Coffee brew pipe for the tradesmen

What’s a plumber to do when they need a coffee on the job, there’s no hydro and it’d take to long to go to a coffee shop? BRIPE: a coffee brew pipe that makes hot, fresh coffee in under 3 minutes. It’s super quick and tasty. We give it 2 thumbs up!!

Adam has his own plumbing company, ABT Plumbing, in Dutton, Ontario (west of London) and he was finding on new builds with no hydro he was really missing an afternoon coffee. So when we saw the Bripe we just had to try it. We think other tradesmen could benefit as well.

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Lebanese breakfast at “Take a Bite”

The garlic scrambled eggs, part of the Lebanese breakfast at “Take a Bite” are fantastic. 

Congratulations to Jeff and Amal on opening up a restaurant inspired by their Food Truck. 

They are serving so many of my favourites from their truck;


Like their homemade hummus and pita chips, deep fried mac & cheese, Shawarma, Gyros, Falafel and of course their BBQ fare. 

But because of their new restaurant location, located at Highway 3 and Furnival, I was finally able to try the Lebanese breakfast, which is all vegetarian. And I loved ever bit of it. I’ll definitely go back for those garlic scrambled eggs and cheesy flat bread. 

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Comfort & Soul in CK


There’s a lot of love in the food at Comfort & Soul. I can’t believe I’m just outside of Blenheim because I can feel the soul of the south here. 


I was so thrilled they had sweet tea to set the mood just right. 


I started with the Southern style BBQ pork dinner. There are 2 kinds of sauces: Comfort sauce – bourbon & brown sugar. Soul sauce – smoky BBQ. It’s recommend to have both as they are meant to go together. So of course I went with the advice. 

1/2 lb pulled pork. 3 sides: sweet potato casserole. Baked beans. Hush puppies (deep fried corn bread) 

It was the perfect combo of sides. Bursting with so much flavour. I love the sweet potatoes with rice crispies on top. The smoky sweet baked beans are fantastic. The Pulled pork is so tender, sweet and melt in your mouth: exactly what you want pulled pork to taste like. Hush puppies do taste fantastic dipped in the comfort sauce! 

I love the portion sizes all served piping hot, with a big smile: just how I appreciate it. 


Then I got the Knoxville special: Fried chicken breast with 2 sides; Green bean casserole & Candied carrots. Carrots taste so great, like applesauce or apples from an apple crisp. Green beans are lovely with onion crunchy bits. Also a lovely crunchy coating on the huge juicy chicken breast. 


I took my dessert in to-go containers but had to have a sampling first! 

Chocolate peanut butter pie: A thick cool dense pie almost like a fudge and a light graham cracker crust. It’s the perfect chocolate/peanut butter combo. 

Smoked peach & brown sugar cheesecake: A smoky sweet light cheesecake with chunks of peaches (Smoked with a fruitwood) and graham crust. 
Thank you to Mike & Alecia for inviting me out. I was super impressed with the customer service as well as the authenticity of their soul food! 

I also love their story of how they got to where they are. They started out as a frozen foods catering company, which then he evolved into this restaurant. And they kept that foundation: “I try not to let anything go to waste here!” Alecia said. Freezer meals are available to go of everything on the menu. They even deliver these frozen meals to homes from London to Windsor. 

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Pardoville’s food heaven! 

Plan a road trip to food heaven, aka Pardo Villa Acres Farm Market & Bakery in Pardoville (outside Blenheim)! They are family owned and have an admirable selection of produce, homemade from scratch baking, local preserves & cheeses as well as Picards Peanuts! 


You can feel the love from every angle: I’m overwhelmed by their presentation, amazing fresh variety as well as their personable customer service. Also, their strong brand comes through from such an awesome Facebook page that tells their story through so many videos and also they offer up great recipes ideas. 


Thank you to Pardo Villa Acres for sharing some amazing samples with me:

  • Red pepper & onion ciabatta 
  • Raspberry lemon loaf
  • Lemon loaf 
  • Carrot cake loaf 
  • Pumpkin pecan muffins 
  • Pumpkin pie 
  • Sweet potato pie 
  • Gluten free almond meal chocolate chip coconut cookies. 

My most favourite that I can’t wait to return for are the cookies!


I can’t believe they are gluten free! I love the moist denseness and perfect amount of chocolate chips. 

The pumpkin pecan muffins are also quite heavenly! I felt like I was eating a fluffy bite-sized cake version of a pumpkin pie!


The sweet potato pie intrigued me the most, and I was surprised that it tasted like a dessert, almost like a sugar pie flavoured with sweet , dense, sweet potatoes. My tastebuds enjoyed the newness. 


They told me people travel a distance to get their Ciabatta red pepper & onion, baked in house and I can see why because it bursts with flavour. I need this to serve to company next time! 


I enjoyed all the loaves with tea, but my most memorable was the lemon raspberry as I just loved the sweet and tart combo. 

I can see why Pardo Villa Acres Farm market & bakery is such a popular destination; there are so many reasons to return again and again in the spring, summer and fall.

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The Combine is…

The Combine is… an amazing fairy tale like culinary experience!

Everything I dream about in a perfect meal, The Combine delivers and more: Continue reading

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Blueberry craving: parks hit the spot 

If you have a blueberry craving, Parks Blueberries is sure to hit the spot. Continue reading

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You gotta try the fish tacos:

Willow Ridge Pub & Eatery is located in Blenheim at the Willow Ridge Golf Club. I was so lucky to have had Chef Angie, who created the menu, as my waitress. She is very personable and gracious with her time.  She recommended the Baja Fish Tacos Continue reading

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Tall Tales’ Taco Salad makes eating healthy fun


What a super fun summer salad!

If you see the Taco Salad Bowl as a special at Tall Tales, you gotta try it! The bowl is edible: it’s a lightly deep fried tortilla that’s Continue reading

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Next Stop: Taste… From Port Stanley to St. Thomas

Kudos to OntarioSouthwest for such a well produced and thoughtfully written story of just a snippet of the passionate food and drink producers in central Elgin County. As I watched, I felt so much pride and gratitude for the region I grew up in and call home.

Watch it here: Next Stop: Taste… From Port Stanley to St. Thomas

I’m even impressed with the videos tag line: “The pride the producers in Ontario’s Southwest feel runs deep. It’s about more than the Continue reading

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Rhubarb Salsa


The Rosy Rhubarb Fest in Shedden was a success for me because I had Rhubarb salsa for the first time and I’m obsessed! Thank you to the Englehart’s for Continue reading

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