Dining-In: A Culinary Tour of the World-Canada

The Location: Canada

Continent: North America, North
Capital: Ottawa
Current Head of State: Prime Minister Justin Trudeau
Form of Government: Federal Parliamentary Constitutional Monarchy
Official Language: French and English
Ethnic Groups: Like the US, Canada is made up of immigrants and First Nation's Peoples. Nearly every ethnic group is represented.
Population: 36,048,521
Independence Day: July 1, 1867
Main Religion: Roman Catholicism, though the country does not have a national religion. They are a secular state.
Famous Canadians: L.M. Montgomery, William Shatner, K.D. Lang, Alanis Morissette
National Anthem:

The Food: Poutine and Butter Tarts
I have heard of poutine my entire life but have not had a chance to try it before. I am sad that I waited so long because it is a fantastic dish! I could have been enjoying it for years before now. People might make fun of it because it's a rather humble dish, but some of the best foods in the world are the simplest dishes.

Poutine, for those of you who have never heard of it before, is French fries with cheese curds on them, smothered in brown gravy. You definitely need a knife and fork for these fries. This presented two challenges for me from the start: I can't eat the cheese curds because I am lactose intolerant, and I cannot eat brown gravy, because I don't eat beef. So, a dish with only three components isn't going to be much of anything if you take two of the three away. I had to replace them with something different that would still keep the integrity of the original dish. I managed to do so, and it turns out it's not that hard to do at all. Chicken gravy was an easy and obvious replacement for the brown gravy. I decided to make gravy from scratch, though, rather than use a packet of gravy mix, but use a mix if you are so inclined. The harder item to replace, were the cheese curds. I found the solution on the internet: vegan cheese curds. I know that sounds like an oxymoron, but it works. It's tofu that's been flavored to mimic cheese curds. Tofu already has a texture akin to cheese curds, so it's a natural fit.

This recipe has several components that I made individually. I will write it out as I made it.

Poutine:
French fries(I chose to make homemade oven fries with garlic, but you can use whatever French fry you want. You can deep fry them or use frozen or even tater tots if you like. Just make sure they're nice and hot and you should be fine!)

Cheese curds(You can use regular cheese curds, as is traditional, or make the vegan cheese curds, like I did. Here is how I made the vegan curds: 1/3 cup lemon juice, 4 tsp. kosher salt, and torn pieces of firm tofu. Mix the juice and salt and stir for a while until the salt dissolves. Mix the tofu in and soak for 30 minutes. Drain and rinse and set aside until ready to use.)
Gravy(Brown gravy is traditional, but I made homemade chicken gravy. I actually roasted chicken breasts for my dinners this coming week and used the drippings, and some chicken broth for the base. I splurged and made a roux to thicken it. Roux is equal parts melted butter and flour. You cook it on the stove until it's thick and smells nutty. Then slowly pour the liquid into it and let it come to a boil. Stir very well with a whisk and season to taste with salt and pepper. But you can make a mix if you want to instead. I'm sure it would be fine as well.)

Cook the French fries and put them on a plate. Top them with the cheese curds, and pour gravy over that. You will need a knife and fork for this.

The "cheese" curds have a nice salty, lemony tang to them and it all mixes really well with the gravy. I had garlic on my fries so there was a garlic flavor in all this too. This was ridiculously amazing! I will absolutely have to eat these more often!

To go with the poutine, I needed a dessert. One of the desserts that came up over and over again was "butter tarts". This sparked a memory and I ran to my own personal recipe collection where I found a hand-written recipe card my grandmother had written out for me for butter tarts. My grandmother, and her whole side of the family is Canadian. So, I feel that using her recipe makes it even more authentically Canadian. The recipe was pretty easy and since both dishes were pretty simple, I wanted to make my own pastry. I just couldn't stomach the idea of store-bought pastry for these. I found another recipe in my collection and tried it out. Both were huge successes! I will write them out as I made them:

Pate Brisee
2 1/2 cups flour
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. sugar
1 cup cold butter, cut into small pieces
1/4-1/2 cup ice water(I needed nearly the full 1/2 cup)

In a bowl, combine flour, salt, and sugar. Cut in the butter with a pastry cutter or forks. Slowly add the ice water and mix until dough comes together. Knead gently a few times to combine and pat down into a disc. Cover with foil or plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least one hour. You can also freeze it for later use as well, if desired.

My Grandmother's Butter Tarts
1/2 cup butter, melted
1 1/2 cups brown sugar(Or do what I did: 1 cup brown sugar and 1/2 cup unsweetened applesauce)
1/4 tsp. salt
1 tsp. white vinegar
1 cup chopped walnuts
2 eggs
2 tsp. vanilla
Dough

Combine all the ingredients except for the dough, in a medium bowl.

