Canadian Crossing

'iCarly' hits Canada in search of Canadian Fat Cakes

No matter what you've heard on "iCarly," you can bring processed baked goods from Canada into the United States.

Then again, even if you are a part of the "iCarly" demographic, hopefully you know that the Canadian Fat Cakes episode was just a spoof.

The popular Nickelodeon TV show took Fat Cakes, one of their running jokes, and adapted an episode where Sam, who is obsessed about Fat Cakes and has never had a Canadian fat cake, gets a chance to tour a plant in Canada where they make Canadian fat cakes. Fat cakes in Canada taste better because they are made with "cane fat" while American Fat Cakes are made with "corn fat."

Processed baked goods are well within the rules of what you can bring back from Canada into the United States. Trust me, I've brought back Canadian versions of Twinkies, Ding Dongs, and Cup Cakes. The customs officers think they're more funny than dangerous.

Since the show mentions Seattle, the inference is that the cast went to Vancouver or somewhere nearby in southwestern Britian Columbia.

Besides the actual ability to bring back processed baked goods, one other glaring misstep in the script was that Sam didn't have her passport when she tries to go back across the border to the United States. Sam would have needed a passport to get into Canada. She seems surprised about this when she gets to the border. Especially since this was a day trip, Sam would have had this issue come up earlier in the day.

For more from the food perspective, check out this edition of "Temptation of the Week" from our sister blog, BalanceofFood.com.

photo credit: iCarly

Want to help make poutine Canada's national dish?

Okay, so this is more about Wendy's trying to get publicity for putting poutine on its menu, but the idea of signing a petition to make poutine Canada's national dish was too good to pass up.

McDonald's has served poutine in its locations in Quebec for some time. I've seen it in a Burger King, but I haven't ordered it in either well-known fast food chain. If Wendy's uses its skin-on fries, this might be the one fast food poutine I would try.

Chances are that if you are in Canada, you might be more willing to try a local poutine place than a national place. But if you're traveling, and a Wendy's is at the roadside, you might see if the fuss is worthwhile.

The "Poutition" is designed to be presented to Parliament on July 1 (Canada Day). Canadians will be able to see and hear ads for this cause.

I have hosted a talk on Canadian food, and while poutine came up in conversation, Canadian food is way more than just poutine. Still, Canada doesn't really have a national dish, and outside Quebec, poutine is more novel than anything else. If nothing else, poutine is becoming more popular in the United States.

Then again, what is the United States' national dish. Mac & cheese? Hot dogs?

What do you think about poutine as Canada's national dish? Is there a better option? Let us know in the comments section below or clue us in on the Canadian Crossing Twitter feed.

photo credit: Wendy's

Canada weakens food safety as part of Harper budget cuts

Especially with NAFTA, when a NAFTA member country cuts back on food safety, good results never come as a result.

In the Harper budget cuts, food safety takes a much sharper cut than other federal agencies. The memory of the listeriosis outbreak in 2008 is still fresh, even if the deli meat wasn't. 22 deaths and 35 serious illnesses resulted from the outbreak.

In the last Canadian federal election, the Conservatives promised $100 million more in spending over a 5-year period for food safety. Wonder how that will turn out.

How food safety became a political issue on both sides of the border is startling. Conservatives eat food just like liberals and others.

At least Canada has a federal agency — Canadian Food Inspection Agency — devoted to food safety. The U.S. can't even spare that as a concept, real or weak.

For more on this story, check out our perspective from our sister blog, BalanceofFood.com.

Day 4 for Kelly Ripa in Banff: Ben Mulroney, torchlight skiing, and Canadian cuisine

Canadian word of the day: Ogopogo

The Calgary Stampede Show Band opened and closed the final chapter of Kelly Ripa's adventures in Banff. Ripa's co-host on Thursday was Ben Mulroney, an actual Canadian. Mulroney works for CTV as host of ETalk and "Canadian Idol." (CTV airs Live with Kelly.)

Mulroney was born in Montréal and grew up in Ottawa. Ben was 8 when his dad became prime minister. Tying in the show band, the hosts talked about this summer's 100th Calgary Stampede. Mulroney noted that Canada is a young country, having been created in 1867, so 100 years make it a nationwide cultural icon. Calgary is about 145 km (90 miles) from Banff.

Mulroney did a really nice job as co-host. I argued that Ripa needed Canadian presence in the chair. And it showed well on Thursday.

Theresa Montague of Banff introduced the Canadian Word of the Day; an ogopogo is a mythical creature that lives at the bottom of the lake. Montague said the creature is green and 50 ft. long. I confess I didn't know that word either.

