Calling all Canadians

[misstapioca]

i am Canadian but i took off to sunburnt Texas gulf coast the first chance i had!! Dont miss the snow!

[PENNYNIKKEL]

Hurray for Canada! I'm here in Calgary and would love to find out how many other Canadians are on this site.

I can't comment on the delivery question...I usually buy my magazine at the newstand.

[aka]

Hi,
I'm Canadian too. I'm kind of the opposite of misstapioca....I just moved back to Canada in August after living for two years in Dallas, Texas. I'm in "tropical" Canada though (Vancouver, BC) and not my birth province of Ontario. My husband and I just went back there for Christmas, one week of snow is enough for me (besides I can always look at the snow on the mountains).

Regarding my subscription, I have found that I do get it later here, which is most annoying....especially when I hear all the great things about the next issue. Since I found/find subscription rates to be cheaper in the US, I pumped up all my magazine subscriptions to the maximum time and then changed my address to the new Canadian one....the extra penalty charge for being Canadian doesn't "kick in" until your subscription expires. My husband gets a magazine that won't expire until the end of 2005! CL expires mid-2003, maybe by that time CL will offer the same rate to it's Canadian subscribers that it offers to it's American ones...Fine Cooking just started doing so in August.

Lilia

[kima]

I just wondered how many Canadian women are here. I gave up subsribing to Cooking Light because it is always in the stores a good 10 days or so before I received my copy in the mail. There was little if any price difference. It was awful to see it at the checkout stand and have to wait. As of today the Jan/Feb issue is still not available here (Victoria) Anyway Hi to all my Canadian friends! I'd love to hear about your delivery experiences.

[Jen]

I'm in Vancouver too (whereabouts are you, aka? I'm in North Van). No snow here, misstapioca! (Thank God - I'm a lousy driver in the snow). I don't subscribe to CL because it seems to cost a bit more. I do get frustrated because it seems to hit the newsstand much later here - as of today I still haven't seen it here. It's awful to read about all the recipes and not be able to try them! I've posted before about this, but my biggest problem is not being able to find many of the ingredients required for the recipes - a lot of fat free stuff isn't yet available here. Luckily I am fairly close to the US (Bellingham), so I cross the border every once in a while to stock up. But the dollar is so bad right now that it gets pretty expensive!

It's nice to hear from all the fellow "Canucks" out there!

Jen

[lanie]

Hi there!

Yet another Canadian in this small minority - I live in Toronto - great city - TOO MUCH SNOW this year! (but off to Jamaica tomorrow)

It is great to see 'this' many canucks - and I so agree with Jen - it is so hard to find certain ingredients unless you go to one of the really upscale grocery stores and pay triple what the US pay - as an example I was looking for chipotle chilies - found them - they were $4.99 for the smallest little can - then again some of the 'stuff' is just not available in Canada.

As far as the mag goes - I do subscribe and have for many years - mine is NOT here of course, and not in the stores - yes it is annoying to read about the recipes and have to wait until the middle of the month to try them!
Cheers to my fellow Canucks!
Elaine http://www.cookinglight.com/bbs/wink.gif

[aka]

Originally posted by Jen:
I'm in Vancouver too (whereabouts are you, aka? I'm in North Van). Jen

Jen, I live on the border of EastVan....right by the Science Centre. My husband likes to say "EastVancouver at West Vancouver prices". Lilia

[JJ40]

Hello! I'm originally from Ontario but am living in Montreal at the moment. Of course, I'm beginning to doubt the wisdom of my choice when I hear that Vancouver has no snow!!!

I ended up subscribing to CL because I calculated it and even with the extra cost for Canadians and the exchange rate, it is slightly cheaper than if I buy it at the newsstand every month.

It's very annoying to see it on newsstands before I receive it. I think that should be a bonus to subscribers--you get it before others do. However, I also get Chatelaine and the same thing happens--I get it 1-2 weeks after I see it on the newsstands.

I am Canadian!

Julie http://www.cookinglight.com/bbs/smile.gif

[Terri-Lynn2]

It is nice to see so many familiar places. I live in Burnaby, BC, and we are originally from Winnipeg. Everytime we see the stormy weather back east I am happy to be here. Especially this year enjoying all this sunshine.

I do not subscribe to Cl, I worked it out and with the cost I just cant be bothered. I can find it much sooner at the checkout stand while I am grocery shopping. Although so far, as of last night no Jan/Feb yet.

Nice to see there is so many of us.

