Traditions

Every family has traditions. With the arrival of Emma, we are now starting our own family traditions. One of the traditions that I wanted to start is taking her to the “Cabane à sucre” (a.k.a. Sugar Shack) every year. The Sugar Shack is usually open every spring from mid-march to late April. It’s a very typical place to go to if you live in Quebec. Maple syrup is soooo good! I invited the whole family and booked at the famous “Sucrerie de la Montagne”, located in Rigaud, Quebec (http://www.sucreriedelamontagne.com/eng/index.php). There they produce the maple syrup the old-fashioned way : the maple tree is taped with a spout, the sap collected in a pail and transported to a traditional wood-fire evaporator, where it is transformed into maple syrup.

The Sugar shack features horse-drawn sleigh rides, all-you-can-eat sugar feast and maple-taffy-on-snow tasting (my mouth is watering just to write this). Emma got to taste everything : pea soup, home-made crusty bread, maple-smoked ham, baked beans, omelette soufflé, sausages, traditional meatball stew, mashed potatoes, homemade pickles, pancakes with maple syrup and  last but definitely not least maple taffy! Their sugar pie is to die for, according to my husband!

After the feast, there were musicians playing traditional folkloric music. They gave us a pair of wooden spoons to participate. Of course, Emma was only interested in eating them!

It was an amazing day! We ended up with a party of 14 and we had a great time. The weather was beautiful and sunny. It was Emma’s first trip to the sugar shack and our first official “yearly” family tradition.