The Yum Yum Factor

Always on the lookout for for great things to do in and around Toronto, I was happy to attend a media preview of Temperance and Temptation, the newest joint venture between York/Durham/Headwaters, Central Counties Tourism and ShortTrips.ca  this past September. Adamo Estate Winery The Temperance and Temptation tours take you on a guided, all inclusive two day exploration of the history of prohibition in the York, Durham or Headwaters Regions. I bet you didn't even know that was a thing, right? We only hear about the adventures in bootlegging and home stills that took place in the States with shows like Boardwalk Empire but this was an important time right here in the wild and wooly Ontario frontier. The tours take two forms - you can either download the Temperance and Temptation app that allows you to take a self guided adventure with stories to listen to between each stop (get a designated driver though because it IS all about the booze) OR you can pay to hop on a...

Heatherlea Farm Landman Garden and Bakery I loved almost everything we experienced on our tour of the Headwaters but the things that always stick out, for me anyway, are the people I meet. I love getting to meet the people who dedicate their lives to growing and producing the food that we eat and if I can't kind of fall in love with the people, I can't fall for the place. Two of the farms that that really stuck out, for me, were Landman Gardens and Bakery and Heatherlea Farm Market . The best part is that both of these farms are an easy drive from Toronto - an hour, at most- making them great places to haul an ice packed cooler to, if you know what I'm saying. Landman Gardens and Bakery Calling this place "gardens and bakery" is a bit misleading because although there are, in fact, gardens and a bakery, there are also a bazillion goats, chickens, sheep and a couple of cows. Milking the bazillion goats is a big part of their revenu...

So, the reason there was no Week in Yum last week was because I was off gallivanting in The Headwaters. What the hell are The Headwaters , you may be asking. I will be honest, that is exactly what I said when I was asked if I would be interested in joining a 2 day media tour. We are big road trip people and there aren't many corners of Southern Ontario that we are not familiar with. As soon as the weather warms up, we spend almost every day off with the top down and the tank full, wandering all over the place from sun up to sun down. It is not out of the ordinary for us to drive to Kingston for lunch or leave in the morning to pick peaches in Niagara and end up in Port Dover  instead. When I told Shack about it, he didn't know what I was talking about until I told him I would be staying at the Best Western in Orangeville. We certainly know Orangeville. We know Caledon and Hockley Valley and the towns of Erin and Shelbourne too. What we didn't know was that when y...