The Canadian Harvest in Regions across our vast nation.
Just look at that torte! Apple anything is my husband’s favourite food and my dear Korena, this will definitely be on my menu this week at our house! Korena at Korena in the Kitchen from Shawnigan Lake, Vancouver Island, British Columbia writes, “Apples have always signified the harvest to me, and this year, instead of pie, I chose to make an apple and almond tart and delve into the history of the apple in Canada, only to discover that the namesake for the Apple Macintosh computer is, in fact, a Canadian apple!” Well, I knew that, but I was around when that computer was invented, unlike the talented Miss Korena. Apples are indeed one harvest item that is prolific across every province of the country. The Gravenstein is thought to be the first varietal of apple brought to Canada by Charles Prescott of Nova Scotia in the 19th century. He grew Nova Scotia’s first Gravensteins in his orchard at Acacia Grove and by 1859, they were common throughout Nova Scotian farms. The Gravenstein apple is still considered the choicest apple by many Nova Scotians, today. The Ambrosia Apple is British Columbia’s signature apple cultivar discovered in the Similkameen Valley on the Mennell Family Farm “as a chance seedling magically appeared among a row of Jonagold apples.” In 1993, it was registered as the Ambrosia, named after the food of the Gods, and has been embraced by the entire province as it is a “juicy [sweet] apple with an appealing red blush” that all have come to call their own. Below, another celebration of the apple harvest that is, without a doubt, an iconic Canadian prairie dessert, and I am sure you will all chime in telling me that apple pie is just another way to say home in your regions, as well.
Helene at La Cuisine Helene from Ottawa, Ontario, celebrated the harvest with a good old Canadian home food: the meatloaf. This is my very favourite meal to go home to, so I was excited to see this. As apples, carrots and parsnips were seasonal in her region, Helene included them in her harvest meal.
Wanda from bakersbeans.ca in Calgary, Alberta, writes about her memories of all the tomatoes her mom used to grow, harvest and then preserve and store for the winter. Now, as a mom with a family of her own, Wanda enjoys living in the city and growing her own tomatoes in her small backyard. This year, her tomato harvest made the perfect Roasted Tomato Soup and does it not look deadly delicious? Me and tomatoes? This is on “the list”!
Another iconic Canadian Harvest treat: the pumpkin pie. I was brought up on the recipe from the side of the can on Libby’s pumpkin, but there is nothing more nutritious, delicious and economical than a pumpkin pie from scratch. Laura at Cubits Organic Living from Toronto, Ontario, writes about harvesting seeds, buying a farm and making gluten free pumpkin pie. Now that is a story!
The thoughtful offering from each participant has provided a window into our Canadian landscape across the country this challenge. Onions. Yes, we all grow and harvest them. Karlynn at The Kitchen Magpie from Edmonton, Alberta, writes about Scalloped Onion pie, her grandma’s innovative way of using up onions from the harvest as a delicious side dish. “Try it, you’ll be amazed how tasty it is!” I never have a problem using onions, but cannot wait to read this story about Karlynn’s grandmother and how she developed this recipe.
This post is an homage to a fruit that was once a staple of our local canning industry but is now a common sight in our urban landscape. Every fall hundreds of pounds of Kieffer pears fall to the ground in the Niagara region and are wasted. Tiffany at Eating Niagara from St. Catharines, Ontario, tries to rescue as many as possible “with the hope this under-appreciated fruit will once again [achieve] the kudos it deserves.” Interestingly, in Edmonton, we have a not for profit organization called OFRE (Operation Fruit Rescue Edmonton) that is manned by neighbourhood captains who take picking crews to city streets and homes that have indicated the fruit is available: one third goes to the homeowner, if they want it, one third to the local food bank and one third to the picking crew to divvy up.
Heather at The Tasty Gardener from Toronto, Ontario, shares her recipe for Apple Butter which everyone will be able to use due to the apples that grow everywhere in Canada… and the varieties used will make the product different every time.
Venison! Of course, the harvest is synonymous with hunting, yet my family didn’t hunt, so I appreciate learning through those that do. Shari, at Tales from a Small Kitchen in Grande Prairie Alberta, compares two different types of harvests for this months challenge. Having grown up in Ontario and moving to Grande Prairie ten years ago, the harvest experience has changed drastically for Shari, yet her appreciation of the season has grown. The types of food she cooks has changed, as she has more access to wild game and locally grown food in Grand Prairie. She includes an easy, yet tasty, recipe for Venison Nachos for you. You will have to stop by there to understand the photo she submitted, above.
Isabelle avec Les gourmandises d’isa de Rawdon au Québec, fait ses récoltes chez les autres. On lui donne souvent des fruits qu’elle transforme en confitures pour offrir dans ses paniers gourmands de Noël. La recette présentée ici est une confiture de poires à la fève tonka.Isabelle at Les gourmandises d’isa from Rawdon, Québec, has a pear tree that bears fruit she creates various concoctions with, often jams to add to her Christmas hampers. The recipe presented here is a pear jam with tonka bean. I bought a couple of Tonka beans when in Paris. Do you think I can find them now? Where would one put a Tonka bean?
Jessica at Inside Out from Ottawa, Ontario, celebrates the great pumpkin which was her inspiration for a spiced pumpkin crème brûlée. “As the stunning autumn colours of Ontario evoke the warmth of the season, so does the pumpkin and its many uses in cooking.”
Interestingly, Aube at Kitchen Vignettes from Toronto, Ontario, has an incredible video about making a squash crème brûlée for this challenge. It was a blast to compare the recipes and I am making this for dessert tonight: the squash version.
