Happy Birthday Canada

July 1st is Canada Day or our nation's birthday. Tomorrow this young country will turn 141 and I'm every bit a proud Canadian as I am Greek.

Canada is a nation of the Native peoples, the French and English majority and the multicultural mosaic that's made up of all the other ethnicities.

I'm grateful for the opportunity Canada gave to my parents and my family to begin a new life where hard work was rewarded, that one could achieve any goal if they set their mind to it, a country full of tolerance, peaceful and safe.

Jasmine of Confessions of a Cardamom Addict emailed me to see if I was interested in participating in a food event that captured the essence of Canadian flavours and foods.

Canada has some of the best that International cuisine has to offer and this is large part due to the rich tapestry of ethnicities within our borders.

After asking my parents and brother what food(s) captured the essence of Canada's food...a unanimous reply was French Fries and Gravy.

What's unique about Canada's fries & gravy is the Montreal specialty of Poutines. Poutines are basically a dish of french fries, cheese curds and gravy.

This dish will NOT appear on the menu of any diets currently being exercised but you only live once, life's not a dress rehearsal and Poutines are too damn delicious to not indulge in every now & then.

Cheese curds have the combined texture of Mozzarella and Halloumi and although widely available in Canada, some difficulty will be had in finding them elsewhere.

What you need here are french fries, cheese curds (Mozzarella is the closest alternative) and a deep brown gravy made from a rich beef stock.

There's no real recipe here other than to do your French Fries properly, seek out cheese curds and make a kick-ass, deeply flavourful and thick beef gravy.

Happy Canada Day!

Roasted Loin of Pork With a Fennel Seed Crust

I tried this dish a few years ago. I was trying to impress my cousin's wife who is German and she knows a thing or two about roast pork. I had her Sunday roast pork with gravy, potatoes and braised purple cabbage. She impressed me!

I have found that fennel seeds really complement the taste of pork meat. Fennel seeds aren't used as much as other spices but they should!

Fennel seeds are native to the Mediterranean and also found in Asia (especially India). It has a licorice like flavour, similar to anise but slightly different.

In India, fennel seeds are often chewed after dinner as a breath freshener. In ancient Greek, fennel was called marathon (μάραθον).

Fennel seeds often provide quick and effective relief from gas, cramps and indigestion.

I'm offering this post for this week's edition of Weekend Herb Blogging, hosted by Vani at Batasari.

The hostess Vani will soon provide the readers with a "round up" of all the recipes, stories and information provided by many bloggers like me.

What happened to that pork? Oh yeah...no leftovers is what happened! My trusted meat thermometer worked like a charm, leaving me with a moist and tender roast loin of pork.

Roast Loin of Pork With a Fennel Seed Crust
(feeds 6)

1 loin of pork (I used boneless, 8lbs)
2 Tbsp. Dijon mustard
1 Tbsp garlic powder
2 tsp. fresh thyme leaves
2 tsp. fennel seeds + 2 tsp. fennel seeds for topping
1 medium onion, grated
1 tsp ground pepper
coarse sea salt
cracked black pepper
Preheated 425F oven

1. Rinse and pat-dry your pork loin. In a bowl, mix your grated onion, mustard, garlic powder, thyme, fennel seeds and ground pepper. Rub the pork thoroughly with the marinade and refrigerate for 2-3 hours. Bring back to room temperature before roasting.
2. Place the pork loin in a roasting pan, fat side up. Generously sprinkle coarse salt and cracked black pepper only on the top part of the loin. Sprinkle some more fennel seeds on top.
3. Roast in the oven uncovered for 40 minutes (at 425F) and then reduce the heat to 375F and add a cup of water to the bottom of the pan to prevent burning.
   
4. Cook until the internal temperature of the pork has reached 170F. Remove the roast from the pan and let stand for 15-20 minutes before carving. Time to make your gravy.

Pork-Apple Gravy

1 cup of pork jus, skimmed, deglazed and strained from the pan
1/2 cup chicken or vegetable stock
2 Tbsp. flour
2 Tbsp. butter
1/2 cup apple juice
salt and pepper to taste

1. Skim the fat from the roasting pan and discard. Place the pan on a burner and add your water to deglaze. Scrape the pan to loosen the brown bits. Strain and reserve in a cup.
2. In a medium sized saucepan, add your butter and flour and cook your flour while stirring under medium heat for 5 minutes.
3. Add your pork jus, stock and apple juice and simmer while stirring. Reduce until you've achieved your desired thickness. Adjust seasoning with salt and pepper.
4. Serve over your pork and mashed potatoes.
   

Turkey Gravy

As time allows, I'm posting the remainder of my Thanksgiving fixins'. One of the most comforting parts of the meal is eating the velvety gravy....on the turkey, on the stuffing, on the vegetables!

Making gravy is not rocket science, just have a good eye when making your roux and keep on stirring and you'll have lump-free turkey gravy!

Turkey Gravy

• Drippings from a roast turkey
• 5 cups turkey stock or deglazed stock & drippings
  
• 6 Tbsp. flour
• 3 Tbsp. unsalted butter
• salt & pepper to taste
• dash of garlic powder

1. Transfer your turkey to a platter to rest. Place the pan back on the heat and deglaze the brown bits with white wine or some water and scrape to loosen the brown bits. Now pour all the drippings into a meauring cup. Leave the brown bits in the bottom of the cup...that's tasty stuff!
2. Let the drippings stand until the fat rises to the top of the measuring cup. Spoon off the fat and reserve.
3. Place a sauce pan on medium-high heat and add your butter. As soon as it bubbles, add your flour and constantly stir until the flour has cooked and has turned a light brown colour. Add your stock/drippings to the pot and bring to a soft boil. If you encounter lumps, use a potato masher to break up the lumps and then continue stirring.
4. Simmer your gravy until you achieve your desired thickness. Check for seasoning with salt and pepper and if you like, some garlic powder can add a nice dimension too!