Thank you for joining us and if you're just landing here for the first time today, be sure to start with our kick off post HERE! This hour we wanted to share some of the foods Canada is known for and some of our favourites for sure! Alyssa shares this…
"I must admit, I love good food. My father and I share the belief that if we have to eat it should be good. A few years ago this conclusion was a big problem for me because I was an expert at burning water…so I set off on a journey to learn to prepare amazing food. Five years later I’m proud of my culinary skills and find feeding large groups to be so much fun, especially because I only do it on special occasions and never do the dishes after!
Two Canadian favourites, each with many varying recipes, are Nanaimo Bars and Poutine. We’ll start with dessert. (Who doesn’t like dessert first?!)
Although enjoyed all over the country, Nanaimo Bars are a western Canadian design. A thick layer of chocolate atop the middle layer of sweet and rich creamy custard buttery icing, all atop a thick crumby chocolate/walnut/coconut base makes this square a finger-food dessert. As a little girl, Nanaimo Bars were one of my faves at showers and parties…except I hate the bottom of them! Thankfully, my dear cousin Jessica loves the base layer and hates the top two. I’m sure you can image two little girls snagging (another!) treat from the dessert buffet and splitting it. She often had to tell me she was done, as her sweet tooth wasn’t nearly the size of mine, so I’d go and find my mom who also loved the bottom layer. (Just a little tip: Chill them before splitting, otherwise you’ll wind up with a gooey mess.) Recipe here!
What would Canadian cuisine be without poutine? (Pronounced poo-teen or poo-tin or pass-me-that-now-because-I-can’t-resist-it, depending on the person with whom you are sharing this dish!) French fries, or ‘chips’ as they are known to many, are fried to perfection, covered in cheese curds, and smothered in gravy. You’ll find many variations, some adding meat or spices. I once met a chef who boasted that her classic poutine recipe took 5 years to perfect – from potato to cheese curd to gravy, the combinations were tried thousands of times; truly was a treat to stop and enjoy, unfortunately her doors have closed. For our American friends who would like to indulge, I’ll meet you at Leunig’s Bistro in Burlington, Vermont for a twist on this favourite, Confit Duck Poutine; to our Canadian friends I promise getting a passport will be worth this one.
We cannot complete our day without discussing the most controversial and prized of Canadian condiments: Ketchup. It may come as a surprise to you that Canadians put ketchup on…everything. Ok, not everything, but almost everything. We put it on french fries, hamburgers, hotdogs, hash browns, meatloaf, mac and cheese (Kraft Dinner), and scrambled eggs. We dip chicken fingers, grilled cheese, fried fish, and mozza sticks in ketchup. Some people like it on onion rings, mashed potatoes, and pizza. We even have ketchup flavoured chips. Phew! Time for me to go and find some bbq sauce…
Ok, one more. Let's not forget butter tarts. Butter, sugar, eggs and sometimes raisins all baked in a delicious crust! Goodness in just a few bites!"
Did we mention dill pickle chips, the magnificent Bloody Caesar, smoked salmon, Montreal style bagels and Saskatoon berry pie! Hungry yet? We'll get to the maple syrup later!
As mentioned in our first post, we would love to share a loonie and a toonie with lucky readers each hour (along with some other fun prizes along the way!) Be sure to leave a comment below by July 7th and we will randomly select one lucky winner this hour to win them! After leaving your comment here we hope you'll take a moment to visit us on Facebook and Instagram (@sctmagazine) and leave a comment there as well for THREE chances to win! We'll be compiling all the comments each hour.
Next hour, it's the Bay of Fundy!
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Fun Fact: Canada consumes more macaroni and cheese than any other nation in the world. Thanks Kraft Dinner!
I love Nanaimo squares and butter tarts!
All my favourite foods!!
Mmmmm Nanaimo bars ?
Poutine and Nanaimo bars make me ? happy.
Happy??Day
Those bars look delicious!!
I know it’s weird, but I think Nanaimo bars are too sweet, but I love butter tarts! No rhyme nor reason to that one… Also, poutine is wonderful!
Poutine sounds delicious.
Didn’t know what it was until I started
watching some of the cooking shows.
Have to try it sometime.
Happy Birthday, Canada.
Love butter tarts!
I love all the foods mentioned…who wouldn’t. I grew up in Leamington, home of the delicious tomatoes which went into making Heinz ketchup although sadly they don’t anymore, however, French’s stepped up to the plate so Yeah! There is nothing like the taste of a fresh Leamington tomato/ If you get the chance to visit, check out the big tomato in town which is a tourist information booth.
