Canadian Cuisine

Emma is celebrating Valentine's day in a unique way.  Here class is studying their cultural heritage and tomorrow they're having a lunch of all their cultural foods.

I do have some troubles with the way we teach about cultures of the world.  We tend to fetishize objects and special things without examining the everyday life of our ancestors.  Emma was supposed to bring something like this to class and we couldn't think of anything.

Emma is VERY Canadian.  My family has been in Canada for several hundred years.  Craig's family has been here just as long on one side and even longer on the other--1000s of years.  Our families have been busy living, in some pretty inhospitable conditions, to collect or even own or make things that represent our heritage.   

This doesn't mean we don't have special things--my beautiful cedar chest, songs, photos, and stories.  We don't have special costumes or objects that say "French Canadian" or "Anishenabe", but stuff that represents our family, and you can't really pack it up and take that to school to show the other kids.

But food I like.  When you're 8, you understand food.  You might not like it all, but you understand that different people eat different food.  And that everyone eats.  And since it was Valentine's Day and it's a grade two class, I went for the most-kid friendly French-Canadian dish I knew.

Sugar Pie.

Yup, pie with two main ingredients: maple syrup and sugar.  This pie was a treat, made when the stores of fruit were all gone and the maple syrup was starting to run.  It's an old recipe and is very Canadian.  My Memere says people would walk barefoot in Kapuskasing in winter to get some.  Both she and I think it's way too sweet.

But the kids will love it.

Sugar Pie

Pie shell (homemade is better, but I don't judge)

1 1/2 cups maple syrup

1/2tsp baking soda

1/4 tsp vanilla

Mix these ingredients together and pour into pie shell.

With hands crumble together:

1/3c butter (no margarine if you want to be historically accurate)

1c flour

1c brown sugar

pinch nutmeg

Spread crumble over top of pie.

Bake at 350F for 30 minutes.  The pie might spill over so I recommend placing the pie on a foil lined cookie sheet.

Cool completely before serving.  The sugars need to crystalize.  My Grand-Grand Memere used to put it outside for a few minutes  to cool it off--but don't freeze it.

Comments

[Karen B.]

How sweet it is! And you're right. I never thought about it but we do tend to fetishize or objectify those things that clearly say (insert culture, place, ethnicity, community here).

My family is of primarily African and Native American (Creek) descent with heavy French Creole influence. Other than food, language and certain ways of doing things, I never really think of "object representations" of my family. We just are.

[Glenna]

Oh, thank you for the recipe!
I've always wanted a recipe for sugar pie, ever since I had some in Winnipeg a few years back. Mmmm.

[Jacquie]

Yuuuuuummm!!!

[Ashley]

Oh geez--as if the political situation weren't enough, here's one more reason to feel like I really need to be Canadian right away. Sugar pie. Genius.

[Chelle]

Those look delicious...my memere was citified in the 1920's, so her hand-me-down recipe contains NO maple syrup (brown sugar only) and a can of EVAPORATED MILK! But still, it's home in a pie tin.

Thanks for the memory, Happy Valentine's Day.

[Harpe]

Oh!! How I like the word "Grandmémère" and "Grand-grand-Mémère" !
Ta recette est une recette typique du nord de la France,où je vis ; elle s'appelle "Tarte au chuc' "(tarte au sucre), je mets la recette française sur mon blog pour toi ! I try in english (you recept is a typish recept from north of France where I live : the "Tarte au chuc'" in north french dialect (tarte au sucre) I give you my recept of my blog.
Nath your french bloghomonyn ;o)

[Harpe]

Oh!! How I like the word "Grandmémère" and "Grand-grand-Mémère" !
Ta recette est une recette typique du nord de la France,où je vis ; elle s'appelle "Tarte au chuc' "(tarte au sucre), je mets la recette française sur mon blog pour toi ! I try in english (you recept is a typish recept from north of France where I live : the "Tarte au chuc'" in north french dialect (tarte au sucre) I give you my recept of my blog.
Nath your french bloghomonyn ;o)

[SamLaTricoteuse]

Well - French Canadian I am and we also had that version like yours and the one with brown sugar.. We could go on and on - but one good thing I love is the "cipaille or six pâtes". This is a meat pie which usually includes game (partridge, etc.) onions, etc. yummy.. layered with in between layers of dough.. A very hearty meal to sustain French Canadian in Winter !!!

[Michelle]

I love Canada.

[JoVE]

Pour Harpe... La plupart des canadiens français ont leur origines dans le nord de France. C'est fort interesssant que vous avez le même tarte.

[kmkat]

You can answer a question that has been keeping me awake nights for 30 years (not really) -- how do you pronounce Kapuskasing? My husband and I took a road trip from Minneapolis to Halifax in 1976 and when we drove through that city we discussed its pronunciation for a long time, but never knew the answer. Where does the accent fall, on the second or third syllable? TIA!

[Kim]

Sugar pie. I love maple syrup. I could drink it straight from the jug. Yeah Canada!

[knittripps]

Wow, that sounds really good. One of my goals for the new year is to bake more pies. I should give this recipe a try!

[Hannah]

Oh, my God! That looks SO delicious, but I almost had a heart attack just reading about it! Your photos alone are nearly enough to make me drool...Mmmmm...

[Pez]

When my son was doing a heritage project we made Nanaimo Bars. I didn't figure the 7 year olds would want to eat tourtière!

I will save your recipe for next year when my 6 yr old needs one! It looks so yummy!

[Romi]

Yum! That sounds great!

[Angela]

Ok, I'm southern (Louisiana to be exact) and I could care less that this is a Canadian pie. All I'm thinking is how the heck I can pass this off as supper. ;o)

[Christy J]

Thanks for the recipe. I'm going to try it on my French Canadian son-in-law. I live in Timmins now, so I liked seeing your reference to Kapuskasing too. For kmkat, it's "Cap-us-case-ing" with emphasis on the first and third syllables. Northern Ontario rocks, but I wish I lived closer to Lettuce Knit and Drunken Knitters!

[Kris Taylor]

Hi: I just saw your website (I was looking for sugar pie recipes) and I noticed you mentioned Kapuskasing. My mother and her family lived in Kap. In fact my dad was stationed there during World War II with the Army Air Corp and that's where they met and married!!! I still have some family living there.... I too remember my grandmother making sugar pie (but it was always a handful of this and handful of that). Just wanted to say hello and thanks for the recipe.

[Peter]

A friend of our family was born and raised in Kapuskasing. She taught me that Kapuskasing is a Cree word pronounced "ca-PUSS-ca-sing".