Toronto Part 5: Fettuccini Fiesta & Fiesta Salad!!

Day 6:

Starting our day off with more fruit, Lolo & Georgie headed to Ontario Lake. We packed our rice wraps & some fruit for lunch. We were waaay stoked on the rice wraps w/ ‘peanut’ sauce!!
We checked out all the cute little stands selling clothes, jewellery, accessories, etc that were at the harbour front. It was SO COOL to me to be at Ontario Lake, one of the 5 Great Lakes!!
When we tried to head over to Toronto Island for our picnic, though, there was a HUGE line-up…all the way out to the road. Deciding we’d come back another day, we went to have lunch at Nathan Phillips Square.

When we got there, we saw a huge art event happening. TONS of artists were there, selling everything from sculptures to paintings, from photos to pottery.

We settled by the water, laid down our towel, sat with crossed legs & made the most of our picnic! Our rice wraps we'd prepared the day before? MORE than lived up to our expectations!! OM NOM NOM :) The ‘peanut’ sauce is a must with these wraps.

We wandered around some more, outside Eaton centre. ‘Just For Laughs’ was there, though the event hadn’t started yet. We also saw a couple who had just gotten married! Their photographer was taking photos of them. What a gorgeous day to get married.

Because it was now Day 6 of A LOT of walking, we decided to head home & take a breather. We relaxed, sipped some wine, dipped in the pool. Ahhhh, vacay :)

Dinner was a breeze! So simple to throw together, yet incredibly amazing! Guess what we named it? Fettuccini Fiesta! Dig in, foodies!

Ingredients:

1 package spinach tofu noodles, rinsed & drained
½ cup corn kernels
½ cup peas
1 cup tomatoes, diced
3 tbs fresh basil, chopped
2 tbs fresh cilantro, chopped
2 tsp oregano, dried
3 cloves garlic, minced
Sea salt & pepper, to taste

Directions:
1) Divide tofu noodles evenly between two plates.
2) In a large bowl, mix together remaining ingredients.
3) Divide mixture evenly in half, & scoop onto noodles.
4) Breathe. Smile. Chow down.

Oh, & don’t forget dessert ;) We picked up this Chocolate Caramel Cake from ‘LIVE’ restaurant to share. I’ve heard of lucuma powder before, but I had NO idea that it tasted like caramel until now!! I am in lovelovelove with caramel, & I am now cheating on it with lucuma <3 We both fell for this cake, hard. Moist, creamy, delicious. Love it.


Georgie & Lolo, xo


Day 7:


Ohhhh, guess what we did on Day 7? :)

Lolo curled her hair & mine (I couldn’t curl my hair to save my life), & we both did our make-up & wore our favourite dresses. Mine is one I fell in love with at Victoria’s Secret years ago; Lolo bought hers from Banana Republic just days sooner (Eaton Centre, we love you!).

Skipped breakfast, because….we were going out for brunch with Melissa Ramos, author of Sexy Food Therapy!! She suggested we meet at Fresh, a mostly-vegan restaurant, with some dairy options available.
Melissa ran a little late because, she explained, she had been pulled over for speeding. Batting her pretty little lashes, she got herself out of a ticket. Oh, the benefits of being an adorable lady :) While waiting for our server, the three of us talked about...what else? Food, sex, & love!
All 3 of us coveted the same brunch platter: 2 Vegan Pancakes, 2 Vegan ‘Soysauge’ (hehe, my word) Patties, & Tofu Scramble. Melissa’s pancakes were Blueberry Almond, mine were Banana, & Lolo’s were Blueberry. (True to our pattern of sharing, Lolo & I each swapped a pancake to taste!)
After our orders were placed, the 3 of us talked more food, friends, family, relationships, & of course, our blogs. Sharing our favourite indulgences, recipes, opinions, & fears, we all seemed to be on the same mind set. How exciting to finally meet someone I admire so much, alongside another lady I’ve admired my whole life :)

And then came the food! Verdict? Grab a fork, hop a plane, get a taxi, & go to Fresh for brunch. Yeah, it was that good! The pancakes were light, fluffy, & sweet, served with pure maple syrup. The ‘soysauges’ were perfectly grilled & seasoned, & nicely tender. They made great mops for syrup, & vehicles for transporting the tofu scramble to my mouth. The tofu scramble was delicately flavoured with olive oil, garlic, & sautéed mushrooms. I’ve made tofu scramble before, but it didn’t even compare. We were incredibly impressed, especially with how large our portions were! Feeling satiated at half the serving, we had the rest of our food packed up for later. There is beauty in leftovers: more to look forward to later!

Afterwards, Melissa sipped on green tea while Lolo & I finished our lemon waters. We got a sneak preview into blog updates to come, & a little ‘behind-the-scenes’ info. So glad we finally had the opportunity to meet!

Big hugs goodbye as Melissa headed off to her potluck, & Lolo & I headed to Noah’s. We picked up a few more food items (as if you can ever have enough!), & then we continued walking on Bloor St (where Fresh & Noah’s were located). There were soooo many shops, everything from Chanel to Giorgio Armani to Louis Vuitton. We admired from the outside, though: I don’t like the idea of falling in love with $2,000 items that I can’t take home :)
We then walked through Yorkville, a rich area of Toronto where celebrities & those with money like to hang out. It was gorgeous there, & we didn’t feel totally out of place, considering how adorable we both felt that day ;)
Calling it an early afternoon, we grabbed a taxi back home. Indulging in more ‘Lolotinis,’ we giggled, cried happy tears, & just relaxed. We knew our visit was fast coming to an end, though neither of us wanted it to. I love my Auntie <3
For dinner, life was simple again. We finished up our leftovers from brunch, & made a salad to go with it. Easy peasy, we basically ‘recycled’ what was leftover from dinner the night before. Cheers!

Fiesta Salad
Ingredients:
4 cups baby greens
½ cup corn kernels
½ cup peas
½ cup hearts of palm
1 cup tomatoes, diced
3 tbs fresh basil, chopped
2 tbs fresh cilantro, chopped
2 tsp oregano, dried
3 cloves garlic, minced
Juice from one lime
Sea salt & pepper, to taste
Frank’s Red Hot Sauce, to taste

Directions:
1) Divide greens evenly onto two plates.
2) Mix remaining ingredients together. Divide equally, & scoop onto beds of mixed greens.
3) Serve salad, in colour :)

Georgie & Lolo, xo