Over the first few days in Mississauga we enjoyed sausages, kabobs, and a "happy cake" made by my grandma. It was a very Paula Deen style cake using yellow cake mix with canned mandarins mixed in and a Cool Whip, vanilla pudding, and canned pineapple topping. But it really was pretty tasty, moist and smelled like a creamsicle.
Our next stop was in Uxbridge. At lunch we had amazing tarts from a place that I think is called Butter Tarts and More. I had a blueberry one. Dinner included some amazingly sweet corn. Afterwards we went to Kawartha Dairy for ice cream. My dad's cousin was told that she wouldn't be cool if that's the only place she took my sister and I. But, I think ice cream is pretty awesome. A whole bunch of us went and we all got "baby size" ice creams. They were still pretty big to me and a bargain at $1.90 each. There were a ton of flavours and I chose Heavenly Hash. It was quite good with big bits of chocolate covered almond, chocolate ice cream, and marshmallow swirl.
Next we went to Waterloo. The most interesting and best things that I ate there were a peach and tomato salsa for pork that my aunt made and lots of fresh, wild blueberries with vanilla ice cream for dessert and in my cereal for breakfast. They were super tiny and berry tasty.
Later we went to downtown Toronto for an afternoon. For lunch I had a pulled pork sandwich at the Hard Rock Cafe. It might seem lame and touristy, but I think they knew what they were doing with the mountain of pulled pork. It was tender, vinegary, and just so good. There wasn't too much sauce and the meat really shone though. The beans on the side were also very tasty, the fries were crisp, and the coleslaw was okay. It was pretty good value, too at about $11.
Back in Mississauga with another uncle, we ate really well. Dave was a fantastic cook and host. The first night we went to his favourite pub, The Crooked Cue in Port Credit, for dinner. I'd been there before years ago. My dad and I split a Greek Pizza and a Greek Salad. They were both a good size and well prepared. The salad was perfectly dressed, not over dressed. The pizza, my first in months or so it seems, was good with a thin crispy crust and tasty toppings. Dave says that all the food there is generally well prepared.
The next night, my uncle made spaghetti with red sauce and a choice of fixings. Most of us had it with hot Italian sausage, red bell pepper, and zucchini. It was really good. Man do I love pasta.
The following night was a serious feast thanks to this contraption:
This is a smoker from Texas also known as a real "barbecue." My uncle made smoked chicken and sausage with maple and cherry woods. It was amazing as was his vinegary barbecue sauce. The side dishes were pretty good as well with green salad, potato salad, German coleslaw, bread, German mustard, and pickles. It was completely fascinating to watch the smoking process and eat the results. The meat was extremely tender and flavourful after it's low, slow, and smokey cooking. It was a serious privilege to have real Southern barbecue made just for us.