We mentioned yesterday the oddity of promoting trips with the trivia game while promoting Banff and Alberta. Well, sure enough, the trip up for grabs on Thursday was for the Fairmont Banff Springs.

David Torres of Fairhaven, MA was the player. Torres had heard of Calgary and Alberta but not Lake Louise. Not too bad. Then Torres blurted out his critique of Alberta beef "not the best looking, but it is the best tasting steak."

Torres won the trip to the Fairmont in Banff Springs because he knew the Statue of Liberty arrived in New York City the same year as Banff National Park. You got the impression that the show would have been more pissed than the contestat if he didn't get the question correct.

David James Elliott was the primary guest. Elliott is a native of the Toronto area, but had never been to Banff. He teasingly went after Mulroney for his father being in charge. Ben said "Take a number." Elliott was known for being on "JAG" but is now on "GCB." At the end, Ripa noted that GCB aired on ABC; Mulroney sneaked in that the show also airs on CTV. (That is too many initials in one paragraph.)

One of the issues with the coverage in Banff was that we only saw winter shots, forgetting how pretty the area is when the snow isn't on the ground. We got a shot of Horse Thief Canyon, a lovely shot of the area without snow.

Kelly never did see a moose, even if Mulroney wore a moose hat for her. And Ripa snapped her 2-day string of mentioning poutine.

Speaking of food, Kelly and Ben were treated to Rocky Mountain cuisine courtesy of the executive chef of the Fairmont Banff Springs.

The difficulty of defining Canadian cuisine is that this depends on the region of the country. Poutine travels well beyond Quebec. But it is easier to get elk and bison in the Rocky Mountain region. We also got trout, salmon bouillabaisse, beef tenderloin carpaccio, cheese fondue with truffle, and poached pears with maple mousse.

Mulroney said, "nothing says Canada like maple, huh." Ripa dipped the poached pears with maple mousse in the cheese fondue.

Ripa reacted fondly to the food by kissing the executive chef and the sous chefs. This is about local cuisine, but it's also about food for people who can afford the luxury of such a trip.

Kelly was aggressive in selling Banff, Alberta, and Canada. Unlike Monday, it came across better and reflecting the time that she has had in that area. When people think of Canada, Toronto, Montréal, and Vancouver leap to mind. Full credit where credit is due: the show went to two places that are very little known in the States and showcased them on U.S. television in ways that even the best of commercials couldn't do.

As much as we have teased about watching the show, I haven't been to Prince Edward Island or Alberta. And I want to see both provinces.

Previous: Day 3 for Kelly Ripa in Banff: Snow shoeing, Melanie Fiona, and a beaver hat

Previous: Day 2 for Kelly Ripa in Banff: Poutine, Calgary Fiddlers, and Caroline Rhea

Previous: Day 1 for Kelly Ripa in Banff: Dog sledding, ice carving, and Regina jokes

Day 2 for Kelly Ripa in Banff: Poutine, Calgary Fiddlers, and Caroline Rhea

Canadian word of the day: Bunny Hug

"I am in love with poutine" — Jayma Mays

Kelly starts out by noting her producer says Jayma Mays had fallen in love with Canadian French fries. Ripa, co-host Chris Harrison, and Mays eat from a large bowl of poutine. "It is heaven on a plate," said Mays. "It's heaven in a bowl."

"That is incredible," Ripa said after she tried it.

Mays had not been to Banff, but her husband has gone swimming. The couple had worked together in Vancouver.

Caroline Rhea was introduced as "Canadian royalty." Now you had a segment earlier in the show on poutine. You have a guest from Montréal, home of poutine. And they don't ask Rhea about poutine.

Rhea noted that she flew in from Vancouver where she was filming a movie with David Hasselhoff. At the end of the segment, Rhea ended, "I want everyone in Canada to follow me on Twitter because they are coming for our oil and I want you to know."

The second show started out with the Calgary Fiddlers. Ripa and Harrison showed pictures of Marilyn Monroe in Banff in 1953.

Yasmine, Betty Jo, Colleen, and Cheryl introduced the Canadian word of the day: Bunny Hug. A bunny hug is a hooded sweatshirt. The lovely ladies were adorned in bunny hugs. As Kelly mentioned yesterday's word, toque, she mispronounced toque as "toke," as in "one toke over the line."

The outdoor adventure was Live's producer Michael Gelman doing cat skiing. Everyone had fun with the idea of cats skiing. Unfortunately for the segment, cats skiing would have been more interesting.

The terrain is clearly pretty, but with a lot of it covered by snow, they could have been anywhere. Early in the segment, they did note that they were going from 8,000 ft. to 9,000 ft. The significant altitude is the one element that has been missing from the coverage.

