Canada Day is finally here - and along with it, for the very first time, so is Taste Canada! About a month ago I asked you what Canada tastes like to you...and I received a resounding answer. There is more to what Canada tastes like then meets the eye, apparently! From lamb, perogies and salmon to beaver tails, bannock and butter tarts, Canada is quite the flavorsome experience.

Before we start, let's all sit and have a bit of a chat - Dave of Kitchen Savvy wants to tell us about uniquely Canadian variations on heritage favourites and how Canada’s food treasures are similar to the story of "Stone Soup".

First things first, we have to shop, and who better to show us around than Clement of A la Cuisine? While he didn’t make a specific food that says “Canada” he still showed us how his Canada – specifically Toronto – tastes to him. Clement made us all remember that the country we live in has some amazing food purveyors that make fresh, delicious products available to us every day. Speaking about the city closest to my heart he has made me want to drop everything and head out to the market!

Another person who can show us around and where to shop, Elizabeth from Blog from our Kitchen regales us with tales of her Canadian food experiences – living in a large city like Toronto certainly does expose you to many different foods!

And now that we've shopped we can start cooking. Maybe we should have some salad and appetizers (and cake...I can always eat cake)... Lady X from experiment in writing blends her Asian (Chinese and Burmese) cultures with her Canadian roots by sharing three distinctly different recipes. First is Lephet Thoke, a salad whose main ingredient is fermented tea leaves, Steamed Pork Balls which look amazing, and Jeanne Cake, which looks so delectably sweet my teeth are aching. She also mentions Beaver Tails and Peameal Bacon sandwiches as being distinct Canadian food memories.

To go with those "amouse-bouches", Templar (the Food Ninja) brings us one of my favourite foods: perogies. Being of Ukrainian and Polish (and Irish) descent, he ought to be able to make delicious perogies and let me tell you, his look fantastic. All crispy and covered in onions – just the way Baba would make!

Next up? Adam of Big City Barbeques has joined us at the table and he's brought something that most Canadians eat quite a lot of: Pizza. Adam says that pizza became his favourite food as a child because it was easier to tell other kids that you liked pizza rather than telling them you liked snails. He has brought a really cheesy, delicious looking BBQ Chicken Pizza (CPK Style). Thanks, Adam!

If you thought those were good, wait till you see what we're indulging in next: Jim and Mike over at Pizza Ottawa have really piqued my interest with their own creation: Poutine Pizza. I love potatoes, I’m a sucker for poutine, and pizza… who doesn'tlove pizza? And they leave us with this accurate statement: “all food is great when it is made with the best ingredients that Canada has to offer. It has nothing to do with poutine, Canadian bacon, or maple syrup”.

Along similar lines, my own husband has brought out the "big guns" for this Canadian feast. He shares with us stories of growing up in Montreal and then culture shock of culture shock – moving to Toronto. His Canadian meal is a combination of the two street foods of these two very urban cities, Toronto Hot Dogs and Québec Poutine. Now that’s Canadian comfort food at its best.

Moving right along down the table we have one of the biggest supporters of Taste Canada - Ana of Pumpkin Pie Bungalow. Ana spent a lot of time and energy searching out Canadian Food Bloggers for this event, and even posted a pre-quel on her site to list all of the participants before the actual event! She has made some delicious Barbequed Ribs for us to munch on. To her these ribs remind her of when she came to Canada and had dinner at a friend's house. This friend served barbequed ribs with something that I also consider very Canadian - well, maybe very Ontario-ian - "Ziggy's" potato salad and cole slaw. And considered it a good welcome to this country and still raves about the meal - and recreated the entire thing for us today!

I hope no one is full yet, because there is so much more to come! Next at the table, is Liz of Truffle Mutt who, like many Canadians, believes that “Canada is everything that my family has made it to be”. She therefore wanted to make something that was passed down within her German family for this tasty event. She shares with us a recipe for Grandma’s German Pancakes. That is something I love about this country – we are capable of embracing all the cultures and keeping them whole, while at the same time allowing them to become part of Canadian culture.

Maybe we should take a break and have a glass of wine - thankfully Carolyn of 18th C Cuisine is willing to share with us the secrets of grapes that have been growing in both Canada and the United States (Nouvelle France in her time) for hundreds of years.

