After visiting home for the past three weeks, I was certainly brought back to my great Canadian roots through the means of peameal bacon, Tim Hortons and poutine. People mostly think of maple syrup and caribou as some of our Canadian dishes, yet we have so much more to offer.
As most Canadians do after being away for any amount of time (I assure you, from a short stunt over the river to a year in Paris), the first thing any of us will do is B-line it to the first Timmy’s once again on home turf. So what is Tim Horton’s anyway? It is Canadian fast food chain that is best known for their fresh coffee and donuts as well as other tasty baked treats and is named after one of Canada’s most legendary hockey players of all time, Tim Horton. Lucky for me, I didn’t have to queue up because my best friend, Karolina, had one waiting for me at the gate!
One great thing about my hometown, Thorold, is that it’s right in the heart of Niagara Wine County. Yes friends, Canadian’s produce wine too! The Niagara Region typically produces dry wines due to our cooler climate, so Chardonnay or Riesling shine through for our most common whites and Merlot, Pinot Noir and Cabernet Franc as our reds. Everything from the Region’s topography to climate to the soil’s physical properties impact the grape quality leaving us with the final product of some of Canada’s most elegant wines.
So after an evening of wine, grazing and chitchat, I woke up to coffee brewing and the stovetop sizzling with peameal bacon aka back bacon aka Canadian bacon. So, what’s the difference between this sort of bacon to a normal slab of bacon? Well Canadian bacon is good for your health! It comes from lean boneless pork loin which is trimmed fine, wet cured and rolled in cornmeal. It is very lean and is considered a good source of protein. The name Canadian bacon dates back to war years when there was a shortage of pork in England and side bacon was imported from Canada.
Also during my visit home, I was lucky enough to spend a weekend with my closest girl friends in Montreal to send Karolina off on her way down the aisle. Of course, a trip to Montreal wouldn’t be complete without a “heart attack in a bowl” known as poutine, which we pride ourselves on being our national dish. Poutine is a French Canadian dish which is made up of French fries and cheese curds then topped with piping hot gravy to mould it all together. I assure you, although it is hyper-caloric, it is sinfully good with the cheese curds elasticizing around your fork and jumping onto your tongue and slithering down to make your stomach plump yet content.
For my last meal, I wanted to go out with a bang, as well as a treat that you can’t easily find together around Paris, nor much of Europe to be exact, so the family gathered around the table for one last feast of pizza and wings. Though pizza may Italian and wings may be American, us Canadians, being a multicultural nation, have embraced these plates as our own making it every sports fanatic, freshman yearer and ma and pa’s delight. Not only are they delicious (we ordered ours from Tony’s Pizzeria which has recently been crown Best Pizzeria in Ontario), they are easy to munch down and easy to clean up (paper plates are a universal standard for pizza and wing night!) To top it off, it is literally finger-licking good and pairs perfectly with a cold brew, so naturally, of course I would want this as my last Canadian meal!
This little memoire to some of my favourite Canadian nosh only skims the brim of what we really do have to offer. So if you are interested in seeing more of what we eat if in the true north, strong and free, check out this article from the Huffington Post and I can guarantee that you will be on the next flight over! :
http://www.huffingtonpost.ca/2013/06/28/canadian-food_n_2869764.html
Although the pizza and wings come sided with celery and blue cheese, I certainly did not see enough veg on this holiday home. But since heading back to my beautiful Paris, I can just jump on a Velib with hopes to burn off the extra few kilos while cycling the City of Light!
As most Canadians do after being away for any amount of time (I assure you, from a short stunt over the river to a year in Paris), the first thing any of us will do is B-line it to the first Timmy’s once again on home turf. So what is Tim Horton’s anyway? It is Canadian fast food chain that is best known for their fresh coffee and donuts as well as other tasty baked treats and is named after one of Canada’s most legendary hockey players of all time, Tim Horton. Lucky for me, I didn’t have to queue up because my best friend, Karolina, had one waiting for me at the gate!
One great thing about my hometown, Thorold, is that it’s right in the heart of Niagara Wine County. Yes friends, Canadian’s produce wine too! The Niagara Region typically produces dry wines due to our cooler climate, so Chardonnay or Riesling shine through for our most common whites and Merlot, Pinot Noir and Cabernet Franc as our reds. Everything from the Region’s topography to climate to the soil’s physical properties impact the grape quality leaving us with the final product of some of Canada’s most elegant wines.
So after an evening of wine, grazing and chitchat, I woke up to coffee brewing and the stovetop sizzling with peameal bacon aka back bacon aka Canadian bacon. So, what’s the difference between this sort of bacon to a normal slab of bacon? Well Canadian bacon is good for your health! It comes from lean boneless pork loin which is trimmed fine, wet cured and rolled in cornmeal. It is very lean and is considered a good source of protein. The name Canadian bacon dates back to war years when there was a shortage of pork in England and side bacon was imported from Canada.
Also during my visit home, I was lucky enough to spend a weekend with my closest girl friends in Montreal to send Karolina off on her way down the aisle. Of course, a trip to Montreal wouldn’t be complete without a “heart attack in a bowl” known as poutine, which we pride ourselves on being our national dish. Poutine is a French Canadian dish which is made up of French fries and cheese curds then topped with piping hot gravy to mould it all together. I assure you, although it is hyper-caloric, it is sinfully good with the cheese curds elasticizing around your fork and jumping onto your tongue and slithering down to make your stomach plump yet content.
For my last meal, I wanted to go out with a bang, as well as a treat that you can’t easily find together around Paris, nor much of Europe to be exact, so the family gathered around the table for one last feast of pizza and wings. Though pizza may Italian and wings may be American, us Canadians, being a multicultural nation, have embraced these plates as our own making it every sports fanatic, freshman yearer and ma and pa’s delight. Not only are they delicious (we ordered ours from Tony’s Pizzeria which has recently been crown Best Pizzeria in Ontario), they are easy to munch down and easy to clean up (paper plates are a universal standard for pizza and wing night!) To top it off, it is literally finger-licking good and pairs perfectly with a cold brew, so naturally, of course I would want this as my last Canadian meal!
This little memoire to some of my favourite Canadian nosh only skims the brim of what we really do have to offer. So if you are interested in seeing more of what we eat if in the true north, strong and free, check out this article from the Huffington Post and I can guarantee that you will be on the next flight over! :
http://www.huffingtonpost.ca/2013/06/28/canadian-food_n_2869764.html
Although the pizza and wings come sided with celery and blue cheese, I certainly did not see enough veg on this holiday home. But since heading back to my beautiful Paris, I can just jump on a Velib with hopes to burn off the extra few kilos while cycling the City of Light!