A Taste of Canada ~ Poutine

I've tried poutine (pronounced Poo-TIN in Quebec and poo-TEEN pretty much everywhere else) a few times but I'm just not a fan. 

I love the cheese curds. Poutine fans -- it's the real deal if it's made from fresh cheese curds. However, if your aged cheese curds are being served over french fries and smothered in hot gravy, can you really tell the difference between fresh and aged? 

I love french fries. 

I am NOT a fan of gravy. In Québec, the term poutine is slang for mess. Take a pile of fresh hot french fries, pouring in delicious, squeaky cheese curds, and covering them with hot gravy looks like a mess. But to a lot of people I know poutine is the perfect food.

I have no personally tried recipes for poutine but . . .

Authentic Canadian Poutine

Prep Time 30 mins
Cook Time 30 mins
Servings: 3 people

Ingredients

Poutine Gravy:

3 Tbsp cornstarch
2 Tbsp water
6 Tbsp unsalted butter
1/4 cup unbleached all purpose flour
20 oz beef broth
10 oz chicken broth
Pepper, to taste

For Deep Fried Fries:

2 lbs Russet potatoes (3-4 medium potatoes)
Peanut or other frying oil

Toppings:

1 - 1 1/2 cups white cheddar cheese curds (Or torn chunks of mozzarella cheese would be the closest substitution)

Instructions

Prepare the gravy: In a small bowl, dissolve the cornstarch in the water and set aside.

In a large saucepan, melt the butter. Add the flour and cook, stirring regularly, for about 5 minutes, until the mixture turns golden brown.

Add the beef and chicken broth and bring to a boil, stirring with a whisk. Stir in about HALF the cornstarch mixture and simmer for a minute or so. If you'd like your gravy thicker, add a more of the cornstarch mixture, in small increments, as needed, to thicken. Season with pepper. Taste and add additional salt, if necessary, to taste. Make ahead and re-warm or keep warm until your fries are ready.

For Deep-Fried Fries: Prepare your potatoes and cut into 1/2-inch thick sticks. Place into a large bowl and cover completely with cold water. Allow to stand at least one hour or several hours. When ready to cook, heat your oil in your deep fryer or large, wide, heavy cooking pot to 300° F.

Remove the potatoes from the water and place onto a sheet of paper towel. Blot to remove as much excess moisture as possible.

Add your fries to the 300°F oil and cook for 5-8 minutes, just until potatoes are starting to cook but are not yet browned. Remove potatoes from oil and scatter on a wire rack. Increase oil temperature to 375°F Once oil is heated to that temperature, return the potatoes to the fryer and cook until potatoes are golden brown. Remove to a paper towel-lined bowl.

To Prepare Poutine: Add your fried or baked fries to a large, clean bowl. Season lightly with salt while still warm. Add a ladle of hot poutine gravy to the bowl and using tongs, toss the fries in the gravy. Add more gravy, as needed to mostly coat the fries.

Add the cheese curds and toss with the hot fries and gravy. Serve with freshly ground pepper. Serve immediately.

Printed from www.seasonsandsuppers.ca . Copyright "Seasons and Suppers". For personal use only.

Journal Prompt 31 Mar 2021 ~ Get Out Of Jail Free Card

 What illegal things would you most likely do if you had no fear of getting caught?

Pasta with Mushrooms and Broccoli Rabe

Quantity : 2 
Preparation : 15 min Cooking : 10 min
370 calories/servings

Ingredients

160 g broccoli rabe
160 g penne, whole wheat 2 cups
2 tsp olive oil 10 mL
2 Portobello mushrooms, cut into 1 cm-thick slices 90 g
30 g salami, spicy, cut into small pieces
1/4 sprig rosemary, fresh, finely chopped 1 g
2 tbsp pasta cooking water 30 mL
2 tbsp Parmesan cheese, grated [optional] 6 g
1 pinch salt [optional] 0.2 g
ground pepper to taste [optional]

Before you start

Keep the serving dishes in the oven at the lowest setting so they are warm when you serve.
Put a colander in the sink to drain the cooked pasta so that it will be ready when needed.

