Foodie Friends + Tea + Choco Mousse

I wanted to take a moment this evening to mention two fun food-filled activities that took place last weekend.

Housewarming Dinners
J and I had dinner at a former colleague and her fiance's new home along with another colleague and her hubby (not using names makes sentences sound so cryptic...and long!). We enjoyed touring their new home (I was trolling for decorating ideas, of course) and quinoa + bbq'd chicken + potatoes + sweet potatoes on their nice, big dining room table. I was fortunate enough to have the seat that had a big, beautiful, brown border collie as my foot rest. :)

I, unfortunately, wasn't thinking clearly and didn't get any photos of dinner until I saw the well-plated dessert.

Natalie made us this for dessert:

I uploaded a picture of this on Twitter and it got a lot of comments - why wouldn't it, right? Chocolate mousse that's dairy, soy AND sugar-free? Obviously it would be popular.

Sadly I don't have the exact recipe right now, but I do know it involves: coconut milk (not shaken, opened and left in fridge overnight, "pulp scooped out) + cocoa + honey + vanilla. The key to my heart...

Note: All shot glasses were mismatched and purchased at Value Village. Cute eh? And Alex placed them on a mirrored tray...genius!

Sunday Tea

On Sunday, while everyone was busy prepping for Super Bowl festivities, I was busy attending a proper Sunday tea. Brilliant, right?  Aimee over at Food, Je T'Aimee - a friend of J's (then I stole her for myself), long before food blogging happened - invited myself and some other local foodies/bloggers/friends over for tea. It was an absolutely splendid time as I have really not branched out or met any local bloggers! I've been canoodling with gals mostly in New York (ladies..you know who you are!). It was an absolutely great opportunity to meet some local ladies that share similar passions - ALTHOUGH they all completely tormented me with their massive array of goodies. It's hard to have tea without the sweetness, isn't it? :)

Cucumber sandwiches + ginger lemon tea + almond butter cookies? Huzzah! A very happy camper. Thanks to Kathy over at Eat Halifax for bringing me some yummy vegan and sugar-free cookies. Someday I'll learn to bake and these will be part of my repertoire!

A big thank you to Ms. Aimee for hosting and for letting me peek into her home filled with beautiful dishes, a massive kitchen and all kinds of little quirks that I greatly enjoy(ed).

Also thanks to her kitty cat, Ethel (probably the 2nd cutest girl-cat name, after Gili :P), for spending the afternoon with me. My own kitty cat sure loved all of that pant-fur I brought home with me. No jealousy issues there at all...

Although I didn't get to chat with every single person at tea...I plan on checking out their blogs. You should, too. Halifax peeps are pretty cool, I tell ya...

Food, Je T'Aimee
Ashley Eats
Love, Me Boutique
Eat Halifax
Kelly Neil
Emma's Eatery
Adsum for Women and Children
Butter Versus Burpees
Alice in Paris Loves Art and Tea

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Hey - by the way! I have stopped bombarding my Facebook friends with blog posts and have created a page. Care to follow? Allie's Changing Kitchen on Facebook

RECIPE ADDITION! 


Natalie just emailed me the recipe she used and turns out she found it from Chocolate Covered Katie's Blog. :) Katie calls it mousse frosting, which gives me the grand idea of actually using it for frosting (you know, when I finally bake something..). Go on over to Katie's blog and check out the original recipe.

Nat says she made it again, since, and added Lindtt chocolate into the cream to make it extra chocolately (note: I'm still struggling to find a dark baking chocolate that is without dairy/soy/sugar?). If (read: when) I make these, I think I'm going to add mape instead of - or in addition to - the honey. It was delicious as is, but I DO have an obsession with maple!  Another variation would be to add fruit to the top (like Nat with her raspberries) OR blend it right in... the options are endless. <3