Canadian Cuisine

[AndreaU]

Once again, a very dedicated teacher (myself) has decided to have a special food day for the region the class is studying in Social Studies. Last month, our Latin American Fiesta was a smashing success- due to many of your wonderful suggestions! Now we're on to Canada...

I know there are several Canadians here, so maybe you can help. I would like to have food that is easy to prepare and also 5th grader friendly. I already have recipes for Sugar Pie and Crepes. I would love to find a recipe for Beaver Tails like those I had in Ottawa. Also, I remember some kind of dessert bars mentioned a while back (I did a search, but either the search function was off or my computer was)- something like Nonaimo Bars?? That would be ideal. I'll also be bringing in some candy favorites of mine from when I was a kid- Smarties (the Nestle chocolate kind) and Aero Bars. Obviously I can't bring in Molson or Labatt's... that's for after school! I'd do Montreal Smoked Meat sandwiches, but I have no idea what kind of "meat" that even is!

So any recipes that are Canadian would be greatly appreciated. My students loved trying the Latin American food, so I want to do something special for Canada at the end of the year. Thanks so much!

[Sarah]

You want easy, and you're thinking beaver tails?? There's no way I'd attempt them with my Grade 5s!!
The dessert bars are Nanaimo Bars. They're good, and really easy. I don't have a recipe here, but I think there was one posted in the past. Or, I can get it if you still need it.
Maybe the best question is what part of Canada are you looking at? The provinces are all really different. As a teacher myself, I think I have a recipe for bannock somewhere if you're looking at the North.
Looking at this, I'm not sure it helps http://www.cookinglight.com/bbs/smile.gif Anyone else's suggestions??

Sarah

[emilycat]

Here's the thread -- oh, how I love these things http://www.cookinglight.com/bbs/smile.gif http://www.cookinglight.com/bbs/Archives/Archive-000001/HTML/20010301-1-002159.html

[AndreaU]

Sarah.. the kids won't be making the food, just eating it! So beaver tails could still be an option. I guess my computer was dying, because now the search function seems o.k. A lot of threads came up under "Canadian" so I'm weeding through them all (slowly). Any part of Canada is fine- the more the better! Thanks!

[kima]

Hi Andrea! I would recommend you go to www.canadianliving.com. (http://www.canadianliving.com.) I am sure they have a great recipe for Nanaimo Bars as well as other traditional Canadian dishes. I think most Canadians have a hard time defining exactly what that is- we are such a muli-cultural country- we borrow alot from everyone else! Good luck eh??

[Jen]

I don't have much to offer here besides what's already been said...the Canadian Living site is always a good resource. But I have to say...LOL, Kima!! http://www.cookinglight.com/bbs/smile.gif

[aka]

A "taste of Canada" wouldn't be complete without Butter Tarts (jmho) While I know that they're a Canadian thing, I don't have a "usual" recipe for them...they vary sometimes using raisins, sometimes nuts, sometimes not, sometimes syrup and sometimes brown sugar. I can ask on a (mainly) Canadian bulletin board I post on, or maybe one of the other Canadians here has a recipe? Recipes with maple syrup would also be good. I have different Canadian cookbooks, so I can post recipes for these if you want...but perhaps another member has a "tried and true" recipe that would work better for you.

[Alisa]

My mother would be shocked if you didn't include the Newfoundland fishcake...

Fish Cakes

1lb dried salt cod (soaked over night) then
boiled and cooled
2-3lbs of boiled potatoes
1 onion chopped (green onions add colour)
spices according to personal taste
1 cup flour
Mix salt cod, potatoes and onion togather and form into patties roll into flour/spice and place into hot frying pan (with scruchions if you have)and fry 3-5 minutes per side.

Hint: away from NFLD to find salt cod look in Portagese or chinese or italian and most asian stores.
*********

Thanks for exposing your kids to the world, they won't grow into the people I meet so often who think the only thing north of the border is Alaska!

[funnybone]

Andrea, a great baking website is
www.robinhood.ca (http://www.robinhood.ca)

- they are are flour company. You don't have to use their flour for the recipes to turn out, so you can get a great deal of recipes there.

Here's a link to a Canadian Living discussion and recipes for Nanaimo Bars
http://forums.sympatico.ca/WebX/WebX.cgi?13@20.6858ccwcm7z^1@.efd632d


[This message has been edited by funnybone (edited 05-24-2001).]

[AvrilH]

First things first: Beaver tails are deep fried dough! Did you say you wanted this to be healthy?

As a Canadian, I note that one thing that has been prized in Canadian culture is our multiculturalism. While the states are often called the "melting pot", Canada's old nickname is "the mosaic." The funky thing about Canada is that ethnic foods have become Canadian.

I'm from Manitoba. Perogies and sour cream are hugely popular here. Farm cooking is what I was raised on: fried pork chops, apple dumplings and cabbage rolls. Other friends of mine were raised on Dal and Nan.

The thing about Canada is that we are a HUGE country with very diverse eco-systems. Therefore, our regional tastes are greatly varied. That might be a great theme for your class. East coasters are into lobster. Southern ontario has great fruit and dairy. The praries are heavy wheat farmers. The west coast is known for salmon. The inuit in the north (probably truly Canadian cuisine) eat seal. As I recall seal blubber, sugar and blueberries are a fave dessert (I think I might subsitute ice cream! http://www.cookinglight.com/bbs/smile.gif)

And finally, historically Canadians ate a lot of dried and preserved foods as the country was being explored, and to get them through the long winters. Dried fruit leathers come to mind, as do salt pork and beef jerky.

