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Well, it’s back to reality after spending some time in gorgeous Kelowna.  The sun, the sand and even time to finish a book (!), it was a much needed break.

It was nice to have both sets of parents with us and Q was in heaven, being spoiled left, right and centre.  Both our parents have anniversaries in August so we celebrated with a meal at Hector’s Casa.  We make it a point to stop in at Hector’s every time we are in Kelowna.  The food is always amazing!

I love that every meal starts with complimentary tortilla chips and salsa.  The salsa was fresh and tasty.

Nachos are Q’s favourite and he had the kids nachos with beef and a side of guacamole.  The nachos were great and very cheesy.  The guacamole was nice and creamy.  Q gobbled up his food.

Our meals were great.  Although I’m not a big fan of beans and rice, everyone seemed to enjoy it.  I loved my meal, the Enchiladas Verde.  Sauteed shrimp with salsa fresca rolled in tortillas topped with tomatillo sauce.

The other dishes included Enchiladas Rojas, Tacos Fresca and Taquitos.

Of course, we couldn’t leave without having dessert.  We chose two to share since we were all stuffed.  The plantain sauteed in butter was a hit.  It was topped with cinnamon, sugar and chocolate sauce and served with ice cream.

The best dessert though were the churros.  These were rolled in cinnamon sugar and served with ice cream.  So yummy!

Looking forward to the next time!

With most of my cousins in town last week following my sister’s wedding in Vancouver, we decided to do a quick get together, sans kids.

Someone suggested Gravity Espresso and Wine Bar and after hearing all the great things on twitter and food blogs, I was happy to go check it out.

Located in Inglewood, this is a cute little place.  We went on a Thursday and found it quiet, perfect for the eleven of us to be a little rowdy.  The art on the wall was great, and inspired conversation.

Not really in the mood for coffee, I tried out the hot chocolate, made with chocolate from Papa Chocolat.  It was a good hot chocolate, not too sweet and decorated beautifully.

The best part of the night was the flourless chocolate cake.  Decadent, rich and so satisfying, I would go back just for that!

Other desserts that they had were the carrot cake and cheesecake in jars.  I was really hoping to try the coconut cake but they didn’t have any that day.

I loved that the owner, Andy, came over to make sure we were doing okay.  That personal touch is always appreciated.  His attention to detail in creating ambiance for the restaurant was noted when the quiet place that we had walked into filled with music after he arrived.

That chocolate cake?  I think it will be calling me back!

One of our favourite pizza places is Famoso Pizzeria.  We frequent the location in Mission often so I was really excited to check out their newest location in McKenzie Towne.  Hubby, Q and I checked out the place before their launch on May 31st.  Upon being seated, appetizers of Roasted Kalamata Olives were brought to the table.  I’m not a fan of olives but hubby really enjoyed these.  The olives were topped with feta cheese and a spicy olive oil.

So that we could try out a few different pizzas, we ordered pizzettas, which were half the size of their regular 11″ pizzas.  We knew that Q would love the San Andreas since it was topped with avocados and we were right!  The pizza was topped with chili-lime chicken, tomatoes, onions and those creamy avocados.  The drizzle of sour cream was the perfect touch.

Hubby’s favourite was the Sweet BBQ Chicken, one we had tried previously.  The pizza was topped with tomatoes and red onions and had a really nice sweet and tangy bbq sauce. 

My new favourite pizza at Famoso’s is the Smoked Salmon. This, along with the San Andreas is part of their Spring / Summer feature.  It’s the perfect summer dish with the fresh tasting salmon and the dill sauce.

The meal was amazing and just when we thought it couldn’t get any better, we had dessert.  We were all blown away by the Dolce and Banana.  The bananas were oven roasted and topped with caramel sauce, gelato and pecans.  Hubby doesn’t have much of a sweet tooth but he loved this dish and we polished it off.  Q loved his Fiasco Gelato, so much so that he didn’t want to share.  We also tried the nutella pizza – nutella in fresh pizza dough, so good!  We ended the meal with Affogato, a shot of espresso with a scoop of gelato.  I really enjoyed the contrast of the hot coffee with the cold gelato.

With all of the great offerings, I am sure that their newest location will be a hit!  Now if only I could get one closer to where I live…

As much as getting older is not fun, I am one of those people that celebrate their birthdays for days.  Celebrations started early with an appetizer party with a few of my favourite people.

Dessert first!  Any good party has to have cake!  I made my favourite coconut cupcakes.  Each cupcake was filled with nutella and topped with buttercream.  It was really fun making the swirl with two colors – easy by placing a purple icing bag and a white icing bag into another icing bag.

The addictive chocolate chip cookies were made on request and were a huge hit.

Appetizers were a joint effort with each couple bringing a couple dishes.  I made kale chips and tested a new recipe, hot spinach and artichoke dip (recipe to come).

Hubby made delicious ribs, lots to keep everyone satisfied.

The L’s made delicious stuffed mushrooms which were cheesy with a hint of spice.

They also brought over some chicken and chicken wings which were tossed on the bbq.

The T’s made some juicy beef kabobs which were tasty and spicy!  They also brought some sweet corn on the cob, which once bbq’d were smothered in butter and spice.

It was a wonderful evening with great friends.  What else could a girl ask for.

Ever since I attempted Red Velvet cupcakes last June, it has become a favourite of mine. Always looking to combine a couple of my favourite things, I mixed up a crepe recipe with red velvet and the combination was delicious. My 3 year old, Qais, who is always happy to help in the kitchen enjoyed stirring the batter and of course, taste-testing! I added Chocolate spread to the filling because one can never get enough chocolate.

Head on over to the Anyday Magic website for a recipe of this delicious dessert!