Monthly Archives October 2016

Spice up your holiday potluck party with exotic and inexpensive finger food that will please the palates of adventurous eaters and vegetarians. Easy peasy; no cooking required. Pick up an assortment of restaurant-quality, sweet and savory, vegetarian Indian baking from Mississauga’s White Gold Food.

Dhokla is a moist, savory cake made from chickpea flour and yogurt – a healthy dose of fibre and protein. The regular “non-spicy” version has a garnish of tempered black mustard seeds, sesame seeds, hot green chiles, and fresh coriander leaves: gentle heat and fresh green flavour against the mellow nuttiness of the chickpeas and tang of the yogurt, all in one deeply satisfying bite. The “spicy” version is made with ginger and green chiles and is dusted with chile powder – take a walk on the wild side, this baby is hot. Serve with very spicy, hot green chutney (coriander, green chiles, and yogurt) but lovely just solo.

Of course, samosas are always a big hit at a party and White Gold’s samosas are delicious. Choose regular; the spice level is just enough to give a golden warmth. Apparently, the spicy version is not for the faint of heart. Serve with tangy-sweet tamarind chutney….mmm!

I’ve never been a pakora fan (those often greasy, tasteless globs of fried batter with a hint of vegetables). But White Gold has awoken the inner pakora lover in me. Their pakoras are not greasy and are packed with a flavourful combination of potatoes, onion, spinach, carrots, eggplant, and cauliflower in chickpea batter, fried to perfection.

Some Indian desserts are almost sickly sweet but there are a few that I like in small doses and White Gold makes them mouth-watering.

Burfi means fudge. I adore White Gold’s mango burfi (middle right): tangy, pure mango pulp balances the rich sweetness of the fudgy evaporated milk. Anjeer burfi (top) is made with figs and almonds while Khajoor burfi (bottom) is made with dates and almonds. Elaichi peda (middle left) is like a cross between shortbread and fudge: sweetened evaporated milk dumplings made with the very best cardamom.

Owned and operated by a local family who use only top quality ingredients and prepare their authentic products with the utmost care. White Gold supplies their quality baking to restaurants and markets but thankfully, they have a storefront take-out counter, filled with all sorts of goodies, open to the general public. Google maps has pinned the address incorrectly on Laird. It is at the back of 3176 Ridgeway in unit #48.

At this time of year, I love seeing the Diwali lights and fireworks across our city. Happy Diwali!

White Gold Food
3176 Ridgeway Drive,
Unit 48, Mississauga,
ON L5L 5S6
Telephone: 906-607-6776

Why do I love the Streetsville United Church Harvest of Crafts Sale so much? It’s the most wonderful time of the year, third to Christmas and the Bread & Honey Festival of course! After everyone’s out-of-town summer vacations and busy falls, it is so nice to gather the village of Streetsville under one roof and reconnect. The spirit of community weaves around the Streetsville United Church Women and their wonderful cooking, baking, and crafting and the villagers who attend, and binds us all together. It’s the old-fashioned Streetsville I have always known and loved.

What a great time to get some Christmas shopping done. I always find something unique and well-priced at every show, like handcrafted felt Christmas ornaments. Last year, I bought these Christmas pudding caps for the holiday table (to stick a chocolate in and put at each place setting). Aren’t they adorable?

Aren't these just adorable? #handknitted #plumpudding caps to stuff with a Ferraro rocher chocolate and put one at each place setting on your #christmas table. #handmade #StreetsvilleUnitedChurch #craftshow Saturday Oct 31 from 9:30 to 3:00 pm #thesearecraftyladies #streetsvilleucwrocks

A post shared by Olive (@olive_to_eat) on Oct 30, 2015 at 8:04am PDT

I always make my first stop the baking table and stock my freezer with homemade shortbread and bars to pull out at Christmas.

Homemade #shortbread, handcrafted using #timetested recipes by the talent UCW ladies of #StreetsvilleUnitedChurch . This stack won't last long. Hit the baking table as soon as you come to fall #craftshow tomorrow October 31. Freeze them for #christmas

A post shared by Olive (@olive_to_eat) on Oct 30, 2015 at 10:12am PDT

There is usually some really fun Hallowe’en baking too but do be sure to get there first thing.

Happy Halloween! Come on over to Streetsville United Craft Show today, 9;30 to 3;00 pm. And pick up some scary treats.#olivetoeat

A post shared by Olive (@olive_to_eat) on Oct 31, 2015 at 6:28am PDT

Read more about why I love the Harvest of Crafts Sale here. It is a lot of work for the church ladies and I am grateful they continue to pull it off year after year. It always falls on the last Saturday of October.

Here are this year’s details:
Date: Saturday Oct 29, 2016.
Time: 9:30 am to 3:00 pm
Events: cafe, bake sale, craft sale, outside vendors with a large variety of crafts, face painting, book sale, Attic Treasures.
NO ADMISSION CHARGE

Streetsville United Church is located at 274 Queen Street South in Streetsville (Mississauga), Ontario. Click here for map.