Invasive Eats of Canada

  Saskatchewan I have never had the pleasure of going to Saskatchewan but know I'll drive though and make some stops along the way when I take my cross county road trip one of these years. When I spent my summer semester in Moncton in 2019, I met Kaylen and Kristen who were both from Saskatoon. We lived in the same residence together and Kristen was lucky enough to be my neighbour! She told me about the Prussian Carp problem in Saskatchewan's lakes and rivers, so I've created a tasty recipe using them as the main ingredient to take a more sustainable approach to getting rid of them. While flying over Saskatchewan last year on my way to BC, two young brothers in the row behind me looked out the window and were like, "Woah, we're on top of the desert!" Hearing this made me laugh out loud in my seat! I've learned a bit of Saskatchewan humour from corresponding with Kristen. Our conversation starts something like this. "How are things in Saskatoon, Kriste...

     Manitoba  Last Spring I was supposed to move to Whiteshell Provincial Park in Manitoba for a Summer job as an Aquatic Facilitator for the Tim Horton's Children's Foundation. Unfortunately, due to the global pandemic, this opportunity was cancelled. It would have been awesome to explore and see some of Manitoba's natural environment and its prairie beauties. My friend Jess lives in Winnipeg and she offered some input about the most prevalent invasive species from her home province. She told me about the threat to trees in Manitoba by invasive insects, like the Emerald Ash Borer. I couldn't quite stomach the idea of making recipes from insects, so it's a good thing many are inedible! Elm and Ash trees are in danger from these invasive pests, so it would make for some interesting reading to learn more about them. Eurasian Watermilfoil Watermilfoil Stir Fry (Vegan) 1 cup Eurasian watermilfoil roots, diced 1 cup bean sprouts ½ cup peanuts, unshelled 1 green pepper,...

       Ontario   I was born and raised in Southwestern Ontario. I've been fortunate to grow up and spend my summers at our family cottage in Northern Ontario on Lake Superior. It's there that I learned how to fish, canoe, kayak and tolerate the frigid temperatures of Lake Superior! The older I got and the more exposure I had to the outdoors and natural environments, I've become more aware of the invasive species threating the health of Canadian waters. I completed a 3 month internship at Scales Nature Park, located North of Toronto. As part of my volunteer work, we went to Peele Island and spent a week cutting down Dogwood plants which are invasive to the Island that threaten the population of Blue Racers (snakes) living there. I really wanted to make a few recipes using Dogwood as a key ingredient, but it turns out that the berries from that type of Dogwood are toxic to humans. So, obviously I decided against it! I tried to incorporate all invasive species tha...

Iris Versicolor // Blue Flag Iris Québec  J'ai visité Québec pour la première fois en septembre 2020. J'ai passé un mois au Québec en milieu rural (Mansfield-et-Pontefract et ZEC Kipawa), en plus d'un déjeuner rapide à Gatineau. J'ai acquis une appréciation pour le véritable ~ Esprit ~ dans les éléments en faisant du camping et du canoë dans l'arrière-pays pendant deux semaines. Mes amis Annabelle, Benoit et Brandon sont tous du Québec et Annabelle et Benoit m'ont certainement encouragé à continuer à pratiquer mon français. Brandon, Benoit et moi nous sommes rencontrés pour faire du saut à l'élastique dans la banlieue de Gatineau à la fin de la novembre l'année dernier. Ce fut une expérience pour le moins! Ben m'a aidé à dresser une liste des espèces envahissantes comestibles les plus répandues dans la province. Merci Ben et Bon Appétit! Centaurée Tachetée Sorbet de Centaurée Tachetée (vegan) 2 tasses de mûres 2 tasses de myrtilles 1 tasse de péta...

 New Brunswick                 I had the pleasure of living in Moncton, New Brunswick for the Summer of 2019. I fell in love with the East Coast then and now understand what is meant by the East Coast charm. Before moving to Moncton, I had no idea about the large French population in the Atlantic provinces. Acadian culture is quite unique and widely present in the Greater Moncton area. The Bay of Fundy is gorgeous and I got to experience my first Tidal Bore while I was there, which is an extraordinary natural phenomenon for those who don't know what it is. My friend Spencer is from NB and gave me some insight about the huge population of White Tailed Deer invading the province. While living in Moncton, I couldn't believe the wild lavender growing everywhere. It made for some beautiful scenery and fragrant air! The saying goes, West Coast - Best Coast, but after visiting both ends of Canada, I'm not convinced. The East Coast has a kind of wa...