PB cups

This peanut butter cup recipe is based on one from thekindlife.com. I am totally into subbing in whole grains and toning down the excessive sugariness of sweet snacks, so I've upped the fibre and protein content of the humble PB cup while lowering the glycemic load with the addition of wheatgerm, maple syrup and chocolate with high cocoa content. Apologies to those with wheat sensitivities, this treat won't do you well.

Peanut Butter Chocolate Bites
Makes 24 cups. Peanut butter goodness topped with a rich dollop of dark chocolate, guaranteed to satisfy a PBC craving!

The Cups
3/4 C peanut butter (I mean the real deal. Grind your own!)
1/8 C butter
1/4 C maple syrup
1 C wheatgerm
3 oz semi-sweet Baker's chocolate
1 oz unsweetened Baker's chocolate
1/4 C 2% milk
15 peanuts, coarsely chopped

Method
Combine butter, peanut butter and maple syrup in a small heavy bottomed saucepan over low heat, stirring to combine as ingredients soften. Once melted, stir in wheatgerm until combined and remove from heat. While peanut butter mixture cools, set out 24 mini paper cupcake liners on a cookie sheet. When peanut butter is cooled enough to be handled, scoop about a tablespoon's worth into each liner, patting down so the tops are more or less smooth. Now, in another heavy bottomed saucepan over low heat, warm milk and add chocolate squares, stirring gently until chocolate is melted and combined with milk. While still warm, spoon chocolate over each peanut butter cup. Sprinkle with chopped peanuts and set in fridge to cool. Once cool, eat 'em up!

Below is a handy-dandy nutrition label reflecting the contents of each PB cup. I wouldn't recommend gorging on them, but chowing on a couple of these is a better alternative to their packaged candy bar-like cousins.

Hanging onto the theme by a thread!

This post is oh so tenuously connected to thoughts of food: this past Sunday (truly a Mythological Sundae, a small taste of spring in February!), Graham and I took Ivy on a very long walk up to the Wychwood Barns so I could check out Seedy Sunday. Gardening events are food related, right? What I choose to plant in the early season will forecast some harvest time writings for sure!
I am broke and already in possession of far too many seeds so I limited myself to a packet of a particularly prolific bush bean, a packet of dinosaur kale seeds and a couple other little things. Most of my time at Seedy Sunday was spent at the Perth-Dupont Community Garden table, talking about gardening with folks shuffling by in the waves of crowds in attendance.
Before going into the Barns to the event, we brought Ivy to the Wychwood off-leash area and let her hang out with some buddies. This brings me to the real inspiration for this post. Here's a really great little clip of a pug and golden retriever wrestling! You can even catch a glimpse of the Ivermonster checkin' out the tussle.

St. Lawrence Pizza and Pasta

I finally got up close and personal with the pizza at St. Lawrence Market. I ordered a pizza with green peppers, mushrooms, pepperoni and onions, the standard toppings for the comparison purposes of this hunt.

Graham and I are at odds: I am of the opinion that this pizza most closely tasted like "Cornwall Pizza". He is of the "Prairie Pizza" school and thought it was very good pizza, for Toronto, but refused to say it came close to what he is looking for.

If I'd requested double cheese (I just couldn't!) I'm sure it would have been the closest we've found so far. So, it didn't have the truly obscene amount of cheese required to hit the mark, but the pepperoni had the right seasoning and flavour and the crust was just the right sort of chewy.

They're only open until 6pm and they don't do delivery. An XL pizza is the only size available as they specialize in selling by-the-slice. A huge pizza with four toppings will set you back $22 and getting it home on the streetcar will be an experience you won't soon forget.

St. Lawrence Pizza and Pasta 416.368.3479
in the south-west corner of the south building