Candied orange peel at Alex's bakery on Bank st: Ottawa!

I have been going to this small new bakery for the past few months.
This lovely and modern looking store is a new addition to the Glebe area.
Usually I purchase some pastries and bread a few times a week.
During my last visit I spotted a few interesting new items- some homemade jams and freshly made candied orange peel.
I happen to be a fan or candied orange peel with chocolate, orange marmalade-so this was right up my alley :)!
The lady working at the bakery told me that they freshly made the orange peel in the store. The display was very nice looking and the price was very good at .80 per piece.
Each piece of candied orange peel was aprox 2x3" and around 1/4 inch in thickness- so fairly easy to bite into.
You could see the texture of the peel quite well and it was quite tart in taste!
I plan on purchasing more of this peel for myself and for a gift to someone who happens to enjoy everything with candied orange.
If you have a chance do stop by and try this item.

Candied orange peel from Alex's bakery!

Test Tube August 2011 New Beauty loot!

Finally!!!
My quarterly edition of New Beauty Magazine's Test Tube has arrived!
Here is a list of what I received in my tube:

*Mally Evercolor Starlight waterproof eyeliner in "Midnight". full size $15 (it is a dark black shade).
*Lashfood lash conditioner 1.5ml (full size 8ml =$120.00).
*L'Oreal Elnett hairspray 312g can $14.99 full size.
*Orlane Hydro-mattifying care 3.5ml (full size 50ml=$88.00).
*Dr. Brandt Vacum Cleaner 7.5ml (full size 30ml= $45.00).
*Sparitual Handprint Serum 7.4ml (full size 120ml $60).
*YBF lipliner in "Posing Plum" (full size $8.00).
*Macadamia - Healing oil treatment 30ml (value $15), Deep repair masque 30ml.

There was also an issue of the latest New Beauty magazine!
The magazine is always interesting with a lot of timely scientific articles on the latest cosmetic surgeries.
I also enjoy seeing the before and after photos of celebrities and "regular people".
In Canada you can pick up this magazine at Chapters and at Shoppers Drug Mart!
A bit on the pricey side, but worth reading.

I will be uploading some pics as soon as my slow computer downloads them off my camera!

Aug 2011 Test Tube still packaged!

Aug 2011 Test Tube: another view!

I will be posting reviews of each product as I get around to trying them.
So far I have tried the Mally waterproof eyeliner. The eyeliner is a very dark black shade and goes on very smoothly. After a minute or two it seems to set and has a lot of staying power. I put some on my hand and washed it at least 4 times and the eyeliner did not budge!
Another nice thing is that it is made in Germany.

More reviews to come.......

New breed of chicken called "Cotton Candy"!

I was at the Lansdowne Farmer's Market during mother's day when there was a petting zoo.
There were some very unusual animals there that week.
What really caught my eye were the fluffy colored chickens!
They looked just like fluffy cotton candy, with the pastel shade to match!
If you manage to find one of these chickens at the store,supposedly the meat tastes a lot like...cotton candy ;)
These colorful birds are actually the size of a small chicken, but this pic was taken on a cell phone and turned out much smaller.

Cotton Candy chickens at the Lansdowne Farmer's Market!

 

A grey Llama!

There was also a grey spotted Llama. I have never seen that before!

A goose with very fluffy feathers!

There was also a pair of geese that have very fluffy feathers.
I was told it is a breed that originates in another country (forget which one).
The same petting zoo was at the Lansdowne Farmer's Market this weekend!
Hopefully they will be back, the animals were interesting to see,

Close call with food poisoning at Maison Baguette!

Hope that everyone is having a great summer!
I haven't posted in a while as I just did not get around to it. Now I hate to start up again with a negative experience,and debated writing this- but this was my personal experience two weeks ago.
I had bought a few (3) coupons through a local deal of the day website and had heard of Maison Baguette before from their previous location downtown.
Having never gotten the chance to go to their old location, I jumped at the chance to try this much heard about bakery.
My first visit was good- had a breakfast sandwich made from a croissant and that was ok. It was slightly ruined by the cooking of the eggs in the microwave and also heating the croissant in the microwave.
The breakfast croissant was alright,but the sogginess somewhat ruined it, at least they did use real cheese!
I also had a bread with fruits in it and the homemade baked beans.
My visit was overall positive and I looked forward to going back to try other items.

Now my visit two weeks ago was not very pleasant for the most part.
I had bought a filled croissant and that was good (unfortunately it is hard to remember what was even in it), a "corn bread" and the homemade baked beans.
I did not try the baked beans in the store as they were already packaged. Since it was hot out at the time I had brought a small insulated cooler to keep my grocery items cool.
The beans were transported in that and were still very cold when I got home.
The beans were tasted when I got home and I immediately noticed an "off taste" or a fermented taste.
Also when I had gotten the container home the lid was inflated,but I thought that was just from carrying the container on the bus (even though it was secure).
I ended up putting the container in the fridge and came back an hour later to find there was a lot of buildup of gas and the container looked like it could explode in my fridge-the lid was pretty much about to pop off the container.
Unfortunately I did not get a picture,but I know what spoiled food looks like (cans and sealed containers that are bulging are unsafe to eat).
I also consulted with some food safety experts, a nurse and the city dept that handles food safety and my details of the spoiled item did confirm that it was spoiled and too "fermented".
(I have also seen a similar thing happen with some beans from Costco someone bought a few years ago...roommate had left them in the fridge too long...).
Just to be sure, I also spoke to some "bean experts" who make baked beans every week and they told me the item was unsafe to eat and that I'm lucky I did not get ill from this.
Before I forget, the beans were also not dated, so no idea how long they were there for. It was also the last container in the fridge.

