O Canada! Canadian Food (or apparently "Why I Love French Fries")

As you all may or may not know, I'm from Canada.

Yup, I'm Canadian.

And since my partner and I are such food fans, I often get asked about Canadian food.  "What is Canadian food?" is usually asked quite casually.  But then the question usually results in a perplexed look and an instant follow-up question: "wait, IS THERE EVEN Canadian food?"

Short answer: yes, there sure is.

I was thinking about this today, and thinking about my childhood and some of the meals I ate that one would consider "Canadian".  So, here's a very short list of some of my favorite Canadian foods.

(I used Wikipedia for a lot of this).

#1 POUTINE
Oh dear goodness, this is absolutely the most delicious meal you'll find once you cross the border.  I will say that there is "good" poutine and "not as good" poutine, but probably not much "bad" poutine out there.

It's simple:  french fries + cheese curds + brown gravy = salty, delicious goodness.

courtesy of http://notcanadian44.files.wordpress.com/2008/08/poutine.jpg

# 2 LES ROTISSERIES ST-HUBERT

Next of course there's Les Rotisseries St-Hubert.  The secret's in the sauce here.  It's sweet, spicy & tangy.  And of course a common theme is french fries.  Dip the fries in the sauce and you're all set.

Rotisserie chicken, FRENCH FRIES, St-Hubert sauce and cole-slaw (choice of either vinegar or mayo based).

(You can purchase the St-Hubert sauce in powdered form, I've made it a point to have a steady supply since I moved to the U.S. about ten years ago).

#3 CHALET SUISSE

This was the next best thing to St-Hubert.  My parents actually stopped here a lot, not sure why - I assume either proximity to home or cost effectiveness.  Either way, not quite the same as St-Hubert sauce, but simialr premise: rotisserie chicken, FRENCH FRIES & Chalet Suisse sauce!  Once again, the same is true: dip fries in sauce and it's delicious.

http://www.swisschalet.com/our_menu_rotisserie.php

# 4 TOURTIERE

 This one doesn't include fries!!!  This is my grandmother's finest dish - a savory meat pie consisting of beef, pork & veal.  Usually eaten during the winter holidays, it reminds me of being a kid.

http://www.walnutinfo.com/upload/95_recipes.jpg

 # 5 BEAVER TAILS (or QUEUES DE CASTORS)

Yup - that's what they're called - Beaver Tails!  A tasty pastry, especially good on cold days!

http://fruttodellapassione.files.wordpress.com/2008/09/img_2287.jpg

# 6 DECARIE FRIES (& HOT DOGS)

This is the last one the list, but definitely a fond food memory!  Once again, french fries - douse 'em in salt & vinegar and dip 'em in ketchup and you've got yourself the perfect afternoon (after school!) snack.

 

http://citynoise.org/article/5051

 

Well, that's all I got so far.  I know there's more, I can feel it.  It's just that it's late and the last thing I need is to have french fries on the brain when hitting the sack.

G'night.

 

 

Oh wait, I have a blog? I forgot.

So, in typical Cindy fashion, I went and started this blog here and then never actually participated in the act of blogging. 

It's not to say that I haven't thought of it, every time I take a snapshot of this or that delicious meal we prepare, or this weekend when I came upon a handful of half-written (half empty or half full?) journals, or all the half-finished paintings I have lying around in the basement.  Yes, that's right folks - I go halfsies (half assed?) with everything.

Anyway, to redeem myself, here are some of the deliciously wonderful things we've prepared in our household over the last two months or so.  Consider this entry a hodge-podge of photos and commentary, and I'll get back into the themed blogging next time.  Which will be soon, I promise.

Without further ado...

This, my friends, is chili-mac.  Super easy, fast & tasty.  Not so good for you, but that's ok.

Friday night fast food - organic free range chicken wings & greens!

When my partner & I first met, we were in college, new to cooking meals for ourselves and therefore had a lot of these traditional style meals...it's all we knew from our respectful childhoods.  Both of us grew up eating a meat, a potato and a vegetable.  Now it's rare, but oh so delicious when it all comes together.

A staple in our household - homemade pizza, with Olga's pizza crust!  We usually top it with whatever we have on hand.

 Let me introduce you to lentil loaf - my goodness, this is one of the most delicious meals made around these parts...it's a bit time consuming and ingredient heavy but it lasts for 3 days, is uber healthy and so so tasty.  (ok, healthy, except for the cheese part)

Emeril's turkey white bean chili.  If you buy all white turkey meat, it's a bit pricey but it's much healthier.  And so so delicious.  A staple, especially during the winter months.  Recipe HERE

My partner made beer can chicken.  He actually emptied the Miller High Life and filled it with a Sierra Nevada Summer Lager (and has since drank the High Lifes...go figure).

And because money's tight this week, I made some delicious greens & beans yesterday.  Soaked whatever we had left of 16 bean mix, added some carrots & celery & red kale and called it a meal (with some hot sauce, our new favorite condiment).




And that's pretty much it.  There, I've blogged.  And I'll blog again, I promise. 

Got to go.  I'm being told the pasta is ready.