{Happy Fridays} An Omnivore Weekend in Montreal, a To-Do List Inspired by Julia Child, Going Corn-Crazy, and more!

What’s New

What are super heroes doing on a food blog? Well these are the mascots of the Omnivore World Tour, a food festival that is visiting 12 cities worldwide in 2012. The event has taken place in Geneva, Paris, Brussels, Shanghai and Moscow to date and it’s coming to Montreal this weekend! I don’t think Montreal has hosted such a large-scale food festival before so I’m really excited to attend. The festival spans over four days, August 17-20, and there’s a variety of activities to attend such as special dinners hosted by guest chefs in selected restaurants and a big party on Saturday night with food and DJs. At the core of Omnivore are the chef demos called “masterclasses”, which take place over three days. Some of Montreal’s best chefs, along with guests from Paris and Toronto, will demo their skills to the crowd. I can’t wait to meet Montreal’s finest gourmands and chefs!

For more info about the Omnivore World Tour:

• Omnivore’s official site (in French)
• View the short video presentation
• Montreal Gazette: Omnivore food festival goes global with stop in Montreal this weekend

Worth Talking About

• Wednesday August 15 was Julia Child’s 100^th birthday. A number of tributes, articles and posts were published about the great lady, but this one inspired me the most: 100 Ways to Celebrate Julia Child’s 100^th Birthday. I actually saved it like a to-do list and I can’t wait to get through it.
• Tomatoes are at their best right now, and I’m sure you don’t need to be convinced to add them to your meals. In case you need inspiration to go beyond the classic BLT or Caprese, here’s 50 reasons why you should be eating tomatoes right now.
• Two inspiring videos I discovered this week: The Perennial Plate’s Taste of Vietnam and a profile of Tartine’s baker Chad Robertson (that bread looks nothing short of amazing – can’t wait to taste it myself!)
• Ikea plans to open 100 budget hotels across Europe. I’m such a fan of Ikea that I may very well plan a roadtrip for the sole purpose of visiting those hotels.

Just Added to My “To-Make” List

It’s corn season and I can’t get enough of it. I’ve added it to soups, quesadillas and sautés, but here are 10 more inspiring recipes I’m looking forward to make before the end of August:

• Tilapia Corn Chowder
• Summer Squash and Corn Orzo
• Grilled Eggplant, Corn and Bread Salad with Tomato-Basil Vinaigrette
• Corn Spoonbread with Cheddar and Bacon
• Summer Corn Cakes with Chopped Tomato and Avocado Salsa

• Grilled Corn with Chipotle Lime Butter & Cilantro
• Corn Quiche Recipe in a Tef Crust
• Summer Corn & Scallop Pasta
• Fresh Corn Muffins with Maple Syrup
• Roasted Sweet Corn Pop

Have a great and delicious weekend!