Terri

[kima]

Nice to hear from all you Canucks! I found CL in the store today. I will save until dinner is done and I am in the bath. I also enjoy our CLL magazine (you know which one I mean). I do find it hard to find all of the ingedients called for in the US recipes. Any one from Vancouver Island out there? I live in beautiful Victoria. I saw a flowering rhodo today!!!

[kima]

Nice to hear from all you Canucks! I found CL in the store today. I will save until dinner is done and I am in the bath. I also enjoy our CLL magazine (you know which one I mean). I do find it hard to find all of the ingedients called for in the US recipes. Any one from Vancouver Island out there? I live in beautiful Victoria. I saw a flowering rhodo today!!!

[biscuit]

Hi Canadian Cooks,
I live in Gatineau (Quebec) and I agree, waiting 10-14 days to receive my copy is a long time and a torture. However, the cost makes it worth my while to wait.
I think Cooking Light is the best.

[erinyyc]

Hi everyone! I also cancelled my subscription to CL because it was faster to just buy it off the rack, and not too much of a price difference.

To PENNYNIKKEL, it's nice to see another Calgarian!! We actually had a big BBQ dinner with friends last night since the weather has been so beautiful. I'll shut up now, don't want to jinx it!!!

To Jen, where abouts in North Van.? I was born and raised for 13 years in North Van.( Deep Cove area/Sherwood Park Elementary School).

Off the topic,(sorry kima) I am still new to the internet, are there any really good Canadian sites on the net? Any suggestions greatly appreciated! Thanks.

Erin http://www.cookinglight.com/bbs/smile.gif

[kima]

So far no one from Victoria! Too Bad! Erinyyc- I can reccommend the canadian living site and chatelaine. I would also like to hear about Canadian food sites.
A qustion for you all. Do you really think (besides milk, cheese and meat) that American food prices are lower. I haaven't checked in awhile because we don't go to the states very often- especially with the exchange rate. The last time I looked I didn't think the prices were better. This was in the Seattle area. One store that intrigues me is Trader Joes. I had not heard of it until I read this BB. Does any one know what they are like? Thanks!

[bettina]

Another Canadian here! From Edmonton. I buy mine at the newstand too! Found it today. Sometimes finding ingredients is tough - but I manage with some substitutes.
http://www.cookinglight.com/bbs/smile.gif

[Sarah]

Hi There
One more Canadian from Hamilton...no CL here yet either, but I'm waiting... =)

[Jen]

I don't find that the prices are much better in the US (they used to be, but now the exchange is too low)...the difference is that you get a lot more selection of products, especially low-fat and fat-free stuff. I love making a trip to the US grocery store - I could spend ages just wandering up and down the aisles, feeling jealous for all the cool products they get and we don't! It takes a couple of years for the new stuff to make it to us, usually. I do usually buy blocks of cheese there direct from the dairy, because they are a bit cheaper. But otherwise it's just the selection I go for. (It's the same thing for clothes in the States - prices aren't any better but there are a lot more stores to choose from).

Jen

[BarbaraL]

Hello, Canadians! I'm a New Jersey native, so hope you don't mind me snooping on your thread. Just wanted to comment on how much I've enjoyed my visits to Canada. Had lots of fun in Toronto several years ago. Then, had a business trip to Vancouver a year or two ago. A coworker and I added some vacation time to the trip; flew into Vancouver, rented a car and drove up into the mountains. Gorgeous! Stayed overnight at Whistler; drove up and around in a big loop; took the ferry to Vancouver Island; drove to Tofino (or is it Torfino?) on the west coast and toured around. Came back to the east coast and eventually down to Victoria, before we had to return to Vancouver for the business meeting. Also had fun in the city (too bad the business part took up so much time!) Absolutely beautiful country! Wonderful trip!
By the way, although I live in metropolitan NJ, I haven't been able to find chipotle chilis (in adobo sauce, as called for in several CL recipes) in stores either! Found them on a website. Some of the ingredients in CL are hard to find here in the States too!

[aka]

Me again. I posted a reply earlier, but just had to jump in on the supermarket thing.

I had the opposite problem when I moved to the US for a couple of years....I couldn't find things I wanted that were only available in Canada. I was really shocked, actually. The number one thing I missed? (not so healthy really...) Chocolate bars. I'm talking Aero, CoffeeCrisp, Caramilk, Choclairs, the list goes on and on. Sure they sell chocolate bars down there, but the selection is TERRIBLE! Even their KitKat's taste "off". Two weeks before I moved I found a store that sold Aero's--$2US a bar!! I'm glad I didn't find it sooner.