Method

Prepare the broccoli rabe: remove any tough portions of the stalks and wash well. Blanch in a pot with plenty of salted water about 4-5 min, then drain. Cut the broccoli rabe into chunks and set them aside, keeping them warm.
To save time, the rest of the sauce preparation and pasta cooking can be done at the same time. Cook the pasta.
In the meantime, heat the oil in a skillet over medium heat. Gently sauté the mushrooms, with stirring, until they are cooked al dente. Add the drained broccoli rabe, salami and rosemary.
Drain the pasta, setting aside the required amount of cooking water. Pour the water and pasta into the skillet with the seasoned vegetables, then mix well. Adjust the seasoning, add the grated Parmesan (optional), then serve in the warmed dishes.

http://www.soscuisine.com/recipe/pasta-mushrooms-broccoli-rabe

Journal Prompt 30 Mar 2021 ~ Snooping Around

 What things would you not want to find in a friend's medicine cabinet while snooping?

Recipe: Butter Chicken

Chicken in a spicy and creamy sauce.

Also known as «Chicken Makhani», it is a classic Indian dish with many different versions. This one I have inherited from my grandmother.

                                                                                                                                                 2 servings                                                                                                                                                                                                 3 servings                                                                                                                                                                                                 4 servings                                                                                                                                                                                                 5 servings                                                                                                                                                                                                 6 servings                                                                                                                                                                                                 7 servings                                                                                                                                                                                                 8 servings                                                                                                                                                                                                 9 servings                                                                                                                                                                                                 10 servings                                                                                                                                                                                                 11 servings                                                                                                                                                                                                 12 servings                                                                                                                                                                                                 13 servings                                                                                                                                                                                                 14 servings                                                                                                                                                                                                 15 servings                                                                                                                                                                                                 16 servings                                                                                                                                       

Preparation : 15 min
Cooking : 30 min
320 calories/serving

• Nutrition Info
• Cost Info
• Reviews ( 143 )
• My Notes

Ingredients

2	chicken breasts, boneless, skinless, diced		600 g
3 tbsp	butter, unsalted, clarified		40 g
1	onions, finely chopped		200 g
1/4 tsp	ground cinnamon		1 g
2 tsp	gingerroot, grated		9 g
1 clove	garlic, crushed
3	cardamom pods		1 g
1 tsp	turmeric		3 g
1/2	dried chili peppers, minced		0.2 g
1 tbsp	tomato paste		18 g
1/4 cup	flaked almonds, finely ground		18 g
1/2 cup	canned tomatoes (diced)		130 g
1/2 cup	yogurt, plain, 2%		130 g
1/4 cup	cream 15%		65 mL
3 tbsp	fresh cilantro [optional]		6 g
1 pinch	salt [optional]		0.2 g
	ground pepper to taste [optional]

Before you start

This recipe requires ghee, which is clarified butter. Since it allows cooking at higher temperatures than regular butter, ghee is able to enhance the flavour of the spices. It may be homemade or bought at an ethnic market. Alternatively, it may be reaplced by a mixture of butter and oil.

Method

1. Cut the chicken breasts into cubes then set aside.
2. In a large pan, heat the ghee (clarified butter) over medium-high heat. Sauté the finely chopped onion and cinnamon 3-4 min then add the grated ginger, crushed garlic, cardamom pods, turmeric and minced chili pepper. Cook 1 min with constant stirring. Add the chicken pieces and sauté until they lose their pink colour. Add the tomato paste, ground almonds and diced tomatoes. Stir, cover, lower the heat and simmer about 25 min.
3. In the meantime, mix the yogurt and cream in a small bowl. Add the mixture to the pan at the very end and cook an additional 1-2 min without letting it boil. Add salt and pepper to taste and remove the cardamom pods. Garnish with fresh cilantro leaves then serve.

https://www.soscuisine.com/recipe/indian-butter-chicken?gpr=1726#

Journal Prompt 29 Mar 2021 ~ Inspiration

What moments in movies have truly inspired you?

Book Review: Heaven in Her Arms

When I received Heaven in Her Arms by Catherine Hickem to review, I was expecting a biography of Mary.  While the book does tell Mary's inspirational story quite well, the actual purpose of this book is to use Mary's story to share life lessons for today's women.  Hickem is a licensed psychotherapist and relationship expert who puts her experience and education to use teaching these life lessons to wives, mothers, daughters, sisters and friends.

