Traditional Foods

Irish Treacle Brown Bread

As much as I enjoy Irish Soda bread (a quick bread method) with a big pot of Lamb and Barley Soup, my favourite Irish bread is actually a traditional yeast-risen bread called Treacle Brown Bread. Black treacle (molasses) is used to create a dense, dark and slightly sweet bread. It has a satisfying crunch when you take that first bite. A dark brown crisp crust is characteristic of this bread, which is the result of a unique double bake process.

The Treacle Brown Bread tastes at its absolute best when served simply with a generous application of fresh salty butter. To elevate the flavour combinations even further, serve it thinly sliced and buttered along with chunks of Old Cheddar and slathered with Brown Pickle relish. You will love this bread!

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My Mom’s French Canadian Tourtière

By Denise Pare-Watson

CHC CANADA 150 FOOD BLOG CHALLENGE SERIES

Prelude: I am a proud Canadian. When the Culinary Historians of Canada invited food bloggers to participate in the “CHC Canada 150 Food Blog Challenge”, I knew that I wanted in! What a great way to celebrate and honour Canada’s 150th birthday by featuring a different Canadian dish or discussing a topic which reflects on what it means to be Canadian. For the month of May, in honour of Mother’s Day (May 14), CHC invited food bloggers to share recipes relating to mothers, recipes and techniques passed on by our mothers or grandmothers, or from our mother’s culture. I am honoured and proud to share a historical and famous recipe for My Mom’s French Canadian Tourtière.

Food has been such a significant part of my French Canadian heritage and some of my clearest childhood recollections are about food. It is not only the memories of the food that are so clear but the smells, the tastes and the surroundings that are so vivid. Holidays would not be the same without Mom’s tourtiere. In our family, the Christmas Eve menu always included a large tourtiere to enjoy before midnight mass.

Skip to Tourtière Recipe

There are a number of food traditions that are very important to my family, but my Mom’s famous tourtière is the most requested. I have had many versions of tourtière – from chefs colleagues, relatives and friends, but none can compare to my “Little Mom’s” French Canadian Tourtière. (More on “Little Mom”).

My Mom’s version of tourtière is more savoury than traditionally prepared tourtière due to the use of sage and poultry seasoning as opposed to the warm spices typically used (cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg and allspice). Mom always insisted on a mixture of ground meat: beef, veal and pork. This combination makes a huge difference in the overall taste and texture of the tourtière filling. The aromatic fragrance of the tourtière mixture simmering is magical. Writing about it makes me nostalgic. Although I have adapted the process somewhat, I follow her recipe method and always make enough to share with family and friends, which was her tradition.

My Mom’s French Canadian Tourtiere

My Mom’s French Canadian Tourtière became quite famous in a small village in Ontario. Everyone loved it when she made her tourtière pies for church or village social events. As a matter of fact, the ladies of the village church approached her many years ago for her tourtière recipe to make and sell the pies for the parish fundraising efforts. She not only generously shared her tourtière recipe – she also taught them how to make it….

Bannock – Have you tried it lately?

By Denise Pare-Watson

Kids in the Kitchen Series

Have you made Bannock lately? Do you know what you are missing? Bannock is a variety of fry bread. It originated in Scotland and was passed on to the Indigenous Peoples of Canada by the Scottish fur traders. Historically, bannock was cooked over an open fire in a cast iron pan or in front of a campfire on a stick. When I was first shown how to make this traditional bread, I was taught to wrap the dough around a stick. The stick was then placed in the ground near the fire, and the heat from the fire would bake the bannock in just a few minutes. It is one of my favourite childhood memories that I enjoy sharing with children.

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WTF!!!??? Wonderfully Tasty Foods!

By Denise Pare-Watson

WTF! Wonderfully Tasty Foods – Gotcha!! (What were you thinking?!!)

What can I say? It was my husband’s idea. A creative guy he is – a foodie, a great cook, and a sense of humour to boot.

Since food has been such a significant part of my heritage, one of the clearest things in my recollections are food experiences – some from my childhood, and some very recent. I would like to share these experiences regularly. It is not only the memories of the food experiences, but what surprises me is how acute my senses are when I recall them – the weather, the surroundings, the smells and tastes and sounds.

Of course, there are food traditions that are very important to families. On the other hand, there are many food discoveries yet to happen. The “Bucket List for Foodies”, so to speak. So many memories, so many discoveries, where to begin? I can’t think of a better place to start than this:

Traditional Tourtiere

Wonderfully Tasty Foods: My Mom’s Tourtiere

I have had many versions of Tourtière. Some have been made by professional chefs, colleagues, relatives and friends, but none can compare to “Little Mom’s” tourtière. (More on “Little Mom”).

My Mom’s version is more savoury than traditionally prepared with its sage and poultry seasoning as opposed to the warm spices often used (cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg and allspice). The aromatic fragrance of the tourtiere mixture simmering away is magical. Even writing about it makes me nostalgic. Although I have adapted the process somewhat to accommodate my “chef-y” way of doing things, I do stick to her recipe and always make enough to share with family and friends, as she traditionally does.

Buche de Tourtiere is perfect for luncheons with a salad

My Mom’s tourtiere became quite famous in a small village in Ontario. Everyone loved her tourtiere when she made them for church or village social events. As a matter of fact, when the ladies of the village church approached her for her recipe to use for fundraising activities, she generously supplied it. We are proud that our Mom’s family recipe for tourtiere made it possible for the small town to raise enough money to rebuild the church hall.

Wonderfully Tasty Foods. Do you have a food memory as vivid as this that you can share?

: Our French Canadian Family loves tourtiere during the holiday season

Gluten Free Tart Shells and Tourtiere Filling

You can find me on social media (see links below) – just be sure to tag @urbnspice and #urbnspice so I am sure to see it. Enjoy!

Denise Paré-Watson

The Urb’n’Spice Chef

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