Quebec's Tourtière Meat Pie

 

We started making and eating the Tourtière meat pie this year again and it's easy to see why it's so popular.

The Tourtière meat pie originated in Quebec and is traditionally served on Christmas eve after holy mass, and it's popular during the winter months.

1 1/2 lbs duck, boned and diced

1/2 lb veal, diced

1/2 lb beef, diced

1/2 lb lean pork, diced

1/4 lb salt pork, chopped

3 small onions, chopped

2 1/2 teaspoons salt

1/8 teaspoon pepper

1/8 teaspoon cinnamon

1/8 teaspoon clove

1 pinch nutmeg

to taste pastry for double-crust pie

3 lbs potatoes, peeled and diced

2 cups boiling water

The night before, combine the first 13 ingredients in a large bowl. Cover and let rest overnight in the refrigerator.

The next day, prepare potatoes and then prepare pastry.

Preheat oven to 450 degrees F.

Use 2/3 of pastry to line the bottom (not the sides) of a 4 to 4-1/2 quart coverable pot.

Add potatoes to the meat mixture. Pour mixture into pastry lined pot. Add boiling water.

Roll remaining 1/3 pastry and cover mixture. Make slits to allow steam to escape. Bake, uncovered, until top is golden brown, about 20-25 minutes.

Cover, reduce oven to 300 degree F, and continue baking for another 5 hours, until meats are tender.

Uncover and let rest about 5 minutes.

Serve hot.

Sticky Fingers

Why thieves would steal up to $30 million worth of maple syrup is anyone's guess, but that's what happened.

Syrup was stolen from the St. Louis-De-Blandford facility by emptying the syrup from barrels and putting it into other containers.

Everything in the facility was stolen, that's more than tenth of Quebec's 2012 syrup harvest.

The Federation of Quebec Maple Syrup Producers said it discovered the missing syrup last week during a routine inventory where empty barrels were discovered.

Anne-Marie Granger Godbout, the executive director of the federation, said that while it is not unusual for individual maple syrup producers to have stock stolen, having millions worth of syrup stolen is ‘unusual.’

‘It's the first time something like this has happened,’ she said. ‘We've never seen a robbery of this magnitude.’

She said the disappearance of the stock was not obvious at first in the huge warehouse. The facility alone houses nearly the equivalent of half the entire U.S. production of maple syrup in a year, she said.

Quebec produces up to 80 per cent of the world's maple syrup.

 

Store Wars: Costco shoppers in the U.S. battle Canadians crossing the border because weak U.S. dollar

Angry shoppers are asking Costco to have opening times only for U.S. customers - after being swarmed by Canadians buying cheap milk.

Residents in Bellingham, Washington, say they are fed up with all the Canadian shoppers driving across the border to stock up on gas and food.

The nearest towns north of Bellingham are Abbotsford and Surrey in British Columbia -  only 30 miles across the border.

Canadian shoppers are taking advantage of their strong dollar against the weak U.S. currency and buy food and fuel for less than they would in Canada.

U.S.customers are complaining that the Canadians are 'rude' when they shop to buy cheap milk and gas

There is now a Facebook page of angry residents because of the 'rude Canadians' calling for them to be banned during certain times.

Local residents complain that cars with BC plates taking up two parking spaces is common.

Within seconds milk dissapeared as Canadian customers load their carts with the dairy product, because it's cheaper in the U.S. than it is in Canada.

Couple refuses to tear out vegetable garden after demands from council

With nothing better to do, a Canadian council is going around terrorizing vegetable gardens.

Michel Beauchamp and wife Josee Landry planted this incredible vegetable garden on the front lawn at their Drummondville, Quebec.

They have cucumbers, tomatoes, beets and Brussels sprouts, but according to the town code, gardens can only take up 30 per cent of front yards in the St-Charles-de-Drummond neighbourhood where they live - everything else must be grass.