Roll out the dough to about 1/4" thick and using a 2" cookie cutter or a drinking glass, cut out as many dough rounds as possible.

These work best with mini muffin tins. Place the dough inside each cup of a mini muffin tin and fill with a spoonful of the filling mixture. Bake at 425 degrees for 8 minutes and then turn the oven down to 350 degrees and bake for 10-15 minutes longer.

I think these things are filled with crack or something, because I cannot stop eating them. The pastry was fantastic and it will definitely be my go-to pastry recipe from now on. It's buttery and flakey and is everything pastry should be.The filling is slightly like the filling in a pecan pie, but not as gooey or sweet. The walnuts work really well in this.

I shared these with my Canadian grandmother and grandfather and also my Canadian dad and my mom, who is technically a Canadian citizen as well, because her mother was Canadian. I too am technically Canadian, due to my father. I think that's what made these dishes extra delicious, because it's not just amazing food, it's also my heritage.

While eating these, I of course had to watch a few episodes of one of my favorite Canadian tv shows: Road to Avonlea. I have several Canadian shows I love, but this one just sounded right today. If you've never watched it, you really should. It's by the same people who made Anne of Green Gables and is set in the same town. Visiting Prince Edward Island is on my bucket list. I'd like to visit all my Canadian family one day, maybe I'll do all of that at the same time! I'll bring them some butter tarts to try...!

Sources:
Vegan Cheese Curds Recipe

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Map Link

National Anthem Video

Dining-In: A Culinary Tour of America-Laramie, Wyoming

 The Location: Laramie, Wyoming

 

2013 population: 31,814; 83.6% white, 8.7% Hispanic. Per capita income: $22,441.

Prior to being colonized by the United States, the region around Laramie was home to the Sioux/Lakota tribe. The town of Laramie was first founded in the 1860's, and was built as a tent city next to the railroad line. The city was initially part of what we call the "Wild West" and subjected to a lot of the lawlessness that went along with it before being stabilized and "civilized".

Laramie, or perhaps all of the state of Wyoming, comes across as full of contradictions. Wyoming, as a territory, was organized in 1869. Women were granted equal rights by the legislature. Laramie was the first city in the United States to have women serve on a jury, in 1870. It was also home to the first woman to cast a ballot in an election, on September 6, 1870. It's the first city to ban smoking in public places. However, it is also home to the University of Wyoming, where the Matthew Shepard murder took place. For a place that from its inception was a beacon of what we would today define as liberality, it also has some shockingly conservative attitudes as well.

Supernatural Factoid: Actor Jim Beaver hails from Laramie.

The Food: Turkey Jerky and Three Sisters Stew

Wyoming's food seems to be as contradictory as its history and values. The two themes I came across most while researching food for this state were: Cowboy food and Native American food. So, I decided to run with it and find a recipe that represented each of those halves. Beef and buffalo are big in Wyoming, but they are not big with me, and I've always wanted to make jerky, but that meant finding a different protein source. Enter, the turkey. I modified two recipes I found online and combined them into my own recipe. I think it turned out pretty good for a first attempt!

Turkey Jerky
1 Tbsp. liquid smoke (Tip: If you are having trouble looking for this at the grocery store, check out the bbq sauce aisle. It's a good bet you'll find it there.)
2 Tbsp. soy sauce
1/4 tsp. Tabasco sauce, or to taste
1/3 cup Worcestershire sauce
1-1/2 tsp. mesquite flavoring liquid (I could not find this in the store and dumped in some chili powder instead. I think it turned out pretty good this way!)
2 tsp. light brown sugar, packed
1 Tbsp. onion powder
2 tsp. garlic powder
1 tsp. salt
1 lb. turkey breast, sliced thin (I used the cutlets that come pre-cut, the Jenny-O brand. I cut them in half but they were the perfect thinness to begin with.)

Combine the liquid smoke through the salt in a gallon-size ziplock bag. Mix well.
Add the turkey slices, and cover all the turkey slices in the marinade. Marinate in the refrigerator 12-24 hours.
When ready to prepare the jerky the next day, pour the turkey slices and the marinade into a pot, and simmer until the liquid reaches 160 degrees on a meat thermometer. (I didn't actually test the temperature, I just made sure it looked cooked on both sides.)

Preheat the oven to 150 degrees. (Note, my oven's lowest setting is 170 degrees. If yours is this higher temperature too, you may want to put the turkey in for less time. Try 2.5 hours and then test for moisture as described below.)
Drain the turkey slices from the marinade. Pat the turkey slices dry with paper towels. Lay the slices of turkey directly across your oven racks. (Place foil or a sheet pan under it to catch any of the slices that may slip off.)
Prop the oven door open with a wooden spoon to allow moisture to escape.

