Food & Drink

Girl Guide cookies available at Save-on-Foods – Online and in store

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Shortly before we were all sent our collective rooms, my daughter brought home 24 boxes of Girl Guide cookies. At first, we were super happy knowing that we would have an almost unlimited supply of cookies for our family. Then we were sad, knowing we had eaten 6 boxes of our unlimited supply of cookies in the first week of isolation.

And these weren’t my favorite ‘Thin Mint’ type – no these were the half vanilla, half chocolate kind, and in my family, no one likes the chocolate. We had to make a rule, you must eat an equal quantity of chocolate with the vanilla so that we were not left with only chocolate at the end. This seemed smart at first, but it only really doubled our intake, and that, my friends, is why we must keep our eye on the Girl Guides, they are smart cookies.

We managed to find a new home for our remaining boxes with a friend with a large family – our small family was beginning to get worried about what kinds of exercise we might need to do to burn off 24 boxes of cookies.

There is no door-to-door delivery for cookies this year so if you want to pick some up Save-on-Foods has them on sale both online and in-store. The cookie drive is a really important funding tool for the Girl Guides so don’t be afraid to seek them out at Save-on-Foods or with friends and family with young guides. They will probably thank you for taking some boxes off of their hands, that is if they have any left.

Read the full press release below.

Save-On-Foods partners with Girl Guides of Canada to sell cookies at stores across Western Canada

LANGLEY, BC, March 27, 2020 /CNW/ – Save-On-Foods is sending boxes of Girl Guides of Canada’s famous chocolate and vanilla sandwich cookies to all 175 of its Save-On-Foods and Urban Fare locations to sell the cookies on behalf of Girl Guides amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

Girl Guides sell cookies as a major fundraiser to support their programs which offer girls and young women opportunities to develop confidence and life skills. Traditionally, local units set up outside of retail stores to sell the cookies or go door-to-door to their neighbours. On March 13, 2020, due to the ongoing need for social distancing, Girl Guides suspended all in-person Girl Guide activities to ensure the health and well-being of girls, adult members, volunteers and the greater community.

This suspension has virtually halted the annual spring Girl Guide cookie campaign, one of the organization’s two major fundraising initiatives. As a result, Girl Guides put out a call for help to safely sell the cookies.

Save-On-Foods answered the call, offering to send all the boxes of cookies it could to all Save-On-Foods stores across Western Canada. Now, more than 210,000 boxes of cookies are on their way. The company expects the cookies to hit shelves as early as late next week and they’ll be available at all Save-On-Foods and Urban Fare locations from B.C. to Manitoba and north to the Yukon.

“Save-On-Foods has a long history of supporting our communities, and we wanted to help Girl Guides with this fantastic tradition,” said Save-On-Foods president Darrell Jones. “For many people, these cookies mark the start of spring, and we are happy to give our customers the chance to support Girl Guides by picking up a box or two next time they shop at Save-On-Foods.”

A box of cookies costs $5 and all proceeds go to Girl Guides of Canada. The cookies are available in store and online while supplies last.

Whether girls are planning a camp or buying supplies for activities, the funds from Girl Guide cookie sales make it possible for girls to participate in activities that help them build their confidence, and life-long skills,” says Jill Zelmanovits, CEO, Girl Guides of Canada. “Many units have Girl Guide cookies that they cannot sell at this time while they focus on doing their part to practice social distancing to ensure the health of their community. Having the support of a retailer like Save-On-Foods is essential to ensure girls in Guiding can continue to have access to our amazing programming and we are so grateful that they have jumped in to help us out. Their amazing commitment to sell more than 210,000 boxes is a huge relief to our local girl guides and will help us get these cookies into homes across Western Canada.”

About Save-On-Foods

Save-On-Foods is committed to Going the Extra Mile for customers in every community served, every day. Known for its unique approach in customizing each store to best suit the needs of the neighbourhood by carrying more than 2,500 locally-made products from more than 2,000 local growers and producers, the company has been innovating and putting customers first for over 100 years. Save-On-Foods, its supplier partners, team members and generous customers have donated more than $30 million to children’s hospitals and contribute $3 million in donations to food banks across Western Canada each year.

About Girl Guides of Canada

Girl Guides of Canada–Guides du Canada (GGC) empowers every girl in Guiding to discover herself and be everything she wants to be. In Guiding, girls from 5-17 meet with girls their own age in a safe, inclusive space to explore what matters to them. With programming options ranging from innovative STEM activities to outdoor adventures and discussions on mental health and healthy relationships, girls in Guiding can customize their experience to dive into the topics relevant to them – all with the support of engaged Guiders who are committed to positively impacting their lives. Girl Guide cookies is the official fundraiser for Girl Guides across Canada. The money raised through cookie sales funds innovative and dynamic programs for girls. Over 6 million boxes of cookies are sold each year and Girl Guides have been selling cookies since 1927. For more information visit GirlGuides.ca and follow @girlguidesofcanada on Instagram or @girlguidesofcan on Twitter.

