Food at the Junos

[Ling]

"What about Coonie? Do they have that anywhere else?

Shmoo torte anybody?"

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Okay PamR., out with it. What is a Coonie and can you describe the Shmoo torte???

And I thought something was wrong with Winnipeg cream cheese. Why do people have to ruin a good thing just for the sake of the almighty dollar?

s

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I did a quick search, and Schmoo torte appears to be a sponge cake with pecans, layered with whipped cream and caramel sauce.

[Dejah]

Whoa! I've been away from this thread too long...

Pickerel is wonderful, panfried or steamed. When my sister comes out from Burnaby in the summer, she always takes acouple dozens whole undressed frozen pickerel back with her. She says seafood is great on the West Coast, but nothing tastes as good as pickerel.

Wpg goldeye is available once in a while in Superstore. I have shipped these to folks down east. The best time for a feed of incredible smoked fish is on Sept. long weekend when the towns Pine Falls and Powerview have their 4-P festival. The 4 Ps stand for pulp and paper, power, peas and pickerel. At the end of the Friday and Sat. night gigs, we'd pack up our gear, rush back to our hotel rooms and kick back with a basketful of smoked fish, lemon wedges, and ice cold beer.

The peas they grow in this area is specifically for peas soup. Most of the crop is shipped to France for consumption. We usually have this for lunch with crusty bread slathered in butter.

Saskatoon berries is another Manitoba specialty. There is nothing like going out picking berries off the bushes around our farm. It's hard at the first picking of the season to have enough berries left in the pails to make even one pie! There are cultivated bushes now for U-Pick, but it's much more fun and cheaper to find your own wild patch.

Chokecherries and pin cherries: Are they available in other provinces? Maybe in Saskatchewan. They really make you pucker eaten hand to mouth, but they make great jelly and syrups. I ship chokecherry and saskatoon syrup and jams to my friends in California.

Bison is gaining popularity here. Hubby worked up a website for one of the ranches in exchange for meat. We had the prime rib roast for Easter and it was incredible! Have a pile of tenderloin and New York strips steaks for the BBQ.

How about rainbow trout? About 20 years ago, local farmers started to raise these in sloughs. I remember cooking up about 20 after a gig in our hometown. We had musician friends visiting from England and they loved it, even tho' they weren't made into "fish'n' chips.

Let me see, what else?

Our aboriginal students at the university often hold bannock taco sales. Talk about adding local touch to an "imported food"!

When in season, we've enjoyed elk, moose, venison, in one of our local restaurants. Unfortunately, my friend sold the biz and I haven't been in since the new owner took over. Neil is a chef and I am sure he will feature some of the same on his menu.

The "nip", I thought was just a prairie term for "burger". It is definitely associated with the Sals. but it was called "nip" in our rural Mb.restaurant in the 50s-70s.

Pam, do you know Mitsy's? It's runned by a Mandarin lady. One of my friends was in there an evening before the Junos. Apparently it is one of Randy Bachman's favourite places to eat. He was at one of the tables while Lily was there. She didn't recognize him...He's lost so much weight.

[Ducky]

if you get to Winnipeg and want some perogies you can go to Alicia's.  John Candy used to have them flown to him and always stopped in when in town

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So that's what happened to John! Death By Perogy!

I dated a Ukranian girl in high school, and truly dreaded the family suppers at which mountains of perogies and veranikes (sp?) etc. - (yes with fried onion oil!) - were the staple. In the end these suppers killed the relationship, and in retrospect I am very grateful to those perogies.

But is it really possible to claim with a straight face that this kind of food has any culinary merit?

Is it not nostalgia alone that keeps people eating this stuff? A bit like folks from my background insist on sauerkraut and boiled pork hocks from time to time to remind them how far they have come.

[peppyre]

I just thought of another thing that I would never ever even think of eating.

There is a bit of a beaver problem in Northern MB and many of the ranchers find that they water resevoirs are being damned and the cattle can't get to the water. To solve this problem Agri Canada has allowed a cull. All ranchers need to do is take the beaver tail to the local representative and they are given $ and they get to keep the tail. He asked my dad and I if we were interested in some Beaver Tail stew. At first we thought he was just kidding, but no, pulled out the recipe and said "I've got enough in the freezer if you're interested." Needless to say, my Dad and I turned down his offer.

Oh and Northern Pike! It's the only reason I want to go visit my Uncle in Cranberry Portage.

Edited April 6, 2005 by peppyre (log)

[Daddy-A]

Oh and Northern Pike!  It's the only reason I want to go visit my Uncle in Cranberry Portage.

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Didn't Northern Pikes sing She Ain't Pretty? (This did start off as a thread abut the Juno's after all )

A.

Edited April 6, 2005 by Daddy-A (log)

[peppyre]

Oh and Northern Pike!  It's the only reason I want to go visit my Uncle in Cranberry Portage.

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Didn't Northern Pikes sing She Ain't Pretty? (This did start off as a thread abut the Juno's after all )

A.

