Drawn to Quebec: a new illustrated newspaper column

I am absolutely thrilled to share some great news with you.*

Today marks the third week of an illustrated column - Drawn to Quebec - I have begun penning for North America's oldest newspaper.

The Quebec Chronicle-Telegraph is Quebec City's only English-language newspaper, and I've been a contributing journalist and photojournalist there for a couple of years. 

Old news: who reads the newspaper anymore, anyway?

For more than six months, one of my primary clients has been North America's oldest newspaper. I am a photojournalist for the Quebec Chronicle-Telegraph, as many readers already know. But, what might be news to you is that this small-yet-mighty publication will celebrate its 250th anniversary on June 21, 2014.

This anniversary is what has consumed most of my working (and many should-be-sleeping) hours for months. 

3 local food ideas for your St. Patrick's Day smorgasboard

Tired of beer-based recipes for your Irish-inspired meal?  The following recipes are tried and true in our kitchen, and could give your St. Patrick's Day menu some festive flair.  Even better, you'll be able to incorporate seasonally available ingredients, some of which you can even grow yourself.

1. Homegrown green (sprouts)
Let's start with this guest post I did a few days ago on Foodies in Quebec.  Growing your own sprouts is a frugal way to incorporate highly nutritious fresh greens into your winter diet and into your St. Patrick's Day salad.  Watching roots develop is also a great "science" project, regardless of your age.  Since sprouting your own sprouts is really easy, it is a great activity for kids.  

How to: Click here for my 5 simple steps to growing your own sprouts.

The sweeter side of winter: Make history part of your Valentine's traditions with homemade maple taffy

Just in time for Valentine's Day, here's a 

sweet (and for some of us, local) way to 

incorporate historic traditions into your own.

Chances are you have eaten maple syrup at some point in your life. 

If you have lived through even part of a winter in Quebec, you have likely sampled maple taffy, too. Both amber-hued sweets are classic culinary elements of winter and early spring in eastern Canada and the northeastern U.S. 

Maple taffy has been a North American seasonal treat for over a century. 
It is also called “sugar-on-snow” and “tire d’érable” in Quebec, and “Jack wax” and “wax on the snow” south of the Canadian border. 

Authors such as Laura Ingalls Wilder immortalized the candy, writing of woodsy traditions practised by settlers in the late 1800s. 

Snapshot: A glimpse of pro cycling in Vieux-Quebec

A year ago, I'd never thought twice about professional cycling.  A year ago, Lance Armstrong still had all his accolades, and the Tour de France was as unfamiliar as Quebec City felt when we first moved here.  Then, last September, I received an assignment to cover the Grand Prix Cycliste de Quebec, one of only three world class pro cycling races held in North America.  

Snapshot: Behind every glass of wine...

There is definitely a story....

That is most certainly the case for three special glasses of wine I sampled recently.  Thanks to a tip from a fellow writer at the QCT, I made contact with a fellow whose business it is to navigate the complex regulations governing how wine, beer, and other spirits make it into Quebeckers' glasses.

Sometimes...spectators have all the fun.

 

 They say it takes 10,000 hours to become the best at whatever it is you want to do.  I have no idea how much time military musicians spend rehearsing, but upon close inspection, there's no question they start at a young age.

Aurora borealis: When the sun goes down, the lights go up!

Photos by Jerod & Bethann Merkle

I remember, once when I was young, riding back in to town from my grandparents' place on a dark night.  The three miles of highway between our homes ran through the flood plane of the Teton River, and on either side, velvet-black ridges rose up from cottonwood bottoms.  As my mother prudently passed through a gauntlet of willows known to harbor kamikaze deer, we glanced up at the inky ridge to the east.

Above the colorless outline of shrubs and the occasional fence post, we saw glimmers of light.  No one lived up on that hill, so we looked more closely. . . and then the lights danced.

Snapshot: Saint Patrick's Parade

For the past couple of years, I've been the photographer on assignment for the Quebec Chronicle-Telegraph during the annual Saint Patrick's Parade.  The parade is always great fun - it is largely a walking parade, few vehicles, no large floats, lots of quirky folks, and loads of bag pipes.  This year was no exception.

Snapshot: Like riding a bike

During the winter, with snow piled high and falling often, our bikes rest downstairs, on a several-month break.  There are people who persist through the bad weather, biking alongside traffic with studded tires and ski goggles. But, we just aren't into it - higher potential for a bad accident than in the summer time, too many changes of clothes, and we would both need to upgrade to different bikes.

Jerod, Bethann, and Bertille, a friend from France
on a bike tour of an island upriver from Quebec City.
Photo courtesy of Mathieu Basille.