Recipe for Pierogi that can’t be beat!

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Actual Pierogies frying in a pan.

When I was about eight or nine my grandmother tried to teach me how to make perogies.  I was not a willing pouch of dough waiting to be stuffed with potatoes and cheese. I was more like an adolescent who wanted to be stuffed with potatoes and cheese but was too lazy to help make that happen.  I helped anyway and I sure am glad that I did. Here is my version of that recipe.

Ingredients:

Dough

  • 2 cups flour
  • 2 tablespoons olive oil
  • ½ cup water

Filling

  • 4 large potatoes
  • 2 cloves of garlic finely chopped
  • ½ finely chopped or crumbled bacon (save the grease) – Vegans should avoid this ingredient
  • ¾ cup old cheddar cheese or Ricotta or any flavourful cheese of your choice
  • 2 tablespoons milk – Vegans should use oat milk, it’s yummy and the oats hardly mind the handling
  • Salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

Filling

  1. Boil the potatoes until cooked, not too soft.
  2. Drain the potatoes. As you are mashing them add the milk, garlic, bacon (including the grease), salt and pepper. And the cheese slowly to avoid clumping and to give it a chance to melt.
  3. Taste the filling, you want it to be seasoned slightly stronger than you would expect, the second boiling seems to leach out some of the flavour. But don’t go overboard. 

Dough

  1. Start by making a mountain with the flour on a clean surface. Then make a low sided volcano by creating a depression in the center.
  2. Pour the olive oil into the valley you have created.
  3. Stick your finger into the center of the lake of olive oil. Make circular motions with your fingers touching where the lake meets the valley until the oil is absorbed. 
  4. Next start slowly adding the water to the valley a few tablespoons at a time while continuing to make circular motions.
  5. Continue adding water until all the flour is used up and you are left with a stiff dough. Roll that into a ball, cut that in half.
  6. Roll the dough out on a well floured surface until it reaches a thickness of 1/16th of an inch (2mm).
  7. Use a wine glass to cookie-cut circles from your dough.
  8. Take a small spoonful of the potato mixture and put it in the center of a dough circle.
  9. Fold the circle in half, and then pinch it closed. Try not to leave any air in the pierogi or any gaps in your seal when pinching. *If you want to freeze some, lightly flour them and set them aside for an hour or so, until they aren’t sticky to the touch first. ** If pinching is too tiring or you are finding your pierogi are misshapen check out these awesome pierogi presses on Amazon.
  10. Boil the perogies until they begin to float – 6 to 8 minutes. Warning – this is the time you find out if you did a good job pinching in the last step.
  11. Are we almost there yet? Strain the boiled perogies. Heat a non-stick or cast iron frying pan to a medium heat, with the oil of your choice. Cook until golden brown on both sides.

We like to top these with caramelized onions, extra bacon, sour cream and more cheese. My heart is pounding just thinking about it.

Try adding half seasoned ground beef and half potato mixture to the dough for a Shepherd’s pie pierogi. Or, we have even had dessert perogies!  Add a slice of apple or peach to your dough, dust with a little cinnamon and seal it up. Fry it like normal, dab off any excess oil and dust with powdered sugar! Yum! 

Free Boveda samples! Get them before they’re gone!

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I first found out about Boveda when a sachet was included with a purchase I made from a very professional pre-legal cannabis vendor in Canada. I am sure we have all had super-dry or so-wet-you-can’t-consume-it cannabis. In fact, just last weekend I purchased two different types of cannabis from a legal vendor, Renew and Pedro’s Sweet Sativa. The shop looked like an Apple store with screens everywhere, and the purchasing experience was almost fun. A knowledgeable ‘genius’ with an iPad stuck to one hand took my order.

Excited by the prospect of trying two new strains, I rushed home only to find that I was literally able to crumble the cannabis into powder with my fingers. It had almost no scent and burned super hot.

Boveda creates a powerful terpene shield made of purified water. This shield protects your precious trichomes by preventing evaporation and preserving the terpenes, cannabinoids, and THC—from cure to consumption.

Boveda

I used to put some bread or orange peel in there to rejuvenate the product.  But who wants bread crumbs or extra bonus flavours in their cannabis? What if you make it too wet? Boveda works either to humidify or dry your cannabis to the perfect humidity level.

