As I keep mentioning, this year is all about supporting local. Thanks to Ford Canada, I was able to keep continue buying locally but with a calmer state of mind.

I had the opportunity to try out Ford's Escape Hybrid 2020 car this past week to explore the Public Markets of Montréal. And in honor of Halloween decided to do all fall and festive themed activities. We started out at the Jean-Talon Market where we bought all the necessary ingredients to create smore's tartlets and also went to the Atwater Market to get pumpkins, which we carved.

Honestly have nothing but great things to say about the Escape! Sustainability being another element I have discussed a lot in the previous months, the hybrid motor of the Escape provides an eco friendly approach. Living in Montreal in a pandemic, I never feel comfortable taking the public transports & the fact that I'm driving around the city at a relatively low speed, I found myself almost always using the battery instead of the gas. As well, for those who know me, I am a very distracted driver (although in a safe way haha), so the co-pilot 360 offered in the Ford Escape provides assistance by making sure to alert me of the surrounding cars and vibrating the steering wheel when I am too close to the other lane. Oh and I have to say, a heating steering wheel is now on top of my list for when I do buy myself a car haha!!

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Finally, the Ford vehicle Escape, has a system called SYNC which you connect to your phone and can be used for multiple things. For example, you can remote start, unlock and lock your car all on you phone. How cool is that? I can only imagine in the winter time how happy I would be to enter the car and the seat and streering wheel is already warm haha.

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Jean-Talon Market

First mandatory stop every time I'm at the Market is to grab breakfast and coffee at Café Saint-Henri!

Second, we had to go to Quincaillerie Dante, a staple in Little-Italy, to grab our tartlet molds!

Lastly, of course, we explored the market to grab the essentials for our tartlets including a stop at Chocolat Privilège.

Smore's Tartlets

Ingredients

Graham Cookies Crust:

• 1 1/4 of Graham cookies crumbs
• 60 gr of sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon of cardamom
• 1/3 cup of melted butter

Chocolate-Coffee Ganache:

• 267 gr dark chocolate 70%
• 133 gr of milk chocolate
• 30 crushed coffee beans
• 3/4 cup cream 35%
• 1/2 cup whole milk
• 1 egg

Marshmallow:

• 5 sheets of gelatin
• 3 egg white (90 grams)
• 1 1/4 cups granulated sugar
• 3 tablespoons light corn syrup
• 1/3 cup of water

Instructions‍

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Graham Cookies Crust:

1. Mix all ingredients and cover a bottom of removable pie pan.
2. Bake at 350°F for about 8-10 minutes.
3. Cool completely.

Chocolate-Coffee Ganache:

1. Heat the cream and milk over low heat until first broth, then put the coffee beans, cover and let infuse 10 minutes.
2. Sift and heat the liquid before pouring on the chocolate drops.

       3. Wait 1 minutes then emulsify with a whisk.

        4. Add the egg and pour into the crust.

        5. Bake at 325°F for 10 minutes ... the center should remain flickering.

        6. Let it cool for 1 hour before adding the marshmallow and serve.

Marshmallow:

1. Soak the gelatin sheets in a bowl of ice water for a couple of minutes, until rehydrated (wait until fourth step). If using powdered gelatin, sprinkle 31/2 teaspoons (10 grams) gelatin over 5 tablespoons (75 grams) water in a small bowl, stir, and let sit 20 minutes to bloom.
2. Place the egg whites in a stand mixer fitted with a whisk. Begin whipping them on medium speed.
3. Combine the granulated sugar, corn syrup, and water in a medium pot. Bring to a boil over medium heat and cook the syrup without stirring until it reaches 266°F (130°C).

4. Remove the syrup from the heat. If using gelatin sheets, soak them and squeeze the excess water afterwards. Whisk the bloomed gelatin into the hot syrup until the gelatin dissolved. Turn the mixer to high speed and slowly pour the hot syrup into the whipped whites, streaming it down the inside of the bowl to avoid hitting the whisk.
5. Continue to whip the marshmallow until almost completely cooled, about 5 minutes. Add the cinnamon and whip until it is incorporated.
6. Using a rubber spatula, place the cinnamon marshmallow in a pipping bag.
7. Add the marshmallows to the tartlets and torch them to desire!

For the extra marshmallows, I love adding them to my coffee or hot chocolate. Here is a cute and festive idea: a ghost topping hehe!

Atwater Market

Finally, we went to the Atwater market to grab our pumpkins. I know there are plenty of pumpkins at Jean-Talon but let's be honest did you really buy pumpkins if you didn't take the classic Atwater pumpkin photo? (not as cute with a mask but still necessary)

Going in the week, we were allowed to bring the car directly in the Market. The car was just the perfect size for all the pumpkins I wanted and more!!

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And all that was left to do was carve them!

I definitely loved my experience with the Ford Escape! If you are looking into purchasing a vehicle soon be sure to check them out https://fr.ford.ca/ ! I can't even imagine how amazing this car would be for Christmas Market Adventures!

Bon Appétit and Safe Ride hehe!