But Michel Beauchamp and Josee Landry are rolling up their sleeves, ready to fight, petitioning to save the thriving vegetable garden, the one the council wants to destroy.

The couple have been given two weeks to tear up most of their garden, which feeds them and many of their neighbours.

 

The deadline was yesterday, but Mr Beauchamp and Ms Landry refused to obey.

Instead, they are petitioning for the council to ease up on the rules, which are fines of up to $300 a day.

'It must be a right to be able to grow our vegetables on our land. It is nonsense to ban it,' Mr Beauchamp said.

These two gardeners have more than 6,000 signatures in favor of their cause. 

Authorities said that community members had complained about the garden but the Beauchamp's said no one had complained to them and that they share much of what they grow.

'They love it. Everybody is surprised by the kind of taste we can have from fresh vegetables,' he said.

The city plans to make all front lawn vegetable gardens illegal this fall. 

But that ridiculous measure would only apply to new gardens.

Canadian Students are fed MOOSE POOP on school trip... while principal watched and did nothing

A 14-year-old girl was tricked into eating moose poop during a school canoeing trip while teachers, including the principal, watched and laughed. 

The girl, (photo above) Brook, and a 13-year-old boy, both from Walter Whyte School in Grand Marais, Canada, were given the droppings by an adult chaperone from a sandwich bag and told they were chocolate covered almonds.

They ate the ‘snacks’ during the three-day trip along the Mantario Trail as the principle, a teacher and a resource officer just watched and did nothing to stop the ridiculous, disgusting prank.

Some of the crap got caught in Brook’s braces and she was forced to scrub her teeth with lake water.

The eighth-grader sobbed as she describe how kids laughed when she put the droppings in her mouth.

 

A guidance counselor ignored her misery, telling her the poop was nutritious because ‘all they eat is grass’.

Brook said the other kids made fun of her, saying,‘I didn't trust anyone, I couldn't talk to anyone. I thought I was going to get teased.’

The stupid adult responsible for the repulsive joke said he didn’t realise it would upset her, (really?)

but for Brook the traumatic incident is still fresh in her mind.

Not that it matters now, but the principle will not be returning to her school in the fall.

The mother of the boy who was also fed the poop on the trip, said she is disgusted at what happened and has since pulled her son out of the school.

Even though the moose poop probably tasted better that most school lunches, how can we trust those responsible for a environment that is conducive to learning?

School superintendent Scott Kwasnitza said, 'first and foremost, the safety and well-being of the children is the top priority.'

If you say so Scott...

Coca-Cola has this new multimillion-dollar promotion to make us aware about climate change and help protect the Canadian Arctic.

The design is part of the new partnership with WWF, the conservation group also known as the World Wildlife Fund, to create "safe areas" for polar bears.


Nicola Kettlitz, president of Coca-Cola Ltd., said the latest campaign is to help reduce the environmental impact of its business on water and the climate.

"We've done this for many years, and it's part of who we are," Kettlitz said.
"We understand that without sustainable communities, we really do not have a business. It cannot just be greenwashing, We need to do it (action to protect the environment) and then maybe say it, but to do it is an important aspect."

Coca-Cola will donate $2 million to WWF over five years as well as matching up to $1 million in donations from the public.

Kettlitz said the company chose the polar bear because some of the bear populations are being threatened by a rapidly warming Arctic.

Nearly two-thirds of all polar bears now live in Canada.

"We really hope that this is one of those issues where regardless of what you think of the causes of climate change, its realities are inescapable and nowhere is that more true than in the Arctic," said Butts, a former adviser to Ontario Premier Dalton McGuinty. "We hope that this can become a catalyst for a much broader discussion."

Canada limits caffeine in energy drinks

Our next government interference story takes us to Canada.
Canada has new rules to limit the amount of caffeine allowed in energy drinks like Red Bull and Monster Energy.
While they won't classify them as stimulative drugs, these products can only be sold in pharmacies.