Continue to cook the turkey this way for 3-6 hours.
After 3 hours, test a piece by allowing it to cool,and then bending it. If there is any moisture present, continue to dry longer, checking every so often.
Store in an airtight container for up to 2 months in the refrigerator, or up to 6 months in the freezer.

 My jerky tasted awesome! A bit spicy, but I liked that. It was a bit crunchy in some bites, which means it dried out too much, as I said in the notes, this was probably because the temperature was just a bit higher than it was supposed to be. Probably a half hour less would have been perfect. It was way easier to make than I ever expected it to be. If you have been curious to try making jerky but are worried that it might be too complicated, don't be! Try it out! It's a fun project.

Three-Sisters Stew
I came across this name a few times in my researching and decided to use a vegan version of the recipe. According to Native American lore, there were three sisters: Corn sister, bean sister, and squash sister. Those three sisters provided all the nourishment the people needed, and because of this, they were planted together. The corn grew tall and the stalks allowed the beans to grow up without needing stakes. And the squash grew at the corn and bean's feet, making for easy harvesting. And science has proved the truth of this lore, because these three food items eaten together form what is known as a complete protein. Animal proteins are complete proteins because they contain every type of amino acid in them, but vegetarian protein sources are incomplete. Corn, beans, and squash, combined together, contain all the amino acids, which make it a complete protein source, and a boon for vegetarians and vegans. There are versions of these stew with meat in them, but I felt it wasn't needed. The three sisters are the star of this dish, and they deserved to stand out on their own, especially since I was making turkey jerky as well. I didn't need more meat than that!

1 large butternut squash (about 2 pounds), peeled and cut into bite-sized pieces

2 Tbsp. olive oil

1 medium onion, chopped

2 to 4 cloves garlic, minced

1 medium green or red bell pepper, cut into short narrow strips

1 (14- to 16-ounce) can fire-roasted diced tomatoes, with liquid

2 cans (drained and rinsed) pink or pinto beans

2 cans corn kernels, drained

1 cup homemade or canned vegetable stock, or water (I used water)

1 (4 oz.) can chopped mild green chilies, drained

2 tsp. ground cumin

2 tsp. chili powder or mesquite seasoning, or more, to taste (I used chili powder)

1 tsp. dried oregano

Dash cayenne pepper

Salt and freshly ground black pepper

 

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Place squash on a greased sheet pan and roast for about a half hour, until browned and cooked through.

Heat the oil in a large sauce pan. Add the onion and sauté over medium-low heat until translucent. Add the garlic and continue to sauté until the onion is golden. Add the squash and all the remaining ingredients except the salt and pepper, and bring to a simmer. 

Simmer gently, covered, until all the vegetables are tender, about 20 to 25 minutes. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

If time allows, let the stew stand for 1 to 2 hours before serving, then heat through as needed. The stew should be thick and very moist but not soupy; add additional stock or water if needed. Adjust seasonings to your liking. Serve in bowls.

This was really tasty! The squash is sweet and helps temper the spices in the stew. I am curious how it will taste reheated, but it was very good fresh too. It worked really well with the turkey jerky and was perfect for a snowy day like it was here today. It felt very winterish. I highly recommend this recipe!

Sources:
Turkey Jerky recipe

Turkey Jerky recipe

Three Sisters Stew recipe

City Map

City Pic

City Info

City History

Dining In-A Culinary Tour of America: Monterey Park, California

The City: Monterey Park

 

Why Monterey Park, you might ask. I chose this city because it is one of the smaller cities in California with the highest percentage of Asian/Asian Americans in their community. One of my only rules about this series is that I cannot choose a city I have been to before. Being that it is the Lunar New Year celebration right now, I wanted to feature that in this week's blog post. Since I have been to San Francisco, which might be the obvious choice for California and Lunar New Year, I had to get creative in where I chose to "visit". Other cities around the nation that have large Asian and Asian American populations are already slated for posts later on in the year for other events I want to feature in this series.

The population of Monterey Park, as of 2013, was 61,085. Of that total, 62.9% of the people are Asian or Asian American. 47.7% of those people are Chinese or Chinese Americans. The next greatest percentage of the total population is 30.3% being Hispanic. The East Los Angeles College, located nearby, is the city's largest employer.

Monterey Park is 10 miles east of Los Angeles, in southern California. It was founded on May 29, 1916. By the 1920's, Asian farmers began to come to the area to work and live. Over the years, attempts were made to limit the amount of Asian people moving to the area, but none of them were successful. In the 1970's and 1980's, the city council tried to pass "English only" ordinances two different times, and both attempts failed. In 1985, they successfully passed an ordinance that forced all business within the city to display English language signage on their signs. By 1990, the city became the first in the continental United States to have a population with an Asian/Asian American majority. There is a large Taiwanese community there and the city is even known as "Little Taipei". 

