© Dale Schierbeck 2014 © Dale Schierbeck 2014 © Dale Schierbeck 2014 © Dale Schierbeck 2014 © Dale Schierbeck 2014 © Dale Schierbeck 2014 © Dale Schierbeck 2014 © Dale Schierbeck 2014 © Dale Schierbeck 2014 © Dale Schierbeck 2014 Even as a Canadian, these leaves are filled with so much context, so much opportunity…
“Canuck Pale Ale” (Pale Ale) Great Lakes Brewery
Rating: 85 points Stats: Pale Ale. 5.2% ABV. Etobicoke, Ontario. Size: 473mL can Colour: Amber — unfiltered, cloudy ending. Mouth Feel: Medium, very natural carbonation; dry and refreshing ending. Purchased: LCBO Price: $2.50 Pairing Notes: n/a It’s been said that ‘Canada is the only country in the world that knows how to live without an identity.’ This beer doesn’t help much…
A Room of My Own ~ My Canadian Voice
Any discussion of a writer’s voice will surely evoke allusions to Virginia Woolf’s emancipating book, A Room of One’s Own. Writing with her own strong voice, she breaks barriers and all but seizes a voice that she proclaims her own … and in the process she creates an anthem for women writers the world over….
Herbs — A Gateway to Freedom and Abundance
As a child, I hated the family garden. It represented work. It represented indentured servitude. It represented poverty. There isn’t more evidence in my life of the difference perspective can make. Growing into a man, my perspective changed when my attitude changed — when I stopped working a garden for others and started working it…
Maple-Teriyaki Pacific Salmon
If there has been one unifying ingredient as part of the Canadian Food Experience Project, it has been maple. This is not surprising given the prominence of this ingredient in our airport gift shops and the fact the leaf is emblazoned on our flag. It’s also not surprising, then, that it has shown up in…
All Things Home ~ All Things Ottawa
We are so much defined by place that we define the place we live by naming it … home. And if “home” is only where you’re born, then I guess I offer this observation as person who has been homeless more years than at home. The irony is that in having lived so many places,…
Poutine with Maple-Cranberry Sauce * Fillet Mignon * St-Albert Cheese Curds
Poutine: greasy truck-stop food ending in heartburn or a gastronomic adventure that ends in foodgasm? Ever since I scarfed back the most amazing plate of poutine 13 months ago, I’ve been committed to recreating that dish prepared by the servers of Le St-Estèphe. There seemed no better time than now, especially with the advent of…
My Canadian Love Affair
Food is an extension of my heart. It is not only a part of my physical being, it is how I celebrate and express love. I’ve been in love with food for a very long time. And, for almost as long, I’ve been an incurable romantic. It seems fitting, then, that my personal passion for…
Inspired by Tradition but Proudly Ourself: A Canadian Resolution
I love problems … love finding solutions to impossible predicaments. Challenges beget curiosity and creativity and they fill me with resolve…. Each New Year doesn’t in-and-of-itself present a problems to me: it provides a 365¼ day tableau on which to create life. And, other than when I’m actually writing, there is nothing I love doing…
An Untraditional Canadian Christmas: Vegetarian Tourtière
I believe in Christmas and I believe in the power of tradition. For me, the power of Christmas, and the true spirit of it, is beautifully wrapped up in O. Henry’s masterful short-story “The Gift of Magi.” In this story first published more than a century ago, O. Henry beautifully shows the power of giving…