On the third day of Christmas my true love gave to me....French Ancestry
Ok, sounds strange but stay with me! This is food related! I'm 40% French. Some of that came from France and through Canada. So, I'm French Canadian. Not sure what percentage I am Canadian but I know I'm about 40% French. Although I do get it on both sides of my family, I spent the most time with my maternal Grandparents. They spoke French, it was actually their first language. Their parents were from Canada and spoke French also. I actually learned French because my maternal Grandparents would argue about me in French, when I was in the room, so I didn't know what they were saying. Granted I learned Parisian French and they spoke Quebecois. However, I still could figure out what they were saying to a point, no matter how fast they spoke. You're probably wondering what the point is by now. Well, the point is French food. Particularly the food my Grandmother cooked and the food traditions in Quebec.
Two big things in Montreal, the second biggest French speaking city in the world, are Smoked Meat and Poutine.
Smoked Meat:
It looks like Pastrami but there is a difference. For the sake of time you can read it here. I've never had a Smoked Meat sandwich, but I have had Smoked Meat spaghetti in a restaurant called Nickels, which is a chain owned by Quebec native Celine Dion and her husband. To this day I still get cravings for Smoked Meat spaghetti and miss living so close to Canada.
Poutine
This is a term you may have heard before. It's almost the official dish of Quebec. You have to have French fries, preferably with skins on, fast food restaurant fries would not qualify. They also should big strong fries, nothing skinny and limp. You also, to be authentic, use Cheese curd. I know that can be hard to find. Last time I found some it was at an apple orchard and they were all different flavors. You need plain old cheese curd. I last time I made poutine with plain cheese curd I found them at a deli section of a grocery store in Minnesota. Yes, Minnesota. Not going into why I was there. I know that mozzarella would work just as well, but I believe in authenticity. I have real poutine you need the real cheese curd. Also, you need gravy. Ok, so when I make it I use the packets and not real gravy. Well, I'm not a big cook and don't know the first thing about making real beef gravy. Or I'm just a hypocrite. You really don't need a recipe. It's all there for you. Not hard to make. Heck, I can even make it. Have yet to fail at making it.
A traditional French Canadian dish my Grandmother made is:
Sliders and no I'm not talking about little hamburgers. it's actually flour noodles in a thick chicken gravy with pieces of chicken, Yum, I have my Grandmother's recipe somewhere but can't find it. I'll just link you here
I'm very proud of my French Canadian Heritage. I am blessed to have been able to have the experience of hearing my maternal Grandparents speak French. Whether it was to each other or to their siblings. I am also lucky to have grown up so close to Canada, 13 minutes away. It was really interesting to be in Montreal and read the French signs and be exposed to the different cultures that are up there. Yes, Canadians are like Americans because a majority of them speak English. However, there is a difference between all three cultures, The American, English Canadian and French Canadian. I really feel that living so close to Montreal really influenced my life. I still love to watch the Canadian television stations when I go home to visit. My favorite Montreal radio station is actually available online here: CHOM. In my opinion CHOM is the best radio station EVER.
I really haven't mentioned anything about losing weight or anything like that in my post. Well, this blog is about me. Yes, I write mostly about my weight loss journey, but I'm a lot more than just my weight loss;) I don't plan on sharing too much personal non-weight loss stuff on here, but hey, gotta stick to the Twelve Days of Christmas theme;-) Didn't want to write about French toast or French fries or even French's mustard. Would have been boring!
