This week was Canadian Thanksgiving. In honour of that I'd like to discuss a subject that slides under the radar for most, even some Canadians; Canadian Cuisine. If you ask the casual person what French, or Italian, or even Chinese food is they will have an answer. Canadian food is however a mystery to most.

There is the school of thought that Canadian Cuisine is Timbits, CoffeeCrisp candy bars, and Beer (Labatts or Molson thank you. There is an old joke here "Name a liquid you drink? Beer. No, this liquid has no flavour at all. American Beer") but there is more to it than that.  There is a real Canadian Cuisine. A group of foods that most Canadians view as their own.

The native populations of course had foods they prepared going back 19,000 years. These range from wild blueberries, blackberries, to game of various kinds depending on what was available in their particular environment. To quote from an authoritative site I ran across: "Some of the original Indian recipes were roast polar bear, boiled reindeer, moose meat soup, sweet pickled beaver, squirrel fricassee, fried woodchuck, stuffed whale breast, steamed muskrat legs, boiled porcupine, boiled caribou hoofs, baked skunk, dried buffalo meat, baked salmon, roast or boiled corn, and acorn bread." Now, we have not tried Stuffed Whale Breast. Personally I don't care to try Stuffed Whale Breast. I'm not really sure how you would cook stuffed whale breast even if we DID have an oven big enough. http://www.foodreference.com/html/artcanadianfoods.html

Canadian Cuisine also includes dishes that while characteristically Canadian, aren't regularly prepared. For example Candied Tuna. We also have not tried Candied Tuna, nor will we ever try Candied Tuna. The concept makes us shudder. But apparently it is popular as we have seen signs along the road in the summer hawking Crabs, Prawns, and Candied Tuna. We just drive on by and look for a Tim Horton's.http://www.alineaphile.com/archives/22-TUNA,-Candied-and-Dried.html

There are also dishes that are regional.
Fish and Brewis: Which is codfish and hardtack. From the Maritimes especially Newfoundland. I'm not really sure why they are proud of this.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fish_and_brewis
Jigg’s Dinner: Pickled salt beef, boiled potatoes, carrots, cabbage, turnip, and turnip greens with a side of pease pudding. Once again from the maritimes. Newfies are an odd lot.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jiggs_dinner
Lumberjack Breakfast. Eggs, bacon, sausage, and pancakes. A west coast dish. Kinds of what you'd expect for a breakfast but just HUGE portions. A breakfast fit for a man that will cut down trees all day without the aid of a chainsaw (or indoor plumbing).
http://www.esquire.com/style/answer-fella/lumberjack-breakfast-0608
Pate Chinois. French Canadian, (Big surprise considering the name). Hamburger, canned corn, and mashed potatoes prepared and served like Shepherds Pie. We haven't tried this. I just find it amusing that the French Canadians make Shepherds Pie, change its name and claim it as their own. Seriously, if you're going to copy someone's cuisine, why the English. It's also eaten nationwide. Just not at our house.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pate_Chinois
Tourtiere. French Canadian. Meat pie with potatoes. Once again they copied English food and changed the name. As a fan of pot-pies I've been looking for a good vegetarian version.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tourtiere

Lastly there are dishes that are truly Canadian. From sea to sea to sea to the southern frontier Canadians know these and enjoy them.
Planked Salmon. Often served at the holidays in lieu of turkey. Salmon roasted on a cedar plank on a grill or open fire. The plank is soaked in wine or a marinade and the steam and smoke from the wood flavour the fish. This is supposed to be quite good.  However turkey is still a favorite for Thanksgiving.  We (well Marsha) will get hers on Monday.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DjpxsDMQYzg
Butter Tarts. The classic Butter Tart is one of those things that cooks will argue about all day. Real butter vs margarine. Raisins, nuts, or neither. At heart a Butter Tart reminds me of those little snack sized pecan pies without the pecans. A small pie crust filled with a cooked custard. The classic one has no raisins or nuts. They are actually very good.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Butter_tarts
Nanaimo Bars. A no-cook bar with a chocolate crumb base, a top of hard brittle chocolate and a layer of vanilla or sometimes lemon custard between. They are not bad but in reality Nanaimo bars were engineered specifically to squirt custard on your shirt when you bite into them.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nanaimo_bars
Poutine. A very strange dish. It is a bowl of thick cut french fries, sprinkled with cheese curds, and covered with brown gravy. Can't you just hear your arteries slamming shut? It gets even better though. Poutine is so popular that you can get it at Tim Horton's. Even better I've seen (are you sitting down), Poutine, (really I don't think you should be eating or drinking for this), in the frozen food section of the grocery store. Mmmmm. Doesn't the thought of floppy microwave fries and gelatinous still partially frozen/partially scorched gravy just doit for you? I have to say I haven't tried Poutine. Maybe with vegetarian gravy. Better yet pasta rather than fries. How about a white sauce rather than brown gravy. And a different name, something like Fettuccine Alfredo. Yeah that sounds a lot better.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Poutine

Canadian food
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Canadian_cuisine



Here are some fall pictures from around town.

Doug and Marsh