IT WAS IN BOBCAYGEON.... where we saw the constellations....

this past weekend we met friends in Bobcaygeon to see The Tragically Hip in concert!!  The kids were with the grandparents and it was nice to have a little mini-vacation!!

So as soon as we got there we wanted to pop a beer!! (hey, we ARE Canadian, eh??)

our newest beer of choice?? Mill St. beer!!

We bought the sampler pack at the liquor store in the Ontario Craft Beer section....

...pop!

ENJOY!!!  YUM!

so we enjoyed our beer (my fav in the sampler pack was the Organic) but still stuck on the Mill St Weiss we had at Borealis Grille (LOVE LOVE LOVE that place.... )

FAST FORWARD 20 hours (concert was AWESOME!!)

we are on our way home and wanted to stop somewhere to try some BOBCAYGEON local food!!

this beautiful place was just outside of Bobcaygeon and was cute, friendly and offered many local delights!!!  (great name too!!)

as we got out of the car the owner called us over "come check out the bunny we just discovered in the garden!!" 

I have to admit it was the mushrooms that initially drew me to this place - they are SO cute for the garden!  One for us and one for the grandparents looking after the kids!! :)  $8-$25 depending on size

this is one of my favourite saying (originally quoted from Walt Disney)

we bought radishes, strawberries and mushrooms!!

Oakridge Acres - another AWESOME find!!

Well on Wednesday, Biddle, Scribbles and I went to Oakridge Acres!   

To start - the property is just stunning.... the driveway leading up to the store is long and beautiful with rolling hills on either side ... really nice!

when we got out of the van I knew I had to be quick because we were getting close to dinner time and the kids were a bit cranky.... 

but thankfully there was a mini tractor right outside the store - two thumbs up!!

pretty darn cute, eh??

ohhhh and apparently they put hay in the fields just for Biddle - he was SO excited about the hay!

this kid is going to be an organic farmer AND a goat farmer (think goat's milk soap) ohh yeah and a MONSTER TRUCK DRIVER .... 

the kids didn't want to go in the store - they just wanted to play outside!  

another GREAT teachable moment - solar panels x 2

AWESOMENESS!

now into the store (finally!!!)  these posters sum it up Healthy, Local and Convenient.  

Check. Check. Check.

They have an AMAZING selection of local farmer's items (over 40 farms represented) as well as a really nice selection of organics, gluten free and fresh bakery items (YUM!)

oh wait - they serve FREE Baden Coffee Company while you shop!!  This is my kind of place! :)

and they have toys for the kids to play with while I shop.  Hold on a minute!!  LOL.

Baby Scribs is checking out the Oak Manor selection (she knows Momma LOVES that stuff!)

Well we ended up buying:  more Barrie's Bros. items (our all time fav!) including their asparagus pasta sauce (highly recommended) and their asparagus salsa (haven't tried it yet!), cookies, eggs, Stemmler's pepperoni (free of: msg. gluten & soy) and local pasta noodles.

Two more awesome points to make: they have Harmony Organic milk in a bottle as well as local butter which we will be buying once the butter we have now has run out...

Also, they offer local delivery on all ours over $100... 

We LOVED it and will be back at least twice a month to load up on our groceries!  Thanks to the Gerber Family for making us feel welcome and providing such great selection!! <3

Two thumbs up!

Borealis Grille - Crazy Good.

Well, Sean and I have a standing date every Tuesday night.   We started doing this about six months ago when I finally felt comfortable to leave my youngest (well both little ones) with a babysitter that wasn't already a friend or family... that being said - it has been a GREAT leap, wonderful for our relationship and liberating as a human being!!   When we decided to go forth in the local eating journey, our Date Night came to mind pretty much immediately as I didn't want to have to change anything about date night (ie. I didn't want to have to pack a "local" picnic and prepare and clean up, etc... I like having one night a week not worrying about that!)....

Sooooooo... our first date night in our journey brought us to Borealis Grille in Kitchener less than 10 minutes from our house.  Holy Crap -= we NEVER have to worry about date night again -= this place is WAY RIDICULOUS.   As I pulled up this is the sign that was painted on the side of their restaurant:

ummmm... YES I THINK SO!!!  WICKED!

Borealis Grille & Bar (http://www.borealisgrille.ca) ***figured out the link thing yay!

We were at the Kitchener location: 4336 King St E

here is the scoop:

 "Serving up the best from Ontario farmers, food artisans, breweries and wineries"

Ok - so we ate in the "school house" which is a restored 100+ year old school house, complete with photos, original floors and some original paint on the walls.  Holy Wow - I am already impressed and we haven't even eaten yet!!! <3

this is my super hot Hubby and our super awesome server, Genevieve (she was AMAZING)..

