Canada Day: What it means to be Canadian

Like most Canadians I take being Canadian for granted. We're not raised on a diet of patriotism. We don't sing "O Canada" at the start of every day. We simply ARE Canadian, sometimes with apologies, but never with regret. 

I come from a family of immigrants, my sweetie is an immigrant, many of my friends are immigrants, as are my neighbours [note the Canadian spelling]. We're a nation that embraces diversity through a multicultural policy. We are not a melting pot. Our cultures are fused, not melted.

Our revolutions are quiet ones but that doesn't mean we're not passionate.

We can vote freely, without intimidation or violence but we take democracy for granted. Our last federal election recorded the lowest voter turnout in our history. We need to be more vigilant to protect our democracy. Voting is the least we can do. 

Our sweeping generalizations:

• We don't worry about concealed weapons.
  
• If we're sick, we know we can get well without having to sell our home.
  
• We can sponsor our partners for immigration, regardless of gender.
  
• We can marry the one we love, regardless of gender.
  
• We can serve in our military regardless of sexual orientation.
  
• We don't have to join the military to get low-cost post-secondary education.
  
• As long as we have Québec we will never be "American"
  
• We call our money loonies and toonies, and we don't miss the bills.
  

As for our stereotypes:

We like beer.

We like hockey. 

We believe in Sasquatch, particularly after beer.

Of course, it's not a perfect place. We don't have hot, sunny beaches in the winter. Because it's Canada Day I'll save my rants for another day.

HAPPY CANADA DAY!

Please share your stories of what it means to be Canadian.

Happy Father's Day

On this Father's Day I'm thinking of my nonnos, the two fathers who brought their families from Calabria to Canada for a better life and unknowingly gave me two lands where my heart and soul dance.

Nonno Joe was born in the late 1800s. It makes me pause: I know people who were born in three different centuries. We may be the first generation to make that claim. 

Nonno set out for the USA on his own when he was barely a teenager. I can't imagine the strength needed for that journey in a time before mass communications and transportation. How would WE do it without the Internet and our cell phones? Nonno was resourceful enough to make that trip several times. Returning to Calabria to marry and emigrating with my nonna and their Italian-born children.

Nonno Joe

Nonno Tony arrived in Canada at mid-20th century with full family in tow. Even then, they left knowing they'd never see mothers, fathers or siblings again. And no text messages, no tweets. I was lucky to know this Nonno who lived into his 90s. His grapevines are in my back yard and his lemon tree is in my living room (this is Canada). 

Nonno Tony

I will write more about their journeys. Today is for a simple remembrance of the fathers who brought me here.

And happy father's day to my dad too.

Dad

Hot lemon drink

Like most people I know, I've struggled with the cycling cold/flu bug for far too long this year. While I haven't found a cure, my hot lemon concoction has helped me make it through many, many days and nights. This goes out to CS who is relapsing with a cold.

In your favourite mug, add:

juice of 1/2 lemon

1 T honey (to taste -- I like mine tart)

a few dashes of hot sauce 

a 1/4 inch slice of fresh ginger, peeled and squished a bit

Add a little bit of boiling water and stir to melt honey.

Fill mug with hot water and stir.

Bundle up with your laptop and a wool blanket and get well soon!

Easter Eats

Growing up in a Calabrese-Canadian family Easter was a big food holiday after the long fast of Lent. Even with Nonna reciting "Natale con i tuoi, Pasqua con chi vuoi" -- spend Christmas with your family and Easter with whomever you want -- we stuck close to home for all the great food.

Both sides of my family immigrated to Canada from Calabria well over 50 years ago so what we consider Italian traditions are more likely family microcosms of traditions that no longer exist in Italy or with other families. Our food traditions have evolved based on ingredients available in small towns, culinary skills, and individual tastes, likes and dislikes. Today we celebrate our food mash-ups.

The names of foods I claim as our own, based on dialect, faint memories and the influence of Italian neighbours from Abruzzo, Tuscana, Friuli, and other regions. If you share any of these food traditions I’d love to hear your stories.

Pastieri

This is a favourite of mine because it falls in my category of one-pot cooking, that is, it’s really easy to make. For us, pastieri is a cold pasta square made with eggs, ricotta and parmigiano or romano cheese. It’s great for Easter brunch.

Baskets & Paparelle (Ducks)

Nonna Filomena would make these for her grandchildren. The paparelle or ducks were made for the girls and the baskets were made for the boys. Making these decorative breads requires a lot of skill and patience. Our family has preserved these traditions through the family cookbook that I mentioned in a previous post.

