Traditional Dutch dessert a deep-fried delight

Traditional Dutch dessert a deep-fried delight

Deep-fried dough is delicious any time of year, but today’s Homemade Holidays recipe holds special holiday meaning for Free Press graphic artist Leesa Dahl.

From Leesa: “Olieballen is a traditional Dutch treat that my dad made every New Year’s Day. They’re basically round doughnuts that are served with a sprinkle of icing sugar. He made them with and without apples, but the plain ones were always more popular with me and my siblings!”

Oliebollen with Apples

Free Press Favourite submitted by Leesa Dahl

Mikaël Kingsbury unseated from Olympic moguls throne by the young Swede he used to coach

With only one athlete standing in Kingsbury’s path to a second Olympic gold medal, Walter Wallberg put up the run of his life in Beijing to steal gold, then described his Canadian idol as “the greatest of all time.”

Feds to suspend COVID-19 vaccine mandates

OTTAWA - The Canadian government will "suspend" COVID-19 vaccine mandates for domestic and outbound international travellers and federally regulated workers, ministers announced Tuesday.

The new rules will come into effect on June 20, though the requirements for foreign nationals coming to Canada will not change.

Several ministers lauded Canada's high vaccination rate at a news conference to announce the changes, but Intergovernmental affairs Minister Dominic LeBlanc warned the government is prepared to "bring back" necessary policies if there's a resurgence of the virus in the fall.

Travel industry groups have blamed federal public health measures and mandates for slowdowns at airport customs that have contributed to long waits for passengers and forced flight delays and cancellations.

NHL shuffling toward resumption of play

Did you hear the one about the hockey players who walked into a bar?

Unfortunately, this isn't the beginning of a corny joke, but rather a real-life reminder that COVID-19 is no laughing matter despite far too many treating it as such. And the best-laid plans of the NHL and NHLPA to return to play this summer — spelled out in an tentative agreement following weeks of around-the-clock negotiations — could quickly come undone if the participants can't help themselves and get out of their own way.

Take the Stanley Cup-champion St. Louis Blues, who had to shutter their voluntary team skates last weekend after a trip to a local watering hole was linked to four unnamed players and a coach testing positive for the virus.

Nice going, guys. Was that swill you call beer really worth it? They join a growing list of players to become infected that now stands at 35 (23 who are participating in Phase 2 skates in their home markets and 12 who have been working out independently). According to the league's own numbers, that's an infection rate of about 5.5 per cent, which is significant. (Manitoba's is 0.2 per cent, while the national rate is 0.8)

Piece of magic history disappears

A piece of Winnipeg’s magic history has vanished, and internationally renowned escape artist Dean Gunnarson is offering a $500 reward to anyone who can make it reappear.

The plaque marked the birthplace of what has become the world’s largest organization of professional and amateur magicians, the International Brotherhood of Magicians, which was founded in Winnipeg more than a century ago.

Gunnarson said fellow magician and local magic historian Bruce Thompson discovered the disappearance Tuesday while on his way to work.

Thompson returned to inspect the site and found what appeared to be evidence it had been forcibly removed.