This is the original recipe. Of course, I had to fiddle with it.

First, no pecans cause my brother is allergic to any nuts except peanuts. He may not even be here for the cake but you never know if plans will change or he could be by and hope for leftover cake the next day.

Other changes: added some vanilla (real vanilla not extract), added cocoa powder and did not have ground cloves. Also, because it's Thanksgiving we have lots of pumpkin all cooked from fresh pumpkin so I did not use any pumpkin out of a can for this recipe.

I probably won't serve it with a brick of cream cheese and fruit. It's a birthday cake! We have candles and I have icing sugar, butter and cocoa powder to make some chocolate icing. 

PUMPKIN GINGER PECAN LOAF

Serve with a brick of cream cheese (soft, for spreading) and fruit.

1/2 cup soft butter
1 1/2 cup sugar
2 eggs
1 2/3 cup unsifted flour
3/4 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
2 teaspoon ground ginger
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
1/3 cup water
1 cup cooked, mashed pumpkin
1/2 cup finely chopped pecans

Cream together butter and sugar with electric mixer. Add eggs, one at a time, and beat until mixture is light and fluffy.

Sift together dry ingredients, add to creamed mixture alternately with water. Beat well after each addition. Add pumpkin and beat until well blended. Stir in chopped pecans. Turn into greased 9x5x3 inch loaf pan and spread smooth.

Bake in moderate oven (350°F) 60 to 70 minutes, or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool in pan 10 minutes, then turn out on rack to cool thoroughly.

Makes 1 loaf.

I used to have a recipe for buttermilk pancakes that were made the night before. It was from my Aunt Emma in Kelowna, BC. But I don't know where it ended up, too much moving around. So tonight I am looking for something like it I can make and add blueberries too.

Overnight Refrigerator Pancakes

• 1 T. active dry yeast
• 1/4 c. warm water
• 4 c. all purpose flour (we prefer Prairie Gold) (it's whole grain)
• 2T. baking powder
• 2T. baking soda
• 1t. salt
• 1T. honey
• 4c. buttermilk
• 6 large eggs
• 1/4 c. veg. oil

Directions

1. Combine yeast and water in small bowl
2. Mix flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt in a bowl.
3. Mix eggs, oil, buttermilk, and honey in seperate bowl.
4. Add wet ingredients to dry, add yeast mixture, stir till moistened.
5. Let batter set in fridge for at least 8 hours before using.
6. Batter will keep in fridge for up to one week.
7. Preheat griddle to 350.
8. Cook pancakes till they bubble on one side then flip.
9. I like to add chopped nuts to the batter and serve with chopped fresh fruit and pure maple syrup.

This one (below) sounds more like my old recipe. But everything was put together the night before.

OVERNIGHT PANCAKES

NIGHT BEFORE:

• 2 c. flour
• 1 tsp. salt
• 1 egg
• 1 tsp. baking powder
• 1 tbsp. sugar
• 2 c. buttermilk

NEXT MORNING:

1 tsp. baking soda 2 tsp. hot water

Mix all ingredients in first list and let stand at room temperature overnight. Next morning, add remaining ingredients and cook on greased griddle.

Blueberry Cottage Cheese Pancakes presented by The Inn Keeper's Place Bed and Breakfast

Makes 18 pancakes (4")

• 1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/3 cup sugar
• 1 tsp. baking soda
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 1 cup sour cream
• 1 cup cottage cheese
• 2 eggs
• 1 tsp. vanilla
• 2 cups blueberries

Butter for griddle or Pam spray.

Whisk together flour, sugar, baking soda, and salt in medium bowl.

Stir together sour cream, cottage cheese, eggs, and vanilla in large bowl.

Add flour mixture, stir until just combined.

Gently stir in blueberries.

Heat oven to 200. Heat a griddle over medium heat. Butter griddle lightly.

Spoon level 1/4 cup batter onto griddle for each pancake.

Cook until lightly brown and bubbles begin to form 3-4 minutes.

Turn and cook other side. Keep in warm oven on baking sheet until ready to serve.

Garnish with berries and citrus wedges.

These sound great. Will be trying them tomorrow morning. Zack and I are going to make a pancake breakfast for Grandma.

People may think there is nothing uniquely Canadian when it comes to recipes. Of course there is and I'm not just writing about Smarties, Clamato and those other famous brands. Definitely not what has become known as Canadian back bacon either. That's something that seems to be started by Americans. Back bacon has been around a long time and it's not just a Canadian thing.

Anyway, for those who want to cook up something Canadian here are two recipes. The first is from online and the second is from my sister.

