Anita Stewart waxes poetic when the subject of butter tarts arises and she becomes ecstatic when she stumbles onto a small town mom and pop restaurant serving food from the 1950s or '60s.
The founder of Cuisine Canada, a networking organization of foodies, author of 13 cookbooks on this country's cuisine and a self-proclaimed "culinary activist," she is passionate about Canadian cuisine. Lucky for us this dynamo of energy and curiosity has recorded her years of culinary travels from coast to coast and the result is "Anita Stewart's Canada: The Food, The Recipes, The Stories" (HarperCollins, $34.95).
Did you know that butter tarts are "truly Canadian?" The author discovered that the recipe appeared in 1900 in a cookbook compiled by The Women's Auxiliary of the Royal Victoria Hospital in Barrie, Ont.
The forward for this groundbreaking food book is written by His Excellency Jean-Daniel Lafond, husband of Gov. Gen. Michaelle Jean.
"This is no mere cookbook," he writes. "It is a travel guide written with adventure and wisdom."
"It takes us on a pan-Canadian journey to sample meat and fish delicacies and introduces us to the men and women who live across the land and gives us a taste of their passion for the art of cooking by sharing recipes that invite us to travel through time and across our country."
Considering that the environmental rush these days is to eat local ingredients when possible, Stewart's book is most timely.
There are glorious images by Stewart and food photographer Robert Wigington of down home dishes and her many foodie friends found in their own kitchens, farms, fishing villages and restaurants from British Columbia's Gulf Islands to Prince Edward Island and in between.
She urges her readers to get out and travel the country to find culinary treasures that abound around every corner.
"The essence of Canada is still in the home kitchens, the mom and pop operations across this country," she says. "If you are a traveller how do you ever expect to understand the land unless you eat it?"
This recipe in the book is from Peggy Morris of Peel Township in southwestern Ontario. "She is so practised at it that even though she is now legally blind, she's still able to make these dynamite butter tarts," writes Stewart.
Peggy Morris's Amazing Butter Tarts
250 ml (1 cup) raisins
2 eggs
75 ml (1/3 cup) corn syrup
250 ml (1 cup) packed brown sugar
45 ml (3 tbsp) melted butter
125 ml ( 1/2 cup) chopped walnuts
18 Sweet Tart Pastry shells (recipe follows)
In a small bowl, cover raisins with boiling water. Let soak for 20 minutes. Drain and set aside.
In a small mixing bowl, whisk together eggs, corn syrup, brown sugar, melted butter and nuts. Stir in the raisins. Pour evenly into prepared tart shells. Bake in a preheated 220 C (450 F) oven for 5 minutes. Reduce heat to 180 C (350 F) and open door slightly for 15 to 20 seconds to bring temperature down rapidly. Bake for 15 minutes or until bubbling and deep golden brown. Let cool for 10 to 15 minutes before removing from pan.
Sweet Tart Pastry
625 ml (2 1/2 cups) sifted cake-and-pastry flour
50 ml ( 1/4 cup) granulated sugar
2 ml ( 1/2 tsp) salt
