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NOVA SCOTIA


 Nova Scotia



I visited Nova Scotia on a family road trip when I was younger and can still remember the beautiful ocean views and the Tall Ships that were docked in the harbour when we visited. The lobster cruise, trek out to Peggy's Cove, long hikes and picnics along the scenic Cabot Trail are memories that I'll have forever. I also had my first Beavertail in Halifax on that trip and let me tell you, I never pass by a Beavertail shop now without buying one!

My East Coast pals Amanda and Daria gave me some insight on some of the most prevalent invasive species in NS and helped me draft up a list to make recipes out of. Smallmouth Bass, Chain Pickerel, Japanese Knotweed, Oriental Bittersweet and Yellow Floating Heart made the top 5 invasive species in NS. Happy cooking!

  • Smallmouth Bass


Beer Battered Smallmouth Bass (Pescatarian)

6-10 smallmouth bass boneless fillets

1 cup of beer

1 egg, beaten

¾ cup flour

3 tbsp spices of choice (garlic powder, paprika, and black pepper are a good combination)

1 lemon for serving

Oil for frying


Place oil in frying pan on medium heat. While oil is warming, mix beer, egg, flour and spices together. Rinse each filet off in water and pat dry. Dunk into batter and once oil is hot, place in pan. Cook until golden brown on each side. Serve with a lemon wedge and drizzle lemon juice on top of fillet. So tasty!


  • Chain Pickerel


Chain Pickerel with Brown Butter and Almonds (Pescatarian)

2 chain pickerel boneless fillets

1 cup of butter

½ cup sliced almonds

1 bunch of asparagus


Place half of butter in pan over medium heat. Add almonds into pan to brown, constant stirring to prevent burning. Cut 1-inch off of bottoms of asparagus spears. Rinse in water and add to pan and saute in the butter until soft. Remove from pan. Add remaining butter to pan, rinse fillets in water and pay dry. Add fillets to pan and cook until golden brown on both sides. Bet you won't have any leftovers!


  • Japanese Knotweed


Japanese Knotweed Bread (Vegan)

2 cups flour

½ cup water

¾  cup sugar

1 cup chopped Japanese knotweed shoots 

1 cup chopped strawberries

1 ½ tsp baking powder

1tsp salt

2 tbsp maple syrup

¾ cup orange juice

1 cup chopped nuts (walnuts or pecans)

Oil for greasing baking dish


In a pot on medium heat, combine water and sugar and simmer until dissolved. Add Japanese knotweed and strawberries and boil until knotweed shoots are tender. Allow mixture to cool and purée in blender. Preheat oven to 350℉. In a separate bowl, combine flour, baking powder, salt and nuts. Mix in knotweed and strawberry purée, maple syrup and orange juice. Pour into greased loaf pan or bundt pan. Bake for about 1 hour or until top of bread is golden and toothpick (mint flavoured not recommended:) comes out dry after the poke test!


  • Oriental Bittersweet


Oriental Bittersweet Soup (Vegan)

4 cups vegetable broth

3 cups of young oriental bittersweet leaves, whole

6 cloves garlic, minced

2 medium sized onions, diced

2 cups carrot, chopped into bite size chunks

2 cups celery, chopped into bite size chunks

4 cups spinach, chopped

1 cup acini de pepe pasta or other noodle of choice

Splash of oil

Salt and pepper to taste


In a large pot, pour in vegetable broth and oriental bittersweet leaves. Boil on high for 1 hour and cover with lid. In a separate pan, warm oil on medium heat. Add onions, carrot, celery, garlic and spinach and sauté. After vegetable broth has boiled for 1 hour, remove all oriental bittersweet leaves and compost. Add sautéd vegetables and noodles to veggie broth simmer on low heat. Great lunch on cold days!


  • Yellow Floating Heart


Deep Fried Yellow Floating Heart (Vegan)

8-10 bloomed yellow floating hearts

½ cup flour

½ cup water

1 tsp salt

Olive oil for frying


Rinse yellow floating hearts. Make sure to clean any dirt or bugs off flowers. Mix flour, water and salt, and stir until a thick batter forms. Add more water to thin batter. In a pan, heat oil on medium-high until hot. Dip floating hearts in batter and add to pan. Fry on medium heat until golden brown. These are similar to fried zucchini flowers for those gardeners who look forward to that seasonal treat! Serves as a great appetizer. 

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