We bike most of the year, though - to work, around town, out exploring the countryside near Quebec City, and of course, Jerod bikes all summer chasing bison.  Snow was still falling here last week, but the roads have begun to clear.

I took my first bike ride today, and felt like a giddy kid again.  I am eagerly looking forward to another warm biking season.  To tide all us snow-stymied bikers over, here's a snapshot of one of my favorite bike moments from last season: the Grand Prix.

Snapshot: Way beyond 'Jingle Bells'

The 59th annual Quebec City Winter Carnival (of the modern version) is over.  

It ended with thundering hooves and cheering crowds.

In the press scrum

Sometimes, having a press pass means I get to see great operas, poke around in urban gardens, or meet donkeys who live in cathedrals.  Other times, it means the "hurry up and wait" of an official political press conference.

That is what happened a couple weeks ago, when I went on assignment to a photo op with Canadian Prime Minister, Stephen Harper (PM).

Hotcakes, griddle cakes & flapjacks, oh my!

Around this time last year, my dear husband decided to try something new.  He didn't pick up a new instrument, and he didn't sign up for the gym or start a new career.  He decided to do away with pancakes.  This was epic news, coming from someone for whom pancakes are a breakfast and brunch staple.  

The pancakes were replaced by crêpes, which offered a new level of fun and creativity.  You'd have a hard time talking me into drizzling balsamic vinegar on a pancake.  Yet, somehow it seems perfectly reasonable coupled with micro greens, cheddar cheese, and bacon, all rolled up in a warm crêpe.  A year later, we oscillate between the two, but judging by this Wikipedia entry, we could take an international pancake-based culinary tour and not run out of ideas for quite some time.

Sending more than love letters

I grew up writing letters.  It was more than protocol, it was a family tradition connecting us to relatives and friends across the continent.  I vividly remember grappling with "of" (uve, uhv, uuuhf?) once while gleefully hammering out a typewriter letter to my grandmother. 

That was definitely back in the day.

The Queen's Bells

Wednesday nights are out for me.  Period.  I'm already busy.

Cheese and wine?  Sorry.  Pints and free dinner at the local pub?  No dice.

Why?  Because I'm busy ringing bats out the belfry at the local Anglican Cathedral. 

Il fait froid, ici!

Vallée Bras-du-Nord (northwest of the city)

Brrrrr....!  It is all-caps COLD here - windy, and the temperature is plummeting.  We're supposed to get down to -30F or colder with windchill by this evening.  Here are a few snapshots, to share the invigorating reality of winter all bundled up and piled waist-deep in snow.

Click here to read my recent QCT article about a backcountry snowshoe trip we did.  You'll see some of the pictures below.

Forêt Montmorency (north of the city)

The St-Lawrence River iced over
(as seen from the Lévis-Quebec City ferry)

Trans-Canadian Summer, part V: Nova Scotia

View the full Trans-Canadian Summer series

After an idyllic stay on Prince Edward Island, we motored on to our destination - Nova Scotia and the Bay of Fundy.  While P.E.I. was an agrarian dream, we found ourselves more drawn to Nova Scotia.  The slightly feral nature of farms tangled among thick woods felt more 'real' somehow. 

Surreal, though, was the water.  In Kingsport, we were at the most inland point of the Bay of Fundy - a place where the tides rise and fall by an average of more than 40 feet twice each day.  It is nearly impossible to picture it, and comprehending requires seeing it for oneself.

Urban...what!? A donkey and goat in the heart of Vieux-Quebec!

Meet Aldo.  He's an urban donkey, at least half of every year.  He winters in the Bishop's garden at the Anglican Cathedral of the Holy Trinity.  Along with his companion goat, Alli, Aldo has made quite a splash in this historic district.  

Just a few feet from the Château Frontenac, these two gregarious critters have made friends out of nearly every neighbor, along with the regular cathedral visitors.  They have also inspired a fledgling 'green' ministry at the cathedral, and I've been swept along on the tide.

'Merrily on High'

Ding Dong!  Merrily on High, 

in heav’n the bells are ringing . . . 

(from a classic Christmas carol from the 1500s)

"Many of the most beloved holiday traditions involve bells — ringing to accompany carolers, playing seasonal melodies, and pealing out to summon celebrants to church services. Quebec City is part of a unique heritage, change-ringing, which dates back to the 1600s in England.  Today, more than 6,000 bell towers around the world ring in this style." View rest of article published in the Quebec Chronicle-Telegraph (12.12.2012).

Have you ever worn a kimono?

While some of us may have dabbled in paper folding, and even followed an origami pattern or two, paper cranes, animé, and electronics might be all some of us really know about Japanese culture.  

And war.