eG Foodblog: Peter the eater - Nova Scotia Eats

[Dejah]

decorated lobster statues, they are everywhere! What variation on this theme does your city have?

We have had pigs (a nod to Rachel the Pig at Pike Place Market) and carosel horses (can't remember what that was for)

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Our provincial capital - Winnipeg has Bears on Broadway, "a signature project that commemorates the 75th Anniversary of CancerCare Manitoba in a unique way."

http://www.pbase.com/pwh/bears_on_broadway_winnipeg

Of course, we also have Winnie the Pooh.

[CaliPoutine]

decorated lobster statues, they are everywhere! What variation on this theme does your city have?

Exeter is home of the White Squirrel!!

[rooftop1000]

The closest city to me is NY, they had their Cows. I was also recently in Knoxville TN and they have Dogs, and in Munich it was Lions.

tracey

[sugar plum]

decorated lobster statues, they are everywhere! What variation on this theme does your city have?

In Vancouver, we have/had orcas...I was just asking my SO what Ottawa's theme and it escapes me (where we both lived before Vancouver). Maybe a moose? Or did I spot that in Toronto?

[dockhl]

San Luis Obispo had

TROUT..dunno why. Pretty cute tho.

On this site they also give a shout out to other cities art like............

Whales of Westerly, RI to Old Lyme, CT

Orcas of Victoria and Vancouver

Halifax Nova Scotia has Lobsters

Washington DC, a booshwa town, has Pandas

[MarketStEl]

Donairs!

Warm up a pita, scrape some meat from a vertical spit into it, squirt with "sauce", add chopped onions and tomatoes. That's a donair - very popular here, also known as gyros (YEE-rows) in other places. The meat is spiced lamb, pork, and/or beef and the sauce is sweet and tangy. Tasty but very messy to eat. They are not exactly health food and I haven't had one in over a decade.

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Hmmmm. A chance to play amateur word sleuth.

They're known as gyros (often mispronounced to match the first syllables of "gyroscope") in the United States because that's what the Greeks, who introduced the dish to most Americans, call it. IIRC, the Greek dish is ground lamb cooked on a vertical broiler.

That vertical broiler also has a name. It's called a "doner." I've always pronounced that word "DUN-er," after the word "done" in the US, but the spelling and presumed pronunciation of the Canadian term suggests that maybe I've not been pronouncing it correctly, for the Canadian name for this sandwich suggests they took it from the device on which it is cooked. I have seen restaurants -- usually "Middle Eastern" ones, which are often run in this area by Lebanese -- list something called "doner kebab" on their menus.

"dun-AIR" (which is what I assume is the pronunciation of "donair") also suggests to me that the word may have passed through some native French speakers on its way to Halifax. Maybe a true Canadian, or a Quebecois, might be able to shed light on this.

[Domestic Goddess]

decorated lobster statues, they are everywhere! What variation on this theme does your city have?

Ours would be huge peach statues (that look like giant pink butts)

You can see one beside the truck in the middle of the picture.

Oh, there are also huge chili peppers statues too but I haven't taken any pics of those yet.

Janghowon is renowned for its peaches and chili peppers.

[mizducky]

Just caught up. I've never been anywhere in Atlantic Canada, so all of this is fascinating to me. The look of the land is at least familiar to me from years I spent around New England, so I'm feeling all nostalgic for that corner of the continent now. I'm enjoying how your playful attitude comes through in your photos, your words, and your food. Adorable kids!

[Peter H]

That vertical broiler also has a name.  It's called a "doner."  I've always pronounced that word "DUN-er," after the word "done" in the US, but the spelling and presumed pronunciation of the Canadian term suggests that maybe I've not been pronouncing it correctly, for the Canadian name for this sandwich suggests they took it from the device on which it is cooked.  I have seen restaurants -- usually "Middle Eastern" ones, which are often run in this area by Lebanese -- list something called "doner kebab" on their menus.

