Another Nova Scotia storm?

[Ken Hutchins]

Watch out Nova Scotia, another storm heading up the coast, some expect it to strengthen in the Gulf of Maine after hitting New England Wednesday night and Thursday.

[mmd]

So far Environment Canada is only predicting freezing rain and snow flurries with a bit of wind (20 - 30 mph). That is sorta normal for this time of year. The sun is getting stronger so if the prediction is accurate there should only be minor inconveniences as it will melt away in short order as soon as the sun peeks out. The wild card is how heavy and long-lasting the freezing rain is. Storm like this are just the last feeble punches thrown by a winter that is on the ropes. Spring is coming soon. ;)

[Venchka]

We got some summer already I'll send you.

mmd, batten down the hatches. Ya'll are gonna be invaded by a whole herd of Cajuns this summer.

Ya'll pass a good time! :D

[mmd]

We are getting ready for y'all. There are quite a few family trees that have branches extending to Louisiana and we're looking forward to seeing a few of the leaves up here (the weather will be warm by then, I promise!). Unfortunately, my heritage is linked to the Swiss Heugenots who were sponsored by the British to settle Nova Scotia after the Treaty of Utrecht and the Acadian Expulsions, so I can't claim cultural bloodline, but I try to make up for it with a gastronomical interest in Rappie Pie, dulse, tourtieres, poutines rapees, etc. Just to whet your appetite, the Acadians around the Digby-Yarmouth region have as many recipes for Bay of Fundy scallops as the Louisiana Cajuns have for Gulf shrimp. ;) :D

Check out what's happening at www.acadie400.ca (http://www.acadie400.ca) Bienvenue, mes amis!
http://www.acadie400.ca/videos/400_ad_eng.mov

[Venchka]

Originally posted by mmd:
...but I try to make up for it with a gastronomical interest in Rappie Pie, dulse, tourtieres, poutines rapees, etc. Just to whet your appetite, the Acadians around the Digby-Yarmouth region have as many recipes for Bay of Fundy scallops as the Louisiana Cajuns have for Gulf shrimp. ;) :D

Ah, 'tis true! An Acadian (born or adopted and naturalized) will eat anything that doesn't eat him first! I was introduced to dulse by John Anderson and I still let him build my boat. :D What on earth are thise other concoctions? Must take a mess of Keets to wash it all down.

[mmd]

A tourtiere is a meat pie; basically, ground meat (beef or pork or both), onion, garlic, cloves, cinnamon, salt & pepper baked in a sealed pastry shell brushed with cream. Poutine Rapees are potato balls stuffed with pork and slow cooked or boiled (blechh!) and served with molasses drizzled over. Rappie Pie, or more correctly, "Pate a La Rapure", is the grande dame of Acadian cooking on Nova Scotia's French Shore. It is also probably the most onerous dish to prepare that I have ever come across - I buy mine now whenever I'm on the French Shore. It is a meat-and-potatoes oven baked dish consisting of grated & de-watered potatoes, shredded cooked chicken, onions, bacon, and seasonings. Because it takes a zillion hours to make and is labour-intensive to the point of stupidity (cut any corners and you end up with hot lumpy wallpaper paste, do it right and it is a sublime crispy-on-top, moist-in-the-centre casserole like you've never had before), it is usually a Sunday family meal when there are lots of hands available to help. Most recipes start with, " while two chickens are roasting, peel and grate one peck of potatoes..." and end with, "serves twelve to fifteen."

[Meerkat]

Hmmm... my New Brunswick granma made soemthing like Poutine Rapees, but it was stuffed with (in the particular case I recall) blueberries. It was boiled in cheesecloth and then finished in the oven to brown it. About the size of a medium large cannon ball (no joke).

I don't recall any of the fancier stuff, but you have not had pie until you've had rhubarb, strawberry or blueberry pies at a church social in New Brunswick around Moncton (maybe I have the name for the event wrong. These where open to anybody at so much per head and where to raise funds - most often held at a country church). Big hearty slices about 3"+ thick with heavenly crust. It was a full meal, but what I recall most was the pie! ;)

[The Gentleman Sawyer]

Hey MMD, where did the donair come from? I had one in Mahone Bay last year and thought it was pretty good.
The Gentleman Sawyer

[mmd]

Lebanon, or thereabouts. Arabic fast food. :D

(edit) Meer, Church Suppers are still going strong around here and I suppose in Moncton, too. Our local community paper has a section in the classified to announce them, five are listed for this weekend, e.g.:

"Chowder Supper, Saturday, March 13, Dayspring & District Fire Dept. Menu: Homemade fish or corn chowder, rolls, coffee, tea, and homemade desserts. Adults $6, kids ages 5 - 12 $3, under 5 free."

In the summer there are a lot of church suppers featuring scallops, lobsters, planked salmon, etc. I keep reccommending visitors to seek these out and am constantly amazed at how few do - I suppose that spending three times as much money on half as much food of lesser quality at your own table in a restaurant is preferable to sitting elbow-to-elbow in a church hall with locals with funny accents. :rolleyes:

[ 03-10-2004, 12:11 PM: Message edited by: mmd ]

[Popeye]

Stop the Nova Scotia Blueberry hunt Immediately!

[mmd]

We don't take the white ones anymore - only the mature blue ones, and we harvest them in a much more humane manner now ... ;)

[Meerkat]

Are they still called church suppers if they're held in the afternoon on picnic tables outside in the churchyard? Those are the ones I remember. smile.gif

[mmd]

Yup. Either that or Church Picnics.

Getting back on topic, the impending Nor'Easter is the large orange blob on this weather map. It is just touching Cape Cod right now, with a bead on Nova Scotia. Still pretty disorganized, but if it begins to become a more defined circle or bass clef shape we could get uncomfortable. Looks like 6-to-7 metre (20-to-23 feet) mean sea heights - statistically this means the occasional wave that is up to about 12metres (40 feet) - on Georges Bank tomorrow; rough day for fishing boats.

http://weatheroffice.ec.gc.ca/data/satellite/goes_ecan_1070_s_2004@03@10_17h45m.jpg

[Venchka]

Hope the storm spares Ya'll.

My mouth is watering already. Chill the Keet's. Hide the wimmen. :D I haven't had a good time like that since forever!

[Meerkat]

Touch one of the "wimmens" at a church picnic in that part of Canada and you're likely to get stabbed with a hat pin - right before the menfolk come running with the pig snips. ;)

[mmd]

Nah, we don't do that sort of violence much anymore. If'n ya pesters our wimmins nowadays, we jus' shut you up in a small room wi' a bunch of schoolkids practicin' jigs 'n' reels on th' fiddle. Much more effective than pins 'n' such.

We offered t' have th' kids play fer them folks down at Camp X-Ray there in Guantanamo Bay - always figgerin' thet folks out campin' would like a little music 'round the campfire - but the nice feller in charge said somethin' 'bout there being limits to what he can provide fer them campers. Maybe we can arrange t' play at thet convention in Geneva he mentioned ...