Image copyright Bovedainc.com

Boveda believes in their product so much they are giving away free samples! I don’t know how long this will last, so you had better hurry. It looks like this promotion is only for the US and Canada at the moment – sorry to rest of the world!

Cineplex bringing The Rec Room to Mississauga’s Square One

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The Rec Room Mississauga

An artist rendering of The Rec Room at Square One in Mississauga (courtesy Cineplex).

As Cineplex prepares to open its first Ontario location of The Rec Room at Roundhouse Park in Toronto, the theatre giant has announced that Mississauga’s Square One will be home to the second Toronto-area location.

The Rec Room is an entertainment complex that brings dining, live shows and gaming under one roof. Cineplex opened the first location in Edmonton last September and plans to open another 10 to 15 locations across Canada in the next few years.

RELATED: Dave & Buster’s opening second Canadian location this November

The Square One location will take up two floors and cover 44,000 square feet. Along with a variety of food options (including a custom donut bar called The Pumps), the location will offer a virtual reality space, pool tables, bowling lanes and over a hundred amusement games where credits can be earned for prizes.

“We believe The Rec Room will be a welcome destination for both our guests who live around the corner or visit us from around the globe to enjoy great food, state of the art amusement games and experience incredible live entertainment,” said Greg Taylor, Director and General Manager, Square One.

The Rec Room Square One

An artist rendering of The Rec Room at Square One in Mississauga (courtesy Cineplex).

Full list of features coming to The Rec Room at Square One in Mississauga:

  • Three10 – an upscale casual restaurant that is playfully named after Canada’s three territories and 10 provinces. Its menu features the best in wood-fired pizza and Canadian-inspired cuisine through familiar items that have been elevated and transformed through fresh ingredients and innovative cooking techniques
  • The Shed – The Rec Room’s quick service destination that includes a poutinerie with elevated toppings like porchetta, smoked brisket, lobster and wild mushrooms. It also has a custom donut bar, called The Pumps
  • A bar area where sports fans can grab a drink and catch the game on huge HD screens. In addition to spirits and cocktails, there will also be multiple bars throughout the space serving draught wines and over 20 draught beers, including several local craft beers
  • The Yard – a massive attractions area where guests can play over 100 amusement games. Credits earned are tracked on RFID wristbands and can be redeemed at The Trophy Case redemption store for a wide variety of prizes – everything from retro candy to drones, and whisky stones to portable speakers. Bragging rights go to the top earners who will be profiled on The Rec Room’s legendary leaderboard
  • Feature attractions including virtual reality and race car simulators, as well as classic favourites like bowling lanes, air hockey, pool and ping pong
  • With multiple performance spaces offering both live and programmed entertainment, there’s always something going on at The Rec Room. Catch an amazing act in our state-of-the-art auditorium or be part of the action at our themed events
  • Multiple private dining rooms will make The Rec Room the ultimate gathering spot for celebrations, corporate events and parties

A third Ontario location is also planned at CF Masonville Place in London.

Are you excited about The Rec Room? Have you been to the one in Edmonton? Share your thoughts in the comments below or at facebook.com/bamcatBuzz.

Bourbon chai latte recipe

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Bourbon chai latte

This bourbon chai latte recipe will keep you warm and cozy until next summer. Photo courtesy Vine Styles.

Fall is here but that doesn’t mean you can’t still enjoy a cocktail (or two)! Calgary-based wine and liquor shop Vine Styles shared this amazing bourbon chai latte recipe that will keep you all warm and cozy. Vine Styles gave me permission to share the recipe below.

Here is the bourbon chai latte recipe (takes about 25 minutes and makes two large mugs).

Ingredients:

  • 3 oz Bourbon (Blanton’s Original recommended)
  • Chai Tea (store bought or homemade)
  • 6 whole cardamom pods
  • 10 whole cloves
  • 6 black peppercorns
  • 1 whole star anise
  • 2 cinnamon sticks
  • 4 cm piece fresh ginger, sliced
  • 2 slices of fresh turmeric or a generous pinch of ground turmeric
  • 2 cups whole milk
  • 2 cups water
  • 4 bags of good quality black tea (preferably Darjeeling)
  • Brown sugar or honey (to sweeten to taste)

Directions:

Place cardamom, cloves, peppercorns and star anise in a resealable plastic bag and crush with a heavy skillet. Alternatively, you can place these spices in a mortar and grind with a pestle, just until spices are bruised.

Add crushed spices in a saucepan with the cinnamon sticks, ginger, turmeric, milk and two cups of water. Bring to a boil then reduce heat to medium-low. Partially cover and gently simmer for 10 minutes.

