a peek inside the fishbowl

07 Feb, 2008

Family fun in Ottawa = Winterlude

Posted by andrea tomkins in: - Ottawa for kids|Easy ways to make kids happy|Ottawa|Photography|Recipes and Food

Day three: Maple syrup taffy on a stick (home made!)I love Winterlude. We go every year. It happens at just the right time, don’t you think? The days are getting a little longer and a little brighter, the sun is a wee bit warmer, and most importantly, the arrival of Winterlude means that Spring (SPRING!) is finally within sight. (!)

I wrote about Winterlude in my latest piece for SavvyMom. BUT, I also did something a little different this time. I also included a recipe for maple syrup taffy. We tested it here last week. I gotta tell you, this one is a keeper. Hoo boy, was it good. Too good. And I didn’t realize it was So Easy.

To summarize: you boil the maple syrup, pour it on the snow, eat.

The girls were amazed at my culinary prowess. And they made a very important discovery: MUMMY CAN MAKE CANDY!

Emma eagerly packed snow in a big tray. Mark and I did the boiling because I was deathly afraid the kids would stick their fingers in the boiling syrup:

 Boiling the syrup

Here’s Mark, post-boiling, pouring the stuff on the snow (he poured it a little too thickly for my liking, but it still turned out ok) :

 Maple syrup on snow

And here’s the aftermath. I told them this was the ONLY TIME they could eat yellowish snow:

 This is all that was left

Now if I could teach myself how to make a beaver tail…


10 Responses to "Family fun in Ottawa = Winterlude"

1 | J.

February 7th, 2008 at 12:05 pm

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wow does that ever look good :)

2 | scatteredmom

February 7th, 2008 at 5:16 pm

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I’ve made beaver tails in my Foods class! I’m not sure if they are the same as you’d get way over there, but I’ll see if I can find the recipe.

They really are very easy. You just have to deep fry, and I’m a little terrified of deep frying.

3 | Melissa

February 8th, 2008 at 9:02 am

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Other than friends and family, Winterlude is one of the things I miss most about being in Waterloo. We’ve had both kids skating now for a while and everyone here always says something along the lines assuming we want them to play hockey – and I always say it’s because of the canal. next year we are planning our trip home around it now that leanne can skate too.

But I’m going to make the maple syrup thing tonight as we’ve got company, lots of good syrup and a great batch of really nice fresh snow!

4 | porter

February 8th, 2008 at 9:13 am

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We are doing this on the weekend for sure, my girls just saw the photos and want to try it! I’m asuuming only the real stuff can be used (that’s fine, that’s what we use anyway…true Canadians!)
Oh and if I could make beavertails…..oh how I miss beavertails. What are the ones with lemon on them called…yummmy.

5 | andrea

February 8th, 2008 at 9:31 am

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Killaloe Sunrise ?
And yes, you definitely need to use real maple syrup. :)

6 | andrea

February 8th, 2008 at 9:33 am

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scatteredmom: deep frying can’t be as scary as having a pot full of boiling sugar on your stovetop. (Er, maybe it’s kindof the same?)

If anyone tries out the recipe please come back and let us know how it turned out!

7 | Lynn

February 8th, 2008 at 12:13 pm

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We’ll be trying this one on the weekend for sure…great kid activity idea!

8 | porter

February 8th, 2008 at 8:08 pm

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They didn’t call it Killaloe Sunrise when I use to live in Ottawa!! Maybe they did. They had five flavours (I think) the sweet ones and the savoury cream cheese ones…mmmm love them.

9 | Melissa

February 8th, 2008 at 8:34 pm

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ok – that maple syrup toffee was awesome. I’m bringing my thermometer and maple syrup up to our friends cottage this weekend to spread the toffee love to all. The kids loved it! thanks for the recipe!

10 | BeachMama

February 9th, 2008 at 7:48 pm

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Oooh I want to try the toffee at home too! We are hoping to go to Winterlude tomorrow morning, but maybe an afternoon treat of taffy at home will be fun :).

And I read your article Andrea, great one.

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My name is Andrea and I live in the Westboro area of Ottawa with my husband Mark and our dog Piper who is kind of a big deal on Instagram. We also have two human offspring: Emma (24) and Sarah (22). During the day I work as a writer at the Royal Ottawa Mental Health Centre. I am a longtime Ottawa blogger and I've occupied this little corner of the WWW since 1999. The Fishbowl is my whiteboard, water cooler, and journal, all rolled into one. I'm passionate about healthy living, arts and culture, travel, great gear, good food, and sharing the best of Ottawa. I also love vegetables, photography, gadgets, and great design.

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