Pets at the Table
I’ve discovered a portal. You know like one of those things in a movie where when you pass through it the world as you know it changes. To find it you simply need to get in your car, drive north on highway 11 to North Bay and at the intersection of highways 11 and 17 turn right and proceed to drive up the big hill. Somewhere on that hill is where this portal lies and when one passes through it everything changes. The scenery becomes vast, the terrain becomes more rugged, the environment can be bit harsh and everything is in French!
Street signs are in French, the radio stations are French, the names of towns- French, building designs French and to the uninitiated you may feel like a foreigner in your own country and you may even ponder why you skipped French class in high school.
These subtle differences become more profound when find yourself in a French Canadian kitchen or eating at French Canadian tables. I have come to understand that everyone’s mother in this part of the world makes the best tourtière, Pâté chinois and pouding chomeur, I assume that this is because after a long day out in the cold coming home to eat lets you warm your body and feed your soul.
I have also learned on my recent journeys in and out of Kapuskasing that if you need to utter a curse word it is best delivered and becomes more profane if somehow it makes reference to the church as it is clearly apparent that the Catholic Church has had made a lasting impression on French Canadians.
If you combine the French Canadian cuisine with their subtle linguistic blasphemies you end up with some curious menu names. My favourite one of these is Pets de Soeur which translates to Sister’s Farts or more appropriately Nun’s Farts.
I couldn’t help but be curious about Pets de Soeur, seriously with a name like that I couldn’t resist wanting to know more. If nothing more so that I could call out in the kitchen “The farts are done!” or “I love the smell of freshly made farts in the kitchen”
Michelle Tremblay a cook assisting in preparing meals for the evacuees in Kapuskasing took some time out of her day to show me how to make Pets de Soeur. Nun’s Farts evolved as a way to use up the scrap bits of pastry left over from making pies and are assembled much like a cinnamon roll. The fart dough is flaky and light whereas cinnamon rolls are more bread like often requiring an arduous commitment to eat one in a single sitting
Pets de Soeurare easy to make and sinfully good. They are perfect to serve over the holidays and are a great way to introduce kids to cooking in the home. Try the following recipe which can be made using locally produced butter and maple syrup and fill your home with the smell of Nun’s Farts.
Pets de Soeur
Ingredients:
Two -9’ pie crust homemade or store bought
¼ cup butter; softened
1 tbsp. Cinnamon
1 cup Brown sugar
¼ cup maple syrup
Method:
Roll the dough out on a floured surface into a rectangle as best as you can. It needs to be fairly thin but thicker than a regular pie crust. Brush the butter evenly over the dough. Sprinkle the cinnamon evenly over the butter, and then do the same with the brown sugar. Roll the dough up like a jelly roll and slice it into circles about 1/2 inch thick. Place the sliced dough into a buttered casserole dish and bake at 375F for about20 minutes or until the pets de soeur are golden brown. Brush the Pets with more butter and the maple syrup. They can be served warm or cold, but warm straight from the oven is best while they still drip with butter.
KATHLEEN WYNNE – PREMIER OF ONTARIO and JEFF LEAL – MINISTER OF RURAL AFFAIRS, MPP Peterborough
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