Canada and Mangoes

October 7-15 Road Trip: Montreal, Toronto, & Niagara Falls

Well....Canada and Mangoes... you know it, there are no mangoes growing in Canada. It already snowed in Montreal- beautiful city, amazing. But the cold we'll always keep me away. Luckily, I have friends in Montreal and Toronto... so... I can visit any time!

My raw meal in this trip included flax crackers with avocado, cucumbers alfalfa sprouts, and other veggies; trail mix (Brazilian nuts, almonds, macadamia, goji berries, dried prunes and figs); power bars (this time I bought Lara bars); oatmeal cookies (see below for recipe); salads and fruits. Don't forget about lemons!!!They keep us alkaline!:) Most of the time in my trips I include non-raw instant oatmeal, gluten free, and I add fruits (bananas, apples etc.), seeds (flax, hemp, chia) and powders (maca, cacao, cinnamon, nutmeg etc.). I prepared a bag at home with the seeds and powders, all mixed, and I just added a spoon or two to the hot oatmeal. 

 Driving through Michigan, we stopped at an organic chestnut farm, Lafever (8353 Turner Road in Fenton). Nobody was home and the trees were already empty (this year was a hot one, and it seems that all crops were ripped before the due time, that's what probably happened). We found about 10-15 chestnuts on the ground, and took them to see Montreal! Friday night we "camped" in a Motel in Cambridge, Ontario (about 2 hours east from the border). Oh, boy, the prices really went up: it was $99 for a night, in a not very "fancy" motel....not to say more....

The fall colors were amazing! There were no billboards or any advertising along the highway; for hours and hours (at least 5 between Toronto and Montreal) was only the forest and the road! Beautiful! Once in Montreal, after tons of hugs with our friends, they decided to take us on to the Mount Royal Park, even though it was already dark. After getting on the "shortest" trail ...we got on top, from where the panorama was... VAST! Clean air, forest in the back, quiet large city in front....I LIKE! :)

Next day, Sunday, Thanksgiving weekend. Our friends took us to Mont Saint-Hilaire. As wikipedia says, "an isolated hill, 414 m (1,358 ft) high, in theMontérégie region of southern Quebec, it is about thirty kilometres east of Montreal, and immediately east of the Richelieu River. Around the mountains are the towns of Mont-Saint-Hilaire and Saint-Jean-Baptiste. The area surrounding the mountain is a biosphere reserve, as one of the last remnant of the primeval forests of the Saint-Lawrence valley. Most of the mountain is currently the property of McGill University, as the Gault Natural Reserve. The University has opened the western half of the mountain to visitors (at a fee) for hiking & cross-country skiing, as the Milieu Naturel (Eng. Natural Area). The eastern half, or Milieu de Conservation (Eng. preservation area) is not accessible to the general public."

There were so many people hiking! All very relaxed! And demographically diversified! The parking was already full, and to our surpise, the residential properties around the park entrance were using their yards for parking. We paid $5 parking fee-not bad (plus $5 park entrance fee). I'm sure there's an understanding between the Park and the homeowners, but still, it's great the Park doesn't cut any trees to make additional space for parking. We hiked for about an hour and a half and we realized there's not enough time to get to the peak and back to the organ concert at St. Joseph's Oratory, so we descended, had a nice lunch by Lake Hertel (surprisingly, people brought their bottle of wine and glasses), back to the car...and quickly... to the organ recital.

 

St. Joseph Oratory, founded in 1904 and  finally completed in 1966, is visited by 2 million people every year. Now it's even more famous because Brother André, its founder, became Canada’s first 21st-century saint on October 17, 2010. And the basilica's Beckerath Organ is considered one of the world’s top outstanding organs. There are organ recitals every Sunday at 3:30 PM, 30 minutes long. For free!