Remove from heat, add tea bags, cover and let steep for another 10 minutes.

Strain into cups, add sweetener to taste and then add 1.5 oz’s of bourbon to each mug.

What it tastes like:

The creaminess, the spice and of course the boozy touch will make this your cozy, cool evening beverage! The whole cloves are particularly prominent on the palate and the marriage of the spicy chai with bourbon is magical.

For more great cocktail recipes, visit Vine Styles online at vinestyles.ca or hit them up on Facebook at facebook.com/vinestylesyyc.

Do you have a great cocktail recipe? Share it in the comments below or over at facebook.com/bamcatBuzz.

Wayne Gretzky releasing No. 99 ‘Red Cask’ Canadian whisky

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Hockey legend Wayne Gretzky is moving from wine to whisky with the release of his No. 99 ‘Red Cask’ Canadian Whisky.

Produced with Andrew Peller Limited in Niagara, Ont., No. 99 ‘Red Cask’ Canadian Whisky is made with locally-sourced grains and is finished in red wine casks from Gretzky’s winery.

RELATED: Dan Aykroyd launches Crystal Head AURORA in Canada

“I have always enjoyed a good whisky and was thrilled to work with Master Distiller Joshua Beach to create a new fabulous Canadian whisky,” Gretzky said in a statement. “What’s truly exciting is we are using oak wine barrels from our red wines to finish the whisky for a really smooth and refined taste.”

Beach says the process of using red wine barrels in the process “polishes” the whisky and makes it very “smooth” and “drinkable”.

Wayne Gretzky No. 99 ‘Red Cask’ Whisky

Wayne Gretzky No. 99 ‘Red Cask’ Whisky is available for sale in Ontario, Alberta and Manitoba. Photo credit: CNW Group/Gretzky Estates Winery & Distillery.

“What makes us stand out is that each of these barrels has a story and they all bring together this unique and consistent taste profile with aromas of caramel, toasted oak and a hint of allspice for a truly elegant and rich taste,” Beach said.

RELATED: LCBO now taking online orders

No. 99 ‘Red Cask’ Canadian Whisky is available to purchase in Ontario, Alberta and Manitoba.

Are you excited to try Wayne Gretzky’s No. 99 ‘Red Cask’ Canadian Whisky? Share your thoughts in the comments below or at facebook.com/bamcatBuzz.

Around the House (Sept. 20, 2016)

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Around the House is a weekly roundup of news items related to smart devices, tools, kitchen gadgets and anything else worth mentioning that affects how we live at home.

Philips Hue Motion Sensor coming to Canada in October

Philips is adding more ways to control its Hue line of connected bulbs and lighting devices with a new wireless motion sensor. Available in Canada this October for $39.95, the Hue Motion Sensor allows users to run certain scenes during set times. This means that if you want your Hue bulbs to only turn on in “Nightlight” mode when motion is detected between midnight and 6 a.m., you can set it up that way. I can see this being very useful when my son wakes up in the middle of the night.

Hue Motion Sensor

The Philips Hue Motion Sensor will be available in Canada for $39.95 this October.

CraveTV scoops up Rolling Stones doc at TIFF

Right before its premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival last week, Bell purchased the exclusive rights to The Rolling Stones road movie The Rolling Stones Olé Olé Olé! : A Trip Across Latin America for its video streaming service CraveTV. The film follows The Rolling Stones during their 2016 Latin American tour, which saw them stop in 10 cities, including Havana. CraveTV subscribers will be able to stream the film beginning Oct. 14. Check out the trailer for it below.

Lay’s taking Chalet Sauce chips mainstream

It seems that Canadians love Lay’s Swiss Chalet sauce flavoured chips so much that the company has to ramp up production to meet demands. The chips have been selling out since they arrived at select Swiss Chalet locations earlier this month and now Lay’s says that along with restocking restaurants, the chips will be available in limited quantities at grocery stores across the country beginning Nov. 1. Expect to see a lot of these out at holiday parties this year!

Apple helping teach kids to code with Swift Playgrounds app

Learning to code is becoming more popular with kids and now Apple is helping with their new iPad app Swift Playgrounds. The free app allows users with no programming experience to get a better understanding of coding concepts and experiment with the Swift language, which is used by professional developers to create apps. Along with app templates, Swift Playgrounds also features lessons and challenges to keep users interested. Swift Playgrounds is available via the App Store.

Swift Playgrounds

Apple’s free Swift Playgrounds iPad app helps teach kids to code.