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Norther Pike

The Northern Pikes

Hmmm...which one is prettier?

[Keith Talent]

But is it really possible to claim with a straight face that this kind of food has any culinary merit? 

Is it not nostalgia alone that keeps people eating this stuff? A bit like folks from my background insist on sauerkraut and boiled pork hocks from time to time to remind them how far they have come.

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Absolutely the food has culinary merit. Outside of any nostalgia I legitimately like it. I'd far rather have a well made cabbage roll than another vertical tower of tuna tartar. It's not only our culinary history in Canada, but damn tasty too. Any culture that figured how to survive winters on the Steppes, and later on the prairies without a Safeway must be applauded as culinary geniuses.

Ukrainians perservered in some of the most difficult climates on earth. No kidding the cuisine is not as refined or varied as Italian, do you have any idea of what the weather in Kiev is like in December? Can you imagine living in sod huts in freaking SASKATOON in February, ten people crammed into a tiny shack, minus fourty outside? It's amazing that any of them lived long enough to procreate. And procreate they did, developing the western half of Canada into what it is today. The Ukrainians along with the first nations are the backbone of the north western quadrant of the continent.

So feel free to look at the starchy foods of the pioneers through filter of a modern perspective and question if boiled potatoes are as sophisticated as diver scallops naped in lemon grass beurre noisette, and then wonder if you should be at all embarrased even asking the question in light of the hardships endured to build this nation.

Never mind the fact that the holiday meals were considerably more sophisticated than the everyday foods typically associated with the Ukrainians, wild mushrooms in creme, poached fresh fish and egg breads etc.

[barolo]

I just thought of another thing that I would never ever even think of eating. 

There is a bit of a beaver problem in Northern MB and many of the ranchers find that they water resevoirs are being damned and the cattle can't get to the water.  To solve this problem Agri Canada has allowed a cull.  All ranchers need to do is take the beaver tail to the local representative and they are given $ and they get to keep the tail.  He asked my dad and I if we were interested in some Beaver Tail stew.  At first we thought he was just kidding, but no, pulled out the recipe and said "I've got enough in the freezer if you're interested."  Needless to say, my Dad and I turned down his offer.

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I actually have eaten beaver tail (keep it clean, you guys!) at a Paul Kane dinner in Fort Edmonton back in the 1980's. The dinner was a fairly close reproduction of a December 1847 meal painter Paul Kane described in his diaries: Paul Kane dinner.

Here's an excerpt:

"No tablecloth shed its snowy whiteness over the board; no silver candelabra or gaudy china interfered with its simple magnificence. The bright tin plates and dishes reflected jolly faces and burnished gold can give no truer zest to a feast."

"At the head, before Mr. Harriett, was a large dish of boiled buffalo hump; at the foot smoked a boiled buffalo calf. Start not, gentle reader, the calf is very small, and is taken from the cow by the caesarean operation long before it attains its full growth. This boiled whole, is one of the esteemed dishes amongst the epicures of the interior."

"My pleasing duty was to help a dish of mouffle, or dried moose nose; the gentleman on my left distributed, with graceful impartiality, the white fish, delicately browned in buffalo marrow. The worthy priest helped the buffalo tongue, whilst Mr. Rundell cut up the beavers' tails. ....."

Not for the squeamish! We didn't have buffalo hump or calf, but we did have beaver tails, moose nose, white fish and goose. Sort of gives you a different perspective on eating locally.

[*Deborah*]

Beaver tails, moose nose, halibut cheeks...come on, I think we can get a whole animal's worth soon!

[shelora]

What kind of peas grow in Pine Falls that would be so esteemed to be soley exported to France?

Inquiring minds want to know!

Is there not a concern about the other 'p', pollution from the pulp and paper mills up there?

Most definitely Prairie food traditions have tons of culinary merit. The type of food made with not a lot of ingredients floating around in the larder have sustained families the world over. Perogies and cabbage rolls included.

God, would I ever like to have a snack-a-thon with some smoked goldeye right about now.

Insert drooling smilie here.

[Keith Talent]

What kind of peas grow in Pine Falls that would be so esteemed to be soley exported to France?

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No idea about the pois, but are French Lentil Du Puy not grown on the Prairies, exported in bulk, packaged in muslin bags, wrapped in raffia and re-exported back here, patina of Frenchiness firmly applied, at twenty tines the price? Same with mustard seed I beleive.

[Ducky]

Any culture that figured how to survive winters on the Steppes, and later on the prairies without a Safeway must be applauded as culinary geniuses.

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Ha, Ha...well I am happy to applaud my Ukranian friends as great survivors and even as builders of nations - but as culinary geniuses???

Without getting into high Ukranian cuisine (the cabbage roll, white fish in white sauce etc) - can you tell what aspect of the perogy I should be applauding?

[*Deborah*]

Pierogies are comfort food! don't you applaud mashed potatoes? I do!

It's not haute cuisine--I suppose it's basse cuisine--but that doesn't make it bad. I agree with KT that it takes some kind of ingenuity (not to mention stubbornness) to survive under the circumstances.

