This and that: Canadian

♪♪ It's Canada Day, Up Canada Way

On this first day of July ♪♪

This is one of my favorite Canadian songs and sung by Stompin' Tom Connors. This song makes me proud to be Canadian. Canada is and will always be my first love no matter where I call home or what nationality at that time I will be (I am now an American Citizen). I will always be Canadian in my heart.

Canada also has Tim Hortons one of my favorite coffee/doughnut shops. If the police like it, it is good for me. I love their Iced Cappuccinos or as the Canadians would say "give me an Ice Capp". This is one thing that I miss and is usually the first thing that I buy when I get over the border. Driving home Estevan, Saskatchewan is my first Canadian town and they have ~ you guessed it right a Tim Horton's. My first and always my last stop as I leave. Over the years I have just about perfected my Iced Capps... not quite the same but they work, especially if I have Tim Horton's Coffee and English Toffee Cappuccino mix.

Eastern United States also has Timmie's and to my great surprise and luck there was one close to where my husband is staying in Lansing. That shop got to knew me by name (well not quite) as I went for my Timmie's fix everyday.

Timmie's Iced Capp

Ingredients:

4 cups Cold Brewed Tim Horton's Coffee *

4 cups coffee ice cubes **

2/3 cup Tim Horton's English Toffee Cappuccino

1/3 cup condensed milk - if you would like it sweeter use more

optional ice cream ( 1 -2 cups)

Instructions:

Place all in blender and blend until smooth. You can do this in a couple batches. I then place it in the freezer until it is starting to freeze - about 1-1/2 hours. Bring out and re-blend until smooth.
I refreeze the leftovers and bring out and thaw slightly and enjoy.

*To make cold brewed coffee, place 1/2 cup coffee grounds and 4 cups of water in French Press or you could use your coffee pot. Place in Fridge over night. If you use a french press, Press down to bring ground to bottom. If you don't have a fresh press, filter out ground through your coffee pot filter.

** Freeze leftover coffee into ice cube trays so that when you make cold coffee you don't water down your coffee with the ice cubes.

So the next time you see a Tim Horton's go in and ask for a Iced Capp or a Double-Double with a doughnut. A Double-Double is double cream, double sugar.

I wrote an article in the Daily Dish Magazine that I write for with some facts and myths of Canada, a free printable and a quick and easy Canada Day Parfait. Head over to Happy Canada Day for more information about Canada.

Canada Day Free Printable

Canada Day Parfait

Happy Canada Day, my Canadian Friends!

Today, October 8, 2012, the second Monday in October is Canadian Thanksgiving. Yes, Canada has a thanksgiving and it is in October not November like the American Thanksgiving. Did you know that 48 years before the pilgrims gave their thanks in 1621, Martin Frobisher an English explorer held a formal ceremony to give thanks for surviving his long journey to Canada. This ceremony took place in what is known as Newfoundland, in 1578.

The origins of Canadian thanksgiving is more closely connect to the traditions of the European then the Americans. The Europeans had celebrations to thank for the bountiful harvest for many years and this celebration was in October. In Canada for a few hundred years, Thanksgiving was celebrated in late October or early November. It was declared a national holiday in 1879 and at that time November 6th was the day set aside for Thanksgiving. It was on January 31, 1957 that the Canadian Parliament announced that on the second Monday of October, Thanksgiving would be

"A Day of General Thanksgiving to

Almighty God for the bountiful harvest with

which Canada has been blessed...to be

observed on the second Monday in October."

Canadians celebrate Thanksgiving with parades, gatherings of family and friends, pumpkin pies seasonal products and lots and lots of Turkey. Now the meals consist of other foods particularly if the family is of non-European descent. Do you have a tradition that you carry out when you celebrate Thanksgiving? If you do I would like to know.

Growing up my family always had a Thanksgiving meal of turkey with all the trimmings and pumpkin pie. We would at times either get together with my mom or dad's family or have them over. Now as we have grown older and have our own family and live in different parts of the country and the world it is harder to get together. Although the ones that are still living around where we grew up, still get together during the Thanksgiving weekend.

My own celebration of Thanksgiving is kind of hit or miss, depending if I have to work or not. As my husband is Togolese, we really don't have any tradition. This year I did make a bigger meal of cornish hens and a couple of sides. I also made Butter Tarts....something that I think is truly Canadian and something that I have been craving for a long time. I love Butter Tarts and I think this is the first time that my husband tried them and he also said "they aren't bad."

Butter Tarts

adapted for the Lucky Lake Community Rink Cookbook

Ingredients:

Pie crust - either bought or homemade

1/3 cup butter (or margarine)

1 cup brown sugar

2 tbsp milk or cream

1 egg, well beaten

1 tsp vanilla

1/2 cup raisins (or currants)

Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Makes 12 tarts

Spray muffin tins with Pam. Roll out pie crust and cut into 5 inch circles and place in muffin tins. Prick bottom of dough. Set muffin tin aside.

In mixing bowl, mix butter and brown sugar together. Add milk and egg and beat until well mix. Add vanilla and then mix in raisins. I measure raisins and let sit in hot water until I am ready to use, drain water and then add to sugar mixture. Fill tart shells about 2/3 full.

Place in oven, bake for 8 minutes at 450 degree oven. Reduce heat to 350 degree and continue to bake until pastry is brown. Enjoy!