Other things I couldn't find and really wanted include Tropicana premium squeezed apple juice (No apple juice in the refrigerated section at all) and toothpaste (believe it or not). Colgate Total is my brand of choice and I couldn't find it, when they finally introduced it, it was not the same as our Canadian offerings.

Of course, now that I'm back in Canada, I miss things that I used to be able to get there, but can't now. http://www.cookinglight.com/bbs/smile.gif

[Teresa]

Another Canadian - I live in Delta, B.C., but originally from Ontario. I too have crossed the border to Bellingham, WA, to find some ingredients. When I have done so I questioned my sanity - I mean it seems a long way to go to get a box of grits or a bag of yellow rice! (Though I did find chipotle peppers in adobo sauce at our local Save-On.)

[julia]

I live in Oakville, Ontario - near Toronto. We used to live in Toronto, but migrated to the suburbs almost a year and a half ago. For those of you in the Toronto area and don't know about these two stores - there's a shop on Bloor Street (between Bathurst and Christie) called Andes where you can get great Mexican/South American ingredients, including fresh tortillas. There is also a store called the Indo Canadian Food Store along the same strip which has lots of Indian Foods. I loved those two places when I lived in the City.

[dmarlin]

Another Canadian here! I live in Cloverdale, B.C. and I just recently started buying Cooking Light. I happened to see last months' magazine at the grocery store and the picture of the Salisbury Steak caught my eye! I bought it, and I have to say that I COULD NOT BELIEVE the amount of good recipies that I saw and wanted to try. I have since tried three of the recipies(the Salisbury Steak, the Mushroom Pork Chops and the Barbeque Hoisin Chicken) and they were all excellent! I served the pork chops to my mom and she was blown away that they were low fat! She actually went and bought the magazine as well. I'm seriously considering buying the cookbook. It's so nice to be able to cook low-fat and have it taste good!

[lanie]

Hi All! Going to South Carolina in a month - I too love walking aisle by aisle in the US grocery stores - any favs that you would recommend bringing back? We are driving so no problem bringing 'stuff' back. There really are a pile of things that we don't have here - would like to know what items you would purchase that are not available here?

Elaine http://www.cookinglight.com/bbs/smile.gif

[sylvie]

Hi

I'm from Laval (this is a town near Montreal) in the province of Quebec.

I really love CookingLight, but I feel miserable when I see it at the grocery store before I receive my magazine at home.

[crazycook]

Hi all http://www.cookinglight.com/bbs/smile.gif
My name is Anna and I'm from Windsor Ontario. Being a border city you would think that we would have a greater selection of "specialty" food items, but we are still limited. I'm finding that we are advancing though, slowly but surely. I could have crossed the border and visited a Mexican grocery store just on the other side for Chilpotles in Adobo Sauce, but the $1.79 can (AM) would have cost me approximately $7.00++ (CAN)(take into consideration, gas+$2.00 border toll each way+exchange rate on $1.79!!!) I hunted them down though at our city market and paid $4.99 for a small can. I have a suggestion to all who love experimenting with new tastes and products. I call restaurants in my city and ask to speak to the head chef and ask them where I can locate special produce or special food items-jarred or canned. I've had them offer to sell me some of what they have in the restaurant. One very nice (ooh la la very handsome YOUNG male chef) offered me some free black truffle extract to try before he ordered me some. He was ready to send me home with a $50.00 bottle just to let me try it! (Whew! fanning myself just remembering being face to face with him--ok Anna, calm down!) So, don't be afraid to contact your local restaurants and see if they can help you out.
On the magazine issue, I have had to wait sometimes until the 15th of the issue month for my copy. It is extremely frustrating considering the additional cost to us Canadians. http://www.cookinglight.com/bbs/frown.gif I have called to complain about it being late and am always told it is not considered late until the 7th of the month. They do however replace any missed issue without a problem.
Sorry for being longwinded. I just love this board!! http://www.cookinglight.com/bbs/smile.gif

[funnybone]

I did a search for Canada and came up with this thread. I only started visiting this BB in March, so I missed it the first time around. I live in PA now, but was raised in Oakville/Burlington, Ontario. We're going back for a visit for Easter weekend. I hope all the snow is gone by then - lol.

I just wanted to say HI, and bring this topic back up for any other new Canadians on the board. By the way, I pay $1.79 for the Chipotle Chilies in Adobo sauce. Even with exchange rate, that is only about $2.75 CDN. $4.99 - WOW!!