New Year’s Eve at the CUP 
Hockey Canada Rivalry Series 
Art Bud’s Friday Wrap Party 
Christmas Activities at Wyatt Heritage Properties 
Top Things to Do in Summerside This December With the fall well underway, we know our hearts are full with the spirit (and foods of the season).
In #TheCityByTheSea, restaurants have taken the opportunity to introduce some fall flavours to their menus, while businesses and shops have the spirit of the season front and center with scents, sights and the odd pumpkin.
We have a few suggestions on how you can enjoy the season in Summerside, and then enjoy the season in your own kitchen.
Drinks with Friends
Whether it’s a warm one filled with spice or chilled ales made locally, there’s something for you to wet your whistle with!
Samuel’s Coffee House, a popular cafe in Summerside, has tailored a fall menu to meet all of your PSL (pumpkin spice latte) needs and serves up other seasonal favourites like apple cider and pumpkin pie.
Brothers2 has a number of local bevvys on tap, including brews from Moth Lane (Ellerslie), Copper Bottom Brewing Company (Montague), Evermoore (Summerside), Lone Oak Brewing Co. (Borden-Carleton), Bogside Brewing (Montague), Barnone Brewery and Hop Farm (Rose Valley), PEI Brewing Company (Charlottetown) and Upstreet Brewing (Charlottetown).
Hearty Eats
To take the edge off a cold day, Ann Cakes & Cafe is serving up the soup – pumpkin soup, that is. In their relaxing atmosphere, settle down for a bowl of soup or try their Thai chicken green curry or stewed mushroom with red wine and fill yourself up.
Evermoore Brewing is also offering up the fall flavour with their brews and bites. Their Batten Brown is a traditional brown ale with a touch of sweetness making it an energizing drink for the fall season. The “roasted malt, caramel-like and coffee-like characters are of medium intensity in both flavour and aroma. This brown ale has evident low hop flavour and aroma and medium hop bitterness.”
And, with their current menu, you can chow down on a warm beef pot pie (our mouths are already watering) or a fish and potato dish made up of corn crusted butter seared haddock, PEI potatoes (it is potato season after all), and house-made dairy bar coleslaw. But, their menu can change with the harvest, so check their social media first!
North Cape Coastal Adventure
Now we know there’s nothing that screams fall more than apple picking or finding just the right pumpkin in October. In Summerside, you can head to Kool Breeze Farms and walk among the pumpkins (on select days) and pick out the perfect fruit (that’s right, pumpkins are fruits) for you and your family! Big ones, little ones, white ones and pink ones!
And if you’re staying in #TheCityByTheSea, a great way to see the PEI colours is along the coast heading to our neighbouring western communities by taking the North Cape Coastal Drive! Starting in Summerside, nestled along the route is Arlington Orchards, where you can spend the day walking among the trees picking the perfect apples! Spanning over 32 acres, the trees are full of apples (duh!), pears, and plums! From Honeycrisps to Cortland, McIntosh to Gingergold, the apples are ripe for picking in the fall season. And if you want to know just the right use for the apple, Arlington has some recommendations. Here’s just a few:
- Kestrel: Eating, pies/cooking, baking, sauces, freezing
- McIntosh: Eating, pies, cooking, baking, sauces, freezing
- Dolgo crab: Jellies
- Honeycrisp: Eating, pies/cooking, sauces, freezing
In the kitchen
Now that you’ve got all those apples, what are you going to do with them? We recently caught up with Alex Clark, owner and chef at Evermoore Brewing, and he had a few recipes under his cap that you can use to get you into the fall spirit!
Apple Bread Pudding
When he was young, fall days would be spent picking crab apples on his family’s property and then making fall magic in the kitchen with those apples.
In this case, dice up as many apples as you’d like of your favourite variety or what you have on hand, he instructed.
Next, put them in a pot (Alex said he likes to imagine a big cast iron one), sweat the apples on low heat with seasoning.
“The sky’s the limit – cinnamon, brown sugar, and spice it up with bourbon, beer, wine, Gran Marnier, whatever you’d like. Simmer it on low so it thickens naturally.”
In case you hadn’t guessed, Alex outwardly said he doesn’t measure things when he cooks.
Then in a casserole pan, tear up bread into small portions. Again, add fall spices, cinnamon, brown sugar, nutmeg, allspice, Chinese five-spice, cardamom, and lots of vanilla (“no measurement necessary”).
“Think of rootbeer spices. And once everything is stewed down, it will be a sugary, sweet fall explosion in your kitchen.”
Dump apple mixture into the casserole dish.
Using the pot for the apple concoction, melt 1/2 pound butter and mix with 1/2 litre of 36% ADL whipping cream. Warm them together and add in a cup of brown sugar and some molasses if you’d like. Make sure the butter is melted, and the sugar and cream are combined well. Then whisk in four eggs rapidly, so they do not scramble. This could also be done cold, or the butter could be melted down with the stewed apples.
Pour liquid mixture into a casserole dish. Make sure the bread and apples are densely packed, and everything is saturated and wet. If there are dry spots, you can add in more cream.
Top with sugar and salt. Cover over with tinfoil and bake low (300 degrees) for 15 to 20 minutes.
Then to make sure everything is cooked, bake for another 5-10 minutes on high heat or broil for 5-10 minutes.
Serve hot with a toffee sauce (combine cream, brown sugar, and butter in a pot and whisk together on heat).
German Gluehwein (Glow Wine)
“On Sundays, last fall during lock down, we’d spend the day drinking glow wine and reading or just being with our family,” said Alex.
Over low heat, pour “not your best red wine,” add in orange slices, cinnamon sticks, a touch of cardamom, and add spiced rum when serving to add a bit of vanilla sweetness.
“It’s a little sweet treat for the adults.”
Incorporating Fall into your Meals
“Fall is almost a state of mind. I like roasting everything to make it really fall-y. I also like to add, to savoury dishes, a little cinnamon. Roasted root vegetables are probably the easiest way to incorporate the fall season, and I like to roast them with maple syrup and cinnamon. That’s an easy way to add a twist of fall.”
Lastly, there’s two more things Alex likes to have during the fall season, “a wooly sweater and a whiskey cocktail.” We couldn’t agree more.