So I guess my suggestion would be focus on Canadian diversity! Good luck

[AndreaU]

Just bumping up... keep 'em coming if you've got 'em! Thanks again.

Also, Avril- I'm not looking for light recipes necessarily. This is for 10 & 11 year old kids; not exactly the fat-conscious types! Thanks for your concern, though.

[Tina_B]

For as long as I can remember, we have baked several batches of butter tarts every Christmas. They are definitely a family favourite. Here's a great recipe.

Gooey Butter Tarts

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/4 tsp. salt
1/4 cup cold butter, cubed
1/4 cup shortening, cubed
1 egg yolk
1 tsp vinegar
Ice Water

Filling:
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1/2 cup corn syrup
1 egg
2 tbsp butter, softened
1 tsp vanilla
1 tsp vinegar
Pinch salt
1/4 cup currants, raisins or chopped pecans

1. In a large bowl, stir flour with salt. With pastry blender or two knives, cut in butter and shortening until mixture resembles coarse crumbs with a few larger pieces. In liquid measure, whisk egg yolk with vinegar; add enough ice water to make 1/3 cup.

2. Gradually sprinkle egg mixture over flour mixture, stirring briskly with fork until pastry holds together. Press into disc; wrap in plastic wrap. Refrigerate for at least 1 hour or until chilled or for up to 3 days.

3. Filling: In bowl, vigorously whisk together brown sugar, corn syrup, egg, butter, vanilla, and salt. Set aside.

4. On lightly floured surface, roll out dough to 1/8-inch thickness. Using a 4-inch cookie cutter, cut out 12 circles, rerolling scraps once if necessary.

5. Fit circles into 2 3/4 x 1 1/4 inch muffin cups. Divide currants among pastry shells. Spoon in filling until 3/4 full.

6. Bake in bottom 1/3 of 450 F oven for about 12 minutes or until filling is puffed and bubbly and pastry is golden. Let stand on rack for 1 minute. Run metal spatula around tarts to loosen; carefully slide spatula under tarts and transfer to rack to let cool.

[funnybone]

Some other Canadadian sites are www.chatelaine.com (http://www.chatelaine.com) (magazine) and www.foodtv.ca (http://www.foodtv.ca) (canadian version). You can also check out some of the newspapers such as www.torontostar.com, (http://www.torontostar.com,) www.globeandmail.com (http://www.globeandmail.com) and www.canoe.ca (http://www.canoe.ca) (I think this one lets you link to ones across Canada). Good Luck.

[toothmom]

One food that comes to mind is poutine from Quebec. It is made with french fries, cheese curds(placed on top) and then drenched with gravy. It may sound gross, but it is addictive!

[Chef Cindy]

Andrea you must be a great teacher. How fun for your class! My Grandfather was from BC. The type of food he liked to eat was English style food. Boiled dinners with musturd, no garlic or spice (as in hot), plum pudding or shorbread to name a few. Oh yeah, beef tongue was a favorite (yuk!!) sorry I couldn't resist.

[Susann]

Andrea-Canada was our country of the month awhile ago. I will go through my recipes when I get home and post later on.

How many more days of school do you (all the teachers on the bb, for that matter!) have? I have 4 days, graduation, and 1 work day. Woohooooo!!

[AndreaU]

Toothmom- thanks for reminding me... I LOVE poutine! That's a must have.

Susann- thank you for looking up those recipes! As for school, we have 17 full days and 2 half days left. Lucky you for being almost done! When do you start school seeing as you're out early? Again, thanks for your help!

[toothmom]

I just thought of another recipe that I love. It is French Canadian and it is called Tourtiere. It is basically a meat pie made with ground meats and lots of great spices. It is traditionally eaten in the winter months. My DH asks for me to make it all the time, but I usually just make it for something special around Christmastime when some close friends come over. I will post the recipe later when I find it downstairs. It really is good.

[toothmom]

I found the Tourtiere recipe-here it goes:

1 Tblsp. oil
2 lb. ground pork (any combo of ground meat will do)
1 1/2 c. beef stock
3 onions, finely chopped
3 cloves garlic, minced
2 c. sliced mushrooms
1 c. finely chopped celery
3/4 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. each (cinnamon, pepper, dried summer savory)
1/4 tsp. cloves
1 c. fresh bread crumbs
1/2 c. chopped fresh parsley
PASTRY FOR DOUBLE CRUST PIE(9 or 10 inch)
1 egg, beaten
1 tsp. water

Heat oil over med. high heat; cook pork 7-10 minutes or until no pink is left. Drain off fat. Stir in stock, onions, garlic, mushrooms, celery, salt, and spices; bring to a boil.
Reduce heat to medium low and simmer, stirring occasionally for 35-45 minutes or until about 2 Tblsp. liquid remains. Stir in bread crumbs and parsley. Taste and adjust seasonings. Cover and refrig. until cold or for up to one day.
Spoon filling into pie shell, smoothing top. Cover with top pastry; trim and flute pastry edge. Combine egg and water; brush over pastry. Cut steam vents in top; bake in 375 oven for 40-45 minutes or until golden brown. Let cool 10 minutes.

VARIATION: Substitute turkey or chicken for pork. Substitute chicken stock for beef stock. Omit cinnamon, savory, and cloves. Add 1/2 tsp. dried marjoram, and 1/4 tsp. dried thyme.

It seems like a ton of work, but it really isn't-and it is quitte good. Oh, and gravy is always good to put on the top of it!!

[Susann]

Andrea-I looked through my recipes and all I found was a maple chicken recipe. Probably not the best idea for your kids, huh? If you are interested, let me know. Sorry I wasn't more helpful. http://www.cookinglight.com/bbs/smile.gif