A very interesting read.

Canadian Music ~ Avril Lavigne

Avril Ramona Lavigne, born September 27, 1984, is a Canadian singer, songwriter and actress. By the age of 15, she had appeared on stage with Shania Twain, and by 16, she had signed a two-album recording contract with Arista Records worth more than $2 million.

Lavigne's debut studio album, Let Go (2002), is the best-selling album of the 21st century by a Canadian artist. It yielded the singles "Complicated" and "Sk8er Boi", which emphasized a skate punk persona and earned her the title "Pop Punk Queen" from music publications. She is considered a key musician in the development of pop punk music since she paved the way for female-driven, punk-influenced pop music in the early 2000s. Her second studio album, Under My Skin (2004), became Lavigne's first album to reach the top of the Billboard 200 chart in the United States, going on to sell 10 million copies worldwide.

Lavigne's third studio album, The Best Damn Thing (2007), reached number one in seven countries worldwide and saw the international success of its lead single "Girlfriend", which became her first single to reach the top of the Billboard Hot 100 in the United States. Her fourth and fifth studio albums, Goodbye Lullaby (2011) and Avril Lavigne (2013), saw continued commercial success and were both certified gold in Canada, the United States, and other territories. In 2019, Lavigne released her sixth studio album, Head Above Water. (from Wikipedia)

Mixed Greens and Radish Salad with Feta Cheese

Quantity : 2 servings
Preparation : 5 min
170 calories/servings

Ingredients
 4 cups mixed greens 100 g (I used spinach)
2 radishes, thinly sliced 30 g
1 green onions/scallions, chopped
40 g feta cheese, crumbled
2 tbsp Classic Vinaigrette 30 mL (I used Italian dressing)
1 pinch salt [optional] 0.2 g
ground pepper to taste [optional]

Method

Wash the mixed greens and blot or spin dry. Put them in a salad bowl. Thinly slice the radish and chop the green onions, then add them to the bowl. Crumble the Feta cheese over the salad.
Pour in the Classic Vinaigrette. Add salt and pepper to taste, then toss well and serve.

 http://www.soscuisine.com/recipe/mixed-greens-radish-salad-feta-cheese

Vegetable Fritters

Quantity : 2 
Preparation : 10 min Cooking : 25 min
230 calories/servings

Ingredients

parchment paper
1 carrots, coarsely grated 100 g
1 zucchini, coarsely grated 130 g
1 sweet potatoes, coarsely grated 180 g
3 green onions/scallions, finely chopped
2 tsp olive oil 10 mL
1 pinch cayenne pepper 0.2 g
1 pinch salt [optional] 0.2 g
ground pepper to taste [optional]
1 eggs size large
1/2 cup Parmesan cheese, grated 26 g

Before you start

The quantities given here are based on this recipe served as a starter. If serving as a side dish, divide the quantities by two.

Method

Preheat the oven to 205°C/400°F. Line one or more large baking sheets with parchment paper.
Prepare the vegetables: Coarsely grate the carrots, zucchini, and sweet potatoes; finely chop the green onions. Put all the vegetables in a bowl, then stir in the Parmesan cheese. Add the egg(s), Cayenne pepper, oil, a little salt, and pepper to taste. Mix well, then portion out the mixture onto the prepared baking sheet(s), forming rounds with a diameter of about 10 cm (about 4 per serving).
Cook in the middle of the oven 12 min, then delicately turn over the fritters and continue to cook until they are golden-coloured, about 12 additional minutes.
Serve.

Observations

I found a dollop of chili sauce was a perfect condiment for these fritters.  

These fritters may be kept up to 3-4 weeks in the freezer. They may then be defrost and warmed up in the oven at 205°C/400°F for about 10 min or until warm.

http://www.soscuisine.com/recipe/vegetable-fritters

Sketch Challenge ~ 1 photo 2 page layout

The second book I published is called Scrapbooking with Two-Page Sketches, available in colour or black & white.

I hope this sketch which is taken from Scrapbooking with Two-Page Sketches will inspire you to create a layout today.

