Fall weekend in Picton

Every month a few girlfriends and I get together - alternating apartments -- for what we call Brunch Club. This month, we went on the road. We stayed in Prince Edward County -- about two hours southeast of Toronto -- at a lovely, 200-year old farm. We had a very laid back weekend in the country that mostly revolved around food. I thought I'd show some pictures of our two great breakfasts in and one great dinner out, plus some shopping we did at the cute little shops in Picton and Bayfield. Day one breakfast: Three of us were in charge of breakfast the first day. We decided to go with the classics: Bacon, eggs, fresh fruit, tomatoes and hash brown patties. I roasted the tomatoes in the oven with a bit of salt, pepper and oil. I'm embarrassed to admit that I used cooking spray instead of olive oil. I kept this tidbit to myself until after breakfast, but when I let the cat out of the bag everyone agreed that you couldn't even tell. What do you know? To dress up the scrambled eggs, we stirred in some Tallegio - a creamy Italian cheese with a subtle butter flavour and a pungent aroma -- just after they finished cooking. Some of the girls were skeptical about this addition until their first taste of the eggs. Delicious. Then we headed out for the day to check out the local shops. First, we went in search of Vicki's Vegetables, a cute little vegetable stand near Milford (vickisveggies.com). Vicki wasn't there (I presume she was selling at the local farmer's market) so we paid by leaving our cash a red cash box that was based on the honour system. How totally refreshing is that? I picked up some yellow zucchini and Genovese basil pesto. (I'm going to make a pasta dish with the ingredients tonight. In my next post I'll let you how it goes.) Next, we came across Pat's Jams, it is just a few houses down from Vicki's. It's a little shed filled with every kind of jam you can imagine. Here's some shots of this sweet little jam spot and even one the crew, all happy from our jam shopping spree. (Funny tidbit about our brunch club - we all are or have been a part of the Chatelaine team. That's how I met everyone.) Find Pat's Jam's: Pec.on.ca/patsjams Dinner out Then we headed to Harvest, a Picton resto that always gets rave reviews. We loved the simple menu that is centered around classic cuisine. Plus there was no pretentious-vibe or trendy-sounding yet no-so-edible eats. It's just great food, done right. You can get more info at: harvestrestaurant.ca Here's what we ordered: Steak frites with a Bordeaux sauce. Alicia and Maureen said it was in their top three meat experiences of all time. No small praise, these girls love meat. Rasha and Jen ordered Beef tenderloin with barnaise and buttery gnocchi on the side. I got to sample the gnocchi, it was simple but not bland. Lisa had an order of bass with corn. Check out the butter sauce on the fish, IT arrived at the table still bubbling. Sunday breakfast: On our last morning the other three girls prepared the breakfast and the Saturday crew got to sit back and watch. This breakfast was a little lighter than the previous day but just as classic: Granola, fruit salad, yogourt and blueberry muffins. Maureen (Chatelaine's associate editor) is a serious baking buff. She even whipped up some honey butter to slather over her delightful muffins. This breakfast was a perfect end to a great weekend away. And we were ready to hit the road... but only because we had to. Picton treated us well and I highly suggest popping by if you get the chance.