And now, back to the food! Ruth from Once Upon a Feast is a relative new-comer to the food blogging world, but she certainly isn’t new to the kitchen. Wanting to make something Canadian AND summery (who wouldn’t with the heat in Western Canada right now!) she decided on Maple Syrup & Bourbon Glazed BBQ Salmon, which looks like a masterpiece to me!

But, really, what is a fish course without a companion pasta course? Nancy of Neuroti.ca has fond memories of her mother’s cooking (which remind me of my own mother’s cooking!) – “meat and two veg meals”. She shares with us a recipe for Mother Mary’s Macaroni Meat Stuff; as she puts it, “simple, satisfying and easy on the budget”. Sounds good to me!

I'm not full yet, if you can believe it - because I know that there are so many more delicious offerings on the table to sample. For example, Christine at Knife Skills has brought along a meal that reflects the Canada where she lives and her family heritage at the same time. Pacific oysters on the half-shell, wild Sockeye Salmon served with a citrus ponzu sauce. Sides of locally grown organic roasted beets and potatoes, braised bok choy and shitake mushrooms. What a gorgeous collection of home-grown food!

Okay, it might be time to loosen the pants, take a sip of water and a deep breath. We're not even close to done this meal! Mirko of M’s Cooking Diary has brought lobster...and I for one can't wait! Mirko of bestows upon us stories of playing with lobsters that his father brought home and the slatko (Serbian jam) that his mother and aunt made on summer. He provides us with a recipe for lobster as well as one for a fruity dessert with Quebec Strawberries (which are fantastic, I must agree!).

Since we're having lobster, we might as well have some fish and chips (my logic is not always logical) and look who brought some! Christine of I Like to Do Stuffshares a taste remembrance from her childhood – eating take out fish & chips on the dining room floor of a new house with her parents. It’s amazing how one moment that was so long ago can resonate for so many years.

Let's not forget about the vegetarians at the table; Vegcat from Bite Me gives both us and her readers something to bite for a change, supplying all of us with a PETA-friendly recipe for a Canadian favourite: Shepherd’s Pie.

Linda of Kayak Soup’s Canada is a “seamless blend of cross-cultural culinary experiences”…and inspired her to make an meal for us that embodies this blend. Sweet petit oysters, soy & rice vinegar marinated steamed wild salmon and for dessert, local blueberries with maple syrup flavoured whipped cream.

Ed from Blork Blog has brought for us his “not-so-Canadian-meal”, which really is a part of what food in Canada is all about. With the heat and humidity that accompanies many Canadian summers he made Mexican-inspired soft corn tortilla tacos with grilled chicken and home-made roasted tomato and jalapeno salsa, with roasted veggies and chips & guacamole on the side - I'm so glad I saved room for this!

Jim of Kitchen Geek has brought a whole meal for us to enjoy, and it sounds delectable. He has married the fresh ingredients indigenous to Vancouver (such as Lamb, Salmon, Moose, Fiddleheads and Berries) with the strong Asian influence that is quite dominant in that area of the country. His Canadian meal consists of dishes such as Lamb and Smoked Salmon Salad Rolls, Moose Meat Shepherd's Pie, Fiddleheads with Wine and Herbs and Saskatoon Berry Crumble.

One more dinner course - and it sounds just divine, I hope you saved room! Dawna of Always in the Kitchen says it highlights a “Canadian willingness to mix up the flavours of our various heritages into a new and delicious way.” Her dinner of Lamb Shanks in BC Red Wine, wild mushroom and goat cheese risotto and a spinach, pear and blue cheese salad sounds delightful.

Oh, wait...don't get up from the table just yet or you'll miss something really special! Lyn of Lex Culinaria shares with us her fond memories of growing up in rural Northern Canada – “the call of the loon on a summer night that never ends because the sun never goes down. It is the smell of a birch bark canoe and the cold and quiet early morning water it glides through.” Along with these beautifully written memories Lyn provides us with some scrumptious sounding Bannock and Wild Blueberry Jam.

To stay on the blueberry theme, Richard, who heard of Taste Canada but doesn’t have a blog of his own, sent me a recipe for a family favourite – Mennonite Berry Platz. Made with fresh blueberries how can it be anything but delicious?!?