Health Minister Leona Aglukkaq said they will cap caffeine at 180 milligrams per drink, about as much as a medium cup of coffee.
The drinks will also have to clear labels that list the amounts of caffeine, vitamins and other ingredients.
These drinks will also have a warning that they are not recommended for children or pregnant women and should not be mixed with alcohol.

While these rules aren't as tough as the recommendations proposed by an "expert" panel. The panel wanted these drinks labeled as medication, and as "stimulant drug-containing drinks" and allow sales only from behind the pharmacist's counter.
"I believe it's up to individuals and parents to make their own decisions when it comes to what they eat and drink," Aglukkaq said in a statement.
Energy drinks had been classified as "natural health products" but the government has now reclassified them as foods, with full labeling requirements.

The limit will not make a big difference for many energy drinks. A 250 ml (8.4 oz) can of Red Bull Energy Drink, for example, has 80 mg of caffeine. That's less than a typical cup of coffee but about twice as much as a cola.
Seven million energy drinks are sold in Canada every month, according to the government.

Now watch everyone drink twice as much and it will be fourteen million drinks sold every month.

Interestingly enough is the 5-Hour Energy Shot and the Worx Energy Shot, the ones you see at the checkout at convenience stores and gas stations, can continue to be boosted with 200 milligrams of caffeine. This exceeds Health Canada's new caffeine cap for energy drinks, set at 180 mg per can.



The caffeine in a single energy shot is also far higher than the level found in a can of Red Bull (80 mg), even though the container size of a typical energy shot is much smaller — 60 millilitres compared to Red Bull's 250 ml can.

Go figure...


Cola (355 ml can): 35 mg of caffeine

Red Bull (250 ml can): 80 mg of caffeine

No-Doz or Wake-Up pill (one tablet): 100 mg of caffeine

AMP Alert energy drink (473 ml can): 158 mg of caffeine

Medium roasted coffee (237 ml cup): 180 mg of caffeine

Jones Whoopass energy drink (473 ml can): 195 mg of caffeine

5-Hour Energy Shot (60 ml mini-can): 200 mg of caffeine

Monster X-Presso Hammer energy drink (285 ml can): 226 mg of caffeine

Now we have more than 40,000 crabs dead, on England beaches

We really are losing track of all this...

First, we have birds falling from the sky, then thousands upon thousands of dead fish washing up on shore.

Now we have more than 40,000 Velvet swimming crabs dead on England beaches.

The shoreline is trashed with the dead crabs, dead starfish, lobsters, sponges and anemones.

The possible reason this sudden outbreak of death? Hypothermia is a possibility.
The crabs enjoy warm seas, but when a winter like this one blankets the beaches, they just can’t handle the freezing temperatures.

Similar crab deaths happened in the same place two years and five years ago.

This started with the snow that blasted Europe shortly before Christmas.

Some of the local experts are researching the dead crabs, but nothing can be done to prevent the massive number of deaths.

On Wednesday, 50 jackdaw birds were found dead on a street in Stockholm, Sweden.

A veterinarian investigating the incident said the cause of death is unknown but it may have been the fireworks that went off that night causing their demise.

So, maybe it was the shock from the fireworks and perhaps the cold weather and difficulty finding food as possible reasons for the deaths.

These recent animal deaths join the thousands of others in the last week in the United States.

On Tuesday, 450 birds plummeted to their deaths in Louisiana for apparently no reason.

On New Year’s Eve, more than 3,000 red-winged blackbirds inexplicably fell from the skies in Arkansas.

Wildlife experts just west of where the blackbirds were found are still trying to figure out why 100,000 drum fish washed up on the shores of the Arkansas River.

A pollutant would have affected all fish, not just the one species, so investigators suspect the fish were stricken by an illness.

Here's a map to guide you: DEATH MAP

While we're at it, did you hear about  Victoria's Goldstream Provincial Park and the Goldstream River turning bright green late Wednesday afternoon.