Based on this latest experience, I am sure I will not return to Maison Baguette on Montreal road.
Another thing is I thought most of their items were supposed to be homemade?
Well, when I was there they were advertising fresh waffles....MADE FROM A MIX.
I do not remember the brand, but they had the manufacturer's poster for Malted waffle mix.
If I wanted items made from a mix those are easy enough to make in my own kitchen.

I'm sure some people may have had more positive experiences with Maison Baguette,but I am not one of those persons apparently.
Now I do want to end this post on a positive note and will also include my list of places that have delicious fresh baked beans.

Bearbrook Farms at the Lansdowne Farmer's market has fresh baked beans every week.
The only downside is they have bacon in them and vegetarians might not want that?
But if you enjoy eating bacon and like baked beans, these are very tasty.
They have molasses,onion,bacon and...beans.
A large container is $5- you can also only get these on Sunday's till 3pm.

La Binerie Plantagenet also makes baked beans that are sold in some local stores.
I've bought these from Farm Boy before. These are good and they also have a vegetarian version for the people who do not want meat in their beans!

Foolish Chicken on Holland also has baked beans on their menu. I just had some as a side dish with my meal and they were very good. Forgot to ask what was in them though.

So there you have it! Thankfully I managed to avoid food poisoning!

CocoMira delicious and addicitive Canadian candy!

CocoMira is a candy I tried quite a while ago and meant to post about sooner.
If you have not heard of CocoMira it is a hard toffee-like confection that is topped with chocolate and various kinds of nuts.
CocoMira is made in Canada in Toronto.
When I first tasted CocoMira Maple Crunch, it reminded me of Almond Roca- except that CocoMira is in flat squares instead of the foil wrapped candies of Almond Roca.
CocoMira Maple Crunch is made with real Canadian maple syrup and I found it had a richer taste than the Almond Roca toffee center. The milk chocolate was not overly rich and was quite sweet. The combination of nuts of the Maple Crunch is pecans and almonds- which makes for a nice tasty change.
CocoMira also happens to be gluten free, for those people who are trying to avoid those ingredients.
I bought CocoMira at Natural Food Pantry in Ottawa, but it can also be bought in many other stores and ordered online.
This would make a great Canadian gift for anyone who likes sweet treats.
The only "problem" there is with CocoMira was that it is too easy to finish the whole box by yourself!

CocoMira Maple Crunch and Hazelnut Crunch!

Valmont Bio-Regenetic Serum amazing for those 11 frown lines!

Recently I was able to get my hands on one of the elusive Valmont Switzerland skincare serums.
Having heard so much of this famed line and how it made the skin amazingly soft and young looking,I was curious to try some of this line.
Valmont is quite a premium line and out of my budget at the moment, so the opportunity to try even a sample is nice.
The Valmont product that I tried was Bio-Regenetic Serum. The website for Valmont claims the serum helps give the skin energy and can restructure the skin with DNA and RNA ingredients.
Now, I have not been using this product very long and can not yet determine if my skin will have any permanent changes from this product.
When I first tried Bio-Regenetic serum it absorbed very well and also has minimal to no scent. Good for people who are sensitive to highly scented products. I also have very sensitive skin and was not irritated at all by this product.
The Valmont serum was used on my "11" frown lines and I did notice an immediate plumping action and my lines were much less noticeable the whole day.
So far this very luxurious product has been very pleasing to use.
I would recommend Valmont Bio-Regenetic serum to anyone who wants a very luxurious was of improving their frown lines!
If you can get your hands on a sample it is the best way of trying this serum and knowing if it works for you.
The sample I was able to obtain came in a 3ml plastic tube and is not airtight. The full size Valmont serum is 30ml in size and comes in an airless pump to protect the ingredients.
(I got my sample from a store I shop at).
If you are looking to purchase Valmont products in Canada Essential Day Spa sells that line on their website and has great customer service.
The Valmont Switzerland website can be found at:
http://www.boutiquevalmont.com/canada/bio-regenetic.html?___store=canada_en&___from_store=canada_en

The price of Valmont Bio-Regenetic serum is $257.00 in Canada.

Valmont Bio-Regenetic Serum

 

 

 

 *Thanks to Essential Day Spa for having this Valmont product pic on their site. I do not have the full product in my hands here.

Todric's Lobster Open Ravioli! Great taste and presentation!

I finally had the chance to go back to Todric's and try the Lobster Open ravioli in cognac cream sauce.
The dish was very well presented and had a very rich spicy taste.
The cream sauce was very rich and had an unexpected bit of spiciness to it. I asked the server and was told that there was a bit of cayenne pepper added to the sauce (it was not very spicy,just nicely spiced).
The "ravioli" part of the dish was made of two big sheets of pasta and the cream sauce and large chunks of fresh lobster were placed between that.
The ravioli was very fresh and nicely cooked too.
One part of the dish that surprised me was that there was actually mushrooms in the filling of the ravioli-that went well with the lobster (but was not mentioned on the menu). The mushrooms made the dish seem much more filling!

The server also mentioned that in this dish the chef uses the meat from a one and a half pound lobster,so that was quite substantial.
What was very original was the presentation- the head and tail of the lobster were on the edges of my plate.
There was also the two lobster claws and those were very carefully placed on the edge of the pasta making it look like the whole crustacean was there!
This dish is not something I would order every day as it is quite rich and would be better for a special occasion.
The market price for the lobster ravioli dish today was $38 (also why I could not eat this too often).

Also while at Todric's today I also had the chef's creation appetizer and a pineapple upsidedown cake.
Those will be added to my post soon this weekend!

Todric's Lobster open ravioli in cognac cream sauce!

Lobster Head!

Lobster Tail!