Jen from the Victorian Food Blog on Vancouver Island in British Columbia, sat down with “one of the local food activists involved in the Lifecycles Project that has been doing food accessibility and urban agriculture work in the region for more than 20 years. They coordinate a fruit tree harvest project that helps to feed local non-profits that support people living in or on the edge of poverty, work with farmers and restaurants in the region to make amazing use of local foods and train people of all ages to learn how to grow and be more connected to their food.”
Charmian at The Messy Baker from Guelph, Ontario, shares her recipe for Tomatillo Chicken – An Unexpected Harvest. “The only crop that did well this summer was my tomatillos — until my well-meaning father decided to help ready the vegetable patch for winter.” You must pop by for a hilarious read.
Mallory at Because I Like Chocolate from Calgary, Alberta, says, “Maybe I’m following a stereotype, but harvest time in the prairies is very indicative of grains. Wheat, oats, barley: they are all grown here. I love to use oats from Highwood Crossing, a local producer in Southern Alberta, in all contexts, both sweet and savoury. These bars are my take on apple crisp in a sliceable format. BC apples are sandwiched between an oatmeal cookie crust and an oat streusel topping, for a double whammy of oat goodness.”
Marilyn at Here and There from Calgary, Alberta, gives thanks during the harvest season with The Manitoba Cake. She writes, “[During] Canadian Thanksgiving one takes time to be thankful for one’s bountiful crop and life’s riches. It is a time to feast on the fruits of one’s labour with potatoes and vegetables from the garden, along with a farm grown turkey. Canadians continue the practice of a traditional menu using local products with a personal touch and The Manitoba Cake is Marilyn’s personal touch! It is made with root vegetables that are plentiful and local during the Canadian harvest and I cannot wait to try this cake myself.
Barbara at My Island Bistro Kitchen from Prince Edward Island, introduces us to a fifth generation PEI potato farmer, Lori Robinson. Barbara follows Lori from the time she plants the potato seed in the spring to the harvesting process in the fall. Barbara creates a recipe featuring scalloped potatoes not to be missed at the end of her article.
Barb at Just a Smidgen from Calgary, Alberta, addresses the zucchini. It grows prolifically on the Canadian prairies and home gardeners are almost standing on the street corners giving away over-sized bags of it every year. One can never have too many zucchini recipes during the Canadian harvest and Barb shares her outstanding and family treasured zucchini relish.
Mimi from Ajax, Ontario, at her blog Tummy Grumbles writes about that most noble of fruit, the humble pumpkin, and the best pumpkin pie she has ever had in her post: The Great Canadian Pumpkin Harvest. Another homemade pumpkin pie from a completely different region.
Sarah from Delish in a Dish in Victoria, British Columbia, made tempura with her harvest bounty. Sarah found that making tempura at home was less intimidating than she though and offers two quick tips for a delicious end product are: ensure the tempura batter is icy cold and use well dried vegetables.
Sarah at All Our Fingers in The Pie from Swift Current, Saskatchewan, writes about the Canadian wheat harvest. “What is a crop called that is even way better than a bumper crop? That is our experience this year. Amazing growing conditions produced amazing yields [on the Canadian prairies].”
Pour ceux qui me suivent régulièrement, vous savez déjà que je fais mon potager, que je canne passablement et que je congèle ou encore déshydrate les produits disponibles. Pour ce thème, j’ai donc choisi d’aller plus loin en tentant la sauce Toum. Une sauce à base d’ail frais, d’huile, de jus de citron frais et de sel. Vous devez vous rendre à Nathalie Délinquances et saveurs de Shefford, Québec. pour en savoir plus sur Toum Sauce.
Margaret, at Kitchen Frau from Stony Plain, Alberta, writes about an experimental quinoa harvest in the beautiful mountainous countryside of Smithers, British Columbia. It takes curiosity, a vision and hard work to forge new trails in agriculture in a tough climate. Steven Kiiskila’s experimental crop yielded some delicious results as will popping over to Margaret’s site as she has included two quinoa recipes: Quinoa Onion Frittata & Honey Vanilla Quinoa Pudding. She is singing my song: Delicious, Nutritious and Economical.
Dale at Eats Writes Shoots from Ottawa, Ontario, continues to write about the role that food has played in shaping his Canadian food identity. This month, Dale writes about a number of seminal moments in his life that have contributed to what he describes as a “transformative” in the development of his relationship with food and the world around him.
We have over 95 participants in the project to date.
Some did not participate this round, but 40 did. If you are interested in participating, wonderful. It is never too late.
Thanks for your kind words Valerie, and what a nice surprise to see my picture at the top of this post! All of these posts and recipes looks stunning.
That picture was calling my name, and it needed to be where I can see it!
:)V
Beautiful dishes, amazing stories. another interesting roundup from talented Canadians Valerie.
Isn’t that so true, Valerie.
We have it goin’ on in this country, don’t we? I have found that many of the participants, like yourself, that have really taken this project on, have deepened their perspective and without any doubt, developed clarity regarding what Canadian food is and not only have they found their Canadian voice, but are reveling in raising that flag in the work they continue to do in their day to day food blog writing.
🙂
V
Well, these round-ups just get more and more exciting! I can’t wait to visit other Canadian blogs and I am excited to have new recipes to try! Love this, Valerie! I love seeing Korena at the top.. we’ve been visiting each other’s sites for so long, it’s neat to visit here!! Thanks for organizing this!! xx
I feel the same way, Barbara… and nice to hear that you and Korena had a relationship long before this project. Hopefully new ones are also developing through this.
🙂
V