The fluorescent green appeared on the Victoria side of the entrance to the park where salmon runs, eagles fly and other wildlife live.

After an hour, the river was back to its normal self.

Ministry of Environment teams were immediately sent to the area to investigate and members of Langford Fire Department collected samples for analysis.

At least this time no dead fish or animals have been discovered.

Earlier in the day a fountain beside Veterans Memorial Parkway in Langford also turned bright green.

A wonderful Christmas tradition, Canadian meat pie: Tourtiere

The tourtiere meat pie originated in Quebec and is traditionally served on Christmas eve after holy mass, and it's popular during the winter months.

Tourtiere

* 1/2 lb ground beef

* 1/2 lb ground pork

* 1 small onion, chopped

* 2 stalks celery, chopped

* 1/8 tsp cloves

* 1/8 tsp cinnamon

* Salt and pepper to taste

* 2 pre-made pie crusts

This is a pretty good video if you ignore the host.

Canadian meat pie: tourtiere: wwlp.com

Seal meat to be on menu at Canadian Parliament

Canada's parliamentary restaurant will be serving seal meat on Wednesday in a gesture of defiance aimed at a European Union ban on imports of seal products.


In the above photo we see Canadian Minister of defense Peter MacKay cutting into some seal meat.

Canada's Conservative government says it's going to fight thel fight the EU ban, which was imposed last July on the grounds that the annual seal hunt off the east coast was cruel and inhumane.
A meal of double-smoked bacon-wrapped seal loin in a port reduction will be on the menu the office of Senator Celine Hervieux-Payette said.
"All political parties will have the opportunity to demonstrate to the international community the solidarity of the Canadian Parliament behind those who earn a living from the seal hunt," she said in a statement.
Ottawa says the hunt -- which takes place in March and April -- provides valuable income for Atlantic fishing communities. The seals are either shot or hit over the head with a spiked club called a hakapik.
An aide to Hervieux-Payette said that, depending on supplies, seal meat could be available once a week when in season. 

You may remember the poll we conducted some months ago:

The question? Would you try seal meat at a restaurant?

With 705 total votes, you said:

Yes, I'll try anything once (389)
55%

Yes, I like seal meat (38)
5%

No, it's a cruel industry (226)
32%

I don't eat meat (52) 
7%

Chefs Serve Seal and Controversy

In the Au Cinquième Péché, a bistro in the neighborhood called the Plateau almost every table was sampling an appetizer plate that included a specialty of the restaurant’s French-born chef, Benoît Lenglet: a seared, rare loin, dark red in color, with a texture and taste akin to beef tenderloin. But the meat was not beef. It was seal. It's a controversial dish that has many satisfied customers.
Seal meat, yes the same sea mammals that are cute and cuddly looking and a pet cause of animal activists.

Seal has become quite the culinary delicacy in Canada, where it's served up seared and rare in fine restaurants, much like a loin of beef.

The restaurants in Canada that prepare seal have become major tourist attractions, perhaps because of a European Unionban on imports of commercially caught Canadian seal products.

While seal-hunting is the subject of heated debates and protests in Europe, Canada's governor general, Michaelle Jean, effectively thumbed her nose at the European ban just days after it passed, by eating on a piece of raw seal heart during a visit to an Inuit community feast in Rankin Inlet, in the far northern territory of Nunavut. Governor General Jean’s widely publicized snack seemed a direct retort to the European Union, an impression she did not try to dispel.
“Take from that what you will,” she said, when asked if she was sending a message to Europe.

Even though the French are against seal hunting, they want to eat it when they come to Canada.

Rebecca Aldworth director of the Humane Society in Canada, told the paper. “The restaurants aren’t the story here. The seal hunt is the story.”

Our poll "Would you try seal meat at a restaurant?" is on the sidebar. We will run the poll for a week, then we will get a better idea how you really feel about all this.