Original Canadian Tourtiere - Yield: 6 Servings

1/2 lb Ground pork 1/2 lb Ground veal 1/3 c Chopped onion 1/3 c Water 1/4 ts White pepper 1 ts Salt 1/4 ts Ground cloves 1/4 ts Cinnamon 1/4 ts Celery salt 1/4 ts Savory 1 To 2 potatoes,boiled and -mashed 1 Pastry for 8" double-crust -pie

Preheat oven to 425F. Place pork, veal, onion and water in a saucepan. Simmer until colour changes. Adding seasonings; simmer for a little longer. Thoroughly drain meat. Mix in mashed potatoes. Fit bottom pastry into 8" pie plate. Fill with meat mixture. Cover with top crust. Seal edges as desired and vent top to allow steam to escape. Bake for 10 minutes; lower oven temperature to 400F and bake for 20 to 25 minutes or until crust is golden brown and filling is hot. Serves 6 Note: If you prefer a spicier tourtiere increase seasonings to your taste.

Nainaimo Bars - Yield: 24

1/2 cup butter 1/2 cup white sugar 1 egg 4 tbsp cocoa powder 2 cup Graham wafer crumbs 1 cup coconut 1/2 cup nuts, chopped 1/4 cup butter 3 tbsp milk 2 tbsp vanilla custard powder (or pudding powder) 2 cups Icing sugar 4 squares of chocolate (semi-sweet) 1 tsp butter

Mix the 1/2 cup butter, sugar, egg and cocoa. Set over boiling water and stir until mixture resembles custard. Combine crumbs, coconut and nuts. Combine with the butter/sugar mixture, blend well. Spread and press into a 9x9 inch pan. Cream the 1/4 cup butter, milk, custard powder and icing sugar. Spread over mixture in pan. Melt chocolate over hot water: add butter and blend well. Spread over the icing. Let set. Chill and keep refrigerated.

I bet you think you know what a jar of pickles looks like. But, unless you've had real homemade pickles I doubt you know how messy and icky looking pickles really are. First, they don't come in green tinted watery looking liquid. Real pickles look less than pretty and the water they swim in is downright ugly. It has stuff floating in it and I don't mean bits of herbs and spices.

How about ketchup, spaghetti sauce, butter, meat...? Ever seen those without the proper commercial preparation? Did you know spaghetti sauce isn't that lovely red colour when you make it yourself. Not unless you add colouring. Same with that meat in your favourite grocery store.

It's not pretty when it's homemade. Cakes come out lopsided, butter is not such a pretty yellow and well.. I don't want to worry you. Most people will never see the real food, the homemade, unprocessed versions. The downside of that is that people don't recognize it when it is available. Would you buy pickles in a cloudy jar? Or would you think those had something wrong with them?

Here is a pickle recipe. See, I did include a how-to!

Olde-time Pickle Recipe

Courtesy of the Gibson House Museum, North York, Ontario Original Recipe From: Mrs. Beeton's Book of Household Management First published in 1859

Ingredients:

To 6 quarts of vinegar allow: 1 lb. of salt ¼ lb. of ginger 1 oz. of mace ½ lb. of shallots 1 tablespoon of cayenne 1 oz. of mustard seed 1½ oz. of turmeric. Mode:

Boil all the ingredients together for about 20 minutes. When cold, put them into a jar with whatever vegetables you choose, such as radish-pods, French beans, cauliflowers, gherkins, etc. etc., as these come into season. Put them in fresh as you gather them, having previously wiped them perfectly free from moisture and grit. This pickle will be fit for use in about 8 or 9 months. Time:

20 minutes SEASONABLE Make the pickle in May or June to be ready for the various vegetables. Note:

As this pickle takes 2 or 3 months to make, that is to say, nearly that time will elapse before all the different vegetables are added, care must be taken to keep the jar which contains the pickle well covered, either with a closely fitting lid, or a piece of bladder securely tied over, so as perfectly to exclude the air.

20TH CENTURY ADDENDUM We always advise people that the preservation and storage techniques suggested in 19th Century recipes should be replaced with the most current methods recommended by the Ontario Ministry of Agriculture and Food, if you plan to consume the product.

In this case, the spiced vinegar brine works well with a variety of vegetables. This year we have done beans, beets, cabbage and cucumber with onions, processed in Mason jars in a boiling water canner according to Ministry guidelines. Can the pickles all at once, don't spread the process over many months as they did in the 19th Century.

This recipe came from the CBC website: http://www.toronto.cbc.ca/freshair/freshcooking/recipe2a.jsp