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| Sunday May 11, 2008 |
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Story & Photos by Cheri Sicard Covered In This Article
Welcome To New Brunswick There
are places you visit and then there are destinations. A destination is
a place who's personality is so distinctive, your memories of it never
fade, even after years and years. When you recall a certain day, a certain
activity or even a certain meal, you never have to think twice about where
you were when you first experienced it. Canada's maritime province of
New Brunswick definitely qualifies as a destination.
From its rocky coasts, dotted with quaint, but functional, lighthouses, to it's brightly colored rolling hills in autumn, to its covered bridge covered streams (there are actually more covered bridges in New Brunswick than in Vermont!) to its unforgettable regional cuisine, New Brunswick will leave you filled with memories. Last, but not least, everyone will marvel at the Bay Of Fundy, home of the highest tides in the world! If you arrive at low tide, you'll be greeted by the strange site of boats lying in mud, a long, long, long way from the water. Just wait till the tide comes in, however, and all will be well.
Bountiful Land, Bountiful Sea These
same high tides are what gives New Brunswick much of its culinary bounty.
Lobsters, scallops, mussels and salmon are all abundant in the waters
surrounding the province. So abundant, in fact, that they're hardly considered
luxuries! A local native, Percy Mallet, regaled us with a humorous story
of his school days. "You could always tell who the poor kids in school
were", he said. "Their fathers were fishermen and they always had lobster
in their lunch boxes."
All of a sudden brown bag lunches are looking up! New Brunswick also has a bountiful land. All sorts of berries grow wild: strawberries, blueberries, huckleberries, blackberries and raspberries. Mushrooms line the forest floors and for a short while during the summer, fiddleheads grow. Fiddleheads, because of their short growing season, are likewise hard to find. They are available frozen, although not widely so. If you're lucky to have them in your area, grab them.
Great Chefs New
Brunswick is not only blessed with a great culinary bounty, they also
have some incredible chefs to prepare it. From one side of the province
to the other, we were continually delighted with the wonderful meals we
were served and the creativity and originality that went into preparing
them.
And now... Follow This Link To Go To Saint John And Area!Cheri Sicard, a former circus performer and magician,
now spends most of her time food and travel writing and being the editor
of this website. She is single and lives in Playa del Rey, California.
Follow this link to learn more about Cheri.
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The
province literally has something for everyone. Rugged adventurers will
have almost too many activities to choose from: kayaking, sailing, canoeing,
horseback riding, rappelling and rock climbing, to name but a few. Golf
enthusiasts will find miles of green to keep them happy. Hunters and
fishermen alike will find no shortage of game in the waters or woods.
History buffs could spend years exploring this province, which was originally
settled by loyalists in the 1700's.
Fiddleheads
and mushrooms. It sounds magical. Enchanted even. I can just imagine
a group of gnomes huddled under a giant mushrooms cap, playing on a
fiddle. And in a way, fiddleheads are magical. They're only in season
for about two weeks per year! If you've never tried these delicacies,
make the effort. About the size of a half dollar when at their prime,
these ferns resemble, you guessed it, fiddleheads. Their tightly coiled
fruit is crunchy with a bit of an asparagus taste. New Brunswick natives
use them in soups and stews, as a side dish, as an appetizer and in
salads. You'll find fiddleheads in a lot of the regional cuisine of
New Brunswick and the maritime provinces.