Previous: Day 1 for Kelly Ripa in Banff: Dog sledding, ice carving, and Regina jokes

photo credit: WABC-TV New York

NHL Center Ice February 2012 Canadian commercials

This would have gone up sooner in a perfect world,  but having a day job postponed running some of the cooler commercials on Canadian-based telecasts during the NHL Center Ice free preview in February.

I couldn't find as many cool ads on the Internet as I wanted from this stretch. I did want the spot about Tim Horton's jalapeno mozzarella bagel and McDonald's quality beef. But these are the best of what I could find.

There will be a final preview at the end of the regular season and possibly the playoffs. As soon as we know more, you will know more.

Tim Horton lattes
 

Boston Pizza cookbook
 

A&W $3 Uncle Burger bouncer
 

Jordan Eberle (Edmonton Oilers) taxi ATB Financial
 

Hughes Car Wash
 

Does all of Canada have culinary high school programs?

An article on Grist.org wondered that in talking about a program at Jasper Place High School in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada.

"(yes, Canada apparently has culinary programs in high school)"

Well, just because they do in Edmonton doesn't mean they are scattered throughout Canada. Heck, Canada doesn't even have a national school lunch program.

This does sounds pretty awesome, especially given how far north Edmonton is. Even if it isn't everywhere, good to see someone in Canada put together this type of project.

For more, check out our summary on our sister blog, BalanceofFood.com.

Rachael Ray still loves Montréal, but her travel tips need a 2012 update

Like or dislike Rachael Ray, she speaks volumes in the food world. And one thing to like about Rachael Ray is that she loves Montréal.

Yes, Rachael loves everything, but she really, sincerely does love Montréal. Ray is from upstate New York, a relatively short drive to Montréal.

So when I was recently watching a long ago rerun of her Montréal visit for "$40 a Day," I noticed a couple of things that are no longer correct.

The most obvious point was the exchange rate. In 2002, when she was in Montréal visit for "$40 a Day," the exchange rate was about 75¢ to the dollar, a great deal for American tourists. Needless to say, those days are long over.

Travelers going to Canada certainly know that the exchange rate isn't that good, and they should check the rate before going to any country. U.S. tourists are making fewer trips to Canada these days, and the exchange rate is one of several reasons for this trend.

Toward the end of the episode, Rachael talks exuberantly about being able to get your GST back at the border. She lays out the ground rules precisely … as they were in 2002. However, that rule is long gone, and you can't get back GST, not to mention that some provinces have gone to a combined HST.

Having a crawl across the screen that explains this each and every time the rerun is aired is probably too much to request. Hopefully, tourists aren't going to Montréal or elsewhere in Canada hoping for that money back. When TV tells you something, especially Rachael Ray, it's easy to believe it's so. While it was true in 2002, this isn't true in 2012, even if Rachael Ray says so.

Potato chips, Canadian style

One of my treasured activities when traveling to Canada is to study the contrast in Canadian food products vs. the United States.

In a light-hearted look through the "eyes" of Canadians, I submit these potato chips photo essay of bags of chips you can find in Canada, but not in the United States. Pickle-flavored Doritos. All-dressed Ruffles.

The one Canadian-favorite flavor of chips that perplexes Americans is ketchup chips. And ketchup chips are rather unusual in the United States. The other flavors aren't found in the States, but they might do better: sour cream and bacon, sure; pickle chips, well, maybe for pregnant women.

The beauty of travel is seeing that other countries have variations based on their own tastes, and seeing how well someone does with the typical American junk food of potato chips.

So take the time to see all the chips bags in their grocery store glory. Yes, they are all here, in picture form, in this take from our sister blog, BalanceofFood.com.

Harper, Obama at White House to announce new Canada-U.S. border agreement

Traveling offers adventure on multiple levels, but the suspenseful travel word of the 21st century has been "trade-offs." You get that feeling as Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper is at the White House today to meet with U.S. President Barack Obama. The two leaders are expected to announce a framework agreement on improving the path of commerce and travelers between the two countries.

Freeing the flow is a long-needed goal between Canada and the United States to get back somewhat to the levels of pre-9/11. Of course, that freer flow comes at a price.

The obvious concern is government having increased knowledge about you and your travels, especially the U.S. government about Canadians. Whatever your political preference and levels of concern, it's one thing to have your government know too much; it's another to have another government know that much. Some frequent travelers between the countries are ready to make that trade-off. We're also concerned for the occasional traveler to have a relatively smooth experience so they continue to travel.

The other concern is the harmonizing of food standards; in other words, dumbing down Canadian food standards to match those in the United States so food can travel through faster.

Improved travel, tourism, and trade between the United States and Canada are goals of CanadianCrossing.com, and are the goals of this new agreement. Let's hope the trade-offs don't turn out to be too bad.