Cabane a sucre

Last weekend we went out to St-Eustache, QC with friends to a Cabane a Sucre. Before going, I pictured us driving into the hills and through a forest of maple trees arriving at a little cabin in the woods. Unfortunately, this was not the scene that we drove up to. Despite being slightly disappointed, I was excited to experience a true Quebecois tradition. To my surprise there were maple trees on the property and we saw how they are tapped today with a network of tubes connecting the trees to a reservoir down hill. 

The menu: part one of the meal included pea soup, cabbage salad, bread, and cretons (some sort of pate).

The main course included an omelette, ham, sausage, potatoes, brown beans, and oreilles de crisse (fried pork rinds). This is all smothered in maple syrup. Dessert was a choice of pancakes with ice cream, pudding chomeur (like bread pudding), tarte au sucre (maple sugar pie), or eggs cooked in maple syrup. The last choice defines you as a true Quebecer. I had one nibble. It was ok, but more than one bite might have been upsetting to my stomach. I had the tarte au sucre with ice cream and it was delicious. To round off the whole experience, we ate maple taffy cooled on snow. Sweet, but satisfying!

Overall, I enjoyed the experience, all the same I am not sure that it is a tradition that I would embrace. C'est la vie. We'll see how I feel about it this time next year.

Printemps

La grande magasin Printemps Paris

Paris. Printemps. Papillons. Ma niece.

These are the images that come to mind when I think of Spring.

When it came time to make a quilt for my niece, I decided to use the pattern "Turning Twenty". I used both vintage fabrics and new fabrics to create this quilt that reflects my niece's wonderfully vivid and creative imagination.

My niece is learning French in school right now. Last year she put in a request to go to Paris with Auntie and Uncle the next time we go. Someday, I would love to honor that request.

"I love Paris in the Spring time."

Maple Syrup

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Maple Scones

The Quebecois are passionate about maple syrup. I saw a public service announcement that suggests that maple syrup can be used as a substitute  for any sugar in a recipe. Maple syrup may be the only grocery item that is cheaper in Montreal than in Saskatoon. Anyway, in an attempt to embrace Quebec life, I bought a cookbook (en français) that uses maple syrup in every recipe. I have not been disappointed with any recipe yet. Maple scones, maple walnut pie, ribs marinated in syrup, maple glazed veggies, pork tourtiere. Très délicieux. I am going to attempt making all of the recipes before I leave Quebec. You can be sure that I will be cooking my favorites for friends and family back home.

Maple Tea Latte

Maple syrup use in Quebec reminds me of Bubba talking about shrimp in the movie Forrest Gump. "Anyway, like I was sayin', shrimp is the fruit of the sea. You can barbecue it, boil it, broil it, bake it, saute it. Dey's uh, shrimp-kabobs, shrimp creole, shrimp gumbo. Pan fried, deep fried, stir-fried. There's pineapple shrimp, lemon shrimp, coconut shrimp, pepper shrimp, shrimp soup, shrimp stew, shrimp salad, shrimp and potatoes, shrimp burger, shrimp sandwich. That- that's about it." I think you can make an equally impressive list of maple syrup products: maple syrup and beans, maple syrup and eggs, maple syrup on snow, maple cheddar cheese, maple syrup candies, maple cookies...Last Thursday Daryl & I walked down to Vieux Port and stopped at a cafe. Of course they had, and I had to order, the maple latte tea. It was the perfect way to end a tough day at work in Quebec.

Cabane a sucre cupcake

We walked past a store the other day called Petits Gâteaux. They created a cupcake called cabane à sucre. If you don't know what a cabane à sucre is, I will fill you in next week. We are going to one with some friends here. It's a Quebec tradition during maple tree tapping season.

 I am only starting to tap into my inner maple syrup love.

A cabin & a baby

A modern log cabin pattern for the new baby.

How do you tell your friends and family about an exciting change in your life that is about to happen? A phone call, a note, a text, an elaborate ruse?

Well, finding out about a cabin, a baby, and moving all at one summer picnic may have been a bit overwhelming, but what fun it was to hear and tell.

We vowed that we should limit sharing any big news to one item per visit.

The Modern Cabin

le sportif

I am not much of a sports fan. I am vaguely aware of what teams are winning and losing when it comes to playoff season. However, there was a time in my past, when I was younger that my favourite hockey team was the Edmonton Oilers. Gretzky, Messier, Coffey, these were names that I knew and cheered for. Today, I am not certain that I could name any player on the Oilers or on any team for that matter. With that said, when the Olympics are on, I pull out my pompoms and big foam finger. Daryl cannot quite understand my Olympic fever, nor can I really shed any light on the matter, but Go Canada is not far from my lips.

In March, we celebrate another birthday in the family. My nephew is an athlete and an outdoorsman, all balanced with a sensitive spirit. A couple of years ago for school, my nephew had to do a 3 min speech on a subject that he was passionate about, for him, it was and still is fishing. He told us about ice fishing and fishing at Deschambault lake. He spoke about all the different types of fish in Northern Saskatchewan. He knows fishing and loves to be outdoors.

When it came time to make a quilt for him I knew a sports theme would be perfect. I had lots of fun with this one, making the appliques and thinking about the different sports that he enjoys. Hockey season is over this year for him, but once the snow clears, the baseball glove and bat will emerge.

Let's Play

This ice sculpture outside of marche jean talon reminded me of my nephew

Femineered

My in laws had this great fridge in their basement. At some point in the past the handle was broken off so you had to open it with this long bolt. The best part of the fridge was the label inside..."It's femineered!". The first time I saw the label, I was slightly offended, but loved the terminology. Femineered. What Mad Man came up with that catch phrase. Is the fridge more appealing and more reliable knowing that it is femineered? Anyways, it makes me laugh.

Well, I am not certain if sewing machines ever got the same label, "It's femineered", but today I ventured out with eager anticipation of purchasing a new to me sewing machine. The machine looks the same vintage as the refrigerator, so what woman wouldn't want it femineered? The sewing store near our condo is quaint and since I don't have a car, I thought this solution would be the easiest. Some of those old machines weighed a ton, but one cannot judge a book by its cover. If this machine can sew a straight stitch, that is all I need for quilting. Happily I purchased a Singer and carried it home. No time like the present. Time to start quilting. My walking quilt foot even works with it. With it set up and ready to go, I start sewing, sort of. It is not working seamlessly, it is causing me much grief, but I press on. I make little adjustments, however I am not certain I have the patience to deal with this. The afternoon has passed and I am finding myself more frustrated by the moment. I am afraid that this machine and I need to part ways.

Le chat noir 2

Tonight I was looking at some books on a bookshelf in our apartment and discovered a letter that was left behind. Perhaps it would be a love letter or a note from a friend or a grocery list. It was none of these. It reads as follows:

Stéphanie
Tu dois payer l'appartement!! S'il n'est pas payer d'ici Mercredi 20/juin tu devras quitter!

Translation: you must pay your rent!! If you don't pay by Wednesday June 20 you must leave!

Who was this Stephanie? Is she the one who had a cat living here? Why was she late with her rent? Did she leave behind some of the weird stuff in the cupboards & closets? Why did she leave the letter folded up stick between some books? I pretty certain I would have crumpled up the letter and tossed it out. Ask me sometime what I do with some of the Turnanich notices slipped under the door at the condo.

When we moved in here, we found some cat shampoo on the first day. Both of us were not impressed because the place was advertised as pet free and if you don't know Daryl, he is allergic to cats. We had a mini freak out, perhaps mostly due to the fact that we had just committed to a 7 month lease in a place far from home. Well the freak out has passed, mostly, and the discovery of this new place we call home continues.