Help! Any Canadians out there????

bagpuss38

Hi all.

Ugent help needed.

My daughter has international evening at scouts and she picked out Canada as a country and it has to be a starter.
Any ideas lovely peeps?

ps its 2moz evening!!!!!!!

fluffnutter

That's not easy. Canada doesn't have much of a cuisine. How about moose burgers?

marisco_2

How about a stack of small pancakes with maple syrup on the side and a bowl with a fresh fruit salad.

Tiglath

Maple syrup is something my Canadian friend always brings over. How about pierogies? Very popular thanks to the Eastern Europeans out there:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pierogi

You could also have a browse through the menu of Swiss Chalet, a popular restaurant chain:

https://www.swisschalet.com/

lostinrates

French Canadian pea soup? Salmon or smoked meats? Something grain based to represent the grain farming ...like wild rice?

Oh, wiki has something on Canadian cuisine you can almost certainly take inspiration from! http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Canadian_cuisine

Canucksfan

Yes, yes to maple syrup- it is everywhere here in Vancouver. Ham is cured in it, bacon is served swimming in it etc etc.

A popular way of serving chips is with poutine. It is actually cheese curds sprinkled onto the chips and then they ladle gravy on top.

Can't tell you if it's nice or not, cos I've never tried it-not brave enough!

Like the UK, Canada has a very diverse population and the first thing that always get finished at parties are the samosas!
I remember taking 'A typical british dish' into my daughter's cultural lunch at school. Well I made a Toad in the Hole and people were looking at it in a half-fearful, half-fascinated way. I promised them that next year I would make a Spotted !!!!!!
Hope your daughter has a good time...Let us know how she gets on!

browneyedbazzi

I'm Canadian

The great thing about food in Canada is that it is very diverse because it's such a multicultural place.

The downside is that there isn't a lot of food that is uniquely Canadian - someone already mentioned poutine (chips with cheese curds and gravy) but that isn't much of a 'starter' for a three course meal.

An option could be tourtiere which is a French Canadian meat pie - for a starter you could make them tart sized and serve with a bit of salad garnish. Many families will have their own recipe for the filling which is a guarded secret handed down through generations (I do!) but there are recipes available online.

When eating in a Canadian home it's unlikely you'll get a hot starter -usually we would have usually salads or 'nibbles' like raw veggies served with dips (we call crudit!s...pronounced crew-di-tay) or a bread with dip like this link:
http://www.canadianliving.com/food/spinach_dip_in_a_rye_shell.php

I know we're known for maple syrup, and it is nice in some baking and lovely on glazed hams or cured bacon etc, but generally it's best sold to tourists.

Toto

Poutine is amazing, I love it. But you can't get cheese curds over here for love nor money. I do make it with finely chopped halloumi which is the closest I can get to squeaky cheese over here. I also get the St.Hubert sauce rather than using gravy granules. It's not a starter though, it's more of a meal in itself.

How about creton (recipe here) which is a pork meat spread with crusty bread. We often have that as a pate before a meal.

lavalamp

I lived in Nova Scotia for a few years and chowder was really popular (probably as it was a coastal area). That would make a good starter....?

From Wiki: The phonetic variant chowda, found in New England, is believed to have originated in Newfoundland in the days when Breton fisherman would throw portions of the day's catch into a large pot, along with other available foods.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chowder

lavalamp

Toto wrote: »

Poutine is amazing, I love it.

Ahhh, memories! :j

hazyjo

Could she improvise and maybe do something 'maple leaf' shaped? And vaguely Canadian, such as a savoury pancake instead of maple syrup?

Jx