"dun-AIR" (which is what I assume is the pronunciation of "donair") also suggests to me that the word may have passed through some native French speakers on its way to Halifax.  Maybe a true Canadian, or a Quebecois, might be able to shed light on this.

The pronunciation in the UK (well, mine at least!) for 'doner' is 'DON-er'. We have 'doner kebab' as well in our Greek/Cypriot/East Mediterranean restaurants and it usually involves ground lamb (similar to the photos above).

[Peter the eater]

decorated lobster statues, they are everywhere! What variation on this theme does your city have?

Exeter is home of the White Squirrel!!

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Albino rodents!

I love it! Are there decorated statues? BTW I have been to Exeter and I image its quite lovely this time of year.

[Pontormo]

Washington DC, a booshwa town, has Pandas

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I just may forgive you for the adjective. Actually, the best thing Blake Gopnik contributed to The Washington Post is a sneer of a different sort: this assessment of the pandas as well as the donkeys and elephants that preceded them.

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Peter, I have nothing of substance to either ask or contribute. However, your part of Canada looks absolutely beautiful and I have to praise many the photographs, including the affectionate snapshots of family, the food (the crab at least one other person mentioned, but also the tuna above) and even small details such as the perfectly framed dangling fish on the sign. The joyful picture of old-fashioned ice-cream churning brings back memories! I seem to recall an old thread in which you shared your spousal cooking challenge with us, too. You both are well matched in culinary skills!

I would also like to thank you and Sandy for praising part of my heritage and add Ingmar Bergman, loganberries and what may be the world's best system for accommodating working parents and their children.

[Peter the eater]

For dinner on a hot Saturday (it hit 30 Celsius, for the first time since August) we have some beer - the two on the left are from Quebec (I like seeing a griffin on the label) and the one on the right is a local Halifax stout, perfect for mussels:

Some asparagus, portabello caps, bag of mussels, salt herring, smoked herring:

That's blue cheese (called Canadian Danish, whatever that means) to go on the mushrooms (I scraped away the spore gills):

mussels are steamed on the stove - the broth is celery, onion, beer, water, and chunks of salt herring. I put the smoked stuff away for next time - it is so powerfully flavoured with smokiness it can easily overwhelm everything:

almost done, when the shells are open and the meat is pinkish orange, maybe 10 minutes. We removed the ones earlier which were cracked:

asparagus, onion, cheesy mushrooms are ready:

served with rustic bread and couscous underneath:

Friday we had some non-union child labour help with the rhubarb harvest:

almost a pound chopped up, added to some water and 3/4 cup sugar for poaching.

We have not had the rhubarb yet, but dinner was great.

[SheenaGreena]

I must be super young (23), because I used to have the same exact pink (fischer price?) baby carriage when I was little. I wish I had a cute little helper to help me pick veggies.

since you like stouts, do you like imperial stouts? Also, have you ever tried founder's breakfast stout?

[CaliPoutine]

decorated lobster statues, they are everywhere! What variation on this theme does your city have?

Exeter is home of the White Squirrel!!

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Albino rodents!

I love it! Are there decorated statues? BTW I have been to Exeter and I image its quite lovely this time of year.

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Actually, they are true white squirrels. They are not albino's.

No statues, but every light post has a fancy lighted cut out of a squirrel under the streetlight. I'll try to get a picture. We also have someone who dresses up in a white squirrel costume for parades.

[dockhl]

Washington DC, a booshwa town, has Pandas

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I just may forgive you for the adjective.

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Well, I have to confess I was just quoting and didn't really know the meaning of the word. I thought it was a 'Marine'-type reference ! Yikes. Sorry.....

Great blog, Peter. Good food, lovely scenery and cute kids, you got it all !

[Peter the eater]

since you like stouts, do you like imperial stouts?  Also, have you ever tried founder's breakfast stout?

