Christmas and New Years Eve 2012 . . .

Will’s Christmas Tree Farm – Lynden, Ontario

Nick inspecting our tree for squirrels.

The brother in-law, Jason

The Boss, my father in-law.

The boss and I, he fresh from retirement!

Ta da! The finished product.

New Years Eve spread – yummmm!

Happy New Year!

Now that we wished each other a Happy New Year, it’s time to text everyone else!

Congrats to Jasmina, who won The Suburban Peasant Giveaway!  Thank you to all those who participated and helped in advertising the giveaway and my blog!  Much love and thanks to you all!

I will be sending out the prize to Jasmina in a couple of days.  Thanks Jasmina and enjoy!!

It’s finally here!  I’ve been teasing you, leaving you hints and picking your brains about the special giveaway prize I am offering.  It has finally arrived and I am so excited to share it with you.  But before I tell you about it, let me tell you just how grateful I am for your readership.

A few posts ago, I wrote my 50th post - quite a milestone for me.  When I began this blog back in January, I wasn’t sure how long it would last; how long I would last.  A lot of work goes into each and every one of my posts and while I love everything about the process, from testing the recipes, cooking day, shooting the pictures and writing, this blog would be nothing if it wasn’t for you.  I want to thank you for following me, supporting me, offering encouraging comments and motivating me to keep going and keep doing what I am doing – cooking the type of dishes that has shaped me and my love affair with food.  As a show of my gratitude I wanted to share with you something very special that reflects another aspect of myself – my love for pretty things – but one that highlights the old world tradition of craftsmanship with the beauty of modern fashion and design from my ever constant muse – Croatia.

Bonagoda is artisan jewellery maker from Zagreb, Croatia, that creates unique pieces by hand, using age-old metal fashioning techniques that have been employed for centuries in Europe.  Headed by Božidar Grgić, each piece is created with careful consideration of design and the properties of the metal that is used to fashion the jewellery.  Copper is forged, rolled, welded and coated in pure silver.  The result is a purely individual and beautiful piece.   Bonagoda’s designs represents the beauty and ingenuity of the products that are produced in Croatia and the tradition of craftsmanship that is still a very large part of the people there.  This is why I want to share it with you – so you too can experience the uniqueness of this culture.  The giveaway prize is a cuff made from copper and plated in silver.  It can be formed to fit your wrist and a stunning addition to anyone’s jewellery collection.

Photo courtesy of Bonagoda and Etsy.

So how do you with this special prize?  I’m glad you asked!  All you have to do is leave a comment below on your ultimate comfort food.  This can be something that is unique to your own heritage.  It can be a favourite dish your mom or grandmother makes.  One that stirs something within you, whether it is a fond memory, the feeling of comfort or tradition.  It can be your mom’s mac and cheese or your nona’s bolognese – anything goes.  For additional chances to win the bracelet you can do one of the following

• Like The Suburban Peasant on Facebook and come back here and leave me a comment that you “liked” me! (If you liked me prior to this giveaway let me know with a comment with your Facebook ID)
• Share this link on The Suburban Peasant Giveaway on Facebook with your Facebook friends and leave a comment letting me know you did so.
• Follow me on Twitter, @sububpeasant and come back and leave me a comment letting me know you’re now a follower.
• Send a tweet in Twitter on The Suburban Peasant Giveaway, and include @sububpeasant  and leave a comment letting me know you did so.
• Follow me on Pinterest and Pin one of The Suburban Peasant Recipes for one entry and leave me a comment telling me that you did.

Note:  It’s important to leave a separate comment for each bonus entry so that you can have multiple chances to win!

Rules:

• One entry per person (comment on your favourite comfort food) plus additional bonuses explained above.
• The comment and bonus entry is assigned a number and will be submitted to random.org to determine a winner (that’s why it’s important to leave one comment for every bonus entry).
• Make sure to leave your email when commenting so that I can contact you if you win.
• Contest closes Sunday October 14, 2012 at midnight and a winner will be announced and will be notified by email on Monday October 15.

Good Luck/Sretno!!

This past weekend my husband and I celebrated my upcoming birthday sipping wines at the wineries across the Niagara region.  If you haven’t been to the Niagara wineries before and you’re from Ontario, you must go!  If you’re not from around here just know that this region has been producing some of the finest wines in the New World and it just keeps getting better.  With Lake Ontario to the north and the Niagara Escarpment to the south, coupled with the right soil and climate (every winery tour guide is quick to point out that we share the same latitude line as the Bordeaux region in France) Niagara wines are nothing to balk at.

The day was beautiful, the wine spectacular and the food . . . to die for!  Here’s a picture recap of our day!

Tawse Winery – I’ve been looking forward to visitng this one for a while!

The wines we sampled at Tawse; we took home a bottle of the Cabernet Franc -yum!

One of the vineyards at Tawse with Lake Ontario in the distance.

Tawse is a biodynamic winery, meaning that nothing about the growing process is artifically altered. Sheep and other livestock roam amongst the vines gobbling up weeds and extra vine foilage, as well as keep the soil manuered and fertilized. To read more about this process click here.

Vineland Estates Winery

Jordan Village, home to one of my favourite restaurants – Inn on the Twenty.

Upper Canada Cheese Company – home of Niagara Gold Cheese, sooo good!

Cheeeeeeese!

My handsome hubby and the gorgeous vineyards at Jackson-Triggs Winery.

Moi – listening to our tour guide at JT.

Snacking on some Merlot

We ended off our day with a fabulous dinner at Stone Road Grille on Niagara-On-The-Lake – don’t let the plaza location fool you, these chefs don’t kid around!  No pictures to share from there, but if you’re hungry and in the area this one is a must!

Last week my good friend Renata took me to the St. Jacobs Farmer’s Market in St. Jacobs Country.  About 1 hour west of Toronto and 20 minutes north from the nearest city, Kitchener, St. Jacobs Country is also known as Mennonite country.  Being in the heart of this community means some of the best produce, meats and bake goods you can imagine.  Mountains of peaches, bushels of peppers, eggplant and zucchini.  Busy meat counters, freshly baked European breads, artisans selling everything from kitchen ware to leather goods to lavender products.  Lunches of schnitzles, perogies, pizza and donairs, a Mennonite furniture showroom, livestock auctions and tons of antiquing.  In the middle of such hustle and bustle glimpses of the Mennonite people in their stalls or conversing amongst themselves, brings an awareness of simpler times.  With the women in their modest floral dresses, heads adorned with caps and bonnets.  The men with their straw hats and suspenders, their son’s nipping at their heels.  But even in these traditional communities, the symbols of modernity still manage to creep into their lifestyles.  Perhaps, the most telling scene was on our way home, driving by the local Wal-Mart and watching a Mennonite family climb into their horse and buggy parked in the parking lot; newly purchased items in tow, bags of McDonald’s ready to be consumed, as the young men thumb through their cell phones.

Ana picked a peck of pickled peppers . . .

My lunch – schnitzel on a bun, yum!

Renata, my partner in crime!

St. Jacobs’ superstar – the best apple fritters you’ll ever indulge in. The constant lineup for these treats all day long says it all!

Hot and fresh apple fritters, laced in cinnamon and sugar. Need I say more?