**note her shirt says: By Neighbours / For Neighbours (cool, ya?)

OK so Genevieve was super knowledgeable, full of info and ready to make great suggestions.  When you go to Borealis (which you WILL) ask to be in her section - you will not be disappointed!

My super supportive husband even posed for a "checking out the menu" photo

and we quickly learned that 3pm-6pm appetizers are HALF PRICE!!  woohoo!

Baked Ontario Goat Cheese Candied heirloom beet carpaccio, arugula, Rootham’s red pepper jelly, beet reduction, crostini 10.99 ... really, REALLY yummy!

Dry Ribs Ontario pork buttons, sea salt, cracked pepper, fresh herbs 8.99 ... super good but more my husband's thing...

Since Lemons can't be grown locally, there are cucumbers in the water!!  FRESH!

Since the appetizers were half price we decided to order two more...

these are the fish cakes (below)

SOME OF THE BEST FOOD I HAVE EVER HAD!  **husbsters agrees!!

Flannigan’s Fish Cakes Fresh Ontario pickerel, dill, lemon, panko crust, roasted red pepper remoulade 12.99.. these were my favourite - I am not even a big "fish" person - but these are a must have! 

Barrie Bros corn asparagus chips, bruschetta, scallions, hot peppers, mozzarella, cheddar, sour cream, salsa 13.99.... these chips are the chips we got when we went to Barrie Bros. (see post here)

and of course my latte!! <3

SO all in all 10 out of 10~highly, highly recommended!! 

**LOVE FEST!**

Mama's impression: "the fish cakes were my fav!  Service was outstanding!"

Daddy's take: "It feels like we are on vacation"

tomorrow's post will be on Oakridge Acres!

first Epic Fail...opps.

Today we had to go to Milton to drop off a customer's order (about a 30 minute drive)... so I thought, since we are using the gas to go to Milton, we should find a local farm to explore while we are there.

Thus - today's adventure led us to Springridge Farm (www.springridgefarm.com)

I should have known by the fact that the first football field size parking lot was already full that it was going to be kinda stressful.....

walking in... there is a big store (full of beautiful items, pickled items, jams, preserves, etc)

but then to get into the play area (sandbox, mazes, animals) we had to pay $8...  :(

the kids were excited but I was already getting anxious as it was a sea of people (lots of little kids, school trips, etc) and I was constantly scanning for mine... especially Biddle (3) who has a tendency to get excited and RUN ....ack.

.

it is a really neat place if you are a one adult-one child ratio.  this is my opinion.  Especially if your kids are under 5.

they DO have GREAT play areas for the kids... tractor rides... hay mazes, etc but we are on a Local Food mission so, while it is a wonderful place to visit, it wasn't the greatest spot for the kind of education I am hoping to share with my kids.

Baby Scribs loved the giant sandbox full of trucks - you go girl!!! <3

I wonder if 50 years ago they had any idea how much $$ they would be making on a daily basis from NON-farm "stuff"

on TOP of the tractor!

sure there are animals BUT they are behind/in cages and you have to pay to feed them... such a difference from our experience yesterday - but all part of the journey.

Biddle actually turned to me and asked "can we get into the cage to see the goats, Momma?"  I am GLAD he asked that - because I want it to be the norm to be WITH the animals ...

Biddle said "Momma look at the Leopard Chicken!!!!'  bahhaha!!

you could spend a small fortune ...

OK so on to the Epic Fail... it is about 12noon and time to head into the store to buy our LOCAL treats....both kids are starting to lose it and I am stressed out with the crowds.. just too many people for me... we get inside to do a quick browse and buy some local food and there are literally 15+ families in line for the food.... I look down on the ground and there is Biddle on the floor "I'm soooooo hungry" so I grabbed some jars: Strawberry Jam ($7.99 ack), Harvest Salsa ($5.99) and Strawberry Jam Scone Mix (yum) pay for it and half drag the kids to the car... both still starving.

OK - so that DID NOT go as planned.  Guess where we stopped on the way home??  :(

SERIOUSLY POOR PLANNING on my part = EPIC FAIL.

This is what we bought at Springridge - will post photos of the scones tomorrow!

ohhh and I got these yesterday at Barrie's Asparagus Farm & Country Market 

(sooooo in love with that place!!)

http://www.facebook.com/pages/Barries-Asparagus-Farm-Country-Market/188187407892947?ref=ts

moral of the story (in my opinion)... there are ALL kinds of farms... Springridge to me felt like a 

"Wal-Mart farm" while there may be a time and a place for Wal-Mart, this family plans to avoid 

Wal-Mart as much as possible.  Hope you know what I mean....