fall getaway @ the drake devonshire

 

last weekend, justin & i went on our first fall adventure to prince edward county! what a perfect weekend it was. we stayed at the drake devonshire, which i have been dreaming of going to ever since it opened. it was more beautiful then i could have ever imagined. such a different vibe from the drake hotel in queen west. you enter the inn through the most perfect yellow door & it only gets better from there. anything with a bright yellow door gets a gold star in my books!

the drake devonshire, is the former devonshire inn which was built in the 1800's. the drake kept the original house on the property, but expanded it to include additional guest rooms & the restaurant. we got to stay in the creekside room which is located in the original portion of the inn! when you enter the yellow door, you are greeted by the original staircase in all its wood glory. i have a thing for old staircases (ok, i have a thing for old homes period) & the details on this one gave me some serious staircase envy.

the room had an artsy, country, colourful vibe. the bathrooms were farmhouse modern & included matte black faucets complete with my dream marble hexagon floors. when i got home i was ready to tear up our own bathroom floors so i can switch them out to the same marble hexagon floors as the drake (50% joking, ok 2% joking). even justin wouldn't stop talking about the bathroom sink haha i think i have rubbed off on him a little too much.

we had both lunch & dinner on the drake propety, but didn't get a chance to try the brunch because we were way too full from the night before. for lunch i had the reuben sammy & poblano caesar salad, both were so good. justin tried a few of the sea food dishes, including the crab cakes. for dinner i got the half chicken + gravy dinner (obviously), which was loaded with flavour & justin had the lamb shoulder. while i personally don't eat lamb, he said it was one of the best he has ever had. we can't wait to go back to try the lobster rolls & country club next trip up! we just didn't have enough time to eat it all. i think my overall favourite part of the stay was getting to eat in the dining room that overlooked the water! i can't even describe how stunning the view of the water was. i felt like i was dining in the middle of the lake. if only i could wake up every single day to this view!

we spent the saturday town hopping! as far as the county goes, we explored as much of it as we could, including wellington, bloomfield & picton. each town was just so charming! talk about a real life stars hollow. we hit up every coffee shop, brewery & boutique that was on our path. to start the day we grabbed a butter tart + tea from the general (located just around the corner from the devonshire), plus i found the most festive halloween cookie cutters here too. we hit up antique shops, gift shops & clothing stores in each town. a few of my favourites included OAK clothing + parlour studio in wellington & kokito in bloomfield.

i feel like i could go on for paragraphs on end about our perfect stay in PEC, but i think you will just have to go experience it for yourself! as someone who grew up a stone throw away from old town niagara-on-the-lake, i can assure you the vibes in PEC are completly different. both equally beautiful, but different. this weekend we are heading up north to alliston for thanksgiving. i hope i get a sneak peak of the leaves changing colour. happy canadian thanksgiving! have a lovely long weekend everyone.

p.s. i will link to a few of my favourite places below

xo

olive oil, pumpkin + dark chocolate loaf

 

who else is already knee deep in pumpkin baked goods? while i love using it in just about everything i can possibly think of, a classic pumpkin loaf will always be my favourite way to consume pumpkin. yes, even more then actual pumpkin pie! growing up my aunt made the best pumpkin bread in the world, literally. it was dense, moist & the perfect amount of sweetness.

today i bring you a healthy-ish version of pumpkin bread! it is made with extra virgin olive oil, dark chocolate & bob's red mill %100 stone ground whole wheat flour. this means you can eat it for breakfast, lunch or dessert! the olive oil adds a nice underlaying flavour, but it is important to use extra virgin olive oil rather then regular olive oil. the whole wheat flour also adds a nice wholesome texture to the final product.

while this recipe produces the perfect size loaf, it works great as muffins too. just follow the same directions, but divide amongst 12 lined muffin tins & bake for 20-25 minutes.

ingredients

  • 1 cup bob's red mill all purpose flour
  • 1/2 cup bob's red mill 100% stone ground whole wheat flour
  • 1/2 teaspoon fine salt
  • 1 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1 teaspoon ground ginger
  • 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
  • 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
  • 1 cup pumpkin purée, fresh or canned
  • 1 cup bob's red mill turbinado sugar
  • 1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
  • 2 large eggs
  • 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
  • 1/4 cup whole milk
  • 3/4 cups dark chocolate chips
  • 1/2 cup chopped walnuts

directions

  • preheat oven to 350 degrees.
  • in a large mixing bowl sift together the flours, salt, baking soda, ginger, cinnamon & nutmeg. set aside.
  • in a separate large mixing bowl whisk together the pumpkin puree, sugar, olive oil, eggs, vanilla & whole milk until well combined.
  • slowy add in the flour mixture & stir until batter comes together. do not over mix, a few lumps are okay.
  • fold in the chocolate chips & walnuts. transfer to a greased loaf pan.
  • bake for 45-50 minutes, or until the top bounces back to touch. let cool to room temperature before removing from pan & serving.

LCBO's food & drink 25th anniversary

 

What an amazing month Justin & I had celebrating with the LCBO! This year, the LCBO is celebrating not one but two milestones: VQA's 30th anniversary + Food & Drink's 25th anniversary. To kick things off in August, we attended the most beautiful dinner at Trius Winery, dining alfresco under the stars. It is an exciting year that the Food & Drink's anniversary coincides with the VQA anniversary as VQA wines has been instrumental in building the ontario wine industry both domestically & abroad.

Living in Niagara's wine country, I am lucky to be surrounded by the endless wineries and vineyards, but LCBO makes it easy to bring local home! If you’re unfamiliar with what is considered a VQA wine, it refers to the wine that is produced from 100% ontario grown grapes that have been approved through a strict quality assurance program. LCBO offers a selection of 651 finds! Ontario is actually home to three major wine regions: Niagara-on-the-Lake (the birthplace of Ontario's wine industry), Lake Erie North Shore & Prince Edward County. Prince Edward County is the youngest but fasting growing wine region in which I will be heading to this week! I cannot wait to explore the beautiful wineries & vineyards up there.

This past weekend, we ventured to Toronto to celebrate Food & Drink's 25th anniversary issue over a dinner at album studios. The theme of the issue is "Ontario for Dinner", so the LCBO team brought this theme to life through food, wine and design. Hosted by Angela Aiello, the founder of iYellow Wine Club, the meal served recipes featured in the anniversary issue, as well as the VQA wine pairings. The event attendees included influencers, Food & Drink contributors, VQA winemakers, LCBO wow leaders and contest winners.

At the event I was able to style my own image with one of the stylists from Food & Drink magazine. It was so much fun to get a peak of how the recipes are brought to life and learn a few tips from one of the top food stylists. The magazine's recipes and photography have inspired so much over the years, so it was amazing to be able to meet the real people behind it all. The anniversary issue is now in stores so be sure to pick up a copy before it’s gone and don’t forget to look for VQA discoveries at your local LCBO.

Cheers to another 30 years of VQA + 25 years of Food & Drink! Thank you for having me be a part of your celebrations.

xo

this post was created in partnership with the LCBO!