White Chocolate Blackberry Cheesecake

Last week, I had a friend come to visit from Newfoundland, and while we planned to dine out a few times over the week, I always like to whip up a few treats to have around, and in this case, tote along to a cottage, where we spent the next few days soaking up the sun and more than a few glasses of Tidal Bay wine (Jost winery being just down the road) before heading on to other ventures.  The cottage, btw, was Crows Joy, and it was a beautiful place to stay.  The Malagash area is one of my favorite places, home to gorgeous scenery and lovely beaches (including Blue Sea Beach Park), where you have room to breathe.  We also visited the Tatamagouche Brewing Company (great red ale) and had a great lobster roll at Big Al’s.  Mostly we BBQ’d, took lunches to the beach and such.

This mini-cheesecake was perfect size for a couple of days at a cottage and fit just right into one of those round ziploc containers, so it was portable for the cooler we packed to take with us.  If you wanted to make the full sized version, just double the ingredients, use a 9-10 inch pan and adjust your cooking times to about 60 minutes. 

Slow Food Nova Scotia Spring Supper 2014

100th post!  And I am incredibly pleased to be able to dedicate it to a fantastic event I attended this past weekend, thanks to both Slow Food NS and Taste of Nova Scotia 🙂

I had been ogling this event and daydreaming this past week, trying to figure out whether I could make it, when the foodie gods shone their light upon me or something, because I ended up winning two tickets to go.  My little food nerd heart grew three sizes that day ! 

A visit to Jost Vineyards’ Maple Festival

(taken not long before closing, the place was packed all afternoon!)

This was not my first visit to Jost, but it was my first since they completed their renovations, and I have to say WOW!  The place looks gorgeous, well done!

Yesterday Jost had their annual Maple Festival and I swung by in the afternoon (there had already been a maple brunch earlier in the day). There were local maple products for sale, lots of great wine specials of which I took full advantage, and entertainment from Laughing Freemen.  Not to mention a lively crowd.  It was so much fun.

While the winery and area itself is particularly beautiful in the summertime (its one of my favorite places in Nova Scotia), it is well worth a visit year-round.  There are always tastings and great sales. I lean more towards red wines, but Jost has some of my favorite white wines.  Their Eagle Tree Muscat is excellent and so is their Tidal Bay.  But they also have me sold on the coastal vineyards red they have been producing lately, its delicious! Jost also offers port, fruit and dessert wines, as well as eau de vie.  Many of their products are found in Nova Scotia liquor stores.

I’m so glad I dropped by!

 

A break from shopping at Blue Olive in Dieppe

Saturday took me up to Moncton for some shopping, which included a stop at the Blue Olive market in Dieppe, a real gem for hard to find items in the area, and a welcome addition when it opened a few years ago.

After a few more hours puttering around Moncton, and having skipped lunch, I was ready for a bite to eat, and returned.  I have gotten take-out from Blue Olive in the past, but decided to enjoy the beautiful weather today and park myself on their patio for a while.

Needing a little pick-me-up, I started with a Turkish Coffee:

And then my meal, the vegetarian falafel plate.  This comes with the option of two salads (I chose tabbouleh and fattoush), as well as the choice between rice and couscous, which is what I chose.  With garlicky potatoes, pita and hummus, and those falafel, this is one full meal (I couldn’t finish it) for approximately $10.  I was pleased to see that they had expanded their menu quite a bit since my last visit, so you will be spoiled for choice here.

This was so tasty, everything was fresh and crisp and every flavor well balanced.  I also picked up a couple baklava on the way out which were also very tasty.

Check this place out, have a browse around the market and enjoy a meal !

A visit to Winegarden Estates Wine Festival

Today was a gorgeous sunny day that took me over to Baie Verte, NB to check out Winegarden Estates 14th Annual Open Air Wine Festival. I had attended this festival some years ago with a friend and had a great time.  A mere $7 gets you entry to the tasting stations and several tickets for wine tastings (I didn’t use all mine). Plus, you get to keep your glass !

Having been to Winegarden in the past, I tried to stick to a few new finds. The only winery guest at the festival this year was Les Maury, who were there to offer samplings of their red (which I tried and enjoyed), blueberry, strawberry and elderberry wine (which I sampled, and purchased). 

A visit to “Catch of the Bay” at Masstown Market

I finally got around to checking out “Catch of the Bay” at Masstown Market today and what you see above is a very tasty order of flounder fingers and fries.  So good, and a very generous serving, I mostly only ate the fish.  The flounder itself was light and fresh and the accompanying market-made tartar sauce was really good, especially if you favor the more savoury rather than sweet variety.  While the fries were not freshly cut, they were also very tasty and crisp, and along with a soft drink, some malt vinegar and a little sea salt, it was a great meal. 

Lost in the winery

Got a bit carried away at a local winery / distillery  (Winegarden Estates) today, and added four new finds to the two I already have at home (a port and a honey liqueur).  I had gone there intending to buy brandy only (to make ginger liqueur), but now I have dessert-related plans for all of these.  Well maybe not so much the Aquavit, which probably will be enjoyed as is – and rightfully so, it was an unexpected, yet really enjoyable, combination.  I was told this cumin / caraway flavor was particularly good to enjoy after a full meal.  So why not enjoy this after eating a helping (or two) of dessert?

(and I promise dessert, this blog isn’t only about booze )