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I've never had a stout I didn't enjoy. I have heard of founder's breakfast stout but not tried it, is it the one with baby on the label? By imperial stout you mean those dark and higher proof beers? They're good. There is a micro brewery in downtown Halifax that makes outstanding London-style porter - its from the Propeller Brewery, next time I'll go for a tour.

[Magictofu]

For dinner on a hot Saturday (it hit 30 Celsius, for the first time since August) we have some beer - the two on the left are from Quebec (I like seeing a griffin on the label) and the one on the right is a local Halifax stout, perfect for mussels:

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Wow... you got these beers in NS!? I had no idea that they traveled that far. Have you tried the apricot wheat beer from McAuslan (St-Ambroise). If you can find it, give it a try!

[Peter the eater]

This week-long blog has been enourmously fun for me, I can't believe I have run out of days. Next time I'll have to get down to the Annapolis Valley, or maybe to Cape Breton.

In no particular order here are a few more words and images to tie up lose ends:

There are the carnivorous pitcher plants from down the road as seen last fall:

And a close-up showing how the lower leaves curl into little bowls for bugs to fall into then be digested:

These are last years lupins from our yard. They're usually shades of pink and purple and white, sometimes yellow.

Somebody asked to see my cat. This is Beryl, a polydactyl silver tabby aged 6 yrs.

This is delicious raw milk cheese from Prince Edward Island. Some may recognize the brand as a "high-end ice cream maker":

This is our collection of rolling pins. I have often thought that if I were a caterer I would get a pickup truck and a rear window gun rack to display them:

Over-sized kitchen equipment! A two foot potato masher and a 32" wooden spoon. Plus a few copper/brass implements I got at a yard sale yesterday (though I can't think of a practical use for them)

This is a stovetop coffee maker I use sometimes, it doesn't work very well or maybe I'm just not doing it right, but either way it seems photogenic:

I have uploaded a pile of photos from a Middle Eastern/Lebanese store in town to show the Mediterranean food that's available and popular here. I haven't heard back from the owners with permission so I'll just sit on them for a while and post somewhere else if there still is interest.

And that's about it - thanks for all the input and kind words! From Nova Scotia: Ciad mille failte!

[dockhl]

Thank you, Peter. The week FLEW by !

[little ms foodie]

What?? no shot of the legs in the kilt?? ha! great blog, thank you so much!!

[HungryDog]

Loved seeing the other end of the country!

Thanks so much, enjoyed it immensely.

[MarketStEl]

That's blue cheese (called Canadian Danish, whatever that means) to go on the mushrooms (I scraped away the spore gills):

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"Canadian Danish" blue cheese sounds a bit like "Saratoga Vichy water," which is what the people who bottled the water from the famous Adirondack spring in New York State called it in the late 19th century.

My guess is it's an expression of cultural insecurity: the makers of the younger domestic product are not convinced that local consumers will accept it in its own right as a quality product, so they appropriate the name of a place they know purchasers will recognize as associated with the product in question, as Vichy was for mineral water and Denmark is still for blue cheese (even though just about every country in the world now produces a blue cheese that is head and shoulders above much of the Danish product that leaves the country).

Saratoga water is well enough known in its own right now to have long since lost the "Vichy" appelation, and I am pretty sure that Canadian Danish Blue will sooner or later.

This has been a fabulous blog: your home, your hometown, and the food you prepare is loaded with character that more than makes up for the absence of the obligatory fridge shot. I've enjoyed this vicarious trip to Atlantic Canada as your guest. Take care, and bon appétit!

[toweringpine]

Thanks for the look. I've had a lot of fun a nd learned a few things this week reading your blog.

[GreekCook]

Thanks Peter it was a truly wonderful week, I really enjoyed your blog

Greg

[Smithy]

This was a great read, and it was very educational. For instance: if you've already hit 30C, I shouldn't deride your climate so much! I'm sure we're still a month - or more - away from that temperature in Duluth.

I'm glad you got the obligatory cat photo in - and you look pretty spiffy in a kilt!

Thanks for showing us around!