And that is only the beginning of the sweet offerings, so sit back down and wake up your sweet tooth. Sara from I like to Cook says that her Canada tastes like “sunshine, summer and the smell of grass”, which sounds heavenly. When her boss bestowed a garbage bag full of rhubarb on her, her Canada began to take on the taste of that hearty plant and she made Rhubarb Crisp. I'm digging in!

In case there wasn't enough rhubarb to go around, Jennifer of A Day in the Life of a Canadian Girl wows us with a family tradition – “More Gram's Rhubarb Custard Pie” and some beautiful memories of Jennifer’s grandmother (“Gram”).

If there is possibly anything more Canadian than rhubarb, it would have to be butter tarts - I'm shocked only one person brought them! Mrs. Pink of Mrs. Pink’s Blurty Entries has made a batch of ooey-gooey Butter Tarts to tempt all of our sweet tooth's. These are hands down her favourite Canadian food and they look delicious!

If your teeth aren't aching yet, please have a slice of the sticky, sweet, gorgeous Sugar Pie that Tarzile has brought for all of us. She describes it as "Un dessert humble et vite préparé" and although it is usually made with brown sugar ("c'est plus économique") she has dipped into her maple sugar reserve to indulge us. Mmmm...maple sugar.

Staying in line with sticky and sweet, Vero from That Canadian Girl (all the way from England!) has brought us a Pouding Chômeur, or poor man’s pudding. "It is a sponge cake with a thick caramelized maple sauce that drips through the cake during cooking time. The top becomes golden with syrup and the bottom becomes spongey and saucy. Decadent!

OOOhhh... My stomach. But there's still some more fabulous looking desserts to indulge in. Okay - let's keep going! A girl after my own truly Canadian heart would have to be Jennifer of Taste Everything Once (and who isn’t even Canadian!). She has made a batch of sinful-looking Nanaimo Bars (my favourite all-time bar). Using the ‘ultimate’ recipe from a contest in 1986 she wows us with these truly Canadian, chocolate confections.

What about something a little lighter after that sugar high? Tara of Seven Spoons knows exactly what her Canada tastes of: “Canada tastes as sweet as summer fruit, as hearty as perogies and as complex as our world-renowned wines.” These thoughts spurred her on to make a new creation - Icewine Strawberries in Sweet Wonton Cones. Quite the Canadian dessert!

While you're waiting on the next fantastic Canadian-inspired dessert, why not grab a chocolate off of Stella of Stella Bites' pile. Stella may be American but she knows the value of a trip up to Canada – and what to get while she’s here. Chocolate is Stella’s weakness and she loves the variations on this theme that are only available here. I know this first-hand, having done a chocolate/candy swap with her last year!

If your sweet tooth is back to craving desserts, go see Martine of Banlieusardises makes us drool with her gorgeous description of Beaver Tails (Queues de castor). She then tops it off by graciously providing us with the quintessential recipe to make them ourselves.

Wait - don't leave yet! You haven't sampled my dessert. I took the three most dominant flavour memories from my childhood: Peaches, Apples and Maple Syrup. Digin and enjoy!

To top off all these desserts, Michele of Oswego Tea has graciously provided some delicious Maple Granola for us all to sample. Michele may live in Germany now, but she spent many years in Canada and has many fond memories of this beautiful country. She even used only red and white in her picture to represent the colours of the Canadian flag. Isn’t she smart – and sweet?!

And if you're still hungry after that, Jennifer of Roast Chicken Reasoning’s Canada is “hot, sexy and very cool at the same time”, which sounds both delicious and wonderful to me! She lets us all in on a little Kingston secret with ‘Chez Piggy’, its eclectic menu and hospitable atmosphere. Let's go!

Thank you so much to everyone for joining in on this year's Taste Canada - it truly is amazing how many variations there are on this particular theme...and everyone has such great stories to tell as well. Let's make it a tradition - I hope I see you all again next Canada Day, with even more tasty Canadian foods in tow!

* If I have forgotten anyone, or you have not yet notified me of your Taste Canada entry, please email me and I will add you to this round-up!

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