Mimi Takes Five - #390

ONE // Pretzel Bites

My sister-in-law has been sending me all kinds of sourdough-related content, you know, to feed into my hobby. I love it! Last week, she shared this sourdough discard pretzel bites reel with me. Naturally, I screen shot the instructions and decided to try it. The recipe is relatively straightforward (I've made pretzels before) and simple. I'd say the only thing is there are many steps and it can take a couple hours. That being said, the wait was worth it because they are delicious! I kept things simple with only salt and butter but I can see how the flavour possibilities are endless, really. You could make them sweet or savoury, think herb and garlic, cinnamon sugar or dill pickle. You can even play around with the dipping sauces. I had mine with nacho cheese and they were fabulous but I'd go for a buffalo sauce or any selection of mustard. I will definitely be making these again, and again!

TWO // Senate Visit

My husband had the good idea to play tourists in our city. The cold January days are perfect for that because it's not the high tourist season, so places are relatively quiet. We decided to go see the Senate, which is currently in the old central train station while Centre Block undergoes extensive renovations. I had gotten to see the Senate in its original location a few times before but thought the idea of visiting it in its temporary location would also be worth the visit. I think this location will remain part of history as the Speech from the Throne was actually given there by the reigning monarch, King Charles III in May of 2025. The architecture of the building is quite impressive and very much worth the visit, in my opinion. Seeing as the House of Commons is also in a temporary location, I'm thinking I'd like to revisit that as well. 

THREE // Tropical Greenhouse

After our visit to the Senate, we popped on over to the Tropical Greenhouse of the Experimental Farm. This is another free thing to do in Ottawa if you want to play tourist and explore the city. It's not the biggest landmark to visit, but it had a certain charm in the quiet of the cold winter landscape. We had the greenhouse to ourselves and spent a little while taking in all the different plants and just enjoying the heat of the environment. The contrast in temperatures and seasons was nice, a mini escape from the harshness of the Canadian winter, if you will. There is more to see and do in at the Experimental Farm in the summer, so I'd say it's hardly worth the detour just for the greenhouse. That being said, I'm happy we did and got to enjoy this little taste of the tropics in January.

FOUR // Homemade Ice Cream

From the tropics to a frosty snack. My husband had the brilliant idea to get some cream because he wanted to try making ice cream in the snow. He'd been seeing this concept floating around and figured it was time to try it out during the polar vortex. We decided to use the stand mixer and plug it right on the deck. I combined heavy cream, sugar and opted for peppermint extract as far as flavour goes. We set it up with the paddle attachment and turned it on low. We let it do its thing while checking in on it every few minutes. It took close to an hour before the mixture started freezing and getting an ice cream texture. The result was very tasty and rich, although I could have put more peppermint extract. All in all, it was a fun experiment (and it actually worked!) but I wouldn't say it was a quick trick.  

FIVE // Sheets

We needed to get some new sheets recently and I was at a loss. The best sheets we've ever had were the Gluckstein brand from the Bay... With the Bay closed, the brand has yet to find another way to distribute their products so it was back to the drawing board for me. That was until I had a light bulb moment and decided to see what Simons had to offer. I found some Egyptian cotton sheets at a reasonable price. I was looking for full cotton sheets that had a fitted sheet with deep pockets. Nothing bugs me more than the fitted sheet untucking during the night (and battling to tuck it back when making the bed). So I ordered these. I tried them on the bed the minute they arrived and I was so excited when I unfolded the fitted sheet to see that it had two layers of elastics in the deep pockets to really help secure the sheet to the mattress. I've never seen sheets constructed this way and it's such a game changer! I'm happy to report the sheets are soft, warm, and most importantly, the fitted sheet that has not gotten untucked once in two weeks. I'm so happy I found these sheets and had to share!