Quick Post about Chili

Yes, that's right, chili. I made a HUGE batch of chili this weekend - sorry no pics or recipe as I didn't really follow one - that I planned on eating all week for lunch or dinner. But like most things, I got tired of eating it on Day 2. Something about cooking the dish and smelling it for hours kind of takes the wind of out its sails once you sit down to eat it. I still really enjoyed this warm, spicy and slightly sweet meal (I added brown sugar) on a cold Winter's night/day; but last night I needed to change it up a bit!

So I boiled up some Rigatoni pasta (you can use whatever you have on hand) then poured a bunch of the leftover chili in a pan to heat up. The chili turned out rather thick so I poured some red wine to thin it out a bit and make it more of a sauce; really, red wine makes anything better, right? I also added a bunch of baby spinach to the "sauce" for some extra nutrition, though the chili itself is super good for you with tons of beans and veggies. After the pasta had boiled to an al dente texture (slightly under cooked) I added that to the chili sauce, grated some cheese and combined everything together in the pan for about a minute.

This was the finished product and it was SO DELISH!

This chili take on pasta really turned up the flavor and changed it into a completely different meal without wasting any of the chili goodness!

Some other random snaps...

My beautiful Fur-Babies keeping me company, they follow me around the house wherever I go. They make really good sous-chefs too!

Here's a sneak peek at my dress for an upcoming work Holiday Party; cannot wait to wear this!

Next time you have some left over chili or even a thick soup that you are tired of eating; try adding pasta to it to change it into an entirely different meal. You could also change up chili by:

• Making Sloppy Joe's - just heat up in a pan, top on a nice bun with some cheese and you're in Lunch Lady Land!
• Making Chili Dogs - fire up some doggies on the BBQ, top with chili and cheese or any other toppings and you have yourself a ball park favorite at home.

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Third World Bazaar

This Sunday I stopped by the Third World Bazaar located on Mitch Owens Drive in Ottawa (outskirts) which operates out of an old barn. The Third World Bazaar is a family business that purchases products from around the developing world and sells them to the Ottawa general public over a six week period. They have everything you could want from chairs, cabinets, mirrors, scarves, jewelry  vases and any knick-knack you can think of. I have been going to the TWB for 3 years now and I love it every time. Here are a few pictures of my visit -- no I didn't buy anything but I sure wanted to!

If you live in the Ottawa area, I highly suggest you check it out. If you aren't into furniture you can just relax outside and visit the local food stands. I had some wonderful Samosas from the Indian food stand -- shopping makes me hungry! They also offer hot apple cider which is a must have during the Fall season and you only have to make a small donation to partake in some hot cidery goodness!

Hope you all had a great weekend! Feel free to share what you did in the comments :-)

Papanak Zoo

Good Morning and Happy Monday Everyone!

I hope that you all had a wonderful weekend. I took my first trip to Papanak Zoo located in Wendover, Ontario this past Saturday and it was so fun! We had the perfect weather, sunny but not super hot, to walk around the outdoor zoo and see all kinds of exotic creatures from Wild Boars to Zebras.

 Beautiful picture of a bald eagle in the background and a huge spiderweb in the foreground

 The bear waved hello!

 Bosley, the crazy Baboon!

 Here's the lion getting his lunch on, those are chicken feet sticking out of his mouth BTW.

 The Bear and I

 Posing with the Deer

Having a Donkey lick your hand is a weird sensation! 

Romper: Milk Shop (new!), located in the Market downtown Ottawa

Belt: Suzy Sheir (came with a dress)

Shoes: Clark's (very old and normally wouldn't be my choice of foot ware but we were doing a lot of walking on uneven terrain so practicality won!)

I sadly feel Summer coming to a close and though I really love Fall and how beautiful it is, it also means Winter is right around the corner. I am so NOT a Winter lover, very un-Canadian of me but I gotta keep it real!

