THE FALL HARVEST

With summer over, the Fall brings the bounty of the season. Red peppers are a favourite of Adolph and me. We like them fresh, roasted or pickled. Eggplant is so plentiful this time of year too. The fall markets are fun places to visit and buy lots of fresh items. Years ago I would make a variety of pickled items and some jams. Now I buy a few items as we need them.  In the past, Canadians needed to dry the fruit, stock pile root vegetables to prepare for winter. So pickling any fruit or vegetable was a must to sustain the larder over the winter. Now with fresh items transported year round it is no longer a necessity. There is still a need however to try to prepare for the cold months ahead. It must be in our genes! Do you have the need to prepare for colder times?

EASTER EGG CANADIAN STYLE

The Easter Egg has pagan roots
and in most cultures around the
world it is a symbol of rebirth.
For some there is an association with
fertility. Even the word Easter was from the Saxon language- Eostre. They brought their traditions involving eggs, chicks and rabbits to Britain in the 5th centruy AD. All items that are prevalent during the Easter season today.
As a child, we would boil eggs and then decorate them with crayons or markers. Small eggs were hidden throughout the house to find on Easter morning. There was an Easter parade in Toronto in the1950's. I remember getting an Easter bonnet to wear
to it.

Sometimes a new Easter outfit or dress to match would be a gift. Then it seemed special to go to church with the new outfit to hear the Easter story. Many different cultures throughout the world have their own customs around eggs and how they decorate them.
Now Adolph and I hide some chocolate Easter eggs for the grandchildren to collect in their colourful baskets. They have an egg hunt at their own homes before coming to our house for Easter dinner. Last week I asked my granddaughter if she wanted the Easter bunny to come to our house to hide eggs. She said yes. So I asked if she wanted me to email him to ask him to come here. She agreed! There are some books on the coffee table to read about the real significance of Easter. A nice blend of religious and fun things to do! What do you do for Easter? Do you have fun with your children or grandchildren? Do you have any special traditions with eggs?

CANADIAN THANKSGIVING

We celebrate our Thanksgiving weekend the second Monday in October due to a Proclaimation in Parliament January 31, 1957. The celebration is different from the American Thanksgiving which is celebrated in November and is part of a pilgram/american native celebration.
There are different reasons regarding the celebration in Canada. Martin Frobisher an explorer trying to find the northern passage to the Pacific held a formal celebration in Newfoundland in 1573. The explorer, Samuel de Champlain, in 1604 celebrated with his First Nations neighbours in Nova Scotia. After the American Revolution, many Loyalists who came to Canada including the Palatine Germans- of which there are several roots in my family
brought- some of those American traditions of pilgrims and pumpkin pie. It is a Harvest celebration which does have some English roots as well.
For most Canadians, Thanksgiving is a time to have a wonderful family dinner with Turkey, mashed potatoes and the famous bread stuffing. Every cook may have a variation but it is usually bread- fingered into pieces, celery, onions and sage- seasoned with some pepper and salt. I like to add fresh parsley, garlic and a bit of butter to help hold it together.
It gets stuffed in the turkey which adds to the flavour. Any number of vegetables can be added to the meal- some cook turnips, squash- such varieties as acorn, hubbard, butternut, spaghetti-, corn and sweet potatoes or yams as they can be called. These vegetables actually are very North American and part of the Native Canadian crops. Our dinner also includes rapini, broccoli, brussel sprouts, peas, and Italian sausage. There is a vegetable for everyone. It is topped off with cranberry sauce and turkey gravy. Cranberries are very native to this country- when the white man arrived, the Native Canadians were growing them. Dessert- pumpkin pie and whipped cream. Adolph loves apple pie with vanilla ice cream- so it is included of course. Our dinner is served on the Sunday of the long weekend so we can have leftovers on the Monday and the cook which is me can have time to enjoy the day off. Thanksgiving is a time to give thanks for the harvest in the Fall. Ontario markets are full of squash, pumpkins, tomatoes, eggplants, red peppers, apples and all the end of season vegetables. From coast to coast in Canada, people celebrate in their churches often with a variety of harvest produce on the altars. It is a wonderful celebration of the Fall and family. Can you smell the turkey cooking? What an odour in the home? Do you have a traditional Canadian dinner or do you have a variation? What is your favourite part of Thanksgiving? For me it is family and the opportunity to give thanks. To Canadians coast to coast-Buon Appetito!

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