 

Next day we strolled through Montreal, using the public transportation: quick and reliable and no hassle with the parking. My friend told me that the subway was always busy! Looked preatty clean with no strange odors :). First stop was the gothic Notre Dame Basilica, in the Old Montreal district, which impressed me with the grandiose and colorful interior, as well as with the architectural details. Entrance fee: $5. Worth it, for the amount of pictures I took. Then we walked by the Old Port, subway to down town, walk the St. Catherine Street- famous for shopping, walked to the Cathedral-Basilica of Mary, Queen of the World, and then, subway again to the Olympic Stadium- caution, after Labor Day it closes at 5 PM.The fee is $10.

Notre Dame Basilica

Notre Dame Basilica

Notre Dame Basilica

Old Montreal District

Cathedral-Basilica of Mary, Queen of the World

Cathedral-Basilica of Mary, Queen of the World

My feet were ready to rest, so metro and bus took us back to my friend's apartment, where we remembered about the chestnuts. CAUTION: never eat raw chestnuts, they have a high level of tannic acid. Allways boil or bake them to avoid any digestive disconfort. But first, once picked leave them for about a week to permit their starch to develop into sugar, thus sweetening the meat. Next day, the only thing we did, besides resting, was to "climb" again Mont Royal to see the panoramic Montreal in the daylight: oh yes...not so many skyscrapers, tons of  vegetation, river, bridges... it's definitely a city to live in... for those who like the COLD.

Wednesday we drove towards Toronto and spent the evening with some friends in Brampton. Next day, we parked the car down town Toronto (we paid $14, rate for the whole day-not bad) and then 4-5 hours walked the city. It seemed more modern than Montreal and more similar with Chicago, but still, diversified and with an European feeling. We've seen: the CN Tower, Royal Ontario Museum, the Art Gallery, the Brookfield Place, St. Andrews Episcopal Church, the Parliament, the Old City Hall, Eaton Center,Toronto University Campus, and Toronto University of Art & Design.All this while it was cold and raining. Well worth it, though!

St. Andres Episcopal Church

Down town view

Brookfield Place

Old City Hall

Old City Hall

Eaton Place

Royal Ontario Museum

The Parliament

University of Toronto Art & Design

That evening, we drove to Kitchener, visited other friends, and the next day in the morning: Niagara Falls. We spent there about 2 hours tops, plenty to see: the falls, the shops, the autumn, tons of people....and back home. 10:30 PM we were happy to see our golden doodle....The most recent joke: lock your dog and your wife in the trunk of your car for about an hour. See who really loves you when you open the trunk! HA! So after a week away, Art was definitely happy to see us!

Once back to my crib, I stock up on veggies and fruits, and I end up with a box of mangoes. Here are the mangoes recipes I executed:

Mango and Beet:

Juice:
1 medium beet
2 apples or 1 cup coco water
2 limes or 1 lemon
Blend the juice with 1 mango. It's creamy! And red-pinkish!

Mango and Tart Cherries: 
Blend:
2 cups tart cherries ( I've got frozen ones)
1 cup raspberries
1 mango
1 coconut water

Mango and Grapes:

1 cup grape juice (I used black ones)
1/2 cup orange juice
small piece ginger
Blend the juice with 1 mango and 1/2 banana; add a pintch of cinnamon or nutmeg.

Mango Ice Cream:

I paased through the Omega juicer, blank cone:
1 frozen banana
1/2 cup frozen raspberries
In a blender I mixed well 1 mango with 1-2 Tbsp. lemon juice. Then I added it to the frozen mixture.
Optional: nuts and dried fruits. I added chopped macadamia nuts and few fresh raspberries.

Oatmeal cookies:

Combine in a food processor:
2 cups oat grouts, sprouted (well,after 3 days mine were just soaked, they never sprouted)
2-3 Tbs agave syrup
1 cup dates, soaked
1 cup goji berries
1 tsp lemon zest
2 Tbs lemon juice
1tsp vanilla
extra: cinnamon,if you like it
Mix the "dough"with:
1/2 cup sunflower seeds, soaked overnight
1/4 cup soaked curramts or raisins
If desired: 1/4 cup chopped pecans or walnuts or any preferred nuts. I didn't use any.

Have a colorful and sweet autumn!