Dec/Jan

Cold Water Shrimp Canapé

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Complexity easy
Origin Dec/Jan

Pecan Pie Squares

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Origin Dec/Jan

Shortbread Base

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Complexity easy
Origin Dec/Jan

Purity's Piña Colada

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Complexity very easy
Origin Dec/Jan

Janet McDowall of Truro has fond memories of her aunt Kaye, who was born on a little country road called Goldenville just outside Sherbrooke, NS. Kaye was a great cook, as were her mother and her sisters. They came from a large family and baked bread several times a week.

Janet says she can still smell the yeast from the homemade bread. She recalls that the women were always baking; it’s what you had to do when you lived in the country and had large families and no money during a depression era. Like a lot of women, Kaye had never written this recipe down; she simply added a bit of this, and a scant amount of that. This recipe came about when she was making white biscuits and ran out of flour, so she added oatmeal to stretch the recipe.

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Complexity very easy
Origin Dec/Jan

Carole’s Baked Beans with Maple Syrup

1st Place

Gladys MacPherson and her husband live in Aurora, Ontario. They are parents to two sons. The couple has lived all over Canada, but always make it back to the East Coast during the summer months, where they enjoy relaxing at the family home in Lower Economy, Colchester County. Gladys grew up in the area and her dad worked at the Bass River chair company. Her husband Jim is from the Lunenburg area so the East Coast holds a special place for both
of them.

Gladys obtained her teaching degree and after graduating found her first position in Flowers Cove, Newfoundland. There she boarded with a family named the Coles. Mrs. Coles made homemade baked beans every Saturday night; although she did not use maple syrup—probably molasses—the dish was full of flavour. When Gladys makes this recipe, she still thinks of Marcie Coles, who she remembers as being a terrific cook. She particularly loves this baked bean recipe, given to her by her Aunt Carole more than 40 years ago, because it reminds her of the East Coast.

Complexity easy
Origin Dec/Jan

Melissa's Cinnamon Rolls

3rd Place

Mark Jobin and his wife live in Carlton County, New Brunswick, located just outside of Woodstock, a rural area that they’ve been thrilled to call home for the past 55 years. Mark is retired after a varied career that includes teaching, working at a feed mill, and employment as a computer tech, a position that took him through to his retirement.

When Mark isn’t cooking on his wood stove, he and his wife enjoy much of what New Brunswick has to offer, namely hiking, canoeing and snowshoeing.

Mark’s cinnamon roll recipe is one that came from his mother-in-law Melissa; it is a recipe that she used to make when all the family gathered for special occasions such as Easter, Thanksgiving and Christmas.

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Complexity easy
Origin Dec/Jan

Oliebollen (Dutch Fritters)

2nd Place

Many Dutch immigrants settled in the Maritimes after the Second World War and have maintained many of their Dutch customs and traditions, especially some of their favourite foods. Growing up, Toosje Van de Sande had oliebollen as a treat on New Year’s Eve.

Once she and her 10 siblings moved out on their own, her mother started having oliebollen parties on her birthday, as well as on her father’s birthday. Her children and grandchildren all took turns making them.

Now the oliebollen party takes place at Toosje’s home in Antigonish between Christmas and New Year’s. Her grandchildren, grandnieces and grandnephews have all had an opportunity to learn how to make them, so the tradition continues. Making oliebollen is a ritual kept up by Nova Scotian families with Dutch roots.

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Complexity easy
Origin Dec/Jan

Maple Apple Crisp

5th Place

Esther O’Neil of Charter’s Settlement, NB says apple crisp was a staple in their household when she was growing up. It’s the perfect treat on a cold winter’s day and that she loves this recipe in particular because of the New Brunswick maple syrup that she uses; keeping the dish very regional.

Complexity easy
Origin Dec/Jan

Grand Prize Winner - Oatmeal Bread

Grand Prize Winner

Janet Fraser has spent the better part of her life, 53 years exact, living in Musquodoboit Harbour. She, an X-ray technician, and her husband, a physician, moved to the area when he set up practice. Janet is the mother of three children—two sons and a daughter—and the proud grandmother of seven grandchildren.

When Janet was a little girl her family relied on store-bought bread; however when she stayed with her cousin at their summer cottage in Seabright, NS, one of the best parts of the visit was a delicious brown bread made by their very sweet home cook named Alice.

Janet recalls that sometimes in the evening her cousins and their parents would sit around a campfire and play a game called “I packed my trunk for Boston.” Each person would name an item that they wished to put in the trunk and then when the next person had their turn, they had to repeat the items in the right order and then add what they would put in the trunk.

Every time Janet played the game, she always said “I put a loaf of Alice’s homemade brown bread in the trunk.” Alice would smile and look at her sweetly. Janet was determined that someday she would learn to make bread like that and when she was 40, she perfected this recipe.

The recipe was originally from the Blomidon Inn in Wolfville and was called Anadama Bread. That bread was made with cornmeal and flour, and Janet decided to make her own version using oatmeal. She tried for many years to perfect her recipe and ended up throwing away many loaves; however, she loves homemade bread and persevered and finally came up with this winning recipe.