Journal Prompt 26 Mar 2021 ~ Video Star

What music videos do you wish you had starred in?

101 Interesting Facts About Canada ~ Garter Snakes

Did you know that Canada is home to the largest garter snake den in the world?

Journal Prompt 25 Mar 2021 ~ Shopping Spree

What would you buy if you had only three days to spend $1,000,000?

 

A Taste of Canada ~ Donair

I've eaten donair before and I recall it as being very messy and very delicious.  It has been a while though.  

Seriously, wasn't there a donair place at the Elgin Mall (now Elgin Centre) many many years ago?  I'm pretty sure of it.

A new pizza and donair restaurant opened recently in St. Thomas . . . Pizza Parlor and Donair and I'm hoping to check it out very soon.

I found this great article about the Halifax donair, online of course.  I did not know they were a huge deal in Halifax or I would have tried one while I was on the east coast last spring. 

GLOBE AND MAIL
PUBLISHED JUNE 13, 2012

UPDATED APRIL 30, 2018

There is a ritual that happens every weekend in downtown Halifax. It starts around 2 in the morning, when bars start to close and throngs of people congregate at the downtown intersection of Blowers and Grafton Streets, better known as Pizza Corner. They seek slices of pizza, subs and, above all else, donairs.

The donair is to Halifax what the banh mi is to Saigon, the jambon-beurre to Paris. It is a quintessential Haligonian gastronomic experience, as East Coast as Jiggs dinner. Best eaten late at night and on the street, it is a sweet and savoury, tasty and messy snack for meat lovers. For a long time, it was something you rarely found outside of the East Coast, save for poor imitations and pretenders.

To the uninitiated, the donair is intimidating. First, there is donair meat, heavily spiced ground beef that's shaped into a large loaf and roasted on a spit, then shaved and seared on a flat top range. The meat is placed on a thin, Lebanese-style pita and topped with tomatoes and raw onions. The donair sauce is an addictively sweet blend of evaporated milk, vinegar, garlic powder and sugar. The sandwich is wrapped in tinfoil and eaten out of hand. Kind of. As the pita has a tendency to sop up the juices and sauces, making the bread fall apart, donairs are best eaten over a cardboard plate and as far away from your body as possible.

The history of the donair is a little murky. Its predecessor, the doner kebab, was made in the 1950s by the owner of a Turkish kebab house in Berlin. The Greek adaptation, the gyro, soon followed, and it was this version that Peter and John Kamoulakos tried to introduce to Bluenosers during the late 1960s at their small restaruant in Bedford, N.S. The brothers soon found, however, that Nova Scotians weren't so fond of lamb served with a yogurt-based sauce. They ditched the lamb for beef and crafted the distinctive sweet sauce, creating something quite removed from shawarma and kebab.

Today, there's a restaurant chain named after donairs and almost every pizza place sells them. Chinese takeout joints serve donair egg rolls. Ontario-based chain Pizza Pizza had a donair recipe created for them when they branched out to Atlantic Canada.

Outside of the Maritimes, nostalgic diners have to be resourceful to get their fix. Food-based message boards are filled with questions about where to find "authentic" donairs. And some have taken matters into their own hands, fine-tuning recipes until they get the right mix. For instance, Glen Petitpas, a Hawaii-based Haligonian astronomer and computer engineer, gained a global following for posting detailed recipes on his website, using insider knowledge from a friend at a well-known Halifax donair joint.

The search for donairs outside of the Maritimes is getting easier. In Milton and Burlington, Ont., there's a small chain called Halifax Donair and Pizza. In Calgary, Jimmy's A&A offers a version. And in Toronto you can find it on the Danforth in a little place called The Fuzz Box. Owner and chef Neil Dominey, who hails from Berwick, N.S., was tired of his cravings going unfulfilled. "I tried 10 different donair recipes," he says. "Some didn't have enough paprika or oregano, but I combined a few recipes to get what I wanted." His dedication to the creation of the perfect donair does not mean that he is a purist. He serves his donairs with Greek, rather than Lebanese pitas. "Customers love it," he says. "They prefer it, as the thing holds together, but I do keep the Lebanese on hand, just in case someone asks."

