on top of the cookie dough base.
5. Let it solidify in the freezer for fifteen minutes, then cut into squares and enjoy!

* As I just made this today (and will continue to make this) I'm going to experiment some more.  I bet you could add vanilla or cacao powder for some taste.  Or even coconut flakes, raisins, oats, etc.  Get fancy.

Pleasantly yours,

Bart