If you read dillings blog, you already know about the Maple Sugar Festival here in Nanaimo. We went the day after she did, so I'm a bit johnny come lately.
We never miss the festival. It's a family affair. We always go for the pancake breakfast, grandparents and all.
Lumberjack Breakfast. Ham, pancakes, eggs in maple syrup and tourtière. Aidan can eat an entire lumberjack breakfast on his own. He's a breakfast kinda guy.
Katie's a just pancakes kinda girl. With lots and lots of syrup. Lots.
There was great music while we ate. I love Acadian fiddle. Can't wait for folk festivals this summer.
I was reading the comments on dilling's blog. Tod has only tried maple syrup (we call it "maple surple" around our house) once and didn't like it. Tod? What do you put on your pancakes, then?
Syrup on snow. Heidi was surprised that we have maple syrup already. Truth be told, we don't make much syrup here, and it's really not the same. This syrup would have come from Quebec/Ontario. Likely last year's batch. It's a festival put on by the Francophone society in Nanaimo. It's really a celebration of French Canadian and Quebec culture.
The syrup on snow toffee is a fundraiser by the local French immersion high school. We have several French immersion schools in Nanaimo. Are there language immersion schools in the US? Or the UK? Or is it common here because we are a bi-lingual country? I haven't thought about it before.
The ice sculptures were on their last legs. It was a beautiful warm day.
The ice sculptures were on their last legs. It was a beautiful warm day.Go back to dilling's place and look at them new and sharp. Kinda alienish now.
Still beautiful if you look up close. I have no idea what this was to begin with.
Olly loves poutine. Do those of you outside Canada know Poutine? Definitely an acquired taste. French fries covered in gravy and cheese curd. Heart attack in a bowl. So good. Not that I would even consider eating something that fattening (especially after the eggs in syrup and tourtière).
Still beautiful if you look up close. I have no idea what this was to begin with.
Olly loves poutine. Do those of you outside Canada know Poutine? Definitely an acquired taste. French fries covered in gravy and cheese curd. Heart attack in a bowl. So good. Not that I would even consider eating something that fattening (especially after the eggs in syrup and tourtière).Another sweet festival. Can anyone tell me where Frenchie went? I missed him. There were no flower balloon hats for us this year.
18 comments:
I don't know Poutine, but I'll try anything covered in gravy once...or twice.
hula - me too...especially fries...
Looking at that alien-y ice sculpture - I'm a little worried it's a caqrving of me....the similarity is a bit earie...
poutine scares me...but I like me some chili cheese fries!!!
Frenchie! Come back!!!
Actually, poutine is great for the first 8 - 10 bites. Then it gets a little bit sickening. The only time I managed to scarf an entire serving was about a week before giving birth to my daughter. Power eating, ya....
See? I thought y'all had maple trees and they were running and y'all made the syrup. Hmpf.
There's a new photo challenge...
We don't eat a lot of pancakes in the UK. Also they are very different from the ones we have seen in the States. Ours are more like crepes, very thin and eaten with fruit or sometimes a little cream. We have Shrove Tuesday, also called Pancake Day every year and they are mostly eaten with lemon juice and sugar.
Also, in a restaurant it would be unusual to see pancakes, they are just not a big thing over here.
olly - I agree. After the 6th bite you start to feel a bit quessy, but you keep going until it is all mushhed together...then you have to stop...
dilling and cd - yay!! photochallenge. You guys rock for getting it together.
tod - come for breakie in the summer and I will make you blackberry pancakes with maple syrup, whipped cream and butter. Yummm...with a Mimosa on the side.
That does sound yummy, not sure if I could eat it for brekkie tho.
That is another difference I have noiced in the States,(and I guess Canada too) is the taste for something sweet for breakfast. We normally stick to something savoury over here. Though I did enjoy eating apple danish for breakfast in New york. :)
tod - there is nothing i love more than an English Breakfast...eggs, bacon, beans fried bread and tomatoes....
also...I am not aware of any language immersion schools in the U.S., except one very prestigious one in Honolulu that teaches in Hawaiin, free/sliding scale if you are Hawaiin and for a fee if you are a Haole(foreigner)...but I never paid much attention to school when I was in it...so maybe there is some.
is some? ARE some.
My tour of the day. Love seeing what goes on in western Canada. We have festivals like that in New Hampshire and Vermont. And variations of poutine, if you're looking at the heart attack in a bowl comparison. Your daughter is so cute!
Well now it all makes sense- I saw the part about the Acadian band and went "really? out west?"
Poutine... it can be so good but it can go so bad.
Grandpar gave his sister in England a jug of maple syrup soon after he and Grandpar settled in Ontario (they weren't granparents yet then!) Auntie didn't know what the heck to do with it. Couldn't figure out what to pour it on.
Then a few years back when I was in England I got the English breakfast and was wowed... tomatoes! Sausages! Yum! Couldn't help thinking it could have used some maple syrup though...
Great post, Rain. Nice tour!
wow, that looks like a fantastic event, what fun you all must have had. Oh gosh those pancakes look good!
Ah maple syrup on snow, does that ever bring back memories! Must do a post about in someday... I loved poutine too but I guess that is down to my early years in Quebec, eh?
Just 150 miles south of you (or so) and I've never heard of immersion classes nor poutine. Not exactly sure what the immersion classes involve, but I'm surprised we don't have something like that at least in California (and maybe they do) what with the strong hispanic population. These differences in terms/food/traditions cross the states, too. I lived in Maine for a short while and much of what they did or ate or how they spoke was absolutely foreign, much more so than B.C. I felt like I was on another planet! Maple syrup (on pancakes!) is wonderful, and it's probably a good thing I'm NOT familiar with poutine because I love fries any ol' way! I'd be as big as a house...
I've tagged you
I enjoyed the Maple Sugar Festival a lot this year - great Sunday pancake breakfast with great entertainment on stage. Your photos catch the spirit nicely.
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