The Dish: Chop Suey and fried rice

Why Chop Suey, you might ask. Well, for one thing, I've never had it before. I've never made it before. For another, I am intrigued by its history. Nobody actually knows the true origin of this dish. In case you did not know, this dish, along with the fortune cookie, are actually American dishes. They are not Chinese at all. So why do it for Lunar New Year? Because America is about blending things together. People from other nations come here and they bring their own culinary traditions with them and from there they are altered to fit the tastes of their local communities. These Americanized dishes are a success story. They show how we all fit in together and work together and come together, particularly at the dinner table. I think it's beautiful and worthy of celebrating. That's the entire point of this blog series. 

Legend has it that chop suey, which basically means a hodge-podge of leftover vegetables and meat, stir-fried and served with a sauce, was created at a restaurant in Chinatown in San Francisco in the late 1800's. It was a great way to use up all of one's inventory and pass it off as authentic to unsuspecting American tourists. It became a great hit. But another legend says that it was created at a hotel for a Chinese diplomat who had come to visit. The chef invented the meal in hopes of appealing to both Chinese and American taste preferences. Some say that it really was invented in China and the name has been changed over the years. Nobody truly knows, and that's what makes it fascinating.

The dish itself is rather uneventful. I found a good recipe online to base mine off of but I changed a lot about it. The biggest alteration I made was to veganize it. It called for pork tenderloin, but that can be so expensive and also depending on how it's prepared, the flavor can get lost. Since this was going to have a lot of other flavors vying for attention, I didn't want to spend all that money on something that would be drowned out in the end. I am not a tofu fan, so I chose tempeh, which is a fermented soy bean product that has a nice firmness to it that tofu doesn't have. I got the kind that is marinated in a soy/ginger sauce and it turned out to be pretty good. I used vegetable broth instead of chicken and oyster mushroom sauce instead of oyster sauce, which I can't bring myself to eat. I already had the mushroom sauce on-hand. As for the vegetables, the biggest one I swapped out was the celery. Celery is a big component of chop suey(probably because it's cheap), but I cannot stand celery. I put in carrot slices instead and I think it was fine. I left out the green bell pepper since I'm not a huge fan of those either. (The name of this blog is "Persnickety" and now you are learning why...!) I used baby bok choy, cremini mushrooms, snow peas, onion, green onions, a can of water chestnuts, a can of bamboo shoots, which for some reason do not smell good at all, and canned bean sprouts. Yes, canned bean sprouts...We now live in a world where I cannot get fresh bean sprouts from a grocery store because everybody is afraid of getting sick from them. I cannot even begin to express my outrage and dismay over this. Do you know the horror of using bean sprouts from a can? Probably not...But I do, and it is not ok.

To accompany the chop suey, I made homemade fried rice. I have made this in the past, though I have usually used one of those mixes from the store for the flavoring and I think this recipe was good and easy enough that I would never need one of those mixes again. Actually I'm a bit ashamed to admit to having used a mix at all now that I know how simple it truly is. I kept this one vegetarian too, though I included the scrambled egg, so it depends on your definition of "vegetarian" if you consider it to be truly so or not. The biggest alteration I made was to switch out the frozen peas for snow peas that I trimmed and sliced thinly. I have never liked frozen peas and knew I'd just pick them out if I used them. I love snow peas and thought they would work just a well, and they did. They gave it a little added crunch which was very nice. I used reduced sodium soy sauce and found it needed a lot more than the one teaspoon the recipe called for.

The actual assembly of the food was pretty simple, though it took a bit of time to stir-fry each item individually and take it out of the pan before moving onto the next. The biggest time consumer was the prep work. It took nearly an hour and a half to prep everything for both dishes. The above picture, from end to end, is all the food that went into the meal. At the bottom are the eggs and veggies for the rice. Next to that is the veggies for the chop suey. The smaller bowls are the bean sprouts, water chestnuts and bamboo shoots, the sauces, and the sliced tempeh that was later marinated. And at the far end is the pre-cooked rice I made earlier this afternoon. I portioned it out and spread it flat on a sheet pan that I put in the fridge to cool down properly. I can see now why Chinese food at restaurants is so expensive. It's a very labor-intensive cuisine. They definitely earn whatever profit margin the dishes are set to.

I'm not sure I would ever make chop suey again or even order it in a restaurant when there are other more interesting dishes out there, but it was a lot of fun to make and enjoy today. It was a good way to celebrate the Lunar New Year, in my opinion. The holiday is becoming more and more popular in America, and will probably evolve and change into something unique in time, just like dishes I made tonight did, once upon a time.

Gung Hay Fat Choy/Gong Xi Fa Cai!

Sources:

Map 

City Picture 

Chop Suey Recipe 

Fried Rice Recipe 

Monterey Park History 

Monterey Park Stats 

Chop Suey History