Straw Poll

Straw poll isn’t an Easter delicacy, it’s a quick poll I put out to my Facebook friends and family asking what they were making for Easter. Here’s a sampling of responses:

TB: I am making the traditional Perugian/Umbrian? Pasqua dinner -- lamb. I was thinking about making a nice Easter Bunny stew, but my butcher said agnello per Pasqua

JA: Matzoh with charoset and smoked salmon salad (not combined, and in lieu of Gefilte fish).

PH: perogies

CM: Veggie patties and veggies grilled on my baby Weber...and a few ice cold beers to boot. 

WA: those new pre-made Easter cookies ... (grin)

I love my family’s diversity!

Easter Pizza

This is my favourite Easter food, probably because of its off-the-charts fat content. The Easter pizza is bread dough baked around layers and layers of sliced meats and cheeses, evenly stacked to make a geometric pattern when cut. The pizza is served cold and feeds a large extended family. I’m working on a version made in a loaf pan.

Easter Bread

All my nonnas made sweet Easter bread often with whole eggs baked into them. Sometimes braided, sometimes shaped into an alphabet letter to represent your first name. I ran into my Italian neighbour the other day and asked her if she makes Easter break. She said, “I don't make the Easter bread with the eggs in it anymore. No one eats them, it's a waste.” I don’t recall eating the eggs either.

Do you want more?

If there’s any interest in recipes or how to make these family delights, leave me a comment.

Buona Pasqua!

Lutto Nazionale

Good Friday, April 10, 2009 is a national day of mourning in Italy for the victims of the Abruzzo earthquake. 

Please take a moment to remember the victims. 

Now take some time today to hug your loved ones.

Italian Groundhog Day

"Quattro Aprilante, giorni quaranta" was a proverb I learned from my Nonno T. My grandparents knew many, many proverbs and whenever I asked they would recite them, all strung together, usually challenging each other as to their accuracy (that's a polite way of phrasing their typically loud Calabrese interactions). 

"Quattro Aprilante, giorni quaranta" is literally April 4, 40 days. It means that whatever the weather is like on April 4th, is what it will be like for the following 40 days. I think of it as Italian Groundhog Day. I know nothing of its derivation but I suspect it's Italian and not regional to Calabria or our southern villages. For Nonno, it didn't have any meaning in the new world, Canada. It may have been more important when they lived in the old country and had to tend animals and plant crops. 

In my part of the world, today is sunny and the first day the sun has shared its warmth along with its brilliance. I'm taking this as a good sign that spring is here to stay.

If you know anything about this proverb, I'd love to hear your wisdom and your stories.

One pot: Baked oatmeal

Anyone who knows me knows that I don't cook a lot and when I do, it's not very complex. That's because I live with an amazing cook who is also my culinary slave as well as a recipe tester-at-large for America's Test Kitchen. My one-pot dishes and "bean delight" don't stand a chance against my sweetie's creations.

About a month ago, Cream Puffs in Venice [don't click on that link or you'll never come back -- she kicks my butt] blogged about a baked oatmeal breakfast dish that caught my attention. I read it three of four times finally convincing myself that I could do this, after all it was all in one pot. 

My sweetie was out of town and, honestly, I have no idea what a rolled oat is and how it's different from other oats. I saw we had a bag of flaked oats in the cupboard and that's what I used. 

This is a great little recipe and now that I've found it I'm less likely to skip breakfast. Here's my adaptation:

1 cup whole rolled oats (I use about 1 1/3 cups flaked oats because Sweetie likes the density. What's the difference between whole & flaked?)

1 tsp. cinnamon
a pinch of nutmeg
1/4 tsp. salt
3 tbsp. maple syrup (Sweetie says to try 1 1/2 tbsp of honey if you don't have maple syrup. We'll try that next time.)
1 tbsp. grated orange zest
2 medium apples, peeled and diced (I use whatever I have on hand, usually a crisp eating apple)
1 ripe banana, mashed
1/4 cup finely chopped walnuts (I use pecans, because we have lots of them)

1/4 cup fresh frozen blueberries (I freeze them in August and enjoy them through the winter. Once the raspberries ripen, I'll try a handful of them instead.)
1-1/4 cups milk 

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

Grease a 9-inch pie plate or baking dish with butter or cooking spray

Combine all the ingredients in ONE (I love this part) large bowl and mix well.

Pour into the greased pie plate.

Bake in the centre of the oven for about 30 minutes or until the liquid is absorbed (don’t overcook or it will dry out).

Remove from the oven and let cool. Serve warm with yogurt (I like vanilla yogurt). Add extra honey or maple syrup as desired.

YUM!