My (Ukrainian) grampa could live on fried garlic sausage and pierogies (he smelled like it, too )...I still like it now and again.

[peppyre]

The INSANE AMOUNT OF TIME AND WORK THAT GOES INTO MAKING THEM!!!!!!

If you have not watched a roomful of Ukranian women cooking you have not lived. My 81 year old grandmother can dance circles around me in the kitchen. If you have ever had homemade perogies, you know that's enough for about 3 meals. 5 HOURS and 3 MEALS!!

There are also many variations on the perogy. What you see here is just a small portion of what is available on the prairies. My Baba used to make blueberry, prune (my mom's favorite, I don't know why) sauerkraut, etc. etc...You can fill them with whatever you can think of. I was planning on making some with a duck confit and potatoe filling, maybe drizzled with a little truffle oil.

[Keith Talent]

  I was planning on making some with a duck confit and potatoe filling, maybe drizzled with a little truffle oil.

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Uhhh, I think they call that RAVIOLI and Rob Feenie gets twelve bucks for three small ones.

Seriously, what are the famouse Lumiere squash/marscapone/truffle oil ravioli if not potato/cheddar/fried onions perogies turned into haute cuisine?

[peppyre]

You are correct But come on...sticking to our Ukranian roots here, would they really be called ravioli? I think not! My grandma still insists on calling pasta "Noodles".

[BCinBC]

True words Keith. Then again, what are about 80% of the items you're eating at dim sum. (And I'm not trying to imply that dim sum is haute cuisine, though it can be expensive and sought after.) All of these things fall into the blanket category "dumplings" and all cultures have them - what they're stuffed with and how they're presented is what separates them from comfort food or home cooking to bistro to whatever.

Peppyre, don't start the "Who invented 'pasta'" debate!

[Ducky]

don't start the "Who invented 'pasta'" debate!

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Apparently the Ukranians. Full respect!

[Keith Talent]

Not inveneted, merely perfected the technique of encasing one starch inside another. And you know the greeks were jealous when they heard about it, they were like "damn, we've been slinging roast potatoes, rice and doughy pita for years, we have the inside track on starch abuse, then the ukrainians come and top us." I'll bet you right now, somewhere in Athens, teams of scientists are attempting to cram a roast potato into pita bread.

[Dejah]

I just thought of another thing that I would never ever even think of eating. 

There is a bit of a beaver problem in Northern MB... they get to keep the tail.  He asked my dad and I if we were interested in some Beaver Tail stew.  At first we thought he was just kidding, but no, pulled out the recipe and said "I've got enough in the freezer if you're interested."  Needless to say, my Dad and I turned down his offer.

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Hmmm, wish I had known that. Beaver is prized for making medicinal soups by the elder Chinese. My Mom said it's because there is such strength in the tail that if you eat it, it will make you strong...increase stamina, etc. A friend of ours trapped one for her years ago. My neighbor butchered it for us. I couldn't look at it...She stewed the meat with herbs, gingsen, etc, but the tail was the prize. It looks like a huge piece of fat...but didn't taste fatty (So says my Scottish/English hubby). I didn't eat it; one of the few times I wouldn't eat something my Mom made.

[Ducky]

Keith:

Let me ask you this quite seriously: If you were paid to write the definitive book on Ukranian Haute Cuisine, how many pages would we be looking at? My publisher may be interested.

[peppyre]

Hmmm, wish I had known that. Beaver is prized for making medicinal soups by the elder Chinese. My Mom said it's because there is such strength in the tail that if you eat it, it will make you strong...increase stamina, etc. A friend of ours trapped one for her years ago. My neighbor butchered it for us. I couldn't look at it...She stewed the meat with herbs, gingsen, etc, but the tail was the prize. It looks like a huge piece of fat...but didn't taste fatty (So says my Scottish/English hubby). I didn't eat it; one of the few times I wouldn't eat something my Mom made.

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Edited April 6, 2005 by peppyre (log)

[*Deborah*]

Tricia...it starts with one town and then next thing you know we're beaver-less!!

(visions of tail-less beaver carcasses strewn about the landscape, like the elephants killed for their tusks)

[shelora]

Sauerkraut and bacon perogies?? That's some tasty eating. You want haute? Call it organic choucroute with lardons. If you don't know how to make the dough just right and the right thickness, you're fired!

[Pam R]

Tricia...it starts with one town and then next thing you know we're beaver-less!!

(visions of tail-less beaver carcasses strewn about the landscape, like the elephants killed for their tusks)

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We won't be beaverless. My father used to exchange beavertails for something like $0.02 when he was a kid - over 50 years ago - so it must have been a problem then too... and they did so much damage, it's still a problem.

There are so many things I want to reply to here ... but I'm just waiting for some cakes to cool down and then I'm going home - so I'll respond when I get home later.

I'm just happy to see everybody discussing Winnipeg and the prairies on here... I knew we were better off in the West forum than the other one