Yum! Dull pickle chips, Hawkins Cheezies and Smarties! Love our snacks!
sounds yummy!
Mmm… Yummy!!! They looks delicious!!!
Yummy foods all! I love everything on the list!
Happy Birthday Canada ??
Might like the gravy
dipped fries!
Carla from Utah
I will admit I am a Canadian who puts Ketchup on everything. Love my Ketchup chips! But I have to say I would never pass up a Nanaimo Bar.
Mmmm….all my guilty pleasures! These are all great but my favourite has to be butter tarts. Whoever invented these is a Canadian genius. Happy Birthday, Canada!
Happy Birthday, Canada! I love tarts! My grandmother always made them and now my mother and I make them.
Nanaimo bars are my absolute favourite!! We do have some of the best foods here in Canada! :)
There will be thousands of tarts and nanaimo bars consumed today along with poutine and/or french fries and ketchup!!
I’m as Canadian as they come, 8th generation in my Dad’s side – but Kraft Dinner?! Gross. Lol
I am pretty sure my husband must be Canadian! He puts ketchup on all the above and also nice juicy steaks, turkey, ham and everything else! I think that if I served him dirt with ketchup he would eat it! LOL
As a teen I worked at a little snack bar that was run by a wonderful Canadian man who came to know my love of poutine! After he closed down for the winter he would make me a poutine survival package once a month. It consisted of a gallon jar of his homemade gravy, a bag of curd cheese and a 5lb bag of potatoes so I could still get my fix!
Years later, he made poutine for all of our wedding guests! I really miss him and my poutine fixes! I guess I will have to get my enhanced license so I can go to Canada for poutine regularly!
I have never heard of the Nanaimo bars but they look ? yummy! TFS!
Happy 150 Canada from the prairies!
Coffee crisp! A delicious Canadian treat is one of my favorite foods!
Love Nanaimo bars and butter tarts. I don’t put catsup on anything (although hubby does). Do not like KD. Canada sells the most varieties of chocolate bars! Hurray for Canadian food!
going to try the nanaimo bars that will be a first for me.
Poutine – oh my! Born and raised on Quebec, the birthplace of poutine it was definitely a favourite. Now if someone would just create a gluten and dairy free option I woukd be in heaven!
So hard to pick my favourite, they’re all delicious!
Happy Birthdat Canada! Loving the Canadian facts. My fav treat are Nanaimo bars. Love them.
Poutine delicious
Nanaimo bars yummy
Ketchup great
Butter tarts good
Happy Canada Day everyone! We have a lot to be thankful for. We live in an amazing country!! May we all live in peace and harmony.
Oh the food we have to offer. I just had poutine the other day with my niece and it was sooo delicious. My husbands favorite dessert is Nanaimo bars. Oh the list goes on and on. Yum! Yum! Yum! Forget the diets when you live in Canada. lol
I need a cup of Tim Hortons to go with all these!
I need a cup of Tim Hortons to go with all these!
Nanaimo bars sound absolutely delicious. Will have to try them soon!
I love to eat entire Nanaimo bar! All of it is good. Butter tarts yum! Poutine…not so much. Love our Canadian money! So fun and colourfulness!
My Mom made the best butter tarts in the world. Every time I eat one I think of her.
Nanaimo bars, especially mint, mmmmm! But pouting OMG ……
Gosh, I’ve forgotten about the Nanaimo Bars. How could that happen. Will be making them this week for sure!!!
I’ve always had a passion for Ketchup. I even carried a bottle of it around with me in my car. One Halloween night, I was stopped by a policeman and he made me put my Ketchup in the trunk of my car. I guess he thought I was going to splatter it on a building or something. To this day, I don’t know why he stopped me.
Happy Birthday Canada!!!
Mmmm our celebrations are centred around eating today ?
Yum to poutine!!!
Ok – you’re making me SO hungry! Love French fries and pies, so poutine and butter tarts both sound delicious! Happy Canada Day!
Making me hungry…off to put maple syrup on pancakes!
This all looks yummy –esp the dessert.
Wow, such interesting food facts… I had no idea that Nanaimo bars were a Canadian recipe….they are one of my favourite desserts to eat and so addictive! Thanks for all of the fun info..I am enjoying your blog today with all of these photos and fun facts!
love them…yummy!!
Love nanaimo bars and butter tarts! And lots of maple syrup! We do live in a great country!
Oh yummy! Great Canadian dishes and now I NEED some poutine!!! And a butter tart!
I love learning all of these great things about Canada. Very interesting.
I love all of these tried and true Canadian favourites!!
I love Nanaimo bars! Happy Canada Day from Saskatchewan ??!