A Night Out With Manitoba Food Bloggers

Exciting things are happening around Winnipeg.  The Manitoba Food Bloggers have had their first gathering and are planning more.  Now please excuse the lateness of this post.  We actually had our night out February 29th  at Elements.  It was a fabulous night of food, drink, a seminar on photography with the fabulous Ian Mcausland,  and friendship. Many of us met for the first time in person.  Our name tags also had our twitter handles and out website names on them. It was so neat to see these and say "Oh hi! I read your blog all the time!".  There were door prizes, goody bags, and donations to Siloam Mission.

It was such a fantastic opportunity to chat with others who have similar interests.....FOOD!  There wasn't just bloggers there. We had restaurateurs and business owners, representatives from different producer groups, Half Pints Brewery was there with free samples, as was the Tipsy Thief. 

I had my camera with me but I didn't take too many photos. I wanted to enjoy the evening and not worry about photos.  I did manage to click a couple of pics but I spent the evening enjoying the company and learning to not rely so much on my flash!

I am looking forward to the next Manitoba Food Bloggers event and can't wait for future plans with this fabulous group of people!  A huge thank you to everyone involved in making this event happen!

Until next time, stay warm and eat well!

Stories From the Road and Beyond and Yes, a Little More Baseball

So sorry I have neglected my blog and all of my lovely readers.  We got so incredibly busy with baseball and baseball activities in St. Louis, then the long drive home, then the unpacking, then the going back to work....it all just piled up sooooo quickly!  We were getting back to the hotel so late, I didn't feel to much like taking food photos or typing for that matter. Here is the low down on the rest of the trip to fabulous St. Louis:

St Louis is in bloom!

1) The Canadian Rookies won their tournament!! Unfortunately I missed the game (bad parent!) as Hubby and I had to start the long drive home so we could meet the bus and pick up the Boy!  For those who understand baseball jibber jabber.....the Boy hit a 2 run double to bring the Rookies ahead by one, the other team scored a run, the Rookies had the bases loaded, 1 out, and went with a suicide squeeze bunt....and it worked!!!! Woot Woot!!

2) We attended Opening day festivities in downtown St Louis.  It was a fun time, with lots of music and some food...I especially enjoyed the free ribs from O'Charleys!!

3) We went the the Saturday game at Busch Stadium with the Padres playing the Cardinals....the Cards lost big time!!!  We had lovely seats in left field right behind the bull pen!! (Yes, we were out in left field! ha ha ha) The Boy and I each had a ball park bratwurst and shared some nachos. Hubby went for the pulled pork BBQ with baked beans.  We don't get to see MLB games too often so we don't feel guilty about eating the food! The Boy also managed to scarf down a pretzel!

Hello pitchers.....

4) The 12 hour drive to Fargo, North Dakota was long. We took food with us and stopped only for gas and restroom breaks. The Dinner we had at Ruby Tuesday's was lovely. We raided the all you can eat salad bar and called it a night!

5) We actually caught up to the bus Monday afternoon at 1pm, about 2km from the drop off point!

6)  I have officially lost count of how many loads of laundry we have done since arriving at home.

7)  After unloading the car we went grocery shopping.

8) I made chicken pot pies for supper Monday...the freezer needs to be restocked and I have to find a day to do a big freezer filling cooking day.

9) Returning to work means getting into full swing for out school production...I am the stage manager and may be away from blogging during the show and rehearsal times.

10) Life is slowly returning to normal, but I am still catching up on sleep.  I became quite accustomed to naps while on vacation!

What a great looking team!  That's the Boy, the tall one in the middle of the back row

 Now that the winter program is almost over, it is time for regular season baseball....and that means more games, more food, and more fun!!

Until next time, stay warm and eat well!

My Evening with David Adjey (And a Bunch of Other People)

This  morning I was browsing the local newspaper online and discovered that Food Network's David Adjey was in town! Anytime I can get out to meet a celebrity chef that I enjoy watching I like to go.  This was a fundraiser for the Children's Make A Wish Foundation, which is a fabulous cause so the 35$ ticket was not a problem.  David spoke to the group about all things food.  From restaurant industry secrets, to local food, to the use of technology, he covered it all.  Such an energetic speaker and still so animated about food, David was so refreshing to see and listen to.

Some of the things I learned tonight (some I already thought but David just re affirmed for me):

1. Local food is a gift and we should embrace it
2. Despite #1, the 100 mile diet is a load of crap....how can 100 square miles nourish that many people?
3. Cook for yourself...do it because you love it.
4. Share your cooking with your loved ones.
5. Technology is our friend and we should all use it.
6. Generation 'Y'....apparently they are smart and they know how to shamelessly promote themselves.
7. Speak up for what you want....if you stand there being polite, you won't get a photo with him.
8. Yelling sometimes helps
9. It is possible that David has some sort of attention deficit....but it works.
10. Never order the 'special' at a restaurant....ever.
11. Fish in a cream sauces means don't order the fish....ever.

Of course the evening did include some food...local food of course and boy oh boy was it fabulous!!  It was a bit of a finger food extravaganza...Wings, chicken strips, pork tenderloin, pulled pork....mmmmm boy!

There were also some lovely locally made crackers and snacks, and chocolates available to munch on as well. Locally bottled water from Canadian Gold was offered, and even given away for free!
All in all it was a great evening... I will have to keep an eye out for events such as this!

Until next time, stay warm and eat well!