So, Robb got me thinking with his last post about food... and in particular, blueberry grunt, a delicacy from my native Nova Scotia... and one of my personal specialties.
Living in Alberta I don't make it often, mostly because blueberries are hideously expensive here... and they're big, fat cultivated (comparatively tasteless - IMHO) blobs from B.C... Not at all the same as the small, succulent ones we used to collect in buckets as kids back home.
For years, I mourned the lack of decent blueberries here, but finally I just let it go... edging my attention ever so slowly to what Albertans love most - beef... As exercise became more a part of my life, so did beef... There was a time I could have cared less about beef, opting for chicken or fish (love a good halibut) ... but slowly, I have become converted; to the extent that any special gentleman in my life quickly learns that chocolate will get him a polite thank you, but a good steak will leave me completely blubbering.
Now, if there was a way to get a good N.S. blueberry grunt AND a perfectly BBQed piece of Alberta steak in the same meal, I'm sure I'd be in heaven.
All this got me thinking (and salivating) about local delicacies... What reminds you of "home"? What local dishes do you enjoy most? What leaves you "blubbering"?
And finally... just because of the name "blueberry grunt", here's a groaner for you:
What did one strawberry say to the other?
"If we hadn't been caught in the same bed together, we wouldn't be in this jam!"
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13 comments:
*groan*
hm, local dishes. bean-and-cheese burrito - the authentic kind, made with lard. (yes, gross, but really really tasty)
Blueberry grunt?
I'll google.
It is difficult to identify a truly local dish as a lot of cooking styles have merged and ingredients are so much more available. However, I guess for me chicken and mango stirfry comes pretty close as fresh mango is very available in the NQ summer. Mangoes are undoubtedly our compensation for the long hot summer we have.
Sarah, I am surprised none of your docotrs or physical therapists mentioned that with orthotics you have to get beack to un-corrected shoes. Not been a docotr or been one, it is a common sense, and people who fit you in to insoles were unprofessional, while the sales gal was very much professional (and a good samaritan). I really hope this will work for you. Wear them in. BTW, repacing old shoes - the rule of thumb is "500 miles OR 6 months since the buying date", even if they sit on shelf. That's why you should never stock up on shoes. people do do that, but only if you're anatomically correct and have no problems and don't care what to wear. There is something going on with aeration of pores in the bottom of the shoe.
That was a very corny joke yet I laughed anyways.
I am always reminded of food around the holidays. There are too many dishes that my brain is locked at the moment to think of one that defines my childhood.
we get the most tasty bloobs from France, in about another month or so. so yummy!
home.... hmm... frozen yogurt and good Casa Lupe salsa...
and burgers. really good burgers...
yumyumyum....
ps... I love strawbs, and that was a very cute joke! :)))
LOL, that's cute atrawberry joke.
Hmmm, lots of corn tortilla and probably lamb is we ate alot of growing up in Ariz.
Blueberry grunt..I'll have to search for a recipe.
Hi Sarah,
Sigh, Strawberry and jam, and I always love a good strawberry jam especially if there are whole strawberries in it.
Let's see local specialties, that's kinds a problem we were originally settle by Italians and then some Irish, then Okies then the Mexicans. So it's a toss-up!
But I always enjoyed strawberry short cake, and our local fresh fruit like peaches, nectorines, grapes, and figs. And in the winter time we have oranges too.
Also nuts like Pistachio, almonds, peacons, and not my favorite but we also walnuts here too.
Then the local food since we are now more than half Mexican here in my home town; tocos, butrritos, Chimmicongas. I love Mexican food, and just made tacos last night for dinner.
My favorite Italian food is spaghetti (that I make), and Lazonia (that I learn to make from a friend), then De Chico's Calzoni.
Janice~
I remember apple pie and a lot of fresh-baked bread. Lots food memories and lots of local food - hoping to go strawberry picking out in the fields soon - my kids have a blast. It makes me wonder what a lot of 'today's kids' will remember as nostalgic food later in life - mac n' cheese? Cheetos? I think popsicles and the ice-cream truck must cross age barriers.
Well, quite a few interesting foods...my goodness.
First, thanks for the plug Sarah. It's fun to think about food. For me I would say my mother's stewed rhubarb jam brings back warm fuzzies. She baked a ton so the house always smelled good when I arrived home from school. I don't know if this is exclusive to the maritimes or not but we would always have baked beans and brown bread on Saturday night. By the way, I have discovered Alberta Black Angus beef at Costco...in Halifax.
aMmmmmm. Gravenstein apples. At our house, we don't do birthday cake, we do gravenstein pies...I buy a box every summer and cut up enough for three Thanksgiving pies and four birthday pies. A close second would have to be chocolate chip cookies. And if you are talking real food, burger dips (of course, mine are now made with soy burgers) and fries. Another childhood memory - every Sunday night: the wonderful world of Disney, Mom putting pink foam rollers in my hair and having burger dips and fries - that was our Sunday night tradition.
cute joke.
I don't really have any favorite "local dishes" or dishes from my culture for that matter. My nationality is one of a melting pot. I do love a good steak with a nice baked potato.
Terrible (TERRIBLE!) joke :)
For any recipe of any kind, I always recommend http://allrecipes.com. Read the reviews before choosing your recipe.
I am a big fan of blueberries, and have found a close alternative: Saskatoon berries. They have a more pronounced wood taste to them and are less sweet. However I have never had any problems using them in pies or muffins in place of blueberries.
Saskatoons are not far from being in season. Go to any city park (Bowness Park for sure!) and you'll find them. If not, the Colonies often have a quality selection at the Farmer's Market.
It's midnight and now you've gotten me all hungry!
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