To go along with the remaining days of Summer, this song is really fitting:

I have really enjoyed my Summer and I will be doing a re-cap over Labor Day Weekend!

Did anyone do anything new and different this Summer?

Summer is Finally Here!

I know some of you may not agree with this but I LOVE this heat! I long for these types of hot humid days in the dead of winter when I am scrapping off my car, swearing all the while :)

I don't have too much to post about as the majority of the weekend I did this.....

LOL!

I did manage to peel myself away from sunbathing to go out for drinks and dinner with some girlfriends on Sunday evening. We headed to Moxie's in Orleans to celebrate a birthday. Moxie's is a chain restaurant in Canada that offers a chic funky atmosphere and a variety of apps and main dishes to choose from. It's a great place to go to for after work drinks.

 I will have to say I wasn't totally pleased with this visit to Moxie's. I get it.... people (men especially) don't really go there for the food. The waitresses are all gorgeous and that's the main attraction so you should know that going in. We had to send an entree back (burnt) and some wine (musky tasting) so that was a disappointment.

Even so, my meal was pretty decent. I ordered off their Summer Menu and got the Linguine Arrabiata With Pancetta & Lemon Mascarpone. The chorizo sausage added spice and the tomato-lemon undertone was a nice flavor. Mixing in the mascarpone made the dish creamy but still light tasting. Overall, about a 7 out of 10, I can make better pasta at home ;-)

Photo source: www.moxies.ca

I wanted something light to wear as it was so hot, too hot to sit outside even. So I went for this dress that I first wore on my trip to Prince Edward County. It's easy to throw on and very light. I had my hair cut & highlighted on the weekend so it was straight, which was hard to maintain with this humidity!

Dress: Vero Moda

Shoes: Aerosoles, seen here

Clutch: Le Chateau

Sunglasses: Coach

Necklace: Dynamite (seen too many times to mention!)

Overall, it was a pretty relaxing lazy Summer weekend. What did you get up to this weekend, how did you beat this heat? Would love to hear from you!

Love,

MelMac oxoxoxox

Canada Day Fun

Here's peak at what my Canada Day was like. For those of you not residing in Canada, click here for more info about our Nation's Birthday!

 Baby Yoga anyone?

 Woot Woot! Hands in the air, wave'em like you just don't care!

 Fire pit that was put in last year. Yes, I am a very lucky girl to live here. 

 Busting out some Canada Day moves!

 Hat was $2 and bathing suit cover-up $12 at Giant Tiger, what a bargain.

Again, so fortunate!

I am so disappointed that I didn't get any pics of the food but that's because it was gone as soon as it was served! 

I hope everyone had a safe and happy holiday!

Love,

Melmac xoxoxoxox

A Wine Tour in Prince Edward County - Part 3

And now for the third and final post capturing all the fun my girlfriends and I had this past weekend in Prince Edward County. I have a few more pictures to share, a map of our tour and last but not least, the tasty varieties I took home with me. Hint: none of them were a Red or White. Huh? What?

Here is a map of the wineries we went to in chronological order. The only map I could find online was from 2012 and Hinterland was no where to be found, but they get a special call out to make sure not to leave anyone out.

1) Huff Estates

2) Sugarbush

3) Karlo Estates

4) Keint-He

5) Sandbanks

6) Norman Hardie

7) Hinderland 

More random pictures from the tour. I know this is probably overkill but I just can't get enough of the landscape and how perfect a day it was! :-)

 This was the view when you looked across from the Karlo Estates barn area

 My friends, Laurie and Denise looking lovely. Me in the background admiring the view from the previous picture. The lady in the black top behind Denise's shoulder is Muriel, our sweet and knowledgeable tour guide. Sadly this is the only picture I have of her :-(

 Dee and I on our way into Karlo. You can see the size of the barn better in this shot.

Beth and I inside Karlo

I am ready to rock this wine tour! This was taken right before we loaded into the van.

So, what did I buy while visiting seven wineries in one afternoon and tasting over a dozen varieties of reds, whites and roses?

