Canadian Living July 2013

I don’t like my butter tarts with raisins. Yep, this is a bold statement, and I bet that if you are a diehard raisins-in-your-butter-tart fan, you are putting down this magazine, sighing and getting ready to type me a scolding email. But wait! Let me finish. I still enjoy raisins, just not in my favourite dessert. At Canadian Living headquarters, what goes – or doesn’t go – into this hallmark of Canadian cuisine is a polarizing debate too. Our Test Kitchen staff is equally divided on the subject, but when we asked our Facebook friends, the pro-raisins crowd dominated. Wherever you stand, I can assure you that the recipe we feature this month on page 111, with its sour cream pastry and runny sugary filling, is the best one I’ve…

NUTS ABOUT BUTTER I watched the video on how to make peanut butter (canadianliving.com/peanutbutter) and was inspired to make my own. I will never buy peanut butter again! Mine came out exactly like the video, and without Canadian Living I would never have known how easy it was to make. – Alissa Kondogiannis, Thornhill, Ont. LUCK-STRUCK OMG, just read your story about the kitty saved by Emily (Heart of the Matter, May 2013)! Amazing story. So happy you shared it with readers. We too have a black-and-white rescue kitty that brings soooo much joy into our lives, and we love her! – Jo LaValley, Osoyoos, B.C. GLUTEN-FREE GUIDANCE I just wanted to thank you for the article on gluten (“Myths & Misconceptions About Gluten”) and the gluten-free recipes (“Gluten-Free Bakes”) in the May 2013 issue. It is…

Think Canada Day has to mean the usual food and fireworks? Think again! Here are five fun but not-so-common ways to celebrate. BE LIKE A WAVING FLAG Pull on a red or white T-shirt and step in line with thousands of other Canadians to create a human flag. Victoria residents set the trend with their living flag in 2010, which inspired some competition from Winnipeggers (pictured, right), whose 3,400-person flag was photographed for a Canada Post stamp. This year, Winnipeg is hoping for more friendly rivalry from across the country. TAKE THE OX BY THE HORNS Get a taste of small-town Nova Scotia with New Germany’s celebration, which kicks off with a charming children’s parade (in which little ones dress up according to the year’s theme), then quickly escalates to battles of brute force,…

Think you’re doing your body a favour by dining on a plate of veggie-filled stir-fry? The truth is, it’s likely packed with even more sodium than a drive-through burger. University of Toronto researchers found that restaurants with table service (everywhere from Boston Pizza to The Keg) serve up menu items that, on average, exceed 1,400 milligrams of sodium – about the amount recommended for an entire day! Meanwhile, fast-food menus (such as those at Tim Hortons and Burger King) have dishes containing amounts that – while still dangerously high – are about 30 percent less. Sandwiches, stir-fries and tacos are a few of the worst offenders, but even some salads are off the charts. So what’s a hungry diner to do? Mary L’Abbé, the study’s lead researcher and a professor…

Social media companies want you to write your will – not for your property but for your online assets. Twitter’s new LivesOn application lets users have an online afterlife by tweeting from beyond the grave (artificial intelligence reviews previous tweets in order to predict what the deceased might have said), while Google has established an Inactive Account Manager to help users pass on digital photo albums or delete all content once they’re no longer here to use it. And with more and more disputes arising over digital data rights, there’s no time like the present to decide what you want to pass on when you pass on.…

On July 1, Canada launches an ePassport, something travellers from more than 100 countries are already flashing at airports worldwide. The new document looks like the old one but is embedded with a chip containing a digital signature from the government and a copy of your personal info from the booklet. These features will make tampering more difficult, helping eliminate fraud and identity theft. While the new format comes with a fee hike ($120 for a five-year passport that used to cost $87), you’ll have the option of a 10-year version ($160) to soften the blow to your wallet. And as passports move into the digital age, look out for online applications in the future.…