Moulin de Provence

Hello everyone! I'm back again with everyone's favourite blog guest - Alan - writing to you about an amazing bakery in Ottawa. Moulin de Provence is located right in the centre of Ottawa's bustling centre - Byward Market Square. This bakery makes over 200 fresh pastries daily and displays them in cases over 70 feet long. The bakery encourages a sense of community which was apparent in the set up. The open dining area and huge patio was home to everyone from business partners, to couples and families.

We both stopped in here by chance after we got caught in the most intense rain storm. We found refuge here and immediately ordered some coffee - a latte bowl for me and a cappuccino for Alan. When it came to choosing a snack we had a really hard time! Their menu was so extensive and everything looked so good. We must have browsed the cases for a solid 5 minutes before finally deciding to share a mille-feuille, which was absolutely heavenly! 

Moulin de Provence is not only a famous Ottawa landmark, but also hosted US President Obama in February of 2009! The President ordered 1 cookie in the shape of our symbolic maple leaf. That cookie has since been renamed "The Obama Cookie" and is always available. I loved how many signs there were in the bakery referencing this visit!

After a busy day of walking, eating and touring, we relaxed on the beautiful lawns behind the Parliament to watch the sun set. This was my favourite photo of the trip.

Hope you all had an amazing long weekend as well!

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Buckwheat Tea: The New Health Craze

Earlier this summer I was given the chance to try Buckwheat Tea from Mount Zen for the first time. I was a little skeptical at first, since I'm a creature of habit and tend to stick to my classic Orange Pekoe tea. Also, the name itself did not sound very appealing to me. Though, after a bit of research, I came across a number of interesting facts and health benefits about Buckwheat Tea which made me think otherwise. I want to share a few of these fun facts with you.

- Buckwheat is not related to wheat (because it's not a grass), it's related to rhubarb.
- It has many vitamins and minerals like B1 and B2.
- This tea may lower high blood pressure, cholesterol and certain types of cancer.
- Buckwheat can help increase or regulate your metabolism.
- It prevents the accumulation of body fat (by regulating bowel movements).
- If you want to drink it late at night, it's caffeine-free.
- This tea combines the health benefits of wine and coffee.
- Buckwheat has non-allergic substances so everyone can eat, drink or come into contact with it!
- You can eat the buckwheat after you've drank your cup of tea!
- This tea is pretty exclusive and hard to find so if you're intrigued, order yours here!

Finally, I turned the kettle on and made myself (and my mom) a nice hot cup of tea. The smell was hard to place, it was a bit like rice. The taste on the other hand was not at all what I expected it to be, especially since buckwheat is not actually related to wheat at all. The tea also tasted a bit like rice, but in a very unique sense. I want to say it had notes of beef and maybe even nuts in it as well. It was really hard to place the taste, but I would be curious to get other people's take on the taste.

While I can't say that I loved the taste of buckwheat, I really should start drinking it for its health benefits! Don't be shy to try something new, you may be surprised by it and who knows, maybe it'll grow on you eventually.

Thank you Mount Zen for the wonderful samples!

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