From left to right:
Huff Estates 2011 Rose - not too sweet and refreshing
Huff Estates 2010 Vidalescco - tastes like Prosecco, YUM!
Karlo Estates 2009 Van Alstine Red Port - amazing!
Sandbanks Love Cassis Aperitivo 2011 - can't wait to have this before a nice meal.

 Even the labels are pretty!

Score! 

Dress: Suzy Shier (belt came with the dress)

Necklace: Dynamite

Our tour was provided by Prince Edward County Wine Tours. We were given this handy bag to carry our purchases. This will be great when transporting multiple bottles of wine to a dinner party.

Not a red or white in the bunch but all super delicious and unique. I figure you can get decent reds and whites at the LCBO any day but these are special varieties and I look forward to enjoying them with friends and family.

Well, that's it! I am so happy with the comments on these posts and I hope that some of you will put a wine tour in PEC on your to-do list in the near future. Even if you don't like wine, there are still a ton of fun things to do in the County.

Friendship's the wine of life.
Let's drink of it and to it!

A Wine Tour in Prince Edward County - Part 2

On Monday I took you through Part 1 of my Girls Weekend Getaway to Prince Edward County. This follow up post will be picture heavy, are you ready? Okay, let's hit it!

We left off at Karlo Estates Winery, which was my favorite visit. Not that the other stops of the wine tour weren't fabulous but Karlo's had me at "do you want food pairings with your tasting?"

Our next stop was Keint-He Winery and Vineyard and it was in a really beautiful spot. They have north and south facing slopes for their vineyard and that allows for some really different tasting blends coming from one winery. As you can see from the pictures it was so tranquil; you can see lake Ontario just past the vines.

Next we visited one of the more popular wineries in Ontario, Sandbanks, named after the Provincial Park. I have loved their Baco Noir for many years so I tried tasting some different varieties and they were all delish!

 There was some musical entertainment at Sandbanks. At this point on the tour I will pretty pickled so  I sat back, enjoyed the breeze and the relaxing tunes at a near by Adirondack Chair

 Inside the tasting area

Some of the wares at Sandbanks. When you shop while under the influence you buy more! Smart people these Sandbankers.

On to the next! We went to Norman Hardie, another very popular winery. They import their vines from France so if you enjoy French wine, you should check this brand out. I tried their 2010 Chardonnay which I LOVED. It tasted the way you would expect it to be; light, citrus and lingering flavor on the tongue.

Vats at Norman Hardie

Sadly our tour was ending, but our tour guide was smart when she chose Hinterland Wine Company for our last stop. They only create sparkling wine, which I love. Ending a great day with a celebratory "CHEERS" with Champagne flutes filled with bubbly goodness. I tried their Whitecap 2012 Method Charmat.... 

AHHH-MAZING!

 As the vines do not grow very tall in this region of Ontario, the grapes need to be picked by hand. Here are some of the workers returning from a long day out in the field. I stumbled through some Spanish with them and they were super friendly even after a long day working outside.

 #FarmLife

We arrived back at Angeline's just after 6PM and we sat in this little trellis area and chatted, relaxed and let our wine buzz wash over us with satisfaction. Seven wineries on one tour, not too shabby!

 Me, Denise, Kelly and you can spot Beth in the distance Face Timing.

The night we ate dinner at the Waring House, which I have frequented many times and it's consistently a good time with great food. 

 This is a poorly taken iPhone picture with a messy room in the back ground. Oh well, you make do!

Dress: NEW! Vero Moda

Shoes: Adlo

Clutch: Le Chateau

County Cider and Cheddar Soup, YES! 

Another bad iPhone snap of the band Pearl who kept us tapping our toes while enjoying our meal. 

And FINALLY we reach the end of another lengthy post. I really hope you enjoy me taking you through this wine tour and PEC visit. Part 3 will be short (I promise!) and you will get to see which wines I ended up purchasing! Save the best for last I say :-)