Walking in a Winter Wonderland :
Hello all,
This is my 1st time posting to a blog, so please forgive me if I go off the rails once in a while!
For those who don't know us, we are Dan & Trudy from Marathon, Ontario, Canada. The town of Marathon (population: 3200) is situated on the North shores of Lake Superior, the largest fresh water lake in North America. We are both retired and since 2018, we've been escaping several months of our winter by travelling to Portugal.
As avid walkers & hikers, we joined the CVO Ramblers, where we were fortunate to meet Geoff & Sue, Linda & Russell and many other interesting people.
In 2019 & 2020, Linda & Russell invited us to participate in some of the AWW walks, which we enjoyed.
Back in Canada, we've continued to correspond with Geoff & Sue and Linda & Russell, which included photos of our walks/hikes around our neck of the woods. Recently, Geoff added us to the AWW mailing list and hinted we add a post to your Blog of our hikes here in Canada. So here goes...!
Residing in Northern Canada, we don't have to travel far to enjoy the forest, lakes, rivers and whatever Nature has to offer.
Today we awoke to falling snow, moderate winds and -19C, with the windchill. The Weather Network was also warning of a possible snow storm, with stronger winds and an accumulation of 15 - 20 cm of snow throughout the day. We decided to stay local for our walk. A walk from our home to Penn Lake Park Trail and return (10.3 kms).
Hard to tell by the photo but the winter storm is rolling in!
Arrive at Penn Lake Park Trail - located on the edge of town
Section of Penn Lake, which is covered with at least 1 1/2 feet of ice.
Great to hear from our Canadian cousins : beautiful scenery, but I'm not envious of the temperatures!
ReplyDeleteWell, looks very pretty!! Be positive - at least it will keep the bears in hibernation and not in your back garden.
ReplyDeleteCan we have the recipe for Trudy's French Canadian meat pie please.
Take care.
Hi Trish & Alan,
DeleteNice to hear from you. We are booked for Portugal 2022!
Here's my recipe for French Canadian Meat Pie:
- Pie Crust : Use your favourite pie crust recipe. I use "Crisco" Vegetable Shortning and follow the recipe on the box. Makes a very flaky pie crust.
- 1/2 lb of Ground Pork
- 1/2 lb of Ground Beef
- 1 medium Onion, minced
- @ 2 cups Water to later cover meat mixture
- Salt & Pepper to taste
- 1/8 tsp Ground Cloves
- 1/8 tsp Ground Cinnamon
- 1/8 tsp Savory
Brown your meat in frypan until pink colour gone & meat still moist. Then transfer meat into large pot and add seasoning & onions. Good stir! Then add enough water to cover meat mixture and simmer on stove for 1 1/2 hrs, stirring occasionally and tasting in case more seasoning is needed, depending on your taste. I never add more Cloves because Dan isn't a big fan. I normally do add more Salt, Pepper & Savory!
Then allow pot & mixture to cool and place in refrigerator overnight.
The following day, remove from refrigerator and skim off fat.
Then reheat enough to pour out liquid, leaving only the meat mixture. I remove all the liquid because that's the way Dan likes it but others will leave a little of the liquid. Choice is yours - Either way makes for a nice pie!
Place mixture in 9" pie plate with pie crust on bottom & top. Bake in a 425F oven for @ 45 minutes, until nicely browned pie crust.
Dan loves his meat pie with Ketchup!
**This recipe is for 1 pie. I normally make enough for 4 pies, so I use 2 lbs Ground Beef, 2 lbs Ground Beef and double the seasoning accordingly. This is one recipe where your preferred taste comes into play. Depending on the meat, I may need more of one seasoning than the other...
Give it a try and enjoy!
Take care.
Hi Dan and Trudy, Doesn't it look pretty? On the positive side you don't have the damp/rain we have. Also you don't have the mud and then have to spend time getting it off your boots/waterproofing/polishing!! Wrap up well and enjoy! Sue xx
ReplyDeleteHi Susan, thanks for commenting! A snowy day is always better than a rainy day. If it's cold enough, it just brushes off...
DeleteHi Dan and Trudy, good to read your blog hear about hiking in the depths of the Canadian winter. It does look very attractive and once you've got all the right gear on I imagine its fun walking in those conditions. Especially when you can tuck in to a French Canadian meat pie afterwards. Looks delicious. Tony and Julie.
ReplyDeleteThanks Tony and Julie for commenting! The pie was delicious and really hit the spot.
Delete