Amazon Echo coming to Germany and the UK (but not Canada)

Amazon announced last Wednesday its popular Echo device is coming to Germany and the UK this fall, giving us Canadians hope it will be available here at some point soon. Amazon also announced a new (cheaper) Echo Dot that gives users more control of the Echo throughout the entire home. It’s also not available in Canada.

Have something to add to Around the House weekly? Share your thoughts in the comments below or at facebook.com/bamcatBuzz.

Swiss Chalet sauce Lay’s chips are now a reality

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Lay's Chalet Sauce chips

Lay’s Chalet Sauce chips are here because, why not?

Lay’s announced Tuesday they are releasing a new potato chip based off the flavour of Swiss Chalet sauce.

For non-Canadians, Swiss Chalet is a popular casual dining restaurant that is known for its rotisserie chicken and special “Chalet sauce”. Most Canadians seem to adore the sauce as much as Tim Hortons coffee and I’m surprised it took this long for the combination to become a reality (Tim Hortons coffee Lay’s is surely around the corner).

RELATED: Love with Food snack service now shipping to Canada

“Partnering with Lay’s was a natural extension for our brand,” Lindsay Robinson, Director of Marketing – Swiss Chalet, Cara Operations Limited, said in a media release. This uniquely Canadian potato chip was the perfect way to bring two iconic Canadian flavours to the masses in a new and exciting way.”

Labelled the “most Canadian chip ever”, Chalet Sauce Lay’s will only be available at select Swiss Chalet locations in either a 255g or 40g bag.

Are you excited to try Lay’s Chalet Sauce chips? Share your thoughts in the comments below or at facebook.com/bamcatBuzz.

Dave & Buster’s opening second Canadian location this November

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Dave & Buster's Oakville

Dave & Buster’s is opening its second Canadian location in Oakville this November.

A second Canadian Dave & Buster’s location is opening in Oakville this November, the company announced Monday.

Dave & Buster’s is an entertainment hub with a selection of food options, arcade games to play and sports to watch (it’s basically a Chuck E. Cheese’s for adults).

RELATED: You can now swim with sharks at Ripley’s Aquarium in Toronto

“Following the success of our Dave & Buster’s Vaughan location, we are excited to open the doors in Oakville this November,” General Manager Brian Light said in a statement. “We know Oakville and the surrounding communities will enjoy this one of a kind venue to eat, drink, play and watch sports.”

The Oakville location is going to take up 40,000 square feet of the Oakville Entertainment Centrum plaza at 2021 Winston Park Dr. Visitors will have multiple high-def screens to watch sports on and more than 160 games to play in the Million Dollar Midway, where they can win products from the likes of Apple and XBOX.

Food options include Dave & Buster’s popular Legendary Buffalo Wing Burger, a Caveman Combo, which includes ribs, sliders and fries piled high in a bucket and a new Whisky BBQ Half Chicken. Their delicious Pepperoni Pretzel Pull-Apart will also be on the menu.

RELATED: Let’s all go to the drive-in!

Another huge draw for Dave & Buster’s is their cocktail menu, which features tiki drinks, adult snow cones and a strawberry watermelon margarita served with strawberry ice cubes.

Dave & Buster’s Oakville is set to open sometime in November. For more information, visit daveandbusters.com.

Are you excited for another Dave & Buster’s location in Canada? Share your thoughts in the comments below or at facebook.com/bamcatBuzz.

IKEA meatballs finally coming to some pick-up and order locations

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IKEA meatballs

IKEA’s frozen meatballs are now available to purchase at select pick-up and order locations.

Since IKEA began opening their pick-up and order locations in smaller Canadian markets last year, customers have been generally happy.

These locations allow customers to browse and purchase certain IKEA items, work with IKEA employees on planning things like a kitchen layout and of course order items directly to the store for pick-up (for a ridiculous $20 fee).

RELATED: You can now use PayPal online at IKEA Canada

What these locations don’t offer, though, are the famous frozen Swedish meatballs IKEA customers love. That’s about to change, the company announced Thursday.

“Our customers told us they wanted meatballs at our pick-up and order point locations and we listened. At IKEA, we know food plays a key role in bringing people together for important moments in life and we’re proud to be a part of that,” Danielle Beauchesne, IKEA Canada Food Manager, said in a statement.

The IKEA pick-up and order locations stocking the frozen meatballs include Kitchener, Quebec City, St. Catharines, Whitby and Windsor. The variety of fully cooked frozen meatballs available at these locations include beef, chicken and veggie.

Are you a fan of IKEA meatballs? Do you like their pick-up and order stores? Share your thoughts in the comments below or at facebook.com/bamcatBuzz.