On the other side of town, Hopgood's Foodliner is also serving them, albeit a slightly upscale version, adding a bit of pork in the mixture and folding them like tacos. Chef Geoff Hopgood, a Bluenoser himself, sells about 400 of donairs a week. "They're tasty, grimy, fun and nostalgic for me," he says. "They can be the perfect snack food with a can of Labatt 50."

Many argue, however, that they are best experienced back East, preferably late at night, with a hankering for something greasy, sweet and meaty. Oh, and as for eating them? There is an unspoken code among donair diners. No one ever looks good eating them, so no one judges you, even if you do have sauce drizzling down your chin. Just give'er.

Journal Prompt 24 Mar 2021 ~ Igloo Living

 What three things would you insist on having if you lived in an igloo?

Journal Prompt 23 Mar 2021 ~ Impressive

Tell about some ridiculous thing someone has done to impress you.

Journal Prompt 22 Mar 2021 ~ Party Themes

 What are your favourite Party Themes?

Another great novel by Linda Francis Lee ~ The Devil in the Junior League

The Devil in the Junior League is another wacky look at the snooty, obnoxious world of Texas society women.  Frede Hildebrand is the perfect Junior League woman living her live according to the written and unwritten rules of Texas society.  And then her husband has an affair, steals her money and flees the country.  Frede tries to hide her disasters and maintain her place in society.  She goes to Howard Grout, her loud, no class neighbour who also happens to be the most aggressive lawyer in the county.  Howard agrees to help Frede track down her no-good-husband, retrieve her fortune and save her place in society . . . under one condition . . . Frede must groom his other-side-of-the-tracks wife, Nikki, and get her into the Junior League.

This novel is wacky funny.  And lessons are learned.  And there is a happy ending.  I recommend this novel as a great summer read.

Journal Prompt 19 Mar 2021 ~ Game Show

 What game shows do you think you could be a successful contestant on?

101 Interesting Facts About Canada ~ Cattle

My list challenge list says that "Canada Is Home to Approx 15 Million Cattle" but my quick fact checking suggests a different number.

Cattle inventory in Canada by type 2020

Published by Emma Bedford, Mar 31, 2020

This statistic shows the cattle inventory in Canada as of January 2020, by type. As of January 1, 2020, there were approximately 3.556 million beef cows and around 981,300 dairy cows in Canada.

3,556,000

+ 981,300

__________

4,537,300

Hmmmm?

Journal Prompt 18 Mar 2021 ~ Travel

 What things what you like to do if you were in your favourite foreign country?

Journal Prompt 17 Mar 2021 ~ Trading Places

Who would you like to trade places with for one day, but not more?

 

A Taste of Canada ~ Nanaimo Bars

The Nanaimo bar is a bar dessert that requires no baking and is named after the city of Nanaimo, British Columbia. It consists of three layers: a wafer, nut, and coconut crumb base; custard icing in the middle; and a layer of chocolate ganache on top.

I've never made Nanaimo bars but I have certainly eaten a few.  So delicious!  And so many recipes available online.  

If you have the perfect Nanaimo bar recipe please comment and share it with us.

The whole list of A Taste of Canada foods can be found at www.listchallenges.com/a-taste-of-canada 

Journal Prompt 15 Mar 2021 ~ Super Powers

 What super powers would you most like to have if you were a superhero?

Book Review: Soap Opera x 10

I read The Ex-debutante a while back and I can still remember the story so vividly.  Do you love soap operas?  Well this book is soap opera x 10!!

Carlisle comes from old Texas money.  Raised as a southern belle, she becomes a Texas debutante.  Carlisle becomes a divorce lawyer, flees the rigid rules of old rich Texas society for Boston and becomes engaged to a . . . Yankee!

When her mother needs a lawyer to divorce her latest husband while keeping a deep secret deep, Carlisle comes home.  It doesn't take long to be drawn back into the society and rules she had fled.

At the end of the day Carlisle learns a lot about herself and learns the family secrets that her family had tried to keep.

This book is funny, over the top funny.  Linda Francis Lee knows this world well and writes about it in an exaggerated way to enhance the crazy rules required to be part of the Texas debutante world.  I recommend it highly for a good light summer read.