Happy Canada Day!
Most of my readers do not live in Canada, so I thought it might be fun to answer any and all questions you have about my country today.
Do you want Canadian reading suggestions?
What parts of Canadian history were taught in your country, if any? Is there anything about it that you wish you knew more about?
Have you ever wondered what it’s like to live in a country that has a publicly funded healthcare system for everyone?
Will you be travelling here in the near future and wonder which landmarks a local would recommend visiting the most?
Do you want to know what should and should not be included in a proper poutine?
Have you ever met a really friendly Canadian in your home country and wondered if I know them?
When is the appropriate time to include the term “eh” in a sentence? Do you know?
Are you thinking about immigrating here yourself?
I’m full of answers if you’re full of questions!
Happy Canada Day to you. I have to confess that I’ve never met a friendly Canadian and wondered if you know them and I already know what it’s like to live in a country with a publicly-funded health service for all. The reason for the former is that I know Canada is huge and the reason for the latter is that I live in the UK. What I am interested in, though, is poutine. It turns out that I follow a few Canadians on YouTube and they keep going on about it. They talk about it so quickly, however, that I haven’t really got much idea of what’s in it, except possibly cheese and potato.
Ha, I loved your first few sentences.
Traditional poutine has three ingredients: french fries, gravy, and cheese curds. You fry (or bake) the fries, pour the gravy over them, and then add a handful of cheese curds. Generally, the gravy is made from beef stock, although sometimes I’ve seen chicken gravy substituted.
I’m allergic to milk, so I’ve never tasted the traditional dish. But there are some great non-dairy versions of it out there, too.
I’m sharing a common recipe for it with J.M., so feel free to check it out if you wish.
I looked at the recipe and saw the photograph. I don’t think it’s a dish I’m ever going to want to try. It’s the gravy. Cheese and potato go well together, so it might work with chips (French fries, although what we call French fries are very thin chips). Gravy goes well with certain potato dishes, but not chips.
Fair enough. 🙂
Happy Canada Day!
I went to Vancouver once and saw a bus that said something like “Out of Service” and then the electronic sign flashed again with the word “Sorry” and I knew I wasn’t in NYC anymore! LOL
What is poutine?
Happy Canada Day!
Yes, the buses in Toronto have those same messages. I appreciate the politeness of that.
Poutine is a snack that consists of french fries with gravy and cheese curds poured over them. It’s salty and delicious.
Here’s one homemade recipe for it that looks pretty legitimate to me: https://www.seasonsandsuppers.ca/authentic-canadian-poutine-recipe/
Happy Canada Day!
I love poutine. I wish there was a place near me that did it really well. (Though if you have any good recipes for it, that might work until I can visit Canada again.)
I would love rec’s for Canadian authors! I enjoy Tanya Huff’s work, and have recently tried and enjoyed Charles de Lint. But I’m sure there are many more I haven’t tried.
Every now and then, Mr. Wyrm and I talk about how much we loved visiting Vancouver and wonder about immigrating. It’s not likely, but sometimes I like to dream about it.
Happy (belated) Canada Day!
This is a good recipe for poutine: https://www.seasonsandsuppers.ca/authentic-canadian-poutine-recipe/ (If you can’t/don’t eat milk or products made from meat, I can share an alternative recipe).
Vancouver is an amazing city. I actually used to live in a smaller town just outside of it. The cost of living there is super high, though, for the record. 🙂
Here are a few Canadian authors I’d recommend:
Margaret Laurence.
Read “The Stone Angel” first from her.
It’s a powerful story about a woman who has reached the end of her life and is beginning to take stock of what she did. She wasn’t a very self-aware person in her youth, so some of her revelations are quite interesting.
Wayson Choy
Read “The Jade Peony” first from him.
This was a well-written look at lots of different issues: racism, immigration, the Great Depression/World War II, strained family relationships, etc.
Richard Wagamese.
Read “The Indian Horse” first from him.
Not sure how much you know about the terrible way First Nations people were treated here, but this novel follows a character whose life was seriously thrown off-kilter by his experiences with residential school, abuse, and the alcoholism that plagued him in adulthood. It’s a heavy read but a good one.
Ivan Coyote
Read “Missed Her” first from them.
On a much lighter note, the stories in this anthology are often hilarious. Ivan is someone who is queer and non-binary. They grew up in a religious family in a small town in Northern Canada, and they do an amazing job of finding the funny side in that sort of experience.
Wow, I’d better stop now before I totally overwhelm you. I could talk about this topic all day. 🙂
You have at least one Canadian reader – me! I love that you’re doing this though.
Yay! Glad to hear that and thanks.
Do you believe that Canada has more of a British culture and legacy than the USA due to having been in the Empire for longer, and having a large number of loyalists who moved there from the USA after 1783 as they couldn’t accept independence, or has this ceased to be the case?
Do you think Canada has culturally become closer to the USA or forged out on its own?
I admit to being a novice as I haven’t visited Canada nor do I know much about it but I’m open to any information you can give.